Welcome back to "Through the Rough", everyone! The school festival's about to get underway, but there's some danger of it getting canceled lurking on the horizon thanks to Gentle Criminal! Can Izuku and Rebecca stop him before it's too late?
Let's go ahead and find out!
THROUGH THE ROUGH
Staring at her phone, Kyoka couldn't help but feel worried. She had made three calls to Rebecca with fifteen minutes left before the start of the festival, and they all went straight to voicemail. She was ready to make a fourth.
"Jiro, are you alright?" Momo inquired upon approaching the Earphone Jack Quirk user alongside Homura.
"Uh, yeah…" she responded with a stutter, "Just wondering what's keeping Rebecca…" she noted, looking out the window for a moment, "I figured she and Midoriya be back a while ago if they were just getting rope and junk…" she pointed out additionally.
"It is a bit concerning…" Homura admitted.
"Still, I doubt she'll be gone much longer," Momo affirmed confidently, "We should get ourselves dressed like the others," she pointed out, looking over to those of the dance team, who were dressed in yellow suits.
"How very vibrant…" the Soul Blade Quirk user noted aloud.
"Jiro, are you ready to get dressed?" Momo inquired of the lead singer of the band, making her perk up.
"Y-Yeah, should be…" she stuttered in response, taking a deep breath, "You got it set up the way I wanted, right?" she presumed.
"Of course!" the Creation Quirk user assured with a smile.
"Man, I'm totally pumped for this!" Shiki exclaimed with clenched fists, "Let's do our best, everybody!" he insisted of his teammates.
"Yeah!" they yelled in agreement.
"Can't go fallin' behind those guys…" Eijiro noted from afar while gathering materials with the rest of the effects team, "Let's make sure this concert looks amazing!" he advised of his colleagues.
"Yeah!" Hanta agreed with a big grin.
"Hmph," Katsuki scoffed, glancing out the window for a moment.
'Where the hell are those lovebirds at?' he wondered inwardly, 'They're not the type to get here last-minute…' he noted on through his thoughts, narrowing his eyes, 'Something's wrong…' he concluded to himself.
OPENING
Insert "Fleeting Lullaby" by Ado
A spotlight shines upon a stage, where Kyoka, Rebecca, Momo and Homura are. Kyoka wields her bass, Rebecca's sitting at the drums, Momo readies her hands to play the keyboard, and Homura grips her electric guitar tightly. As Kyoka starts signing, more lights flash on, revealing the rest of Class 1-A as they're about to perform.
We cut to Shoto and Katsuki struggling with the provisional license course as Homura watches on alongside All Might and Endeavor. She glances toward the Flame Hero curiously, while a memory of Valkyrie crosses her mind. In the meantime, we get images of Madame Kurenai with her cronies, Garrot, Baku, and Nino; the latter of which appearing reluctant. There's also a shot of the current Shining Star Heroes, who're standing in front of the safe door found at the Hassaikai headquarters.
There's another scene of the League of Villains lurking in the shadows, with Dabi taking note of a particular news broadcast on a TV. Elsewhere, Shura finds himself being confronted by the Oceans 6. He sneers as he readies his Quirk, but is suddenly stopped when Nero appears behind him and slams his head into the ground. He goes through a flashback of his own where as a young boy, he was crying in the corner.
Next up, we see Izuku and Rebecca hopping around in pursuit of Gentle Criminal and La Brava as they bounce about on the way to U.A. Already there is Eri, who's with Mirio and the others who were a part of the raid mission. They and the rest of Class 1-A are about to perform as they head off to the stage inside Gym Gamma.
We go through several scenes of the class in separate groups, with Katsuki and Eijiro arguing over the special effects as the others sigh, Mina practicing the dancing with the class, especially Shiki as Ochaco watches on with a blank jealous stare, and Kyoka, Momo and Homura tuning their respective instruments. The Earphone Jack Quirk user worriedly looks at the clock, hoping that Izuku and Rebecca can make it in time.
