Dozens of feet cross over a concrete landing, and yet they never once cross over the yellow paint lines that separates them from a gravel rail bed, no matter how tightly packed the pedestrian traffic is. Along that pebbled shingle siding are instead the passing people's crumpled ticket stubs and food wrappers, discarded trash littering the lane rather than going into any of the periodically placed trash cans of where they walk.
Within the crowd, occasional pairs of legs go in the opposite direction. There are those of which that follow map routes – those charts posted along with train schedules cover nearly every wall that the people pass – but there are others who wander aimlessly, carried by the crowd. This constant motion flows everyone throughout the station all at once without a single spared stop; men and women go up or down escalators to then pass through turnstiles in order to move this flow to alternative floors.
Soft steps slide to a sudden halt, followed by the collective shoe scratches of much louder footfalls. This group of people amongst the rest of the commotional crowd are Class 1-A of U.A's Hero Course and their 'substitute' Spider-Man. They gather at a track, standing to the side where commuting pedestrians won't be obstructed by their plentiful presence.
Spider-Man performs a mental headcount of the hero hopefuls that he was tasked to watch; he lists them off as he goes to make sure none were forgotten or left behind. As he does so, his mind also mulls over the reality of having to do so and how this came to be. So soon after the Sports Festival that he'd be put in charge of Hero Course students shocked him. But then again, he's pretty sure that this is some weird way of Nezu keeping a watch on HIM rather than him watching the students.
In light of recent events, Eraserhead was unable to lead or guide his class to their internships. And considering Midnight, Snipe, and Present Mic were also temporarily put out of commission due to those same recent events … the next best available option was Spider-Man substituting. It makes sense on paper, much to Nezu's benefit no doubt, but there's surely additional reasons & motives to this decision.
Yes, it's true. The HPSC is still breathing down everyone's necks in regards to quirk & vigilante law, and that does not exclude Nezu. Nezu, with its own agenda, came up with this resolution as a way to prevent Spider-Man from doing too much vigilante activity. The idea is that Spider-Man would be so busy supervising the Hero Course students that he wouldn't be able to swing by any scenes in which he'd be doing any ACTUAL hero work without a license.
As much as Spidey would like to do something about it, he knows that he can't. His hands are metaphorically tied for the time being. Which means there's no worth dwelling on it. Especially since practically the entire class that he was tasked to take care of all do actually have genuine issues; they came with more baggage than just the briefcases carrying their suits or the add-on luggage with their recreational clothes. And it's Spider-Man's job to help them – whether that job comes as an order from a secretively shady rat for a principal or his own good conscience.
During his attendance check, Spider-Man sees the first of his problems with this class. Denki Kaminari, who he has a hunch could be a traitorous spy and villain, glowers at him like sparks could fly at any given moment. Yeah, that one's a live wire that he'd not like to touch even if it were with a ten foot pole. Hard pass on addressing or dealing with Kaminari then. For now, at least.
The next student in line is no better of an issue to have to put up with. Katsuki Bakugo of all people, who happened to bully him all the way from kindergarten to middle school – well, technically he's still being bullied even now – the brash blonde also has a furious frown on his face. He'd like to ignore the downtrodden demeanor of his former friend turned bully, but he knows deep down that he must put aside his feelings as Izuku Midoriya and instead behave accordingly in his teacher role as Spider-Man.
He starts by putting his best foot forward and tries to sound as forthcoming as possible, "Hey–"
"Get bent, bitch!" But the snarl that comes out of Bakugo's mouth has more bite to it than an angry pomeranian; Izuku was already bitten by a spider that he doesn't wish to find out what will happen if he's bitten again by a (probably radioactive?) time bomb.
"O' kay then..", Spider-Man backs off without even trying to push the issue. Izuku knows better than to bother when Bakugo is in a mood … which is sorta all the time, but the point still stands.
At least who's next in the lineup is a little more cool headed. It's none other than Shoto Todoroki, who after having addressed some deep seeded daddy issues during the Sports Festival, has for some reason decided he's going to take an internship with that exact same 'daddy'. So maybe he's NOT so level headed.
Again, Spider-Man starts to say something. "Are you sure– ?", but he once again gets interrupted before being able to get a complete sentence out.
"I'm fine", Todoroki holds up a flat facing palm to stop Spider-Man from speaking so that he can talk instead; it's the hand that belongs to his 'fire' side, and he seems to notice since he turns it to face himself afterwards to somewhat inspect it like it's not his own limb, "If I'm going to learn how to control and use my fire properly then I will need to learn from my father."
Spider-Man nods his head in understanding. The hero hopeful has decided to put his personal feelings aside in favor for the right & responsible thing to be done. Spider-Man has been in that position himself many of times that he won't push the issue there any more than he decided not to with the other problematic Hero Course students.
Even so, Todoroki must still see something in Spider-Man's demeanor, because he offers the smallest trace of an assuring smile to soothe the substitute's worries. It's the faintest of faces that it takes Spider-Man's enhanced senses to even notice – but he does. "I'll be fine. Really. You don't have to worry about me", Todoroki says.
As though to say there are others he should worry about instead, Todoroki's heterochromic eyes look past Spider-Man so that the substitute teacher will turn around. When Spider-Man does, he sees Toru Hagakure's invisible form trying to sneak off despite being what's practically a floating school uniform and a levitating set of bags.
Spidey clears his throat to get her attention, making her visibly jump despite being mostly transparent in appearance. "I believe your internship is that way", he gestures with his thumb over his shoulder in the opposite direction of where she was heading. The floating uniform recluses, giving away that she's embarrassed over being caught sneaking off even without an expression or a blushing face to show that.
"Yeah, I just, um–" She nervously searches for a response but finds none; Spider-Man can imagine her head anxiously swiveling during that search for an answer. What she eventually lands on saying is a very quiet and timid reply, "I have someone to visit first", that comes out sounding more like a request than an answer.
Behind his mask, Izuku raises an eyebrow. But he knows it's not his place to pry, and especially not quite yet when he's still not gotten the chance to know these people fully. So he lets it go. He trusts her for the time being and gives her the permission she was seeking, "Alright. Just don't be late for your internship."
Immediately, the floating uniform perks right up; he can tell that she's beaming with a smile. "Thank you!", and she hurries off to make her mystery side quest with that rejuvenated excitement.
While he was distracted with that, a commotion of conversation had broken out amongst the remaining students behind him. They're beginning to break off into duos and trios as they head for their respective internships. "You headed to Kyushu? I think it's that way", Mina Ashido pairs up with Tsuyu Asui. Ejiro Kirishima says something to Fumikage Tokoyami while they walk in the other direction together. And eventually, not being able to keep up with each and every single subset of students, only a few remain with Spider-Man on that particular platform once most of them take their respective path.
One of the few that stays is Kyoka Jirou. She twirls one of her ear jacks on a finger, acting disinterested. "So.. See ya later?", but her eyes have stayed on Spider-Man this whole time.
He notices and becomes flustered, thankful yet again that his mask hides his blush whenever she's near. "Uh, y- yeah! S- See ya! Later!" He refrains from dragging a hand down his face to maintain SOME of his dignity, but performs a mental facepalm all the same.
Itsuka Kendo notices this interaction, glancing between the two of them. Her neutral expression dims to something downtrodden before she walks away. Seeing this, Izuku feels a pang in his chest for some reason. He watches her and Jirou leave, the two going in separate directions.
Before he can make an attempt at trying to figure out their complicated situationships, he's snapped out of his dazed state. Another girl from the class, Setsuna Tokage, gets all up in his business; he takes a startled step back to regain some of his personal space. She flashes him a pointy toothed grin while saying, "Well! Well! Well! I guess I'm not the only one who likes your big butt!"
His eyes go wide when he instinctively looks back at his own backside. Due to all of his wall crawling and squatting stances, he actually has developed something of a dumpy. Even so, it's not something he wants to admit; especially not to a pretty girl who's trying to flirt with him after already having complicated romance issues. "I.. DO NOT. HAVE A BIG BUTT!", he shouts it a little TOO loud and forcefully due to being double flustered by all the attention.
