My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 50: New Introductions
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
Author's Note: I went back and changed the Bakugo vs Open Palm fight in Chapter 43. Also, sorry I haven't been active for a while; I've been busy with other things and I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual.
"So, any luck, Giran?" Seika Shigaraki asked as the two sat in the bar that had served as their hideout.
"I've come across a few potential recruits here and there," Giran replied as he smoked a cigarette. "I got to find them first and then I'll arrange for you to meet them. Speaking of meeting...I don't see your brother here with you."
Seika's professional smile dropped a bit at the mention of Tomura's absence. No doubt he was probably busy trying to figure out which U.A. students would make excellent additions to the League of Villains or potentially reaching out to the Hero Killer: Stain as he suggested. She scoffed at the idea of Tomura convincing Stain to join them after they had done nothing to prove why the Hero Killer should join them.
"He's preoccupied," Seika replied. "He's looking for recruits in his own way. So, do you have the names of those you've found?"
"I haven't confirmed them yet," Giran informed. "Better not to count your chickens before they've hatched, right? I'll find them and then bring them to you and your brother in person."
"Very well, then," Seika spoke as she handed Giran his payment.
After Giran took the money and left to find the recruits he spoke of, Seika sat in the bar to contemplate the next course of action. She knew Tomura wished to recruit the Hero Killer: Stain to the League of Villains, but how could he possibly be convinced to join them if they did nothing to prove themselves worthy of his attention? Would he even be interested in joining them?
In her mind, Tomura was wasting his time even considering the U.A. students or the Hero Killer. From what she understood, Stain's goal was to help Hero Society accept its hypocrisy surrounding Pro Heroes, of which Seika could easily agree with. She couldn't begin to stress the utter hypocrisy of Hero Society, hypocrisy that the world remained blissfully ignorant of. But she believed that unless she was there, they'd have no chance of recruiting the Hero Killer.
"Lady Shigaraki," Kurogiri addressed as he entered the room.
"Hello, Kurogiri," Seika responded. "Where's my brother? As well as Talos and Bloodmoon?"
"Master Tomura is preparing to meet the Hero Killer," Kurogiri informed. "As soon as he's ready, I shall bring Stain here to the hideout. As for Talos, he's currently going over the best choices for candidates from U.A. while Bloodmoon is...'out hunting'. However, Master wishes to speak to you."
"Put him on the screen," Seika commanded, to which Kurogiri obeyed and activated the computer monitor, which was once again static with the words 'No Image Available' in purple. Black Queen bowed her head respectfully, despite not seeing the image of her master on the computer screen.
"I apologize if I've kept you waiting, sir," Seika addressed. "How may I be of service?"
"I wish to know of your progress with your brother, Tomura," the Master requested to know. "I've heard that you and he are having trouble seeing eye to eye."
Seika let out a quiet sigh as she thought back on how she and Tomura had been ever since the conclusion of the Sports Festival. Neither of them had changed their stances on what to do: Tomura wished to take immediate action while Seika wanted to increase the League's numbers first, which they found each other's plans foolish and stupid.
"Tomura...hasn't changed his mind," Seika responded. "He cannot see why increasing our numbers is the more preferable option rather than just blindly going out there and destroying stuff. He'll proceed to make us look like fools unless we have a proper plan."
"Why not speak to him rather than assume his capabilities?" her Master replied. "You cannot lead the League of Villains alone, Seika; both you and Tomura will have work past your differences if you're to achieve your goals."
"But that's the problem, Master," Seika brought up. "I have a goal in mind: destroying this society built on hypocrisy and lies-"
"Which is also Tomura's goal. It's true that his attack on the USJ ended in failure, but he's not wrong that action is needed. You two must set aside your differences and work together as the leaders I know you can be. But that's not the main reason for my contacting you today."
