Sorry this chapter is so late; it absolutely refused to be written for the longest time. Anyway, no excuses. Sorry for the wait!
Coach Blahk: Thank you, I try.
Gamelover41592: It had to be done.
LEGOBRICK13: All excellent points. Izuku took his work-study with Mirko for physical training as opposed to technique from Edgeshot.
Monkey D. Conan: Glad you liked it! Too bad this one is isn't nearly as cute.
Movieboy66: I wonder which one will work out. Honestly, I'm not sure.
stevenpiskunov2: Both of those were coincidental, but I'll take the credit anyway. And trust me, I have so many plans for poor Izuku in the future. No Assassin lives a truly happy life, and this Izuku Midoriya will be no exception.
zakan: She wants grandbabies.
ZonZus: Your review gave me warmfuzzies. I'll admit, using the Italian was mostly for nostalgia when this was not yet a serious story. Afterward, I had to run with it and have reasons. If/When Izuku grows into his own, stepping out from the shadows of his teachers, he will start using the Japanese.
Chapter 59:
Snakes in the School
Momo panted, every one of her muscles screaming for a break and her stomach crying for food. Creations from her Quirk littered the floor, each one broken or empty, all just as ineffective as the last and now nothing more than hazards limiting safe places to step. Kendo, the redhead on the other side of the room, was in a similar state, what skin could be seen under her training clothes covered in bruises and puncture wounds just like Momo's. Kendo's fingers twitched, the damage to the skin there even more pronounced considering how many of them had been gained while Big Fist was active, condensing them all.
"Come on, girls," Uwabami said, the woman seemingly unblemished and with only a glimmering sheen of sweat from the half-hour battle. "Chins up. Posture. If you're going to go down, leave a beautiful corpse for the press."
"Right," Momo groused. "Because that's our focus right now."
"Tone, Minerva," the pro reminded her, the snakes in her hair keeping their six eyes on Kendo as Uwabami chastised her fellow Templar. "Half of heroics is optics. Rankings will go down if the people see you getting bent out of shape."
"Giant Pistol!" Kendo surged forward, her fist growing even as it twisted forward in a perfect punch. Uwabami jumped, backflipping over the fist where, at the apex of her arc, the snakes stretched to sink their fangs into Kendo's knuckles. The girl flinched, giving the pro time to land behind her, resting sharpened nails at her throat. Kendo froze, slowly raising her hands and deactivating her Quirk.
"I think that's enough for today, hatchlings," Uwabami decided, releasing the orange-haired president of 1-B. "You girls go get cleaned up; I'll have dinner waiting for you in the suite dining room when you're done."
"Yes, Uwabami-sensei," the teens chorused. The woman's snakes slithered down her body, brushing debris out of her path as she walked to the door. She sent a last glance back with a wink before shutting the door.
"Ugh," Kendo grunted, plopping down. She held her hand. "Owowow. Uwabami has no mercy, does she? She didn't seem nearly as strong during our internship."
"I'm sorry," Momo admitted, walking over to kneel by her fellow student. She reached to her arm, the glow of Creation forming but slow to work as she created a phial of soothing ointment. "I'm sure there were other Heroes you could have gone to for your work-study."
"You say that like I'm not learning anything here." Kendo accepted the offering, smearing it over her bite marks.
"You only returned at my request." Momo felt her heart squeeze slightly, unearned happiness fighting against guilt. She wasn't sure if she could have handled a full month of Uwabami's undivided attention, which made her glad Kendo had come as well despite the other girl having a Quirk Uwabami had no specific proclivity toward training. "I know this was not your first choice."
"I'm guessing Setsuna told you," Kendo commented, looking down to the floor. "Yui invited me to go to North Squad Go or I considered trying to meet with Mount Lady or Fatgum. I'll admit I was thinking about other agencies, but I just couldn't say no when you asked. You just… There was this tone in your voice. Maybe that's why everyone in 1-B calls me their Big Sis…" The redhead pushed herself to her feet, not giving Momo time to respond. "Come on. I feel gross. I'll wash your back if you wash mine?"
"…I would like that," the taller girl admitted. She allowed Kendo to lead the way to the elevator, the pair riding it down one level to the suite Uwabami provided for her long-term guests. It was a mostly-open floor design, a lounge area and dining room connected to a kitchenette the central focus. There were four bedrooms in total as well as an attached bath, each denoted by a door, and all in the colors of red and brown. The pair of students being comfortable with each other, Momo and Kendo wasted no time in making their way to the baths, shrugging off their dirty clothing and tossing it down the laundry chute before wrapping themselves in the provided towels.
The bathroom itself was the pinnacle of luxury, open with amenities for all shapes and body types. Showers were on the other side of the massive bath, the wall beside them lined with every effective, good-smelling shampoo on the market, most of which Momo knew to be Templar companies or affiliates.
Kendo, ignorant of such shadowy thoughts, slipped into the bath and sighed, letting the steaming water wash away her aches and pains. Momo took another minute to collect herself before slipping in alongside her.
"…You know, this bath was almost enough to make me come back before you asked," Kendo began after a couple minutes of silence. Momo looked up from the rippling reflection of herself, blinking. Kendo offered a grin. "Come on, I'm a girl, too. How often do you think I get to relax in a bath like this?"
Momo opened her mouth to comment how similar the bath at her family home was only to stop, reconsidering what she'd learned of her upbringing compared to so many others.
"You can come to my home whenever you wish," she decided, Kendo's eyebrows shooting upward. She was probably remembering the limo that had picked them up after their internship. Momo'd asked for the smallest one, but even that had had her fellow student surprised. She shifted. "I… It would be nice. I've never had a friend visit."