All of the passing pedestrian traffic collectively stalls to stop and toss looks at him. Now he's even MORE embarrassed. The surrounding people smile and laugh or shake their heads disapprovingly. He looks back at Tokage who's still grinning and points a finger at her as a final warning before returning to his individual class address.
Last but not least on his list is Tenya Iida. Iida is the one that he's worried about the most. After losing his brother at the hands of the Hero Hunter, there's been a not-so-subtle shift in the boy's behavior. Iida's glasses hide his eyes as well as Spider-Man's mask lenses. And considering the internship that Iida chose is in a location near the Hero Hunter's last reported appearance, Spider-Man is willing to bet he knows exactly what Iida is hiding within the stare of those eyes.
That Nezu would sign off on Iida's internship choice is just as concerning. He doesn't see how such an intelligent being would fail to notice the 'coincidence' of that selection. Spider-Man's eyes narrow and his hands form into fists; he doesn't need to be a genius himself to know that Nezu absolutely noticed and still chose to allow it. Nezu is playing some sort of chess game with people's lives as the pieces on the board.
But putting Nezu aside for the time being, he still needs to address this problem at the source. He approaches Iida, who waited this entire time to be dismissed. "How are you feeling? You sure you're up to doing this?", he decides not to beat around the bush on this one.
Iida tightens the grip he has on his luggage. It's obviously a touchy topic. "I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Sensei. Can I go now?" He's just as terse when responding.
Spider-Man wants to pry further. He knows that Iida is absolutely NOT 'fine' … but he also knows from personal experience that there isn't much he'd be able to say right now that would help either. Iida is in a state of mind currently that closes everyone off until he's calmed down. So, Spider-Man nods and dismisses the grieving teen.
Now standing alone, Spider-Man feels like he has his work cut out for him now more than ever. And the worst part is … that feeling has validity.
Her steps are silent. They usually always are due to an ingrained habit from trial & error of training. It just seems so strange that they are here. The floor beneath her feet is as white as snow but it lacks the crunch that comes with a soft surface. Instead of soft snow, her feet step on hard tile. It's a reflective surface, the barren floor and the matching pale barren walls. Perhaps, this design is an ironic reflection of what the place itself truly is, as if the building itself is telling everyone from staff to visitors what it is that has been built and perpetuated.
Periodically she passes a door with no handle on it or an overhead equally white hued light. That's another thing. The lack of any real light. The long windowless corridor holds no hope that there's anything other than just that awaiting what's on either end of the hall. It's the world's most obviously constructed metaphor for emotional indifference. Which, for her to currently be in such an emotional state, doesn't pair well. The anxiety she feels rising up within her just may reach the surface and pour out of her mouth; she swallows hard to prevent herself from throwing up.
When the set of guards escorting her move a few paces ahead to grant her access into a room, she's relieved about the change in scenery. Though, the 'change' isn't much of a change. The only real difference is the shift from a narrow rectangular stretch of promised deadendedness to an actual deadend in the shape of a square. At the center of the squared space is a thick layer of tempered & laminated glass. The clear barrier separates her and the guards from who's being kept behind the other side of it.
"Visitation time per day is limited to ten minutes", the guard on her left side repeats what was told to her at the front desk when she signed to check herself in. "You are not permitted to have privacy during that time", the spiel goes on and on to the point that she has to tune it out.
Ignoring the set of security that remains on standby, she steps deeper into the room that she was led into. On her side of the see-through wall is a metallic chair bolted down to the floor; it's the only thing on her side of the room aside from herself and the guards. Opposite to her, the room's inhabitant at least has a bed and a toilet with their chair; though the bed looks just about as hard and uncomfy as the chairs are.
It's not quite a prison or an asylum (it's certainly a better environment than a maximum secured facility like Tartarus) but rather it's a place inbetween. It's a place made with the intention to rehabilitate people affected by villains and/or hero versus villain battles; it's just that sometimes there are more 'special' cases than others. With recent developments regarding the experimented on humans referred to as 'Nomus', such is a special case made specifically for this particular place.
An unrecognizable armored shell for a back faces the tempered glass, an equally reinforced tail laid out across the stretch of floor behind that back. The extensive limb breathes a life of its own, as thick and long as a python might grow if pythons had alligator hides for reptilian scales. At the tip of the tail is a pointed blade instead of a fluffy ball. "O- Ojiro?", the girl who came to visit her former friend & classmate is unsure of if what she's seeing is one and the same the boy that she came to visit.
The back straightens, padded shoulders jostling as they shift from a slouch to an attentive position. Slowly, the back turns and the front of the Nomu is revealed. A malformed mouth asks in return, "Hagakure.. ? Is that you … ?", the remaining part of Mashirao Ojiro pushes through the monstrous outward appearance long enough to recognize his friend & classmate.
Toru Hagakure visibly shudders when she sees what's become of Ojiro. An exposed brain that's undoubtedly been tampered with pulsates like every thought that comes from it is a tortuous struggle. What was once a boyishly handsome face has been replaced with pincers and blood red eyes. Stitches and scars suggest the protective plating covering Ojiro's body came at a high cost. He's hardly human in outward appearance anymore.
But even so, she can't abandon him. She approaches the see-through barrier and places a hand against it. Opposite to Hagakure's hand, a clawed appendage reaches out and, as though Ojiro can now see exactly where it is to sync that non-physical form of contact, also touches the glass where Hagakure does.
"Yes.. It's me", she breathlessly responds before inhaling to re-catch her breath and continuing, "I came to visit you and see how you're doing."
The scorpion stinger on the end of Ojiro's modified tail scratches the floor behind him. It's an expression of agitation that doesn't go unnoticed by either Hagakure or the guards watching him and her. The set of security guards share a look and nod before one of them speaks up to say, "Keep away from the glass! Otherwise we'll have to cut this visitation short."
Hagakure stands clear of the clear wall, opting to sit in the chair behind her. Ojiro also moves away from the glass barrier, but instead sits on the floor. There, the large looking Nomu appears strange as it sulks like a child.
"You shouldn't have come here, Hagakure.. I didn't want you to see me like this", the scorpion & human hybrid shakes his head with sorrow. It's quite obviously a lie when Ojiro adds an answer to the girl's question, "I'm fine. You don't have to check up on me."
Emotion swells back up inside of the girl when hearing that, the queasy feeling in her stomach making its way to her heart where that feeling clenches hard onto the beating organ. "Maybe I don't have to but I want to!", she can't help but shout at him for being so stupid that he can't see how much she cares, "It doesn't matter if you look different now. You're still you! … Aren't you?"
Ojiro's head lowers. He doesn't answer the question because he himself doesn't know the answer anymore. Whereas the doctors and the psychologists have been able to help him regain some basic speech and motor skills, there still comes times where he has a complete loss of control over his own mind. But seeing as how adamant Hagakure is about being here to support him, he refrains from saying all of that either. He just continues to remain silent.
Hagakure is torn between wanting to stand up and shout at him some more and wanting to also give in to despair. She settles on something in between, not quite ready to give up yet. "Come on, Ojiro.. Tell me how you're doing..", she pleadingly whispers to her friend with the last of her hope on the line.
Ojiro raises his head. When he does, he sees the reflection of his face where Hagakure's is absent. It's worse than a funhouse mirror. What he sees is no fun at all. What he sees is something that is not himself.
"I'd.. I'd rather hear about how you're doing instead..", he suggests something different since what he has to tell her if he does say anything about himself is nothing good whatsoever.
Hagakure is taken aback by the suggestion. She leans back into her seat while considering it. Hagakure came here hoping to gain some insight about his condition and her time is short that this visit will amount to nothing if they don't make the topic about him. But after mulling it over some more, she decides that it's better than nothing to talk about herself. She's just glad that Ojiro is being responsive to her.
"Well.. The Sports Festival was pretty fun. It was cool getting to compete and seeing all the heroes watching us in the crowd", she recaps recent events as well as she can before getting into the present, "Now I've got an internship with Ryukyu if you can believe it!"
This actually does manage to lighten the mood a little. Ojiro smiles softly – or, smiles as much as he can with his augmented mouth. "That sounds real exciting", he encourages Hagakure to go on and tell him more.
