Chapter 46: Concrete Jungle

Izuku was wide-eyed as he slowly stated in a hushed tone, "Is...is this the fabled Allmobile!?"

In front of him and the others was a sleek all-black sports car. The car was low to the ground and flat in its shape. Its wheel arc heavily shielded the wheels and had thickened exterior plus glass all around it. All Might coughed as he brought up a pair of keys to unlock the vehicle. "What? No, that thing is overseas if it still exists, but you know of that thing?"

"Yagi-sensei, this is Izuku we are talking about. This shouldn't come as a surprise." Tooru added.

"Still, it is quite an obscure fact about me."

"I've seen you mention it before in some of your earliest interviews not long after you debuted in Japan. You used it in your early hero days in America, right."

Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck as he explained, "It was. However, I have no recollection of saying such things. But then again, everything was going by a kilometer a minute after I debuted. I guess I got lost in all the newfound publicity."

Mei remained silent, though her actions and look on her face were anything but. She had on her signature goggles to inspect every inch of the car and was happily circling it as she did with the giddiest of all grins.

Hagakure sighed and thought to herself, "Great, there's two of them."

Hatsume then asked, "Is this thing entirely made out of titanium?"

"On the surface, yes. However, some tungsten and other metals make up the interior, if I remember correctly. It's been about five years since I talked to the engineer who made this for me."

"This baby got a name?"

Yagi grinned proudly as he answered, "Hercules."

Midoriya nodded. "Ah, I see, after the Greek god of heroes. It's perfect."

Hagakure was torn at the moment. This was the happiest she had seen her boyfriend since he woke up in the hospital, but they really needed to get going. "Why don't we continue this conversation once we start moving? It's going to take a bit to get there anyways."

"Agreed, let's pack up and head out. I would like us to get to our hideout and be on the streets before the sun is up," All Might stated as he pressed another button on his keychain, which popped open the trunk of the vehicle. He then placed his suitcase and briefcase into the car. Tooru followed, putting a large duffle bag and a small white backpack in. Izuku had the opposite, a large yellow backpack and a small duffle bag. Mei placed a large toolbox and a black satchel. Tooru worried just how little clothes and essentials the last two brought along.

The girls seated themselves in the back. Hagakure figured Hatsume would be too distracting for Yagi if she were in the front seat. Thankfully her friend didn't fight the decision as Tooru grabbed Mei's hand to follow her to the back seats, despite her face looking betrayed.

Not long after taking off, Hatsume asked, "So did you plan on society falling apart years ago to have Hercules built for it?"

"Of course not. Its original design was for my protection. As we discussed earlier, after my first fight with All For One, my injuries prevented me from using One For All at its full potential. At times, I was regulated to this form, and it made me realize what state I would be in once I passed my quirk to my successor. I hoped that this would all stay a secret, but I couldn't deny the possibility of my true form becoming public. I could then become a target, and I would need something to move around safely. In the end, my true self did go public, but I couldn't predict the circumstances that unfolded last summer."

"That you would defeat All For One for all to see," Izuku said.

"Correct, which kept the blow of my true form as small bananas in comparison. I also had the support of U.A., as things would have been quite different if I lived elsewhere. So Hercules's purpose seemed pointless; however, I decided to keep it just in case. I was correct to hang on to it."

Midoriya's questions then turned to his mentor's time in America.

Hatsume soon became restless as she had questions of her own; however, Hagakure whispered to her, "Let him have this. You'll have plenty of alone time with Yagi-sensei when Izuku and I are on the streets."

"Fine, fine," Mei answered back after a sigh. She then said quietly. "This is all for him anyway."

"Right."

"Anyways, what's their plan anyway? To lure out the big baddie?"

Tooru sighed. "Didn't they tell you and Maijima-sensei when trying to recruit you?"

"Yeah, but I blocked that part out. I was more focused on thinking of the opportunities this field experience could give me."

Of course you were, Hagakure wanted to say but instead thought. "Izuku is acting as bait. They figured that there have to be villains that All For One has sent to capture Izuku since both Shigaraki and All For One are not at full strength yet. So he'll draw them in while the top three pro heroes follow behind at a safe distance and assist once that happens. The villains will never appear if top heroes are escorting Izuku."

Hatsume landed her fist into the palm of her other hand as he stated, "Oh right, then we squeeze the baddies for info at where the big bad is and stop him before getting to full power."