As the opening winds down, we see shots of Deadend Crow, God Acnoella, Poseidon Nero, Saintfire Nox, Elsie Crimson, and finally, Tomura Shigaraki. We also get to see the lineup of the top ten pro heroes of Japan: Eraser, Kamui Woods, Crust, Holy, Mirko, Justice, Edgeshot, Hawks, and Endeavor. As the ceremony goes on, an ominous figure watches on curiously.
The song concludes with Izuku and Rebecca holding hands as they run ahead with smiles on their faces, heading for what they hope is a bright future.
END OPENING
"Whoa, holy crap!" Setsuna exclaimed as she, Tetsutetsu and Yosetsu entered the dressing room for those in the beauty contest, finding Itsuka and Kleene donning rather stunning blue and black dresses respectively, "I figured you'd kill it in a dress, Itsuka," the Lizard Tail Splitter Quirk user pointed out, "but I had no idea what a knockout Kleene was gonna be!" she mentioned as she looked over to the Wind Snatch Quirk user, "I mean, you're both gonna be making guys and girls fall head over heels today!" she confidently remarked.
"Thanks, Set," the Big Fist Quirk user replied gratefully, "Honestly, I was getting pretty nervous about doing this thing alone," she confessed, "but Kleene volunteering really got me pumped up," she pointed out.
"And we're both going to give it our all today, win or lose," her classmate confirmed, sharing a giggle with her.
"Both of you are lookin' good!" Tetsutetsu complimented.
"The black dress looks really sexy, too…" Setsuna added with a smirk, making Kleene blush a bright red before she held her cheeks in her hands.
"By the way, why did you end up entering the pageant, Kleene?" Yosetsu asked curiously, much to her surprise, "I mean…" he continued, glancing off to the side ashamedly, "I figured you were thinking this was a way to help make things right with everyone else at UA aside from us and the teachers…" he explained.
"Hey, Awase…" Itsuka uttered.
"No, he has a point," Kleene chimed in before the class representative could speak any further, "But I'm not doing this to get in good standing with everyone who still thinks of me as a villain," she confirmed, "In all honesty, I wanted the chance to show my talents to everyone…" she mentioned, placing her left hand over her heart, "No one's going to keep me down, because the wind will carry me forward," she declared. Her classmates all smiled at her.
"Well, chop-chop!" Setsuna insisted as she clapped, "You gotta get yourselves ready to knock their socks off!" she advised on.
"Don't forget, you've got some senior competition to look out for!" Yosetsu added aloud.
"We won't," Itsuka assured, turning to Kleene and holding her right fist out, "Win or lose, let's do our best," she insisted.
"Right!" the Wind Snatch Quirk user agreed, bumping her fist against hers to seal their vow. Just outside of the room, Kris cracked a small smile. He was happy that his sister was bonding so well with their classmates.
'I'll do my best today too, Kleene…' he declared inwardly. Elsewhere, a taxi was driving Mirio, Eri and Pino towards U.A.
"So we got Class A's concert at ten AM, then Class B's play at eleven…" the former listed off as he went through the brochure of events scheduled for the festival, "Then after chow time, we'll catch the beauty pageant!" he affirmed, "Hado's gonna be in it, along with Rutherford's sister!" he mentioned, looking back at Eri, "You excited?" he inquired of the little girl.
"Mm-hmm," she responded, though she didn't smile.
"I believe Mister Deku and Miss Becca's performance will be a tremendous success," the little android in her lap chimed in, "And there will be lots of other things that will be just as exciting!" she affirmed confidently. Back at the school, Mei was working on the finishing touches of her battle suit.
"Hatsume, you ought to get yourself cleaned up before the festival starts," Power Loader advised, while the Zoom Quirk user was wiping down her invention.
"Aw, don't worry about it!" she assured, "All this grease is just proof of my hard work!" she affirmed excitedly.
