Favored Tool

by CoughingGenie

When a tool finds a purpose. OC. Empathy Quirk.

66. Chapter 66

MY BAD WRONG CHAPTER !

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A simple morning. Lately, Takuma had begun to enjoy the lack of excitement his life had made him accustomed to. Waking up, cuddling with Mei, then making breakfast before going back to training or studying for the entrance exam, which was now two weeks away. Even considering everything that had happened since he met his girlfriend, he could say he rarely had such a long period of peace and quiet—and someone to share that peace and quiet with. Mousey was spamming him with memes he didn't understand, but he was more than happy to laugh along with her. Nova was being her usual bitchy self by sending him link after link to the raunchiest clothing he had ever seen in his life, to buy for Mei, of course. He dreaded the day Mei looked at his phone. Even though some of those outfits would suit her like nothing else, even the most family-friendly pieces showed a little too much to be worn anywhere but inside the house. Midoriya was following his advice to try keeping his Quirk up and running at the lowest settings. It surprised him that the mentor duo didn't have him do anything else during these weeks. Takuma knew the bean couldn't wait to start using it in a more active way, which was about to happen later today. Gran Torino had sent him an address he was supposed to go to in an hour.

He was busy making breakfast as Mei slowly woke up and gradually garnered the strength to get out of bed. She had entirely recovered from her last health issue, and the doctor had found nothing worrying. Somehow, Mei had taken expired ADHD medication, which had thrown a few wrenches into her system. Nothing a new batch couldn't fix. Still, it didn't feel right for him to miss something like that—he should have taken better care of her.

He was nearly done. Two cups of hot cocoa were cooling on the kitchen table, and the toast and eggs were almost ready. Right on time, Mei finally left the bed with more grace than usual.

"Good morning!"

"Ngh ngh ngh, Mister Morning," she mocked as she walked behind him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and laying her head against his back.

He rolled his eyes as he turned off the stove and turned around to hug her back. She caught him with a kiss, which he was happy to return as he hugged her closer. A hand against her cheek made her shiver with excitement as he kissed her, pushing her back until she hit the table. She broke the kiss. "Unfair!"

He smiled and kissed her again until her breath failed. "I believe my gremlin now knows how happy I am to see her."

She smiled shyly as her sight-like eyes stopped dancing and focused on him. "Oh, I know," she told him just as her hand brushed against the hard length in his pants. The touch made him inhale sharply. "I like having that effect on you," she admitted as some heat crept into her cheeks. Takuma had become so used to keeping her specifically out of his mind that he had missed one little detail: Mei's libido was back online—with a vengeance.

"Well, this is just what happens when a certain adorable girl I know exists in my general presence," he replied, kissing her again. His right hand landed on her breast, hidden beneath the oversized shirt she slept in. A gentle squeeze ripped a squeak of delight from her. "The same way I know this little one—" he rolled her nipple with his thumb, making her entire body shudder as her breath grew deeper, "—becomes harder when I'm next to you," he finished, whispering sweetly into her ear before letting go of her breast to her dismay.

He wrapped his arms around her, both hands cupping her ass as he stepped closer. Their chests pressed together, and his erection rested against her stomach as Mei wrapped her arms around his neck, then stilled, hesitating. He loved how expressive she was. Her eyes told a story on their own, even now as they reflected a mix of fear, desire, lust, and hope. He playfully started massaging the firm flesh of her ass. A second later, she groaned, letting her head fall against his shoulder.

"I need you to do that to every part of me," she demanded as she retaliated with a series of neck kisses that made him see stars.

He grew a little rougher, kneading her butt to the rhythm of her need. It was like a game to him. Her grip around his neck tightened.

"I don't think my favorite gremlin can handle the entire treatment just yet," he teased.

"I can take it!" she declared confidently.

"You shall crumble like the bread I failed to make!" he replied, his grip loosening. His hands slid under her shirt, drifting gently across her skin. Her stilted breaths told him she loved the sensation as much as he did. Her sight-like eyes fluttered in and out of focus as she shivered under his touch.

"But not today," he whispered sweetly into her ear before tickling her.

"Gyaargh!" she screeched, jumping out of his grasp. "You dick!" she giggled, stepping away and moving behind the kitchen counter.

"As much as I like the idea of a snack right now, food is ready," he told her. Her expression morphed into a disappointed pout.

"Boo, a girl has needs..." she moaned pitifully, taking her place at the table and grabbing the hot cocoa and her meds, which he had already prepared for her. "And since when do you call me a snack?"

"Since I started eating you for fun," he stated with a shrug. He watched her choke on her first sip before glaring at him, her cheeks burning. "Have I ever told you how lovely you are when you're embarrassed?"

"Stop it!" she demanded, hiding her face behind her cup. "I shall have my revenge."

"You can sit on my face later," he offered, prompting a frustrated groan.

"I'll accept this peace offering," she decided as he handed her the toast and eggs."Ooh, food!"

Mei's ability to jump from one subject to another always impressed him. He barely had time to bite into his own eggs and toast before he sensed a mind enter the range of his Quirk.

"I think we have another delivery driver. Are you expecting something?"

Mei tilted her head, humming. "I don't think so."

"I'll grab the delivery," he said as the car stopped in front of the door. Takuma opened it to find an elderly man in his forties holding a thick envelope.

"Delivery for Hatsume," the man informed him.

"I'll take it," Takuma replied. After signing, the man quickly left.

Closing the door, he noticed the letters "U.A." on the envelope. "Mei, I've got an envelope from U.A. just for you."

"Ooomph!" Mei squeaked, half-delighted and half-choking on her eggs as she jumped from her chair to grab the envelope."Ifvh UvA fekvgvinevrgring!"

"Finish eating before you talk. I didn't understand a thing you just said," he sighed with a grin as his girlfriend tore the envelope in half.

"It's the preliminary packet for the Support Course!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her feet like an overexcited rabbit. "The Heroic Course has the physical exam. Support gets this little baby! It's a test! One week from now, they're going to send us the prototype we have to make. It's going to be a huge part of the exam. Right now, I have to finish my inscription and gather the materials."

"So, I guess it's time for Mei Hatsume to reveal her genius to the world," he stated as he moved behind her to read over her shoulder. "What do you have to make?"

"Nothing that's going to be a challenge. Last year, the Support Course had to make a grappling hook, and the year before that, it was a shield. This year, I'm going to make the best glider they've ever seen!" she declared with full confidence.

Takuma, on the other hand, was confused. "Grappling hook, shield, and… a glider?" he asked, a bit unsure. "Aren't those things pretty basic to make… for anyone?"

"They are!" she replied readily. "The items they ask for are simple so we can spend most of our time designing our own spin on the prototype U.A. demands. It allows us to express our craft in every way we want while still sticking to the base idea!"

"So, a glider?" Takuma said, already anticipating where this was going. "You are not jumping from a plane."

"But I have to!" Mei shot back immediately. "You can't stop me!"

"And I won't. Luckily for you, I've done some base jumping in the past," he said as he moved back to the kitchen.

"And when and why did you do that?!" she asked, raising both hands in the air. "You can't just say that like it's nothing!"

He chuckled lightly; she had a point. "During the time when the Warpzone Collective was running around, I was working with a heroine. She had the bright idea of flying a plane at low altitude and jumping from it. It was pretty fun, even if the target was the main compound of the organization."

Thunder Shrike was many things: an oath-breaker, a liar, and an all-around pain. But he could respect her balls-to-the-wall approach when the situation called for it.

"So, you jumped from a plane into the main base of a terrorist organization?" Mei asked for clarification as he took another mouthful of eggs, finishing his plate.

"Yeah, pretty much," he confirmed as he washed his plate in the sink. "It was pretty fun… until we hit the ground. After that, it all went sideways."

Mei facepalmed, groaning in frustration. "And why the hell did you have to be there?"

"The villain leading the organization was a reality bender. He made it so the entire world couldn't recognize his existence—they were blind to him even if he stood right in front of them. My Quirk was a great counter to his power. She fought him while I made sure he couldn't add us to the long list of people unable to comprehend his existence… Reality-bending Quirks are kind of bullshit," he revealed with a sigh. "Sooo, that happened."

"One day, you'll have to tell me everything that's happened to you so I can add those names to my killer-robot kill list," Mei spat as she sat back in her chair. "Besides! I'm going to need to get some materials from Tinker. Do you wanna come with?"

"I can't. I have to meet Gran Torino and your green-themed best friend in an hour," he told her, much to her dismay. "But I'm sure we can go to the station together."

"That sucks, but okay," she said with a sad pout.

Takuma couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. After finishing cleaning the plates, he walked over and hugged her from behind. "Don't worry. As soon as whatever Gran Torino has in store for me is done, I'll be right back here with you."

