I started my new job on Monday, and I'm very stressed and want to sort of cry. Carry On chapters will shift back to weekend releases in 2025, I think.
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Night before the play. 11 hours remain.
Class 1-A and 1-B were ready for tomorrow. The stage was set, costumes were ready, and everyone had diligently practiced their lines and movements. Excitement and nervousness lingered in the air as they rehearsed one final time. And now...
"I can't sleeeeeeep!" Kaminari said, running around the Heights Alliance dorm. "I'm so excited!"
"Keep it down," Shinsou huffed. "Some people are trying to sleep upstairs."
"Everyone's in such high spirits," Iida pointed out.
"Best not to think about it," Jirou advised, "Can't feel nervous or shy about it now, it'll hurt the performance in the long run."
"You mean like how you got shy when Kaminari first mentioned your music hobby?" Mina asked.
"T-that's completely different!" Jirou's face turned red as she grabbed her earphone jacks and gently tapped them together.
"What's she saying actually applies to a lot of situations," Izuku chimed in, "People can do great things when its for someone else's sake."
"Oui!" Yuga succinctly agreed.
Everyone was in high spirits...save for Ochako, who was pacing around nervously. Being the lead role, having the busiest schedule out of anyone else there, and...God, she shouldn't be stressed right now. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I can do this," she whispered to herself. "I've got this."
"Of course you do, Ochako," Mina said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We all have faith in you!"
"Ehhhh." Shinsou said, waving his hand a bit. Everyone shot him a glance. "I'm kidding. Sorry."
"I'm kinda glad I'm not a movie star- I dunno if I could handle the stress." Ochako said.
"I know I don't have that much 'screen time' in comparison, but I know what you mean," Izuku said.
"Not to mention. The annoying TV talk show hosts." Alan said. "I know you guys have some fun variety shows here, but in America? We have late night hosts run in front of cars and butcher iconic songs for karoke."
Everyone chuckled at Alan's comment, momentarily forgetting their nerves.
"But seriously, we got this," Kirishima said, placing a hand on Ochako's other shoulder. "We've practiced so hard for this! Nothing can go wrong!"
"Well, except if someone gets in." Kaminari said. "Aizawa said the security this year is air tight. If anyone gets in? No fest."
"Damn, no tolerance allowed huh..." Izuku said, noticing Yuga was looking at something.
"Hmmm...not good," Yuga said, looking over a piece of rope, "All frayed..."
"Woah, what happened?" Izuku asked.
"Kaibara and I have been running through MY part extensively. I suppose we've been doing it too hard." Yuga frowned.
"It could be dangerous." Izuku frowned.
"Can't we just have Yaomomo make some more?" Kaminari asked. "She'd be 'most pleased' to help, y'know."
"Yeah, but she's asleep. And she ain't your factory." Mina called out.
"Well, everyone treats me like their personal generator!" Kaminari frowned.
"You're just chill like that." Alan said. "Do you want us to like, stop-?"
'Guys, guys," Izuku said, "We got some time before the performance, right? I'm up early for training and some other shopping to do, anyway."
"But most shops don't open until 9, and our performance is at 10." Ochako said. "You'd be cutting it pretty close."
"There's a hardware store that opens at 8." Izuku said. "I'll go there."
"Smart move," Ochako nodded, as Ship brushed against her leg. He looked exhausted. "Aww...poor baby. I think he needs some sleep."
"Shiiiiiip," the little blorpo huffed, practically flopping down on the floor, "Shiiiiiiiiiiip."
"Well, we'd better catch some Z's then!" Mina said, as everyone else started to stand up and stretch.
"Before we go to bed...listen up, fellow night owls!" Kirishima said.
Fellow? Ochako repeated in her head.
"Tomorrow...we're gonna pull this off! For real!" Kirishima said.
Everyone cheered, feeling rejuvenated and ready for the big day ahead. They all headed off to bed, dreams of a successful play running through their heads.
But for Ochako, as she laid down in bed, she couldn't shake off the feeling of nervousness that still lingered within her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
"...I just want everything to go right." Ochako sighed. "Please let that happen..."
There were a few other night owls all around campus, getting things prepared for the festival. Kendo had given a similar inspiring speech to her classmates before they headed to bed, as well. Some of the Support Course had worked a bit late into the night to fix up that shooting gallery they mentioned, using three different handmade support items as "guns." None of them were as crazy as Mei's weapons, but they each did put a unique flare to the standard classic carnival game.
Speaking of Mei, she and Ceres had locked themselves in the Support Workshop again, putting the finishing touches on the request from All Might's secret successor. The former of the scientific duo had her goggles over her eyes as she looked over a small, glowing cyan crystal. She beamed with her usual brand of chaotic and gleeful energy as she placed the crystal down and continued her work well into the morning.
6:30 AM. 3 and a half hours till the play
Izuku was out in the forest around U.A, getting in some last minute practice with his ranged attacks, accompanied by Yang and All Might as usual. He had barely begun really, before Mei just popped out of the bushes, some small leaves in her hair and covered in soot from plenty of experimental mishaps.
"There you are, Midoriya!" Mei exclaimed, making the green-haired boy jump.
"M-mei?! You're a mess!" Izuku commented.
"What? Pffft, nah! Just a bit of grime! Nothing bad!" Mei grinned, totally unphased by seemingly everything, "Knew you'd be out here, even with the big day today!"
"That obvious, huh?"
"It's my job as a genius to recognize patterns! Now, I have good neeeeeews! Consider this a delivery, cause you're gear's done!" Mei announced, pulling the pair of items from behind her back, presenting them to Izuku. They were mostly white with green palms and orange sights attached to each of the knuckles, a dual-layered band wrapped around the wrists with a grey seam. The seam was more like a line of circuitry, probably a place for the Dust energy to flow through.
"These...these are amazing!" Izuku said, examining the gloves before slipping one of the gloves on just to see how they felt.
"Glad you like 'em! The design should match the rest of your costume perfectly, because I am who aims to satisfy clients on the first try! Now, I got a 36 hour nap to tend to later so, if you need any adjustments, find me when I wake up!" Mei beamed, giving him a thumbs up as if that was totally normal.
"In my day," All Might, looking over the other glove, "gear to match twenty or thirty percent was unwieldly. But these...they're so compact."
"Kinda like your own version of Ember Celica," Yang grinned, showing off her signature Huntress weapons, those dual golden shotgun-gauntlets.
"Oh, and before I forgeeeeet!" Mei said, handing over an instruction manual, "The manual! Alright, I'm gonna go crash down on the nearest couch and sleep. See ya tomorrow!"
Mei zoomed off, leaving the group alone. "Alright, kid...let's test them out." All Might grinned, as Izuku struck a pose.
"Right…" Izuku focused his strength into his hand, before flicking his fingers. A funnel deployed, concentrating the attack as it launched forward. A nearby tree shook and splintered from the impact.
"Woah…" Izuku exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.
