Izuku's four days with Senshi seemed like no time at all. He had gotten the basics of parkour down, understanding that it wasn't just moving in a stylish way; it was about getting from one place to another in the quickest way possible, and that often involved moving in a way that wasn't natural to some. Izuku had picked it up quickly, but he was still a long way from moving like Eraserhead, and even Senshi.
He was about to do his last run in the simulated urban environment, and Senshi and Eraserhead were watching him. It was nothing new, but it was his last time; it mattered. If he didn't get it right this time, it would be kind of disappointing. It was also the first time Eraserhead had come to watch in two days, Izuku knowing how to get to the gym and Eraser having to work with the police on something. Izuku geared up and took off.
Having improved the speed at which he could summon One for All, Izuku let it fill him before taking off, the process taking barely a moment now. Izuku ran up and leapt across the first gap, landing on the pipe in no time. He leaned forward, letting his foot slide along the pipe until he felt it was at the right angle, and then pushed off with the casual motion that he and Senshi had worked on.
Izuku leapt into the air, the angle and strength of his jump having been just right. He had worked out that, instead of giving it his all every single time, Izuku would have to adjust the power of his jumps instead of the percentage of One for All he was using. It felt much more natural to manipulate the power of his muscles as opposed to the power of One for All, as the former was much more familiar to him. It also worked with Izuku's new thoughts that One for All was not a substitute for his natural strength, but the two were supposed to work together to achieve the best result possible.
He landed on the platform in front of him, crouching down to scout ahead. There were three paths, but they all ended at the same place; the starting platform. He chose the middle path, only because it was right in front of him already, and he wouldn't have to shift his momentum too much. Izuku ran forward on the platform and jumped.
Izuku started falling almost immediately, having used almost no actual power to push off the platform. Instead, he kept his eyes on the metal bar that was hanging from the roof and aimed his hand toward it as he felt gravity take him. Izuku fired off a strand of Blackwhip, making it wrap around the bar in an instant.
As he reached the end of his Blackwhip's length, Izuku felt the tug on his arm as his downward momentum turned into forward momentum. He swung below the bar, picking up speed as he did. Izuku, as he approached the peak of his swing, released Blackwhip and let it sink back into his arm as he flew forward, unrestricted.
Landing on a strip of a platform, Izuku began running forward at top speed. He could still only use six percent of his full power, but that was still faster than most people could move. Izuku approached the obstacles on this platform, a mess of pipes and smaller platforms representing an industrial environment.
Izuku leapt through an opening at about chest level, and dove into a roll on the other side. He took a running jump at a corner, grabbing onto the pipe forming the edge and spinning around it without losing any of his momentum. Danger Sense suddenly triggered, sending a flash of pain through his brain.
He ducked his head down, avoiding a pipe that he had been on course to hit had he not been warned. Izuku was really starting to wish he had Danger Sense back when Bakugo used to search for him after school to beat him up. That was the past, though, and both Izuku and Bakugo were different people now. Focussing back on the present, Izuku grunted as he finally put his full effort into a jump, leaping across a giant pit.
As he flew across the gap in the ground, Izuku leaned forward, throwing his hands out in front to aim at either wall's corner at the end of the pit. He fired off two tendrils of Blackwhip, whipping them to allow them to wrap around the corner and latch onto the wall, whatever it was made of. Once the Blackwhips connected, Izuku called on Float and pulled.
Izuku flew over the pit, Float carrying him over the gap easily. His prior momentum paired with his powerful pull made sure that he didn't slow down until he had long since cleared the pit. The only reason he slowed down was because he was coming up on the end. Izuku let go of Float, dropping to the ground and making his dash for the end.
He wasn't done, though. There was always a trick at the end of each path, though it was randomized every time. Izuku had only made it past one of the tricks once, but it wasn't guaranteed to be the same one, so he was probably screwed.
