Sorry for the wait! Admittedly could've finished sooner but I wanted to wait for Chapter 5 to release in case there's anything last minute I wanted to consider about it (it's so peak by the way, as is Miyabi who I was lucky enough to pull!).
We also got the reveal of the brand new characters Astra Yao and Evelyn! For the purpose of the current state of the story, I will only accept possible requests revolving around Astra since we've got some details on her. Otherwise please wait until the next major update to request that much with her or anything with Evelyn.
By the way, in case I haven't made it clear, the MHA character ages are meant to be more ambiguous for this story in case anyone feels like there's underage issues.
With the blaring sound of an alarm clock, Midoriya's hand shot out from under his bed covers to turn it off. He laid there for a moment, taking in a few more seconds of rest before sitting up with a groan. He yawns while rolling out off the mattress and standing to his feet, stretching his limbs and popping his joints. It had been a very work heavy day yesterday and finally he could have some time off.
Midoriya grabbed his phone that he left next to his pillow and unlocked it, scrolling through to his texts and smiled as he came to a particular set of DMs. A close friend had reached out to hang out on this particular day.
He quickly got dressed for the day and headed out, passing by a framed photo of a somewhat younger version of himself smiling next to a blond man who looked about as skinny as a skeleton.
Lumina Square is often a busy street and today is no different, many different people of all kinds walking amongst the district to go about their day. Midoriya was just one of many in the crowd, forgoing most of his hero gear and just wearing a basic civilian outfit to blend in. His messy green hair still made it easy to spot in a crowd, as does a rather bulky set of gloves that he chose to keep on him.
"Izuku!"
Midoriya smiled as he heard his name called out by the person he's looking for, standing in front of the local movie theater. Belle, manager of her own video store "Random Play" and more secretively the infamous proxy "Phaethon". Today though, she's merely a humble citizen of New Eridu spending a day with a friend.
"Hey Belle," Midoriya replied back as he jogged over, "I hope I didn't keep you wanting too long, I swear the metro always leaves late."
Belle smiled, "And that's why we met up so early, remember? We've still got some time before the movie so maybe we can look around the city a bit first?"
Midoriya nodded, "Good thinking. Although, are you sure I'm not interrupting your...otherjob?"
She just waved him off, "There's nothing to worry about. Wise is helping the Cunning Hares with a small commission but nothing that needs my help, it's all good!"
Working for an official organization like HAND, normally Midoriya would feel inclined tonot trust a proxy who helps Hollow Raiders. But that would make him a hypocrite since he'd taken to Hollow Raiding himself. As a member of HERO he'd expected to "officially" venture into Hollows for specific operations, but "unofficially" the displaced hero couldn't avoid entering Hollows in his own time to save endangered civilians or take down rogue gangs.
In fact, one of these little expeditions was how he befriended the infamous Phaethon in the first place.
Belle glanced over at him, "How about your friends? Todoroki and Bakugou don't need you today, right?"
"It's fine. Shoto was assigned for a training assessment for today while Kacchan is with Section 6 to take care of some recent Hollow activity." Midoriya glanced at the hung up posters on the outside of the building, "So which movie were we going to see again? I'm not much of a movie watcher these days."
Actually, the only movies he used to watch geared more towards his fanboyism towards All Might...
Belle pointed at a poster with a team of colorful heroes in different poses. "There's a new Starlight Knight movie out. I already saw it once with Billy and enjoyed it enough to for a second watch. Honestly you remind me of a superhero when I see you in action so maybe you'll enjoy it too."
That did seem interesting. While this world wasn't entirely different from his own world with super-empowered individuals, Midoriya couldn't help feeling a little alienated by the lack of more familiar forms of heroism. Not for lack of people like a certain eccentric android who's a big fan of the fictional genre.
Midoriya grinned, "That's fine with me. I've been meaning to check something like that out since Billy talks about them so much, I just never really have that kind of time for it." He looked over the building, "How about we buy the tickets first and then waste a bit of time?"
After making sure their tickets were secured, both Midoriya and Belle headed around the corner to the close by teamilk shop. Both chatted and walked around while shipping their drinks, making light conversation that edged between the casual and their morespecializedjobs.
Belle checks her phone, "The movie should be starting soon, let's head back."
With a nod, Midoriya responded, "Sure thin-..." He paused as he heard the sound of panicked screams and yells, followed by crashing sounds. People were running away from a nearby shop.
Belle took a step back, "I wonder what's wrong. Do you think we should call..." She turned to her friend completely vanished, only a few leftover strands of green electricity left in his place. "...PubSec?"
Meanwhile, exiting through a smashed window is a large group of thugs wearing large helmets. All of the grunts are carrying miscellaneous stolen goods and making way for a pair of larger, much more muscular men. A group of Hollow Thugs consisting of Ambushers and Poachers led by a Bulky Enforcer andBulky Intimidator, defined by who are armed physically and who are holding firearms.
The Enforcer laughs as he holds up a bag of items, "What did I say? With those blue collars distracted by that other loser gang, we're free to have our payday!" The rest of the group laughed and cheered, making their way down the empty street.
"Hold it!" They stop and turn around to see Izuku Midoriya standing there, glaring at them. "I'll give you one chance to drop everything and come quietly...please."
The thugs turned to each other in confusion, not entirely sure how to respond. One Poacher shrugs and holds up his crossbow, firing an arrow straight at the lone hero. Midoriya with ease holds up an arm and uses his armored gauntlet to deflect the projectile.
