After another evening spent struggling to cope with everything that had happened to her, Michiru had found it very difficult getting to sleep. Her brain just wouldn't shut up about everything that had happened with Emeralda or their impending attempt to capture this All for One. Would he even be there? Could they take him? What if they failed? What if it turned out they were stuck here, or worse, what if something happened to one of them in the attempt? Ultimately, she was the one who decided to try, and she wasn't sure she was ready to handle the responsibility if it did all go wrong.
It was during one of these fits of worry that Michiru remembered she had an actual working cell phone and even though she didn't have social media set up or even knew if the same websites existed in this world, she figured she could at least get caught up on the news in the hopes that some reading would help put her to sleep.
Typing "news" into the phone's search engine was all it took to get all the news sites Michiru could ask for. It didn't seem to matter too much which one she picked though because all of them seemed to be focused on the same thing: The attack on first-year UA students and the kidnapping of one of those students. The more she scrolled, the more she started to get into sites talking about conspiracies or the fall of hero society though. So instead, she went back up and started reading up on the kidnapped student since she was staying at UA herself. What she saw …wasn't flattering. Apparently, this Katsuki Bakugo was very talented, having won a sports festival of some kind but the video of the awards ceremony had him restrained like a serial killer on the winner's pedestal as he thrashed about like a rapid dog. Michiru couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the kid. Was it this kind of crazed aggression that caught the kidnapper's attention or was it revenge?
Hadn't that restaurant demon Sadou said something about the mission they were about to crash being a rescue? Could this foaming nut job be the one they were sending heroes out to save? It was pretty high profile from all the media coverage so it made sense and it could be they were after a bigger fish, not just Bakugo. Sadou did say there was a good chance of running into this One for All. Backing out of her browser, Michiru opened up her GPS and zoomed out to find the tag Sadou had given her. Sure enough, it was already in Yokohama. Laying there, Michiru wished there had been more time to have been given at least the name of the hero they were cyber-stalking. At least all the web browsing did it's job because as she wondered, sleep finally claimed her.
(X)
Camino Ward, Yokohama
Brooklyn hated nights like this, warm and sticky with nary a breeze to cool the skin or to glide on. Sure New York had its hot, muggy nights too but were there as many? A sure sign that the gargoyle had been here too long was that he wasn't sure anymore, and that angered him to no end. One thing was for sure, his native Scotland almost never had nights like this.
Brooklyn was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Celty approaching from behind. As he stood staring out across the city from the roof of the building he had spent the day in, the winged hero kept his focus out on the city's skyline as he spoke "So, which one is it? Where is that bastard hiding?"
Pointing to a small, two- or three-story structure, the dullahan answered "That one. It doesn't look like much but that's where the signal is coming from."
"Tch, you can say that again, that building looks condemned. Not the worst place to hide. How the hell have we missed it for so long?" Brooklyn commented, clearly upset at their years of failure in their search for All for One.
Patting her partner's leather covered shoulder, Celty said firmly "Hey, don't beat yourself up, ok? We did the best we could. Clearly All for One keeps his organization very disciplined and lips sealed. Besides, we had a lot to learn at the beginning about this world, it's not like we knew everything about this Japan from the start. We're here now, just keep focused on the goal and before long, we'll have him and hopefully our ticket home."
Not looking at all convinced, the beaked gargoyle let out a mirthless laugh as he dryly added "Hopefully…"
Pulling her arm away before lightly punching Brooklyn in the arm, Celty tried again to be encouraging "I've been alive a long time, and not just sleeping for a millennium like a certain someone on this rooftop." That got Brooklyn to crack a smile "We've done our best, we've been patient. We'll get to see our loved ones again, I promise. You remember the plan?"
Folding his arms and finally looking over at Celty, his eyes meeting her helmet where her eyes would be if she had them, and sounding more confident, Brooklyn said "Yeah, I got it, just make sure you're here when I wake up, you know how I hate to wake up to surprises."
Waving her hand dismissively, the helmet-clad dullahan cheekily replied "I'll be here all day, I promise! If anything happens, I'll draw attention away until sunset, just like last time, scaredy-cat."
Rolling his eyes, Brooklyn wasn't buying his partner's bluster "Yeah, what about that time with the smugglers? You know what it's like to wake up in a crate full of those damn Styrofoam peanuts?!"
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Celty replied as she threw her legs over the roof's stone ledge and sat down.
"Maybe if I knew I could stuff one of those horrible things down your throat so you could taste one, maybe. Guess we're both stuck with memories we won't soon forget, aren't we?" Brooklyn answered, a playful glint in his eye.
The two fell into a comfortable silence for a while before Celty pulled her helmet off and almost whispered "Brooklyn…do you think we'll forget all this when we get back home?"
The gargoyle's lips puckered on his elongated beak as he thought it over "As much as I'd love to see Lexington and Broadway's faces when I told them all the stories I have, I hope not." Glancing at his companion, it was times like these he really wished he could see and read Celty face, instead met with that same plume of black mist emanating from her neck. When there wasn't a response, Brooklyn continued "As dangerous and crazy as my home is, this place is so much more complicated and as much as they try to hide it, there is so much darkness here. No offense but all things considered, I would be very happy not remembering this little trip of ours. What about you?"
"I think I'm still the same person who came all those years ago. I dare say I'm a stronger person now. I can't say that if I forgot my time here. And you're right, there is much darkness in this world but I've met so many amazing people too and it makes me so happy to think there are people like that out there despite it all. No, as much as I can't wait to see Shinra again, I don't want to forget even a minute of my time here." Celty replied, dangling her legs like a carefree child.
"Even the peanuts?"
"Damnit, yes, even the peanuts, Brooklyn."
(X)
The next morning saw Michiru finally getting the chance to shoot some hoops in the training hall. She'd dragged poor Emeralda along with her, who agreed only to watch and see how it was played. The tan girl had been firm about not trying until she knew what she was doing. It seemed to Michiru that you did that by playing and figuring it out but to each their own, as it were.
In a simple white tank top and red gym shorts, Michiru stood bouncing the ball up and down with her hand "and this is called dribbling. You can move around as long as you are doing this with the ball but once you stop, you have to either shoot the ball or pass it to someone else. Got it, Emmy?"
As she finished explaining, Michiru passed the ball over to Emeralda, who was also wearing a light red tank top with black gym shorts but was still adorned with her arm braces and scarf, making her look a bit silly. Catching the ball, the greenette blankly stared at the odd rubber sphere before looking back at her companion, asking seemingly out of the blue "Michiru, you said you were born a human and have gained the ability to change back into your human form. Is there a reason you don't stay human? Do all beastmen stay in their beast forms like you do?"
The question, naturally, caught the tanuki girl completely off guard and she stood there, staring, her arms still held out to receive the ball back that never came. With no answer seemingly coming, Emeralda turned away, beginning to sense she had asked something much too private. "I'm…sorry Michiru. I'm not very good with such things. I…I know I have no right to ask you after I would not answer you last night. I, I just-"
'Its…ok Emmy, really. Honestly, I'm happy you reached out at all. But of all things to ask me, why that?" Michiru said as she walked over to the amber-eyed girl and gently took the ball back in her hands.
Emeralda spared a look at her fur-covered friend's eyes before turning away as she spoke "It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Back home there are people who look like animals or have animalistic traits referred to as demi-humans."
Putting the ball under her arm, Michiru looked put off as she cut in "Well that's a horrible name if I do say so myself."
A pained expression flashed briefly across Emeralda's face before she continued "Yes…you're very right about that. But the point I was getting to is that many of them wish more than anything to look human. You can do just that but don't, even though in your world it is dangerous to do so."
The tanuki girl was struck again by this quiet but clearly perceptive girl. It hadn't been the first time Michiru had been asked why she stayed this way. Back then her answer had simply been that she felt more comfortable as a beastman, like a comfortable pair of shoes. But that wasn't really it, was it? After looking down and to the side to think on Emeralda's question a moment, Michiru answered "I guess…the easiest part to answer is that when I first got to Anima City, there was a festival, and everyone was in their beast form. I couldn't have been happier. It was like I had finally come to a place where I didn't have to hide anymore. Buuuttt I quickly realized that was for a special occasion. Even in Anima City, beastmen stayed in their human forms most of the time. Usually someone would only change when they were angry or trying to intimidate someone and walking around in beast form usually meant you were trying to start a fight." Scratching the back of her head with her free hand, Michiru laughed nervously before adding "It got me in trouble once or twice not being able to change back to my human form."