Danger Sense sent a shock to Izuku's system, and he looked up to see the ceiling panel directly above him begin to descend toward him, with a long block of what Izuku guessed was cement by the color coming with it. Izuku looked forward again, judging the distance from Izuku to the end to be fifteen metres. He could do that in about two seconds, but he wasn't sure that was enough. The ceiling panel was moving fast, faster than he was sure just six percent could manage to evade.
Throwing away his caution, Izuku pushed One for All up to ten percent. He felt the warmth in his legs start to burn, but he pushed it aside. Izuku coiled his body up and shot out from underneath the cement block, which had just reached him. He reached the safe zone in the blink of an eye, using his equivalent of what he had theorized Eraserhead's speed to be. Izuku tumbled, his legs giving out from under him and One for All leaving him.
The cement block slammed into the ground Izuku had been standing on just a second earlier, and he fell to the ground, out of breath. He laid on the ground, breathing hard, as Senshi and Eraserhead approached him from the door. Senshi held his hand out to Izuku, who gratefully took it to help him stand on his own feet, which were still burning from his overuse of One for All.
"Well done. That's the gimmick obstacle that always trips people up," Senshi laughed.
"I can see why. Getting attacked by a building isn't something people normally deal with," Izuku groaned.
Izuku looked back, and saw the cement block ascending back into place on the ceiling. He wondered how it worked, and turned back to Senshi to see him already taking a breath to speak.
"It wouldn't have really smashed you. I have a sensor placed where it can see everything up until the moment it's supposed to collide with you, which sends the signal to stop if you're still under it by that time," Senshi explained.
"You suddenly sped up at the last second. You were almost too fast for me to see," Eraserhead said, completely understanding what had happened by the tone of his voice.
"I jumped from six percent to ten percent in an attempt to get out from under the obstacle. I knew it would give me the boost in speed I needed without seriously injuring myself," Izuku said, his legs disagreeing with him.
"That …" Eraser's tone frightened Izuku. " … is exactly what I would've done. Good job," the teacher finished, pleasantly surprising his student.
That concluded Izuku's lessons with Senshi, and Izuku was almost upset it was over. He knew it was only four days out of a week-long internship, but he enjoyed his time with Senshi, and he was going to miss the man's enthusiasm when it came to every little thing about the process. It had inspired him more than Senshi knew, so he'd always be thankful for all he'd learned under his tutelage.
Izuku quickly changed out of the workout clothes he had brought, and into his regular clothes. He had stopped wearing his Hero costume out after the first day, since he hadn't actually done anything as a Hero. Izuku was kind of disappointed that he had only actually followed and learned from Eraserhead for about two hours, but he didn't let Eraser know. He had learned, he just hadn't learned from Eraser.
"Rest up; we're going out tonight," Eraserhead said, looking at his phone.
Perking up at the news, Izuku wondered if this was to do with Heroics. He figured his legs would take a few minutes to stop burning so harshly, but other than that, he'd be fine for doing Hero work that night. Izuku met his teacher's eyes, silently asking the question.
"The police are making a move on a gang of drug traffickers tonight. They've invited me onto the raid team, along with any Heroes of my choosing," Eraserhead explained.
"You're sure I'm ready?" Izuku asked.
"I am. I've seen your progress these past few days. I believe in you, Midoriya," Eraser said, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Right. I'll do my best," Izuku said.
"I know you will. That's why I know you won't do anything stupid. Right?" Eraserhead asked, narrowing his eyes at Izuku.
"No, sir," Izuku said, remembering how Eraser had knocked out a Villain at the USJ in one punch, using the same hand he was resting on his shoulder now.
"Good. Be at the apartment in an hour. Do what you want until then," Eraser said, beginning to walk toward the door.
"Alright. I'll be there in a bit, I just have some things to say to Senshi," Izuku said, watching Eraserhead walk out the door while nodding.
Izuku had been thinking of this question for days. It was a simple question, but an important one. He walked over to Senshi, who was quietly observing some more freestyle runners. Senshi stepped away from the glass wall, turning to Izuku and smiling brightly.
"Hey, kid. You've come a long way in a short time. I'm proud of you," Senshi said.