"And that was WITHOUT the dust." Yang grinned. "Imagine it with..."
Izuku grinned. "Can't wait to break these in..."
Izuku spent too much time breaking them in. He intended to be there until 7:30- but now it was 7:50.
"Crap, crap, crap!" Izuku muttered, running through the festival grounds and to the nearest convenience store "Hope I didn't forget my student card! No time to go back!"
But, one problem. Izuku wasn't really paying too much attention, having gotten tunnel vision and super focused on getting the needed gear. He didn't even realize that someone was walking in front of him, so in the end, they just collided.
"O-oh god! So sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going-!" Izuku started, quickly realizing who he bumped into. "O-ochako?!"
"Heyyyy," Ochako chuckled, "You good?"
"Y-yeah, just, need to get to-" All Might's successor stopped, his eyes drifting down to the familiar pink watch face, "Um...Ochako?"
"Hm?" Ochako said, quickly following Izuku's gaze and lifting up her watch, picking up on what he was trying to say immediately, "Yeah, sure. No problem!"
"No, like...what's up with it?" Izuku said, pointing to the watch face. The watch face was flashing a few times, incrementally getting brighter and brighter before it went dark.
"Oh! Well, remember the key thing from like...a month ago?" Ochako asked. "Ceres dropped by and gave it to me. She looked EXHAUSTED. So, the watch is updating. That's all."
"O-oh! Okay?" Izuku said.
"Come on. Let's find a place where I can shift into XLR8." Ochako said, leading Izuku away from the fairgrounds. "By the way, nice gloves!"
"Oh! Thanks! Just got them from Mei, they're meant to help with my lack of ranged moves," Izuku explained.
The duo quickly ducked behind a building and Ochako quickly brought up the icon, slammed down on it, and morphed into the familiar Kineceleran. She nodded, lowering the face-shield and grabbing Izuku.
"Hold on!" Ochako warned before dashing away in a blur of white and pink.
Izuku felt the wind rush against his face- Ochako was going faster than usual, a bit faster than she should have gone. He considered using Blackwhip to hold on a bit tighter.
Ochako immediately skid to a halt behind the hardware store, and reverted back to normal after. "Whoo! Made it in time."
"W-what was that!?" The windstruck Izuku gasped.
"Oh! So...I can't really maintain these transformations for long because it's updating." Ochako explained.
"How long-?"
"If I remember what Ceres said right...about thirty seconds per," Ochako tapped her chin for a moment before deciding on that thirty.
"Does it recharge quickly too?" Izuku asked as the two students walked to the front of the hardware store.
"Nope. It takes a while to recharge." Ochako frowned. "Kinda weird, but better than nothing-" Ochako paused, and started shaking Izuku's shoulder. "Find the rope. Fast."
"What, why-" Izuku's eyes widened. There was already a line.
"Ooooh, come on."
With that, Izuku just dashed in, gathering up everything he needed. In his head, he could hear the ticking of a clock's hands moving, mentally reminding just how on the clock he really was.
But he still needed the rope.
"C'mon, c'mon," Izuku muttered, searching the store shelves for the right kind of rope. His eyes widened in relief, dashing over and grabbing up what looked to be the last spool of the kind of rope he needed.
"Thank you, universe!" Izuku sighed, dashing back to the check-out.
Izuku rushed out of the store, and turned to Ochako. "Okay, got the rope! How are we doing on recharge time?"
Ochako frowned. "Dunno. This update is taking FOREVER." Ochako huffed. "But we got enough time! It's only 8:15."
"Ok, we probably have enough time to just run back normally," Izuku nodded. Without wasting any more precious seconds then, the duo began bolting back to U.A. 8:15, they'd have plenty of time. By 8:30, they were about halfway back.
As they raced on though, they didn't notice a duo of people walking down one of the sideroads. One of them, an older gentleman with a moustache, had a very "pandemic"-esque look to his outfit. He sported a large, high-collared trench coat with a heavy purple scarf wrapped around his neck, a wide-rimmed black hat that protected him from the sun, a typical paper surgery mask and a pair of sunglasses. The other, a much shorter woman, sported a similarly heavy, but fancier looking, flower-like coat with matching large sunhat, shades, and scarf.
"O-oh! Pardon us!" Izuku apologized, stopping just short of bumping into the tall guy.
"And just when I was enjoying the aftertaste of the Golden Tips Imperial," the taller man muttered. Mentally though...oh he was freaking out.
T-the lad came out of nowhere! Gentle panicked, How foolish! How unlike me! We need to avoid uneccessary confrontations!
"Let's be on our way, Honey," Gentle said, quickly regaining his composure and making his voice sound a bit deeper than it actually was.
"Golden imperial tips?" Ochako asked. "Hey, that's the brand Momo used a few days ago."
Izuku turned to the house. "Didn't know that old place was a cafe. Neat."
Gentle turned around, and La Brava flinched. Uh oh, She thought, knowing what was coming next.
"So young, yet so worldly! Your friend has an impressive taste!" Gentle said, approaching the group.
Ochako and Izuku shared a look. "I...guess?" Izuku nervously chuckled. For some reason, this guy's voice sounded familiar...
Ochako felt a pair of eyes staring at her. The shortie was looking at her intently, as if she knew her. That was weird.
Oh, crap... La Brava thought. Wasn't she the gal from the UA Sports Fest? The one who went all out against the champ...
W-wait. Refined taste...an elite school? Dear lord, this boy attends U.A! Which must mean that his companion does as well! Gentle mentally considering, reaching the conclusion himself.
"Yeah, I know some great...people..." Izuku said, flashing back to a few days ago. Momo described Golden Tips Imperial as an incredibly rare and expensive brand, but then something else reared up in his mind.
"The variety is based on the scale of the job, you see. Take for instance, this cup!" the narrator of that one video echoed in his mind, "The implication, my dear viewers, is that my new video will be a wake-up call! Not just for you, but for the whole of society! I do hope you've prepared yourselves!"
Izuku clenched the bags tightly as Gentle turned away. "Hold on."
Gentle paused. Musing about tea...was my biggest blunder. I couldn't stop myself.
"Is this your big job?" Izuku asked.
"Deku? What are you-" Ochako asked, as Izuku set the bags down.
"If any alarm goes off...they'll have to cancel the whole thing," Izuku added in a threatening tone, letting the man know what his plan would bring about.
"What...whatever do you mean?" Gentle asked.
Don't blame yourself, Gentle! There was nothing we could've done! La Brava mentally forgave her love.
"I saw your, video. High-Quality Royal Flush," Izuku said, sparking a memory in Ochako's brain. Her eyes widened and she looked over to the two. The man sighed and moved to remove his sunglasses and mask.
"La Brava," Gentle said, "Start recording."
"You're...that Gentle guy! From Youtube!" Ochako realized. "Oh, don't tell me you're gonna do something THAT stupid."
