Being back at school was strange. Nice! But strange. Izuku's life had been a whirlwind for the last couple of weeks, from showing his mom his quirk, to the sports festival, and everything that happened with Yuki. Especially everything that happened with Yuki. From what Inko had told him, she was safe and protected, but that was all they allowed him to know. His mother angrily insisted on keeping the entire family updated about the situation, but the police being the police, wouldn't budge on the issue.
For the first time in his life, Izuku was the centre of attention in every class, which is something he never considered would be as exhausting as it was. The whispers he constantly had to acknowledge, the passed notes and the concerned glances were all beginning to feel invasive.
He felt relieved that none of them did this maliciously; instead, it came from a place of concern. However, he still wished they would stop. He was fine now, honestly. Maybe even better than fine. Even if he wasn't, nobody wanted to be treated like they needed to be wrapped up in cotton wool. It was bothering the teachers as well. Ectoplasm made his feelings about the distractions apparent by the way he scraped the pen against the board during their math class.
By the final period, Izuku was so happy to be back in the 1H workshop that he could have knelt and kissed the floor if that wouldn't have been disgusting. This was where he most felt at ease at UA. Being surrounded by the whirring machinery was heavenly. Everyone else could take their ocean waves and songbirds and shove them, this was what peace sounded like.
Izuku closed his eyes and let the sounds and smells wash over him. With a deep breath, he felt the scent of turpentine rush into his lungs and he burst into a fit of coughs. Maybe inhaling the fumes inside a workshop wasn't his greatest idea.
"You trying to give yourself mesothelioma?" Mei asked him with a frown, smacking him on the back a little too forcefully.
The last few coughs escaped him feebly. "There's asbestos in here?" He grumbled.
"Asbestos? I thought you got it from rabbits?"
Sliding her chair over to them, Miki put her elbows down on the table. "You're thinking of myxomatosis."
"Were there even any rabbits in here?" Izuku asked, looking around to see if he'd missed any furry friends hopping around. That kid could talk to animals in 1B, after all.
Mei shook her head at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Izuku. Why, on Earth, would there be rabbits in here?"
"Then why did you-," the ringing of an alarm interrupted his confused thoughts, signalling the end of another school day. Typically, the students of 1H wouldn't worry about this; the workshops usually stayed open for much longer periods. This was the time all the hero classes would come in to discuss upgrades or pick up their redesigns, so most didn't move from their seats. However, Izuku had other matters that required his attention.
Packing his half-finished doodads into his bag, Izuku got up from his seat and prepared to leave, "I'll see you guys later, I've got a meeting with Mr Yagi about um… School work."
"You seem to have meetings with Yagi a lot," Mei said with a scrutinising glare. "Almost makes you think something is up…"
"What?! N-no, nothing is up!"
"Hmm…" She narrowed her eyes, "Izuku…Is Yagi…" Izuku began sweating. "…Giving you private tutoring lessons?"
Crisis averted. "Yes! Yes, absolutely that's right! Dead on! He sure is!" Izuku sputtered like a broken tap, standing completely straight and almost yelling. "Nothing gets past you!"
"Huh," Mei frowned, "Didn't think you needed it. Oh well, have fun at school, I guess. I'm staying back here to work on mah babehs." She said, sticking out her tongue and aiming a 6-inch nail at a suspiciously bomb-shaped object.
Just then, Power Loader shuffled over to the group of friends with a large loop of keys in his hands, "Sorry kids, you're gonna have to scram. We've got people coming in to remove the asbestos out of the walls." He said in a deadpan tone.
"Are you serious?!" Izuku gasped.
"Nah." Power Loader shrugged, "Thought it would be funny. But seriously, you gotta leave. 3H has their final internship evaluations tomorrow, so we've got about thirty crates of support gear to store."
Hiro sidled up to their desk from the sewing machine he'd been operating in the corner, his hands in his pockets. "Bigger class than ours, I presume?"
"Ugh, no, thank god…" Power Loader sighed, "There are only five of them. It's going to be a nightmare when it's your turn." He finished, insinuating he meant the entire class, but looking directly at Mei.
"Amateur numbers." She said dismissively.