"Uh, thanks. I want to thank you for teaching me. It's been a really eye opening experience for me," Izuku said, working up his courage to ask his question.
"It was my pleasure. What do you want to ask me?" Senshi asked, making Izuku look at him worriedly.
"Did I mutter again?" Izuku asked, taken aback.
"No. You've got to remember; I was the one who got Shota to use his words like a human. I know how to read people," Senshi laughed.
"Oh, right. Well, what I wanted to ask was … why didn't you lie?" Izuku asked.
"What?" Senshi asked, legitimately confused.
"Why didn't you lie on your Quirk Registry? You've got such overwhelming speed that it could be classified as a Quirk, so you could claim that you were simply a late bloomer, like me, and then pretend that you have a Quirk. You could be a Hero. You could help people! Why not?" Izuku clarified.
"Ah, Midoriya. I didn't get as fast as I am until I was well into my twenties. I was fast before, but it just wasn't good enough to pass for a Quirk. They'd know that it wasn't a Quirk, but the result of training. They'd refuse my request to change my file. They'd refuse to put me in a Hero Course. It was never going to happen for me," Senshi said.
Izuku debated with himself on whether or not he was really going to do this. After a moment, he decided that he should at least try. Senshi deserved to know, to have hope that he could one day have what he'd been denied for his whole life.
"What if I told you that there are Quirks that can be given?" Izuku asked.
"I wouldn't believe you," Senshi laughed.
"Well, let's just say that there are. Would you take one?" Izuku asked again.
"No," Senshi said, a small, sad smile marking his face.
"What? Why?" Izuku cried.
"I've got a good thing going here, kid. I've built a business for myself, doing what I love. I wouldn't give that up for the world, let alone a hypothetical Quirk," Senshi said.
Izuku felt stupid for asking, now. He should've known that would be the answer. Of course Senshi loved his work enough to refuse a concept he didn't even believe could be real. Izuku didn't know why he'd expected anything different. Just because he had dreams much bigger than himself, that didn't mean that every Quirkless person didn't feel that they wanted more than they had. Maybe Senshi came from a whole family of Quirkless people, and what he had asked had been incredibly rude? He felt that he should just leave, and did so.
When Izuku got back to the apartment, Eraserhead was waiting for him. He waved half-heartedly, and quickly changed into his Hero costume. It was far more comfortable than it had been the first time he'd worn it, due to him wearing it in on that second day. Izuku stretched, preparing for a night of action. He had never researched too far into the Underground scene of Heroics, but knew that it was generally more dangerous, due to the more desperate nature of some of the criminals found in the underbelly of Japan.
"How long have you worked with the police?" Izuku asked as he and Eraserhead left the apartment and started heading up the stairs toward the roof.
"Most of my career. I officially became a consultant on Quirks a few years ago, though. When most of my time changed from Hero work to teaching, I began to focus more on consulting rather than traditional Heroism. I still participate in operations like these, however," Eraser said.
The two exited the stairwell and walked onto the roof, and Izuku was instantly hit with the cool night air. He wasn't sure how the lightning created by his Full Cowling technique could affect Eraserhead's primarily stealthy fighting style, but he was just going to have to find out.
Eraserhead took off, running across the rooftop and sprinting toward the edge. Izuku called on One for All at six percent and followed, finding it easier to catch up with him than he thought. Maybe it was because Eraser wasn't trying to rush, but they were about equal in speed. The two reached the ledge and leapt, Izuku purposefully staying behind Eraser due to not knowing where the police precinct was in this part of the city.
Izuku and Eraser ran across rooftop after rooftop, making their way toward the police precinct. It was about four blocks before Eraserhead stopped, making Izuku stop as well. They stood on top of a building, across the street from the precinct.
"We're here. You still have a chance to refuse the mission, if you want," Eraser said.
"I want to do this," Izuku said.
"Alright. Let's get down there, then," Eraser said, before jumping down and swinging off a streetlight with his binding scarf.