"Yeah", Hagakure laughs a little at how much of an understatement that is to call her advancement in hero studies only exciting – she's ECSTATIC, "Ryukyu isn't in the top ten for nothing and she chose ME out of everyone to offer an internship!" She thinks about how she needs to still make it over to Ryukyu's Agency before the end of the day and adds, "It's funny because I was so worried about trying to cram in time to come and see you while in the area. I was all ready to sneak off and everything! I was worried about telling Aizawa-Sensei but then when we got our substitute and I saw who it was, I for sure felt like I had to keep this a secret. Isn't it crazy that one of our new teachers is Spider-Man– !?"
At the mention of Spider-Man, everything suddenly changes. The smile Ojiro had vanishes instantaneously. As a matter of fact, any single semblance or trace of Ojiro vanishes completely.
As when she had walked in initially, what she sees stand up in front of her is only the Scorpion Nomu. The spiked tail thwacks the ground HARD and then lashes out to smash into the tempered glass. The glass doesn't just crack on impact, it splinters into a spider webbed shape of jagged lines.
Hagakure lets out a startled shout as she falls backwards out of her chair. Immediately, the guards that had been observing from behind her rush to pick her up. As they lift the girl to her feet, her eyes stay on the cell and what's inside of it.
In response to the Nomu's outburst, a spray of knockout gas has been released into the chamber. The Scorpion scurries in an effort to get away from the fumes but eventually gets enveloped in them completely. Horribly horrific cries of anguish echo around the room from within the clouded cell.
A heavy hand slams against the already damaged glass, weakening it further. Claws drag down as the hand slides against the barrier. Whether it was Ojiro reaching for Hagakure or the Nomu desperately grasping at a chance to escape, the limb falls defeated. The knockout gas has done its job and taken effect; the Scorpion creature has been rendered unconscious.
"Shit! Sorry, kid! We forgot to warn you that mentioning Spider-Man triggers something in em, like a sleeper agent with a hidden word or phrase to activate them!", the guard on Hagakure's right side apologetically ushers her out of the room so that she doesn't see anything else.
"There's something in that thing's innate mind that makes it lose control like an attack dog", the guard on the girl's left continues to explain to her what happened. He tries to make sense of what it was that set the Nomu off. Perhaps the guard is thinking that will somehow soothe her.
But it's too late. As the security guards carry her away, Toru Hagakure cries tears that can be seen within the artificial light of the halls; streams slide down her invisible cheeks and drip from her equally invisible chin until the crying maps out her facial features that are wrought with an expression of despair.
Every girl and woman alike wears some varying expression of gloom as their private personal hurriedly rush to do their makeup or hair. Blow Dryers are just as loud as the complaints coming from each direction. And amidst the mingled commotional fussing, Itsuka Kendo takes her chance to curse it all without having to worry about being heard. This was certainly not what she had expected when choosing her internship to be under the tutelage of Uwabami.
Kendo was disappointed to discover much too late that the pro hero prioritizes her modeling as a celebrity over any actual hero work. So far all her internship is consisting of is 'looking pretty' for commercials and other promotional advertisements. And whereas some of the other interns are thriving during the photoshoots, like Momo Yaoyorozu, she herself isn't all that thrilled. It's not that she isn't confident in herself or her looks … it's actually quite the opposite and her questioning of the unrelation to hero work that upsets her.
She can hear a certain someone's words echoing in the back of her mind. She forcefully rubs away the makeup that had been applied to her face. It's been a long time since she heard that person's voice rattling around in her head. She had thought she moved past it to forge a better brighter future. And yet, here she is now, in a place and a position that would otherwise be proving that person right.
Uwabami notices Kendo removing her makeup and saunters over, "Just what do you think you're doing? That's going to cost us valuable time that could have been reserved for reshoots!" The curvy blonde flicks a curled lock with a wave of her head to move it from the front of her face to the back. Joined there at the top of her head are three snakes – a rattler, a king cobra, and a rat snake – they seem unbothered by the motion.
Kendo's face flushes red, which may have otherwise been covered up by the makeup she had removed if she left it there. "I didn't mean to cause an issue! I just.. I think I need a break is all", she quickly looks away to hide her embarrassment & shame whilst excusing herself from the backroom of preparations.
Uwabami raises an eyebrow as she watches the intern leave. Rather than bothering to make a scene by chasing the younger girl though, she ultimately decides to simply scoff and let it go. She does, afterall, still have several other interns and backdrop models to fill any empty spots for the shoot. The vain woman smooths out her form fitting maroon dress, adjusts her matching colored choker, and tightens the golden bracelets attached to her wrists; once finished ensuring she's fashionable enough to present herself on set, she spins around with a flick and flourish of both her dress & hair before the clickety clacking of her high heels carry her out from backstage.
That leaves Kendo to take her private moment. The ginger gal goes outside to get a breath of fresh air. Soaking in the sun and the city always helps anyone. And especially from the balcony view that this fancy studio offers, a hundred percent does that combination help. She had allowed the stylists to put in extensions for her hair to flow freely but now takes them out so that she can tie it up into a ponytail per how she's usually accustomed to styling it. She doesn't want to spend her entire internship pretending to be somebody that she's not comfortable being; this simple gesture is a way of exemplifying that feeling.
She realizes then and there that she doesn't want to remain silent about her personal feelings anymore. Not for this or anything or anyone else. She had gotten so used to holding it all in and just going along with the way that things are. But now that she's grown and gotten One For All, she knows that can finally change. She looks down at her hand and clenches it into a tight fist. It's a fist that doesn't have to be enlarged or filled with superpowered strength to still be powerful; it's what the fist represents that makes it meaningful in this moment.
Deciding to ditch her internship is one thing. Making a move on the boy she likes is another. She fishes her cellphone out to pull up her contacts list. Awhile back the crushing girl had unblocked Izuku Midoriya out of forgiveness. She just hasn't since then figured out how to reach out again. Secretly she'd been wishing that he would take initiative and do so himself, but clearly she's underestimated how shy he is. She'll just have to be bold and brazen about it and ask him out herself – that may have not quite worked out so well the last time but they do say 'try and try again'.
All Might himself also DID tell her to proudly proclaim 'I AM HERE'. Maybe in a different context to be a hero and to save the world, but it's still applicable nevertheless. She can't be docile and silent if she's going to actually make a change. Wanting something and doing something to get it accomplished are two entirely separate things. Kendo sucks in a breath and then releases it as she psyches herself up to make the call to Midoriya. Then, she hits the 'call' button and puts the phone to her ear.
A few rings later and Midoriya answers, "Hello?", he sounds surprised to be getting her call. Kendo realizes that her call IS relatively random and doesn't blame him for being shocked.
"Hey, Midoriya.. Do you have a minute to meet some time soon today?" She's sure that this call continues to be a shock to him when she makes this request. She also knows better than to confess over the phone though. Or to avoid getting to the point for sake of avoiding chickening out.
"Uh.. Sure? You wanna meet for lunch?", Midoriya fortunately doesn't look too much into it by asking any questions other than that. Which is exactly what she was hoping for.
Already feeling cheered up by the way things are going and starting to turn around, Kendo smiles as broadly as her predecessor often does. "Yeah! Let's do lunch!", she sets a date with the boy she likes and excitedly pumps her still clenched fist into the sky.
There's an aroma of fresh coffee grains that tickles her sense of smell as soon as she steps through the door. A tiny bell attached to the top of the entryway jingles and sways with a slight movement like her skirt. Behind her blows a breeze, that gust of wind and an artificial air coming from the place's conditioner carries an additional scent in her direction. She's met with the sweet smell of recently baked pastries, each of those pastries displayed behind dainty glass platters just ahead of the doorway. Her feet carry her further into the establishment, the slap of her shoes against the rustic terracotta floor as gentle an embrace of the place as much is the place's gentleness itself. And just beyond that are booths being bathed in sunlight; windows gleam only slightly with blinds drawn partially down.