"So, we're friends?"
"If… If you want to be." Momo twiddled with her towel. Kendo stared at her for several seconds before a smile crossed her lips.
"It's about time you asked." She relaxed, pulling her towel off. "If we're going to be friends, does that mean I can call you Yaomomo like your classmates do?"
"I would like nothing more," Momo admitted, hesitantly removing her own towel. She had never been so bare around anyone but her own mother or her brother when he had been much younger.
"Then you can call me Itsuka, Yaomomo. The other girls in my class do when they aren't calling me Big Sis." The redhead stretched, letting out a yawn. "Uuuhhh, I'm tired! Uwabami's such a slavedriver!"
"She wants to be sure we can survive," Momo replied, somewhat surprised at the change in demeanor of her newest friend.
"Yeah, well, I wish she'd tell us when we make a mistake rather than pounding it into us with pain. I get enough of that back at my family's dojo."
"At least the recovery period is nice?"
Itsuka eyed the raven-haired girl, Momo playing with her fingers. She stood, the sudden motion causing the rich teen to look up, surprised.
"Come on. Let's get washed."
"O-Oh, yes." Momo followed, arriving as Itsuka picked one of the shampoos. "I wouldn't recommend that one."
"No?" Itsuka blinked, studying what appeared to be the most expensive packaging.
"It works well for a morning bath, but the shine the chemicals offer can stain one's pillow. For hair color and volume, I'd recommend this one." Momo held out an unassuming black bottle with orange stripes. "For nighttime, Fukai Nemuri is the best. It has hints of jasmine, chamomile, and peppermint to help you sleep and biotin to promote natural hair luster. My mother swears by it."
"I'll trust your judgement." Itsuka relaxed as Momo's fingers started moving through her hair with an ease of experience. With her hair wet and out of her usual side-ponytail, it was surprisingly full, falling to her mid-back. "You know a lot about this sort of stuff, Yaomomo. It sounds like you grew up in a different world."
"I… I suppose," Momo muttered. "This year has put the differences in my upbringing into stark contrast with everyone else's. It was not until I began at UA that I was exposed to children who did not have some form of family money."
"It must be nice," Itsuka whispered. She felt Momo's fingers tense for only a moment, telling her that her whisper had not been as quiet as she'd wished. "Sorry, I—"
"No, it's ok," the taller girl sighed.
"…It's not all sunshine and rainbows, is it?" the class president of 1-B asked, the words of 1-A's Tokoyami coming to mind about how Momo's grandparents had been killed in their home when she was just a baby. "Being rich?"
"Being raised with wealth… it's different," Momo admitted. "Mother and father always made sure I had the best tutors for every subject. I attended Eden, the premier grade school of Japan. I was taught business, law, finances, history, languages, mythology, and all the sciences, most of which has served me well even as a Hero student. And yet…"
"You never got to be a kid, did you?"
"…No, perhaps not." Momo's fingers had slowed as she remembered, now simply resting in Itsuka's hair. "As a child of the Yaoyorozu —the presumptive heir until I chose to become a Hero— I was taught that everything I did would reflect on the family and, in turn, the company. I had… I knew other kids at Eden, but we kept each other at arm's length for the most part, never knowing the others' intentions. My one solace was my little brother and my cousin I… Shiozaki."
"You and Ibara had a falling out," Itsuka recalled. "She cried about that."
"We had a… a difference of opinion during our training camp. Her upbringing was similar to mine, but she chose to reject our family in favor of her religion. She wanted me to do the same, but I couldn't leave my brother."
"I don't get it. What's so big a deal that Ibara felt like her religion was at odds with her family? Don't they also practice western Christianity?"
"Ibara interpreted their scriptures far more… literally," Momo decided. Needing something more than her thoughts, she reached for one of the handheld shower spouts, rinsing Itsuka's hair. "She decided our family wasn't following the biblical rules as written and that we were doomed for failure if we didn't change. Her parents didn't take that well and revoked her recommendation, making her take the regular test to get into UA. And then she… Well, we didn't see eye-to-eye during the training camp, I suppose. I felt betrayed. Ibara was one of the few people I'd trusted all my life and she turned her back on our family for some unseen God that may not exist."
Itsuka turned, pulling Momo into a hug. The taller teen tensed for a moment before accepting the affection, her tears starting to fall. She hugged Itsuka back with a force belied by her arms.
"It'll be ok, Yaomomo," Itsuka promised.
Elsewhere, Uwabami nodded to herself, popping another bite of steak into her mouth. She had an earbud on one side, listening to the audio from the bugged bathroom. She didn't have cameras, of course, but she could infer a lot from sound and conversation alone.
"As I suspected," she said to herself, downing her bite with a sip of red wine. "The Shiozaki plan didn't pan out as Hana wanted it to. That explains why she's pregnant again. Luckily, it sounds like little Yaoyorozu's found a replacement already. Now to bring her into the fold and flock."
-AHC-
"Battle Fist, welcome to Eden," Uwabami began, gesturing to the impressive structure behind her. Students in the black-and-gold uniform of the school milled around in the courtyard, some of them pointing at the pro Hero and whispering to each other as the public would. "And to you, Minerva, welcome back to both of our Alma Mater. How does it feel?"
"Nostalgic," Momo grinned as Itsuka flapped her lips.
"This is where you went to school?" she questioned, managing to get her mouth to work, goggling at the campus. "This isn't a school! This is basically a mansion!"