"You better," she said, leaning back to rest against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her midsection under her shirt, seeking her warmth. "It's going to be boring without you."

"You mean Tinker is going to ask if we've used those condoms he gave us?" he teased, feeling her freeze in his arms.

"You saw them?" she squeaked.

"Nope, but you just confirmed my assumption," he replied as she let her head fall back against his shoulder, looking up at him. "I probably should make sure they're my size at some point."

Mei reacted to his idle comment like a deer in headlights. He kept one arm under her oversized shirt, caressing the soft skin of her abdomen, while his other hand rose to gently rest against her jaw, his thumb affectionately rubbing her cheek. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The amount of desire and lust he felt in this second was simply more than his mental wall could handle without some of her thoughts leaking into his mind. He felt her ever-growing need, the barely restrained pleasure she felt as his hand touched her, the hope that he would push just a little more. It was an intoxicating feeling he could easily get drunk on. He leaned down to kiss her. This one was less gentle, filled with need as he held her and kissed her with abandon. He assaulted her mouth with his tongue while his hand rose to grab her breast, then did the same with the other as he began to massage both orbs, keeping his lips locked with hers. He was gentle yet firm, his fingers sinking into them as he fished for the sweet spots. This time, he made sure to show some love to the oh-so-sensitive nubs; a single touch made her inhale sharply, breaking the kiss as she leaned forward, using the table to steady herself.

"Tak..." was all she could say as he continued his ministrations.

A brush of his thumb, a shiver, a sharp breath—her shoulders were shaking with every movement, a moan escaping her lips. He leaned forward to kiss her neck and the side of her head. "Look at you, barely hanging on when I'm only touching your chest. What do you think is going to happen when I have access to all of you?"

"I-ah didn't th-AH-yo..." her attempt at an answer was drowned by his touch.

"You greatly underestimated me," he told her as he kissed her cheek, weighing her heavy breasts in his hands. "A squeeze—" a soft moan escaped her lips "—a gentle rub—" her shoulders tensed as his thumbs traced over her sensitive nipples "—a little pull—" she tensed as he followed through, pulling both nipples down, earning him a moaned cry as her voice rose. "—there is so much I could do that would make this feel like barely more than a kiss," he finished sweetly in her ear.

"Please," she pleaded with him as one of her hands landed on his bicep to keep him close. "Keep going."

"Everything for you," he replied, placing both nubs between his fingers. Every movement he made touched, pressed, and pulled at them as he worked out every kink in her chest he could find. Mei stood up, unable to handle staying seated while he worked his magic. Her ass was firmly pressed against his erection as he grew rougher with his touch.

"Yes, like that!" Mei moaned as she twitched and shook with every movement he made her endure.

She was close, closer than she had been in weeks. "Let's not abuse too much of a good thing," he told her as his right hand slid down to her panties, pulling them down right before he turned her gently so she was now looking straight at him. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up. "Bite into it, and don't let go," he instructed her. She looked at him quizzically before following his command.

Now that her pussy, abdomen, and chest were exposed to him, it was time to finish her. "I love you," he told her as his fingers brushed against her clit. She shook, nearly letting go of her shirt. "If you let go, you lose."

Her eyes grew wide as she nodded. Then the touch returned. One hand found her breast, rolling her nipple between two fingers while he brushed against the slick folds of her pussy. "I never thought there would be someone I wanted to do this to, you know," he told her, still playing with her, pushing all the right buttons as she came ever closer to her peak. "I never thought there'd be someone so lovely," he added as he kissed her cheek, then her neck, then took her nipple in his mouth. She made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a moan. He sucked on it, pulling it lightly until it popped out of his mouth. Another needy, muffled moan escaped her lips.

"You like that. I can tell," he chuckled with a hint of sadism, sensing how much she wanted him to shut up and keep sucking. "Always so impatient," he whispered, repeating the act on her other breast. Her hips twitched, her hand on the table moved to his shoulder as she teetered on the edge. Kiss, lick, suck. He repeated the magical formula until he felt her teetering on the edge. "What are you waiting for?" he asked, halting his movements. "Cum."

A long touch, from the base of his index finger to the tip trailing against her sensitive clit, was enough to send her over the edge.

A muffled shriek escaped from the improvised gag of her shirt as she melted in his grasp. He caught her, making sure to help her stay upright as her legs gave out beneath her. He wrapped her in a loving embrace, riding out every wave of her pleasure through his Quirk. She must have been pent up, as he sure as hell was enjoying the intense ride that climbed higher and higher. Her shirt fell from her mouth as a moan followed. She nuzzled the crook of his neck as her nails raked his back—or would have, had he not been wearing his own shirt. She kept going, again and again, until finally, her body stopped shaking, her hips stopped quivering, and her legs turned to jelly. He sat on her chair and pulled her into his lap so she could catch her breath.

"Is my little gremlin satisfied?" he asked after some time.

"Yesh, peachy," Mei mumbled, her head resting in the crook of his neck.

He knew she was content, while on his end, he could now see things clearly again, away from the lust-filled need Mei had sent his way. His link to her intent turned out to be sharper than he thought. When she was horny, he was too, and that made him act in a more... assertive way, because he felt the same and wasn't afraid to go for what he wanted, especially when Mei was on the receiving end.

"So... what did we learn?" Takuma asked, kissing her cheek.

"To tease you?" Mei replied tentatively.

"Only if you want another orgasm," he chuckled, kissing her on the side of her mouth.

"Then maybe later," she laughed as she jumped off his lap. "Alright, now that this is done, I still have those components to grab from Tinker!"

Takuma rolled his eyes. "Mei, you're not leaving this house dressed like that."

"What's wrong with—" she started to reply, then looked down. "Right. No panties and a ruined shirt. Shower it is!"

"Have fun," he told her with a grin as he turned back to the kitchen.

"Hold it right there, buster!" Mei demanded, grabbing his hand. "You're coming with me."

Takuma was about to reply in the negative when he caught himself, then wondered—why wouldn't he take a shower with her? "Sure."

Another half-hour went by before they left the shower, on not-so-steady legs, as they put on their clothes and headed to the station. After a quick kiss, he was then forced to grab his phone and follow the GPS to Gran Torino's house. He knew Midoriya would already be there. The bean had spent the last two weeks messing with his newly acquired Quirk. The first week had been simple control, while the second added tasks to it, like washing the dishes without breaking a plate or writing in his notebook without snapping the pen in half. He could give it to All Might on this one—it had been a good idea. Having him get used to the added strength while doing common chores was a good way to understand and handle the difference.

He arrived in the seedier part of town, full of dilapidated buildings—a slum, of sorts. There wasn't much crime around, nor many people in general, which was good for him. He felt the two minds he was already acquainted with—the older pro and Midoriya—sharing a snack around the table as they waited for him. He arrived a couple of minutes later.

He knocked, then let himself in, entering a seedy house with broken furniture everywhere and a television that he assumed didn't even work. "Sup'."

"Hello, Takuma," Izuku greeted, as Gran Torino sent a nod in his direction.

"So, you haven't managed to break something. Color me surprised," he told his shorter friend as he took a seat next to him on the couch.

"I'm not that bad," Midoriya replied as he finished his cup.

"He has managed his Quirk quite well so far," Gran Torino informed him.

"Yeah, I stopped having problems keeping it on since the first week," the boy reminded him.

"I've read you and Mei's messages in the group chat," he informed him as he rubbed his face. "And the hundred videos of you doing chores while lighting your house green. Trust me, I know."

Izuku looked away in embarrassment. "Mei asked for those."

"She did. Anyway, why did you need both of us here today?" he asked the Pro, who was, as always, in his cream-and-yellow jumpsuit.

"To teach both of you, of course," the old man said as he stood up with the help of his cane—which, to Takuma's sense, had no purpose whatsoever.

A rush of air, a dance of movement as the Pro bounced three times against the walls before coming straight at them. Takuma dived and rolled to the side as Izuku lit up green and... got kicked in the face for his trouble.

"Don't think your opponent will give you the time to wield your Quirk," Gran Torino told the green-haired boy as Takuma jumped back on his feet.

'A hand-to-hand session, then. Welp, it was bound to happen,' he thought as he linked himself to the two.

Thought and memory, a shift of weight, a change of focus. Intent. Jumping from one foot to another in preparation for the next bout. A shift in his balance, Gran Torino turned, and Takuma was already throwing a punch before the old man had crossed half the distance that separated them. He realized he was about to eat his knuckles, so the gray-haired hero corrected himself by rising to the ceiling and diving straight at him again.

