Friendly Foreign Dimensional Exchange Student Spider-Man!: Academia
The Counterattack
The bedroom is dark even though from the window, there are rays of sunlight peeping through the openings that the shutters couldn't cover. Two hands hold on to a handle, turning counter-clockwise to open the shutters to allow the natural light to illuminate the entire room, including Rumi. She lets go of the shutter handle, staring at the high view of the apartment the rabbit girl and her parents currently live in. Rumi motionlessly looks outside until the sound of her phone rings on the tiny bedroom drawer. She is not in the mood to talk to anyone, but when seeing Nakiri's name on the video call, she picks up the device and presses the green button to accept the call.
The face of the tanuki-eared girl appears on the screen, showing a smile of relief. "Hey there. I actually see sunlight, that's a start."
Rumi, in return, smiles faintly. "Hi Nakiri, how was the concert?"
She moves away from the window to sit down on her bed. Her friend first responds with a joyful squeal. "So awesome! Seeing my favorite metal bands in the same place was amazing!"
The rabbit girl chuckles at that. "Hey… so… don't have to answer. But do you feel you're ready to return to school?" Nakiri hesitated.
Rumi's smile vanished, returning to the face of grief she had since her internship ended. There is only silence, and then the head turns to look back at the window. "I don't have a choice… do I?"
The tanuki girl averts her eyes, now wondering if it was a mistake to ask that question to her emotionally distraught friend. But she looks back, attempting to be supportive. "I… it might not be my place to say, but I believe Shohei wouldn't like seeing his friend missing a few days in U.A."
Rumi struggles to not cry. "Nakiri… he…"
"I know… you had feelings for him." She responds somberly, the only one knowing about her friend's secret ever since. "But he also wouldn't like knowing you can possibly lose your pro-hero dream because of him… or… are you-?"
The rabbit girl grips her phone and the bed blanket. "No. I will be a pro hero, and be the best in U.A. no matter what."
Nakiri smiles again, glad to hear that response. "Then I swear to you and him, I will do all I can to help you achieve it, Rumi."
She pauses, remembering something she wants to tell her friend. "Oh, by the way. I saw reports that His Purple Highness will fully recover so he'll eventually be released soon."
"I see…" Rumi simply says, returning to look at the phone screen.
"And I heard from my parents, but is it true that you have to stay in your house until you're back to school?" Nakiri asks.
The rabbit girl nods. "It is. Yaeko's advice is to stay low and only remain in my home and U.A. for extra precaution. But since the…" She is hesitant to say the name, so she doesn't. "…criminal hasn't been active for days; she might allow me to go outdoors soon."
"That's good to hear. So, when you feel like it, let's go hang out soon, okay?" Her best friend questions again.
"Sure, but I guess we have to wait until we meet in U.A."
"Right. Anyway, sorry but I gotta go, helping my mum with grocery shopping today."
"No problem, see you at school."
(X)
The makeshift city inside Battle Center Beta had a few streets filled with broken combat robots with large dents or deep scratches on their metallic bodies. The last remaining one is squashed down by Ryukyu, currently in her dragon form.
"That's… the last… of them. Brave, how is Air Jet?" Exhausted, she looks towards Ken, checking on and helping Takashi stand up.
"He's okay but he just told me he needs some time to start his propulsion again."
Ryukyu reacts in exhaled annoyance. "Not good…"
"Hey, you guys alright? Where's the giant one?" The three look to see their other teammate, Compass Kid arriving at their location.
"Thanks to this horde of robots, they blocked us from stopping their giant boss. Quickly, point to where he is right now." Ryukyu instructed.
Immediately, Compass Kid begins to spin around, and after a few seconds, he stops with his right-hand pointing in the direction of their final target.
"He's currently moving at-" Hokuto pauses his response realizing in shock where the boss robot is. "Oh no…"
"Crap!" Mr. Brave also realizes where that moving machine is headed. "He's getting very close to the National Diet!"