Suddenly, a mass of black ooze appeared on the right of Seika, catching her by surprise. She expected for her master to come to her in person, but instead, someone else appeared. He was a tall and pale man with slicked back jet black hair and cold eyes, his entire stature as that of a professional servant. As soon as he was fully in the room, he politely bowed to Seika.
"Good evening, madam," he addressed.
"Who are you?" Seika questioned, unsure of who this man was. "Are you a new member of the League of Villains?"
"In a manner of speaking," he replied. "Allow me to introduce myself, madam: I am Hasha, your designated butler and bodyguard."
"A queen should have a servant, should she not?" Master spoke. "I'll let you two get acquainted." With that, the screen turned off and went blank, leaving Seika, Hasha and Kurogiri in the bar all alone.
"Do you have any questions, milady?" Hasha asked as he looked at Seika with a cold yet professional gaze.
Seika was quiet for several moments as she merely looked at Hasha, surprised by his sudden appearance and mannerisms. As her master said, a queen should have a servant...so was Hasha her own personal servant? Where did he come from? How did her master come into contact with him?
"How do you know Master?" Seika asked Hasha. "And...what are you for that matter? You appear human, but...something's off. You look so...pale."
"Those two questions can be answered with one statement," Hasha informed. "I am a Nomu, created by your master to serve as your attendant as well as your enforcer when needed due to the limitations of your Quirk, Authority."
"A Nomu?" Seika questioned, her eyes wide in surprise. "But I thought it took years to create them to be so...well, civilized like Kurogiri and not merely violent beasts. Don't mistake me; I'm grateful to Master for placing you at my side, but I'm surprised he created another Nomu as sophisticated as Kurogiri."
"It's true that my creation took a long while, milady," Hasha confirmed. "Your master identified the drawbacks of the Quirk he bestowed upon you; as powerful as it is, of course, it lacks combat capabilities. I was created to compensate for said drawbacks."
That was reassuring to Seika, though she didn't know what abilities he possessed. As a confirmed Nomu, Seika knew that he'd have to have several Quirks in his arsenal like the Nomu Tomura took to the USJ or one extremely powerful Quirk like Kurogiri's Warp Gate. She was curious to see what abilities he possessed and was just about to ask before the door to the bar slammed open. In walked Bloodmoon, his teeth drenched in blood and scraps of flesh hanging from his teeth along with a severed limb in his left hand.
"Bloodmoon," Kurogiri addressed. "Did you make sure you weren't followed?"
"Of course I made sure," Bloodmoon rebuked as he took another bite from the severed limb and chewed loudly.
"So you're Bloodmoon," Hasha stated as he slightly bowed his head. "I am Hasha, servant to Black Queen." The werewolf snorted dismissively before sitting down and continuing to eat the severed limb in his hand.
"Ugh!" Seika exclaimed in disgust. "At least eat in your own room, Bloodmoon! You're getting blood everywhere!"
"I'll eat where I want," Bloodmoon snarled as he continued to do so messily. Before he could take another bite, he found his face slammed to the counter with surprising ease. He looked up to see Hasha holding his head down against the bar counter, his professional expression unbroken and his gaze as cold as before.
"Black Queen has requested that you eat somewhere else," he stated. "Do so or I shall make you."
Bloodmoon barked ferociously before slashing at Hasha, tearing right through his torso and severing his arm from his body. Black Queen stepped back in horror as she looked at Hasha, his torso clawed open and his arm severed from his body from the werewolf's ferocious attack. However, what was also surprising was the mere fact that Hasha wasn't dead, confusing Bloodmoon.
"WHAT!?" Bloodmoon gasped. "How're you still alive!?"
"Oh, dear," Hasha spoke in a monotone voice. "It appears I've lost my arm. Pardon me for a moment." As Hasha's severed arm disintegrated, his torso began healing at a surprisingly fast speed and his missing limb began to grow back all the while everyone looked on in surprise at Hasha's recovery. Before anyone could process what happened, the Nomu servant grabbed Bloodmoon by the throat and slammed him to the ground on his stomach, stopping from reaching out to claw at him again.