"Right…" her teacher responded, letting a drop of sweat roll down his head. He then went over to his personal workbench, picking up a couple of files there. A sheet of paper then fell onto the floor. "Ah, dammit…" he muttered, going over to pick it up. He flipped it over, blinking curiously before letting out a sharp gasp.
"Something wrong, Power Loader?" Mei asked upon overhearing.
"Hatsume… this better not be some kind of prank…" her teacher grumbled, clutching the paper in his hands tightly.
"What?" she uttered in confusion, going over to see what he was looking at, "I haven't even been near your bench…" she pointed out, "You always tell me not to mess with your… work…" she finished, slowly coming to a stop upon seeing what the pro hero had discovered, "Is… that real…?" she asked, trembling in shock.
"If it is, then it can wait until the end of the festival," Power Loader decided, folding the sheet and placing it back in the folder where he found it, "Don't say anything, Hatsume," he advised.
"Y-Yes sir!" she stammered out nervously. She had almost never seen her teacher look so troubled before. But based on what they discovered, he had a good reason to be…
"Good morning, All Might!" Midnight greeted, entering alongside Witch as the approached the former pro, who was seated at his desk with a pair of permission slips in his hands.
"Morning!" he greeted, "Excited for the festivities?" he inquired of his colleagues.
"As much as we can be," the Sorcery Quirk user replied, "I'm intrigued about Class A's concert…" she mentioned, "I believe Lady Rebecca said something along the lines of cover songs being used…" she recalled, putting her right hand onto her chin.
"Speaking of whom, I hadn't seen her or Midoriya this morning with the rest of the class for prep," Midnight curiously noted with her hands at her hips.
"Oh, they both went out this morning," All Might confirmed, showing his colleagues the permission slips he had, "Said they had to buy some supplies for the concert," he pointed out.
"I wish they had informed us of this," Witch chimed in, "One of us could've escorted them," she noted.
"I agree," the Somnambulist Quirk user affirmed as she nodded, "This is cutting it close…" she pointed out, "I hope they're not up to anything naughty…" she remarked on.
"That does raise a good point…" the Shining Star Hero chimed in, "I don't believe Lady Rebecca nor Sir Izuku are lollygagging during this time," she noted, "but they, along with the rest of the students, are children growing into adolescence, and thus need guidance in terms of relationships with partners," she mentioned on thoroughly.
"What are you getting at…?" All Might asked somewhat nervously.
"I believe it may be near the time for us to provide our students with sexual education," Witch replied, causing the former pro hero to pale in shock.
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" Midnight agreed, "I do believe there are some naughty students in need of good teaching…" she remarked on. All Might exhaled a sigh, knowing just how awkward such things were, even though they were mandatory in his age. He decided to pull out his phone, checking his missed call list. Aside from not getting any calls or texts from his successor, he did happen to notice a missed call from Naomasa. He narrowed his eyes.
'What's going on with you, Tsukauchi?' he wondered inwardly.
X
"Rebecca, are you okay?!" Izuku asked of his girlfriend, who was shaking her head to regain herself.
"Yeah, I'm good!" she responded. She cautiously walked toward the rubberized crane nearby, as it was still waving back and forth.
'He probably set up a lot of those elastic films to catch us in case we tried rushing after him…' she noted to herself, 'If they get to the woods, we might never catch them!' she pointed out through her thoughts. Her boyfriend hopped down from the beams, leaving behind some bolts as a trail in case anyone had noticed the fight.
"Come on!" he yelled to Rebecca, enticing her to follow him onto the crane as they grabbed it. Together, they flung themselves after their foes. The Cat Leaper Quirk user could see the instants that Gentle appeared to bounce off of the elastic membranes of air he formed. And Izuku did, too.
"La Brava, if possible, I'd like to save your Quirk for when the situation becomes more dire," the villain confirmed to his partner.