"And we don't have much time. Only three months it seems, going from that doctor they captured."

Mei then said softly, "Don't worry; we won't be out here anywhere near that time."

"I hope so too," Tooru said as she leaned back into her seat. She then thought Izuku wouldn't be the same if they were out here that long.


All Might slowed Hercules to a stop. In front of them was a warehouse. "We're here." He then brought out a beefy phone and, after a few seconds of fiddling with it, said, "Are we good Prime?"

"No signs of being followed. And no suspicious activity since I arrived here hours ago."

"Then let us in."

"Can do, sir."

A roll-up door began to ascend, and Yagi drove inside. He immediately took a left and drove up to a small room in the far corner of the empty building. Once the vehicle had turned off, everyone exited. As they took stuff out of their trunk, All Might said, "You girls will be staying in there tonight. Midoriya-san and I will be on cots out here. We'll set up what we need but make it quick. The sun rises soon, and I want you two to be patrolling before it does."

Midoriya and Hagakure said at the same time, "Yes, sir!"

Tooru was quick to grab her stuff and enter the room. Inside was a tiny apartment. There were two twin size beds on the far walls. To the left was a small kitchen with a fridge. To the right was an entrance to a bathroom and shower. She threw her stuff on the right bed and immediately turned her attention to the two heavily armored suitcases in the middle of the room. Hagakure put in the code 0226 on the dial, and it opened, revealing her hero suit. At this point, Hatsume entered the room and quickly glanced around at what was inside.

"Guess I'll take this bed then." Mei then placed her satchel on it and took out a few things before turning around to leave. "Oh, should I have stayed turned around?" In front of her was an undressing Tooru. Who at the point was just a floating skirt.

"It's fine. I'm not uncomfortable around you anymore."

"Well, in that case..." Hatsume took a few steps forward and looked downward. "So that's what panties look like from above when worn." She then felt two arms pushing her outside.

"Don't push your luck Hatsume-chan."

"I was only joking, Hagakure-chan. Someone has to lighten up the mood. It's getting way too ser-"

However, her statement was cut off as Hagakure closed the door. She really wasn't in the mood for jokes at the moment. The girl then finished suiting up and grabbed Midoriya's suitcase before heading out the door. Upon stepping into the main warehouse, she saw the boys making their cots.

"You change quickly," Yagi stated as he noticed the girl's appearance.

"It pays to be fast with a quirk such as mine." Tooru then walked over and offered her boyfriend his case. "You're good to change now."

Izuku nodded, but as he grabbed his case, Mei's voice shouted out from the other side of the car. "Hey, wait!" She then proceeded to run over, arms full of some red-colored equipment. "Don't forget to put these on under your Air Force Gloves and Iron Soles."

Midoriya turned to All Might and asked, "Are these what you were talking about, sensei?"

"Yup. Those Mid-Gauntlet's should be able to keep the strain of your limbs when going above 45% under check. But again, go too high, and they will break. Hatsume-san can repair or make new ones, but it will take time, and we only have enough material to do it a few times. It was hard enough to get The Fixer to do this for us, there's no telling if she would want to see us again at times like these if we needed more."

Izuku then took the four devices with his free hand. "Thanks, Hatsume-chan."

"Don't thank me, thank Baby Prime for picking them up this morning."

"Then I'll give him thanks before we leave to patrol."

Tooru asked, "Is it still outside?"

"Yup, keeping watch as instructed. He's been itching for us to get here ever since he dropped off your gear and my equipment."

Toshinori fluffed his pillow as he said, "We didn't have the room for everything in Hercules. Prime was more than happy to bring it over as he scouted out the area."

Mei then asked, "Why do you keep calling it that?"

"Cause I refuse to call it otherwise. Prime agreed to it too."

Hatsume looked displeased but said nothing more and returned to her workstation.

"That should be enough for now," Yagi stated happily with the arrangement of his cot.

Hagakure then asked, "How long are we staying here?"

"Just one night. We only just arrived in Kanagawa Prefecture. We'll follow the coast until we hit Kamakura. Then head north into Yokohama and eventually Tokyo."

"Hitting all the major population centers."

"Right. That's where people probably need the most help and the highest chance to run into lackeys of All For One. Even if they are not there, work in such areas will eventually draw attention to us." All Might then got up. "I'm going to set up your phones while we wait for Midoriya-san to get suited up. They are a bit complicated." He then went back into Hercules.