"Your intuition is impressive, boy." Gentle cut her off. Izuku wasn't focused on that, he was scanning the area. No pedestrians. No hero agencies near UA (the giant hero school with All Might nearby was a villain deterant)...and only a few places Izuku could guess were inhabited.
I could get the cafe owner to call the police, and...no! Izuku shook his head. I don't wanna risk getting the festival get shut down now.
Gentle threw off his disguise. "Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!" La Brava finished, throwing off her own disguise.
"Really?" Ochako asked.
"La Brava! Change of plans!" Gentle announced, "Whatever happens, from now on, keep that camera rolling!"
'You got it, Gentle!" La Brava nodded eagerly.
Gentle bowed before the two students. "Behold! The dawning of a daring maiden and knave's journey! Keep your eyes on the screen, for it is I, the scoundrel...Gentle Criminal! I call this caper...I TRIED INVADING UA!"
Ochako and Izuku blinked. "...tacky."
"Ow..." Gentle said.
"Everyone's a critic! We'll workshop the title later!" La Brava huffed.
"Either way, we won't let you ruin this for anyone!" Ochako resolved, "Together?"
"Together. We can get stop him right here, right now!" Izuku resolved. The pair of students got into combat stances, though Gentle seemed unphased. In fact, he actually had a bit of a knowing smirk on his face, unseen by the two heroes-to-be. With that, though, they both leapt into action...and suddenly collided with the air. Their faces pressed against something, almost like someone had set up a barrier of cellophane wrap that their cheeks pressed into.
"W-what...what the?!" Ochako muttered.
"While uncloaking, I took the liberty of preparing a defense! Those who have been following me for a time know of my Quirk, but for those who are just tuning in, an explanation! My Quirk is Elasticity! Whatever I touch is granted the property of elasticity, including the very air itself!"
Izuku and Ochako tumbled across the ground, their momentum suddenly halted by Gentle's defense. They quickly got back up, dusting themselves off, and rushed back towards Gentle.
"Tenacious bunch, aren't they?" Gentle asked, as he and La Brava started running. "Their mild appearances hides their ferocity! Apologies!"
"Then stay away from our SCHOOL!" Ochako yelled, as Izuku started to deploy Blackwhip to catch up.
"A request that I'm afraid I cannot honor!" Gentle said, quickly taping the pavement and turning on a dim to the face the pursuing heroes.
"Gently..." the villain said, waiting for Ochako and Izuku to step over that portion of the pavement his Quirk had effected, "TRAMPOLINE!" The gentleman thief raised his hand, flourishing his skill like a stage magician after performing a trick, as he commanded the pavement itself to launch Ochako and Izuku high into the sky, catching the duo off guard.
"I too put great effort into school functions when I was but a lad," Gentle began apologetically, "I have no doubt your heart is in it, and you have my admiration. But your determination cannot compare to my beard and my soul! This caper, as grandiose as it is, will be the first step on my road to becoming a legend!" (edited)
"Hey, so...about those kids..." La Brava said, as they bounced from platform to platform. "...We need to RUN."
"What? Why?" Gentle asked.
"The boy- that's Izuku Midoriya! The finger breaking kid from the Sports Fest! And his little girlfriend-"
Despite not hearing her, Ochako suddenly felt herself blushing for some reason.
"She's Ochako Uraraka! She fought that one Bakugou kid! I heard she also interned with Ben 10k..." La Brava rattled off.
"Egads. Fate dealt us a terrible hand, didn't he!?" Gentle frowned.
"Hey," Izuku said. "If I can split those two up, can you handle one of them?"
"Huh?" Ochako asked.
"Trust me." Izuku said.
"Which one are you taking then?" Ochako said, "The one with the moustache?"
"Yeah. Actually...let's switch it up. You handle Gentle- you could probably throw him off with your Zero Gravity quirk." Izuku hummed. "Make his bounces higher than he can control."
"And you handle, what did he call her? La Brava?" Ochako asked, looking over to the shorter criminal, "Dunno what her Quirk is but it sounds like she's his tech support. Could mean that she has a lot of support items."
"So in other words, keep up Blackwhip and keep my distance," Izuku nodded, "Got it."
The familiar black, web-like extensions of the Fifth's Quirk emerged from the ninth user's palm, latching onto Ochako's back. The two gave eachother a nod, steeling themselves for the fight ahead. Gentle said that their determination couldn't compare to his soul, to his own steeled will, but he assumed that such determination was solely for themselves. When that determination is aimed at bettering someone else, at bringing a smile to the face of just one small girl, who'd been kept in the shadows of society her whole life by a madman, his soul paled in comparison.
With a few spins in the air, building up momentum, Izuku hurled Ochako at the dapper villain, letting her slam into his back with a powerful double kick. Gentle staggered forward from the surprise attack, caught totally unaware of the sudden combo move.
"Gentle!" La Brava cried out.
"An...impressive display!" Gentle said, turning around after quickly recovering, "But it shan't deter me! Nothing you do can, you...you..."
And here come the villainous insults, Ochako thought.
"You shining stars of youth!" Gentle complemented with a smirk.
"...okay, unexpected." Ochako said, slapping Gentle on the back. Suddenly, his flight path started to veer off course. With his gravity removed, Gentle stumbled in mid-air, giving Ochako an opening to attack.
She looked down at the Omnitrix, hoping it was recharged- but would it worth a use here?
It was still flashing red; how long did a recharge take during an update?! Ochako moved in and tried to land a mid-air axe kick on the villain. Even though his flight path was still a bit off, he could still defend himself. He quickly tapped the air in front of him, causing Ochako's kick to be caught by the solidified barrier of elastic air.
"That's my Gent-LE!" La Brava yiped when some of Blackwhip's webs latched onto her laptop case. The short hacker struggled against Izuku, thinking the hero was just trying to steal away her gear, but when she pulled on the case, he didn't give any resistance. Instead, he used that little tug to give him a headstart on propelling himself right at her. The small villain ducked under a quick grab before bouncing off another of Gentle's air-trampolines and taking aim with her case. A barrel poked out the side and fired off an industrial-grade net right at All Might's secret successor.
"Woah!" Izuku yelled, as he was suddenly ensnared by the net and slammed against a wall. Izuku struggled to break free, as La Brava grinned.
"Knew it was worth the money!" La Brava grinned, as she landed on the roof. She walked to Izuku, who was wriggling around in the net.
"D-damn it..." He grunted.
"Excellent work, my dear!" Gentle said. Ochako had given up on the axe-kick and tried to maneuver around Gentle and land another strike. It met with the same defense though, solid and elastic air absorbed her punch. Through the barrier though, she saw Izuku struggling against the net. Her eyes went wide and she decided to use this barrier to her advantage. She planted both of her feet against the elastic air before launching off it, tapping herself right before the moment she left the elastic bubble.
Gentle watched in shock when he saw Ochako launch right towards La Brava. The small hacker smirked a little before she heard Ochako rushing towards her. She squeaked, diving out of the way and letting the zero-gravity girl land right next to Izuku.