There was no way for him to retaliate in such a short frame of time, so he changed stance, lowering himself to the ground, feinted by acting like his reaction time was too slow to deal with Torino. The Pro bit and nearly cracked his skull against the elbow Takuma threw at the last second, yet the Pro corrected a second time, this time gaining distance.

"If you think bouncing around the place is going to be enough to take me down, then you're up for a rude awakening," he groused as he threw off his jacket to one of the chairs.

It was one of the nice ones Mei had bought for him; he shouldn't have taken it to a place like that.

"Your reaction time is impressive," Gran commented. "Now this is how this lesson is going to go: you both have two minutes to hit me."

"Oh great, I am in a battle of speed with two speedsters," Takuma groaned. "Just my luck."

"I'm not sure how Takuma could... you know," Izuku tried to point out the very real lack of enhancement that he would need to catch the elder.

"Oh, so you got your Quirk, and now you're too good for me?" he asked the bean with the beginning of some irritation. "Do you want me to sit this one out or bring you some tea?"

"N-No, that's not what I-I-I meant!" the bean tried to correct himself. "It's just, you don't have a Qu-Quirk that enhances your mobility, so you are at a di-disadvantage!"

"When am I not?" he asked with a sigh as he rolled his shoulder. "You're going down. I hope your affairs are in order, Grandpa."

Gran Torino guffawed at his words with a bright and vicious grin. "Oh dear, Nana would have loved that one."

"Midoriya, five percent. Don't break yourself," he intoned quickly as the sharp gaze of the Hero turned to his shorter friend.

Intent, a push from the feet, a call to his Quirk. Gran Torino rushed Midoriya. He couldn't close the distance quickly enough to buy the bean enough time to turn off his Quirk, so he grabbed a cup and sent it straight in the Hero's path. It missed after the Hero's aerial dodge as the mug crashed against the wall. But green lightning crackled to life.

'Got you.'

Izuku jumped—a straight rush toward the old Hero—as he left green lightning in his wake. An ill-timed jump, Takuma realized, as Gran Torino simply jumped out of the way straight toward him. Again, he played his mind game: forward feint punch, boost to the top, switch stance for an elbow. The Pro added one more play to this as he dropped low to the ground to come for an uppercut. It was the perfect follow-up. His stance was unbalanced due to the speedy nature of their sparring; he had no time to kick the coffee table away or walk away from the couch. He'd been bested. In that case, he only had one answer: go for a headbutt. It surprised the elder, forcing him to maneuver away, landing only a grazing kick on his shoulder as Takuma dived to the floor.

Then Midoriya was there. He landed next to him, close as he was. He gave Takuma enough time to stand up and right his stance before the Hero could go at it again. He had bought him some precious seconds. As soon as he was on his feet, the bean attacked, jumping at the Pro or in his path as he tried his best to land a punch. He was always a second too late. Takuma knew Gran Torino was quick—quick enough that he would have been just a blur if he really wanted to.

Couch, chair, and table—the furniture were all thrown or crushed behind them through the mad dash of movement. Izuku wore an expression of pure concentration as he tried his best to catch the man.

'Time to help.'

Leaning into his Quirk, he searched for anything useful. Both were moving and fighting at a pace of their own. Midoriya was holding his Quirk steady so far. He was a quick learner, and it showed as the distance between him and Gran Torino started to close. He felt a twitch as Gran Torino was about to turn and kick his friend straight in the face. A quick look around—a plate. Good enough.

He threw the plate like a frisbee, forcing the older Hero to duck and abort his strike, giving Izuku an opportunity to strike. A roar of energy like never before reached his mind as he inhaled sharply at the flow of power. The strike missed, sending a gust of air behind them that threw a bunch of empty cans everywhere.

In retaliation, the man bounced from the wall straight at him. Takuma thought it was time to go big or go home. So, as his feet left the wall, Takuma grabbed the flashbang he had brought with him and sneakily threw it behind him while feinting an uppercut. The Hero saw the strike and rose in the air, only to see the flashbang appear right in front of him.

BANG.

He was glad Mei had upgraded the earbuds she had given him. Eyes and ears were a luxury for Takuma as he jumped and wrapped his arms around the older Pro's boots, forcing him to the ground for a single instant before he started to rise again. A punch landed on Takuma's face, right before the Pro sent his Quirk to full throttle and spun, sending him crashing into a wall. Takuma let go, righting himself mid-air as he landed feet-first against the wall. His hand reached behind his back again, and the Pro, whose eyes were now open, saw him act. He couldn't respond before Takuma threw another grenade—or not, as the potato Takuma had grabbed from a molding plate wasn't as threatening. But it did its job.

"SMASH!" Izuku shouted as he appeared like a demon from hell beneath the Pro and clocked him in the midsection.

"Grwarg!" came the Hero's strangled sound as spit flew out of his mouth. A second later, he was moving again, grabbing Midoriya by the collar and spiking him to the ground right before he landed.

Takuma jumped off the sink he was standing in and dusted himself off. "Welp, that was anticlimactic."

"You… you did use a—ow... grenade," Izuku said as he stood up from the broken remains of the coffee table, splinters of wood falling off him. "Why do you even have that?"

"A question I would also like an answer to," Gran Torino guffawed, seemingly not taking his loss the wrong way. "Quite the surprise, I have to say."

"You invited me to an unknown address without explaining why I was even needed," Takuma told the older Pro. "Are you really surprised I took some precautions before coming here?"

"But... why a flashbang?" Midoriya asked again.

"Why not? It served me well, didn't it?" Takuma replied with a shrug as he grabbed his jacket and put it somewhere it was least likely to get stomped on again. "You never know what's waiting for you around the corner, and since I can't zip around like you two, I have to use something else to make the fight fairer for me."

"And what else do you have on you?" Gran Torino asked as he rubbed his stomach, supporting himself with his cane.

"A first-aid kit, a knife, and two flashbangs—minus one," Takuma listed quickly. "Mei likes to make things for me to test, so I also have this capture tool with me," he added, revealing the gadget his girlfriend had just made. "It shoots a net that can hinder an opponent. Pretty neat."

"She finished it? Can I see it?" Izuku asked, closing the distance between them, stars in his eyes.

Takuma grinned. "Sure."

And shot him.

Izuku stumbled back as the net engulfed him, his eyes widening in surprise. Takuma couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his friend struggling against the tight mesh.

"See? Neat, right?" he said, walking over to help untangle Izuku.

"That's... actually pretty effective," Izuku admitted, finally managing to get free with Takuma's assistance. "Mei's inventions always impress me."

"It can hold three shots before needing to be reloaded. It's not going to help much against a dedicated opponent, but I've never been one to turn down an advantage," Takuma said. "I'm sure you've gathered by now that I don't believe in fair fights."

"We do," both men replied in unison.

Gran Torino nodded, his expression approving. "The world of heroes isn't about fair fights; it's about using everything at your disposal to protect and save lives. Remember that."

Izuku nodded. "I guess asking Mei for some support tools might help me in the future, but... given that I'm still learning how to use my power, I'm not sure what to ask for."

"Then wait. It's better if—Gyak!" Takuma was cut off by a sharp pain in his wrist.

Which could have only one origin. A child.

He twisted on his feet, turning toward the source of the pain. His Quirk activated instinctively, fishing for the details. A woman—no, a girl. She was shaky, covered in sweat, coming down from a high. A drug addict. Two attackers: one man, one woman. Her dealers, likely demanding payment. A knife, sharp, meant to wound as a warning, not kill.

The girl was fifteen. Too young for this kind of life. Only when he turned the corner of a street did Takuma realize he was running, with Gran Torino and Midoriya on his heels.

"Knife attack. Two assailants. Victim: girl, fifteen, seventy meters that way," he said, pointing just as Gran Torino's engines roared to life. The older Hero vanished from sight.

"Wow, he's never gone that fast before," Midoriya said in awe.

"He was going easy on us," Takuma replied as he turned another corner, leading them into a back alley. "Keep your head on a swivel and your eyes sharp."

"Will do."

Takuma stumbled as the sharp pain of a kick registered—Gran Torino landing a blow on both the man and the woman as he took control of the situation. They were only fifteen seconds behind him, but it was enough for a Pro Hero worth his salt to have ended the fight thirteen seconds ago.

'My life would have been so much easier if there had been more like him,' Takuma groaned internally as they arrived at the scene.

"Both of you, hands up and face the wall," barked the Pro. The man and woman complied without resistance.

"What the fuck is a cape doing here!" the woman shrieked as she eyed the end of the alley.

"How the hell should I know!" the man replied, then looked at him and Midoriya.

The girl was a frightened mess, with unkempt, greasy hair and worn-out clothes that barely fit her. "Miss, can you hear me?" he asked as he took a knee in front of her.

Her brown eyes darted around furiously, and she didn't reply, only cradling the cut on her wrist.

