Well, we're ending this arc on a short and sweet note, along with a trailer to what's ahead for "Through the Rough"! Thank you all so much for the continued support for this story! It's because of you that we're as far as we are now, finally having caught up to where the story stands on Ao3.
I don't want to keep you all waiting, so let's get into this chapter to close out the Two Heroes Arc! Enjoy!
"Ah!" Izuku gasped out upon emerging from the rubble. His dress shirt had gotten torn off, and the Full Gauntlet had been broken. But he was in a much better state than Wolfram and his minions, who hung weakly from metal poles and scrap strewn about.
"Deku!" a voice called out, getting his attention as he saw both Melissa and Rebecca coming over to him.
"Hey..." he utttered, wincing as he managed to stand up, "Are you two okay?" he asked in concern.
"We should be asking you that..." Rebecca retorted, letting out a giggle.
"I'm fine..." her best friend assured, "But, uh..." he stammered, "I kinda broke your Full Gauntlet, Melissa..." he pointed out as he looked at his right arm, which was now barren, "Sorry..." he apologized sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it!" Melissa reassured as she giggled as well, "In the end, it did its job and helped you win with Uncle Might," she pointed out.
"Yeah," Rebecca agreed, "Thank you, Melissa," she said in gratitude, getting the inventor's attention as she blinked in surprise, "You saved us," she noted with a smile.
"Oh, uh... I wouldn't..." Melissa tried to say, only to stop herself and grin, "Thank you," she said, sharing another giggle with the Leaper Quirk user. Izuku looked back down to see that the others were regrouping with the attack over. Everything was seemingly settled. "Oh, Deku!" Melissa yelped, getting his attention, "Did you give Rebecca the gift?" she inquired.
"Huh?" Rebecca uttered out, raising an eyebrow as her best friend panicked with widened eyes, "What gift?" she asked.
"Uh, well, the thing is..." Izuku started to say as he rummaged through his pants pocket, only to feel something off. He pulled out what looked to be a crushed cube with a heart-shaped mark in pink upon it. "Oh no..." he uttered in realization.
"Wait, that looks like..." Rebecca started to note, recognizing the shape as the same device Labilia carried.
"Rebecca, I'm so sorry..." her best friend apologized, causing her to blink in surprise "The truth is..." he started to admit, thinking back to when he had gotten the crushed object.
FLASHBACK
"There's also something else I wanna give you," Melissa told Izuku after explaining the capabilities of the Full Gauntlet, making him blink in surprise.
"Another support item?" the freckled teen guessed, seeing her push aside a couple of her framed pictures on the shelves before pulling out something. It was a small, cube-shaped object with a heart marking in pink. The One For All inheritor immediately recognized it.
"Isn't that the same thing Christy had?" he inquired, seeing Melissa come over with it as she nodded.
"It's called a B-Cube," she told him, "They're actually rarely sold around the world," she pointed out, "Anyways, this little device can be a phone, a camera, and a way to watch things online all in one!" she listed off in explanation.
"Whoa, that's incredible..." Izuku admitted, blinking in amazement, "Do... you want me to have it?" he assumed. To his surprise, Melissa shook her head.
"This is for Rebecca," she said, "I saw how frustrated she was with that girl from earlier, so I figured why not give her an edge?" she noted with a sheepish grin.
"Oh... well... that's really nice of you..." the One For All inheritor noted, "I'm sure Rebecca will love this," he mentioned confidently.
"Tell her that it's a gift from you," Melissa insisted to his surprise, "I'm sure that'll make her love it even more," she added as she gave off a giggle. A blush streaked across Izuku's cheeks as he held the B-Cube in his hands. He wasn't sure what to think of this proposal. But for some reason, he did want to take a chance like Melissa was insisting.
END FLASHBACK
"This... was Melissa's?" Rebecca inquired after learning the story, holding the broken B-Cube in her hands.
"I'm so sorry I broke it..." her best friend apologized, causing her to perk up, "I should've been more careful and gave it to you after the party, but-" His muttering was stopped the moment the Leaper Quirk user moved closer and had her lips touch his rather briefly before pulling back. He blinked in surprise. "And... you kissed me..." he uttered out, blushing a bright red, "Wh-Wha...?" he stammered in shock. However, his worries faded when he saw Rebecca give off a cute smile.
"You know..." she began, "it doesn't matter to me whether or not it's actually a gift from you," she noted, "Because honestly... you deserve a lot for what you've done for me... and everyone around you," she pointed out.
"I..." Izuku uttered, completely stunned by what his best friend was saying, "Thank you..." he finally said, chuckling a little. Melissa watched on with a smile. "I... uh..." the One For All inheritor continued nervously as he blushed, "I really like you..." he confessed. The wind waved through Rebecca's hair as she smiled back at him.