"Can you break out?" Ochako asked, her voice drowning out the fully charged blip from the Omnitrix.
"One...sec!" Izuku said, going Full Cowling and breaking through the net with ease, "And it looks like you got your charge back."
"Yeah...and I need a good way to attack the guy." Ochako frowned.
"We need a good opening." Izuku said.
"And maybe I can provide that." Ochako said.
"Huh?"
"Trust me," Ochako said, scrolling through the dials and finding the right icon.
Gentle landed near La Brava to check on her, the power of Ochako's Quirk having been undone when she released the effect on herself.
"Are you alright?" Gentle asked, helping the small computer genius back to her feet.
"F-fine. She just caught me by surprise." La Brava reassured her partner in crime.
"Tenacious, aren't they?"
"Very, but what do you expect from U.A. students?"
"Indeed, truly a hallmark of the institution's fine-" Gentle was stopped mid-speech by a flash of pink light, causing him and La Brava to look over and see a pink and black slime-like alien with a singular glowing eye.
"-standards?" Gentle finished, more asking the word upon seeing the alien.
Ochako launched herself towards the duo, body spread and ready to capture. Gentle quickly put up a barrier in between the two, but Ochako latched onto the barrier and oozed around it. She quickly wrapped around Gentle's body, and restrained him to the ground.
"E-egad!" Gentle said, staring at Ochako's Upgrade form.
"W-wait...is...is that-?!" La Brava gasped, recognizing the form, "But that's impossible!"
"La Brava, if you have some insider information, I would love to hear it! But perhaps after I'm freed of this bind!"
"R-right!" La Brava said, quickly taking aim with her computer case, letting another barrel peek out, "Let go of him!"
She tried pulling the hidden trigger and to fire off a strong enough bolt of lightning at Upgrade, trying to shock the Mechamorph off of her love. "NOPE!" Ochako gasped, as she swatted the suitcase away from La Brava, before she was webbed up by Blackwhip.
"No! Unhand her, immediately!" Gentle yelled, struggling to break free of Ochako's grip.
Ochako grunted. "Looks like the update's kinda complete." She said. "It's been well over 30 seconds by now."
"That's great, actually." Izuku huffed. "Kinda glad these two were easier to capture than we thought..."
"Easy? My dear, if I were easy to catch, I wouldn't have so many followers. Clearly, you've never seen me in a true bind before!" Gentle boasted. It wasn't some idle bluster either, as he tapped the stone beneath him before he began hopping in place.
"Gentle...TRAMPOLINE!" the dapper criminal launched himself and Ochako into the air. He smirked as he tapped a spot of air beneath them, forming a platform. With nothing beneath them, Gentle was able to snake his way out of Ochako's grip, leaving her in the air. The gentleman thief landed on his second air platform and launched himself at Izuku, landing a powerful side-kick to the boy, knocking him away and removing the webbing around La Brava.
"This way, my dear! For a plan has come to mind!" Gentle said, tapping the stone and creating a third trampoline. With that, the duo of criminals bounced off towards a nearby construction site.
"Uraraka!" Izuku yelled, following close behind.
"GENTLE!" La Brava yelled.
"What the hell is going on here?"
The two flinched, and looked over to see a random old man. He was rubbing his head, looking over at the construction site. La Brava didn't want to get caught. "U-uh, we're uh...filming something!" La Brava said.
"W-wh?" The old man gasped, befuddled.
"Y-yes! All very hush-hush! Stunt practice! You know how it goes! Please let your neighbors know, for safety reasons!" La Brava explained. She was incredibly nervous now. Even if the old man bought that flimsy story, that wouldn't buy them much time. The plan was in tatters, they needed to pull back.
The old man blinked. "...this one of those 'indie' films?" The old man asked.
"S-sure! You'll see the accolades at Canes!" La Brava frowned, waving him away. "Busy stuff!"
Izuku and Ochako crashed into the construction site, with Ochako using her form to break Izuku's fall.
"Thanks for that," Izuku said, hopping off the stretched-out Mechamorph like it was one of Gentle's created air-trampolines. In a flash of pink, Ochako reverted back to her human self and she looked around the construction site. Right now, the building they were standing in was nothing more than a skeleton, iron beams and girders with a few concrete floors, the place was still in the early phase.
"Woah," Ochako muttered, "Nicely done."
"Huh?"
"Sorry. Can't help appreciating some great construction work..." Ochako said, tapping the girders. "Ooh, they're using some great material...ASTM A36! It has a low carbon content and is easy to weld, making it a popular option for building frames and supports...oooh, and they're using ASTM A955 Grade 60! Oh, that'll add excellent corrosion resistance...wonder how they're handling the finances..."
Izuku blinked. Is this how it felt whenever he mumbled about hero stuff? He began to scan the area for Gentle, trying to find him. Did he make a quick getaway?
"Indeed! I did not anticipate this turn of events!" Gentle's voice announced. Izuku and Ochako turned to the source of the voice...to see Gentle dangling off a girder from his coat.
"How did you even end up like that?!" Ochako and Izuku yelled in sync.
"In truth, not even I know. And yet, I am undeterred! Do not be mistaken, young do-gooders!" Gentle beamed, "I shall see this plan to completion, for a gentleman's resolve cannot be shaken!"
"If you're really a gentleman, why mess with UA?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah! There's like...other lame pranks you can do or something." Ochako said.
"P-pranks!?" Gentle gasped, appalled at Ochako's ignorance.
"Yeah! Isn't that what you do?" Ochako asked, serious.
"Madame, I do NOT do pranks!" Gentle frowned.
"He usually does like...vlogs and reactions," Izuku explained.
"But this is like. Totally a prank, right?" Ochako asked. "What's your plan?"
"Just sneak in, and walk around! Reinforce your sense of justice!" Gentle said.
"...that's LAME!" Ochako frowned.
"Lame?! Care you not for your own futures?!" Gentle said, aghast at the idea.
"Wha-of course we are! But you have to know how tight the security is!"
"As soon as they spot someone as suspicious as you, the alarms'll go off and they'll shut down the entire festival! Besides, you won't even get the chance to sneak in, not when we've got you right here!" Izuku pointed out.
"But there's no need to be concerned! My companion will deactivate the school's sensors, simple as! Her skills with code are marvelous to behold!" Gentle explained with a hearty laugh.
"That'd make things worse!"
"Undoubtedly!"
He lost that debate so easily! La Brava mentally gasped.
"Indeed...you know my plan now." Gentle frowned. "I wish to get going before this become even more...complicated."
"I've already called the cops." Izuku bluffed. "I'm just slowing you down for right now..."
Gentle bowed, moving his foot to make another elastic air trampoline. "We shan't see eye to eye..." He declared, while jumping off the barrier. "While the taste of tea still lingers, I shall bring you down!"