"Okay." Tooru recalled having to leave her phone behind, as with the others. It did make her wonder if Mei had thought of anything about communicating with her friends back at U.A. would be possible. Not long after Mashirao had suggested using her friend as a solution, she sent a text to ask.

Hagakure then made her way over to Hatsume, who was busy setting up her equipment to notice. "Hey, Hatsume-chan."

"Need something?" Mei didn't bother to turn around, too absorbed in her work.

"Did you get my text last night?"

"Of course. I've got a plan, though it will have to wait till after you get back from your patrol tonight."

Tooru hugged her friend from behind. "Thanks so much."

"Yeah yeah, but keep it quiet, will you? All Might-sensei won't approve of it."

"Oh, right, sorry." Hagakure then took a step back and watched Hatsume with her busy work for a minute till she heard a click to her left.

The nearest roll-up doors started to rise, and in rolled Baby Prime. This was Tooru's first time seeing it; she had only heard details from Izuku and Mei in the last month about the robot. Prime's basic design looked similar to Victory-class villain bots from school, though with various vital differences. First, the main wheel had been replaced with a ball wheel, identical to its Transpo-bot body. Second, it sported a large contraption on its back, which had been described to her before as a jetpack. Finally, it had a sleek black paint job with white details, quite different from the originals' all-green look.

"Good morning Hatsume-sama. I hope everything is accounted for and is in top condition."

"Looks to be, you did well. Though where's your other body?"

"Hooked to the charging station over there." It then brought up one of his mechanical arms and pointed to a door on the opposite wall of their lodgings.

Mei laughed. "You do like your small dark rooms."

Tooru thought, you shouldn't be laughing that your room back at U.A. is like that.

Baby Prime then asked, "So are we ready to go? I can't wait to test this new body on real applications."

Hagakure asked, "Real applications?"

"Baby Prime has only done simulations or fought other villain bots. So it's more than ready to fight real villains," Hatsume explained as she checked over her robot with some sort of handheld device.

Tooru asked with seriousness, "We are just knocking them out, remember?"

"Killing would complicate things for the master. Don't worry, I don't plan to cause her any trouble." Prime stated as it crossed its arms.

Mei pulled away her device as she said, "Everything seems to be running optimally. Still, don't go too overboard though, I won't have too much time to fix it if Midoriya-kun gets his gear damaged too."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Just then, Izuku walked out from the girl's quarters. His suit looked a bit ragged. The Iron Soles were somewhat damaged behind the calves, and his sleeves were mostly burnt off. The boy was also sporting Gran Torino's yellow cape as a scarf. Tooru hadn't heard about him receiving that.

"Sorry, I was only able to build you new Air Force Gloves. I'll try and work on the Iron Soles and the rest of your suit tonight."

"I appreciate what you were able to get done in such a short amount of time, Hatsume-chan." Midoriya looked at his girlfriend. "You have enough in your backpack for what's out there?"

"It's mostly first aid supplies. What do you have in yours? It's massive."

"Can never be too prepared."

That didn't answer my question, Hagakure thought.

"Ah, good, you're ready." All Might stated as he stepped out of Hercules. "I have your phones prepared." He handed one to each of the students. The backside was armored, the same design as his, with a large E on it. "These are satellite phones. There's no telling how long our telecommunications will last or if they can be tracked by All For One. So that's why we are using these. They have a unique GPS encrypted signal on them that only I and the rest of the pro heroes assisting us will have. Hercules and Prime will be able to track you as well. They are also connected to the police's emergency radio, so you can follow what's going on locally to assist."

"Since we are on the subject of tracking, I should tell you guys about Hagakure-chan's suit's tracking signal too," Mei stated.

"My what?"

"Just something I whipped up after finishing Midoriya's gloves," Hatsume walked over and placed a hand on the back of her friend's helmet. "That silver plate on the back of her helmet is a solar panel and holds a charge. At first, I was confused as to why it was there. It was powering nothing, as her communicator was running on batteries, but once I opened it up, I noticed a bunch of empty slots connected to it to power whatever could be placed there. A bit of future-proofing, I would say. So it made me think; what else could Hagakure benefit from due to her quirk? And then it hit me, her location in relation to her teammates! Even though she can communicate her position to her allies, in the heat of battle, she could easily get caught in the crossfire without others knowing. So if a signal could show her location and show up on their own head's up displays, voila, no more accidental friendly fire."