Emeralda listened calmly but intently and when Michiru finished, she raised an eyebrow "I am sorry but that confuses me more, Michiru. Beastmen normally stay human and yet…"
"I stay looking like a weird racoon girl?" The tanuki girl finished.
"Yes." The greenette bluntly confirmed.
"Well, I'm not exactly a normal beastman, for one. I can't do this when I'm human!" Michiru exclaimed as she pulled the ball out from under her arm, turned, then reared back before launching her arm forward. Instead of letting go of the ball for a shot, the arm just extended to impossible lengths, until finally slamming the ball in the hoop some fifty feet away.
Pulling her arm back to normal size, a big grin on her face, Michiru turned to face her friend, expecting to see a look of adulation or excitement. That had been naively optimistic. Instead, Emeralda stood stone-faced and after a moment of silence that saw Michiru lose all her bluster, the tan-skinned girl finally said "So, even among beastmen you are unique?"
Moving to retort, Michiru froze as she was about to speak, mouth already open as she thought about it. Closing her mouth, she looked away, stuck thinking back to the moment when her partner back home, Shirou, howled into the sky to bring crazed and berserk beastmen across Anima City back to their senses. As beautiful and haunting as the sound had been, it clearly didn't affect her or her friend the way it affected naturally born beastmen and that…was a lonely feeling. Knowing she wasn't human but could never truly be a beastman either, it had been a terrible thought. The tanuki girl did all she could to push that feeling deep down and instead focus on all they had just done in saving the city.
Having that moment brought back again was the last thing Michiru wanted to deal with right now which meant one thing: misdirection. Forcing a smile and crossing her arms confidently, the tanuki girl proclaimed "What's it matter? Here we're all unique, aren't we? It doesn't matter what I look like, right? Here people can look like anything!"
Crunching her face in concern, Emeralda took no time in pointing out the contradiction "But aren't we trying to get back home tonight?"
The sad thing was, looking at the other girl, Michiru was sure Emeralda wasn't even trying to back her into the corner she found herself in. As such Michiru countered with "Ummm."
Then, before the poor fur-covered girl could be subjected any more to Emeralda's innocently logical questioning, the doors flew open and a familiar boisterous voice echoed across the large training hall "What's up lighters!? Am I missing a good…game?"
Turning to face the ant hero-in-training, Michiru somehow managed to look equal parts relieved and annoyed as she answered "Hey, Yoshimura-san, your early."
Looking put off, the ant girl noticed the ball on the ground near the hoop before looking back and crossing her many arms "Ya know, you can call me Sakon if ya want and what gives? When the others told me you two were here, I was expecting to see what you could do, tanuki! Not walk in on some heart-to-heart!"
While Michiru fumed at being told to call the ant girl by her first name without using hers, Emeralda seemed to miss the veiled insult and began answering "I'm not sure what you mean by heart-to-heart, Sakon,. Michiru and I were just discussing why she-"
"WE WERE TALKING because Emmy here has never played basketball before, right Emmy?" Michiru cut in, elbowing the other girl in the side.
Her head turning immediately to look down at the offending elbow before quickly looking up at Michiru's narrowed eyes, Emeralda at least understood to drop the subject, even if she didn't know why. Turning back to face Sakon, she confirmed "…Yes, Michiru had been showing me how to play and I had some questions."
Narrowing her own multi-lensed eyes, Sakon decided to let whatever had just passed between the other two go and said "Whatever! I'm just pissed I didn't get here earlier so the two of us could see who was better! You still owe me a game, Michiru!"
Waving her hand dismissively as she walked over to get the ball, Michiru responded "Yeah, yeah, maybe next time call, ok? If you were going to get here earlier, what took you?"
"Oh, since you all made a last-minute request to go to Yokohama, Sanada-sensei had to scramble to get another hero to be your escort and the new guy wanted to get lunch for everyone so we just had to stop first." Sakon complained, holding out an arm for Michiru to pass her the ball.
All of a sudden aware of just how hungry she was, Michiru was overcome with excitement at the prospect as she called out "Theres's food!" just as she was passing the ball, woefully overshooting her target.
Without batting an eye, the ant girl leapt the ten feet needed to catch the errant pass. As she landed, Sakon met Michiru's sheepish look with a raised eyebrow "You sure you want to take me on? Come on, let's eat."
(X)
On her way back to see the first-year students of UA still recovering from the villain attack, Hitomi found herself utterly annoyed. She'd just gotten off the phone with Jun, who had told her he had agreed to let the newest lighters join Hina and Mob at martial arts practice while he was still, let's say, impaired from the night before. Apparently, he had to dig pretty deep to get anyone willing to chaperone the group since he was both recovering from the hangover and prepping for the news conference later in the day.
As she drove down the scenic mountain road, the counselor couldn't help but feel a sense of vindication. She had warned her mentor and even if Jun had succeeded in getting her mind off yesterday's disaster, it still didn't justify the trouble now. Hopefully Hina and Mob could help the new arrivals. Then again, knowing Hina and how standoffish Mob tended to be…well there was a chance, right? Maybe this trip would be good for all of them to bond, because so far, this whole transition had been a mess at just about every step.
As Hitomi parked at the rural hospital, a sense of foreboding began to creep into her heart. Something didn't feel right. Thinking back to the way Yaoyorozu-san seemed afraid of sharing information publicly, a pit began to form in her stomach. Her pace quickened and as she approached the main entrance, she saw it. Off to the side, at the bus stop, was a large group of Class 1-A students, varying degrees of worry splashed across many of their faces.
Hitomi couldn't help but note Yaoyorozu-san was not among them.
As she approached, several of the teens noticed her and turned their faces away, as if to avoid eye contact. Warning bells were exploding in her head when Hitomi got close enough to speak "Hello students…it's always good to come visit your classmates in the hospital but none of you look terribly happy. Has something happened?"
At first, no one spoke as glances were exchanged and several clenched their teeth. Finally, Tsuyu Asui, a girl with long sea-green hair tied in a bow at her lower back, a larger than normal mouth and eyes to go with her larger hands spoke up "No, Kanzaki-san, everything is not fine, ribbit."
The older woman started to feel a sense of dread as she looked around at the students faces "What do you mean, what's going on?"
It was the blonde-haired young man, Denki Kaminari if Hitomi remembered, who responded, before Tsuyu could reply "It's just that, it's hard to see our classmates injured, you know?"
Several of the students turned to look at the blonde when he said that and Hitomi picked up on the subtle nod the red-haired Eijiro Kirishima gave Denki. It was painfully obvious the kids were holding something back but when no one else offered further explanation, Hitomi knew pushing it would likely just get her more stonewalling. Smiling reassuringly, Hitomi said "I know how you all feel. This isn't something first-year students like you should really have to deal with, especially after having already been attacked at the USJ. You're all really strong and should be proud of how you've handled things."
Several, including the tall bi-speckled Tenya Ida appeared to cringe at the counselor's words. Not the reaction Hitomi was hoping for, and was further evidence something was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu would be more willing to shed light on whatever they weren't tell her. Waving to the group, Hitomi excused herself and headed inside the hospital, a new sense of urgency to her task.
(X)
Michiru hadn't known what to expect from the hero who was their assigned protector for the day. She'd met several over the last few days, but none were as flamboyantly dressed as the gentleman serving lunch was. The tallest person in the room by a few inches, even before you factored in his silly large hat, the hero turned to greet Michiru and Emeralda as they approached the table where Zelgadis, Xellos, Mob and Hina were.
The hero was wearing a simple black pair of pants and long-sleeved shirt with large grey boots. Over it all, however, the newcomer had a green sash, pale orange shawl, a completely circular grey collar up to his mouth, a blindfold that was white with black lines on it, an oversized scarlet sorcerer's hat on which was wrapped with a bandana featuring a black and white zig-zag/triangle pattern on it. All of this left just a hint of blonde hair to be seen on a face that also featured a thin mustache and a beard that looked like it had been added by pencil, it was so thin.