Izuku leapt after the criminal, propelling himself forward with some help from Blackwhip, but he was too slow. With a quick use of his Quirk, Gentle turned the nearest girder elastic. The dapper thief used it as a literal springboard, bouncing off of it and flying towards another metal beam. Ochako dialed through her aliens and pressed down on the watch, being replaced by Spidermonkey once the pink flash faded.
La Brava, still recording, caught the whole thing on video.
"She...she has an Omnitrix?" La Brava muttered.
The arachnoid monkey alien fired off a web-line, hoping to catch Gentle herself, but the criminal turned another beam flexible and bounced off it. Each girder he landed on turned elastic, letting Gentle bounce around the heroic duo at breakneck speeds. Ochako and Izuku went back-to-back, trying to predict the criminal content creator's movements. Ochako fired off a web-shot where she thought, but she was wrong. Izuku tried the same with Blackwhip, but again, the attack missed.
"I can't predict his movements!" Ochako said.
"Neither can I," Izuku replied. "We have to find a way to get him to stop bouncing around."
Gentle continued to bounce from girder to girder, taunting the heroes with his smooth acrobatics. Izuku thought hard, trying to come up with a plan. Ochako, meanwhile, was just firing webs at random, trying to maybe get Gentle's foot caught on some glob of web.
"Come on, come on!" Izuku frowned, deploying Blackwhip.
As Gentle continued his nimble bouncing from girder to girder, taunting the heroes with his acrobatics, Izuku and Ochako struggled to find a way to stop him. Izuku furrowed his brow, deploying Blackwhip in an attempt to restrain the agile criminal. However, before he could act, Gentle swiftly changed the properties of the girder he was standing on, causing it to stretch like a rubber band.
The girl is the bigger threat! If Tennyson really DID give her that watch, he chose a tenacious soul! Gentle thought.
"Gentle!" La Brava called out, "I'm bummed about it, too, but we have to go!"
"No, La Brava, not yet!" Gentle reassured, "Not when I've figured out how to deal with them." He quickly reached down and took something from the girder he was standing on before launching himself to one final beam.
Ochako and Izuku readied their attacks, only to see the criminal hold up his hand, begging them to pause.
"You should hear this, my young friends," Gentle said, "I cannot undo my Quirk. Any item that becomes elastic by my touch reverts on its own in due time. But as these girders regain their rigidity, this springy motion remains. What's more..." the dapper criminal held up a series of bolts in his hand, "I have removed every bolt from the beam I now stand upon, also made elastic but slowly returning to normal. It is destined to fall. Quite dangerous I'd say."
Gentle had intentionally weakened the beam he was standing on, setting up a precarious trap for them. Bolts were coming undone with the violent shaking Gentle was doing. The beam was gradually losing its elasticity and would soon revert to its solid state, causing it to collapse.
Gentle continued his monologue, his voice laced with a mix of amusement and determination. "You see, my young heroes, even if you manage to defeat me, the consequences could be dire. If you make any sudden movements or attack me, this beam will lose its elasticity entirely, and this will all come crashing down."
"Are you SERIOUS!?" Ochako scolded him, her voice filled with frustration and concern. "Do you have any idea about the cost and potential consequences of damaging an ASTM A36 beam like this?!"
"...pardon?" Gentle said, caught off guard.
"This is gonna set the builders back! They have to PLAN how much beams they need! An extra beam could make them go over budget an-HYAHHHHH!" Ochako quickly shot web from her tail, and webbed up Gentle's feet.
"Oh," Gentle blinked, "...slight miscalculation then. Construction knowledge though...not what I was expecting."
"My parents are in the business. That was both from the heart AND a great distraction." Ochako grinned.
"Crafty..." Gentle frowned.
The girder quickly began to solidify and soon after, the beam began to fall. The massive girder slammed down into the concrete floor, kicking up quite a bit of dust, blinding the duo of heroic students for a moment. When the dust began to settle, Izuku's eyes widened when he saw that Gentle was gone.
"What? But Spidermonkey's webbing's much stronger. He couldn't have just cut it off," Izuku muttered. A clicking sound reached Ochako's ears and she quickly pushed Izuku out of the way. Another industrial-grade net wrapped around the literal spidermonkey, pinning her to the nearest girder.
"An excellent shot, my dear!" Gentle applauded.
"How did you-?!" Ochako began.
"My dear, this is not the first sticky situation I've found myself trapped in. A couple months back, I ran into this one fellow with a glue-type Quirk, rather nasty. It was almost the end of my grand legacy!"
"Had I not shown up and shocked the guy in the back!" La Brava beamed, "He was fine. But from then on, we always carry an extra pair of shoes just in case something like that ever happened happened again."
"What," Ochako deadpanned, looking over to see Gentle's shoes still webbed to the beam. He must've slipped into that extra pair quickly since, when Ochako looked back, he was still in full costume.
"There's crazy prepared, then there's...stupid prepared." Izuku frowned.
"Yes! And we're both!" Gentle declared. Ochako tried to fire web at Gentle again, but he created an elastic barrier before him. The web instead stuck onto the barrier.
With a quick wave of his hand, Gentle had the barrier recoil and fire the webbing back at Izuku, sticking his hand to the nearest girder.
"Hopefully that holds long enough. I do apologise for the earlier trick, that was rather rude of me. But for now, you will simply need to stay put long enough for me to succeed! Come, my dear! It's time for the express route to U.A!" the gentleman criminal declared as he moved over to a crane and tapped it. He grabbed its hook and pulled the crane down as if it was operating on cartoon physics.
"Here we go," La Brava said, taking Gentle's hand in her own.
"Allons..." Gentle said before releasing the crane, "YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" All the tension let the duo fling themselves across the city, as if fired from a makeshift sling-shot.
"Ooooh, no he doesn't." Ochako fired two webs at some beams, and grabbed onto them. "Deku! We're gonna slingshot after them!"
"Not the craziest idea right now, to be honest. But what if they-?" Izuku asked, grabbing onto Ochako's back.
"Allow me to handle that," Ochako grinned. With a swift motion, Ochako pulled on the webs, and both she and Izuku were catapulted towards the villains.
La Brava winced as she saw the kids give chase. "These kids are like you, hun...they don't give up!" La Brava frowned.
"Is that so..."Gentle hummed.
"We have to use...my quirk." La Brava said. "I'd hoped to save it until our grand exit, but...we're on a time limit!"
"I...am well aware. With those two chasing us, our timeline has been altered significantly...oh my, I put more power into that launch than I thought. One moment!" Gentle said, his focusing shifting to stopping the duo of criminals from hitting dirt. A large air trampoline formed thanks to the gentleman crook's Quirk, letting them safely bounce off it and land on their feet.
"Now, as I was saying. THose two have altered the timeline significantly..." Gentle sighed, dusting off his costume, "So it seems that I have no other choice than to ask this of you, La Brava, my love. We must-"
Gentle turned to see Izuku and Ochako, heading right towards him. Gentle narrowed his eyes. "Already here..."
