Musutafu (Afternoon)

"I'll take six of these, please." a teenager said as he stood at the counter of a pet store. He wore a zipped-up orange hoodie with the hood up, black pants with a flame pattern, and white shoes. On the counter was a large bag of pet food, with the other five bags in a cart.

"You sure about this, kid? That's 28,000 Yen worth of pet food." the store clerk said.

"I'm sure. I have more than enough money." the boy said, reaching into his hoodie pocket and retrieving exactly 28,000 Yen in bills.

After being rung up by a starstruck cashier, he left the store and walked into the parking lot, looking around to make sure nobody was nearby. Once he was sure he was alone, he brought a red and white orb from his pocket.

With a toss of the ball, it opened, and in a flash of light, a 6-foot-tall orange winged lizard with a flame at the end of its tail emerged. "Okay, let's make this quick before we're seen." the boy said, prompting the lizard to carry three of the bags. Two were carried in its arms, while the third was held tightly in its jaws. The boy lifted the rest, mounting the reptile before it took flight.

As the duo ascended further, the boy pulled his hood down, letting his brown hair flow in the wind. He looked down at the city below, feeling melancholic about his current situation. After a few more minutes of flying, the lizard made a landing in a junkyard. The boy dismounted the creature and walked towards a mound of dirt twice his size.

"Two. Four. Zero. One." the boy recited. In response to his words, a circular gateway opened in the dirt mound, allowing him and the reptile to enter before it closed. Inside, there was a spacious room with several knickknacks strewn about. But the most unusual thing about this room was the inhabitants.

"Mr. Détruire! You're back!" a young girl with white hair, red eyes, and a horn growing out of her forehead exclaimed, hugging the boy's leg. She was wearing a simple red and white dress, which inexplicably remained clean despite the dirt everywhere. "We've been waiting for you!"

Along with the girl, there were more bizarre creatures. A bipedal frog with its tongue wrapped around the lower half of its face, a bulky creature with a spiky shell and white fur, and a floating golden sword holding a shield made up a small percentage of the unusual fauna residing in the hidden room.

"Eri, I told you that you could just call me Mort." the boy said, patting the girl's head. "Anyways, this was the best I could do for food until I can find a better option." The pet food he bought was designed to work for many different species. Hopefully, it would work here.

The one to try it first was the frog. Before anyone could see it, the amphibian opened a bag, retrieved a single piece of pet food, and consumed it. Almost immediately afterwards, it sported a disgusted look on its face.

"Yeah, I had a feeling." Mort said, apologetic. "Charizard, what do you say to another errand run?"

"But you just got back." Eri said, disappointed. "Could I go with you this time?"

"Uh, I guess." Mort said, unable to say no to the infamous 'puppy-dog eyes'. "I swear, you spend too much time with Sylveon."


Shopping District (Day)

Sometimes, Midoriya Izuku wondered what went on in his head to make him do these things.

To make a long story short, he interfered with the capture of a villain with a sludge Quirk which was now wreaking havoc in the city. To make matters worse, it had kidnapped his classmate Bakugo and was using his Quirk to spew flames everywhere.

Because of the delicate situation, none of the heroes currently present were equipped to handle this. Which is what led to Midoriya's moment of self-reflection.

In a single moment of pure instinct, he ran towards the villain, paying no mind to the inferno surrounding him. He threw his backpack at the villain, striking one of his eyes and temporarily blinding him long enough for Midoriya to try and pull Bakugo loose.

"Get out of my sight, you damn brat!" the Sludge Villain yelled, furious. He swatted Midoriya away, sending his limp body flying back.

Then, crashing through the roof of the shopping district and catching Midoriya, Charizard arrived with Mort on its back. "Phew! Got here just in time." Mort said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Who are you supposed to be? Some sort of wannabe Hero?" the Sludge Villain asked sarcastically.

"Maybe I am." Mort said, dismounting his partner. "But regardless, you have something I want. And I always get what I want." Charizard snarled to accentuate this point.

"Kid, get the hell out of there!" one of the Heroes watching shouted as he kept civilians from getting closer.

Mort simply ignored him, putting on a pair of red-tinted, star-shaped goggles. With a grin, the boy glared at the Sludge Villain. "Our first priority is getting the hostage away. Use Shadow Claw to cut him loose!"

With a roar, Charizard sped forward, slashing at the villain with a claw covered in darkness. It tore through the sludge like paper, then grabbed Bakugo and pulled him out.

"Bakugo!" Midoriya cried out, both relieved and awestruck.

"Now, finish it with Hurricane!" Mort shouted. Charizard's wings glowed brightly before beating rapidly, stirring up a windstorm around the Sludge Villain, throwing him around like a ragdoll. The savage winds spread throughout the area, immediately extinguishing the surrounding flames. When the Hurricane ended, laying a few feet away from Mort was the Sludge Villain, face-down and unconscious.

"That was incredible." Midoriya said, breathless.

"Hey, kid!" a hero with a bulky body and large knuckles shouted as he ran towards the group. "You're lucky that worked, but you could've hurt a lot of people by using an attack that big!"

Mort looked nervous as he turned to Charizard and made eye contact with his partner. "Sorry, but we couldn't just stand by and do nothing. If we were given the chance to do the same thing again, we would without hesitation." Charizard nodded in understanding, standing next to its trainer.

The hero's expression softened at that declaration. "Sorry, but even if you had good intentions, there was a lot of risk in what you did. Both of you."

Midoriya's eyes widened at that. "What!?"

"Fine, do what you have to. But we need to get home soon." Mort said, resigned. He brushed his hand on the exterior of his pocket, triggering a mechanism that returned Charizard to the capsule it was inside. Afterwards, his eyes darted to Eri standing in the crowd, looking completely enthralled by his and Charizard's actions. 'Looks like we made a pretty good show, partner.'