Izuku copied what Eraserhead did, only with his Blackwhip, and landed right next to his teacher, getting a few surprised gasps and worried looks from the police officers around. The only person who seemed to not be shocked at his arrival was Tsukauchi, but they already knew each other. It seemed that nobody told them that Nexus was a child.
"Good evening, Eraserhead, Nexus," Tsukauchi said, nodding to both Heroes.
"Nice to meet you again, Tsukauchi," Izuku greeted back, nodding to the Detective.
"Alright, everyone! These two are Heroes! Eraserhead and his student, Nexus. Treat them nicely; they're good at what they do," Tsukauchi announced to his officers.
The officers still looked uneasy at working with a child, but Izuku ignored them. It was his time to prove that he was ready. Izuku focused on the feeling of One for All inside him, the comfortable feeling of the vestiges cheering him on. He was still unsure about their last talk, but he knew that they were on his side. They were his family, now.
Izuku scanned the crowd, and learned that the raid team consisted of twenty police officers, Tsukauchi, Eraserhead, himself and … was that Midnight and Shinso? It was. Midnight and Shinso seemed to be talking, so they hadn't noticed Izuku and Eraser yet, so he turned to his own teacher.
"Hey, Eraser. Midnight and Sh—Hypnos are here," Izuku said, pointing to where the familiar Heroes were standing while he mentally chastised himself for almost calling Shinso by his name. Shinso was Hypnos here, just like he was Nexus.
"Huh. So they are. We better tell them that we're here, so Midnight doesn't freak out and get herself shot during the raid," Eraserhead groaned, and the two made their way over.
Midnight and Hypnos looked over to Eraser and Izuku, and both lit up at the sight. Midnight was more excited than Hypnos was, his eyes giving off a more shocked expression. The mask Hypnos wore covered everything from the eyes down, so only his eyes were able to express emotions, which were already hard to glean from him while being able to see his whole face.
"Eraserhead! Why did you bring Iz- … Nexus here? This kind of stuff is a bit too dirty for him, no?" Midnight asked, looking between Izuku and Eraserhead.
"I would say the same thing about you and Hypnos, but this is exactly the type of thing he's been set on since school started. Nexus is ready for this, as is Hypnos, I assume. One would assume we would make sure our students can handle this type of situation before throwing them into real, live combat with dangerous criminals," Eraser said.
"Oh, please! UA's been throwing kids into dangerous situations for educational purposes for a hundred years. It's hardly anything new," Midnight said, getting a small laugh from Izuku.
"Fair enough," Eraser mumbled.
"So, did you get your mask upgraded?" Izuku asked Hypnos.
Izuku remembered how Shinso had first described his mask to him after the first battle trials. The mask shifted his voice through a series of plates to make it appear that it was coming from somewhere else, and he would use that to distract enemies enough to subdue them. Izuku had made a quick suggestion to improve the mask, which Shinso had excitedly taken to the Support Department that same day.
"Yeah. Thanks for the tip. I thought it would be enough to simply scatter my voice so you didn't know where it was coming from, but now I see that I need something better. The Support Department was able to modify the mask to modulate my voice through the same method they used to redirect my voice, only to shift the sound around until you get a totally different sound," Hypnos explained.
"Can you demonstrate?" Izuku asked.
"Can I demonstrate?" Hypnos asked with Midnight's voice.
Eraserhead and Midnight both looked over to Hypnos, Eraserhead giving Hypnos a manic grin and Midnight shuddering in disgust. It was clear that Midnight hadn't liked hearing her voice come out of her student's mouth, so maybe Hypnos had done it before? It seemed like a good idea for a joke.
"I told you; no imitations outside of necessity. It's freaky," Midnight said, strangely serious. What had Hypnos said to her?
"Ladies and gentlemen, please listen up! Tonight's aim is to bust a drug trafficking ring that's been operating out of an abandoned warehouse seven blocks from here. The warehouse has a skylight, so we'll be dividing you all into two groups, determined by which Pro Heroes you're grouped with. Midnight with Hypnos will be leading a group on the ground, with Eraserhead with Nexus leading a group on the roof. I don't care who is in what group, just sort it out," Tsukauchi said, and the officers stood there, not moving.