"But at this rate, it's more than possible that the plan's gonna fail!" she pointed out emphatically, "You can't take on two people at once!" she added.
"Not to worry, I'm sure those two rapscallions are…" Gentle began to reply as he landed, turning to find Izuku and Rebecca coming towards him in midair, "faster than I thought!" he corrected in shock.
'When Izu shot at him earlier, he was knocked off his trajectory,' Rebecca remembered, 'He then bounced off of two membranes he formed and then landed…' she added to herself.
"Izu, I'm good for landing!" she confirmed to her boyfriend, letting go of him.
"Right!" he responded. Gentle blinked in surprise, quickly forming an elastic air membrane as a shield of defense. To his shock though, both of his foes landed upon his membranes that he only formed recently, bouncing down towards the ground. Izuku readied his right middle finger as it was curled in. The villain thought that he would shoot directly at him. But instead, he turned and flicked toward the air. The pressurized blast ricocheted off of the membrane over the tree, veering back and deflecting off of one of the others acting as the Elasticity Quirk user's shield, striking him squarely in the stomach.
"Guah…!" he gasped out.
"Oh no! Gentle!" La Brava screamed. At that moment, she was tackled to the ground by Rebecca, while Izuku restrained her partner.
"We've got you now!" the Cat Leaper Quirk user affirmed, breathing somewhat heavily.
"Just give up," Izuku insisted, "You're only going to make this harder on yourselves if you keep resisting!" he pointed out seriously.
'We still have the problem of no other heroes or police on the scene…' he noted to himself, 'And neither of us know what this girl's Quirk is…' he mentioned inwardly, looking over at La Brava.
"Rebecca—"
"Yeah, I've got her held down," his girlfriend assured, interjecting him. She too was nervous about what kind of Quirk the short woman had up her sleeve. If anything, it was likely a last resort for her and her partner.
As for her, she was so conflicted. In the past, Gentle would've run the moment he was discovered. But now, he was staking his life on this endeavor. He wanted to see it through, no matter the odds now.
It was that very charisma that attracted her to him when she had hit her lowest point in life. She had met him and was taken in so kindly. They worked together, performing capers and creating new videos of their escapades. Even as the dark circles around her eyes failed to fade, Gentle wound up creating ones for himself around his own to match hers. That kind of empathy was something she admired. Something she loved.
Rebecca noticed the tears dripping out from her eyes. It was clear that she didn't want to be captured. But then… she smiled.
"I love you, Gentle…" she confessed warmly to the surprise of the student heroes.
"And I you, my La Brava…" the Elasticity Quirk user responded. Both Izuku and Rebecca didn't know what to make of the sudden confession. And then, the former suddenly felt the mustached villain pushing back against him.
"Izu?" his girlfriend uttered in confusion, "What's happening?!" she asked out of panic.
"I don't… know…!" he grunted, trying to keep Gentle pinned. As it turned out, La Brava's Quirk was at work. Being called Love, whenever she professed her feelings to whomever she admired most, they would receive a temporary boost of power. And in this state of crisis, she was granting the man she loved power that was tenfold.
"Apologies, lads…" he said, suddenly zipping away while freeing La Brava from his foes' grasp. Izuku was spun off of him, hitting the ground face first as his nose bled.
"Izu!" Rebecca screamed upon noticing while she fell onto the ground herself upon her bottom.
"I abhor violence," Gentle's voice chimed in, getting her attention as she saw him approach with his partner in his arms. Pinkish steam shaped like hearts wafted off of his body as his hair stuck up crazily. "So I prefer to edit such scenes out…" he remarked as he approached, while Izuku was still grimacing from the recent blow he had taken.
'This is bad…!' the Cat Leaper Quirk user realized, ready to get to her feet as her markings glowed brightly. All of a sudden though, a series of air membranes suddenly crashed onto her, squishing her against the ground.
"What the…?!" she grunted out, trying to break free.