"Brave! Air Jet! Get on my back. I'll take us to the building." The dragon girl commands as she lies down so her teammates can climb onto her large body.
"Are you sure you still got the strength to carry, Ryukyu?" Asked Compass Kid, concerned.
She looks back to Hokuto, showing certainty and a little desperation. "It's either this or not making it in time."
"Leave that machine to me!"
Everyone reacts to the shout of the team's fifth member, hearing the rising sounds of wind bursting out and the collision of concrete. They eventually see the zooming image of Bunny Girl soaring past her team and heading straight toward the giant combat robot.
"Hey wait Bunny- damn it! Is she seriously going solo here too?!" Exclaims the irritated Air Jet.
"Just get on my back, now." Ryukyu calls to her two classmates, which they do. "Okay, hold tight, boys. See you there, Compass Kid."
The dragon girl starts running with all her four limbs to the building representing the fictitious National Diet, leaving Hakuto behind as he too begins running to their new destination. The two male hero students hold tightly as possible on Ryukyu's hero costume as she runs as fast as possible.
"I hope she's okay out there." Wonders Mr. Brave hearing the sounds of combat, especially the ones with metal clashing and colliding.
Air Jet looks at Ken in disagreement. "You kidding me? With how this rabbit is now, she doesn't care about us at this point."
"At least it sounds like she's evading the robot's attacks. Honestly if Bunny Girl wasn't there right now, we would have heard Hard Style announcing that we failed." Ryukyu chimes in.
The three hero students were now significantly closer to their destination. Then, a loud sound of something huge drops to the ground, and the noise of explosions proliferated the area.
Mr. Brave reacts with deep worry. "What was that?! Did it hit the building?!"
Ryukyu stops when they arrive; they see that the fake National Diet is still intact, with no damage. But what the three students also saw had them wide-eyed in shock.
The giant combat robot, the final enemy in their third-year practical exam, is lying on the ground sideways, completely mangled with smoke rising from the joints and fractures. One of the legs is ripped out, and the machine's face is disfigured. And next is their teammate, kneeling with both hands on the ground, heaving and with so much sweat that it drips down to the paved road.
Suddenly, the bell went off in the distance.
"Practical exam's over, kids." Hard Style's voice rings out, echoing all around the premise. "Everyone come back to the Entry Gate of the Battle Center."
Air Jet reacts angrily, removing himself from Ryukyu's back. "What the hell, Bunny Girl?! Just how long are you gonna be this selfish?!"
The student in question doesn't respond; she slowly gets up and raises her head for the three classmates to see the injuries she'd accumulated in the brawl. Parts of her body had a few red smear markings, a sizable bump on her forehead, and the highlight of it all, trails of blood, trickling down her face from her scalp and her nose.
"Well… mission accomplished." It was as all Rumi said to her team as she headed to their rendezvous, wiping the blood from her nose. While entering the narrow tunnel, Rumi hears someone running towards her, and a hand grabs her shoulder, intending to make the rabbit girl stop walking.
"Wait." It was the demanding voice of Ryukyu, who is now returned to her human appearance.
Bunny Girl looks behind to see the severe face of her classmate, Ryukyu lets go of her shoulder. "Look, it may be your new style of some sort. But you need to work with all of us, especially in our exams."
The rabbit girl simply stares at Ryukyu, unimpressed. "And why should it matter to me?"
"Because this lone wolf thing won't get you anywhere, it's important to cooperate with other heroes in the real world. With the way you're behaving now with team-related exercises, and towards your classmates, it could affect your grades." Ryuko's seriousness dwindled, showing signs of concern.
A simple shrug is Rumi's initial response. "Doing it my way is just a challenge to accomplish, so far there's no need for me to change."
Suddenly she feels her shoulders being touched by Ryukyu's hands. "Rumi, I'm serious!" The dragon girl pleads. "If you keep this up, it's not just the possibility of failing to graduate that has me worried. I'm mean, look at yourself! You can't seriously be thinking of risking so much before you even finish school?"