"My name's Takuma. I know a thing or two about bandaging a cut. Would you be willing to let me take a look?" he asked in the most non-threatening and calming voice he could manage, laying his first-aid kit bare in front of her. "Midoriya, secure the knife," he then told his friend, pointing to the blade lying on the ground near Gran Torino's feet.

"On it."

It took her a few more seconds to glance at the contents and decide there was nothing threatening inside. "Mhmf," was her only reply as she held her hand toward him.

He put on plastic gloves and gently grabbed her hand, turning it over. There was some amount of blood, but the cut wasn't deep, from what he could feel with his Quirk. "Alright, I'm going to disinfect the wound and bandage it. It's going to sting a little, but this way I'll make sure nothing bad gets into the wound. Is that alright with you?"

A nod, slow, as if she barely trusted herself to make the right judgment.

"Gran Torino, pick up my location. Two: one victim lightly wounded," drawled the Pro as he spoke into his earpiece.

Meanwhile, Izuku returned with the bloody knife as Takuma disinfected the wound with the solution in his first-aid pack and bandaged it. The girl was shaking—either from the drugs still in her system or fright—as he wrapped her wrist and tied it up with a bow that nearly succeeded in bringing a smile to her face.

"With this, you won't risk an infection," he told her gently, making sure to keep his distance so as not to trigger her flight-or-fight response. "Could you tell me your name?"

A quick health check revealed pain around her neck and wrist where the cut was, and blood indicated similar pain he had missed in his visual check. What surprised him was the same pain present around her ankle. This was an injury caused by being chained up.

"Lueuyu," the girl said in a small voice, her mind teetering between disbelief, dread, and hope.

He understood it as her not believing she was being rescued.

"That's a beautiful name. My friend here is Midoriya, and right there is Gran Torino. He's a Hero, and we're kind of following him around to learn a thing or two," he said with a reassuring smile, continuing to check for any other health issues.

Until he found one that wasn't quite an issue but made him sick nonetheless.

"Tell me, is there anyone else that needs help?" he asked her as he took a dive into the assailants' minds.

Slipping into their thoughts, riding the wave of fear and anger, he searched for specific memories. They weren't drug dealers but rejects from a gang that had been taken down recently. They had come to this part of town due to the lack of Heroes and police presence, snatching homeless women and getting them hooked on drugs. Then, they made them work the streets for their next high. Those who didn't bring in enough cash ended up in the basement. Around a dozen women were there right now. The small gang also had seven more members, and the man had a gun on him.

"Yes," the girl replied, fear rising as she didn't know if she was making the right call.

"Alright, we're going to help them—and you," he told her in the gentlest tone he could manage. "Izu, stay here with her, but not too close."

His friend nodded, taking a knee next to the girl with a wobbly yet kind smile. When Takuma felt she was comfortable enough, he took a few steps away and walked closer to Gran Torino.

"She's not alone. You should request backup. These two are running a sex trafficking ring," he revealed to the older Hero, whose expression stilled into one of anger.

"How do you know?" the Pro asked for clarification.

"The girl is pregnant," Takuma informed him. "She has wounds around her wrists, ankles, and neck from being chained. She also told me there are others like her who haven't been rescued yet."

"We didn't do anything!" the woman shrieked, her palm still pressed firmly against the wall. "We just crossed paths with that little slut, and she tried to steal from us!"

"We don't know her!" the man added with a roar.

"Even if that's the case, I'm sure the police will want to know why you're walking around with a gun in your pants," Takuma stated, causing the man to still for a second.

He reached for the gun as the woman made a run for it. Gran Torino landed both feet first on the man's back, knocking him out, while Takuma, who had been waiting for just that moment, jumped on the woman from the side, cracking two ribs with a satisfying crunch with a knee to her chest before pushing her to the ground as she screamed in pain. "Stay still!"

A whimper drew his attention as Takuma turned to see the girl looking at him in fear, nearly hiding behind Midoriya, whom she clung to for dear life.

"I'm not even surprised he got to her that quick," Takuma thought as he held the crying woman's arm behind her back.

"Gun secured," the gray-haired Pro stated before speaking into his earpiece again. "Update: one unconscious, one injured, multiple victims. Requesting reinforcement for hostage rescue."

"How many of you are there?" Takuma asked the woman, slightly pushing on her injured side. "How many women are you holding?"

"Gya—stop, you're hurting me! I don't know anything!" the woman shrieked again as Takuma pressed his weight a little more against her broken ribs. "It hurts! Stop!"

"I'm not doing anything. Stop acting and talk. You might get a better deal if you give up your accomplices," he shot back, disregarding her pain. He couldn't care less about what she was feeling. "Last opportunity to talk before they take you in. Who knows if you'll ever see the light of day again?"

He pushed on the woman's fear, the dread and horror of her condition. Pain was a great motivator, and she broke in barely two seconds. "There's a dozen more down in the basement, and like…seven or eight of us in the building," the woman revealed as Gran Torino walked right next to him.

"Where are you holding them?" the Pro demanded.

"Right next to the closed school—Mestesuda High, the old hostel. That's where you'll find them!" she informed them just as the sound of police cars rang out, followed by multiple vehicles arriving, with an ambulance right behind them.

"Dispatch, move the reinforcement to Mestesuda High, the old one. Keep a low profile. We'll meet them there."

Five police officers descended on the street. Two took the woman off his hands and cuffed her, while three others started to check on the man. EMTs soon followed, locking in on the girl, who was already on her feet with Midoriya's help. She clung to him, and it took some gentle prying and words from the bean himself to get her to go with the EMTs into the ambulance.

As Gran Torino was dealing with the cops, Takuma walked next to the bean, who was watching their rescue being transported to the closest hospital. "You did great."

"I don't feel like it," Izuku replied as he looked at his hand, with some drops of blood on it. "She was frightened, hurt, and all I could do was talk about who her favorite Hero was."

"You kept her calm. She felt safe with you," he reassured his friend, who was confronting some of his inadequacies. "Don't underestimate the trouble a panicked civilian can cause. By keeping her calm, you helped us while we dealt with the two. Just because you weren't there to cave their heads in doesn't mean you were useless."

"Could you teach me how to patch someone up?" Izuku asked, then looked at him. "Nedzu had me read the report of the Heroine you saved. You packed the wound and applied a tourniquet to stop her from bleeding out. I want to learn how to do that."

Takuma nodded; it wasn't the worst thing to learn. "I have no clue what you're talking about," he lied, not even trying to sound truthful. "I'll send you a list of what to buy, and I'll show you the ropes after we're done with this unexpected sidequest."

Izuku snorted. "Yeah, I never realized how easy it was for you to stumble into one."

"When you can feel everything through even concrete, it's far easier than one would think to end up neck-deep in shit," he agreed wholeheartedly. "But I have to admit, it's a nice change of pace not to have to do everything myself."

"When the next... sidequest comes your way," the bean started to say with a serious expression, "I want to help."

Takuma blinked, then sighed. "I can't promise I will call you next time the world throws up in my face, but I'll think about it if I feel you're ready for what's coming my way."

"I have a Quirk now. I can fight," Izuku replied, not pleased with his answer.

"And there lies the problem. You could fight long before you had a Quirk," Takuma countered, shaking his head. "You're so focused on your Quirk that you dismiss what you can do—you and not your Quirk. That's going to slow you down, you'll make mistakes. People may die. And I have no doubt you'll throw yourself in front of the first danger that comes, and then I'll have to explain to Mei that her best friend died because he was still traumatized from his Quirklessness and valued everyone but himself."

Izuku flinched at his bold statement, not quite daring to meet his eyes. "You'll be a great Hero one day, I can tell. But for now, focus on yourself. Your past won't just go away, and it'll leave scars that might cost someone's life—maybe yours, maybe someone else's. You can't build anything if the foundations are weak."

Midoriya sighed with some irritation. "You don't have to psychoanalyze me... Nedzu already made me go to therapy with Hound Dog," he revealed, which reassured Takuma somewhat. "You probably should go too."

Takuma barked a laugh as he noticed Gran Torino was nearly done speaking with the officers, and the girl was being loaded into the ambulance. "Midoriya, you have no idea the shit I have been through over the years. There isn't a therapist that can take me without needing therapy right after."

"That's worrying to hear," Izuku deadpanned. "And not very funny."

"What can you do? It's better to laugh than cry, no?" he shrugged as he tried to stomp on his laughter as the police officer left, the two assailants in cuffs.

"The two are being taken into custody, now there's a choice for you two," Gran Torino said as he walked up to them with the help of his cane. "You aren't Heroes, so I shouldn't bring you with me. I am willing to bring you with me under the Emergency Quirk Conscription Act. If you accept, you will both have to follow my every order. Failure to do so will have steep consequences."