All Might asked, "Why not use the phone I just gave everyone?"

"It's bad to look at your phone while driving, sensei."

"They are not driving, though."

Mei shrugged. "At the speed Midoria-kun and Baby Prime can go, it might as well be. But anyway, the phones are using GPS, so it's only showing someone's position relative to a map, not from one's vision. This will allow both of them to see her location from what they see."

Izuku rubbed his head as he asked, "But I don't have a head's up display."

"Hagakure-chan, go invisible, and Midoriya-kun maybe put on your mask and see for yourself?"

Tooru and Izuku did as asked. The latter let out a gasp. "I can see an orb of color where her head is."

"Hmm, me too," Prime stated with intrigue.

"See? When she's invisible, it turns on. I settled on doing it as a heat signature that would only show up when looking at her. It was a quite simple addition to make to your suit Midoriya-kun. It also has a few other simple features, compass, time, and the local weather."

Midoriya responded with a confused, "Thanks?"

"Happy to help!"

Baby prime clanged his arms together as he asked, "Alright, we all good now? Let's get started!"


"Just as we told the cops earlier, follow us, and this guy will get crushed!" Shouted the red-haired gorilla man. He currently held an elderly man by the head.

His partner was twice his height and looked to be made of metal with a sparkly sheen. She was carrying a few sacks in one hand. Her voice had a metallic drawl to it as she said, "He means it! He's crazy!"

Offended, the man shouted, "Hey!"

In a softer voice, the woman stated, "Sorry dear, but we got to make it think we were serious."

Baby Prime from down the alley groaned. "I heard that."

The mutant proclaimed back, "Our point still stands! Don't move any closer!"

"Not like I could, you're in an alleyway too thin for me to proceed. Besides, I'm just the distraction."

A sudden bright light flashed in front of the criminals, causing both to drop what they were holding. Tooru picked up the old man and dove into an open door on the right.

Prime proceeded to rush forward, breaking the walls as he did, and grabbed the women. He slammed her into the wall of the next building, knocking her unconscious. Stunned at what happened, the gorilla man didn't get up and then felt a strong shock to his exposed abdomen before slumping onto the ground.

"Well, now that was some nice teamwork Hagakure-san."

"Bit reckless destroying the alleyway to get to that metal woman, though."

"But it was so cool! Plus, with Hatsume-sama's tracker on her suit, I knew exactly when you were in the position to deliver the line for maximum delivery."

"You're having way too much fun," Tooru said before reappearing and going back to check on the former hostage. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Just a few scratches, miss. Thanks for the save." The former hostage was helped to stand and she dusted himself off as he stated, "When they grabbed me after robbing the bank, I thought I was a goner."

"Imagine trying to steal money during times like these. Money has no value right now," Prime stated with confusion. "Whelp, I'm going to hand these two to the officers over yonder. I'll be right back."

"Don't make a scene like the last two times."

"I'll try."

Hagakure lifted the visor in her helmet before asking, "What exactly happened?"

"To tell you the truth, I was sleeping in the lobby of the bank. I broke in about a week ago to seek shelter. My apartment got destroyed, and the police had already taken all the money out. What's safer than a bank with nothing inside, you know? Then this morning I was woken up by the bank's alarm, and before I knew it, those two saw me as a way out of their situation."

"You should head to the nearest official shelter."

"Yeah, at this point, I have no other choice. Could you help me get there?"

"I'm sure the police could assist you; I need to catch up with my partner."

Tooru then handed the man to the police. However, an officer with some authority then asked to be shown the bags with stolen goods.

"That old man said you all removed the money from the bank days ago. So what did they steal?"

"We're just as curious as to what, ma'am. The alarms for the bank went off, so we thought to check it out. Those two put up quite a fight until they took them hostage. Then we were forced to back off." He then opened one of the bags and sighed, shaking his head. "It's heavily modified support items. They are highly sought out by the public and criminal elements alike nowadays. They must have been storing stuff like this in the empty bank but tripped the alarm when trying to retrieve it."

Baby Prime added, "Or just stealing from others that put it there first."

"Yeah, uh, ma'am, you have quite an odd companion."