"Oh yes," Uwabami answered for her taller Sidekick. "Minerva graduated with honors as an Imperial Scholar. Isn't that right?"
"Well, yes," Momo confirmed. "Shall we get going?"
"Er, why are we here again?" Itsuka asked. "I kind of forgot to listen after seeing the building."
"We're going to be the teachers for Eden's after-school pre-Hero class," Uwabami answered.
"I took that elective with I… Shiozaki last year," Momo recalled. "It was rather large, so they split us into two groups. Aoyama and Shishida were in that class if I recall."
"Shishida went here?" Itsuka muttered.
"He was second in our class," Momo confirmed as the trio stepped through the gate. "He had the option of getting a recommendation like I did but chose to take the regular test instead. He said he wished to prove his worth, not the words of another."
"Yeah, that sounds like Shishida."
"Big Sis!" Momo knelt instantly, spreading her arms to catch the little missile of a boy that threw himself into her arms. She smiled, spinning Kyoryoku in a circle. His arms stretched with a minor application of his Transformation-type Quirk, making them long enough to wrap around Momo's neck in a hug that pulled his head into the crook of her neck. The taller teen just chuckled, hugging her little brother close. "I've missed you!"
"I've only been gone for ten days, Kyo," Momo admonished with a giggle.
"That's too long! You've been gone a lot this year! Look, I have 11 Estrella now!"
"Good work, Kyo. I'm so proud of you."
"I'm sorry, cousin," another boy said, hurrying up to the pair of siblings. Itsuka studied the boy, judging him to be one year or so younger than she and Momo but clearly having gone through something traumatic based on the burn scar that ran up the side of his face to his eye. He held an emerald-topped cane sized for someone smaller in his hand. "You know how slippery Kyoryoku can be."
"It's not a problem, Shay," Momo replied, using the boy's fake name. She gingerly set Kyoryoku on the ground, but he still clung to her hand.
"Who are these two?" Uwabami asked for the sake of optics.
"This is my little brother Kyoryoku and my American second cousin Shay Lee. Kyo, Shay, these are Uwabami and Battle Fist. While here in this costume, I also ask that you refer to me by my Hero name: Minerva."
"Of course, Minerva," Simon replied before taking Uwabami and Itsuka's hands in his own in succession, placing a light kiss on the back of each. "Lovely to make your acquaintances."
"Aren't you a little charmer," Uwabami commented while Itsuka blushed.
"If I may ask, what brings you three to Eden?"
"We are the guest lecturers for the pre-Hero class this afternoon," Momo answered. Kyoryoku pouted, seeing as that meant he wouldn't have time to be with his big sister.
"I can lead you to the gymnasium," Simon offered, handing Kyoryoku the cane. "I will need to change, but you may at least get acquainted with the area beforehand."
"That would be lovely," Uwabami smiled. Simon nodded and turned, gesturing with a hand for the trio of Hero and Hero students to follow. Uwabami stepped forward, Itsuka following after a moment.
"I have to go now, Kyo," Momo muttered, getting down on one knee to give the boy one more hug. "I'm sure Hito's on his way. Tell father hello for me."
"I will." Momo planted a kiss on her brother's head before following after her teacher and fellow class president. As she stepped into the courtyard proper, her mind commenting how different everything looked now that she knew the secret of the Templars, she didn't notice a horned, pink-haired girl pause in conversation with her friend, said girl turning slightly to see her back. Said friend took the moment of distraction to notice Kyoryoku at the gate.
"Oh, little Kyo~!"
The pink-haired student rolled her eyes but left the poor boy to his fate. She suddenly had more important matters to handle.
Momo already knew the way to the gymnasiums where the pre-Hero classes were taught, so she didn't need to listen as Simon recounted facts and details to those behind him. Such was only new to Itsuka since Uwabami had attended Eden in her youth, but the pro listened respectfully anyway.
It took several minutes of travel before the group arrived at the Hideo Gym, one of four in which the pre-Hero classes were taught. Simon offered the women a respectful bow and took his leave for the changing rooms. Momo took the lead, stepping into the building first.
Only one student was there already, the small girl with tiger mutations batting at a multi-rotational training post. She didn't notice their entrance, the smirk on her face wide as she ducked and weaved through the spinning bars. She was dressed in the gym uniform of Eden, a black tracksuit with golden embellishments, the Tree of Knowledge logo on the left breast. A tiger tail poked out of a hole in the back of the girl's outfit, swaying to help balance her quick motions.
"Looks like she's a CQC," Uwabami commented to her temporary Sidekicks. "She could do with some situational awareness, though. You and I can work with her and any other close-range fighter, Battle Fist. Minerva, can I entrust you with any mid- and long-range students?"
"Of course, Uwabami."
Out of one of the changing rooms came a black-haired student with a length of metal resting on his shoulder, his expression blank. Noticing the three irregular individuals in the room, he walked over and stood before them.
"Can I assume you are our guest instructor?" he asked.
"I am," Uwabami answered. "And these are my interns from UA."
"My name is Ren Amaki and my Quirk is Blade Creation. I can form a bladed weapon of any type out of any matter I am holding. Theoretically, I could even make a blade of light, but I normally use a metal pole."
"Another CQC," Uwabami noted. "I was told there were four of you in this class?"
"That's Taiga Aisaka," Ren said, gesturing to the tiger-girl. "The others are Kerori Himura and Shay Lee. Their Quirks are Demonic Ice and Spirit Eagle respectively, giving both close- and mid-range abilities. Shay is new and American, but his Japanese is good and he's catching on quickly."