That question gives Bunny Girl the words to counter. "Then… what if that robot was actually a real villain attacking the Diet building? No one there in time to stop them from killing the civilians inside? Maybe a pro hero or two could have stopped that villain if there weren't weaker ones dragging them down."
Next, her hand points towards the downed combat robot, her voice being louder. "Every second, every decision, every movement, anything you do could lead to the saving of lives or the cost of millions. And if achieving a successful mission going solo has its many risks or even possible death, that's something I'm willing to take!"
She sternly walks closer to her classmate, their faces just millimeters apart. "We accepted our possible fates, right when we decided to become heroes, this is what we'll have to deal with here and in the real world."
After that speech, Rumi continues walking away, releasing herself from Ryukyu's hold.
"So, if I have sidekicks or form a team, does this make me weak?" Ryukyu asks, remaining still as her classmate walks away.
"Your choice. But I suggest you rely on your own strength rather than relying on others when you become pro, I'm sure you can." The rabbit girl responds while she still moves.
"And what if I need you to save millions of lives?" The dragon girl's next question causes Rumi to stop and look back at her.
No matter how deep they are in their competition to be the top hero student in their last school year, they recognize each other's strength and resolve.
"I'll help… but either you keep up or don't drag me down." She returns to walking. "If Hard Style asks, tell him I went to the infirmary."
Ryukyu silently stares at her classmate, leaving Battle Center Beta. After a deep sigh, she walks back to her teammates to wait for Compass Kid to arrive at their final location before heading to the Entry Gate together to meet with their homeroom teacher.
(X)
A table in the office of Yaeko is filled with news articles, photos of the victims, and a large map with marked dots representing the locations the Blossom Killer attacked, including a crutch leaning on the piece of furniture.
After leaving the hospital, the pro hero and private investigator returned to her office. She currently is seated on her desk chair currently in deep thought. Even though her leg injury prevented her from doing patrols, she can still return to the serial killer investigation while recuperating.
A knocking is heard from the door. "Come in."
The door opens to reveal Himuro coming in with a small cup on top of a saucer. "Here's your coffee, Lady Yaeko."
"Thank you." Yaeko responds as he places the warm drink on her desk.
He pauses to look at the table with all the research on it. "May I say something about your work?"
"Speak." She turns to look directly at her personal secretary and assistant.
"I'm… deeply sorry that your plan resulted in… another victim." Says Himuro with hesitance.
Yaeko, in return, looks back at the table. "The pro heroes and I knew this was a longshot with how thorough this murderer is. But we're still keeping our alliance together just in case something comes up."
She then gets up and walks closer to her research. "I'm not giving up on stopping them, I won't think of retiring until I succeed."
Satisfied with the answer, Himuro bows. "Understood, I'll take my leave, my lady."
The assistant returns to his own desk, closing the door. Alone again, she places both hands on the table, staring at all the essential information.
Something had made this serial killer change their usual behavior. So why would they attack her former intern if she is not even a sidekick or a new pro hero?
Deciding to concentrate on possible connections for the senior high school student, Yaeko sits down and moves her rolling chair right in front of her computer.
She looked at many websites that were reporting pro-hero-related stuff. The P.I. Hero didn't find any media mentioning the name Rumi Usagiyama or Bunny Girl as the main subject. During the research, she reminds herself that the Blossom Killer is not someone killing people indiscriminately; they always target Pro Heroes fresh from the crop or sidekicks being so successful that they could soon become pros. And the killer most likely finds these potential targets by researching the media, similar to what Yaeko herself is doing.
She picks up her cup full of coffee to take the first drink of it until the cup stops very close to her lips. The P.I. Hero's eyes grew wide, and something sparked in her brain… a possible theory… but horrifying.