Michiru also blanched when the hero offered an exaggerated bow before standing straight and offering a lop-sided smile "Hello, young ladies! It is a pleasure to meet you, the hero Majestic, at your service."
As Majestic finished his introduction, Michiru glanced over to the table and saw Hina just shaking her head while Zelgadis rolled his eyes and Mob offered an apologetic look. Wait, was Mr. 'Don't Look At Me' wearing tennis shorts and a t-shirt? Michiru was definately going to make fun of the chimera for that later.
Returning her attention to the man in front of her, Michiru forced a weak smile as she bowed in return "It's nice to meet you Majestic, I'm Michiru Kagemori, thank you for watching over us today."
Just behind her, Emeralda had watched her friend's greeting and tried to match the gesture, bowing as well and adding "Likewise, I am Emeralda Kasim, thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, introductions over, can we get to eating now?" Sakon whined, making her way to the others seated.
"My, you are as brash and impatient as Sanada-san said, Formidable. The food isn't going anywhere. Besides, we are their guardians today, perhaps let them partake first?" Majestic said, catching the ant girl on her shoulder as she passed.
"Yes yes, fine, whatever you say." Sakon answered, exasperation clear in her voice.
"Sir."
Sakon froze "What?"
"It's yes yes, whatever you say, sir, Yoshinori-san." The crimson-hatted man gently but firmly replied. The fact that he hadn't used her hero name wasn't lost on the third-year student.
While that exchange went on, the other two girls had passed by and sat down. After that, the meal went on until it was finished, and everyone gathered their bags for the trip. As they were filing out the door, Zelgadis was stopped by their hero escort "Pardon me, young man, but what do you think you're doing?"
The chimera being at the back of the line, everyone else turned to see what was up and several knew right away. Zelgadis, though, hadn't picked up on the oddly-dressed man's meaning, dryly answering "Going for a picnic. What do you think, I'm going with everyone else."
Despite the rude response, the blind-folded man smirked "No no, good sir, I was referring to your sword. You cannot take it with you."
The chimera's shoulders slumped visibly as he turned to face Majestic "This again? Look, I'm a swordsman, this is my sword, it's very important to me and I am not parting with it again."
"Son, you need to have a hero license to carry a sword around in public. In private you are free to do whatever you want but I will not tolerate you flaunting the law like that in my care." The taller man responded, a hint of condescension in his voice.
Zelgadis gritted his teeth as he turned to look at the others. If all went well, they would never return to this place. If he left his sword, Zelgadis would very well be leaving it behind. Plus, what he said was true though, that sword was very important to him. The anxious looks he got in return from Michiru and Emeralda especially told the rock-encrusted young man all he needed though as he stood, very conflicted.
Gritting his teeth and refusing to look the apparently sightless hero in the face, Zelgadis rushed back upstairs and returned without his sword. As he passed, he spat "Happy?"
Beaming, Majestic replied "Quite so! Onward then!"
(X)
Hitomi had gone to see Momo Yaoyorozu first, to see how she was doing but also now very much hoping she might be able to shed some light on the uneasy exchange the counselor had just had with the other 1-A students. It was not to be however. Momo had been very guarded when the young woman thanked Hitomi for passing on her message to All Might. However, when Hitomi had probed for more, asking about why Momo had seemed so nervous when last they met, Momo had explained only that after the attack she was unsure who to trust, who might be listening. Understandable but clearly not the info Hitomi was looking for right now.
That only left Izuku Midoriya, class 1-A's resident glass cannon. The poor boy had a truly good heart and great power, but he had gained a reputation among the UA staff for aways managing to cripple himself in just about every training or fight in his time at the school. This latest incident had been no different as the first-year hero-in-training had managed to seriously damage his arms defending a young boy from one of the assaulting villains. If Hitomi couldn't get answers from Momo, then maybe this Izuku would give up what she was looking for.
Hitomi found the dark green-haired young man in his room resting in bed, looking out the window, a serious expression on his face. No wanting to sneak up on the kid, Hitomi gently knocked on the door frame she stood by. Izuku appeared to jump slightly as he turned his head, eyes wide in surprise. Waving, an apologetic smile on her face, the counselor said "Hello Midoriya-san. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Hitomi Kanzaki, I'm a counselor contracted to UA. We briefly spoke after the USJ incident?"
Relaxing visibly, Izuku tried to force a smile as he replied "Oh, yes! I think I remember you Kanzaki-san. What brings you all the way out here?"
Chancing a step forward, her eyes focused on the bed-bound young man, Hitomi started walking with more confidence once Izuku nodded to the unspoken question of her coming in. As she got closer, the brunette's smile took on a warm and reassuring quality as she said "Why, to see you, of course. You were involved in another villain attack after all. It's only right that we make sure you're ok."
Starting to fidget with his hands, Izuku had trouble meeting the older woman's gaze, managing to stutter out "O-Oh, really? Well t-that's very nice of you and all, Kanzaki-san, but the doctor says I can leave today."
Hitomi had to keep from rolling her eyes. A painfully typical answer from a hero, or hero-in-training here, and it never got any less annoying or painful to hear. Leaning forward, that same smile on her face, Hitomi pressed "Nice try, young man but that's not what I was talking about. I wanted to know how you're feeling mentally. Are you doing ok? You looked like you were in serious thought when I walked in."
Izuku visibly cringed at that last part. Struggling to respond, Hitomi let him gather his thoughts, inwardly surprised he hadn't immediately denied it. After a moment, the young man finally met the counselor's eyes, speaking almost wistfully "Its Kachan…I mean Bakugo. I was thinking of him. I was so close, but I couldn't stop him from being taken. We grew up together, you know? I…just keep thinking what I could have done. What did I miss at that last moment."
As Izuku finished, Hitomi let her smile slip as she lingered on the boy's face, searching for signs of insincerity. As Izuku started to look nervous, a hint of red starting to form on his cheeks, Hitomi relented and straightened back up to her full height as she spoke gently "You're a great classmate to worry so much for your fellow student, Midoriya-san."
Izuku looked up at the counselor, pleading in his eyes "But, Kanzaki-san, I-"
"No no, Midoriya, please let me stop you there. Of course, you wanted to help, you're in the hero course, aren't you? It's only natural. What I need you to do is answer me this: What else could you have done? Was there anything else you were physically capable of doing?" Seeing Izuku's mouth open and close without a response leaving his lips, Hitomi continued "The fact that you are here, in this bed, the last of your class to wake up tells me all I need to know. You fought to the point of breaking again, didn't you, Midoriya-san?"
"I could still move! If I had just thought of SOMETHING! Then, maybe…" came Izuku's impassioned response, his hands clinched tight.
Putting her hand on the bed-bound young man's fists, Hitomi tried to calm him "Midoriya…Izuku, its ok. Being able to move and being able to fight aren't the same things. We can't be everywhere and do everything. Even All Might can't save everyone all the time. Pushing yourself to try and save everyone will lead you to burn out. Trust me, I've seen it more times than I can count. Most importantly, you can't save anyone if your dead. Ok, Midoriya-san?"
Izuku seemed to consider the counselor's words, staring down at his hands that he unclenched when Hitomi moved her hand away. Maybe she was right about what happened at the training camp but that wasn't now. He could still do something and he meant to, just as soon as he was discharged. For now, though, the hero-in-training nodded, looking at Hitomi with determination "Ok, Kanzaki-san, I understand. I know being a hero puts you in a position to make really hard decisions and I'll do my best to keep my, and everyone else's spirits up!
Smiling, Hitomi replied "That's a relief to hear! Though I have to admit, having run into your classmates before I came to see you, I was afraid I would find you crippled or snuck out on some crazy attempt to play vigilante or something!"
Izuku froze, his determined gaze slipping into a nervous blank stare. Noticing this, Hitomi cocked her head "Midoriya-san, are you ok?"