"How're you so strong!?" Bloodmoon roared in frustration as he was unable to get up.
"Black Queen has requested that not eat so messily," Hasha stated calmly once more. "Either eat in your own room or mind your table manners." Hasha then retracted his hand from Bloodmoon, who snarled at the Nomu before taking his meal and leaving the bar area. Hasha then proceeded to grab cleaning supplies and wipe up the blood from the werewolf's eating.
A smile stretched across Seika's face, now truly marveling at the gift her master had given her. Two of Hasha's Quirks had already been shown to her: regeneration and super strength that made Bloodmoon look like a weak puppy. She was more curious than ever of what else Hasha was capable of and she couldn't wait to see it in the time to come.
"Hasha," Seika addressed. He immediately stopped cleaning up the blood and faced to turn Black Queen.
"Yes, Black Queen?" he responded.
"Prepare to head out tonight," Seika instructed. "We have someone I'd like to meet."
"So that's why you enjoy baking?" Uraraka asked as she and Hironaka started to close in on the train station where they'd get off for Gunhead's agency.
"Yeah, I love seeing the way people enjoy them," Hironaka spoke with immense enthusiasm. "The guys I know especially love them; maybe they all have such a major sweet tooth, you know. You should've seen the guys of Class 1-B, they all really love my baked treats."
Uraraka kept the friendly smile on her face to hide her amazement at how Hironaka's innocence. All this time and Hironaka hadn't figured out that she had so many male students at their school smitten by her and it was obvious to see why. Even some of the boys from her class, such as Sato, Kaminari, Shiruku, and Sero had become enamored by her and it was to see why.
In the short time Uraraka interacted with Hironaka, she had shown herself to be very charming through her friendliness and intoxicating optimism...not to mention she was downright gorgeous. With all she has, it was no wonder why several of her male classmates had been charmed by her, even though she didn't notice that.
"So does your Quirk allow you to do?" Uraraka asked. "I don't think I've seen it."
"It works like this," Kana spoke. She gently tapped Uraraka's hand, but to the Zero Gravity wielder's confusion, she didn't feel anything. After several moments, Kana snapped her fingers and she suddenly felt a light tap on her hand.
"Whoa," Uraraka exclaimed.
"It's called 'Delayed Impact'," Kana explained. "I can delay the impact of when I touch something. When I snap my fingers, then everything that I 'delayed' is felt. Pretty cool, huh?"
"It is pretty cool," Uraraka replied. "It seems like it'd really come in handy with your martial arts."
"It does!" Hironaka confirmed with a big smile. "Uncle Judan really helped me learn to combine my Quirk with martial arts and I know he'll be able to help you as well."
It made Uraraka smile to hear that from Hironaka, giving her the assurance she needed for her internship choice. Perhaps next time she went up against Bakugo, she'd stand a better chance with her improved knowledge of martial arts. But then again, it was clear that the Explosion wielder had much more combat experience than she did, which contributed heavily to the match's outcome. She'd have a long way to go before she could hope to defeat such a skilled opponent.
As the train approached the station where the two young women would get off for Gunhead's agency, Uraraka kept thinking back to her two friends, Deku and Iida. She was concerned for both of them, Iida because of his brother, Ingenium, being crippled by the Hero Killer: Stain and Deku because of the injuries he sustained during the Sports Festival. Due to the previous week of preparing for internships, Uraraka hadn't made any time to comfort Iida in the face of such sudden tragedy and she could only hope that he was handling it well.
As for Deku, his injuries sustained against Todoroki were severe enough that he had to undergo surgery. It appeared to many, especially Mr. Aizawa, that he couldn't use his Quirk without severely damaging his body. How long could he go on with that before Eraser Head finally decided enough was enough and expelled him? Class 1-A's homeroom teacher had never shied away from threatening to expel anyone who he felt wasn't cut out for being in the Hero Course and Deku could easily be on the chopping block.