"Yeah yeah," Power Loader said waving his hand at her, "But yeah, we need the workshop for," He then noticed a commotion coming from the door, where a crate around 12ft tall, pushed by two men with a rhino quirk and an elephant quirk between them, was dangerously close to colliding with the lintel. "No, no! Horizontal! Horizontal!" He yelled, running over to the workers and flailing his arms.
In the courtyard area past the workshops, Izuku readjusted the straps of his backpack and gave a little wave. "I'm headed this way, so I'll see you guys later."
"Uh, actually, Izuku," Akari began, quiet until this point - somewhat rare for the talkative girl. "Internships start tomorrow, and I wanted to talk to you about something and might not get the chance for a little while. So, do you mind if I walk with you?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, Akari. That's no trouble," Izuku smiled. It could be risky, especially if she managed a peek at the collection of teachers and pros assembled at All Might's meeting, but it should be fine. With his friend now at his side, Izuku gave his last goodbyes to the rest of the team. "Bye guys, good luck at internships!"
"Bye Izuku, see you later, Akari," Miki said, standing near Mei, who was actively jamming a screwdriver into a toaster. With a set of nails sticking out of her mouth, she gave a half-legible goodbye as well. Kuri and Hiro gave similar farewells before the group disappeared from around the corner.
"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Izuku asked. This was, surprisingly, one of the few times that Izuku and Akari had been alone apart from the rest of the class. He had never really noticed it before but with such a small class and a best friend who has been part of his life for such a long time, private moments like this were rarer than expected. "Oh! Actually, before all that, I gotta say something too!" His face brightened suddenly as he turned to the girl.
"You do?!" He wasn't about to be the first to get there, was he? Akari had planned all of this out in her head, how she was going to confess her feelings emotionally, laying it all out in the open... Well, she'd planned out most of what she was going to say. At some point, her strategy was going to be to just wing it. But if Izuku did it first, that was going to throw a wrench into the works.
"Yeah I just, I kept meaning to say to you but you know, all this crazy stuff kept happening and everything, but first I wanna say thanks for just, you know, sticking around, I guess? Um, while I got better, I mean." While they walked, he tried to explain himself through arm gesticulations, finding himself beginning to ramble. "I don't know how to describe it, while I stopped uh… Being a robot, I guess?"
Akari laughed a little at this. "You don't have to thank me for that, Izuku."
"No, I do! It meant a lot that my friends were there, and you were there the whole time!" He stopped walking and hit himself on the head with the palm of his hand, "Agh, what am I doing talking about myself so much? Akari!"
"Y-yes?"
"I forgot to tell you, you did so well at the sports festival. Like, so good, if you were in the third round you could have won the whole thing, I think, it was just bad luck your team didn't get enough points. I know you felt disappointed you didn't make it to the tournament, but believe me, you did amazing. Honestly, they should've given you some bonus points for actually taking down a pro hero. I mean WOW! That pollen distributor packed a punch! I bet you had so many support companies interested, and, and uh," He stopped mid-spiel, noticing that Akari hadn't been saying anything. Instead, she was just staring at the floor and seemed like she was shivering. "Um, Akari?"
The girl took her glasses off and rubbed at her tear-filled eyes before looking up at him with a wobbly smile.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Izuku asked with concern, "I didn't say anything I shouldn't have, did I? I sometimes get carried away and-,"
"No, no, you didn't," Akari reassured him, choking back the tears slightly, "It's just that, a-all this that happened to you, e-everything you went through… None of us even really knew if you were going to be alright! But, still, even after all that, you're more concerned about someone else's feelings… I should be the one making sure you feel better, not the other way around!" Her voice started to rise.
Izuku was about to say something, but a part of him told him not to. He didn't need to right now.
Akari continued, the emotion in her voice leading her, "When you were in that hospital bed I had no idea what I was going to say to you when I got the chance, how I was going to tell you all the stuff I wanted to! I ran it through in my head over and over again and nothing worked, nothing explained it the way I want to! I still don't know how I'm supposed to say it all!"
"How you're supposed to say… what?"