Izuku began to laugh nervously as he stuttered out an answer "Heh, heh, y-yeah, sorry, j-just when you brought up my c-classmates, it made me think of how upset we all are they we lost one of our classmates, t-that's all!"
That…was an odd response. "Are you sure that's all? If there's something else going on, I'm here to listen, Midoriya-san."
"No no, that's all there is to it, I promise! We were all talking about how angry we were that we lost Bakugo, honest!" Izuku said, his voice a notch higher than before as he frantically waved his hands in front of him.
Hitomi's smile briefly flashed a small frown before a smile came back, a bit more forced than before. Now, the counselor was quite aware she was being stonewalled again. Hitomi stepped back from Midoriya's bed as she said "Well, if you say so, Midoriya-san, then I will take your word for it. I'm glad we were able to talk a bit and I hope that you consider my words as you continue your training and step into the professional world. Take care!"
Glad to have had one of the first years open up to her about themselves even a little bit, Hitomi was still annoyed at herself for failing again to find out what was really bothering those kids. As she checked out of the hospital, the counselor hoped fervently that it wasn't something serious.
Getting back in her car, Hitomi looked at the time. Mid-afternoon. Hitomi knew the new lighterswould be on their way to Ranma's dojo by now. If she hurried, she might just catch them while they're there. Hitomi knew they may still want nothing to do with her but she couldn't just let things fester. She wanted them to know that she was there for them, whether they liked it or not.
Pulling out, again hopeful she might salvage yesterday's minor disaster, Hitomi began driving to Camino Ward.
(X)
The trip to Yokohama wasn't a short one, which meant it was going to be impossible for eight people to sit in silence, no matter how much Emeralda or especially Zelgadis wanted to. The brooding chimera again found himself sitting in the first row of back seats along with Michiru and Emeralda. Hina and Mob had elected to sit with Xellos in the second row, clearly out of ignorance. Mob was thus subjected to near constant inquiries from the purple-haired mazuku, most of which were just to mess with the poor, sweet, but very naïve young man.
To everyone's surprise, except Sakon, it was the blindfolded hero Majestic who drove the van with the ant girl in the front passenger's seat. When Michiru had inquired about it, the oddly dressed older man had cryptically said he was able to do it thanks to "Magic" as he smiled.
That had drawn the attention of the two actual magic users in the vehicle, but it was the telekinetic Hina who called bullshit when she dryly said "Its see-through isn't it?" After denying it and a brief stare down via the rear-view mirror, Majestic relented and admitted the blindfold was indeed a special fabric to allow him to do just that.
Still beaming at her little victory, Hina tapped Michiru's shoulder, and rather curtly whispered "Hey, give me your phone." souring the smile on the tanuki girl's face.
Raising an eyebrow, Michiru pulled her phone out of her bag whispering back "What for, everything ok?"
Quickly snatching it away, the blue-haired telekinetic whispered again "Just in case things don't go exactly to plan, I'm giving you a few other numbers, ok."
"Um…ok?" was all Michiru could muster as she waited for the other girl to finish.
"Here, all done." Hina said, handing the device back.
Taking her phone back, Michiru whispered a thank you before putting it back and leaning forward, looking over at Zelgadis since Emeralda was sitting between them. After a few moments of staring, the chimera furrowed his brow and after a few more moments turned and barked out "WHAT! What is it, Michiru?!"
Anything else being said stopped in an instant and all eyes focused on the rock-encrusted young man, except poor Emeralda, who had ducked her head and covered her ears. Zelgadis shrunk back as much he could as he hung his head and apologized, all the while Michiru grinning away. With the chimera's head still low, the tanuki girl asked, a mirthful air to her tone "Ya know, Zel. For someone who doesn't want anyone to look at them, you sure are showing a lot of rock, aren't you?"
Slowly, Zelgadis turned his head from the same hanging position. He was frowning but combined with the confused furrowed brow almost made it look like a pout and Michiru thought it was the funniest thing in the world as she burst out laughing. "That…HAHAHAHA…that was totally worth it, HAHAHA!"
Trying to hold on to even a scrap of dignity, Zelgadis straightened up, crossed his arms and went ahead answering the tanuki girl's earlier question as if she wasn't laughing at all. "I may hate people looking at me, but I'll wear something like this if it brings me closer to my goal."
From the seat behind them, Xellos piped in "Oh, like the time we all dressed as women to get into that town, Mr. Zelgadis?"
Growling, the chimera bit back "You mean the one you tricked us all into? How could I forget, you conniving bastard…"
"You dressed in drag!" Sakon and Hina blurted out in unison.
Not wanting to recount the tale, the blue-skinned young man made a sour face and just looked to the side as he blushed. Trying not to picture the stoic and serious Zelgadis dressed as an overly done up drag queen, Michiru again broke out in uncontrolled fits of laughter. With Hina, Sakon and even Mob asking Xellos for more details, the chimera sought to try and change the subject. Zelgadis saw his chance in their oddly dressed escort, raising his voice to drown out all the chatter around him "So, Majestic, I was curious about your…quirk? I can't figure it out from your costume."
Much to his internal joy, Zelgadis' plan worked. The older man, who not only insisted on wearing his blindfold while driving but his giant scarlet hat too, which blocked Michiru's forward view entirely, responded with gutso. Silencing everyone else with his energic voice, Majestic answered "AH! I was wondering when one of you would ask! I didn't think it'd be as a distraction tactic mind you so well played, Greywards-san! Anyway, my quirk is called Magic!"
That raised the chimera's eyebrows and even got a surprised look out of the mazuku in the back seat. Naturally, the sorcerer-swordsmen wanted to know more and followed up with "Oh really? I take it that means you can throw magic spells around then?"
To the two magic-users disappointment, the pro hero laughed heartily at Zelgadis' query. Calming, Majestic said "I get that a lot whenever I tell someone the name of my quirk. I assure you, my young charges however, it's just that: A name. I can't actually use magic, my apologies. Besides, you should know theres no such thing as magic, child!"
Stung by the condescending tone the hero's answer had ended on, Zelgadis swallowed his annoyance and asked, "Well then, what can you do that justifies the name?"
"Well, I won't go into too much detail, of course but I can create glowing circles inside which I can make anything levitate, which is still pretty cool, thank you very much!"
Sure that their escort was a charlatan and a pompous ass, Zelgadis struggled to keep his thoughts internal. "It certainly sounds useful, yes. Thank you for asking my question, Majestic." Zelgadis managed to answer, as respectfully as his embittered inner thoughts would allow. All the while Zelgadis hoped thoughts of his more embarrassing exploits had been forgotten.
Until, not a few moments later, Xellos spoke up "So have I told you all about the time I got Mr. Zelgadis to dress as a bunny?"
With no other defense, Zelgadis leaned against the window and tried to drown out a heavily modified version of that horrible day Xellos began to tell, all the finally thinking just how much he hated that mazuku. Indeed, they couldn't get to this this so-called dojo fast enough.
(X)
Standing in front of the gate to what looked like a massive traditional Japanese estate, the lighters and their hero escorts took a moment to admire the size of the dojo they had come to. After a moment, the group began heading through the large main gwooden gate, the sign proudly displayed to the side. As she passed, Michiru read aloud the dojo's name "Anything Goes School of Marital Arts? What kind of name for a school is that?"
Looking absolutely pumped beside her, Sakon eagerly answered "The name of the school of martial arts for heroes! Anyone whose anyone has trained here! In the last five years, this dojo has become the best place for heroes to hone their hand-to-hand combat skills! I can't wait!"
Bringing up the rear, Majestic wagged his finger "Now now, Formidable, we didn't come here to train ourselves. Remember your place, we are but escorts for these fine young men and women!"
Crossing her many arms, the ant girl huffed, getting tired of never have any fun and completely forgetting she got to catch a villain just the day before.
Taking the lead, Hina lead the group to the main training hall on the left side of the compound. As they approached, the sounds of fighting could be heard from the entrance they approached. As several entered, Emeralda called out "WATCH OUT!" and everyone jumped to either side of the door as a young man in a white gi went flying out the space they had all just occupied. Moments later, the man landed with a splash in the koi pond along the ten-foot wall that lined the property's perimeter.