It's quite the perfect atmosphere for a coffee date. She just wasn't so sure about deciding on wearing her U.A school uniform. Until now. It looks like Midoriya also thought it best to wear his uniform. She imagines he thought the same as her that it just seemed like the right balance between not being underdressed or overdressed for their meeting. The boy stands up to greet Kendo as soon as she approaches the table that he was waiting at. Chivalry isn't dead afterall; she can definitely see him pulling out her chair for her if they weren't seated at a booth.
"MJ! Good to see you", he presents her with a smile and a courteous gesture to sit down. She returns the smile and obliges his offer to join him at the table.
"Good to see you too", she says it like she means it; and she does. It feels like it's been awhile since they last had a chance to meet and talk like this.
Midoriya eases into the cushioning on his side of the booth. Sensing that there's something peculiar about the abruptness of this reunion, he nervously scratches his cheek while asking, "So.. How's the internship going?"
Kendo's face sharpens from its softness at the mention of her internship. It's a brief unintentional frown that she has to intentionally force down. "That's partially why I wanted to meet with you", she too eases into the cushioning of her booth but she does so with an added sigh.
Midoriya cocks his head to one side as he tries to discern what it is that he could possibly have to do with the internship, "To talk about it?"
Kendo shakes her head. "To get away from it", and tells him that he's essentially her relief from a stressful situation.
Midoriya must admit to being somewhat surprised. He did happen to notice her unusual attitude back at the train station when he was under the guise of Spider-Man but he wasn't expecting this. "Oh.. That bad, huh?"
Kendo's hardened expression sinks and softens as she backtracks, "I mean.. Well.." She looks away as though diverting her face will hide her embarrassment. "It's not 'bad' per say.. It just struck a personal nerve is all", her hands nervously rub together and Midoriya can imagine them growing in size the way Bakugo secretes sparks when upset if she further expresses her stress.
Thinking it may be best to avoid that, he starts to reach across the table to grab ahold of one of those hands. He stops halfway when thinking better of himself to make that kindof physical contact though. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to", he sticks with just using his words for now.
Kendo looks back up at the boy across from her. She sees the sincere stare he has and can't look away a second time. "No.. I- I want to", she rekindles the resolve she had in arranging this get-together and takes a deep breath to brace herself for what she has to say, "I've been keeping secrets from you and everyone, Midoriya.."
Midoriya's eyes widen for a fraction of a second. She's reminded him of the connection he made between All Might and Toshinori Yagi. She was at the beach with him training. He's unsure of what the connection is there fully aside from his being her mentor but he imagines that he's about to find out.
Kendo notices his hand that's been placed on the table and reaches for it. He doesn't pull away when her hand lays itself on top of his. "If I'm going to admit this to anyone then I guess it should be you", she allows herself to have a small smile while appreciating the minor intimacy.
Midoriya returns her smile as he says, "I'm here to listen" Having kept his own fair share of secrets as Spider-Man, he understands the courage it must take to come clean on this with someone – anyone for that matter – and he doesn't want to push her away nor too much to do it, "I promise you can trust me if you want to."
Kendo remains slightly hesitant before slowly starting to share. "It's about my father", her pause gives Midoriya time to process and react; he silently wonders if somehow All Might is her father and that's the secret connection that they share. But when she continues and adds, "He never thought I could be a hero", he instantly throws away that thought.
That thought is instead replaced with a new one. The empathic kind of thought that's not just sympathetic to what she's sharing. "I.. know what that's like..", he recalls a memory of when he was first diagnosed as quirkless and he had asked if he could still be a hero anyway, "My mom is kinda the same.." She had apologetically told him that he couldn't.
Kendo shakes her head and scoffs, "I doubt it.." Midoriya hears some contemptment in her tone that he believes she's right; maybe he shouldn't be so quick to try and relate to her on this. "My dad told me my quirk wouldn't be good enough and that I should give it up", but he again receives a flashback to his own childhood. He dwells on the memory of when the doctor that diagnosed him told him something very similar.
But for all that it's worth to try and understand where the girl is coming from, what she says next is something that he cannot relate to. "He told me all I'd ever amount to if I wanted to be something big was an actress, or a model, or.. Or he once suggested I become a hooker even..", her hand withdraws from his to hug herself as she recluses into a sorry state he has never seen her in up until now, "All my life he told me all I had to show for was my looks."
"MJ..", Midoriya opens his mouth to say something but has to stop and think before starting over, "Kendo.. I'm so sorry.." It's not much but it's all that he can think to say somehow.
Kendo holds herself a little tighter as she explains what led to this trauma from her childhood resurfacing, "Uwabami putting me in commercials with fancy hair and dresses only reminded me of that insecurity and made me feel like maybe he was right."
Midoriya sits up straight and addresses her firmly, "Hey", his shift in tone & demeanor makes her glance up at him. "He clearly wasn't right", Kendo blinks back her surprise at how suddenly assertive he's being. "I mean, look at you now, you're in the Hero Course!"
Kendo blushes as she loosens her self-contained hug, "Even so.."
Midoriya's stern exterior slowly subsides as he studies Kendo's now own more relaxed demeanor. His words helped but he can see she's still sensitive about the subject. As he gradually returns to his usual mien, he asks, "Kendo.. Why would you trust ME of all people to talk to about this?"
She sucks in a breath, nervous now for a different reason. But if she was already able to talk about such a difficult subject then she feels she should also be able to go for the gusto as to why she originally arranged this meeting in the first place. "Isn't it obvious? I like you, you dork.." She shyly hugs herself again.
Midoriya's mind takes a moment to buffer. His mouth becomes so dry that he's forced to swallow spit in order to speak again, "You.. like me? Like as a friend or–"
The girl rolls her eyes at how oblivious the boy is being and clarifies for him, "I like like you, okay!? Don't make me say it again!"
Midoriya blushes so hard that one might mistaken his skin tone for a sunburn. Across from him, Kendo blushes a shade of pink. The two stare at one another until they can't. Only after he looks away is he then able to ask, "But.. Why?" He squeaks out the question again to reiterate his confusion, "Why do you even like me?"
Kendo slowly looks up at the boy across from her. Her voice is just as delicate as she gives him her answer, "Because… because you were the first to ever acknowledge me" He lifts his head and returns her gaze. It's a moment of intimacy that scares her into admittedly adding, "A- Aside from my Sensei! I guess that makes you the second person, but.."
Midoriya continues to stare at her, REALLY looking at her now. Sure, she is beautiful as her father says, but he also sees the cracks in her carefully crafted pretty mask. It's much like his own mask as Spider-Man that it only hides insecurity. For her to be so affected and haunted by her past that their initial encounters would make her feel such a way so soon, he himself is emotionally moved. He can only imagine how it must've felt to be acknowledged by All Might of all people as well when nobody else gave her that piece of mind. "I don't know what to say.."
Kendo stops hugging herself so that she can look down at her own arms, "Nobody thought a girl who can only make her hands big could become a big time hero…" Little does anyone know the sheer power that's been infused into them now. Nor do they know the previous path she had taken to make herself stronger before then. "That's why I took up martials arts training", her hands clench into fists, "I did all that I could to try and be enough until–" But she has to stop herself short before saying too much.
Midoriya had been listening intently, leaning forward, "Until what?"
Kendo thinks back to All Might and how she was given One For All. She thinks about the chance that she now has that she can't express true gratitude for and so she simply says, "Until someone else made me enough."
Midoriya mistakens her answer for her talking about him, "Kendo..", and is once again rendered speechless. But he knows that he can't just sit there and say nothing either. "I didn't make you anything that you weren't already", he trusts his heart to speak for him, "I'm glad I was able to inspire confidence in you and I'll always be there to do it again and again to give you my fullest support."
Kendo's fists unclench when her heart clenches instead. She asks him, "Really?"
And he nods. "I will always be there to take care of you", he says it with a smile so that she knows he's telling the truth, "I promise you that" She starts to lean across the table; either intending to take his hands in her own, hug him, or maybe even kiss him. But then… He says, "I will always be your friend."
"..What?" Kendo stops. Her heart clenches tighter than it did before, but now it doesn't feel so good. "..Only a friend, Izuku Midoriya?"