"We are," Takuma replied in the same breath as Izuku.

"Perfect, I have a car that will bring us close to the old school. Hop on in."

The car was an old thing, slow, but perfect to sneak in closer to a gang hideout. The drive was quick, barely five minutes, which explained why the girl was so exhausted. Running from her pursuers for so long must have been hard for her. They arrived, and Gran Torino parked his car next to a smaller building that contained five people. He didn't care much about them, focusing rather on the hostel, from which he could feel the horror and fear that permeated the place. Takuma felt sick at what he felt and rebuilt his mental wall as high as he could in that direction. There were a lot of people. Two dozen, multiple gangs. This was going to be harder than he thought. They were going to crack open a den.

"I assume you can already tell who we are about to meet," Gran Torino stated as he led them toward the building with the Heroes.

"I can feel five people. One of them is familiar, Midnight, I think. The other four, not so much," he informed the Pro.

"And for the hideout?" the Pro asked.

"Thirty people total, thirteen in pretty terrible condition," he informed the Pro.

The older Pro nodded once, then opened the door to reveal the gathered heroes.

"So, what's the situation, Gramps?" asked a tall armored individual with the word INGE and NIUM written on the side of his pauldrons. His helmet rested on the table next to him.

"Sex traffickers are holding thirteen women. We are here to save them," Gran Torino informed the gathered Heroes. "And call me Gramps again, Lida, and I'll tan your hide in front of everyone."

"Haven't I seen those two little heads somewhere?" Midnight drawled, whip in hand as she lazily rested against the wall. "Unless I am mistaken, those two aren't Heroes and shouldn't be part of the operation."

"They aren't," confirmed the older Pro. "I have them working with me under the Emergency Quirk Conscription Act."

"Sheesh, I'm not playing babysitter to a bunch of kids," spat a smaller man in his early twenties wearing a red bandana and leather breastplate with a bandolier of knives. "We have six Heroes here; we don't need the brats' help."

"How about you shut the fuck up and let the real Heroes work?" Takuma shot at the Hero, who looked at him with the same indifferent glare he'd seen too many times before. "Unless this genius over here has any more bullshit to say, I would love for you to get your ass up in gear. Because I can tell you, it's not fun feeling cum dripping down my fucking leg!"

This at least put the questioning of their presence to rest, as every Hero was now focused on him. He heard Midoriya gag behind him.

"We have thirteen women chained up in a basement, being pumped full of drugs. Some of them are pregnant, most of them are sporting wounds, and all of them have been raped," he stated, staring at the boy, who flinched in disgust at his words. "The gang is spread across three levels. If we enter from the bottom and make our way up, we can secure the women and deal with the thugs without risking them in the process. I don't feel any Emitter Quirks from any of them, so they are either weak or another type I cannot feel. There are many gangs inside that place, so expect some of them to make a run for it at the first opportunity. The strike team that makes its way to the top will need to take every thug down, or in case one makes it through, warn the holding team in front of the basement. We also need a runner to catch those that turn out to have mobility Quirks when they'll try to escape."

"I'm pretty fast; I can take care of the runner," Ingenium offered with surprising willingness to go with his plan.

"Good, we need someone to come from the top to stop them from jumping on top of the closest building. Gran?" he asked toward the Pro, who looked at him with grief in his eyes.

"They won't know what hit them," the elder replied.

Takuma nodded. "You three—name and Quirk," he demanded, turning his head toward the three other Heroes he didn't know.

"Name's Backdrop. I can set a point that I can teleport back to," the boy seethed. He didn't want to answer, but given that the Pro in charge had deferred to Takuma, he didn't dare question him further.

A woman in her mid-forties, with long two-toned hair in white and black, blood-red lipstick, and a parasol, she was wearing a dress he imagined a Victorian woman would wear. "I am The Countess. I can shapeshift into a bat or a wolf," she informed him in a singing voice, with a smile that revealed sharp canines.

And lastly, a girl, around the same age as Backdrop, wearing a fluffy white bodysuit that made him think of a sheep. She had light green hair with ocean blue highlights in a bob cut and was rather short. "My name is Lockluster. I-I can freeze in place any-anyone that's attracted to me," the girl revealed with a creeping blush.

Takuma nodded. "Good, in that case, Backdrop is going to set a point in front of the basement to reinforce us in case of trouble. Everyone else is going to go up, besides Midnight, who will go in the basement to prepare the woman for transport."

"Who's going to hold the basement door?" Gran Torino asked, having already determined the answer.

"I will, with Midoriya's help," he revealed to the gathered heroes, who all immediately had a dozen disagreements with this fact. "I know how it sounds, but with you four dealing with the thugs and Ingenium running security around the block, it's more of a formality than anything. Unless you all end up being useless, of course."

"But... in that case, shouldn't we go help Ms. Midnight in the basement?" Izuku asked.

"No, those women have been raped, repeatedly," he stated to their horror and disgust as a burning anger bloomed in his friend's thoughts. "Seeing a man right now won't do them any good, and I imagine you can trust the R-Rated Heroine to know a thing or two about helping victims of sexual abuse."

"You can," Midnight replied as she stared at him with the same look she had sent his way once when he met her at U.A. He didn't pry into why she looked at him with such a heartstricken look; he really didn't want to know.

Gran Torino put a finger to his earpiece. "The police and medics are two minutes away," he informed them all. "We'll go with Takuma's plan."

"Let's go, there are people to save," Ingenium stated as he put on his helmet.

Takuma left the room, following Gran Torino's lead as he walked as close to the dilapidated school next to the hostel as he could. He stopped right before the corner of the street. The hideout was right next to them; only they couldn't see it yet. Luckily, there were no civilians around.

"Here, little buddies, these are earpieces I saved for my sidekick. If you need anything, press the center button and we'll hear you," Ingenium told them as he handed each of them a communicator.

"Thank you, sir," Izuku said, near reverent in tone.

"Alright, three on the third floor, seven on the second, and five on the first. We have two inbound for the basement," he warned as every hero made the last check on their gear.

"We all know the plan, let's go," Gran Torino declared as his boots left the ground. "Countess, you are in charge."

"It will be my honor," the woman said with a sharp smile.

"Two on the ground floor," Takuma warned again.

The heroes needed nothing more to act. Gran Torino's boots released their payload as he crashed into a window. Countess shifted into a giant wolf in a dress as she led the charge, with Backdrop and Lockluster in tow.

Takuma gripped Izuku by the shirt. "Slow down, give them time to clear the place before we take our post."

"You boys are full of surprises," Midnight giggled next to them as she played bodyguard for now.

"If you ever feel like becoming a sidekick, I'd be more than happy to take you in. We could do a lot of good with a Quirk like yours," Ingenium offered as he followed them.

"I'll think about it," Takuma replied, just as a man jumped from the third-floor window and started to glide with still wings away from the building.

"That's my cue," Ingenium said before going into a sprint after the man.

The Countess plowed through the flimsy plywood that barricaded the entrance. The two men on the ground floor were both dealt with by a combo of punch to the face and Lockluster freezing them in place. They were cuffed before the three started to make their way up.

"We'll hold here and make sure those two don't try to run," Takuma told Midnight as he noticed the chain on the basement door.

He knew one of the men must have had the key. But there was a quicker way.

"Midoriya," he invited his shorter friend to act as he pointed to the lock.

Izuku was more than happy to help as green lightning danced on his skin. Five percent was enough to crush the lock in his hand.

"Stay out of trouble, boys," Midnight offered as a way to psyche herself against the horror she was about to witness. She went down to the basement.

Taking a look around, he failed to notice any sign of Backdrop's Quirk. "Backdrop, did you place your point on the ground floor?" he asked, finger on the earpiece.

"Fuck no, those bastards are weak!" the hot-headed hero replied with the sound of fighting making its way through the speaker. "We got this!"

"Welp, we're on our own," Takuma stated as he shook his head. He would be lying if he expected everything to go smoothly. Not when a bunch of heroes were gathered; there were always those who couldn't follow a plan worth a shit.

Heroes, villains, thugs, and civilians alike.

"So we just wait here?" Izuku stated, more to calm his own nerves than to verify he was doing the right thing.

"Yep, don't be so tense, you're going to exhaust yourself before we even have time to see a ganger," he told the boy as he slapped his back, which felt like slapping a wall as said boy was running his Quirk at five percent still. "Ow, you're sure it's a good idea to run at five percent? You can handle it?"

"I-I can, I'll lower the output if need be," the boy informed him as he kept looking around, sweat beading down his forehead.