"Are you okay, Uraraka?" Hironaka asked the Zero Gravity wielder, sensing her concern.
"O-oh, I'm fine," Uraraka assured. "I'm just thinking about my friends, that's all."
"Who are they?" Kana questioned. "Are they Midoriya and Tokoyami? I saw you work with them during the Cavalry Battle."
"Not Tokoyami, really, but Deku and Iida," Uraraka answered. Hironaka raised an eyebrow, unsure of who she meant by 'Deku'. When the Zero Gravity wielder figured out the Class 1-B belle's confusion, she immediately cleared it up.
"Deku is Midoriya's nickname," she clarified. "O-oh, and his hero name too."
In that quick moment, Uraraka smiled at remembering when Midoriya chose Deku as his hero name. She remembered when after their first day of class, he had told her and Iida that Bakugo called him 'Deku' as a means to degrade him, to make him feel worthless and inferior to others. However, she helped change the meaning to 'You can do it' and it had clearly stuck with her friend ever since, much to Bakugo's ire.
"Here we are!" Hironaka spoke with joy as she saw the train station where she and Uraraka would be getting off to head to Gunhead's agency. The train arrived at the station and came to a slow, steady halt before coming to a complete stop. Once it was completely still, the train doors opened, allowing everyone to get off who needed to leave.
"So where do we go from here?" Uraraka asked.
"Follow me," Hironaka enthusiastically insisted, leading Uraraka through the terminal. The Delayed Impact wielder led Uraraka through the crowd of people to the exit, where she immediately turned right down the street.
Thanks to Hironaka's talk on the way to the agency, Uraraka felt more at ease approaching the formidable Battle Hero: Gunhead. If what Hironaka said was true, then despite his intimidating appearance and battle prowess, he was ultimately a big teddy bear underneath. Then again, Hironaka's personality could speak volumes of how much he had raised her since her parents died when she was a baby.
"Hey, hot stuff," a teenage boy greeted Hironaka as she and Uraraka walked by, greeting them back with a big smile and a wave of her hand.
"Hello!" she called back. The teenage boy immediately blushed a deep red at Hironaka's smile, being too intimidated to try and flirt with her as he initially planned. He just watched as the two girls walked out of sight, Uraraka being confused by the boy's reaction while Hironaka kept smiling, not picking up at all on the boy's furious blush on his face.
"Wasn't he trying to flirt with you?" Uraraka questioned with an uncertain expression.
"Flirt?" Hironaka asked with a raised eyebrow before giggling. "There's no need to flatter, Uraraka. Maybe he was flirting with you~" Uraraka's face lit up like a red traffic light in response to Hironaka's teasing. Out of sheer embarrassment, she used her hands to cover her face, which accidentally caused her to activate her Quirk on herself and start to float away.
"Whoa, hang in there!" Hironaka cried out as she reached up and grabbed the Zero Gravity wielder's arm to keep her from floating too high. The martial artist pulled Uraraka down to the ground before removing her hands from her face, which Uraraka reluctantly allowed despite her face still being lit like a Christmas tree.
"Why are you all red? Is it because that boy was flirting with you?"
Uraraka's embarrassed expression was replaced with one of confusion and surprise. Surely, Kana must've known that the boy was flirting with her; did she genuinely not realize that she was the one he addressed and not Uraraka? She was flattered by Kana's comment that SHE was the one the boy flirted with, but it didn't dispel the confusion she felt at the situation.
"Come on, we're almost there!" Hironaka stated. She gently grabbed Uraraka's wrist and pulled her in the direction of Gunhead's agency. After walking for several more blocks through the city, the two girls finally arrived at their destination, a modest yet well-kept hero agency that belonged to the Battle Hero: Gunhead that had the appearance of a martial arts dojo rather than a business office.
"I can't wait for you to meet my uncle," Kana happily exclaimed as she led Uraraka inside the agency. They immediately approached the front desk where a clerk was typing away on a computer, probably to check on local news or check the roster of the sidekicks currently in the agency today.