"How I'm supposed to tell you that you're one of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met? How you'd do anything for anyone no matter who it is, as long as it helped someone in trouble! You even risked your life to help someone!"
"Akari…"
"I don't know how I'm supposed to tell you that you almost dying was the most scared I have ever been in my whole life, and I don't think I'll ever know how to tell you how much you mean to me. I don't know how to tell you, because there's no way anything I ever say could match up to how I feel… About you…"
Izuku looked into her eyes as her chest rose and fell, charged by the outpouring of sentiments. He rubbed his mouth with his hand, heart racing as he searched for the right words. "Akari…" He began cautiously, "I… I think you just did."
The weight of the moment hung heavy in the air. Izuku reached out, tentatively taking Akari's hand in his. It seemed the right thing to do.
She sniffed and laughed slightly. "Sorry, I probably sounded like I was in a soap opera or something…"
Izuku shook his head. "No, you sounded like someone who had a lot they needed to say, and I'm glad you did." His voice was soft, and he seemed to be keeping an eye on their hands.
Quietly, Akari said, "I was worried if I didn't say something, I might never… But um, what do we do now?"
"I guess we just see what happens?"
"Hah, yeah. Yeah. I'd like that." With that, she nervously hugged Izuku. Tentatively, he reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her back. Though this wasn't the first time the pair had hugged, it felt much more special.
Just then, they heard Mei's voice sounding from the distance, "Heeyy!" She was yelling, hands cupped around her mouth to project further, flanked by the other members of the support class. "What are you guys doing over there?!"
Feeling awkward, they reluctantly let go of each other and coughed nervously. Akari started fiddling with her hair, blushing as she mumbled, "Uh, nothing..."
"Yeah," Izuku continued, trying to play it cool. "We were just, you know…"
"It looked like you were about to kiss," Miki said, fully aware of the situation and how much this would fluster her friends. Sometimes, she could be just as chaotic as anyone else.
"We weren't gonna kiss!" Akari blurted out, her cheeks flushing. "Not yet anyway! I mean, not that we're planning to ever!"
"Y-yeah!" Izuku stammered, feeling the heat rise to his face. "We weren't doing that! Not that it would be a big deal if we were! Friends can kiss, right? What's wrong with friends kissing!?"
The pair of them were sweating buckets.
Kuri tilted his head, puzzled. "So… Were you going to?"
"I-I-I don't have time to explain!" Izuku hastily interrupted, trying to change the subject. "I really need to get going. Mr Yagi will be wondering where I am."
"Hold up, Izuku." Hiro raised his hand, compelling the boy to stop mid-stride. "Internships are tomorrow, so for the next few weeks, we won't be in the same place together."
"So this could be our last chance to hang out!" Kuri added. "So we were thinking we should all do something together!"
With a flourish of her hand, a baseball bat and half a dozen baseballs materialised in front of Miki, all falling to the floor with a clatter. "So, are you in?"
"…Baseball?" Izuku asked, confused.
Akari looked at the assortment of sports equipment piled up on the floor before grinning widely. "I love baseball! You'll play, right Izuku?"
"Come on, Izuku! It'll be fun!" Kuri gushed. "Right Mei?"
Mei shrugged and grimaced slightly. "Ehhh, I was kinda hoping I could work on my babies…" She then looked around at the series of puppy dog eyes that were surrounding her. "…Ugh fine. I'll play too. Now you have to as well, Izuku. It's not fair otherwise."
"It does sound fun, but I really do have to go to this meeting…" Izuku hesitated, then threw caution to the wind. "Ah screw it, I'm in."
With that agreement firmly in place, Akari threw a fist into the air and yelled, "PLAY BALL!"
Gathered around a spacious circular table tucked away in a secluded side office of UA, the members of a clandestine organisation, committed to identifying a worthy inheritor of an all-powerful quirk, readied themselves for yet another meeting. "Let the UA Faculty Book Club assembly begin!" Nezu declared, emphatically tapping a miniature hammer against the table. "Hoho," he chuckled, "A rather ingenious guise, wouldn't you agree? It certainly goes to great lengths to justify our regular meetings!"
"Not quite as effective when you openly admit it's a cover!" Recovery Girl scolded. "But I suppose it's better than nothing."