Hagakure sighed. "It's his first day."

"And I've aced it so far!"

The officer picked up the other bags and asked, "Well, we appreciate the help. That man's fur was like porcupine needles. Took out two of our patrol cars as he launched them at us. And well, nothing we did was able to faze that woman."

"We appreciate your radio call giving us info about that. It definitely made our job easier."

"Well anyway, what shelter are you two with? Ketsubutsu Academy?"

Prime then made some beeping sounds, "Oh well will you look at that. Another crime nearby, we are needed elsewhere! Toodles!" He then proceeded to pick up Tooru and rolled away towards the main road before the officer could comment.

"Hey, careful!"

"Sorry, we can't let them know we are working solo. You are not yet pro, so they might arrest you."

Hagakure arranged herself in a more comfortable position. "Yeah, my temporary license would only work if we were near U.A." She then laughed before saying, "So I'm guessing there isn't some nearby crime happening."

"Well, I am taking us to Midoriya-san. And he was dealing with some incident earlier as we took that call. So I wasn't technically lying. Though those sounds I made were quite fake."

"Fair enough," Tooru stated with a giggle. She had to admit; the robot did help lighten the mood a bit. Maybe Mei was right, she thought.

Within a few minutes, they had stopped at a skyscraper. "Hmmm, looks like he's near the top according to the GPS."

"You can fly, right?"

"That's a lot of fuel to burn to see how he's doing. I'd rather save it for important things." Prime then let down Hagakure.

Before Tooru could call Izuku, her phone rang. His voice asked. "How did the robbery and hostage situation go?"

"We apprehended them. They were stealing or transferring modified support items, and it tripped the bank alarms."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were made at Detnerat. What about the hostage?"

"He's okay and heading to a shelter. Anyways, why are you up there?"

"Danger Sense had a strong reaction for a moment a few minutes ago. I wanted to get some height to be ready if I felt it again. You two should stay out of this one if it turns out to be anything. I'll keep you posted."

Hagakure sighed. Midoriya was all business at the moment, she thought. She then closed the visor on her helmet. The girl then heard a beep indicating her connection with Prime's communicator was on.

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Anything on the police radio?"

"Besides chatter about the situation we just took care of? No."

Tooru thought for a few moments before saying, "I guess we can head to a residential district and see if anyone needs any help."

The robot slouched as it stated, "That's boring."

"Well, it's better than sitting around and doing nothing."

Prime then pounded his chest. "I like fighting so much. It makes me love every minute of my freedom."

"We've already fought in three battles this morning. And two of those, you did most of the work."

"I appreciated the reconnaissance."

Their first two incidents did have Baby Prime do most of the work. Hagakure just pointed out the escapees and scouted the scenes beforehand. "Well, now I get to be in charge. You have to learn how to handle civilians too." She then climbed into the bot's arms. "So let's head out." Within minutes of heading towards their destination, they heard a large crash from afar. Midoriya then immediately called.

"A big villain's attacking. Stay away."


Tooru stepped out of the shower and got dressed. She walked into her room, expecting Mei to be waiting to go next, but it was empty. After Hagakure placed her stuff under the bed, she entered the main part of the warehouse. The boys were fast asleep but faint sounds to her right got her attention. Once there, she noticed Hatsume hard at work on Midoriya's Iron Soles. In a quiet voice, she then asked, "How is progress?"

Mei instead waved a hand as if not to be bothered.

Tooru instead walked over to one of the roll-up doors where Baby Prime was currently resting. "Are you awake?"

"Down here."

Hagakure looked to her right side to see a much smaller bot inspecting the back of the larger one. A bit had changed since its appearance back at school. Prime's gray paint job was now silver, and both of his arms now seamlessly integrated their extra tools into the arms. Before, it looked more as if a different bot's arm had been grafted into the Transpo-bot's body.

"Just doing some maintenance. That last battle of ours had that one villain drop a car on me, remember? Sorta knocked a few screws loose, so they need a bit of tightening, is all."

Tooru recalled them getting caught in a turf war between gangs. Things got a bit spicy at the end there, but they eventually prevailed. Over twenty people were arrested, which surprised the local station they dropped them all off at. It had been quite a hectic first day.

"Are you okay being in your smaller body?"

"Eh, it felt weird at first, but I'm used to it now. Besides, I am much more helpful to Hatsume-sama on the technical side of things in this body, so I don't mind."