"Hey, Shinohara!" Kana greeted happily.
"Hironaka!" the clerk reciprocated with a smile stretching across his face. "Your uncle's been waiting for you. He's currently training with some newly enrolled sidekicks in the main dojo. He said you and your friend can just go right on in."
"Thank you!" Kana cheerfully replied.
Hironaka led Uraraka through a door left of the front desk, leading right to the main dojo where several people where being taught martial arts as they performed the same fighting routine in almost perfectly in sync. At the front of the room was a tall and muscular man overlooking the training with pale mint-white hair, gun chamber-like bracers on his forearms and a mask with four holes. HIs Hero Costume resembled a modern martial artist's attire rather than a traditional one like Open Palm, wearing a padded combat vest and boots rather than a robe.
Uraraka once again felt her nerves start to work up at the sight of the Battle Hero. Could this man truly be a big ol' teddy bear just like Hironaka said or was she simply oblivious like she was the flirtatious young man earlier?
"Uncle Judan!" Without so much as a warning, Kana dropped her suitcase, raced over to her uncle and leaped onto him to hug him. Much to everyone's surprise, Gunhead laughed and twirled his niece around, giving off an aura of immense cuteness.
"It's so good to see you made it, Kana!" Gunhead spoke with joy after he put her down.
"Thanks, Uncle Judan!" Kana replied with a big smile as she pointed her arm at Uraraka. "This is Uraraka, the other student you agreed to take on. She's really nice." Uraraka approached Gunhead and put on a brave smile. Despite seeing his recent joyous interaction with Kana, the Zero Gravity wielder remained intimidated by Gunhead's sheer size.
"Hello, Gunhead sir," Uraraka greeted.
"So you're Uravity?" Gunhead questioned, gazing fiercely at the U.A. student. Uraraka struggled not to let herself get intimidated by the huge, muscular Battle Hero as he looked upon her, his glare almost as sharp as a knife. His cold, silent stare came awfully close to making the Zero Gravity wielder lose her cool, but suddenly...
"Great to have you aboard!" he spoke cheerfully, a complete 180 in his behavior. "You and Kana go get changed and then come back down! Once you two are ready, we'll head out on patrol!"
"Y-yes, sir!" Ochaco responded. Kana then led her to some stairs where they'd be bunking for the week to change into their Hero Costumes.
"See, a big teddy bear," Kana cheerfully repeated.
"He can certainly be crushed like one!"
"There's the problem, Shiruku: you have a good Quirk, but you don't know how to use it properly nor have a way to compensate. I had to learn to compensate because of how my Quirk works, so I trained in weaponry and martial arts. That's probably why we have Mr. Suzukaze here, so students like us can learn to compensate when our Quirks alone aren't good for combat."
Those words kept ringing in Shiruku's mind as he sat on a train that would take him to the agency owned by the Stranding Hero: Livewire, one of the 50 Hero Agencies who offered an internship to all U.A. students regardless of their standing in the Sports Festival. As far as Shiruku knew, he was the only one heading to that agency as he noted the absence of other students from U.A.'s Hero Course.
So far, Shiruku had focused only on gazing at the beautiful girls in the Hero Course (of which he had no shame) while not truly putting in the effort needed to catch up with his classmates. He had only won one spar against Aoyama and it was mostly because the Naval Laser wielder's combat skills were as non existent as his own. As Raionhato and Zankoku brought up in the Sports Festival, the only thing holding him back was himself. Not his Quirk, himself as he focused more on ogling the girls of Class 1-A rather than bettering himself.
"Don't fall back on that excuse. That time you wasted setting up our female classmates for that stupid prank could've been spent practicing your fighting skills. That time when you wanted to peek at the girls through that peephole could've been spent thinking of how to improve. Stop thinking about girls and start focusing on how to improve."
"If I don't improve...odds are, I'll be kicked out of the Hero Course for Furaya," Shiruku whispered to himself.