"That should keep you there, young lady," Gentle said, "As for you, boy," he continued to Izuku, who got up onto his hands and knees, "I think it's time you took a nap," he decided, chopping sharply at the freckled teen's nape, making him gasp.
"IZU!" Rebecca screamed, seeing him slump over onto the ground, "You bastard!" she roared out, gnashing her teeth together. The Elasticity Quirk user merely lowered his head with shame before turning and walking away. Not much time remained. So with what there was left, he would see his goal through.
"No… wait…" Izuku's voice grunted out, catching his attention as he stopped in shock, "We've fought against stronger… faster people than you…" he noted, "and won…" he added, causing the villain to grimace, while his partner trembled with fright.
"Izu…" Rebecca uttered.
"This isn't over…" her boyfriend proclaimed firmly in spite of the pain he was enduring, "We haven't lost yet…!" he affirmed.
"That's right!" the Cat Leaper Quirk user agreed, making the markings at her legs expand. She burst free from the elastic air membranes, landing upon the ground in her Overdrive form as she glared at her foes. "You're not getting any closer to UA!" she declared fiercely.
X
"We made it!" Anya exclaimed excitedly as she and her parents passed through the front gates of U.A.
"Who would've thought we'd get invited back to the school on such short notice?" Yor noted, while her husband was securing their passes from Snipe.
"Well, thanks to Anya's friendship with Eri, we've got ourselves quite the day ahead," he pointed out.
"I wanna get some cotton candy first!" the pink-haired girl insisted.
"Sure, we can get some if the booths are open," her father assured in reply.
'From what I can tell, security is tight at the school this time around compared to other days,' he noted to himself, 'With everything that's happened in the past year, it makes sense that they'd beef up security…' he mentioned inwardly, 'It's a good thing we conducted our investigation back then…' he added through his thoughts, 'Finding that report actually turned out to be quite interesting…' he said.
"Um, Loid?" Yor chimed in, getting his attention, "I just got a call, and I… well…"
"Oh, no worries," her husband assured, interjecting her, "I can take care of Anya, while you go and deal with whatever's happening," he affirmed on.
"Right, thank you," his wife responded, granting him a kiss to the cheek and heading off, not before turning her pass in at the gate in the process.
'So, the Saintfire found where Chisaki's being kept, hm?' Loid noted inwardly, narrowing his eyes.
"Papa?" Anya chimed in, catching his attention as he looked over at her, "When's Eri gonna be here?" she inquired.
"Probably not until a little later," her father replied, crouching down to pick his daughter up, "In the meantime, we can enjoy ourselves before meeting them," he confirmed.
"Okey-dokey!" the Telepath Quirk user replied excitedly, "Let's go find that cotton candy! And peanuts!" she insisted, pointing towards the lines of booths nearby. Her father chuckled, walking on ahead. In the meantime, Yor had gotten herself into a cab, being driven down the mountain.
"So they've found him?" she inquired of the driver, who was a tall young man with short, black hair and grey eyes, along with a tiny mole on the outer lower corner of his right eye.
"Yeah," he confirmed with a nod, "We got a report that he's leaving the hospital today to be transported to Tartarus," he pointed out, "As you'd expect, the Saintfire wants us to eliminate him," he mentioned.
"Right…" Yor responded, "After what happened along with what he was capable of, we can't take any risks," she concluded firmly, removing her trench coat and bringing out her stiletto-like weapons, "If it means a better tomorrow, then I'll gladly kill anyone Saintfire Nox sees fit…" she affirmed.
"Then we don't have much time to waste," the driver said as the cab took to the highway. Back in the forests by U.A., Rebecca clenched her teeth together tightly as she glared at Gentle and La Brava, who were stunned that both her and Izuku were still willing to fight. The latter flicked his finger to release another air blast, which they narrowly avoided.