Baby Prime then noticed that Mei was waving the two over. The bot quickly rolled over and asked excitedly, "Need something, master?"

"Can you handle the cloth repairs on the legs here? I need to work on something else now. When you finish, you can go charge and go back into full surveillance mode."

"No problem!"

Hatsume then took Hagakure's right hand and led her to their room. "Sorry for the wait, I just wanted to get that done before we discussed what you requested earlier." She then proceeded to pull a box from under the bed and open it. Inside were various metal pieces, which she started to lay out in front of her.

"And this is?"

"A drone!"

"In pieces?"

"Well, I couldn't just make one in what limited time we had—especially not today in front of All Might-sensei. So I grabbed what parts I thought would be needed and would construct it later. And later is now!"

"So this will deliver messages back to U.A. how? I don't see how it can just fly onto the campus without raising suspicion. Or shot down considering the beefed up security."

"That's where Maijima-sensei comes in. I land this outside the grounds; he checks daily if it's there and brings the message to whoever you want. And give it back the response to deliver back to us after charging it again."

"And he agreed to that?"

"It took some convincing, but I'm much more stubborn than he is, so I eventually won out," Mei stated before giggling. By now, she had taken everything out of the box and was starting to attach pieces. "This won't take me long to build, but your first message is going to have to wait till tomorrow night. It's going to take me a day to write the program to deliver this anyway. Plenty of time for you to think about your message."

This prompted Tooru to ponder what to say. That they were fine and not to worry? She couldn't recount everything they did daily; that would be too much. Would even receiving messages back be a good idea? And who to even send them to? Mashirao, yes, but would he show it to the others? Would that motivate them to try and pursue them? A lot to think about tomorrow, she mused.

Hatsume then asked, "So tough first day, eh?"

"More so for Izuku."

"Sounded like he handled things quite well. He even took down a big target. Even if he had no info about All For One."

A big villain's attacking.

That ended up being Muscular, or as he was going by now, Jailbreak. Izuku saved a student from Ketsubutsu Academy from the villain's rampage. But in the end, Muscular was let loose just to cause chaos. He had no usable knowledge about who had let him free.

Hagakure walked over and sat on her bed before saying, "It's an eye-opener for me."

"How so?"

"Izuku fought him last year during our summer training. Said he almost died back then. And now? Beat him with ease and moved on as if nothing major had happened."

"He's gotten plenty strong. That's a good thing, though, right?"

"It is. I'm just still processing how much has changed since then." And how far the gap has widened between us, Tooru thought.

Tooru asked, "Do you mind us just walking back? It's not that far if we go by foot."

Izuku raised his phone to speak into it. "You mind keeping surveillance around us, Prime, as we head back?"

"Can do. Visibility is quite poor for eyes like yours, so I get it."

"Thanks."

It was day four since their leave. Late at night, the end of their patrol. A steady rain had fallen for the last few hours and had made the end of the day quite miserable to work.

Midoriya asked, "So is everything alright?"

"I should ask you that."

"Why?"

"Well, you've sounded off on the phone since you saved that woman earlier."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, that. I guess I am still a bit angry about that. People are turning on one another just cause they look different."

"Well, to be fair. A lot of the criminals and villains we've been apprehending were individuals with mutant quirks." Baby Prime added.

"People still shouldn't assume that. Stay focused on your job." Midoriya then quickly turned off his communicator. "Makes me wonder if people are letting their real feelings towards mutants show because of how bad things have gotten."

Hagakure recalled her boyfriend stumbling on people harassing a large mutant woman accusing her of being up to no good, even though she stated she was just trying to find a shelter. Tooru was out on another job, so she had only heard what had happened from All Might. The former pro hero then drove her to a nearby shelter.

"What's with the sudden interest in mutants?"

"Well, you have a mutant quirk Tooru."

This statement took Hagakure off guard. Things mainly had been all about the objective as of late. There was little time for each other, so him showing this concern was quite welcoming. However, his statement wasn't entirely accurate. "Sure, I'm a mutant, but I'm still human-like. Others like Mashirao-kun, Jiro-chan, and Tsuyu-chan can pass as normal too."

"But people like Shoji-kun, Koda-kun, and Tokoyami-kun have suffered discrimination. Shoji-kun in particular told us at the start of the second term."