Yagi raised his hand tentatively like he was a student requesting a bathroom break. "Um, shouldn't we wait for young Midoriya?"
With his fingers interlocked on the desk, Sir Nighteye assumed a contemplative posture, one which looked very unhealthy for someone of his stature, and gave a single nod. "Indeed. I had hoped to have a word with him before tomorrow. There are certain aspects of the internships I wish to discuss."
Midnight levelled an accusing finger at him. "You mean you wanted to talk about Togata! It's not cool to have hidden agendas when doing something nice, you know."
"Ladies, gentlemen, please," Nezu interjected, calling for order. "Let's remember that Midoriya is a young man with numerous other obligations to fulfil. What kind of educators would we be if we diverted him from his studies? We can manage without his input today. Now, onto our agenda. Yagi, you had an announcement to make?"
"Mm, well, the thing is…" Yagi nervously scratched the side of his neck, avoiding the looks of his co-conspirators. "I may have accidentally uh, revealed who I am to another person…"
"Oh, All Might, really now!" Recovery Girl chastised, "Not another student, I hope!"
"No, not a student! I'm very careful around the classes, I'll have you know."
"Well, thank heavens for small mercies," she sighed in relief. "If it's anyone else, at least we stand a chance at damage control."
"It was Aizawa."
The collective groan around the table made Yagi shrink a couple of inches in his seat, while Nezu remained unfazed, as usual.
Yagi shook his gigantic hands in protest at the response, "It's not that big of a problem, honest! We came to a mutual understanding of the situation, but I don't think he'll be willing to help us with anything we do here. He has a lot on his plate right now."
"Ah," Nezu replied. "You're referring to the fact he wishes to leave UA, yes?"
"He told you?!" Yagi blurted out amongst the surprised looks from Recovery Girl and Midnight. "The way we spoke made it seem like I was the first person to find out!"
Nezu chuckled, "No, he hadn't, but I suppose that clears up my assumptions! I'm sure everything will work out fine either way. Now, shall we get started on the real meat of our sandwich? Nemuri, you've been seeing if Kirishima could be a worthy heir?"
"Indeed I have~"
Under the slight glow of the afternoon sun, the 1H support course prepared for what could be their greatest challenge yet - light exercise. For as wide a campus as UA had, it was surprisingly difficult for the team to find a place to play with nobody else around. As such, they ended up in a field close to where the quirk apprehension tests usually took place. It was wide open but with other small groups of students milling around on the grass or lazing against trees.
Izuku brushed his hair out of his eyes and tapped his baseball bat on the floor a few times, like he had seen in old movies, before posing as though ready to swing.
"Knock it outta the park, Izuku!" Mei hollered from the sidelines. She'd promised she would get involved more when the time came, but for now, she was sitting on the grass working on some sort of high-tech glove. "Not too hard that you hit someone, though. People hate that."
Repositioning his feet slightly so he's more likely to avoid the crowd, Izuku faltered. Before he could make any more moves, Miki came walking over to him.
"Wait, hold up." She said, gently taking the baseball bat from him, flipping it around and handing it back so that he was now holding it by the grip. "There."
"Oh, thank you," Izuku said with a nod, "Man, baseball is complicated…"
"It's really not."
From a distance, Hiro broke the momentary lull with a clap of his hands and a booming voice. "Are we playing, or are we just standing around?!"
In response to that call to action, Kuri cracked his knuckles and snatched up a ball. He strode over to the 'pitcher's mound' (Izuku's backpack) and flexed his throwing arm, ready to let loose.
"Kuri Kuri winds up for the pitch…" Akari murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
Giving Izuku an encouraging thumbs up, Kuri added, "I'll start off easy."
In a display of athleticism that nobody was expecting, Kuri raised his leg to a sharp right angle against his torso and drew his arm back in preparation. With a swift motion, he stomped his foot and launched his arm, propelling the ball at a blistering speed. It flew so fast that it appeared to blur and bend in the air, flattening the grass beneath with its powerful trajectory.