Midoriya can see the hurt in her eyes over being rejected, especially after opening up to him in such a way. But he knows that he's unable to open up to her about his own secrets as Spider-Man yet, and so he's unable to return her feelings. "That's all I have to give", he apologetically bows knowing that she won't fully understand but hopes that she will at least understandably forgive him.
Kendo blinks back tears before they can start to spill. "Oh.. Okay", she chokes out a response as best as she can while trying to accept his unreciprocated feelings, "It's not like I can force you to like me back that way.."
"I think you don't even like me that way, MJ, you're just confused because you aren't used to hearing encouragement" Midoriya rationalizes his decision to turn her down so that she doesn't blame herself, "But I do still mean what I said to you that I believe you'll be an amazing hero. And I'm sure there's lots of other guys out there who think the same."
The girl looks down at the table in front of her. It's as barren as she feels. A clean slate. Up until now Kendo felt like she had to live up to a certain expected standard. Her father's. All Might's. Her class. Midoriya. But as she thinks about the effort she put into training her combat skills and her growth in strength on the beach to justify the power & support that they gave her, she starts thinking it's about time that she focuses on using it all to become someone that she can be proud of herself. The server for their table arrives to slide a menu in front of her; there are many pages with lots of listings to choose from and the table no longer seems so barren anymore.
"Maybe", she forces a smile and looks back up at Midoriya, "Thanks for giving me the chance to find out first for myself."
If there's any chance that she was indeed merely trying to latch onto the first person that made her feel somewhat differently about herself then she can understand where he's coming from. It'd explain why she's been feeling jealous about people with similar relationship dynamics like her friend Jirou. In which case she owes her friend an apology. Maybe she really was just hungry for something that wouldn't satisfy her fully. Only time will tell as she puts her mind to good use in training One For All.
"If this is your awakening then maybe coffee is still something that should be considered", Midoriya makes light of the moment when he sees Kendo is starting to come around, "I think it'll actually help both of us find some clarity. Or, at least, help us get the energy we need to find that clarity."
In Hosu, navigating the sidewalk during the middle of the day is about the same as trying not to rear end someone in human traffic. It'd make for quite the learning experience as an intern when it comes to how patrolling in a big city can compare to some place less populated. However, Tenya Iida's mind is elsewhere today. He's more-so merely waiting for nightfall to TRULY begin patrolling – his own personal patrol is marked by a vendative agenda – he won't be satisfied until he finds Stain and claims his clarity.
The boy's behavior is unlike him as of late. He's typically academically inclined and dedicated to his studies. He prides himself on being level headed and focused, especially when it comes to hero work. But after the loss of his older brother who he idolized and carefully crafted that personality around as an aspiring basis, he's begun to backslide. As aforementioned, he cares not to pay attention to his teachers or the lessons bestowed unto him. Iida would much rather spend his time plotting and planning how to get back at Stain for what the villain stole from him. He only chose to intern with the hero he chose because of the location and the chance to get closer to the Hero Hunter for revenge. It's all that's on his mind.
He glares through his glasses at the crowded city as he walks behind his chosen mentor. People pay him no mind and neither does he care to show them any attention either. He's looking for someone specific anyways. But when his eyes scan the populated sidewalk, they do wind up landing on a pair of boys who are grabbing food from a vendor up ahead. One is much younger than the other and they clearly have a brotherly bond by the way the taller of the two ruffles the shorter's head of hair. They laugh and playfully jab at one another before closing the fun with a hug.
Watching this, Iida's anger starts to subside. Because the truth is, for all his rage, it's really just a coverup for what he really feels. Sheer sadness. Without his hate for the Hero Hunter, sadness is all that remains. And watching the pair of siblings that remind him of what he himself once had brings that sorrow to the surface. He must remove his glasses to prevent them from fogging when his tears threaten to water up.
Iida slides his helmet on over his head, hiding his face with the hardness of his hero costume's mask. With his sorrow now covered up again, his anger returns.
Alcohol wets Tomura Shigaraki's chapped lips. Despite it being some of the cheaper stuff picked off from Kurogiri's shelved collection, it still tastes good on his tongue. He places his shot glass down on the metallic table in front of him, careful not to destroy this one by using all five of his fingers to hold it. It's times like these that he misses their base being a bar so he could simply wave for Kurogiri to give him a refill. Now he has to pour it directly out from the bottle himself. Shigaraki contemplates having their doctor create a servitude Nomu solely for the purpose of serving him drinks.
But he knows better now than to put momentary desires over future visions. Their resources are better utilized by preserving the Nomu and engineering them all individually with special attributes. Which is why he's learned his lesson after sending the Scorpion coded Nomu after Spider-Man. If he wants to squash the pest then he has to wait for the timing to be right like with the brats at U.A. He's learned from his Sensei what it means to wear down a threat like All Might rather than throwing one's strength around nilly willy. That's what will separate him and the league from the heroes. While they brag & boast by showcasing their power with Sports Festivals and canon fodder, the league will sit back and watch closely.
But first, they must build their league's numbers. "Has the broker gotten back to us about potential recruits yet?", he addresses Kurogiri who has been keeping in contact with an underworld adviser as of late.
The smokey visage shakes his head side to side. "Giran has been having a rather– ..difficult time.. –finding recruits when our cause is not so publicly known makes it a challenge", Kurogiri waits for the young master to throw a tantrum but one surprisingly doesn't come, "Shall we consider alternative search methods?"
"Sensei did advise us to lay low", Shigaraki hums into his shot glass before downing it, "Which means keeping a low profile and not causing a scene to let people know about our cause to kill All Might.."
Kurogiri pauses to think before giving a suggestion, "Perhaps we should scout candidates ourselves? The Hero Hunter, Stain, has been making quite a name for himself."
"We don't need all that attention right now", Shigaraki throws a look in Kurogiri's direction while reminding him, "Low profile. Remember?" But… "Scouting candidates ourselves that are more quietly qualified though..", his scarred mouth smirks, "That's not a bad idea."
Katsuki Bakugo sneers as he remains silent. When one of the top ranking heroes gave him an internship offer, this was absolutely NOT what he was expecting nor hoping for. Best Jeanist dressed him up in denim and combed his hair like he's some sort of clown. He feels like one after falling for the bastard's trick to lure him into this waste of time; the hero said he only chose Bakugo because he deemed Bakugo to be a 'challenge'. The inflated ego of the teen, after having it damaged so many times so recently, took that hard. He wonders how he could have deluded himself into thinking a high ranking pro would want him for anything to do with his strength after his performance during the Sports Festival and berates himself for thinking he deserved otherwise.
Bakugo clenches his hand into a sweaty fist, declaring that he'll prove his power with it. He'll show to Best Jeanist, Kaminari, and everyone else that they're wrong about him being weak. Now that he's currently out on patrol, this is the most opportune time to do so. He just has to wait and be observant for when some sorry schmuck breaks the law. It's annoyingly tough when he has to stop and wait for Best Jeanist to take pictures with fans every five minutes. Then 'BJ' hits him with a lame ass lecture about how important it is to appeal to those fans. He keeps sneering and keeping quiet, not really listening but instead watching and waiting ever still.
They stop off at some tea shop for a break, which only agitates Bakugo more as his patience runs thinner & thinner. Then, after that, they go out of their way to visit a school where kids during recess crowd around Best Jeanist. These public displays of whatever BJ likes to call them all prove meaningless to Bakugo as he stands in the background with his arms crossed. He doesn't want to waste his time with helping grannies cross streets or getting cats out of trees either – which they do that too. He signed up with the intent of blasting some bad guys and he's feeling robbed of his dutiful desire as the day drags on.
And when he FINALLY does get to see some little bit of action, he doesn't even get to participate. "Stay back!", Best Jeanist orders him around like he doesn't believe he's capable of beating a fucking burglar. The third rate criminal is an insult to Bakugo's potential and he's deemed lesser than that by everyone. He curses and storms off, fed up with it all.
Best Jeanist calls after him, trying to get him to stay with words that don't have any real virtue to the boy, but it's to no avail. Bakugo returns back to the agency to do away with the remaining time of his internship.