Tooru recalled Mezo explaining why he wore his mask. Hiding the scars from those that beat him out of prejudice, even as a small child. His visage caused a young girl to cry in fear. Fumikage and Koji both grew up in the city, so discrimination wasn't as severe but she knew they had to have suffered as well.

"And there's not a damn thing I can do for them and others like them. What's the point of having all this strength if I can't do anything for people like that."

Hagakure wanted to see how much this had pained her boyfriend, but as of late, he rarely took off his hood during patrol. Instead she said, "Well if we end up saving Japan, all that publicity might work in your favor in helping people with mutated quirks."

Midoriya raised his arms and proceeded to tighten his fists as he stated. "Right, we're going to save everyone." He then turned his head towards his girlfriend and asked, "Did you ever have to face such stuff when you grew up?"

"No, not really. Like I said, at worst I was just ignored, and more for the nature of my quirk than me being a mutant. Back then it felt terrible but when compared to the bullying and violence that mutants such as Shoji-kun experienced, I can't really complain."

"I see." There was silence for a few moments until suddenly Midoriya looked to his right and jumped beside his girlfriend into a battle stance only for lightning to strike a few streets over.

Once the rolling thunder subsided, Tooru said, "Jeez, that was close." She then placed an arm on Izuku's shoulders. "Danger Sense really has you on edge."

"Yeah, it can be a bit much at times." The boy then rubbed his head with his hands.

"Uh, why the Smokescreen, though?"

Midoriya quickly darted his eyes around him and noticed a faint hint of purple mist emitting from his body. "Ugh, sorry. Still have trouble with this one at times. Almost instinctive to use it when Danger Sense has a strong reaction."

Trying to change the subject, Hagakure asked, "Anything new from the other users?"

"I think I made some headway with the second and third user tonight."

Tooru then hugged him from behind. "Finally! I knew you could get through to them. So ready to show me how they work?"

"Well, not yet. They only started talking to me, is all. Better than staring at a wall and saying nothing like before."

"Progress is progress, I guess. Even if it's just a little," Hagakure stated as she let go of her boyfriend. However, she was surprised to be pulled back into an embrace with his right hand.

Midoriya then took off his hood with his free hand. "Sorry, there hasn't been much 'us' time as of late. It's been hard to keep everyone happy."

The sudden move had Tooru quite flustered and lost for words.

Confused at the silence, Midoriya asked, "Tooru?"

"S-Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that."

"Heh, I guess you can stutter your words too."

"Don't get used to it." Hagakure then returned the embrace.

They held each other for a few moments until the voice of Baby Prime rang out from the darkness, "Hey lovebirds, are we going to get back to the hideout anytime today?"

Izuku yelled back, "It's past midnight."

"You know what I meant!"

The exchange gave Tooru a good laugh. It was moments like these she wished things would go back to normal. A fickle hope it was.


All Might asked, "Are you okay with shiozake (bento with salted salmon) today?"

"Of course! Anything you make tastes great sensei." Tooru answered. Sure it was a simple dish, but she wasn't going to complain. This beats having to carry food or travel back to their ever-moving hideout for each meal.

It had officially been a week since they started their journey. By now, they were heading north from Yokohama. At this rate, it wouldn't be long till they hit Tokyo.

Hagakure sat down from the cover of rain under a bus stop. Yagi parked his car in an alleyway and joined the girl already eating her meal.

"This weather sucks," the former pro hero stated.

Tooru waited to finish chewing her current bite before saying, "Well, it is April. It's the norm."

"I know, but it isn't lifting anyone's spirits."

"Yeah, but it doesn't impede Baby Prime, at least."

"Thankfully. Hopefully, it can locate that family's dog quickly."

"They left a note on which shelter they went to. They'll be back in no time." The two had stumbled upon a stray Japanese Terrier with a dog tag. However, the address had been abandoned, though a note had been left behind of where they had gone. Prime volunteered to take the dog to the family, as he knew All Might was approaching to give Hagakure her late dinner.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner. Midoriya-san was quite busy for some time before I could give his dinner."

"And then you had to save that couple in the swamped car. It's okay, I understand."

All Might sneezed. "Nice to know I can still save someone's life even in this condition. Though I think I'm going to get a cold at this point."

"Don't push yourself too hard, sensei. You're the backbone to all of this, remember?"