"Got you!" the Cat Leaper Quirk user yelled, speeding up to them. The mustached villain was quick to throw up an elastic membrane as a barrier. However, Rebecca had anticipated that coming as she thrusted her right leg against it.
'The moment I stretch this membrane as far as it can go, he swipes and knocks me back,' she recalled, 'So at the moment he attacks…' she continued inwardly as Gentle began his swipe, 'I counter!' she exclaimed through her thoughts, thrusting her left foot into the membrane and knocking her foe back.
"Cat Rebound!" she yelled.
"Agh…" he groaned in pain.
"Gentle…" La Brava uttered worriedly, "I'm so sorry…" she whimpered out, "My love… it isn't strong enough…" she sadly noted as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her partner grimaced with frustration.
"No, La Brava…" he said, causing her to perk up as she was set down, "Who can say your feelings weren't strong enough…" he continued, "when this battle has yet to end?!" he questioned emphatically, lunging at his foes.
'He's fast!' Rebecca yelped inwardly, crossing her arms to block off the knee she would've taken, sending her tumbling back.
"Rebecca!" her boyfriend cried out. He gnashed his teeth together, lunging at the Elasticity Quirk user, trading blows with him. All the while, they exchanged their desires as well. Gentle wanted to see his goal through, to be remembered eternally by whatever means, even if it meant taking away everyone's grand efforts for the school festival by invading U.A.
"So nothing else matters then?!" Rebecca inquired as she jumped in, landing a swing kick to the villain's back, "You'll take everyone's happiness away, including the one of a girl that doesn't remember what it's like to smile?!" she questioned on angrily. She and her boyfriend were knocked back down by their foe, bouncing off of an elastic air membrane before bringing themselves to a stop.
"If that's what it takes to see my goal through, then so be it…" Gentle responded, lunging towards them. He wanted to be a hero that was remembered throughout history. But in his attempts, he was failing to make a difference.
At one point, his failures caught up to him and led to his life turning upside down. He was kicked out of school, his house, and even found himself at the lowest point possible. He was forgotten. Looking back, he didn't want to remain so poor and pathetic. He wanted to see his goals through. But could he?
"No…" he uttered, "It isn't over yet!" he proclaimed, bouncing around rapidly, even more than before. Izuku and Rebecca stood back-to-back, trying to keep track of his movements.
'If that boost from the girl's Quirk doesn't wear off, we're in a lot of trouble…' the latter noted through her thoughts, 'Still, that doesn't mean we'll give up,' she pointed out inwardly.
'Gentle…' Izuku uttered to himself, 'You and I are actually a lot more alike than I thought…' he admitted inwardly, 'But even so…' he continued through his thoughts.
"You two may mock me if you wish! Laugh if you want to!" the villain shouted to his opponents as he lunged at them, "I don't care what you may think of me!" he yelled on. Izuku whipped around, catching his right fist with his left hand in an instant.
"Izu!" his girlfriend yelped. He gritted his teeth.
"We're not laughing… Gentle Criminal…!" he grunted out, much to his foe's surprise.
"Beat him…" La Brava uttered out from nearby, getting their attentions, "PLEASE, GENTLE!" she begged as tears poured from her eyes. All of a sudden, the pink steam wafting off from Gentle expanded even more. Izuku felt him getting stronger, barely having enough time to catch his left fist before getting pushed back.
"IZU!" Rebecca screamed.
"Tell me, why is it that you want to be a hero, boy?!" he inquired of his freckled foe, who clenched his teeth as he held his ground.
"I'm… the same as you, Gentle…" he grunted out, remembering what his foe had proclaimed about his dream, and how he didn't hold it solely for himself, "My dream isn't just my own anymore…!" he mentioned, pushing back against the Elasticity Quirk user.
"Izu…" Rebecca uttered out.