Takuma took a full breath as some of the fighting made its way through his Quirk. He felt the broken bones, bruised flesh, and many Quirks coming to life. Most weren't worth talking about. The Countess's Quirk was the most painful one to deal with as she bit into flesh and clawed at exposed skin. It wasn't anything he hadn't felt before, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. Below them, Midnight was busy freeing the women, with amber hope in their thoughts as the R-Rated Hero did her job commendably. Gran Torino, on the highest floor, was dealing with three of their number who weren't too shabby with their Quirks. But the veteran was bouncing everywhere in the room, much like he did with them, but this time he wasn't trying to impart some knowledge to them, only beat them down. Every kick felt like being hit by a car, and every punch nearly made Takuma flinch as he digested the pain he felt all across the range of his Quirk.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked, as he probably saw him grimace.

"I will be, as soon as they are done bashing some heads," he groaned for an answer as he followed Ingenium, who had caught and cuffed the runner.

Only then did he notice the woman quickly making her way toward the building. "Incoming," he told the bean as he made a grab for his gun/capture tool, courtesy of Mei. "Ground floor, we've got an unknown coming to us."

Static.

"Torino, do you hear me?!" he shouted in his earpiece, but no one replied.

"A jammer?" he wondered with a sick feeling. "Jamming the Hero Network isn't something any moron can do."

It must be the woman.

"We've been jammed, we're on our own," he told his shorter friend.

"What do we—"

"Shut up!" he cut him off as he dived into the woman's mind in search of answers.

Her mind was protected by a steel wall he had a hard time breaking into. She was strong, with training to protect her mind, but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before as he plunged deeper. A mutant, with a duty, no, a target. Takuma's heart dropped in his chest. She was here for him. The Blood had found him.

"Midoriya, go inside the basement and lock the door from the inside," he told his friend as he looked around for a weapon.

"Wha—why?"

"We've got a villain coming our way and no way to warn the pro," he told him as he couldn't see anything he could use to fight. The place was bare.

"I can—I won't, not without you!" Izuku shot back, incensed as he moved to place himself between him and the main entrance. "Someone will notice the radio is down, I'm sure of it. We only have to hold her here until the heroes show—"

"It's not going to work, she's not here for the gang, she's here for me," he revealed to his friend, whose eyes grew wide as saucers before he closed his fist with a determined expression.

"Then we take her down, together," Midoriya declared as the green lightning that was synonymous with his Quirk danced on his skin with renewed vigor. "I'm not leaving you to fight her alone."

"It's not your fight," Takuma seethed as he gathered every relevant piece of information about the woman in the meantime.

"It is now."

"You earnest bitch," Takuma drawled with a grin as he felt the first inkling of her Quirk. "Mutant, she has a tail with potent venom, don't get hit."

"I won't," the boy told him as Takuma walked outside, two steps from the main entrance.

"Takuma, Takuma, I've been looking for you for a while, you know," the woman drawled, tilting her head with a bright smile on her face. Her features were hidden under a long trench coat; the only thing visible was her head, with dirty-blonde hair, freckles, and bright green eyes.

She was young, but not unblooded.

"Last I heard, my bounty was off the board," Takuma stated. Making her talk was a good way to buy time until reinforcements arrived. "You have no reason to come after me now."

The woman giggled in a half-insane, half-joyful way that made his skin crawl. "You're right, I don't have any reason to be here!" she declared with an ever-growing smile. "That's why I have to be! I looked for you, you know, long and hard. And I didn't find you, nowhere."

"That ship has sailed. How about you do all of us a favor and go your own way?" he told her, fully cognizant that it wouldn't work. There was a sprinkle of insanity in her mind that wasn't quite natural.

She was a victim of Seeding. Someone messed with her mind so long she's now nothing but what she was made into: a crazed killer. He took a sample of the leftover touch and locked it in the back of his mind. He couldn't do anything for her now, but he would be more likely to recognize her tormentor in the future.

"Oh, I can't," the girl giggled again. "I have to take you, to bring you back, not because of the bounty, but because I want to!"

"You're not taking him anywhere," Izuku stated challengingly.

"Oh, oh ohohohohoh," the girl chortled. "I do, what I, want."

"How did you even find me?" Takuma asked, hoping to turn her away from his green-haired friend's bold statement.

"Oh, I saw you running earlier!" the girl was happy to tell him. "I just followed the car and ended up here!"

Takuma sighed in relief. She doesn't know about Mei, it was just bad luck.

Mei was safe, and as long as he took this girl down, she would stay safe. "Who's your boss? Maybe I could ask him directly to get you off my back."

"He won't!" she said, then her head tilted to the side again. "He would he, wouldn't, would—"

In a second, her expression died into a blank, emotionless look. Then she retrieved a knife from her pocket.

"Keep your distance and keep an eye out for the potato," he told the bean, feeling some confusion from him before he realized what he was saying.

"I will."

"I will take you!" the girl stated as she rushed him.

Takuma moved his thumb, removing the security on his capture tool right before he pointed it at her. She ducked, and he followed her with his gun. She didn't know it wasn't a real gun, so she couldn't afford to take the risk. A knife was sent his way, followed by another, forcing him to jump to the side. She used the second her attack bought her to rush him again with a new set of blades in hand. Her intent was a mess, but he could still follow her, barely. A downward thrust to his hand aimed to make him drop the gun. He parried with said gun, fully trusting Mei to have built a reliable piece of equipment that could take a beating. The other knife went for his guts, and he grabbed at her wrist. He caught it, but not before she tried to headbutt him, forcing him to step away. A rock clocked her on the shoulder, forcing her to take a step to the side as Midoriya grabbed a heavy piece that was big enough to do some damage, or at least make the person hit have a terrible day. In her crazed state of mind, the girl barely felt the pain.

"You cheat!" the girl screamed as she went onto all fours and rushed Midoriya.

He pointed toward the origin of the mind he felt, using his Quirk more than his eyes, then pulled the trigger.

BANG

The net caught her in the leg and forced her to the ground as her feet were too tangled to move. He felt her intent.

"DODGE!"

Her tail ripped through her trench coat and went for Midoriya's throat. His friend had already jumped before his warning, evading the deadly appendage that would have taken him down right then and there.

"That was close," Izuku commented with a dumbfounded chuckle.

"She's not ready to go down just yet," he told his friend. "And she's got more surprises for us," he added as the girl revealed the full extent of her mutation.

Mandibles ripped the tattered remains of her coat and cloth, as two massive pincers, twice as thick and massive as her arm, revealed themselves. Colored maroon and orange, they were connected right under her armpit. She had many more appendages, most designed to allow her to move while on her belly; those were legs. "You will paAaAaaaAaAYYyyYyYyYY...YOU WILL PAY!" she roared as her exo-skeleton covering her chest and abdomen started to emit a low orange light.

She roared as she used her claw-like appendages to rip the net and crawl at a frightening speed toward Takuma. Her tail went for his face as he jumped back, dodging the flurry of claws that followed to his legs and groin as she tried her best to snip at him. He could only dodge. She was slower, thankfully, as the number of stimuli had greatly risen, making it hard for her to act with so many limbs.

A rock landed on her back, right before Midoriya landed a punch on the back of her leg. He heard more than felt something snap, but it didn't even slow the girl down as Midoriya took a step away from her, looking at his hand.

Takuma pointed his gun at her to threaten her into backing off, but she didn't bother, more than happy to follow along as she yearned to kill him. Another swipe of her claw passed above him as he ducked, then sent a jab at her face, followed by a hastened retreat as she again failed to react.

'She's going berserk.'

Wielding his Quirk to force a state of calmness in the woman was for naught, as her mind had gone far beyond what he could reach. He jumped back, fully using the open terrain to his advantage. He had let the main entrance slide due to the cramped space, and it had paid off for him. He couldn't hold his ground against a mutant with far more strength and power than him.

"She's gone mad. Expect anything from her!" he shouted to the bean as he jumped over a claw, then twisted in mid-air to dodge the tail that would have skewered him if he hadn't moved. Takuma then used the momentum of his turn to kick her in the head, making it snap to the side right before he touched the ground and rolled away from her.

"RWARGH!" she shrieked in anger as her tail started to twitch, right before she impaled herself, the stinger lodging itself right next to her spine.

She twitched once, twice. Takuma felt the rising power as the venom poured into her system, filling her muscles with renewed energy. A second later, she jumped at him, cracking the concrete under her feet as she crossed the distance between them in a single heartbeat. It wasn't something a normal person could dodge. Only his hard-earned instinct had allowed him to throw himself back so the pincer closed in the empty air in front of his face, instead of squishing his skull like a grape.

"SMASH!" came Izuku's shout as he landed both feet against the girl's back, sending her flying until she cracked her shell against a wall. "Takuma, are you—"

"Alive," he cut his friend off. "We need to find a way to tie her down."