Driven by pure instinct and a healthy dose of terror, Izuku screamed and tossed the baseball bat into the sky. In a frantic bid to avoid becoming a human doughnut, he thrust both fists forward, transforming his upper limbs into a washing machine. The bulky contraption plummeted, landing heavily, its door swinging open just in time to ensnare the speeding ball. The clash echoed with a metallic ring, as the ball continued to rattle around ominously inside the washer.
"Sorry!" Kuri shouted from the mound, "I guess training made me stronger than I realised…"
"Haven't you only had like, three lessons with the hero class?" Mei asked.
"They're very good lessons…"
Now calming from the sudden panic, Izuku reverted his arms to their regular form, finding the baseball in the palm of his hand. "Ow! Hot, hot!" he yelped, juggling the ball from one hand to the other.
Akari's concern propelled her into action as she rushed to Izuku's side, her grip gentle yet firm as she inspected his hand for any signs of injury. "Are you okay?! That looked like it hurt!"
"Yeah I'm, I'm fine."
Relieved, Akari offered a sympathetic smile. "That's a relief. Trust me, the last thing you want is burns on your palm. I've been there, learned the hard way not to sneeze into my hands. Nasal Flames are no joke." Unbeknownst to either of them, she continued to cradle Izuku's hand in hers, her touch unintentionally lingering.
"Look, this is very cute and all," Mei said, before lying on her back and vaulting into a standing position, "but can we PLEASE talk about how Izuku just made an entire washing machine in less than a second?"
"It was quite impressive." Miki agreed.
"Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?" Hiro asked with a sly grin.
Mei's face lit up as she placed her goggles over her eyes, throwing both arms into the air, "QUIIIIIIRK TEEEEEEST!"
The promise of seeing Izuku do something with mechanize intrigued the rest of the gang too. "Ooh yeah! Show us what you can do!" Akari beamed.
"Right... right now? Here? Just like that?" Izuku, now thrust into the spotlight once again, hesitated under the weight of attention.
"Yeah, dude!" Mei said, "Tap into your training, or whatever. Do something cool!"
Izuku thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Something cool, huh? Something cool… Well, I've been thinking of trying this for a while so… Alright, I'm ready!"
With resolve, he clasped his hands together and shut his eyes, adopting a slow, measured breath. His features tensed, and the backs of his hands turned white as he intensified the pressure between his palms.
Kuri looked at him with confusion, "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Shh!" Mei interrupted, leaning forward ever so slightly to get a better look. "He's powering up…"
Suddenly, Izuku shot a hand in the air, and metal armour began to emerge from the back of his hand. Methodically, green metallic scales clicked down the length of his arm and up to his shoulder blades, spreading out further and further. The gleaming metal continued down his back, clicking and whirring its way across him until his entire body was shrouded by the otherworldly armour. With a final movement, he bobbed his head forward, causing a full helmet and visor to envelop his features.
Mei immediately screamed with glee and started jumping up and down on the spot. "AHHH HAHA! YOU DID IT! YOU FIGURED IT OUT!"
"What…in the hell?" Miki whispered, taking her glasses off and limply holding them to her side.
Confidently, Izuku took a few strong strides toward them, leaving imprints in the grass in his wake. The armour made him feel a few inches taller. "I call it my Dragon Form," he declared with a hint of pride. "I got the inspiration from the way Hiryu Rin's scales form, and then I melded elements from my strike gauntlets. The rest was a matter of engineering, figuring out how to distribute the technology evenly across my body."
Hiro, his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin, circled Izuku as if appraising a masterpiece. "Fascinating," he mused. "Did you factor in the joints? Any pinching issues?"
"I don't really need to worry about that," Izuku replied, demonstrating by flexing his arm. As he moved, the metal weave on his elbows adjusted seamlessly, stretching and contracting in perfect harmony with his motions.
Slowly, Akari withdrew her hand from her mouth, her eyes wide with amazement. "B-but how?! I didn't think you could do full-body transformations!"
"You're sort of right, but..." Izuku began to explain, but he sensed Mei's excitement bubbling over. "Mei, why don't you take it from here?"