As he finished, both Simon and the named Kerori emerged from their respective changing rooms, the former with white almost silver hair that hung to her neck.
"Ah good, everyone's here." Uwabami clapped her hands twice to get everyone's attention, the sound distracting the tiger-girl long enough for one of the lower posts to smack her in the leg. She hissed out a curse and hopped over, favoring her other as the new bruise formed. "Hello, everyone. As you may or may not know, I'm Uwabami, a pro Hero and an alum of Eden before I attended Ketsubutsu. My Quirk is called Serpentress. Behind me are my current work-study interns from UA, Minerva and Battle Fist. Minerva's Quirk is Creation, and Battle Fist's is called Big Fist."
"UA?" Aisaka questioned, stars in her eyes. "That's amazing! I've always wanted to go! What's the Hero Course like?"
"Tiring," Itsuka sighed.
"Dangerous," Momo answered at the same time. They turned to each other before Itsuka gestured for Momo to go first. She nodded. "I will admit my class's first month was an outlier, but we were attacked by villains during a routine training session beyond the standard battle grounds. There has been no word about the perpetrators that escaped since, but the tribulation left an effect on all of us." Momo shuddered, remembering the mangled mess of blood and bone that had been Izuku's arm after a single touch from Tomura Shigaraki. Periodically, she would see a glimpse of the scar that remained and remember it. "Since that moment, they have not held back our training in any way." ¹
"I can't say we were attacked," Itsuka offered, rubbing the back of her head, "but I can tell you the attack had an effect on our studies as well. Our training got upped afterward and sometimes it feels like they don't give us the time we need to rest. Even then, that time is taken to study for our exams. Hero work is a lot more than just taking down Villains, you know. You also have to know the law and what constitutes as acceptable force."
"Of course, you need to get into a Hero Course first," Uwabami added. "First of all, we need to see what you all are capable of. Battle Fist, since you're the CQC, can you proctor a match between Aisaka and Amaki? And Minerva, one between Lee and Himura. No bias now, even if he is your cousin."
"Cousin?" Aisaka echoed, her eyes going wide after a moment. "Oh! You're the big sis Kyo's always talking about."
"You know Kyoryoku?" Momo blinked.
"Oh yeah. He comes into the classroom every day to at least say hello to Lee, though Beki's…" She coughed. "Anyway, it's nice to put a face to the name, Minerva-sensei."
Red colored Momo's cheeks, a moistness coming to her eyes. 'Minerva-sensei,' she thought. 'Oh, my heart…'
"Alright, hatchlings," Uwabami said. "Enough feelings and all that. Let's see what you kiddos can do. Minerva? Battle Fist?"
"Right, on it, Uwabami-sensei," Itsuka nodded. "Aisaka and Amaki, with me."
"Alright, Shay and Himura. We will go to the other side." The pair nodded at Momo, trailing in her wake as, behind them, Aisaka giggled to herself. Amaki tilted his head as a shimmer appeared over his pipe, the metal taking the form of a blunted katana.
Reaching the edge of the gymnasium, Momo turned on her heel just as the sound of Amaki's sword hitting Aisaka's claws came from the other end. Momo raised a finger, getting the attentions of the students assigned to her care. This was her first time in a teaching role and she wanted to do it right.
"Okay, you two. I hear you both have mid- and long-range abilities, which happens to be something my Quirk allows me compared to Battle Fist. To accurately help, I need a sense of what you two are capable of. Considering our time constraints, I'll give you two a minute to spar and show off what you can do. Ready?"
"Of course, Minerva-sensei," both younger students answered, that same feeling from before welling in Momo's chest. Simon and Himura turned to each other, stepped back for some distance, and bowed.
Simon extended his arm, manifesting his Spirit Eagle in a burst similar to green flame, the spectral bird the same color. From what Momo recalled from the briefing she'd received on it, he could maintain a 1.3-kilometer range, see through the eagle's eyes when he chose, and change the eagle's size. It was a Quirk especially useful for reconnaissance and tracking but not without combat capability.
On the other side, Himura lowered her stance as frost emanated from her feet. Small horns of dark-blue ice grew from atop her head, curling inward slightly, and small wings the same color with an almost-fractal-like pattern immerged from her back. She opened her eyes, showing they had lost all color save a pale blue tone. Her appearance certainly mirrored the 'demon' in Demonic Ice.
"Ready?" Momo questioned. "Begin!"
Himura waved her hand, ice forming on the ground with her gesture. She flicked her wrist, sending a wave a growing ice at her foe. Momo half expected the fight to end then and there, but there was a crunch and the ice stopped, a massive, green, spectral eagle standing with one foot extended to block the attack.
"Don't think you'll finish me that easy," Simon commented, the giant eagle dissolving only to reform at a regular size again on his arm. He pushed it forward, the eagle answering his unspoken order to take wing, shooting toward Himura.
"I did not expect you to," the girl replied, almost haughty. She turned her palm outward and curled her fingers slightly, summoning a wall of ice that Simon's eagle splashed against. From Momo's vantage point, she watched Himura slice her hand horizontally, apparently cutting her ice wall at the base, before she pushed it, launching the wall at Simon.
The boy, however, was undaunted by the wall. His Spirit Eagle grew, wrapping itself around him until his form was all but lost in its massive wings. When the ice wall reached him, the eagle smacked it away with a screech before flapping both wings, launching a gust of air back at his training partner with enough force to shatter what ice remained from the first two attacks. Himura's expression did not change as she turned her palm upward to form an ice pillar that divided the wind as it reached her, splitting it down the middle.