Yaeko quickly drops the cup back to the saucer, causing some dark brown liquid to fly out, eventually falling around the cutlery and the desk. She looked for reports on the previous U.A. third-year Sports Festival and those speculating about which students from various schools could become Pro Heroes in the future. The P.I. Hero found many of them had mentioned Rumi Usagiyama or her nickname Bunny Girl in text or videos, from written stories to top-listed rankings. She then looked at front page websites that deliver pro-hero subjects in an internet archive to find over half of them showed reports about the U.A. Sports Festival. If this was the information displayed on the internet at that time, then it would definitely be very similar to how it was told on T.V., on live streams, and on other media during the beginning and end of that school event.
"Why the hell didn't I figure this out sooner?!" Yaeko shouts to herself.
She gets up, limping to grab the crutch which helps her move quickly to the door and open it.
A worried Himuro looks at his superior. "Lady Yaeko, what's-?"
"Himuro, call Sir Nighteye right now! Tell him it's an urgent, I need to meet with him immediately!"
(X)
Rumi is sitting on the roof of her apartment, calmly seeing the sights of her neighborhood in a clear late afternoon sky. This was the other thing she could do besides stay inside her home or school because of her curfew.
Then the rabbit girl notices her phone on the ground is ringing. She picks it up to see who it is. But right when she presses the green button to respond… Her ears twitched, hearing a small object flying very fast straight towards her. She immediately jumps away very fast, evading a possible bullet or quirk attack but unintentionally left her phone behind. Bunny Girl could not believe it, if that terrible night wasn't enough, she now had to deal with the serial killer again, but this time in her own backyard!
She is trying to quickly lose them but hears an object coming in very close. Rumi looks to her left to see for the first time the pointy design of an unusual colored bullet of dark blue and pink curving straight towards her. The rabbi girl twists her body around and evades it. Noticing a wall, she plants both feet and pushes herself forward. She tries to leave by walking on the ground but again hears and sees the curving bullet coming right at her; the rabbit girl simply moves her head away to let the object zoom past her. Deciding to climb up, makes a mighty leap to the top of a flat roof covered with a large fence. She tries to look around to find the murderer but sees nothing suspicious and instead evades another bullet from behind.
"Shit!"
Rumi dashes sideways to go behind a door entrance and stops to hide. Hearing it again, she presses herself on the wall and drops to see the fourth bullet collide with the wall above her. At that moment, Rumi tried to take a breather and could see that those long-ranged bullets were not made of metal but colored fibers. As confusing as it is, she had to ignore it and is now forced to figure out how to deal with the Blossom Killer alone. At first, the rabbit girl thought she had no choice but to hide and hope someone would come to save her, although the area is void of people since most are currently in the urban center, and it takes a while for a Pro Hero to come if they somehow knew what was going on.
But her mind remembers what she had told her classmate Ryukyu after their practical exam. The hands clench hard with teeth-gritting, realizing she had to make a stand right here and now. And this person killed a boy she desired more than friendship.
Pondering for a moment, Bunny Girl remembers that when she looked around before the third attack, she saw a building towering above the others. Most likely, because of that elevation, was how the Blossom Killer could target her successfully. But Rumi's advantage in this situation? She has known the layout of this neighborhood since childhood.
She positions herself like a track runner who is getting set to run. "Alright Rumi, let's have this killer put to the test." She speaks to herself sternly.
The rabbit girl dashes forward with all her might, leaving the building she was hiding in to reach a different one. With a foot on the wall, she pushes on, moving from one structure to another without pausing to stop. Rumi can hear the bullets trying to reach her again, but unlike before, they fail to get close to the young girl's body. Continuously taking leaps, jumps, and wall walking on each building, making it harder for the Blossom Killer to aim at the fast-moving target.
Finding a structure of similar height to the tallest building where the mystery killer most likely is, Rumi keeps moving around until she hears no bullets being fired from where she is right now.