With a gleeful grin, Mei eagerly seized the opportunity. "He's only transforming his arms!" she exclaimed, barely able to contain her enthusiasm. "His hands are entirely composed of the same metal composite as the strike gauntlets, and the rest of the armour is an extension of that! It's like he's wearing a full-body gauntlet! IT'S SO COOL!" With a burst of excitement, she pressed her hands against the cool metal of Izuku's helmet. "We need to run tests, right now!"
Meanwhile, far from the excitement of newly discovered abilities, Detective Tsukauchi and Yuki Haro prepared for the next stage in their plan. For the first time, the full membership of the Anti-Market Task Force would be convening, and Yuki had little idea what to expect.
She had even less idea of what she was to expect as she sat across the table from a man with the most ostentatious facial hair she had ever seen in her life, joined by a woman with ketchup-coloured hair and clothes like a 19th-century clown. The smaller of the pair seemed to be glaring daggers at her. Though the taller one seemed rather…
"Gentle! And it is an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance." The man said, offering his hand to Yuki, who did not reciprocate.
Sensing the unease, Tsukuachi stepped in. "Miss Haro, I'd like you to meet two of our other members, Danjuro Tobita and Manami Aiba. The two of them were eyewitnesses to an attack committed by High Street, and then, well,"
"We were highly insistent upon assisting." Gentle finished, pouring himself his third cup of tea in less than five minutes. "We accidentally stumbled upon an assassination attempt while conducting reconnaissance for our little hobby." He drank heavily from the cup.
"Reconnaissance?" Yuki asked, directing the question toward the detective rather than the eccentric man in front of her.
Without missing a beat, Tsukauchi explained. "Tobita and Aiba here are what we like to call 'career criminals'. They were in Hosu scoping out a uh, what was it again?"
Gentle grimaced at the memory, "It was a Farbucks coffee shop. Dreadful place, absolutely no idea about the temperature to which tea must be brewed."
"My Gentle knows all the ideal temperatures for hot beverages!" His companion gushed.
"La Brava is always the fastest to sing my praises, though she is quite right." Gentle took yet another swig of his drink, "But, as I was saying, we were in Hosu on business when we happened to witness a most dreadful attack being perpetrated upon the hero Ingenium."
La Brava stood up on her chair and announced dramatically, "Gentle sprang into action! He called the ambulance and stayed with the hero until help arrived! He was so brave~"
"Dastardly criminals though we may be," Gentle continued, putting a hand on his heart, "We shan't abide an act as callous as murder!"
"We weren't sure at first if Mr Tobita and Ms Aiba had seen High Street for certain, but their witness statement matched up perfectly with the description you gave us." Tsukauchi went on. "Considering how few folks have survived dealings with your old boss, it only made sense to enlist their help."
Gentle, proving how accurate his namesake is, gently placed his teacup back down on the saucer and straightened out his moustache, twisting the ends as he did so. "Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, might I inquire about your role in our merry little crew?"
Yuki's voice was measured and calm as she responded, "As the detective said, High Street was my employer. Or rather, leader. I was a member of the market for fifteen years, and before you ask, yes. I have killed." There was little reason to hide any aspect of her past if these people were to be her companions in this fight. But also, a small part of her wanted to impart to these bizarre people the severity of the situation they had forced themselves into. For a moment, it seemed as though a flash of concern echoed in Gentle's eyes. Yuki was prepared to defend herself, if necessary.
Instead, Gentle's demeanour softened. "Like a well-brewed tea, people evolve over time," he remarked, pouring another cup as if to emphasise his point. "No one remains unchanged from yesterday."
Yuki accepted the, admittedly strange, metaphor with a subtle gesture, before turning to Aiba. "Do you feel the same way?"
"Hmph," La Brava turned her head away. "If Gentle is fine with it, then I am as well."
Loudly, Tsukauchi put his coffee cup on the table (without using a coaster, much to Gentle's consternation), and drew attention back towards him. "Great, now that's sorted, we can move on. We're just waiting on one more person."
Across the room, the sound of a door sliding open diverted the conversation as a new person joined them. "Brilliant timing. Everyone, the final member of our team."
In walked a green-haired woman, instantly recognisable to one particular person. Yuki hastily stood up from her chair and made her way over to her, pulling her into a much-needed hug.