All of the students of Class 1-A were amazed by Hayata Furaya's victory; even Bakugo begrudgingly gave respect to the Quirkless swordsman he had initially wrote off as a delusional wannabe. But that amazement and respect was soured by some of the class by the revelation that one of them may be dropped from the Hero Course to make way for the falcon-themed swordsman.
Shiruku believed himself to be on the chopping block in that situation; despite his rather good grades, he was still lacking in close quarters combat, using his Quirk productively and as Zankoku pointed out, had wasted his time ogling his female classmates rather than training to improve himself.
As much he hoped either Bakugo or Todoroki would be removed from the Hero Course, he knew it wasn't going to happen. The two of them were some of Class 1-A's strongest and smartest students, having made it to 2nd and 3rd Place in the Sports Festival. It was far more unlikely in Todoroki's case as he was the son of the #2 Hero and expelling him could potentially cause Endeavor to 'get back' at U.A. for kicking his son out of the Hero Course.
No. The students who could be replaced by Furaya could already be listed: Kaminari, Koda, Midoriya, Aoyama, Hagakure, and himself. Any one of them could lose their place in Class 1-A when the falcon-themed swordsman joined the Hero Course and all their hard work could potentially be for nothing.
But at least one student from his past wasn't in U.A.'s Hero Course classes.
Shiruku walked through the halls of his middle school, having taken the U.A. Entrance Exam the day before. He didn't know what score he had gotten, but he hoped it was enough to get him into U.A.'s Hero Course. It was difficult for him to be sure as his Quirk lacked offensive capabilities, unlike someone he saw who used acid to easily destroy the robots, who he'd later know as Mina Ashido.
"So, how'd you do?" a fellow student asked Shiruku as he got items out of his locker.
"I don't know," Shiruku replied. "We won't know for maybe two or three weeks. But it got hard...considering my Quirk and all."
"What about Hokuto?" the student asked. "Did you see him?" Shiruku was quiet in response to the name, Hokuto Shinen...but that silence was quickly replaced by the sounds of girls fawning and giggling over another student further down the halls. He had hair that was fiery red with ashen black colored tips, his eyes a beautiful golden color like the sunrise and a charming yet innocent smile on his face as the girls swarmed him.
The Web wielder gripped his locker door tightly as he watched the sight of the girls fawning over the male student, his blood boiling with jealousy and disdain. He shut his locker and began walking away from the sight.
"Hey, Kumo!" the fiery red-haired boy called out. Shiruku stopped for a minute and looked back at the student, who he knew as his former friend, Hokuto Shinen.
"Why are you wasting your time with that pervert?" one of the girls asked, openly mocking Shiruku. "He's not worth your time." Hokuto attempted to protest this, but the girls blocked his path and Shiruku walked out of sight.
Hokuto Shinen, a former friend of his who fortunately did not go to U.A. With a Quirk like his, allowing him to generate eagle-like wings of fire, Hokuto would've undoubtedly gotten in without a shadow of a doubt.
"I'm glad he didn't get in," Shiruku spoke to himself. "Just like Bakugo and Todoroki, he would've gotten in simply because he had a flashy Quirk."
It was one of the cruel realities that Shiruku had learned growing up in a world governed by superpowers: those with flashy Quirks were put on a pedestals and believed they would immediately become amazing heroes while those with more...uninteresting Quirks were pushed aside. He received that treatment growing up where he was tossed aside in favor of his friend, Hokuto Shinen.
"Why do only those with flashy Quirks get recognition?" Shiruku groaned. "Why is it that they get all the praise while people like me are just...?" He sighed with frustration. The Web wielder then looked up at a TV monitor up ahead, which was now covering the Sports Festival and showing a picture of Hayata Furaya on the 1st Place podium wearing the golden medal.