There was nothing he could see around them that would be strong enough to hold the girl back, even for a moment. Worse, he could hear the sound of police cars coming their way. With an out-of-control villain, casualties were to be expected if they didn't take her down soon. They weren't heroes, and young as they were, he didn't think the cops would let them work in peace. So, they had to take her down fast.

"The school!" Izuku said as Takuma imagined he had just realized something. "There's always a roll of steel wire inside the P.E. shed. It might still be there!"

"How do you know that?" Takuma asked, given the weird reveal.

"My classmate used to tie me up with it and leave me in there overnight," Izuku revealed with an awkward chuckle.

Takuma barked a laugh. "Holy shit, that's so fucking sad."

"It is," the boy admitted. "Can you hold on until I bring it back?"

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice."

Izuku rolled his eyes as green electricity crackled following his jump over the fence and into the dilapidated school grounds. The girl rolled, righting herself before turning and looking at him with eyes full of blood.

"Alright, ugly, round two."

The mutant charged, and he did the same. Halfway through, he pointed his gun and shot a net straight at her face, blinding her. The tail still went for him, and Takuma jumped over the pincer and grabbed the stinger as he sailed over her. He landed feet first, but he didn't try to bleed off his momentum; rather, he used it to nearly faceplant, hammering the tip of the stinger into the ground, breaking the sharp tip. He rolled away as she turned, roaring in pain and hatred as she swiped at him ineffectively. He saw her jump coming and predicted it long enough in advance to jump to the side and roll to dodge it. Takuma lacked any real means to damage her, and it was starting to get frustrating. He readied himself for the next pass, the girl foaming at the mouth, her pincer opening and closing with a sickening sound of broken shell. She was harming herself more than him.

She jumped half the distance that separated them, and he made a grab for his last flashbang.

CRACK

The tail-end of a whip landed on her shoulder, and a quick follow-up pushed her back with another hit that sounded like a gunshot.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Midnight asked with her usual flirty flair.

"The comms have been jammed. She tried to get inside and didn't take kindly to being told no." he lied on the spot.

"Where is Midoriya?" the Heroine asked with concern.

"He went inside the school ground to grab something strong enough to hold her down," he informed her, noting the small relief she felt knowing the bean was safe. "Your Quirk won't work against her."

"Any good Hero can work without their Quirk," she stated as she took a step forward and cracked her whip on the ground again. "Allow me to demonstrate."

The scorpion mutant rushed her. Midnight walked to meet her in a lazy stroll until she was within range of her whip. The Heroine cracked her whip; it wrapped around the Eteromorph's leg in the blink of an eye before Midnight ducked down, twisting her wrist. Somehow, the whip was strong enough to snap back and throw the large mutant off her trajectory, making her sail above the Heroine and into the wall that delimited the school grounds.

"That whip doesn't follow the law of physics," he commented as he looked over the Heroine's weapon. It wasn't made of leather, but of interlocked plates of purple-ish metal. "I want one."

Mei would love to put her hands on that thing.

"Only if you behave," Midnight replied, sending a wink his way.

He felt no lust nor desire coming from her.

"I'm not calling you daddy," he shot back, earning himself a bark of a laugh from the R-rated Heroine.

"Don't—"

Takuma's Quirk screamed at him that something was going on. The fight inside the building he had been ignoring until now came back to his senses as he felt the gathering of power. People, sensations, actions. He barely had the time to jump and collide with Midnight before a fridge crashed through a window above them and landed where she had been a second ago.

They were both on their feet a second later. The Villainess, luckily for them, broke some of her appendages. Most of her legs on the right side of her abdomen were unusable, or would be if she hadn't gone so far that her mind couldn't even register the pain. A pool of golden-orange blood started to pool under the girl as she stood back up.

"She's bleeding too much. If we don't stop her now, she might not make it," he told Midnight, who nodded.

"There's nothing I can do to immobilize her," the Heroine warned as she unfolded her whip again. "Can you feel Midoriya?"

"I can't—can!" he started to answer before changing his answer to the affirmative as he felt the bean covering ground faster than Takuma would ever manage as he jumped over the wall and returned with a heavy bundle of steel wire.

"I have it, Ms. Midnight. We need to tie her down with this," Midoriya revealed as he set the bundle of wire on the ground. "I think it might be able to hold her."

"It might. Midoriya, you're with me. We're going to keep her occupied while Takuma moves behind her and wraps her leg or tail with the steel rope. When you're done, send it our way so we can start tying her up," the Heroine commanded as she slapped her whip into her other hand. "Do you boys think you can handle this?"

"Yes, ma'am," they both replied in the same breath.

"Good," Midnight said, just as the third floor went up in flames, the window shattering, and the glass falling all around them. "Then get to it!"

The whip snapped and took the girl's attention as green electricity roared with a new life around his shorter friend's frame. Takuma took the steel rope and started jogging around the mutant, who was being pushed back by Midnight's physics-defying whip. Izuku sent a rock hurling at the Villainess, who batted it away with her claw, which broke under the impact. A quick check revealed Ingenium running back after catching a trio of runners who had tried to escape. Gran Torino was nearly done with the leader of the den, while the three other Heroes were mopping up the last token resistance of the remaining thugs.

It was his time to act now. He made a lasso of the steel rope and started swinging it above his head. As soon as the tail reared back for another ineffective strike, he launched the rope. It hit its target and fell down the length of the tail until it reached the base. He then pulled until the steel rope was secured. "Midoriya, catch!"

He threw the end of the rope above the girl, right into his friend's hand, who had to jump back to dodge a strike with a broken pincer.

"I—I got it, catch!" Izuku was quick to shout back as he bent low and threw the wire under the girl.

Takuma caught it and moved to the side, wrapping it around two of the girl's scorpion legs before throwing the length over her again. She stumbled, as he chose to bind her still-functioning leg. In turn, Midoriya walked to the side and managed to slip the bundle under the Villainess again. She stumbled, still roaring in maddened rage at everyone around her. Another crack of Midnight's whip rang, this time hitting the girl's leg and forcing her to the ground. Takuma jumped on the occasion to move around her and wrap the remaining three working legs before throwing the last meter of steel rope at Midoriya. "Hold on to it!"

Izuku nodded as he took a step back and held onto the rope, which constricted the woman so much that she finally stopped moving so much. She was still flailing with her legs and remaining pincer, but as far as they were concerned, she was down for the count.

"Fucking finally," Takuma sighed audibly. "I fucking swear, I'm never leaving the house without a rocket launcher."

"Please don't, I would hate to have to arrest you," Midnight drawled as she took a knee to have a good look at the mutant's injuries. "She needs help. Do any of you know if scorpions can regenerate?"

"No clue."

"They don't," Izuku claimed as he took a step closer to the still raging woman. "Hello, miss, can you hear me?"

An incomprehensible groan was her answer.

"Did one of you catch why she was here?" Midnight asked as she kept walking around the girl in search of something.

"She was here for the gang, probably to make contact and see if they could help each other out, basic gang stuff," Takuma replied as he eyed Midoriya, who then looked at him with concern. "That's all we got."

For a second, Takuma wondered if the bean was about to call him out on his lie, then he looked back at the girl, still holding her down with a tight grip on the rope.

"I see. Hopefully, we can learn more later when she's more under control," Midnight said as a pair of engines roared back to life. Gran Torino jumped from the third floor and descended upon them, landing on the rough terrain with a serious expression.

"The Villain has been dealt with. What happened here?" the elder demanded as Takuma felt the other three start to make their way down.

"Villain attacked the ground floor, Takuma and Midoriya held her off," Midnight informed Gran Torino as she whipped at the girl's back, making a metallic sound ring as the communicator in his ear was brought back to life.

"-ntess, do you hear me?" came the voice of the Victorian-themed Heroine. "I repeat, building clear, does anyone hear me?"

"We can hear you. The jamming device has been dealt with, expect the cops to show up in a minute or so. Detain and secure," the gray-haired pro replied.

"Understood," rang in his earpiece as the three Heroes talked, then separated themselves between the three levels, full of unconscious or injured thugs, all sporting some kind of binding.

"All clear," Midnight signaled in her earpiece as the police officers who had been cordoning the area and diverting traffic moved in to proceed with the arrest. "I'll go and get the girls."

Takuma nodded as he grabbed Midoriya by the collar and moved away from the main entrance. Gran Torino followed along.

"Why—"

"We don't want to crowd them; they already suffered enough," he reminded his friend, who nodded grimly.

"How are you? Any injuries?" the pro asked.

"None," Takuma replied.

"I-I... nothing," Izuku said as Takuma disregarded his words and scanned his health with his Quirk.