"I really like you, too," she admitted, sharing another small laugh with him. The two of them then awkwardly moved closer, stuttering as to who would make the next move. Ultimately, they both closed their eyes and shared a nice, tender kiss, with Izuku holding onto Rebecca's right shoulder, while she had her hand in his hair at the back of his head.
"Well, whaddaya know..." All Might remarked from the crater he and David were in, "Seems Young Midoriya and Young Bluegarden are more than just friends after all," he realized, letting off a chuckle. The two released themselves from each other, sharing a happy smile. The day was saved. And with that, a new relationship had blossomed.
"All of the data's been delivered as requested," a short man with a cephalopod head wearing an attendant's kimono said in a Japanese-styled room, "We should be getting Nino and the others back in the fold shortly," he mentioned. The person he was speaking to was a curvaceous woman of average height, having dark blue hair in a courtesan hairstyle, but with her forelocks parted over her right eye. She wore a rather sultry, red kimono with a splotch pattern, a brown belt with gold arrows pointing in opposite directions, a butterfly-styled choker, and a white silk scarf that floats around her in the shape of a heart. To the right of her head, she bore two flowers, one red and one white, with gold ornaments while on her left were three gold beads. Additionally, she had a pair of gauntlets and was barefoot.
"Tell them to begin production as soon as possible," she advised, "And let them know I'll double their pay if they can finish within the month," she mentioned in request.
"As you wish... Madame Kurenai," the attendant responded with a bow, turning around and leaving the room. The curvaceous woman chuckled, looking at images from security footage of I-Island. She saw the U.A. students battling against both the villains and the security bots. But her focus was mainly upon Homura.
"I think it's about I bring my beloved daughter under my wing..." she decided, letting off an evil grin.
And that ends that! A big IzuBecca moment followed up with a tease to a future villain, Madame Kurenai! We'll see what she's up to later on down the road, but now it's time for us to get into Season 3, which'll start hopefully in two weeks!
For the record, I am a bit nervous about the endeavor ahead. Season 3 has a lot of key elements, and I'm going to be adding in quite a few story threads while also changing some things. Not to mention, the chapters will be a lot longer than before. So I'm looking to likely post on a bi-weekly status on Fridays at first, but then it'll convert to weekly over time.
I'm going to be working on these chapters in tandem with my scheduled chapter updates, so that's why I don't expect them to come as quickly. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there! For now, please enjoy this trailer for Season 3 of "Through the Rough"!
TRAILER
Opens at the League of Villains' hideout, with Drakken Joe standing up from his seat to address those in the bar.
Drakken Joe: Here's the deal...
Cut to the villains standing at the cliff, watching over the summer camp where the U.A. Hero Course students are training.
Drakken Joe: We've got ourselves two targets.
The scene changes to Izuku Midoriya and Rebecca Bluegarden standing in front of the door to the former's apartment. They share a smile before Rebecca leaves, having put the broken B-Cube upon a necklace around her neck.
Drakken Joe: Shigaraki's group goes after theirs... And we go after ours...
We watch as Drakken is atop a building, being approached by Jaguar as the wind rushes through their hair.
Jaguar: We need to talk...
Drakken smirks in response.
IN TWO WEEKS
The scene shifts to Mandalay and Tiger battling against Spinner and Magne. The former uses her Quirk to relay a message to everyone in the forest.
Mandalay: Emergency alert! Villains have infiltrated the forest!
We cut to Maria Slime stretching her right leg to try and attack Rebecca and Kyoka Jiro. Meanwhile, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugo and Homura Kogetsu are in battle against Moonfish, struggling to deal with his bladed teeth. Weisz Steiner equips his Arsenal armor before landing a right hook onto Laguna Husert, and Shiki Granbell takes down a rampaging Nomu that was after Yosetsu Awase and Momo Yaoyorozu.
Drakken Joe: It doesn't matter whether or not these kids have some experience against bad guys like Stain, Jamilov, or any other useless piece of shit...
The scene changes to Izuku defending Kota Izumi from Muscular, while Rebecca finds her mouth suddenly covered by Daichi's right hand, as he had emerged from the ground. We cut to Poseidon Shura attacking Shiki as he screams in pain, Fie getting into a sniping position as he aims his rifle, and Fumikage Tokoyami struggling to maintain control of a rampaging Dark Shadow.
Drakken Joe: They don't know the power of a real villain...
We cut to Drakken's blue ether lines spreading all along his body, with his skin becoming completely darkened. A series of bright Ether markings run along his body, while his hair became bright, almost crystalline, and he grew a long, reptilian tail. He grins wickedly as he glares down Izuku and Rebecca, who widen their eyes in terror.
THROUGH THE ROUGH
SEASON 3
STARING 6/3
END TRAILER
Thanks for reading up to now, everyone! I'm looking forward to showing you all what's next!