She lands both feet on the tallest structure and, with full strength, rapidly pushes herself up in the air to the other that will act like a springboard. Getting ready while in the air, Rumi turns around to finally see the actual appearance of the Blossom Killer. In that split second, she sees what seems to be no one there but notices the barrel of a sniper rifle and something that is camouflaging the rest of the weapon and most likely the person hiding inside it.
With her feet planted on the wall, she pushes herself straight towards the target at full speed, quickly setting her right leg for a kick with all the remaining energy. "THIS IS FOR SHOHEI!"
Rumi's shout causes the camouflaging cloak to be removed from the sniper to reveal a tall curvy woman getting up from her kneeling. She has long, dark blue hair with numerous scattered pink streaks tied up in a large ponytail. The lady quickly turns around, trying to aim for her weapon that is somehow connected to her arm.
The sniper woman shoots the bullet, piercing through the rabbit girl's shirt and the skin of her left lower side torso, causing a line of blood to come out. But Rumi successfully lands her frontal kick on the lady's upper chest, making the killer be pushed backward, coughing up air from the force of this fast physical attack.
Both of them tumble diagonally until reaching the small fence. The sniper woman lands hard on the short wall, but Rumi having more height than the Blossom Killer, has her back colliding with the metal barrier, screaming in deep pain.
(X)
The ordinary speeding car with a police siren on top drives along the road with detective Eizo Tanuma as the driver and Yaeko being the front passenger. She tried many times to call Rumi but was never picked up, so she switched to a GPS app which showed that the rabbit girl's phone had still not yet moved.
"Are we there yet?" Asks Eizo while keeping both eyes on the road.
"We're getting close!" Responds to the P.I. Hero looking at both her phone and the front.
Yaeko changes to now look at all windows, finding in annoyance that no Pro Heroes or sidekicks in her alliance have yet to come to them. "C'mon, there seriously no one but us who's arrived?!"
"I'm afraid this section of the ward doesn't have much criminal activity, so not many patrols here either." Responds the detective. He then brakes hard when seeing a line of vehicles blocking their path.
"This can't be, it's just as Sir Nighteye predicted to me." The senior woman looks with wide eyes.
The detective tightens the grip on the driving wheel. Showing regret, he too knows about Mirai's quirk. "I know you don't want to hear this, but if it's All Might's sidekick telling you what will happen, then-"
Eizo cannot finish his sentence when he hears the front passenger door opening and sees that Yaeko has gotten out of the car, beginning to run as much as her old body can.
"Yaeko, what're you doing?! Stop!" She ignores the detective's plea.
The P.I. Hero could not let the worst happen again; she couldn't have another young person die on her watch so soon after the other.
Yaeko looks up to hopefully see if Rumi is somewhere that is moving around the skyline until she notices someone beginning to fall down off a building's roof. In her shocking disbelief, the one falling down is a teenage girl with white hair, rabbit ears, and a high school uniform.
It is happening precisely as Sir Nighteye's Foresight foretold…
The pain on Rumi's lower side was too much, not to mention the collision her back suffered. But there was no time to think of injuries when she was currently falling from a high altitude. Instead, the rabbit girl looked around desperately, trying to find a way to make a safe landing, but hopelessly seeing the upper view of the street that was becoming closer and much closer to being the cause of her demise…
"I AM HERE!"
After hearing the loud voice of the man Rumi recognizes, she feels her whole body carried with a third new type of pain due to the g-force of a large man arriving at great speed to stop someone's deadly fall to the paved road. All Might reaches the side of the building wall with many windows; his landing causes a significant cracked dent with glass shards flying off. He jumps upwards, creating a more immense crater, where the number one hero lands them both on the top of a building's roof.
Rumi looks around to see that they have landed on the one where she stopped the Blossom Killer, finding the woman in question lying unconsciously on the floor with the attached sniper rifle still present. The rabbit girl gets off from All Might's arms and runs towards the killer with a hand pressing on her bloodied injury.