"Midoriya's hand is bruised, not broken," he revealed to the pro as he came closer to inspect his injury. "The next time you try to hide an injury, I will slap you," he added with a glare toward his friend, who flinched.

"So-Sorry, I l-lost control of my Quirk during the fight," the bean told them as he pulled back his sleeve to reveal the bruised skin on his right forearm. "I think I might have gone to seven percent by mistake."

"It's not too bad. I'm going to have you checked up by Recovery Girl anyway," Gran Torino drawled with a disappointed look. "Never downplay your injury. Never."

"I won-won't do it again," Izuku said as he didn't quite dare to meet his mentor's eyes.

Takuma watched car after car of police officers arrive. EMTs and a score of ambulances arrived soon after. The officers ran inside the building while, after the initial rush, the woman left the basement. Midnight led them as she walked confidently, though with a bit more grim expression, as she led the shaky woman with drugs still in her system. Clothes torn and blank face with eyes searching everywhere for anything that was a threat. They walked as a group to the ambulance, where a full contingent of female EMTs waited for them. Something Takuma didn't expect to be possible—gathering that many trained women on such a short time frame was likely impossible.

"Midnight has contacts in the care system; those women are either under conscription or working for her," Gran Torino told him, understanding some of his confusion.

'Now that's someone I can respect,' he thought as he watched Midnight gently coax the scared woman into an ambulance, one by one, with enough patience to see it through.

He knew about Midnight's charity, her work to help with sexual assault victims and sex crimes in general. He was glad she stood by her work. Too many didn't.

After the women were safely loaded into any ambulance available and driven to the nearest hospital, it was the turn of the thugs. Cuffed and held down by two cops each, they were pulled and pushed toward the transport that awaited them. They screamed and shouted their innocence. Takuma couldn't care less and enjoyed the fear and dread at the thought of the punishment that awaited them. They didn't know how lucky they were that he wasn't the one to deal with them personally.

"How do you do it?" Izuku asked as he watched the retreating ambulance.

"Do what?" Takuma asked.

"Ignore everything around you. The girl—you felt it when she got hurt, but if she hadn't, you wouldn't have even known she was there, right?" his green-haired friend clarified.

"I wouldn't have," he confirmed. "I spend every day of my life trying to keep people out of my head. It doesn't discriminate between someone hitting their pinky toe on the side of a coffee table and some poor guy being strangled in a back alley."

"How can you just... not listen?" Izuku asked, as he turned to look at him. "You helped Lueuyu, but... how many others did you miss?"

"On any given day? Too many to count," Takuma replied, meeting the boy's eye. "You can't even begin to imagine the horror I can feel—the pain and suffering. Ignoring them is my only way to stay sane. I tried to help everyone once. I gave it my all. Every abuser, rapist, and monster hidden in their cute little house, enacting horror away from prying eyes. It nearly broke me. There are too many for me... for anyone," he revealed to the bated breath of both mentor and protege. "Call me weak, a coward, but there's only so much I can take. For what it's worth, children feel in a way that I could never quite ignore, so if one of them is in trouble, I won't miss it."

"You're not!" the bean protested, catching the attention of a few police officers. The boy cringed as he lowered his tone. "You're not a coward. It's just... I wish I could do more."

"Everyone has their limit. Yours has yet to be found," Gran Torino stated toward Midoriya. The man's grief was palpable as he digested Takuma's words. "For what it's worth, you have nothing to be ashamed of," the old man told Takuma. "All Might is one of a kind. He never stopped, never rested. Even after his injuries. It broke him physically, whereas if he had taken some time off, his health wouldn't be as bad. And his career would have lasted longer." The old hero sighed. "It's a choice, with no right or wrong answer, only one you have to live with."

The last of the thugs went by as Backdrop, Lockluster, and The Countess returned from their assault. The three were exhausted, bruised, and covered in some amount of blood. Somehow, Lockluster's woolly sheep-like uniform was covered in more blood than The Countess, who was busy licking the literal blood off her nail. He didn't miss how Backdrop took a few steps away from the girl. Said girl was busy cleaning specks of blood and teeth from the pair of knuckle dusters she was sporting with some embarrassment. Somehow, it made it ten times worse.

Anxious and shy. But also a monster in battle? Takuma didn't want anything to do with her. He already had enough problems to deal with. And that girl smelled like trouble.

"Mission complete," Countess stated with a pleased grin.

"Good job, you three. The police officers are taking over the area. Dismissed," Gran Torino declared.

"What the fuck is that?" Backdrop asked toward the bundle of joy the Villainess was.

"Villain. She attacked the ground floor. She was the reason our coms were jammed," Midnight intoned as she walked toward the trio, then turned toward Backdrop. "Your help would have been appreciated, but given your cocksure attitude and lack of forethought, I will make sure you find no work around U.A. and its alumni. Good day, and please, do not embarrass yourself even more than you already did."

Backdrop blinked owlishly at Midnight. "The fuck did you say, you dumb bi—Arh!"

The hot-headed hero dropped to the ground, cradling his groin where Gran Torino's cane had struck. "We have better things to do than listen to the local children," the hero said as he started to walk away. "We are all expected to a debriefing, both of you too."

"Ah, fuuuck," Takuma groaned, grabbing everyone's attention. "What? I have a date with my girlfriend in like, an hour."

Izuku choked, then slapped both hands over his mouth as he tried his best not to laugh. Midnight didn't even pretend not to find his words funny as The Countess rolled her eyes. Lockluster blushed harder while Backdrop whimpered on the ground.

Then he felt the sheep-like Hero take an interest in something else as they started to walk toward one of the cop cars.

"E-E-Excuse me, but is that a gu-gun?" the girl asked as she pointed to the capture tool that had gone through its first impromptu use.

"No, it's a capture tool I was supposed to show off earlier. My girlfriend made it," he informed the girl, who couldn't have been more than four years older than him.

"Does she make... other items?" the heroine then asked with a creeping blush on her cheek as she looked away from him.

He was tempted to learn what was going on in that girl's head, but didn't peek. She wasn't a threat just yet, even if she kept ringing the wrong bell in his head.

"She does. She's joining U.A.'s Support Course soon," he revealed as the girl nodded.

"Does she take... requests?"

Takuma blinked owlishly before turning his head toward Midoriya. "Can Mei take commissions without... you know, getting into U.A. first?"

Izuku thought on it for a second. "I don't think so, but I could ask Nedzu for a probationary license. Given that it's Mei, I'm sure that he won't have a problem as long as he can inspect her work before it gets to the field."

Then Takuma turned his head toward Midnight. "Can he do that?"

Midnight grinned as she shook her head. "Nedzu works in mysterious ways. If there's someone who can grant her a probationary license, it's him."

Takuma nodded. "And why are you looking for a Support Engineer specifically?"

"I-I am not well known, and my costume needs some adjustment, and the queue is too long with the Support Companies that are willing to work with me," the shy girl revealed as she didn't dare meet his eyes.

'On one hand, Mei would be delighted to get to work on this girl's costume. On the other hand, it comes with a favor toward the rat...' Takuma pondered as he thought on the subject. 'It's not ideal, but it's not my place to stop her from perfecting her craft, even if the rat is in the equation.'

"Pass me your phone, I'll give you her number so you can see directly with her what would be best for you," he opted to say, as the girl awkwardly unlocked her phone, the same as his, and opened the contact menu.

Takuma wrote Mei's number, which he had memorized by heart, and then handed her back the phone. "Feel free to send a message anytime."

"Than-Thank you!" the girl nearly shouted with a grateful tone as she nearly bowed to him, which grated on his nerves.

Ingenium came back, with the faceplate of his helmet unlocked, revealing a bright smile. "And it looks like everyone is in one piece," he let out while entirely ignoring Backdrop, curled up on the ground. "How did it go on your ends?"

"Good enough," Takuma let out as he noticed the growing interest from the armored hero. "And that's it. I need a smoke," Takuma groused as he grabbed his pack and slipped a cigarette out with his lips.

"Could you... not?" Midoriya asked as they followed Gran Torino to the back of a large police van. "I'm not the biggest fan of smoke."

"Neither am I," The Countess said with an inquisitive stare in his direction.

Takuma groaned as he set the cigarette back in his pack. "Is it too late to get my head popped by the Villain?"

"Yes," replied most of the people around him as Ingenium threw Backdrop in the back of the van.

"I need a drink."

"That's not much better," Izuku groaned in second-hand embarrassment.

"You were fun once," he told the boy, who looked at him as if he was insane.

"I am fun!"

"Eh, I very much doubt it, nerd," he retorted without any heat.

"That's rich coming from the guy whose hobby is to clean!"

Takuma gasped as he turned to look at his friend. "Let's go, you and me, right now!"

"This is going to be a long drive," The Countess sighed.

And right she was.