"What is wrong with you all?" Tsukauchi asked.
"We weren't told that we'd be working with kids," one of the officers said.
"Yeah. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with kids being in the line of fire," another one added.
"We can handle ourselves. We're students at UA, the same students who went up against the League of Villains and won. I faced off against them alone. Nexus took out their leader with a single punch. Do you really think we can't do this?" Hypnos yelled, getting all of the officers' attention.
"He's right. They're kids, yes, but they're not helpless," Eraserhead agreed.
"Fine. It's on UA if they get hurt anyway," one of the officers said, stepping closer to stepping to stand with Midnight.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to protect them. Think of it like this; you had ride-alongs as part of your training, right?" Midnight asked.
A series of noises of approval rang out from the crowd.
"This is just that, but on a much bigger scale. They're just learning the ropes, so that they can do their job to the best of their abilities in the future," Midnight said, getting a few more officers to agree with her.
"Alright. Enough messing around. Get into groups and let's head out," Tsukauchi said, pointing to the three transport units waiting for the officers and Heroes.
From the looks of it, each transport unit could hold ten people, with each team getting a unit to themselves, as well as the Heroes and Tsukauchi. Izuku, Hypnos, Midnight and Eraserhead followed Tsukauchi into the leading transport unit, Izuku and Hypnos sharing a nervous look, which took off as soon as the doors were closed.
"Okay, let's go over your roles. Midnight and Hypnos, you're Ground Team. When I say, you'll bust in through the front door and Midnight will release her Quirk to subdue the targets. Anybody who doesn't go down immediately will be Brainwashed by Hypnos. If they manage to break themselves out of it, or they don't fall for your tricks, that's when Aerial Team will come in," Tsukauchi said, making sure Midnight and Hypnos understood their parts to play.
"Eraserhead, Nexus, you're Aerial Team. You'll get up on the roof and let your team up using your binding scarf and your Quirk, respectively. Then, on my signal, Eraserhead will bust in through the skylight and cancel all remaining targets' Quirks. Nexus, how many of those dark tendrils can you make?" Tsukauchi explained, turning to Izuku at the question.
"I can make one for every officer with us. They'll scale down my Blackwhips, right?" Izuku answered.
"Yes. Make sure you have them ready beforehand. Once everyone is down, join us below; it'll probably escalate once the targets' Quirks are inhibited," Tsukauchi said.
"Got it," Izuku said, giving the Detective a thumbs up.
"Alright. Eraserhead, are you good for this?" Tsukauchi asked, seeing the Hero's distant expression.
"Ever since the USJ, my Quirk's been weakened significantly. I can probably only use it for five minutes, at best, and less if you want me to cancel twenty or more Quirks," Eraser said.
"Alright, only Erase Quirks that you feel necessary. You're our greatest asset, here," Tsukauchi said.
Eraserhead nodded, and the group fell into a silence. It was killing Izuku, as the longer the silence stretched on, the closer they got to his first taste of Hero work. He looked over at Hypnos, and saw that he had the same look on his face.
"Uh, what exactly did these people do, anyway?" Hypnos asked.
"We call them the Spinsters, because of the drug they've made; Dizzy. They call it that because it makes you feel lighter than air, and dizzy. We have confirmation that their leader's Quirk is where they get the base ingredient; a substance that induces crippling vertigo in anyone who is exposed to a large enough sample. They water it down with other stuff, most likely products derived from less extreme opioids," Tsukauchi explained.
"Uh, isn't a spinster another name for a—" Izuku was cut off.
"We're well aware of what it means. Nicknames stick, kid," Tsukauchi groaned, making Izuku and Hypnos laugh.
The transport unit came to a stop, the whining of the wheels outside the vehicle alerting the Heroes to the fact. Tsukauchi opened the doors, and the occupants of the vehicle climbed out to reveal an empty street with a warehouse down the road. Izuku wondered why they were parking all the way up the road, but realized why when the other cars arrived with engines loud enough to alert the Spinsters to their presence if they were to simply park right outside.