There, he dwells on how low he's fallen. At Aldera, he had thought himself superior to everyone and they all agreed. Now, he's competing with people who should be extras in what he's always considered to be HIS story. It's not how he envisioned coming to U.A at all.
The agency has a gym, at the very least. He goes to grab his bag to take there and work out. If he's deemed so weak, then he clearly needs to train himself up more. When he grabs the bag, he notices the green vial he grabbed back at the Sports Festival is poking out of it. It's a taunting temptation that he hides away again. He's still determined to prove that he's capable of getting by on his own power and that he'll never need to resort to some sort of borrowed strength like a half measured chump.
After a long wait for the sun to go down, night arrives, and even now there's more waiting to be done. The next two hours are bound to move with dreadful slowness and terrible speed. Spider-Man swings over Hosu, periodically placing Spider Tracers along his route. It's a bit of a longshot to be doing this, but most of Stain's sightings appear to be within this relative area, which follows the same logic that Iida (his recently provided problematic student) is going by. If either himself or Iida are going to find the Hero Hunter, he would like to do it first, and this is better than aimlessly swinging about without Spider Tracers to help.
Perhaps Stain found the middle of the city too populous, too dangerous, too full of trouble in terms of being spotted more now than ever. And so Spider-Man circles along the perimeter of it all, where the city's train transportation service runs in and out. He half expects it to derail with his luck as of late. It seems like problems are piling on top of problems even when they get resolved. He's still reeling from the meeting he had with MJ earlier in the day. Whilst he knows that he made the right choice to distance himself from her – Spidey has no time for romance in his mess of a life – he also can't help but be in awe by the fact that a girl actually liked him enough to confess feelings.
He pulls out another Spider Tracer. Spider-Man has about five or six more tracers left. He leaps onto the ledge of a low hanging building and slaps his latest tracer there, where it gives off the usual tiny reassuring buzz to his Spider-Sense. But there's nothing reassuring about anything else he has going on in his life. Not for Izuku Midoriya. He told his mom that he'd be staying at Shinso's tonight, another lie that she acceptingly allowed to deceive her again. He knows she's catching on and still giving him a chance to truly confess the truth as to what he's been getting up to but he has yet to do so.
"I'm only putting my neck out for everyone but myself over here!", he woefully complains aloud whilst planting another Spider Tracer elsewhere within the city's limits. He can only imagine what his mother would do if he told her he wanted to willingly put himself in harm's way of the freaking infamous HERO HUNTER. She'd probably be just as much of a danger to him then.
But that's why he lies. That's why he does this night after night. Because if it's not him who puts their neck on the line then who else? He knows Iida is in potential danger and he can't just stand by and allow that. Not when he has a responsibility as Iida's teacher and especially not while he has the power to do something about it. Regardless of her intentions to keep him safe, he knows that his mom would try to stop him. And he can't let that happen. Because he knows that he can't be stopped by anyone anymore. So this be his destiny, he may as well be prepared to do this forever.
Currently, it feels like forever already. He's lost track of how many times he's circled the city. Not only is he running low on Spider Tracers, but he's had to refill his web shooters one too many times. At this rate, restocking his Spidey supplies is going to cost a fortune this week. That's another thing. He's been falling behind on his part time photography gig. The worst part is that it should be the easiest aspect of his life to incorporate into the Spider-Man stuff considering they're photos of himself as Spider-Man that he needs to take.
When his Spider-Sense picks up a lead, he believes this just may be his lucky break to score a chance at making up for it. If there's one thing that can be corrected and set straight tonight, it should be his job so that he can make some money. Maybe he can simultaneously set things right with his mom that way as well by helping her pay some bills again. His hope rekindles as he soars through the sky on a web line; like the good ol' days of web swinging, he lets out a whoop of exhilaration as the wind breezes by.
But that joy doesn't last long. Whereas he does find Stain as he had intended with this whole pet project, he sees that Iida did indeed find Stain first still anyways. Within the red bricked confines of an alleyway, the Hero Hunter stands over the downed teenager. Spider-Man swings with haste, attaching his next web line to the fire escape that shares the alley walls with some graffiti. Down below is a dumpster and trash bags that didn't quite make it into that dumpster; but the real trash that needs to be taken out is the murderer who's out to kill a child.
"I thought I smelled something bad! Should've expected it to be you, Stainy!" It's not his best quip to draw attention to himself, but it does the trick in getting that attention away from Iida. Long enough to snag Stain's sword with a web line and yank it away, at the very least.
Stain replaces his lost weapon with a second sheath that slides the backup blade free from his back holster; that very same sword points at Spider-Man with its sharp tipped end. "You", the villain glowers from behind his eyemask, "I let you go the last time as a mercy. You do not want to test the extent of that mercy."
"Yeah, clearly there's not enough of it to go around with you, considering you're threatening the life of a KID" Spider-Man dismounts from the fire escape to land on the wall opposite to it. "It's confusing to my poor spider brain."
Stain stalks as he stares, keeping a watchful eye while tracking Spider-Man. "He may be a child but children one day grow up", the dangerous villain draws a deadly dagger with his free hand as though to threaten Iida's life with it, "It is what this boy will turn into that I'm preventing with his death."
The reflective lenses on Spider-Man's mask narrow. They look past Stain and at the injured boy behind him. Iida doesn't appear to be unconscious if his prone form is anything to go by, but he's not moving either; it's like Iida has been frozen into a paralyzed statue-like state. "I know your whole thing is hunting and killing heroes, but he's aspiring to do some good. I don't see how you can fault his future for that."
Stain switches from keeping his sword trained on Spider-Man to directing his dagger instead, "You know nothing of this boy's behavior or those that befell before him!" He swings the back end of the longer blade to hover over Iida as he says, "This one sought me out to exact REVENGE rather than justice. As such, he is not worthy to hold the title of 'hero' and should be purged before getting the chance to further infect the disease that is the falsehood of hero society."
Spider-Man already knew the reason why Iida would be here chasing after the Hero Hunter; he didn't need the man who took away the boy's brother to tell him that. He hangs his head, hiding his face despite a mask already hiding it for him. "You're wrong about how this will affect his future.. Sometimes we learn from our mistakes as we come to regret them", he speaks from personal experience that he knows it's worth opposing the Hero Hunter on this.
But then Iida interjects, "No! I'll never regret wanting to return the favor for what he did to my brother! He deserves to die!", somehow shouting from his paralyzed position despite his mouth also being affected.
Stain snarls while glancing back at Iida. "See?", his eyes shift back towards Spider-Man to make sure there's no room for advancing action before he adds, "It would be wise of you to look the other way."
Spider-Man releases his sticky hold on the wall behind him and drops down to the alley floor. There, he's no longer looking down on Iida or Stain, but able to address them directly. They're both wary of what he'll choose to do next. What he chooses to do next catches them both by surprise.
"A villain took my father from me. I chased him down myself. I had him, dangling him out a window. I could have dropped him. But I didn't. I didn't take revenge because I knew the man he killed wouldn't have approved", Spider-Man shares his backstory with Iida but it's Stain who listens more intently. Hearing all of this gives them both different reactions. Iida's face loses its anger and turns into a sad expression of understanding. Meanwhile, Stain's sneer stays firmly in place.
"The last time I looked the other way, it was my fault that villain killed my father" Spider-Man strikes a pose with two formed fists, prepared to fight in defense of Iida's choice; it's in defense of both his own past mistake and Iida's current one that he'll choose to stop Stain. Spider-Man's eye lens focus into a narrowed point as he says, "Never again. Let's do this."
"You're no better than the Ingenium bloodline are!", Stain's opinion on Spider-Man becomes one of disdain when learning about Spider-Man's past and he launches into the fight with his own conviction to win it now.
Spider-Man flips backwards, gracefully dodging Stain's swinging sword. The short dagger that slashes upwards afterwards is a little trickier to outmaneuver but his Spider-Sense helps him to do so. Stain growls as he attempts to throw in a kick with his pointed boot. But that too gets evaded by the acrobatic embodiment of intervention.