"I had a goal that my body wasn't made for… and there was a point where I had completely given up on it…" her boyfriend confessed, "But for everyone who's cheered me on… for everyone who's acknowledged me…" he continued, "I'll become a hero!" he proclaimed, "Plenty of people in this world are hurting…" he pointed out, "So… I WANT TO BECOME SOMEONE WHO CAN SHOW THEM A BRIGHT FUTURE!" he bellowed fiercely.
"…So… we're the same…" Gentle realized. Gritting his teeth, he then tossed the One For All inheritor aside, sending him tumbling into a nearby tree. "And I assume that sentiment goes to you as well, yes?" he presumed of Rebecca, getting her attention.
"…Yeah, that's right," she responded after a moment, lunging out at the villain and meeting his right fist with her foot, "At first, I was only following Izu's footsteps to support him…" she admitted, gritting her teeth, "But now, I wanna support others!" she declared, "I wanna help be a beacon to support people, giving them second chances that they deserve!" she proclaimed on, "And I'll show them a bright future, too!" she added fiercely.
"I see…" Gentle uttered, letting off a little smile. He and the Cat Leaper Quirk user knocked each other back. Meanwhile, La Brava was quickly typing on her laptop, trying to disable to U.A. security systems. However, she was out of range, so she ran further into the woods, trying to get closer while covering herself in dirt and leaves to snuff out her scent. Her partner knew it was too dangerous for her to go alone, grimacing all the while.
'We can't let her leave…!' Izuku grunted inwardly, getting to his feet. However, he wound up getting kneed aside by his foe.
"Tell me…" he began, "do you still consider me an unworthy opponent compared to those you've faced before?!" he inquired before jumping around the trees via more air membranes of elasticity he formed. He was willing to throw away everything to defeat his foes.
'Consider it a sign of respect, lads!' he remarked inwardly, lunging at the downed Izuku. However, Rebecca sped in with blue bio-electricity crackling around her body.
"Rebecca!" her boyfriend exclaimed. She reared her left arm back, throwing it out for a punch. Not taking any chances, Gentle bounced away via another air membrane, getting slightly grazed at his right leg. That gave the One For All inheritor the opportunity to curl in all of his left fingers, making the outer layer of his glove jolt forward. He flicked, unleashing several pressurized air blasts. His foe spun out of the way from most of them, but one nicked his right leg again, throwing him off balance. That allowed for his freckled opponent to lunge up at him.
'Shoot Style…' he started to bellow inwardly with a fierce look on his face, rearing his right leg back, 'Saint Louis… SMMMMAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!' he exclaimed, landing a powerful roundhouse kick to the man's face, knocking him onto the ground in an instant. Rebecca noticed the pinkish steam leaving his body.
'That power boost must be wearing off now…' she realized, transforming back to normal herself.
"Huh…" she sighed exhaustedly.
"You okay?" her boyfriend asked while keeping the downed villain pinned to the ground.
"Yeah…" she replied, "He really was tough, huh?" she pointed out.
"Yeah…" Izuku agreed, "Because he was someone we could understand…" he mentioned aloud.
"Gentle!" La Brava's voice cried out as she returned to the clearing, "They're here!" she noted in panic, "The heroes are—!" She stopped herself upon spotting the position her beloved was in. He managed to look over at her.
"Hurry… run…" he pleaded out, "Save yourself…" he insisted. Dropping her laptop, the Love Quirk user approached.
"No… stop…" she begged, "Let go of him…" she whimpered out.
"Hey…" Rebecca uttered, reaching over to the short woman, only to get shoved away.
"Let my Gentle go!" she begged, banging her fists weakly against the One For All inheritor as she cried, "He poured his heart and soul into this plan, even not stopping for tea!" she pointed out emphatically, "You wanna show the world a bright future?!" she inquired of Izuku, who looked at her in surprise and sympathy, "Can't you see that Gentle's my only light?!" she questioned on, "Without him…" she continued sadly, "I'd rather die!" she proclaimed to the couple's shock. The Elasticity Quirk user himself was left so troubled.