As the disoriented poor young man rose up in the water, everyone back at the dojo's entrance stared at him before turning in unison to look inside. What they found was a very well-built man in his late twenties, also in a white gi and black belt to go with his black hair that was held in a short pigtail behind him. He was also wearing an incredibly confident smile on his face as he rose from the stance he had been holding since he sent his opponent flying.
Ignoring his new guests for the moment, the cocky apparent master called out after the young man "And that's what happens when you rely too much on your quirk! Talk to my secretary on the way out and we'll slot you into the beginner's course next week!" A weak thumbs up from the still pond bound young man was all that was received.
As everyone regained their composure and actually entered the large room, the pig-tailed martial artist grabbed a towel to clean some sweat off his brow as he stepped over to greet the group "Hey Hina-chan, Mob-kun, your late! Are all these others with you the reason?"
"Y, yes, Saotome-sensei. These are the new lighters. They wanted to come see us train, if that's alright?" Mob nervously answered.
"I thought some of you looked familiar, I saw some of you on the news a few days ago! Welcome! I'm Ranma Saotome, master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts!" the young man warmly said, holding his arms out wide to emphasize the large room that was his dojo.
Bowing, Michiru introduced herself and she motioned for the other three to do the same, which they did. Michiru further explained how interested they were to come check out the place where their fellow lighters came to train. Looking the four over, Ranma looked skeptical, asking "So you're here to watch? Or would ya four like a little work out yourselves?"
Zelgadis tried to hide the sigh he reflectively let out as he looked over at Michiru, who mustered as much confidence as she could, punching her fist into her hand "Yeah! We'd all stand a much better chance at becoming heroes if we could learn a thing or two from you, sensei!"
It took everything Zelgadis had to keep from blanching at his furry companion's little lie about becoming heroes but the pigtailed young man seemed to buy it. His eyes glimmering with excitement, Ranma nodded as he looked the four over again "I'm a pretty busy guy, you know, not just anyone can ask for my help. Tell ya what, I'll show you all a thing or two if you let me see what you got! Whaddya say?"
Michiru, like the other three, had come here expecting to practice some punches and kicks, pass the time and then bolt once enough time had passed, not get into a fight with an actual master. Looking at the clock high on the wall behind Ranma, then at the other three, Michiru firmly nodded when no one objected and said "Okay, we'll do it!"
"Today just got a whole lot more interesting! I look forward to it!" Ranma exclaimed.
As Ranma finished talking, Emeralda couldn't help but notice the master's gaze linger on her for just a moment before Ranma turned his attention to the last two standing off to the side of the lighters, saying "And you two must be the escorts. A shame Sanada-sensei couldn't be the one to come, no offense."
Majestic theatrically took off his crimson wizard's hat and bowed, saying "Enma Kannagi, the Magic Hero Majestic, at your service. None taken, I realize I am a last-minute substitute so it's to be expected. I will fulfill my duties regardless." Then motioning to Sakon, Enma said "And this is third year UA student-"
"Sakon Yoshimura! The Ant Hero Formidable, sensei! I am SO excited to meet you! Please let me spar with you!" Sakon eagerly said, fidgeting like a hyperactive fangirl.
His cocky smirk shifting into something of a genuine smile, Ranma patted the girl on the head "Its pretty rare to meet someone so excited about martial arts, especially at your age. Sure, once we've warmed up and I've put my students through some practice and I've worked out with those four, we'll see what you can do."
Almost whimpering with joy, the normally brash ant girl nodded furiously as she said "Thank you so much sensei! I won't let you down!"
"See that you don't, future hero!" Ranma responded with a wink before turning to the others "Alright, lets warm up first! I want to see twenty laps around the dojo, go!"
Hina and Mob, already expecting the instruction, darted off to begin their laps, the other four taking a few more moments to pick up on what was going on. By the time they were all done, Xellos came up walking limp, complaining about his ankle and asking to be excused. Ranma gave him a long hard look before reluctantly agreeing to let the purple-haired mazuku take a seat beside the standing Enma and Sakon against the wall by the doorway.
After setting Mob and Hina to practicing katas, Ranma had the three remaining healthy newcomers line up in front of him in the far corner of the dojo. As they stood there, Michiru looked about at how empty the place looked with just them there, prompting her to ask the master "Don't you usually have more students than this, Saotome-sensei? As well known as Sakon made it sound, it made me think this place would be jumping, you know?"
"Heh, fair point! Truth is, I am pretty busy but when Hina-chan told me the new lighters were coming, I cleared out most of my schedule for ya!" Ranma answered, his voice a bit softer than his earlier bravado.
"But why? What makes us any different?" said Michiru, a questioning eyebrow raised.
"Because" Zelgadis answered for the pig-tailed martial artist "He knows." Crossing his arms, the chimera ventured a guess "Your lighter too, aren't you, Ranma?"
The girl's eyes shot from the chimera to the tall handsome master, who just grinned "Ya got me! Yeah, it's true, I got whisked away just like you all. Whenever new ones come by, I like to size them up and help out any way I can, ya know? The least I can do for all Sanada-sensei has done for me!"
Looking around again, seeing the large property in a new light, Michiru gasped "Sanada-sensei did all this for you!?"
Zelgadis scoffed at the notion "Not that manipulative prick…"
"Hey now! The guys not the warmest you'll ever meet but he does care!" Ranma shot back, a bit louder than he intended, before dropping his voice again "And he did help me get started once I was done at UA, it's true, but I did the rest myself! It was pretty easy, really. Martial arts in this world has been dying for awhile with quirks and all. Didn't take long for me to establish myself as the greatest around!"
For the first time since arriving, Emeralda spoke up "So then, what is your assessment of us, Saotome-sensei?"
"Heh, straight to the point, aren't ya, Kasim-san?" Pausing to take one last look, his hand cupping his chin as he pondered, Ranma answered moments later "Let's see, I can tell that Greywards-san here fights with a weapon, probably a sword if I were to guess."
The chimera just hmphed and glanced away as the martial artist continued "You two though, not so much, no weapons for you. You each have seen combat but it's like night and day."
"Wha, what does that mean?" Michiru asked, afraid of where this was going.
"Well, without knowing what abilities you have, I can't be much more specific but Kasim-san here, I can tell she's been in a lot more fights than you have Kagemori-san." As Michiru slumped her shoulders at being called out, Ranma added, a tinge of excitement in his voice "And, am I right in guessing you've been trained in the art, Kasim-san?"
Michiru and Zelgadis both looked at the greenette in the middle, though it was the furry one who spoke "Is that true, Emmy?"
Nodding, but keeping her focus on the smiling pig-tailed master in front of her, Emeralda explained "Yes, I was taught by my…friend. I asked him to teach me his style so I could hide my abilities."
Ranma's smile grew as Emeralda spoke, his excitement palpable. When she was done, he pounded his fist into his other hand "Alright! Let me see some of your abilities, all three of you. Then, I can really show you the value of my training!"
Sensing the want to fight practically radiating off the martial artist, Zelgadis skeptically asked "You have any idea what we can do? This place looks so nice, you sure you want to ruin it?"
Cracking his knuckles, his spirit not at all dampened by Zelgadis' attempt at a reality check, Ranma answered dismissively "Man, I train heroes. Collateral damage is part of the game. Just know that I don't plan to seriously injure any of you! Now, show me what you've got!"
(X)
"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" Jun asked, annoyance and surprise clear in his voice as he spoke into his phone "Hitomi, they're going to be going live soon, I can't just pull Aizawa aside now and tell him you have quote a bad feeling about his students unquote. You know how he is; he hates talking to the media and telling him something so vague will just piss him off." Said Jun, standing in the hallway adjunct the reception hall where the press conference was about to take place.
"I know! I'm sorry! It's just…something is really off and I wish had something more concrete for you, just please try to tell him as soon as you can, ok?" came Hitomi's pleading, almost panicked voice through the phone.
Poking his head into the hall and seeing all the press already assembled, it didn't look very likely to the former rescue hero that he'd be able to fulfill the request. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."
"That's all I can ask, thank you, Jun. Good luck out there!"