"Gee! You'd make for a good politician", Spider-Man keeps up the game of keep away with the intent of luring Stain further away from Iida's defenseless state; he does so by continuing to goad the villain with quips, "Are you sure you weren't part of the debate team at your school growing up?"
Stain keeps slashing at the air that Spider-Man leaves behind with his dodges. He increasingly grows more and more irritated. "I had thought you to have some potential", another sword swipe gets ducked under, "You continued to put on a mask and save lives no matter what the public had to say about it and so I thought you to be noble enough to do this for the right reasons", the dodging is followed by Spider-Man evading a knife slash, "But you have proven me wrong!"
"Aww, that's the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me! …Up until that last part…" Spider-Man feigns being touched by placing his hand over where his heart is. Ironically, that's the same spot that Stain tries to stab next. Luckily for Spidey, Stain fails to actually pull it off.
But that's when Stain catches on to the fact that he won't be able to EVER pull it off at the rate they're battling things out currently. And he decides to re-evaluate his approach on how to fight from then on. Instead of following Spider-Man outside the alley once reaching the end of it, he doubles back. He knows better than to take the bait and returns to Iida.
"No!", Spider-Man stops running and becomes the chaser. He, by comparison, doesn't know better than to take the bait.
"You won't keep me from doing away with the shams of this accursed Hero Society!", Stain raises his sword and prepares to bring it down on the still paralyzed U.A student.
Spider-Man's danger sense warns him about trying to intervene but he ignores it. Spider-Man then also resists his body's instinct to respond to his Spider-Sense for him, and he instead jumps in front of the blade before it can reach Iida. It winds up stabbing through him rather than Iida.
"Ouch", he's flooded with fear over having been stabbed while being drained of blood from that very same stab wound. Stain slides the blade free to lick it, and suddenly Spider-Man is paralyzed – not by the fear he feels, but by what he realizes must be the Hero Hunter's quirk – like Iida, Stain's quirk has rendered him immobile.
Stain's blood red tongue slathers outside of his mouth, the bumpy surface of it still dripping from what was licked up. His crimson eyes stare at Spider-Man and regards his heroic act as, "A futile effort to redeem yourself…", before he readies his blade to finish the job that it started.
In what he believes to be his final moments, Izuku thinks about how his stupid secret identity got him into this mess. He had hoped that his mom wouldn't find out this way. He should have been the one to tell her himself and not the news when it publicly announces his death. He thinks about how he wishes he had told the truth to his friend too. He wonders if Shinso will feel betrayed for his never having told him. He thinks about MJ and the alternate future he could have had with her if he accepted her confession; he imagines a life as someone other than Spider-Man, even if that's hard to do. He thinks it could have maybe been cool if he got both the girl and being able to stay Spider-Man like if he had just told Jirou his secret identity.
And then when Stain's sword comes down to end his thoughts short – it doesn't quite reach nor end his thoughts. All of a sudden, his Spider-Sense makes his body react for him. It's like a 'I told you so' override that keeps him safe.
Essentially… his body moved on its own.
"How did you.. ?", Stain is as surprised to see this ability in action as Spider-Man is.
Spidey had thought he was always aware of how much his special sense benefited him. Not only did it give him eyes on the back of his head essentially, but it was what led to his Spider Tracer tracking technique. It's how he's been able to manage web swinging without worrying about wind trajectory, velocity, or other mathematical sciencey problems preventing it. It even helped him escape Shinso's brainwashing. But to see it protect and aid him to such an extent surpasses his expectations of its capabilities.
"Heh", Spider-Man feels funny as his body dodges for him and so he laughs, "Ha! Wouldn't you like to know?!" It's like being tickled silly as goosebumps make his hair stand on end all over to predict where he'll reflexively move to.
"Hold still, damn you!" Stain swipes at Spider-Man like he's wielding a newspaper instead of a sword and has become desperate enough to wield it as such. The truth is, he's actually SCARED. He's scared that someone is able to counter his quirk and be practically untouchable by him.
The Hero Hunter's fight or flight response is to attack what he doesn't understand. But as his attacks become more desperate to land a hit, they become increasingly sloppier in terms of technique. Eventually, so does his battle IQ and mental state. It comes to a point that when Tenya Iida is freed from Stain's quirk, Stain is unaware.
Iida is able to get the drop on Stain while the villain is distracted with Spider-Man. He lands a strong decisive blow with a kick to the back of Stain's head. Just like that, The Hero Hunter falls unconscious and is defeated.
"Nice one!", Spider-Man congratulatingly cheers his student on. He's initially proud of Iida for being able to give the final strike and hopefully gain SOME clarity out of that. But then… "Wait.. What are you doing.. ?"
Iida bends down to grab Stain's sword. The vengeful boy picks up the blade and wields it with both hands gripping its handle. Just like back at the train station, his glasses express a lack of emotion behind their glare. Iida raises the blade high over his head, priming it for a chopping motion.
"Listen to me.. You don't wanna do this", Spider-Man pleads for Iida not to kill Stain and take revenge, "It's not going to make you feel any better. It's not going to bring your brother back, Iida!" He wants to forcefully take the sword away but his body is back to being unresponsive! Stain's quirk is still in effect somehow, which must mean that it works on a timer and not an actual mentally focused form of control!
Iida readies himself to bring the blade down. And he does. But not down on Stain. He brings it down on his armor padded knee, effectively breaking it in two. The shattered sword falls to the ground, done away with permanently. Maybe it was the same katana used to strike down his brother. Whether it was or if it isn't, it represents something detrimental to him. Iida cries out; it's a shout of victory and woeful defeat.
Spider-Man feels the ability to function on his own return to him and steadily steps forwards. He moves toward Iida with his arms outstretched. Iida lets him. The two fall into a hug. Spider-Man holds Iida up as he comforts the crying child. He may be young himself but he still understands with wisdom beyond his years the consolation that is needed right now.
In the morning, the news breaks that the Hero Hunter has been caught. All over social media, television, and radio. The story is the same every time: Spider-Man solo'd Stain. There's no mention of Iida (of course, for the sake of U.A's reputation) and so the school's rep with its recent new hire skyrockets instead of being brought into question.
As far as Himiko Toga is aware or concerned, what she reads in her uncle's newspaper subscription suggests something true. Spider-Man defeated and took her uncle away from her. She carves out the picture taken by Spider-Man's photography buddy, Izuku Midoriya, and pins it to the wall with the knife she used to cut it out. She begins plotting how it is that she can exact her revenge.
A good start might just be joining forces with like minded villains. Afterall, her uncle always taught and told her that it's better to hunt in a pack.
Tsukauchi Naomasa hates doing run-sheets. No, it's honestly way more fundamental than even simply just that. He hates doing paperwork of any kind. For some reason, when he became a cop long before even making detective, he thought he'd spend all his time with the pro heroes chasing bad guys and grilling suspects. He imagined getting to do all the cool fun stuff that gets shown on television. But being an officer of the law isn't like television. It's rather a lot like tons of loads of paperwork.
Which is what he's been left with again, courtesy of Spider-Man (quite literally as the sticky notes often read). Stain's capture left a lot of legal formalities to be filled. And so, currently, he's up to a hundred and fifty words per minute – which is probably why he's the one that usually gets stuck typing up reports such as this – but it's worth it so that he doesn't have to watch Tamakawa hunt and peck with his right index finger. Tamkawa won't even use his left; it drives him crazy.
Right now, the clacking of his keyboard is the only sound within his office. Most of everyone else is out on call or absent for some other likely excuse. Tamakawa had already used up all of his vacation time but he's recently begun pulling the sick card. That leaves him alone with his run-sheet. Until the shrill sound of his office line ringing due to an incoming call startles him enough to make him jump in his seat.
When Naomasa answers the phone, he's only half surprised to hear a squeaky sound for a voice on the other end. "How goes it, detective?" The chipper tone carries over clearly enough for him to place it.
"Nezu", he sighs while leaning back in his seat to get comfortable for what he presumes will be a long conversation, "I should have expected your call" The close relation of the case to U.A considering both Tenya Iida's (undisclosed) involvement and Spider-Man's has the principal of the institution looped in as a constant.