Again, Himura swiped at her own ice, but she started high and repeated the gesture. Piece by piece did she shave off disks of the ice pillar, each one being shot at Simon as quickly as a cannonball. Rather than tanking the attack, Simon sent his eagle into the air and began dodging, flowing around the ice that shattered upon contact with the back wall, so Momo at least knew Himura was holding back enough to not seriously injure Simon should either child make a mistake and he take an attack full-on.
Ever one to pay attention to detail, however, Momo noted Simon eagle was not idle. While Himura whittled away at her pillar of ice, Simon's Quirk had flown to the ceiling and made its way toward her. As the Hero student had expected it to, it dove with a screech. Himura turned her attention to it, swinging her hand upward to form a curve of ice extending from the floor over her head. The eagle splashed over it.
"I have you now, Himura," Shay warned. She turned her eyes on him only for them to widen at how close he had gotten. She raised her hands in defense, but her ice did not come at her call.
"That's enough!" Momo called, Shay's open-palm strike stopping just shy of Himura's face. He stepped back, giving Himura room to dispel her ice back into water vapor in the air. She sighed, letting her Quirk's horns and wings fade.
"Good!" Uwabami called. "Everyone over here, please." The students, those of Eden and otherwise, gathered by the pro. "Battle Fist, what did you notice about Amaki and Aisaka?"
"Aisaka is a very offensive fighter," Itsuka began. "She uses an open-palm swiping style popular among many predator-type Mutants and Transformations. This works well with her smaller stature; she is a small target and very fast, making her very hard to hit. Unfortunately, this also makes her a glass cannon. Her offensive style crosses the border into reckless at times which will get her injured or killed if it remains. The only reason she did not lose the fight immediately was Amaki's use of a blunted sword. Should he have sharpened it, she would have had no recourse."
Aisaka, whose chest had puffed up with pride at the beginning, suddenly deflated at the young woman's words. Her tail drooped and Momo suspected her ears would have as well if they had such a range of motion.
"As for Amaki," Itsuka continued, "it is clear he has extensive training in his swordsmanship, balancing offense and defense well. If I may ask, how many years have you practiced?"
"Ever since my Quirk came in ten years ago," the boy answered. "When we learned I could create swords, I began training under various masters for all manner of such. Not just kendo but all Japanese styles, HEMA, and fencing among more obscure types."
"It shows. Your movements are finely-honed with every type of sword you showed. Too fine, actually. You have spent so long practicing your katas that you have no ingenuity in your style. Your every motion, be they rigid or circular, is precise and measured. You and Aisaka have opposite problems. She relies too much on instinct while you don't rely on it at all. The few times she caught you in the middle of an attack flustered you because you were not prepared to think on the fly."
Amaki opened his mouth as if to refute but a look from Uwabami shut that down before it could begin. He closed his mouth and accepted the critique.
"What about you, Minerva? What did you notice about Lee and Himura?"
"I suspect Himura, being from a clan known for their powerful ice and snow Quirks, has had years of training," Momo began. "Her manipulations of her ice were quick and instinctive to an impressive extent and, should she have not held back as much as she did, the spar would have gone in another direction. That she did shows she knows and understands how dangerous ice can be. All that being said, she does not have any close-range capabilities. As soon as Shay moved in, she lost." Momo studied the white-haired girl. "Himura, do you require a base from which to grow your ice?"
"So you noticed," the girl nodded. "Yes, I cannot form ice from within the air, neither can I change trajectory nor force after applying it. The greatest strength of my Quirk lies in how cold I can make my ice."
"I see. In that case, I would recommend finding some gloves or pads you can wear on your hands. If you carried such a tool, you would be able to form ice constructs from them, offering you immediate close-range options. Training with them, however, may take some time." Momo held her own hand out, forming a pair of thin-yet-thermal gloves. "These may only work for today, but please give them a try."
"Thank you, Minerva-sensei."
Momo shuddered again, loving the way that sounded. She coughed. "Ahem. Shay, you fought well for the limited training you have had. Unlike many summoning Quirks, you are not afraid to sacrifice iterations of your Spirit Eagle to press an advantage or create an opening, but I suspect it was only your knowledge of Himura's weakness at close-range that granted you the upper hand in the end. My question to you is this: can you manipulate the proportions of your Spirit Eagle, not just its size in totality?"
"I…" the boy blinked. "I've never tried. Why?"
"Though it may appear awkward, summoning only your eagle's claws to your hands would give you the close-range option you seem to want."
Simon considered it, nodding. "I will have to try it. Thank you."
"We're getting off to a great start," Uwabami grinned, proud of her students. Teaching them to study and critique others allowed them the mindset to not only improve each other but also break down their opponents once they got out into the field. By giving such detailed analysis, it was clear they had also earned the respect of these Eden students, too. "Now, while you all catch your breaths, I'll tell you that Hero work is not pretty."
"What do you mean?" Aisaka asked, her hand raised.
"Sparring with your peers is all well and good, but it's only once you face down a real Villain that you realize the path of a pro Hero is stained with blood and pain." A shadow seemed to fall over Uwabami's face as Momo's mind flashed back to the mangled mess of Izuku's arm in the USJ. "Villains do not pull their punches. They would rather kill you to get away than let themselves be caught. Sometimes, you have to pick between them and you. That is simply a fact of the job and I won't let you land in a Hero Course without understanding that." She paused, looking out over the middle-schoolers. Of them, only Shay looked unphased by her words.