The Poacher is looks up from his aiming, bewildered at what just happened. He glances at one of his friends and slowly looks back at Midoriya. He mumbles, "No, I must've missed. Yeah, I missed..." He aims another shot and fires only for Midoriya to deflect it in the exact same way. The Poacher calmly puts down the weapon and starts to walk to the nearest Public Security station to turn himself in. He waves at this allies, "You all have a good day."
The Enforcer looks at the rest of his men, who all seem equally as put off at the display of Midoriya's skill. "Are you kidding!? Just attack him already, he's just one shrimp." As soon as he turns back to face Midoriya, he's already mid-jump and landing a kick in his face.
"St. Louis Smash!"
The bulky man is launched into some of the smaller thugs, knocking them down like bowling pins. They tumble to the ground in a painful heap.
Midoriya winces, "Sorry! That might've been a bit much." An Ambusher sneaks up from behind him, raising his arm to swing the electrified transformer coil like a shock stick and swung it down. Without looking, Midoriya grabs it with one hand and elbows the thug. He then uses the taken weapon and parries two more thugs swinging at him, disarming them of their weapons and shocking them unconscious.
He leaps back as theIntimidator starts to fire his shotgun, prompting Midoriya to start running towards him. While the larger man is able to quickly reload and fire multiple shots, the hero manages to use his speed and sidestep the bullets. Just as Midoriya gets close enough to potentially land a hit, a particularly brave (or foolish) Ambusher jumps in and hits Midoriya's torso with his coil. He grunts and is knocked back onto the ground, more disoriented rather than hurt. However that gives the lone Enforcer time to rush other and attempts a double axe handle.
"Oh no you don't!" Midoriya leaps to his feat and catches the Enforcer by the arms to stop himself from being hit. The thug is persistent though, implying more force and starting to slowly crush Midoriya. He grits his teeth as he's slowly overwhelmed, starting to building up more energy as green lighting subtly coats his body.
"One for All Full Cowling - 10%!"
With the small but substantial increase in power, the tables turn as Midoriya pushes the Enforcers arms back up. The villain grunts as he desperately tries to apply more force but it isn't enough. It's only a matter of seconds until Midoriya gets his opening and kicks the Enforcer in the torso, painfully knocking him out.
However, that just leave Midoriya open as the forgottenIntimidator holds up his shotgun and takes aim, "Night night, broccoli head." Just before he pulls the trigger, a gunshot rings out and the thug is shocked as something painfully hits his back and slams him face first into the ground.
Midoriya turns around at the sudden sound, expecting trouble. Instead standing behind the figure is a more welcoming sight.
"Officer Zhu Yuan?"
The leader of PubSec's infamousCriminal Investigation team smiles at him, detaching one of her many augments from her trusty Suppressor: K22 (a fancy kind of pistol, all things considered). She places it on her person before walking over, "Agent Deku. Not to say your help isn't appreciated but I didn't expect H.A.N.D. to send one of their elites out here."
Midoriya looked around and took note of the various Public Security officers who've arrived to arrest the criminals before relaxing, winding down the power of One for All. He smiles back at Zhu Yuan, "It's my day off actually. Normally I'd let the professionals handle things but sometimes my feet just move on their own." Suddenly he looks slightly bashful and scratches his cheek, "Also please don't call me 'agent', that always sounded too fancy for me..."
Zhu Yuan laughs, "I suppose calling me 'officer' is on the overtly formal side as well. I'm sorry you had to take care of our mess."
"It's no trouble at all really!" Midoriya waved his hand, "I just hope I have time to...Oh shoot, Belle!" He suddenly turned and started running, "Sorry Zhu Yuan! We can catch up later!"
As the hero zoomed off, Zhu Yuan couldn't help letting out a disappointed sigh. "I suppose that's for the best. Gotta take care of this lot..." She sends a glare at some of the arrested criminals who suddenly felt more intimated.
Watching from the sidewalk is a more unassuming figure, a girl with a high school uniform and a shark tail eyeing the scene. She casually toys around with a lollipop in her mouth while her eyes glance at the sport where the fleeing Midoriya was standing. Then she shrugs and heads on her way while PubSec wraps everything up.
Demo 1/3 Complete.
For some extra info right now, given I have my selection of the "canon" pairings in this story outside of the requests, here's why I picked the women for Midoriya:
Belle - While originally I wanted to avoid doing a Protagonist/Protagonist pair-up, I find Belle in particular a very fun and adorable character to see in scenarios. Given the actual in-universe ways she's inserted into the plot and bond events, I think she'd be a very easy character to do these kinds of writings for without seeming contrived.
Zhu Yuan - In some ways, I like to view them both as similar characters. They're both well-intentioned people who want to bring good to the world in their dream positions, with those positions inspired by a single figure they both look up to, as well as being complete awkward messes when it comes to anything out of their comfort zone. Pair that with their current set up of a police officer and a government agent, I think they'd make a cute pair.
Ellen Joe - More along the lines of opposites attract, in that Midoriya is a more open sociable person while Ellen is the type to sit back and quietly listen. They could vibe together in a way that seems awkward on the outside but perfectly comfortable for both of them and that's enough.
Grace Howard - To be honest, a lot of this is basically an expy of one of my more-liked MHA ships, Midoriya and Mei Hatsume. While I don't think it'd go about exactly the same, I think there's enough material for a fun dynamic between them.
Also to lay out some of the planned story, here's the format I'm gonna go with:
- 2 more Character Demos
- 3-5 submitted requests
- 1 "Canon' scenario" (undecided theme)
- 1 Lemon (Undecided pair)
- More requests