"Alright. Aerial Team, you'll get in position first, on the roof. The Ground Team will get in position at the front, back and side doors. Everyone, you know your teams and roles," Tsukauchi said, dismissing his officers.
"Don't get hurt," Eraser said to Midnight and Hypnos.
"Same to you," Midnight said back, giving Izuku a nod.
Izuku and Eraserhead set off toward the warehouse, Izuku leaping up with One for All and using Blackwhip to pull himself onto the rooftops and Eraser doing the same with his binding scarf. They bounced along the rooftops until they came to a stop on top of the warehouse, quietly settling down until they heard the whisper on the radio that told them their team was ready to be pulled up.
Moving to the edge of the rooftop, Izuku peered down into the alley to see all ten of their officers lined up at the wall, waiting for their grappels to come down. Izuku summoned five Blackwhips on each hand, making sure they were thick enough for a grown man to hold onto, and slowly let them fall until they touched the ground.
The officers each grabbed onto their Blackwhip, hooking it under their feet to keep balance. Izuku let six percent of One for All flood into his arms alone; not enough to cause lightning to start crackling, but enough to give him the strength he needed. He reeled the officers up, breathing deep and trying not to grunt from the effort of supporting around three hundred and fifty kilograms on each arm. Not impossible, but pushing the limits of six percent.
Once all the officers were on the roof, Izuku allowed himself to relax, resting his arms for a moment. Some of the officers were giving him more friendly and appreciative looks now, probably after seeing his strength and Blackwhips, so that was positive. After a few moments of shaking his arms to get the strain to wear off, Izuku got the nod from Eraser to start dealing out Blackwhips.
"Alright. Everybody take one. You'll use these to repel into the warehouse on Tsukauchi's signal," Izuku whispered, once again manifesting five Blackwhips from each hand and letting each officer grab one.
A loud banging sound came from below, and Izuku thought it must have been the Ground Team making their entrance. That meant that any moment now, if they needed it, they'd call for the Aerial Team to make their move. A few crashes, a faint ripping sound, and some shouting came from below, and then nothing for a moment.
"Ah, shit. They have gas masks. Aerial Team, go," Tsukauchi said through the comms.
Eraserhead slipped on the gas mask that everyone but Izuku, Midnight and Hypnos had been given, due to the boys already having masks that doubled as gas filters, and Midnight being immune to the effects of her own Quirk. Eraser nodded at Izuku, who nodded back, and leapt up, using his extreme agility to jump metres into the air, and come slamming down onto the skylight, shattering the glass and letting himself fall down into the warehouse.
Izuku nodded to the officers beside him, who had all worked out the order in which they would enter the warehouse on the way over. He let One for All flow through him, Full Cowling style, at six percent, and nodded once more to let the officers know that it's okay to use his Blackwhips to repel into the warehouse, where he could hear sounds of combat raging below him.
The officers, one by one, dropped down into the skylight, and it became harder and harder to keep them all going at a steady pace as more joined their fellow officers in repelling down his Blackwhips. Soon enough, though, the task was done, and Izuku was free to join the fight below. He recalled all of his Blackwhips and leaned forward to look into the battle through the skylight, just to check on what he was about to drop into.
It was chaos. It seemed like there were more criminals than there were officers, and they were bigger on average, too. Izuku could see Eraserhead's glowing red eyes as he fought off a few temporarily Quirkless foes, Midnight trying her best to damage the targets' gas masks as she let off more and more of the sedative fog her Quirk generated, and Shinso using his electric batons and taunting his enemies as he tried to get them to respond to him.
Izuku hooked two Blackwhips around the edges of the skylight and jumped up, before flinging himself into the fray to join his teachers, his friend and his new allies in the police force. This was going to be fine, because he wasn't going to let anybody be hurt. He had One for All, Blackwhip, Float and Danger Sense on his side. What could go wrong?