He knew that La Brava wouldn't run, even when he told her to. That was who she was. She loved him. And if he were to be taken away from her… she would likely commit crimes far more heinous than those they committed together.
"Huh…" Rebecca exhaled, "Alright, I'll go over to the school and get the teachers if they aren't already on watch," she told her boyfriend, "You keep them there," she advised.
"Right, got it," he replied, seeing her hurry off. However, the moment she left, the pink steam re-emerged from Gentle. He used his last bit of added strength to knock Izuku up into the air. As he came down, he bounced off of an elastic membrane above the trees, being sent further away.
The villain acknowledged that his foes had won. But he wasn't about to let the person he loved be taken away. As Rebecca returned to the scene, she gasped lightly in surprise to not only find her boyfriend missing, but also Gentle warmly embracing La Brava. It wasn't long before they were surrounded by Hound Dog and Ectoplasm's clones.
"UA…" the Elasticity Quirk user uttered out, "I'm turning myself in…" he confirmed.
ENDING
Insert "Shikisai" by Yama
Opens with Rebecca waking up for the day in her dorm room, tiredly crawling out of her bed. She makes it to the bathroom, only to widen her eyes with terror at the sight of how messy her hair is. Luckily, a comb is passed to her from Tsuyu, who she thanks.
Later that morning, Rebecca enjoys her breakfast before being given a cup of tea made by Momo. What follows is her going over to play a video game with Mina and Toru on the Switch before they have to go class. It rains on the way, though Rebecca forgot her umbrella. Thankfully, Mezo comes over, using his patagia to shield her from raindrops.
In the classroom, she talks with both Tenya and Shoto about studying, asking them for pointers. As Shota walks in to start class, she scurries back to her seat, only to find a note there. She opens it up and smiles to see that it's from Izuku, who she shoots a smile toward.
In the afternoon during lunch, Kyoka saves her a seat in the cafeteria. She's also kind enough to shoo away a pesky Minoru, though he was only making sure Rebecca didn't touch a piece of gum left under the table. As the class returns from lunch, the Cat Leaper Quirk user trips by accident, only to end up caught by Mashirao's tail. The two of them share a smile and then a laugh.
During hero training, Rebecca gets the chance to spar against Ochaco, Hanta, and Homura. She weaves past the Zero Gravity Quirk user, evades the tape of Hanta, and then closes in to land a kick on the crossed blades of Homura, who cracks a grin. The four of them continue as All Might, Witch and Shota watch on.
Yuga later offers Rebecca some cheese as a snack, which she happily accepts. She also goes the development studio with Weisz and Denki, as the three of them are met with an explosion as a dirtied Mei laughs sheepishly. With a long day nearly done, Rebecca returns to the dorms to find Koji there with his bunny in hand, allowing her to pet it warmly. She then goes over to Rikido, asking him about a favor.
Once dinner's over, Rebecca puts on an apron and starts baking, whisking eggs and mixing flour with water. Fumikage and Eijiro watch on curiously with intrigue, followed by Katsuki approaching. He takes a taste of the batter to Rebecca's shock and anger, only for her to realize that she almost missed adding some vanilla. After a little while, she pulls out a baking sheet from the oven with several cookies upon it, decorating them for Halloween.
As the class goes ahead and partakes in her baked goods, the Cat Leaper Quirk goes over and offers Izuku a treat in the shape of a heart. He smiles and blushes, eagerly eating it. Afterwards, the whole class gets themselves ready for a movie night. Shiki floats over with a bowl of popcorn and other snacks, landing on the couch between Ochaco and Momo. With the remote in her hand, Rebecca presses the play button… and the screen goes black.
END ENDING
I've always adored this part of the arc. It was a good showing of Izuku's skills, along with giving him some connection to another villain, which I'm glad got touched more upon later. We'll see how things go from here with the adaptation, especially with next week's chapter on the horizon.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I'll see you later!