"I'm not telling you this to try to scare you off," Uwabami continued. "We need Heroes and future Heroes like you all for society to operate, but those Heroes need to understand the world. We are the backbone, the pillars that support the peace that so many rely on. Without Heroes, Villains would run rampant, doing whatever they wished to the meek. In the old days, heroes were police and firemen and army men and navy. The strong and the brave who protected those who could not protect themselves. Now we are the strongest and bravest. Without Heroes for the common people to look up to, they fall into despair, living a life just waiting for death.
"But," she continued, raising a finger, "Heroes should not be only reactionary. Heroes should not do their work for fame and glory. As protectors of humanity, we must be both reactive and proactive, snuffing out threats to mankind's peace before it can break the system. Do we always succeed? No, of course not, but we must always try. True Hero work is not just stopping bank robberies and catching murderers; it's also going undercover to find conspiracies, catching killers before they kill, and preventing crime wherever and whenever possible."
As Uwabami stopped for a breath, Momo studied the children. Himura was passive, Amaki the same but with a new tilt of his head as he considered her words. Aisaka had her fists under her chin, staring at Uwabami with stars in her eyes. Shay, however, frowned. He understood the undertone in the pro's words, recognizing that she wasn't talking about the work only done by pro Heroes.
"And with that," Uwabami concluded, "I think we'll get started on some exercises."
The next half-hour went by pretty quickly, all things considered. Momo focused on helping Himura learn how to craft tools out of her ice while keeping an eye on Simon, the boy trying to make his Spirit Eagle only partially appear and having very little luck. Across the room, Uwabami sparred with Amaki to give him more practical experience while Itsuka taught Aisaka certain katas to help her rely less on raw instinct.
"Miss Uwabami!" someone called from outside, the door to the entrance swinging open to show a young teacher Momo didn't recognize. She held up a hand to silently tell Amaki to pause as he ran to her, panting. He whispered something in her ear.
"I'll handle it," she told him. "Battle Fist, take over here. Run the hatchlings through some mock drills. Minerva, with me. There's something we need to take care of real quick."
"O-Oh, of course." Confused and concerned, Momo did as ordered, following her teacher out the door with the messenger. Uwabami turned as soon as the door shut.
"Do you know where the office of Professor Swan is?"
"Professor Swan?" Momo echoed. "Sure. He's a teacher for the younger grades, so he office is in the east wing."
"Take me there. You." Uwabami turned to the messenger. "Lock everything down without making a fuss. We don't want to tip anyone off."
"Right away, Ma'am." He ran off, the pro gesturing for Momo to lead. She nodded.
"Minerva, what can you tell me about Professor Swan?"
"He, uh… He teaches math and science to the youngest grades," Momo answered. "I'd heard rumors that he divorced recently and had changed as a result, but I didn't have any interaction with him beyond third grade, so I don't know if that's true. His Quirk also allows him the ability to transform himself partially or entirely into a swan." The pair pushed their way into the younger grades' building, Momo silently noting that everything used to look bigger.
"Which office is his?"
"27." The pro scanned the doors, marching her way to the 27th office. There was a man standing outside, his long, white mustache perfectly groomed to a standard of elegance and a single monocle resting before one eye. He was dressed in a perfectly-tailored suit.
"Ms. Uwabami," he said as they approached. "Ms. Yaoyorozu."
"Headmaster Henderson," Momo greeted. "What is this about?"
"Five minutes ago, I found Professor Swan dead inside his office," Henderson explained. Momo's breath hitched. "I believe the cause unnatural."
"Murder?" Uwabami questioned. "Assassins?"
"More likely than I wish." The headmaster stepped aside, allowing them entrance to the office. It was dark for a moment before Henderson flicked on the light, revealing a cluttered room with a window blocked by curtains. The desk in the center was surrounded by shelves, each filled with documents and knickknacks from Swan's time as a traveler, most likely for Templar business, Momo now realized. A half-empty bottle of sake laid on its side with an upturned cup on the carpet beside the desk, a stain showing its leakage.
Swan himself sat in the chair behind the desk, his face ashen with death. He had been a man on the heavier side with a bushy, black mustache and premature baldness. His eyes were unblinking, staring up at the ceiling, while his arms hung limp at his sides. Momo's gaze was drawn to the man's neck where the veins had turned a dark black, the color seeming to emerge like frozen lightning from a pair of small holes.
"Evidence of a snake bite," Uwabami muttered, stepping forward. She accepted the gloves Henderson offered, covering her hands so she could examine the body. "Looks like pit viper venom. Rattlesnake if I had to guess, but viper bites like that usually take hours to kill. Based on the surroundings, he died in moments. No snake injects that much venom that quickly against a defenseless target. Certainly not in the middle of a big city."
"Your verdict?" Henderson prompted.
"Assassination."
["Not elegant,"] Henderson sighed in English, raising a phone to his ear. "I'll heighten security."
"Do it but not visually," Uwabami agreed. "We don't need the remaining students to panic, but more security should give Minerva and I the time we need to examine Swan properly. Inform us as soon as security reports any sighting." She turned. "Minerva, what do you see?"
"Uh, well…" Momo began, swallowing down some bile. This was, after all, her first time seeing a dead body outside a coffin. "H-His desk is a mess with some items on the floor. Based on their positioning, he knocked them off. There is no other disturbance, so he stayed in the chair the whole time?"
"Good," Uwabami nodded. "If he stayed in the chair, what does that tell you?"
"He…" Momo blinked. "He never saw the Assassin come in. They didn't use the door or where already here."