Izuku scanned the areas, trying to look for where Gentle had deployed his barriers. "Come on, come on..." He muttered.
He'd thrown one up in order to stall their fall, another behind him to act as a safety net, and a third was erected right in front of him to directly shield him and La Brava.
There! Izuku mentally realized, picking out where the air warbled from its new elastic state atop a nearby tree.
"Ochako, throw me at that tree!" Izuku said.
Ochako didn't even question it- she spun around and threw Izuku. Izuku jumped off the platform, and onto another one...he landed on the ground, right behind Gentle and La Brava. Gentle threw up a barrier to deflect the attack, but Izuku aimed his gauntlets higher- back at one of the platforms he'd jumped off of.
"THERE!" Izuku yelled, firing an air shot. The shot bounced off the platform, striking Gentle from behind. They stumbled forward, caught off guard, as Izuku rushed forward. "BLACKWHIP!" He yelled, deploying the tendrils with expert speed. He quickly wrapped it around Gentle tightly, restricting their movement.
"I cannot," Gentle huffed, "free myself! These...these bindings..."
T-the air blast...and these webs...are they really the same Quirk? La Brava wondered for a second, her concern for Gentle taking precedence.
"Give it up!" Izuku said, "And you! Don't even try resisting"
Oh Gentle...staking your beard and soul on this job, it backfired. Gentle...this...this can't be how it ends! La Brava mentally screamed.
It was during this time of stress that she couldn't help but remember how it began.
La Brava's real name was Manami Aiba and she was never the best with some social cues. Her downward spiral started many years ago, at the start of summer vacation during her first year of middle school. She'd developed a crush on one of her classmates over the days and had gathered up the courage to write him a love letter.
A love letter which said classmate enitrely rejected. The guy hadn't spoken two words to her before now, so he assumed the worst and called her a stalker. She'd put so much effort and courage into that letter and she heard him crush both with her own ears. After that, her belief in basically everything disintegrated, and she became a recluse. She had no goals, no aspirations of her own. She only kept her eyes glued on her computer screen. She even considered ending it all, but then, one day, hope came back to her.
"Greetings my dear viewers! Yes, it is I, once again! Gentle Criminal! Dissatisfied with the state of things? Well then, fear not! I shall give you something to believe in! Yes, I know it is a lofty goal, but I intend to change this unforgiving world of ours!" a younger Gentle Criminal declared from his video.
She found him.
Her light.
When she eventually tracked the starting villain down (IP tracking), Gentle accepted her wholeheartedly. Never said a word about how strange she was. Accepted her.
...and that blossomed into something beautiful. The two were simply enjoying each other's company. La Brava found herself opening up to him in ways she never imagined possible, sharing her deepest fears and insecurities without fear of judgment. Gentle, in turn, would share with her his dreams and aspirations, his hopes and fears. Together, they helped each other grow, becoming stronger, more resilient, and more understanding.
That dream would not die here.
"We're handing you over to the police," Ochako said, landing next to Izuku and the downed criminals, "They'll be here soon….I think. We've been making a lot of noise."
"G-gentle," La Brava said, ignoring Ochako's words, focused only on her love, tears welling up in her eyes, "I love you."
"I love you too, La Brava," Gentle smiled, "Thank you."
La Brava. Quirk: Love. By confessing her feelings to the person she cares for the most, La Brava is able to give them a power boost. The more intense the feelings, the greater the boost becomes. And when activated in moments of crisis...
Three plumes of wispy pink smoke began to rise off of Gentle's back, rising higher and higher into the air. The dapper thief began to move, regaining strength and he started to push back against Izuku's hold.
The boost increases a dozen-fold.
"Apologies, you two. Usually, I prefer not to resolve matters with force," Gentle said, before he and La Brava suddenly vanished in a blur of purple and red. Combine that incredible speed with a swift kick that swept Izuku's legs out from under him, the poor boy was sent spinning the air. Ochako was up next, too shocked to even react as someone grabbed her tail and tossed her into the air as well. The assailant landed a good right hook to the face, sending her spinning mid-air as well.
All of which happened in about two seconds. Gentle reappeared between the two, his back facing them as more of that pink smoke rose off of his body, not just his back, but his shoulders and even his hair as well. He was carrying La Brava in his arms, holding her close, protectively and gently.
"That's why I always edit this part out," Gentle said, his tone still polite, but the words carried just a tinge of a newfound intimidation. He let La Brava jump back to the ground so that he could free up both of his hands for this next part.
"Please, the both of you. Enjoy a nice nap," Gentle said, raising both of his hands, ready to bring two love-enhanced karate-chops down on their necks, "You deserve it."
Ochako Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya. You do your school proud, the villainous content creator thought, But love? Love always wins in the end.
"We've both fought plenty of people who are stronger..." Izuku began as he and Ochako stoppined spinning and began falling to the ground.
"And faster than you," Ochako continued.
"And we haven't. Lost. YET!" the two heroes said simultaneously. Ochako had moved Spidermonkey's tail to curl around her, aiming right at Gentle, while Izuku was preparing another Air Force blast. The dapper thief's eyes widened and quickly bounced away, picking up La Brava and dodging the combined air and web blast from the duo of students.
"How did they-?!" La Brava gasped.
"How unforeseen," Gentle muttered, "To think they can keep going, even after being hit by Lovers Mode. its always a last resort and yet..."
Gentle looked over her his shoulder and saw the duo of heroes rushing after him, ready to continue the fight. The legend-seeking thief dodged out of the way as Izuku tried to grab him, missing by a few inches.
"G-gentle...I'm so sorry!" La Brava cried, "My love wasn't enough!"
"Not a single soul has proven that your feelings for me are inadequate!" Gentle dodged another web from Ochako and he turned around and grabbed Spidermonkey's tail. He tossed the hybrid-alien into Izuku, knocking them both to the ground and seemingly knocking the zero gravity girl out of her alien form with a flash of pink.
"Gently..." Gentle raised both of his hands before bringing them both down, forming a stack of air barriers atop the duo, "Sandwich! I am loath to stack them this way. The thinner a sandwich, the classier it is. Inherently."
"This sandwich...sucks." Ochako muttered. "Deku! Can you reach the Omnitrix?"
"I can...try!" Izuku grunted, producing a tendril of Blackwhip from his arm. As the tendril of Blackwhip extended towards the Omnitrix, it made contact and triggered a transformation. Ochako's form began to change, her body shifting and elongating as she underwent a metamorphosis- she gained insectoid wings that wrapped around her like a cloak, big pink eyes with dots inside and an icy cold body temperature.
Big Chill phased through the sandwich, and reappeared before Gentle's eyes. "I prefer burgers." She frowned.
"That watch of yours...truly gives you an advantage over me, Miss Uraraka," Gentle fully admitted, "But I must see this through to the end. Call it the fleeting dream of a man past his youth."