Ever since that day, the reception to Hayata's victory was a mixed bag. Some people praised Hayata for his determination and skill in spite of his Quirklessness, proving to many that anyone could be a hero regardless of whether they possessed powers or not. He had gone up against four Hero Course students who should've easily bested him, including Todoroki and Bakugo, and he beat them all. But others remained skeptical of Hayata's victory or even outright rejected it, claiming he must've cheated somehow and refusing to believe he could've won against any of them legitimately.
Hayata must've had it far worse than Shiruku ever did: Shiruku's Quirk may not've been flashy, but at least he had one. If people with uninteresting Quirks were pushed aside, one could only imagine what the Quirkless go through daily. As he remembered, in spite of anti-Quirkless discrimination laws in Japan, they still had to face bullying and ostracizing simply for being who they were. So it made Shiruku question: did he really have any right to feel bad for himself when there were people who had it far worse than him?
Despite all the discrimination and hatred Hayata must've faced, it was clear that he never let that stop him from pursuing what he wants. He had won the Sports Festival, the first ever Quirkless to have ever done so. He didn't feel sorry for himself, didn't question if he could be a Pro Hero, he fought for what he wanted come hell or high water.
And Takeo Raionhato...his Quirk was unflashy too, something he acknowledged all too well. But he didn't wallow in self-pity and instead trained to become a skilled combatant with an array of weapons at his disposal. He had gone up against Ashido and Tokoyami in the Sports Festival and triumphed against both of them, only losing against Bakugo because he tossed strategy in favor of pure rage. When they fought again in their rematch, everyone was amazed by how Raionhato could go toe-to-toe with the Explosion wielder.
What could Shiruku be capable of if he put in the effort to his training, if he stopped focusing on his disdain towards those with flashy Quirks? Could he go up against Bakugo perhaps? Or maybe even Todoroki?
Those thoughts would have to wait as the train came to a stop and Shiruku had to get off for his chosen agency. He picked up his hero case and got off the train, but as he did, he noticed someone else in U.A. uniform, someone from Class 1-B. He had light brown spiky hair, plain black eyes and an average build, his suitcase with the number 14 on it.
"Hey," the student called out to Shiruku. "Are you here for Livewire too?"
"Yeah, I am," Shiruku answered as the two began walking side by side to exit the terminal.
"Name's Tsubaraba from Class 1-B," the student introduced himself. "You?"
"Shiruku." Tsubaraba's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait...weren't you the guy who tricked the girls of Class 1-A into wearing cheerleader outfits?"
"That's me," Shiruku responded with a slight perverted smile, easily envisioning all the girls still in their U.A. uniforms...except Kiyama, that is. If he pulled another stunt like that, he'd have to make sure Raionhato, Ojiro and Sato weren't around or else he'd receive another pummeling from them as he and Kaminari did.
"Nice~" Tsubaraba complimented, also enjoying the image of the 1-A girls in cheerleader uniforms. "How did you pull it off, man? I'd really like to see Hironaka in a cheerleader outfit." Shiruku smiled deviously.
Nagami Kiyama got off the train at the terminal for the city Bladewing's agency was. As before with the train ride, the people she slithered by kept their distance, some frightened by her appearance and others quietly degrading her mutant race. It wasn't new to her, having grown up enduring scowls of all kinds, but now she had friends who helped give her much needed support in the face of such discrimination.
Takeo Raionhato, Mashirao Ojiro, Rikido Sato, even Satoshi Gijutsu...all of them had become good friends of hers who saw past her frightening appearance and accepted her as their friend, something she had never had growing up. She was deeply grateful to all of them for giving her their support, not to mention that she was now good friends with the son of her role model, Lioness.
The Snake mutant still wished she had gotten an internship with Lioness, but she understood that the leonine hero's duties had to come first, though perhaps there'd be a chance later down the line. Just imagining the idea of working alongside her role model, the Pro Heroine who had given her courage and hope when she needed it, filled Nagami with excitement.