"Given lack of cover, I'd say they came in through the window." The pro moved to the curtains and pushed them aside, showing that the window, while closed, was not latched. She turned back to the corpse. "Any fingerprints would be on the outside. And the bite… whoever did this has a dangerous Quirk." Uwabami lifted one of Swan's arms by the sleeve, shaking it a moment before letting it fall limp again. "Riger mortis hasn't set in and the body's still got heat. This kill is fresh. Easily since we arrived."
"Might the Quirk be in the police database or the Quirk registry?"
"Too slow. They'll be long gone before we even put in the request." She sighed, bending at the knees to better study the mortal wound on the late teacher's neck. "Why venom? It could be a coincidence, but it seems awfully ironic that they'd kill with snake venom while I'm here."
"Unless it's not a coincidence." Momo finished. "If the Serpentress is around when someone dies of venom, you'd be the first suspect."
"Or the first specialist… called… Fuck!" Momo balked at her teacher's language but Uwabami didn't notice. She smacked the door open, immediately finding Henderson waiting in the hallway. "Lock the campus down! Now!"
"B-But the students—"
"Swan was a diversion! The Assassin is still here! Lock down now and call Sigma Team! Minerva, our students!"
"R-Right!" Momo followed Uwabami as she charged back the way they'd come. Momo pushed herself to keep up, suddenly aware of the stark difference between her as a first-year and Uwabami as a seasoned pro. Lockdown sirens echoed over the grounds, what few students the pair passed looking terrified and confused as shutters fell over windows. Thankfully, the doorways remained open, so Henderson hadn't activated the highest security level. "Uwabami! Where are you going?"
"Our students!" the woman yelled back. "If Swan was meant to pull me away, then the Assassin wanted something I was around. Or someone!"
"Si-Shay!" Momo realized, correcting herself. Uwabami sent a look back demanding clarification. "The Assassins have his sister. It would make since if they want him, too."
The pair reached the gymnasium, neither slowing as the older all but ripped the door off with her entrance.
"Itsuka!" Momo yelled, running to her fellow intern. The orange-haired girl was laid out on the floor, her hands with multiple puncture wounds. Three of the four Eden students were also unconscious, Simon nowhere to be seen.
"Damn," Uwabami hissed, checking the younger children. She breathed a sigh of relief. "They're all alive and I don't see evidence of toxins. Minerva, smelling salts."
"Oh, yes." Using Creation, Momo pulled a small vial from her arm, waving it under Itsuka's nose a second later. Her face scrunched as the smelling salts did their work, bringing her back to consciousness. Momo stoppered the vial and threw it to Uwabami, the woman using it on the children. "Itsuka, what happened?"
"Yaomomo?" the 1-B president blinked. She tried to lift her arms, but Momo only felt a tensing of her muscles, no movement. "Crap. Lee. The guy's after Lee."
"We figured. What happened here?"
"After you and Uwabami left, he just… appeared. Pale skin, black, sleeveless, hooded coat or something. He demanded we hand over Lee. We fought, but…"
"We'll get him back," Momo swore. "Can you move?"
"No," Itsuka answered, shaking her head slightly. "He had fangs in his fingers or something. He got me with a neurotoxin, I think. I can't feel my limbs."
"Minerva!" Uwabami yelled from the other side of the room. "Security's got a visual in the northeast! Lee's confirmed located. They'll try to herd the bogey toward the west."
"Sorry I can't help," Itsuka said. "Go get him, Minerva."
Momo nodded, leaning her friend against the wall.
"Kids, stay here," Uwabami ordered. "We'll get Lee back, I swear."
She and Momo, again, ran from the room, this time moving to intercept the Assassin. At one point, Momo had to create a scooter just to keep up (since a scooter took less material and was easier to get on than a bike). Uwabami would have made fun of how she looked, but the situation was too serious. The pro's snakes hissed.
"I've got the Assassin's scent," Uwabami reported, pointing at a shadow on one of the rooftops. "Looks like he's heading west by northwest."
Momo reached for her gut, pulling a grapple from her body with Creation even as she calculated trajectories and paths.
"Uwabami, grab on! We're going up!"
The man skidded to a halt as the women landed in front of him, Simon slumped over his shoulder. He fit Itsuka's description with pale skin contrasted by a sleeveless hooded jacket in a deep black. Two visible knives were strapped at his waist, but Momo was willing to bet he had other weapons on his person. His eyes were green, narrowing at the Hero and student.
"Heh, damn," he muttered. "You caught on quicker than I thought you would."
"Give back the boy and turn yourself in," Uwabami ordered. "Do so and you won't be harmed."
"So what, you can shove me in an Animus to try to make me betray my brothers? Fat chance, Templar."
"What do you want with the boy?"
"Screw you, that's what. Now then, do I have to kill you to get him out?"
"Barbaric," Momo muttered, reaching to her back where she formed a netgun. She pulled it and fired, the Assassin responding instantly. He grabbed one of his knives and sliced the net up the middle, leaving its weighted ends to fall limply to the rooftop.
Uwabami took that moment to charge in, planting one foot to spin into a devastating back kick. The man blocked with one arm, grunting as the force pushed him backward. His fingers flexed, each turning into a fang like a snake's.
"Minerva, don't get close to him," Uwabami warned. "One stab could be enough to kill you."
"You shouldn't even care about him," the Assassin said. "He's a foreigner. Don't you all think less of them? He's not one of you."
"Whether he is or is not matters little," the pro replied. "Even if what you said was true, foiling an Assassin mission is more than enough reason to rescue him."