Sighing, Jun closed his eyes as he rubbed his still throbbing head with his free hand. "You too, Hitomi. These four new ones seem pretty stubborn. But if anyone can reach them, it's you."
"Heh, we'll find out soon enough. Bye, Jun."
"Take care, Hitomi."
(X)
Dropping into a defensive stance, Ranma beckoned the three lighters with his outstretched hand. Michiru took a moment to glance at the clock on the wall above the entrance. Still early afternoon, which meant they still needed to kill more time. Looking back at Emeralda and Zelgadis, who each nodded, the tanuki girl balled her hands into fists to steel herself. "Alright! You want us, you got us!" She yelled as she leapt forward.
As the tanuki girl drew closer, she enlarged her reared back fist at the last moment, hoping to catch the pig-tailed martial artist off guard. She had no such luck. The master fighter had remained perfectly still as the massive arm flew ever closer to his still grinning face. Then, in one smooth motion, Ranma grabbed hold of Michiru's gigantic arm, and shifted his center of gravity forward, as he spun around. This turned the furry girl's attack into a throw that sent Michiru flying in the air, arcing back into the ground, where she smashed hard on her back. The tanuki girl's arm shrunk back to normal as she gasped for breath, the air completely knocked out of her.
With Michiru on her back, it gave Zelgadis a clear shot with the Freeze Arrow he'd cast and was holding for the chance to shot. With Ranma's back to him, it seemed like the perfect chance fire. Letting loose the icy projectile, the chimera frowned as he watched Ranma already leaping to the right to avoid the spell, which hit the wall, freezing a portion of it on impact.
Sensing a counterattack, Zelgadis watched as Ranma hit the ground rolling, using his momentum to quickly pivot to face the chimera and launch right at him. Falling backward, the rock encrusted sorcerer-swordsmen let loose a weak wind spell he had begun casting as Ranma recovered. The attack caught the master martial artist square in the torso, inflicting no damage but did send him flying backward into the air.
Emeralda took this chance to shift her legs into springs, shooting herself at the airborne Ranma. Shifting her arms into metal rods, the greenette had planned to clothline their opponent to knock the wind out of him just as had happened to Michiru. Instead, to her shock, Ranma was able to catch her arms despite the speed she approached him at, using them to spin himself around and above her like a gymnast. As Ranma completed the spin, he stretched out his leg just as his momentum was at its strongest, catching Emeralda in the middle of her back and sending her crashing hard to the floor, stomach first.
The impact stung hard, but Emeralda could still move, and she rolled to the side as Ranma landed in the space she had just occupied, his cocky smirk appearing even larger. Zelgadis again had a spell ready, but Ranma was having none of it this time. Before the chimera could release the weak lightning spell he had conjured, the pig-tailed master had closed the gap between them and punched him square in the gut. Zelgadis doubled over, falling to the side as he, too gasped for air, out of the fight.
Bringing himself back up to his full height and turning, Ranma could see Michiru was slow to get up and Emeralda was up on one knee, her face twisted in pain but a fire still burning in her amber orbs. In that moment, the two locked eyes. The grimace on the greenette vanished, replaced with a thin line of determination. As the girl brought herself up to a standing position, the smirk on the martial artist's face disappeared as he settled into an open attack stance, his face now focused.
Still on one knee, and wholly embarrassed by the quick defeat, Michiru looked up to see Ranma and Emeralda now facing off. Staring in utter fascination, the tanuki girl watched her friend crossed her arms over her chest. As the greenette did so, the clamps on her arms unlocked and fell to the ground. In one smooth motion, Emeralda threw off her scarf and settled into a stance of her own, one arm out front, hand open and loose while the other raised behind her in a fist as she began lightly bouncing forward and backward on her feet.
By this point everyone in the room had their attention on the impending fight. Zelgadis was able to watch, if still having a hard time breathing. Hina and Mob had stopped practicing their forms and were enthralled not to mention Enma, Sakon and even Xellos had hobbled over to watch. The two seemed to be waiting for a sign to start and after a few more moments of building tension, got it in the form of a sneeze from the purple-haired mazuku.
Before Xellos had finished the involuntary action, the two combatants had charged at one another. Much to Ranma's shock, it was Emeralda who was upon him much quicker than he expected, unleashing a flurry of kicks and short jabs he was having trouble keeping up with. The blows were much heavier than the short girl's frame would imply as well, which worried Ranma somewhat when she went in for a headbutt. Emeralda had left herself open as she went for the attack though and the master martial artist used it to get a few quick jabs to her mid-section, causing her to abort the headbutt and fall back to create some separation between them.
Now in a defensive stance as he and Emeralda began circling one another, Ranma took the breather to compliment his opponent "Impressive! I admit you caught me off guard. I underestimated you, Kasim-san! I won't do it again!" With that, the pig-tailed master pulled out a small flask he had kept tied to his belt. Everyone but Hina and Mob looked very confused as Ranma popped the corked top and poured the contents over his head.
Even the stoic Emeralda couldn't hide her shock at what happened to her opponent. Several others gasped and Michiru called out "What the hell!?" Instead of the tall, muscular black-haired martial artist, Ranma now appeared to be a much shorter, busty red-headed woman.
The smirk briefly returning to the now female Ranma, she spoke in a much higher voice "What 'cha think of my quirk? May not look like much but I'm a lot faster like this!"
To the side, Sakon could be heard muttering as she starred below Ranma's neck "Sure as hell looks like a lot to me…" A comment that elicited some rather awkward expressions from those within earshot.
Emeralda, for her part, had recovered quickly from the unexpected change in her opponent and much to Ranma's disappointment, offered no verbal response to her proclamation of greater speed. Instead, Emeralda offered another charge, wanting to keep the initiative in the fight. However, Ranma wasn't going to be surprised twice, moving to counter by shifting to the side and sweeping her leg forward.
Emeralda was able to leap over and forward to avoid the sweep. As she landed, she twisted back toward Ranma, spinning several times before striking with a back-handed fist with all the momentum she had built up. Unfortunately for her, Ranma had had time to turn to meet the counterattack and was able to block the blow. The next thing Emeralda knew, she was under a constant barrage of rapid-fire punches that now found Emeralda on the defensive, and not at all succeeding in blocking all the blows.
To try and get away from the assault, Emeralda leap back, high in the air, planning to land at an angle to shoot forward for another attack. Instead, the tan-skinned girl found herself beset by Ranma again, who had matched the greenette's jump with one of her own. Ranma's however, had much more forward momentum, which let her close in fast and was able to catch Emeralda's arms. This time though, Ranma used her grip to leverage her feet forward into Emeralda's midsection. Ranma then let go of her opponent's arms as she pushed off with her feet, sending Emeralda straight up into the air and smashing into the ceiling as Ranma spun in midair to land on her feet.
As Emeralda came falling herself, she was too shocked from the upward impact to guard from Ranma's punch that came from her position on the ground. The master martial artist swung up and caught his green-haired opponent square in the gut, and finally, like Zelgadis and Michiru before her, Emeralda had the wind knocked out of her as her body briefly lifted up again from the impact before completely her descent to the ground with a heavy thud.
Immediately, the defeated Emeralda curled in a ball as she struggled for breath, Michiru rushing over to her to see if she was alright. A clapping could be heard as Enma stepped forward "Your reputation is well earned, Saotome-san, I must say! Three opponents using their quirks and you took them down barely breaking a sweat!"
Zelgadis was less impressed, glancing down at the still struggling greenette before looking back at Ranma, a burning anger in his eyes as he gritted out "I hope your satisfied…"
Entirely unfazed by the venom in the chimera's words, Ranma never lost his smirk as he proudly replied "I am, actually! I learned a lot from you three! And don't worry about Kasim-san, she's pretty damn tough." Then, seeing said girl had managed to sit up with Michiru's help, inquired "How long have ya been studying anyway?"
"I've *cough* *cough* been practicing for a little over a *cough* a year now." Emeralda managed to wheeze out.
"Ha! Really? Just a year? Now I really am impressed! Ya got a lot of potential, and I like your style! You'll have to teach me some day." Ranma eagerly responded, pumping her fist. Ranma's words surprised the tan-skinned girl, whose eyes widened at the praise and simply nodded at the dojo master's request dumbly.