"Yes, you should have" Nezu giggles to express amusement. But Nezu soon sobers up to ask seriously, "Will you also be expecting a call from The Commission?"
Naomasa sneaks a peek at his emails to double check before giving his answer, "They've not asked for the official report yet if that's what you're wondering" It's a confirmation that he's very grateful for since the HPSC can be just as difficult to deal with as Nezu if not more.
"Wonderful!", Nezu's raise in volume makes Naomasa pull his ear away from the phone's receiver. But he must return it to its original position to hear what comes next. "Remember, it's important that we leave young Tenya Iida's involvement out of it."
The detective deepens his facial expression into a frown, at least relieved that he doesn't have to worry about hiding it from Nezu during this talk. It's matters such as this that he hates as much as paperwork, nor was he expecting to have to deal with as an enforcer of the law. "For Iida's sake or your own?", he needs to ask for clarification nevertheless for his own personal conscience.
"Why can't it benefit us both? I tend to take all factors into account", Nezu has a way of dodging those types of questions though. He knows better than to read into it and to just do his job but there are times where Naomasa wants to use his quirk and get a solid answer from Nezu.
"You played it close to the chest this time", Naomasa regards the unofficial report that tells the truth of what transpired; it'll be shredded before anyone besides himself has the chance to reference it but he still wants to cover those tracks accordingly, "What if Iida got worse off? What if he was killed?"
"Why do you think I put Spider-Man in place of Aizawa?", Nezu denies there being faults in his plan but if recent issues with Aizawa as mentioned mean anything then there could have been, "Young Iida's motivation to seek out Stain allowed me to move many parts on my board", though that remark makes Naomasa believe that Aizawa's accident may have not been such an 'accident' and thus things are worse than if they were slightly prone to chance. Naomasa worries about Nezu regarding this all as a game; if Nezu planned from the beginning to put Aizawa out of commission to get things to turn out this way then it may all be messier than previously thought. "Not only did we remove the Hero Hunter as a public problem but we've completely closed the loophole that the Sports Festival couldn't with winning the people's favor for Spider-Man", Nezu claims it was all worth the efforts, risks, and sacrifices but Naomasa can't shake the feeling he now has.
"You plotted things to happen this way, I get it, but I'm also saying that this time was much too risky" Naomasa stresses the need for limits so that the line can be drawn SOMEWHERE for them to differentiate themselves from the bad guys.
But he somehow forgot along the way that he's dealing with an animal and not a person with human emotions, "Sometimes risks need to be taken to win games", he starts to realize now that Nezu's position of power could be brought into question under that rationalization.
Considering they've worked together for quite some time, he hopes to try and reach something inside Nezu one last time. Afterall, this is who the hero registration law decided should lead and create the generational society that makes up heroes. "This isn't a game", he reiterates what he hopes Nezu can be reminded.
But… "Oh, but what if it is? And if it is, I intend on winning!" Nezu may already be lost.
When Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa hangs up the phone, it feels heavier in his hand than it did before. As does his heart feel heavy inside his chest. The complications of compromise or lack of compromise within this line of work never fails to make him question it all. He misses when the only cause for concern on that long list of problematic dilemmas was vigilantes.
"Shoulda let it go to voicemail, huh?" Speaking of vigilantes…
Naomasa searches his office for the person that must've snuck in while he was on the phone. An open window suggests they're not someone with authorized access to waltz in and so they must be a vigilante if Eraserhead is out of commission and unable to pay him a visit.
"Up here", the vigilante's voice calls out again – this time, the intruder draws Naomasa's attention toward the ceiling.
"Who?", he asks aloud before his conscious mind entirely registers that the person in question is hanging from the ceiling as should have been expected, "Spider-Man?"
"Your friendly neighborhood", Spider-Man says jauntily. Or, as jauntily as he can under the pretenses of his visit. "I thought I'd swing by and pay you a visit."
"What's the occasion?", Naomasa settles into his seat for a second time for what may very well be yet another long winded conversation.
Spider-Man drops down from the ceiling and lands in the seat opposite to Naomasa. The desk that separates them in between places a lot of space apart but they're still close enough for there to be a tension in the air when Spidey says, "I think you know."
Naomasa diverts his gaze back to the computer monitor in front of him, returning to his work activity. It's a sort of dismissal when he types at his keyboard while saying, "We've already got your testimony."
Spider-Man shifts forward, keeping the tension level in the room the same and not letting it mellow out. "Detective.. This is beginning to go too far and you know it", he knows that Naomasa knows that isn't what this visit is about but he goes ahead and elaborates anyways. "Aizawa was as close to you as he is to me, I'm sure of it" Naomasa pauses typing long enough for Spider-Man to know he's right and that he must've struck a nerve there, "And now Nezu's used a kid to try to get what he wants."
The detective closes his eyes, as though that will make what is practically the written version of what Spider-Man is saying disappear from his computer screen. But he still has his ears and they heard clearly what the vigilante has to say. "It's not the first time", Naomasa returns his attention to Spider-Man and points out, "You're forgetting that you're a kid too."
"Yeah, well, the rodent runs a school so it's no surprise" Spider-Man crosses his arms as though that's some equivalent of standing his ground but the recent reminder that he's merely a kid makes it look more like a pouty pose. "But that's all the more reason why Nezu needs to be stopped!"
Naomasa huffs out a humorless laugh. "For a vigilante, you have more in common with most heroes than you think.." He crosses his own arms while explaining, "It's not as simple as punching the people we deem wrong and then putting them in prison", which is essentially another equivalent of what Hawks was trying to say about how things are run in the 'adult world' of all this back when he didn't go completely crazy, "There's procedures that require evidence and certain types of treatment."
Spider-Man stalls when hearing that. He hates to admit it but he knows there's validation there when it comes to legalities, or at least due processing and rights. He looks at the reports being written and asks, "Is that what this is all about?"
"Cleaning up the mess you left behind", Naomasa nods and Spider-Man winces apologetically.
But the vigilante still won't back down nor let this go. He shakes his head and stands up, psyching himself out with a double handed cheek slap. "Well then help me clean up this one too!", Spider-Man holds out a hand to offer the detective an alliance. "Come on, you can help me expose Nezu, you may be the only one who can!" He shakes the outstretched gesture in an effort to convince Naomasa to take it.
Naomasa stares at the open hand, still wary about the idea of going against Nezu. Even if he's right about his hunch that Aizawa was a sacrificial casualty pre-empted by Nezu – which he does have a knack for picking up on these sort of secretively shady things as a detective – he knows that it won't be as easy as the kid is readily wanting or believing it to be. "Then you must see why it'd be an up-hill battle", he has to make sure that this isn't a mistake.
"When are battles for the underdogs ever not?", but Spider-Man stays steadfast to his conviction and Naomasa is reminded of somebody who is just as stubborn. All Might inspired quite the next generation if the boy's costume's color scheme is anything to go by. And if Spider-Man is anything like All Might in more of that regard, then he'll likely do this anyways even if it's on his own.
Spider-Man must see Naomasa's thoughts being expressed externally in some way because he asks once again, "So… What do you say?"
AUTHOR NOTES
Well, I did promise a longer chapter, didn't I? There was a lot to cover with what I hope makes for meaningful setup and payoffs as compared to the previous chapter's pacing but I digress. Let's allow the reviews to speak for themselves per the norm!
Starting with Silversoulmmc and the Shinso slander, haha! I had similar reviews about Kendo so it's to be expected cause I do write them purposely in a way that balances irrational teenage drama quite unevenly. I did a bit of damage control with Kendo's "backstory" this chapter as an explanation for her behavior so you can expect some similar treatment as I have planned with Shinso but try and trust the process when it comes to each character's perspective in the meantime!
I'm glad you're liking Nezu's involvement thus far, CapoPerk, cause as you can tell from this chapter Nezu is gonna be a big focal plot point for a while!
Somebody get Splashyatom431 and Silversoulmmc in a chat room about Shinso asap!
Another good idea, theMAX360! I just might have to find a way to fit in something like that.
Classic Pikapowerz!
Welp everyone, hope to see you again soon! Till then!
-Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood long chapter writing author!