"Listen," Ochako began. "I can see the passion and dreams that fuel your actions. I don't even think you should get arrested! But this passion is gonna HURT someone. Please, for the sake of someone who can't smile- stand down, and walk away!"
"I can't!" Gentle yelled. "I have to carve my name in history, for future generations! This dream is no longer mine alone! You're a UA Student! Your life is built on dreams! Surely you can comprehend!"
"So WHY!?" Ochako said. "If you get your dream, why trample all over OUR feelings? Our hopes and dreams!?"
"Such is the way of this cruel world!" Gentle discreetly tapped his cape. Call it a sixth sense, but he figured Izuku would free himself soon, and this talking ice moth was a distraction. And he was right. Izuku had launched himself out from under the stack of air bubbles with an inventive use of Air Force. He then raced forward and fired another blast, propelling himself forward as he grabbed Gentle's cape. The plan was to try and throw the villain by the cape and slam him into the ground, restrain him again. Instead, the cape just stretched like the air barriers the thief had created before.
"For your dream, huh!?" Izuku yelled as he lunged towards Gentle. "You'd ruin all our hard work? You'd steal from a girl who doesn't know how to SMILE?"
Gentle hesitated as he threw up a barrier. "If that...is what it takes!"
Gentle's obsession with "leaving a mark" was rooted deep within his past. When he was a teenager, Tobita wanted to be a hero whose name would go down in history and be in the textbooks, and so he enrolled into Shiketsu's hero course. However, his grades were terrible, was repeating years at the high school which was not highly regarded, and failed the Provisional Hero License Exam four times...things were not going well.
"You're kind of hitting a dead end, Tobita." A counselor told him. "Just...drop out, if anything. It's not looking that great..."
His mother wasn't happy to hear this, but the young Tobita wasn't dissuaded. These were just obstacles on his road to herodom! Nothing would stop him! Yes, hearing that one of his classmates was already getting agency offers after he had passed the exam was poorly timed, but that wasn't negative. If anything, that was just more of a reason to continue, to meet his friend on the field as an equal, as a hero!
"Fear not, mother! I will endure these trials!" Tobita promised.
Two days later, that promise was put to the test. Tobita was walking out of a cafe, having finished a cup of tea just like he would on any other day. The difference today was that he walked out into a potential disaster. A window washing unit was becoming unstable, one of the support cables fraying and getting ready to snap. The man inside the unit was holding on for dear life as a smll crowd gathered round below.
"Someone call a hero! Or the police!" one bystander said, as many of the civilians just watched in concern and shock. There was no sign of a hero and the authorities wouldn't be here soon enough. In that split second, right as the the cable snapped, Tobita made a call. His Quirk could cushion the fall and save the man's life! And so he act, making several air barriers to serve as steps, bolting up them and creating a trampoline to catch the man as he fell.
But as he did, a Hero rounded the corner, flying through the air with his wing Quirk. Without seeing Tobita or his air bubbles, the Pro slammed right into the barrier before being launched back into the building. The young man saw his Quirk stop the hero, who was much closer to saving the man and the shock just made him freeze.
So the worker fell.
After the event, Tobita was taken to the authorities and sat down by two men in suits who went over the case.
"The victim was lucky," one man said, "nothing lethal, but he will need six months of recovery in the hospital. He realized what you were trying to do, so he's not pressing charges."
"However," the second began, "as good as your intent was, you still prevented a hero from executing the rescue. That will be put on your public record, Tobita. One charge of obstructing public duties."
From there, things just got worse. Tobita's family hit on hard times. Random people, some no doubt eye-witnesses while others heard about it on the news, had taken to grafitting the walls of his home, naming him "scum," "trash," and one person, in big bold red kanji wrote "villain." What's worse, the home wasn't even really his family's. They were renting it. With all this bad publicity and vandalism, the landlord had no choice but to evict them. Tobita's father became apathetic and depressed, but his mother became wrathful and even started turning to abuse. Hell, she'd even once thrown the TV remote, a pretty bulky piece of tech, right at the back of her son's head.
At the age of 22, Gentle was underemployed. He'd long forgotten his dreams of being a hero, that one fateful and traumatic dream shattering them. One day, Tobita was wandering the streets, a little disheveled. His hair was a mess, the small beginnings of his moustache and beard were unkept, and he swayed around as if he was drunk.
"Ah...such a pleasant Spring day," Tobita chuckled, "Truly, this is the season for enjoying tsukushi."
Tsukushi itself is a mildly bitter mountain vegetable more available in Spring in Japan.
However, as he shambled on, he saw a small crowd of people surrounding a Pro. He had an average build with spikey blond hair and the beginnings of his own beard and moustache. His hero costume consisted of a green jacket with a cuff of fur and shoulder pads, a black top of some kind under that, brown fingerless gloves, and, oddly enough, bamboo stalk decorations. Two stalks were situated on his back while two vertically cut half-stalks covered his ears like a pair of headphones. But this wasn't just some random hero, Tobita knew this man! It was his old classmate Takeshita!
"Takeshita!" Tobita greeted, "What a grand surprise! You've gone indepdent! A proper Pro! Surely you remember me! We were in the same class together at Shiketsu!"
Takeshita though...well, he felt awkward and his next words didn't really help matters.
"Ah...um..." Takeshita muttered, "Who're you again?"
That was truly the final nail in the coffin of Tobita's dreams of heroics. He raced back to his small apartment after that encounter and the shock had passed. He began searching through every book he owned. He tossed aside everything from classical literature to some more popular fictional stories, until he found it. A simple book titled "The History of Supervillainy."
"Is it my miserable fate to live in this squalor? To wither and rot on the vine?" Tobita thought, a spark igniting once he picked up the Supervillain history book, "I say nay! Not just yet! If the road of a hero is beyond me...then I shall forge my name in refined villainy!"
Gentle dodged various strikes from both Ochako and Izuku. He ducked out of the way of a right hook from Izuku, but Ochako landed a powerful kick to the criminal's side. He staggered from the hit, retaliating with his own powerful spin-kick that phased through the intangible Necrofriggian. With the power of Lovers Mode, he smashed the resulting icy prison that had entrapped his leg. He parried another powerful kick from Izuku and landed a three-hit combo of punches to the secret successor of All Might. He even used one of his air bubbles to block a coordinated double strike from the heroic duo and launch them back with power equivalent to quick-firing hydraulic presses.
"GENTLE!" La Brava yelled, tears in her eyes. I've never seen him fight this way! This Lover's mode is so different from the other times! It's like he wants to win this fight more than he wants to make it into UA!
Gentle's movements were fluid and graceful, almost like a dance. He was clearly skilled in combat, but the heroes were not backing down. Ochako and Izuku exchanged a determined glance and charged forward once again, determined to take down the criminal.
As they closed in on him, Gentle spun around and kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air. He flipped backwards, using his momentum to deliver a powerful back-kick to Ochako's stomach, sending her flying backwards. He then turned his attention to Izuku, who had already recovered from the earlier punches.