As Sakon ran up to congratulate Ranma, Michiru whispered to Emeralda "You ok? You hit the ceiling pretty hard, you good to keep going?"
Zelgadis was now hovering over the two of them, clearly listening in as the greenette looked up and nodded at the two of them. As her breathing returned to normal, Emeralda quietly reassured her companions "Do not worry, I have had worse, and I heal quickly. I will be ready for later."
The three lighters' attention was drawn to the figures a few feet away as Sakon finished her plea "…so, is it my turn now? I'm sure I'll give you a better fight than those three! Unlike them, I've integrated my quirk into my martial arts! I'm ready!"
Ignoring the death glares she could feel baring down on the two of them, Ranma laughed as she rubbed the back of her head "Yeah, yeah, I can see what ya got, just give me a minute to change back, ok?"
As Ranma turned to head to a nearby restroom down the way from the dojo's entrance, Sakon began pouting "Aww, why can't you fight me like that? You fought Emeralda as a girl!"
Halfway out the entrance, Ranma called back "Simple! I don't need to!"
Turning away in a huff, Sakon began grumbling to herself as Mob, flanked by Hina, came up to the now standing trio of lighters, an admiring smile of his face "That was great, Kasim-san!"
Emeralda raised a questioning eyebrow at the plain young man's enthusiasm. Zelgadis picked up on the greenette's confusion and asked in her place "What do you mean? The fight didn't last long at all."
"You don't understand, Greywards-san! We've been coming to the dojo for a couple of years now, we've seen a lot of challengers and potential students come and fight the master. Only one or two have lasted as long as she did!" Mob gushed, much to Emeralda's embarrassment.
"He's saying you did ok" Hina rather curtly clarified, managing to compliment the green-haired girl while still sounding wholly unimpressed.
"Gee, thanks." Michiru answered dryly "Shouldn't you two be training or something?"
A smirk played on the blue-haired telekinetic's face as she glanced up at the clock "Yeah, I suppose we should be. If you all are done though, you should probably go get changed." As she finished her thought, Hina focused back on the three in front of her, offering a wink.
With a now male again Ranma re-entering the dojo, Michiru responded, a bit louder than was necessary "Yeah, your right Hina, we would like to get changed after a fight like that!"
Sakon and Ranma both paused to glance over, confused looks on their faces as Sakon started stretching. More importantly, it drew Xellos' attention and having gotten it, Zelgadis let out a rather pronounced yawn, apologizing afterward for again drawing attention from others in the room. After getting a nod from the purple-haired mazuku, the three gathered their bags and stepped out of the dojo to change.
After a few moments, as Enma watched Ranma and Sakon getting into position to square off, he noticed them start to sway before each outright fell to the matted floor, out cold. Two more thuds informed the pro hero that Hina and Mob had also fallen unconscious. Starting to feel drowsy himself, the pro hero stumbled forward, trying to keep his mind clear enough to figure out what was going on. Then, turning, the magic hero saw the "injured" Xellos on his feet and walking with ease up to him. Struggling to stay awake, Enma slapped himself in the face, allowing himself to focus enough to ask, "What are you doing?"
A predatory smile spread across the mazuku's face as he said, "Normally I'd tell you that was a secret but for you…" then, leaning in to whisper in the blindfolded hero's ear "For you, Majestic, I think I can let it slip that you've just had a little taste of real magic. Sweet dreams."
When Xellos pulled back, he was treated to the clear shock on Enma's face despite his eyes being concealed. The moment was fleeting however, because a moment later, the pro, too, had succumb to the sleep spell and had fallen to the ground in a deep slumber.
A few minutes later, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda appeared back in the dojo, dressed as they first did when they arrived in this world. After giving Xellos a few minutes to change himself and a profuse apology from Michiru that fell on sleeping ears, the group departed into the city, visions of home dancing in their heads.
(X)
Standing in front of the Anything Goes main entrance, Hitomi thought she was ready for whatever greeted her when she got here. The whole trip the counselor had been going through scenarios in her head and she felt pretty confident she was ready for most situations she may encounter upon her arrival. She was wrong.
Having been to the dojo to check in on Ranma many times before, Hitomi was quite familiar with the grounds so knew where to go to get to the dojo itself. The fact that she heard nothing at all as she approached was her first sign something was off.
Entering the dojo, Hitomi found all its occupants laying on the ground, eyes closed and unmoving. Her mind rushing to the worst possible conclusion, if briefly, Hitomi ran over to the closest body, an oddly dressed man with a blindfold. Surely the hero Jun had procured for the lighter's escort. It only took a moment for Hitomi to check and find the man was breathing, allowing her to calm down a bit.
Checking others, it seemed they were all sleeping. When the counselor approached Mob and Hina, she noticed the dark-blue haired girl starting to stir. Rushing to her side, Hitomi brought the girl's head up to rest in her lap as she called out "Hina-chan! Are you alright? What happened! Who did this to you!"
Raising her arm to block the light as she slowly opened her eyes, Hina sounded less than pleased when she said "Not so loud, Hitomi! Its ok, calm down." Then, opening her eyes enough to see the extremely worried state Hitomi was in, mellowed her tone as she continued, "Don't worry, everyone is just asleep, they'll wake up soon if I am."
Looking only slightly relived but still on the verge of tears, Hitomi asked again "But who would put you all to sleep, Hina-chan? How do you know everything's fine?"
Guilt began to rake the telekinetic and she decided to come clean "It was Xellos, he put us to sleep so all the newbies could go out and try and catch All for One. I…may have helped them."
Upon hearing Hina's words, Hitomi slowly looked up, a horrified look on her face. After a few moments of silence, Hina became increasingly worried. Finally, just as Hina was about to ask if she was ok, Hitomi uttered words the teenaged telekinetic had never heard her say before. "Oh shit."
(X)
Unfortunately for the four rogue lighters, they may have been in the right city but Yokohama wasn't exactly a small town. With no money or ID's, the only way they were going to get anywhere without drawing attention to themselves using their abilities was to move on foot. Even walking, the four of them still drew a fair number of stares for the very hero-like dress several of them were in.
Michiru tried her best to take less populated routes when navigating the city but it slowed them down even more as they meandered their way into Camino Ward. The sun had set awhile ago and only the fact that the person they were following hadn't moved in a while told the tanuki girl that the show hadn't started yet. As the group drew close to their target, they were passing behind some buildings to keep out of sight when Michiru's ear twitched as she heard voices coming from the narrow path between what looked like an abandoned warehouses. "No one will see us from back here. There! We should be able to get a look through that window." A male voice was heard.
After abruptly stopping, the other three passed Michiru before coming to a stop themselves, Zelgadis turning, annoyance in his voice as he said, "What the hell are you doing Michiru? We're almost there, aren't we?"
A confused look played on the furry member of the quartet as she replied, "Didn't the rest of you hear that just now?"
"Hear what?" Xellos questioned back.
"Shhh! Wait a sec!" Michiru quickly answered, her ears lengthening to those of a rabbit.
"One second, I'll make a night vision scope." Michiru heard a feminine voice say.
"Something's going on down that narrow alleyway. I think we should check it out." Michiru reported, some urgency to her voice.
Zelgadis was having none of it, a scowl on his face "What are you talking about? Isn't our target still a few blocks away? We need to move!"
"The hero we're tracking is a few blocks away, that doesn't mean the guy we're after is! How do we know this isn't where they are going?" Michiru shot back.
"How do we know it is? I agree with Zelgadis." Emeralda said evenly.
"They were talking about a night-vision scope! They're clearly prepping for something! Please, just give me a moment!" Michiru pleaded.
The mention of the scope surprised Emeralda, making her friend's suggestion more plausible. "If that's true, then maybe it is worth checking, Michiru."
Sighing, the chimera frowned as he said "Fine, but you're not going alone, it's all or nothing, right?" As he finished Zelgadis turned to face Emeralda and Xellos, the former nodding and the ladder shrugging his shoulders.
"Thanks, guys, let's go!" the tanuki girl exclaimed as the group moved to enter the narrow path between the buildings.