Yagi groaned before saying, "At this rate, it seems like Midoriya-san is. We don't stop patrolling until he tires. We start when he gets up. He decides when you two can help or not."

There was no arguing the first two points. However, she couldn't agree with the third. "Izuku has a better gauge on what we can handle, that's all."

"Am I pushing him too hard? Or maybe he really is becoming like me."

"Well, we'll be there if he strays too far. That's the reason I am here, remember?"

All Might stood up and gave a long stare into the night before saying, "I know, but I can't help but start to see my old self in him. And it's bringing back painful memories."

Hagakure was then by the man's side. "Back when you still worked with Sir Nighteye?"

"Yeah. What gave that away?"

"Well, that's the only time I know you worked with others once you debuted in Japan. And going by what Izuku described your former sidekick was, he was quite concerned about your well-being."

Yagi nodded. "Yeah, Sasaki-san truly was a wonderful partner. Too good for my own good. I shouldn't have been so dismissive of him." He then took a few deep breaths before coughing. "But I can't change what's been done. We got to be there for Midoriya-san even if he pushes us away. Perhaps, in the end, he will make the better decision I never made."

"That's the hope," Tooru stated in a sorrowful tone. Otherwise, coming here would be all for naught, she thought.

"Well enough digging up the past and moping, there's still work to be done tonight." Toshinori then turned to his student and asked, "Do you want me to drive you to Prime as you finish your meal?"

"Thanks, but I'll be fine." Hagakure turned back to her bento and picked it up. "You should head back to the hideout and dry off before getting rest."

"I think I'll take you up for that offer. Stay safe." It wasn't long before the girl watched Hercules sped off into the night. She quickly finished her meal and pondered on what was taking Baby Prime so long. However, her worry turned to relief as said bot appeared a few minutes later.

"Hey, what took so long?"

"You humans can get too emotional. That family wouldn't let me leave for like ever."

Tooru giggled, "Sounds like they were overjoyed you returned their dog."

"Praise is nice, but I would rather smash some bad guys." Prime then offered a hand. "Are you ready to head out? Radio chatter has some potential work for us just over yonder."

"Yeah, let's hope it's the last for the night." Hagakure then closed the visor on her helmet before being carried away. However, only moments later did they come to a stop.

"Something came up?"

"Midoriya-san's GPS signal was lost!" Before Tooru could process that and respond, Prime spoke once more. "The Hercules just crashed too!"


Another chapter, another milestone!

And on time!

Over 400,000 words! Well if you take out author notes. If you include that then I achieved that some time ago (currently 450k). ;p

Well to start, I did publish another Kacchako oneshot a few weeks ago. Farewell But Not The Final Goodbye was made for Camp Kacchako Discord's 4th anniversary, as a gift exchange. Because I wanted to NOT BE LATE AGAIN, I postponed working on the 3rd chapter of the MashMomo fic to make sure this came out on time. Expect that in the next week or two as I go back and finish it. I've finally decided on what to do for the IzuTooru commission I had planned. I just need to find the right artist. I also plan to do an Iichako commission before the year ends, probably by Etto again.

One good detail that came recently was a confirmation of how long the current arc in the manga took. Most speculated it was a few weeks, then when we got details on the 1A kids it changed to barely a week, but now we know it was basically a month! It doesn't change much but it does help clarify things. The exact location of where this all occurred though? It's anyone's guess, we still don't even have a hard confirmation of where U.A. is in Japan other than that it's near the Shizuoka Prefecture.

You'll notice I included references from the first movie in the first two scenes. Again the movies never happened in this story, though some of the elements from them are definitely intriguing enough to be used. Let's just say I'll be borrowing less from them compared to the light novels (which I only use here and there).

This was Baby Prime's chapter! Considering the stuff Izuku had to deal with, it wouldn't make sense for Tooru to be by his side the whole time. So Prime was the perfect way to keep her involved as well as Mei to me. Prime originally was just going to be a fun buddy of Hatsume's but as canon evolved, so did the bot's role.

Oh and the messages back to U.A.? That plot point will come back in the next chapter. It was hard to include the rest of it here without being out of place.

Next chapter we deal with the fallout with Deku's fight with Nagant. It will be a long one, but worth it!

Chapter 47 will be released December 25th! I've got a lot to cover and I want to take advantage of my time off to deliver what's next!