Splat. Nagami felt something burst on her shoulder, red juices reaching her hair and face. Laughter was heard from two men who were probably in their twenties, pointing and openly mocking the snake they had just thrown a tomato at. Nagami let out an annoyed groan as she wiped the tomato juices out of her face and out of her ebony hair.
"Jerksssss," she hissed quietly as she kept slithering out of the terminal to get on her way to Bladewing's agency.
"Hey, freak!" the voice of a teenage boy around Nagami's age called out to her as she slithered her way to the bus stop where she'd head to U.A. High School. As she slithered, she felt a great splash of water on her face and head.
"Hey, come on!" the boy mocked. "You look better wet!"
Nagami glared at the boy and his three friends who laughed mockingly at the snake mutant. If time allowed it, she'd go over and scare the living crap out of them, but she couldn't afford to miss the bus that went to U.A. She'd have to make them crap their pants another time, so she just kept slithering while the boys jeered at her.
"Filthy mutant! How can YOU be a Pro Hero at U.A.?"
"Go back to the zoo, freak!"
Kaiyo Shimasuta, a bully that attended another Pro Hero school who she sometimes encountered on her way to U.A. His Quirk allowed him to generate water from the moisture in the air which he could then telekinetically control. Just like so many racist bullies in her life, he took great pleasure in tormenting her whenever he could. For a time, she had considered telling her friends, but knowing Takeo's temper, she didn't want him to get in trouble for her sake.
But as she thought on Raionhato, Nagami also felt admiration for him going up against Bakugo in a rematch. Her advice had helped her friend see through his humiliating mistake at the Sports Festival and fight his hated rival for his own development rather than Bakugo's ego. Then of course...her thoughts of Takeo started to make her feel rather warm inside, as if she were sitting on a comfortable chair. Before she knew it, her face started to blush.
"Huh?" she gasped as she shook her head. "What wasssss that about? Besssssides, it's pretty clear that he'ssssss got a thing for Yaomomo."
BAM! A large impact occurred near where Nagami was, breaking her out of her thoughts entirely. The cause of the impact was a villain, who put her hand on the ground and caused concrete spikes to shoot up at the sky, or specifically, at the Pro Hero, Bladewing.
"Everyone, move!" Nagami cried out, alerting everyone to get away from the fight so they wouldn't be targeted by the villain fighting Bladewing. "Move, now!"
While Nagami worked to get everyone away from the fight, Bladewing descended upon the villain, using his metallic wings to block and deflect the concrete projectiles launched at him. He spun around like a rotating missile to deflect the concrete projectiles until he caught sight of a large concrete boulder hurled his way, prompting him to destroy it with his wings. Before the villain could launch more concrete, Bladewing crashed into the villain, creating a dust cloud that blinded everyone nearby.
Thanks to Nagami's heat vision, she was able to tell that Bladewing had subdued the villain, who had been knocked unconscious by the Strong Wing Hero. It took several moments for the dust to clear up, showing the result of the fight and revealing to everyone Bladewing's triumph over the concrete-wielding villain. They cheered for the Strong Wing Hero's victory as the police arrived to arrest the villain.
"So that'ssssss Bladewing," Nagami hissed. "Wow, he'ssssss pretty good."
After the Strong Wing Hero made sure the villain was in custody, he caught sight of Nagami Kiyama and immediately recognized her through her uniform and suitcase with the number 23 on it as a U.A. student. He was so caught up in the fight against the concrete villain that he hadn't noticed her efforts in keeping the citizens away and at a safe distance.
"You haven't even already started your internship and you've already made a good impression," Bladewing complimented Medusa.
"Thanksssss," Nagami replied. "Great to meet you, Bladewing. I'm Nagami Kiyama."
"Also known as Medusa, am I correct?" Bladewing asked, to which Nagami confirmed it to be true. "Well, as I said, you made a very good first impression helping to keep the citizens away from the fight and out of harm's way." Nagami smiled in response to Bladewing's praise.
"Let us head to my agency and we can officially begin," Bladewing insisted, to which the Snake Hero agreed.