"Ms Midoriya. I'm so sorry." Yuki said into her shoulder, "I'm so, so sorry."
"Yuki, It's alright." The older woman reassured her with a smile, "Everything is good, Izuku is fine, you don't need to worry!" She loosened the hug but kept her hands on Yuki's shoulders. "I'm here to help, just tell me what to do."
With a shaky, yet genuine smile, Yuki nodded. "Right. We should begin."
Over at the table, Gentle gave a theatrical wave, "Good day, madam!"
"Everyone," Tsukauchi began, "Inko Midoriya. Inko Midoriya, everyone. Our first order of business, as you might have guessed, finding High Street. All we can know for certain is that he was, at some point, in and around the Hosu area. Unfortunately, that doesn't narrow things down for us very much."
"High Street was often very secretive regarding his activities, but Barbershop kept a close watch on his movements," Yuki said seriously. "The computer system at The Market base may have had additional information, but, unfortunately…" She trailed off, referencing the climactic events of the past, culminating in the destruction of the systems and Izuku's hospitalisation.
Smiling slightly, as though she had a secret to tell, Inko methodically placed a bag on the table. To the interested glances of the rest of the team, she unzipped the bag and pulled out an external hard drive, placing it on the table and sliding it over to Yuki.
"What is this?" Yuki asked, though she was fairly certain of the answer.
"The computer files. They weren't completely lost, Yuki. Everything is on here." She tapped the hard drive with her finger. "We're going to find your boss, Yuki. He's just a man, no matter how smart he thinks he is, everyone leaves a trail."
Tsukauchi leaned back in his chair and smiled, "This might be easier than we expected. Aiba, I leave the extraction of the data in your capable hands. Gentle, you and I have a trip to Hosu to make."
"Hold on, hold on! I'm coming…" A gentleman of average build, around his mid-40s, hastily tucked in his shirt and began to loop a tie around his neck. Half dressed and dishevelled after a much too late night, he pulled open the door to his apartment. "…You're not room service."
Unfortunately for this man, that was the last thing he ever said. The last thing he ever felt was a knife between his ribs. It wasn't a good day. High Street gently guided the body to the floor with the same motion he used to kill him, placed a hand on the body's chest and willed his stolen Sterilisation quirk to reduce the body to nothing. A trick he had practised to an upsetting degree.
"Inside here, Doctor. Set up wherever you feel best!" High Street walked into the spacious high-rise apartment and pulled open the blinds, revealing a stunning panoramic view of the city of Hosu. "A much nicer base of operations than being underground, wouldn't you say?"
Dragging a suitcase behind him, Dr Garaki ushered in an entourage of criminals and reprobates, goons comprising the lowest of the low in the criminal hierarchy, but necessary bodies for their plans. Garaki looked over at the now-empty pile of clothes in the apartment doorway. "The quirk factor is integrating well." He mused, before stealing a glance at High Street flexing his fingers. "It is integrating well, isn't it?"
"Well enough." He replied succinctly, before snapping his fingers and gesturing one of the men to join him. "You, what's your name?"
"Uh," the man nervously replied. "Skullcap?"
"It's not a trick question, what's your name."
"Skullcap, mister High Street. I'm onea those uh, whaddyacallit, info broker types. Got ya name from this fella named Giran."
"Hm." High Street continued looking out across the city, while the men behind him continued to unpack their equipment. "Weird. Go stand over there, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
Skullcap looked around hesitantly, before going to stand next to a large man with metallic quills sprouting from his back. The man grunted at him.
After a few moments, High Street spun around on his heel and clapped his hands for attention. "Our first order of business, my new friends, is to deal with a former employee of mine! The good doctor here will be passing out information packets regarding her appearance, skill set and what not to do if you manage to confront her." He then gestured toward Garaki to continue.
"The likelihood is she's currently operating under an assumed identity, and judging by our tracking information, she has police protection," Garaki said, finishing handing out information to the lackeys.
High Street cut in, "If I can get back in contact with Museum, we'll be able to leverage the connection she has to the police force."
"Ah, about that." Garaki unpacked a laptop and placed it on a table close to where High Street stood. "You may want to check her tracker."