"Petty bitch." The Assassin swung his hand, launching a number of toxin-dripping fangs at the women. Uwabami and Momo shot to either side, splitting up to each take half of the killer's attention, but he proved to be a skilled opponent. He swung one of his knives in a backhanded grip, nearly taking the head off one of Uwabami's snakes, before spinning around and flinging that same knife at Momo. The girl gasped, forming a buckler shield for the sharp projectile to ping off.
The Hero and student circled him, the Assassin at an obvious disadvantage. On top of fighting two-on-one, he also had his movements limited from carrying the unconscious Simon, making him slower.
"Gorgon Grace!" Uwabami called, the snakes in her hair lengthening as they shot forward. Two bit into his arms while the third went for his neck, but the Assassin was tricky. Impossibly, he managed to bite the snake before it could do the same.
"That won't work on me," he grinned with a mouthful of rattlesnake. Uwabami hissed in pain. "My blood itself is toxic. I'll—"
There was a thunk as he went rigid, his eyes rolling slightly as he started to crumple. Momo stood behind him, panting, a baseball bat in her hands. Uwabami didn't say anything, prioritizing grabbing Simon and pulling his body away from the Assassin. Momo took the moment to drop to her knees, locking his wrists in a pair of handcuffs.
"Ow, fuck," the pale man hissed, fingers gingerly touching the back of his head. They came away slick with blood. "Oh. Heh. Heheheh. So that's how it is. I see."
"Your scheme is over," Momo told him, leveling the bat at his downed form. "Surrender quietly and you will not be harmed further."
"As if any true Assassin would take that deal," he spat, a wad of bloody saliva hitting the rooftop by Momo's shoe. "I have failed, so they have no more use of me, but even in death can I at least inconvenience you. One day, you will meet your ends at our hands for what you have done. Victory to the Assassins and death to the Templars!"
He threw himself from the building. Momo rushed to the edge, trying to catch him, but her fingers brushed only cloth. He smiled a wide, mocking smile, a mad gleam in his eye, as she got a front-row seat to his body hitting the walkway below at terminal velocity with a horrible SPLAT. Time seemed to freeze, the young woman searing every moment of the man's death into her memory against her will.
And then he erupted, his body immolating in fire from some hidden device or bomb on his person. Black smoke rose into the sky as his body burned, rendering his remains useless to anyone and signaling to all that something happened. Momo stared, trying to comprehend was sort of devotion could make one commit such an act of self-sacrifice for the petty reason of inconveniencing another.
'If nothing else,' a part of her mind that wasn't in shock thought, 'Eden will have to replace that walkway. That burn mark would traumatize the students.'
Momo was still watching the horrid fire when the whirling of helicopter blades reached her ears, a number of men and women in black tactical gear falling from the choppers to surround the women. One stepped up to Uwabami.
"Sigma Team has arrived, Ma'am."
"Yeah, two minutes too late. The Assassin's already dead."
"Apologies, Ma'am."
"Eh, Lee's safe, so I guess it's fine. Can we leave the cleanup to Sigma?"
"We will handle it."
Uwabami nodded, walking over to her student. A gentle hand on her shoulder pulled Momo away from the roof's edge, breaking her line of sight to the flaming remains. She looked to Uwabami, her lip trembling.
"How…?" she questioned. "Why? Why would anyone do that?"
"The Assassins have always been strange," her teacher replied, leading her to the still-unconscious Simon. Uwabami pushed her down, making her sit, before plopping down beside her. She had a faraway look in her eye. "I was friends with an Assassin once. I didn't know it at the time, obviously, back in my days at Ketsubutsu. We were actually in this sort of… I don't know what we were. Maybe a love triangle, maybe a toxic rivalry." She gave a dry chuckle.
"I…" Momo swallowed. "I heard." Uwabami sent her a look. "The Wild Wild Pussycats did a summer training with us, but they—"
"They wouldn't've known she was an Assassin," the pro finished with a sigh. She leaned back, looking up at the clear, calm sky. "Yeah. I was her target that night. Even now, I don't know what she was thinking. Sometimes they're like soldiers blindly following orders, sometimes they're rebels overthrowing a system they've been told is corrupt. Whatever it is, it indoctrinates them until they see only two outcomes: victory or death."
"And this is the life of us Templars?" Momo asked, hugging her knees to her chest. "Fighting until the day an Assassin gets the drop on us? Until everything we build falls apart because one blade takes out its pillar?"
"Sure, if you're trying to do it alone." Momo looked up, Uwabami offering one of her rare, true smiles. "You need support, Momo Yaoyorozu. Your cousin rejected the role made for her, so you get to fill it with whoever you want. Why not Kendo?"
"Itsuka? No, I can't. This life is—"
"More dangerous than the life of a pro Hero?" Momo tried to come up with a rebuttal but Uwabami forged ahead. "This attack already mixed her up in it. You'll have no better time to explain than now."
"I… Alright," Momo decided. Deep down, she wondered if it was really her place to put her friend at risk like this for such a selfish reason. If something happened, she'd never be able to forgive herself.
If that was the case, she'd just have to do everything she could to keep Itsuka safe.
End of chapter 59
¹Obviously, their training is not nearly as crazy or pushed as in Canon, but they don't know Canon nor is there inevitable war hanging over their heads. As far as Momo is aware, they are being pushed beyond their limits, but to a rational degree.
Sorry this chapter took so long! It just refused to be put to page no matter how much I planned it. Next chapter will have even larger ramifications, so just you wait for that!
Read and Review!
-SwordOfTheGods