With Michiru in the lead, Zelgadis behind her, Emeralda in third and Xellos bringing up the rear, the four began squeezing their way forward single file down the alley. As they approached, the voices Michiru had heard earlier became clear to the rest as more talking could be heard.
"Hold steady!" one male said.
"Don't lean forward too much. We may have to run at a moment's notice." Another said.
After that a third voice said "Iida, can you move back alittle?"
The second, sterner voice, presumably this Iida, replied "Tell us what you see inside. Quickly. And be quiet!"
The third voice, sounding abit annoyed, replied "Got it." Then after a brief pause, spoke again "The place is pretty trashed. Doesn't look like…Uh…Ahaha!"
The first voice, concerned, said "Hey, are you ok?"
A fourth male voice called out "What's wrong? You weren't spotted, were you?"
Before an answer could be spoken by any of those scouting, Michiru, now close enough to see the four teenage boys and one teenage girl cut in "Yes, yes you were. Mind telling us what you're looking at?"
The young man with unkept dark green hair and a clearly fake small black beard, standing on top of another teen seemed to panic and almost lost his balance, yelping in surprise. The young man wearing a poorly placed black wig and featuring a scar around his left eye supporting the jittery shorter one kept his cool, turning his head to face the new arrivals. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the scarred guy finally said "Who are you? You're not villains, you would have just attacked us. Heroes?"
Before Michiru could answer, Zelgadis shot back "Hey, she asked you a question first! And no, we're not…heroes." That last word spoken with a good deal of venom.
"Vigilantes then?" The girl standing past the second two boys suggested.
"Damnit, we don't have time for this, guys!" the red-haired young man with the spikey teeth frantically blurted out. "Midoriya, look inside! I think there are Nomus in there!"
"Hey, don't ignore us! What the hell are No-" Zelgadis challenged before being cut off by the booming sound of a massive hole being smashed into the front of the building the teenagers were trying to spy on.
A flurry of activity could be heard through the dust and debris from the building's partial demolition. Looking down at her phone, Michiru saw that the hero they were tracking was now effectively right on top of them. "Heh, looks like I was right Zelgadis." Michiru boasted despite the destruction.
Letting out a low growl in response, the chimera looked past his furry compatriot and called out "Hey, kid, whats going on over there, can you see anything?"
The green-haired Midoriya turned back to look through the window of the damaged warehouse. It was still a bit hazy from the dust in the air but he could clearly make out the huge form of the rookie hero Mt. Lady, whom even while on all fours was as tall as the multi-story building, a weird person with an exposed brain squirming in her hand. On the ground in front of her, several other heroes could be seen by Midoriya, who excitedly called out "They're heroes! Theres Mt. Lady, and Gang Orca, Tiger, plus Best Jeanist and... oh my gosh, I think I see two underground heroes, Gargoyle and Shadow Rider!"
Helping the red-head down from his shoulders, the tall stern-looking young man said "If the heroes are here, then they clearly had a plan ahead of time and have things well in hand. We needn't have worried about the situation!" Then turning to face the four who had caught them "You on the other hand, if you're not heroes, villains or vigilantes, who are you?"
As Midoriya got down from the other young man's shoulders, Michiru thought about how to answer that question, looking back at the other three behind her before turning back, a determined look on her face "People here call us lighters. We're here looking for someone."
"Lighters?" Midoriya questioned "You mean the people Luminaire saves? Wouldn't that mean you live at UA? I thought I knew all the lighters…"
"Oh yes, you may have missed it since you were unconscious until today." Iida replied with confidence "Apparently while we were off at training camp, there was another lighters incident and four people appeared at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. Am I to assume then that you four are those four poor souls?"
Michiru nodded and the red head said "Man, that's crazy! Who the hell are you looking for that would bring you all the way out here?"
Anger dripping from his voice, Zelgadis answered "The one who is truly responsible for us being here. We were told his name is All for One."
The Midoriya's eyes nearly bugged out of his head upon hearing that name. Before he could respond though, Michiru spoke up in hushed tones "I hear footsteps! There is someone in that building!"
A conversation among the heroes was interrupted when the new arrival began to speak, his words smooth, and confident, as if no one in the world could touch him. As he spoke, the lighters, students and heroes alike could hear him say "I'm sorry Tiger. But Ragdoll's Quirk was so useful. I just had to take it. How could I not?"
The nine lighters and students froze in place as the heroes called for a light before the voice continued "Since my body was mostly destroyed, I haven't been able to stock up on quirks."
A moment later, the speaker had stepped into the light. Tall and imposing, wearing a business suit and with a large black helmet replete with various tubes completely covering his head, stood a man few had laid eyes on in five years. The veterans among the heroes sensed the danger, Best Jeanist immediately acting, wrapping the newcomer completely in threads from his clothes.
The rookie Mt. Lady, unaware of just how dangerous the man before them was, attempted to berate her unit's leader "What are you doing Best Jeanist? He could be a civilian!"
"NO!" Gargoyle angrily called out as he stepped forward baring his claws and his eyes glowing white "Your wrong Mt. Lady! That's no civilian! He's the worst of the worst and I've been looking for him for a long time…That's All for One!"
Hearing those hate filled words from the alleyway, the dark green-haired Midoriya tensed up as the color drained out of his face upon hearing the underground hero. The boy with the scar around his eye caught the terrified look on Midoriya's face as he asked "Midoriya…is everything ok?" Then the same young man looked past his classmate to see the four who had joined them in the alleyway.
What he saw was the opposite to his mortified classmate, the four lighters appearing to steel themselves. The rock-encrusted one especially looked like he was ready to tear someone's head off and sounded like it when he declared "Its him! He's here! I'll make him pay for dumping us in the crazy damned place!"
Pushing past Michiru, Midoriya and the scarred one it was Iida that grabbed the chimera as he said "Are you crazy! We can't go out there, let the heroes take care of it!"
Struggling to push off the stern looking boy wrapped around his waist, Zelgadis yelled down at him "I will not leave to others what I can do myself! Come on guys!"
Michiru, Emeralda and Xellos began to move forward when everyone's attention was drawn skyward as everything suddenly became bright as day. A concussive forced followed, blowing everyone to the ground as more of the building they had been peering through collapsed along with parts of the alleyway. The sounds of unmitigated destruction with nearby buildings completely leveled filled the nine people's ears. Then, the light faded away, replaced by what seemed to Michiru the darkest night sky she had ever seen as the dust clouded the stars on an already moonless night. Seeing bodies lying around her, unmoving, the tanuki girl began to comprehend that maybe they had made the gravest of mistakes coming to Camino Ward this night.
(X)
As promised, no more dancing around the edges, as our leads stumble into an epic showdown for the ages. I admit that this chapter required some revision when I discovered during research that I had mis-remembered some details of MHA canon. With any luck, I won't make the same mistake again, especially since things will start to change from here. I am unsure just how big or how long this next chapter will be but if it begins to run long I refuse to spilt it up so be prepared for a long one if it comes to it.
Our latest and last lighter to be introduced is from Ranma ½. Back in the early days of internet fanfiction, poor Ranma got sent everywhere and did it all. Back then it was pretty much Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Ranma who got the most attention and I felt I would be remiss if he wasn't included.
This, of course, assumes I won't get sick, again. It's funny, we're years into a pandemic and despite having a public facing job, I was able to stay healthy. Until my child started daycare. Now it's almost impossible to not get sick nearly monthly. Sometimes with two at once! Still, I love him completely and very much hope that once he is old enough, and after I've shoved all my favorite games and anime down his throat, that he will appreciate this work. Plus, I managed to damage my eye leaving me wearing an eyepatch for a week. Its…not been boring this last month.
I, of course, hope that you, too, have enjoyed this work thus far as well. I have enjoyed telling it, even with my uneasiness from my inexperience and long-standing fear of creative expression. I hope you will stick with it as things move forward, though more importantly, I hope you enjoy it. Whether you comment or review is entirely up to you. I have never asked for input and am perfectly happy if no one has anything to say. As I've said before, I have a clear plan for where this story is going and it will be seen to the end as best as I can tell it.
Take care out there. Avoid daycares if you can and see you next month!