With a stern expression, High Street turned the laptop to face him, and his expression grew colder. "I see. Well, Museum being caught certainly puts a… Dampener on things."
Slowly, he closed the laptop and turned again, walking over to the large window once more and looking out across the horizon. After what felt like an agonisingly like time for the group of thugs, High Street turned and snapped his fingers, pointing to an unassuming man and gesturing for him to join him by the window.
The man, a bulky, but worried-looking individual took the invitation through fear of retaliation, standing next to the large villain. High Street put his arm around his shoulder, and gripped tight, before pointing out toward the city.
"Do you like Hosu?" High Street asked.
The man felt the grip tighten on his shoulder. "I… Yes, it's… great."
"Huh." High Street squeezed. "I hate it."
Before anyone could do anything, High Street moved his hand to the back of the criminal's head and began to repeatedly slam it into the window. Nobody in the room moved or said anything, just stood and watched as this act of brutality unfurled. In time, the body slumped to the floor, lifeless.
"Apologies for my temper," High Street casually said, moving over to the kitchen and washing his hands. "What was his quirk?"
Skullcap swallowed hard, "T-telescopic arms."
"Telescopic arms? Huh. Could be fun. I'll take it."
The metal-armoured form of Izuku Midoriya crashed down onto the ground in the centre of the playing field, a shockwave of air bursting out from underneath him, kicking up dust. He stood to his full height, before flipping his head back to remove the helmet and visor covering his face. "How far was that?"
In an instant, the other support course members came running over, excitement in their voices. "50 metres!" Mei shouted.
"That's a marked improvement in speed, durability, jump height, strength…" Hiro said, ticking off the information he had on his page. "Impressive all around."
"And there's not a scratch on you!" Kuri added enthusiastically.
"I gotta say," Izuku said, now beginning to revert the transformation to his original form. "It feels fantastic."
Akari smiled and jumped with her arms in the air, "It LOOKS fantastic! But I diiiid notice one thing." She said, raising an eyebrow at the end.
"What was it?"
"You don't know how to do this stuff, right? I saw from the way you landed. Remember when we had to watch all those videos of landings when we were making shock absorption gear? All the best heroes know how to land!"
Izuku nodded, "Yeah…True, but I'm not a hero, remember?"
"Pfft sure, whatever!" She dismissed. "Either way, you might wanna learn how to do that before you break your knees."
Mei clapped a hand on his shoulder, "She's right you know, remember the issues we had with the Mark V? Landing sucks. But I did have a little idea that might help."
"Oh? Because I would like to not break my kneecaps off…" Izuku said, scratching his neck.
"Well, what I was thinking was… You made software before, right? Programmed something into a machine you made with mechanize?"
Izuku nodded, "Mmhm. But if you'll remember, I ended up in a coma trying it."
"That's exactly what I'm getting at, dummy! The danger there was you uploading the information directly into that big mushy blob you've got rolling around inside your dome! What I'm saying is, you upload the software to the suit!"
Frowning, Izuku contemplated what he was hearing, then his eyes began to widen. "Notebook! Notebook, I need a notebook!"
Immediately, everyone around him had a notebook in hand for him to take. Support course kids are just like that. Scribbling furiously, Izuku's eyes scanned back and forth as he drew diagrams and formulas, the ideas pouring out of him. After a few minutes of mumbling and pacing, he opened the notebook to show the rest of the class.
Miki chewed on her thumbnail as she read, "Are you sure it'll work?"
"No," Izuku answered. "But when did that ever stop us?"
BONUS
"Living amongst your kind has given me a newfound appreciation for your weak and fleshy bodies, and humbled me!" Deku nobly said, playing a metal hand over where they assumed their heart would be. "Your willingness to follow your dreams inspires my little socks off, so I want a piece of that action! Mr Nezu boss man sir! I wanna join the business department!" He finished, standing up on his chair and extending a hand skyward.
Nezu clapped in his seat "Oh my how lovely! But I'm afraid our school doesn't have a business department." Quickly, Vlad King leant down and started to whisper something in the Principal's ear. "... Really? You don't say? Two whole classes? Well I'll be damned."