"Wait! I can't have you moving with that-!" He halts his words when he recognizes the person on the ground.
The sniper woman is being lifted by Rumi's grip on the dark uniform and keeping a hold on the sniper's arm to prevent her from firing again.
"This is the Blossom Killer, All Might." Bunny Girl looks at her closely, raising an eyebrow. "And… I wasn't expecting a woman and be this good looking."
"Public Safety Hero: Lady Nagant." Yagi announces as he arrives at a close distance from the two women.
Rumi reacts to this revelation in confusion. "Who?"
He begins to explain. "A Pro Hero with a quick that makes her body turn into a sniper rifle, real name: Kaina Tsutsumi. She's an incredible marksman who also worked for the HPSC and was high in the hero ranking. But then one day, Lady Nagant became silent, mysteriously disappeared without a trace for several months. At the same time, the previous president of the HPSC was assassinated in his office. The commission reported that it was a villain who killed him, but I believed her vanishing and the killing were somehow connected."
"Hold on. If this sniper lady went missing for that long, then why would she suddenly reappear and start killing her own people?" Rumi asked desperately for an answer.
"Because we're nothing but blind fakes..."
Rumi and All Might react to see that Lady Nagant has awoken. "Pro Heroes are merely just cogs either to maintain the phony illusion of our society or be manipulated to believe in it."
She moves her head, looking directly at the rabbit girl. "People like you, is brainwashed to see it's only black and white. You'll either end up like everyone else or be silenced for going against the secret dystopian order."
Rumi's hold on the sniper woman tightens. "And the killing of all those young heroes…?"
"An act of salvation, release you from the indoctrination."
Suddenly, Lady Nagant is lifted up with both of Rumi's hands still holding onto the woman. A face of wrath is evident in the rabbit girl.
"SHOHEI AND I JUST WANTED TO ACHIEVE OUR DREAMS! YOU INSANE TREACHEROUS BITCH!"
The sniper woman also reacts in a similar rage.
"YOUR DREAM'S A FUCKING LIE! NOTHING BUT TOOLS TO HIDE THE TRUTH!"
At that moment, Rumi is about to retaliate, but a pair of giant hands keep her motionless. "Young Usagiyama! Stand down!"
"No! Let me go!" She screams.
All Might pushes Rumi away from Lady Nagant. With the cape he ripped from his costume, he speedily shreds it to create a makeshift rope to tie up the sniper woman and gag her mouth. Yagi uses the remaining material as temporary bandages for the bunny girl's bloodied injury.
Now holding the shoulders, he kneels down to be at a similar height to Rumi. "Young Usagiyama, don't let her words provoke you anymore. Miss Umeko told me what happened, and trust me, I lost someone important in my life as well… and it almost broke me. But that person passed away believing I could become someone great who helps everyone and delivers rightful justice in the future. The death was painful, but it became my resolve to be who I am now. And I'm sure your friend felt similarly, and now you're close to becoming what you both dreamed of."
"But… but if I couldn't save him, then what's the…?" The aggrieved Rumi couldn't continue due to now trying to withhold her teary eyes.
The roof entrance door opens, revealing a heaving Yaeko and detective Eizo arriving at the rooftop. They stop to see the scene happening Infront of them.
In response to the teenage girl, All Might hugs her. "I know… even with great power, we still can't save everyone. But it gives us the great responsibility to never give up and be there for others in the future. Soon you'll be that person, Young Usagiyama. And I swear, that woman will get the punishment she deserves."
In the end, Rumi covers her face on All Might's upper chest and begins to grieve, her mouth muffled to keep the loud cries from being heard from a distance.
Edited by Ld1449
This was a lot of fun to write, so much listening to power metal when working on the final parts of this chapter. With this one out of the way, the next will be the conclusion.
I commissioned an illustration about an event that happens in this chapter that I'll submit later when it's done.
As a sort of apology for the long delay of chapter updates, I give you all a double chapter release.
Enjoy!