He's not one for violence...but he's puttig up a good fight. Izuku frowned. Gentle launched himself towards Izuku, eyes wild.
"You find me unprincipled!? Mock me if you must! I can live with that!" Gentle yelled, as he threw a punch. Izuku quickly raised his arm and caught Gentle's punch with his own hand. He could feel the force of the attack, but he stood his ground. The two locked eyes, staring each other down.
"No one's mocking you." He frowned, eyes narrowed. Just as Gentle was about to throw another punch, Ochako reappeared behind him- she grabbed his arm, and began to freeze it solid.
"In terms of opponents, you've been our toughest." Ochako frowned. "But it's time to put an end to this..."
Gentle sneered as more and more of his body was enveloped in that pink smoke from La Brava's Quirk. Half of the dapper thief's face was enveloped in the smoke by now. Izuku had fought with the man enough to realize that the more smoke there was, the stronger he became.
"Tell me then! Both of you!" Gentle demanded, "Why do you hope to become heroes?!"
"I want to be a hero who saves heroes," Ochako declared with unwavering determination. "I know it sounds weird, but heroes need just as much help as people who can't stand up for themselves! My goal is to support my parents and make a positive impact, regardless of the Omnitrix. It's not about personal gain, it's not about me getting money; it's about helping others whenever and however I can!
Gentle's eyes widened as he absorbed Ochako's sincere words.
"My dream's not just about me! It's way bigger than I am!" Izuku said, straining against Gentle's one arm. "It was one I'd totally given up on! But I had people who didn't mock me for it! There are people who respected me for it! I have to honor that! To those that have suffered...I want to be the one to show them a bright future!"
"You'd...given up on it?" Gentle asked softly, taken aback by such a statement. Ochako's and Izuku's words had reached the dapper thief and had certainly affected him, thrown him off balance. That lowered guard made it easy for Ochako to move in and exhale a freezing gale, stopping Gentle in his tracks once again.
"Shoot Style..." Izuku muttered, running right at the immobilized criminal, "St. Louis...SMASH!"
"GENTLE!" La Brava cried out, her vision blurry from her tears.
Gentle brought up his arms to block the incoming attack and, from a distance, it looked like it hit. A massive burst of dust was sent flying into the air, thankfully covered up by a barrage of loud fireworks as the festival was getting underway.
But...it didn't. Gentle opened his eyes when he realized that the move had hit something, just...not him. The dapped thief blinked a few times before he also felt the ice around his ankles and feet shatter.
"That technique...Lover's Mode you called it, right?" Izuku asked, "Use what its usually for and run."
"I...I beg your pardon?" Gentle asked, genuinely confused as the pink smoke of Love began to fade from his form.
"D-deku?" Ochako asked. "What are you doing?"
"Giving them a chance to make a change." Izuku said, wiping some dirt off his face.
"I...I don't understand." Gentle said, still bewildered.
"You thought you were a lost cause too, didn't you?" Izuku admitted, his gaze focused on Gentle. "But you're not. You can change, just like I did...and you clearly have someone in your corner too.
La Brava's eyes widened as he looked at the green-haired boy in front of her.
"I know what it's like to feel like you have no hope, to feel like you've hit a dead end...to just feel ready to give up." Izuku continued. "But...what's important is to...keep moving forward. Even if it's just one step at a time. Every step counts, and every step can bring you closer to a better future. I...don't even think you're a villain. You're someone...who just made some bad choices."
Ochako reverted back to human. Midoriya...you're so...compassionate. She thought.
"But...you..." Gentle was still processing this, in absolutely confusion, "But...but isn't it the duty of a hero to take in the dastardly villain? Is this some...some mental game?"
"No. It's not. And you're wrong. Taking down villains is just one way of what a real hero's duty is. A hero's supposed to save people, be it from villains, disasters, sometimes even themselves," Izuku explained.
"You...you needed this, maybe. You needed someone to be your equal." Ochako guessed. "Someone who could...maybe tell you to walk away...but not give up."
La Brava hesistated. "...hun. She's right."
"Aiba?" Gentle asked, taken aback.
"Even if...we did manage to get into UA, even if we went through with the plan...you'd be too messed up for the camera." La Brava said. "And...these kids could have utterly destroyed us at any second. They were being nice. The pros wouldn't have, and..."
That...was a point he hadn't considered, actually. The gentlemanly villain sighed and took a seat before the duo of heroic students.
"You're right..." Gentle said, "You're right. All of you. La Brava...I...I'm sorry. For ignoring your warnings and advice to leave sooner...I just...this needed to work."
"It's okay, Tobita." La Brava reassured him, taking his hand. "We'll figure something out. Together. We always do, don't we?"
Gentle looked up at Izuku and Ochako, and then back at La Brava. He took a deep breath. "...you promise not to call the cops?"
"Yeah." Izuku nodded.
"...thank you, lad." Gentle said, turning away. "Take pride, you two. You...protected all that was yours. This is your win. Though I'm in no position to give advice...those feelings you mentioned...make sure to see them through."
"...we will." Ochako said, as Gentle and La Brava made their exit.
"I think we should pay that shop another visit..." Gentle muttered. "I've heard White willow bark tea is good to treat muscle pain..."
"That...sounds like a good idea," La Brava said with a heartwarming smile.
Izuku let out a sigh of relief, falling back from the sudden and unexpected fight.
"Not how I thought this festival would be starting off for me," Izuku admitted, before his eyes went wide, "Oh crap! The supplies! I forgot to-!"
"Relax," Ochako smirked, somehow holding up the bags from the store, "I got 'em all."
"How did you keep them safe the entire time!?" Izuku asked.
"I dunno. Just did." Ochako shrugged. "Come on! We need to get back to UA, ASAP! It's 9:17!"
"Oh, crap!" Izuku gasped, before the two started running. While they were running, Izuku had time to reflect on the fight. He and Gentle had similar feelings...Gentle's feelings concerned La Brava. While his...
His eyes focused on Ochako, who was running ahead of him.
"Where are theyyyy," Mic wondered aloud, pacing around behind stage, "Our leading lady isn't even here and we're on in," he checked his watch, "thirty?! Where the hel-...heck did they go?"
"Well, Izuku said he was gonna run off and get some last minute supplies," Jirou said, "He should be back by now, though. No idea about Ochako though, saw her earlier this morning."
"No one's seen-? Ohhh boy."
"We are here!" Ochako and Izuku announced as they threw the doors open to backstage, catching Mic and Jirou's attention.
"What took you guys so long?!" Mic asked.
"Killer line and traffic," Izuku lied.
"Theeeen, why are you all banged up?" Mina pointed out.
"Ship! Ship!" the little Mechamoprh seemed to agree, wagging his tail, all dressed up in his Sultan costume and it was adorable.
"...Long, LONG story." Izuku frowned. "No time to explain."
"Suit me up," Ochako jabbed a thumb at herself.
"It's princess time."