"Good work, everyone. I'll have your statements processed as soon as I can," Sansa, the cat-like mutant, said as he grabbed his files, which included a copy of every Hero's report.
Unsurprisingly, Takuma hadn't been looking forward to entering a police station, given his tendencies to break the law and other...miscellaneous habits. Surprisingly, however, nothing had gone wrong. Since they were acting under Gran Torino's authority via the Quirk Conscription Act, Torino actually had to include their version of the events in his own report. This provided a clear picture of Takuma and Midoriya holding off a Villainess on the ground floor. The cops were impressed, and so were the Heroes—except for Backdrop. Midoriya was a blushing mess as he received pats on the back from everyone in the room for acting well under pressure. Takuma, however, aimed his now-empty gun at the first person who tried to touch him. He wasn't much of a touchy person.
"Alright, boys, you're both expected at U.A. for a health check-up, and after that, you're free to go," Midnight drawled in her trademark flirty tone, lazily resting against the door and showing off her figure in a practiced display of misdirection.
Takuma was starting to like her.
"Why? Can't we do it here?" Takuma asked, wondering why the hell they needed to go to U.A. for that. Hell, he was pretty sure he could do it himself in this very room.
"Because you fought a mutant with potent venom—potent enough to eat through the undercarriage of the car that was transporting her and escape," Gran Torino revealed as he walked closer to them, his cane in hand. "She escaped. Local Heroes are combing the area for her, but in the short term, it'll be safer for you two to stay at a secure location."
Takuma let out a groan. "Just my luck."
The girl wasn't as much of a problem as she could have been if she were sound of mind. Sure, they had crossed paths, but he hadn't been with Mei, which meant she was safe from anyone trying to come after him through her. And Midoriya wasn't enough of a person of interest just yet to attract her attention. Even if she had escaped into the wild, they were safe.
"Is there a way we can help with the search?" Izuku asked, always the helpful one.
"No. You've done enough fighting off a Villain," Gran Torino replied in a commanding tone. "Rest for now."
"I'll have to call Mei," Takuma said as he grabbed his phone.
"I already sent her a message, and Nedzu is requesting her to go to U.A. too!" Midoriya informed him, showing him a text from the rat.
Furr-ry: Please do bring Ms. Lockluster and Hatsume to U.A. I will have Power Loader available for both of them.
"That was fast. I can pretty much guess she's losing her shit right about now," he chuckled.
"She is. Look at the group chat," his friend told him.
Takuma opened the app and...
BabyMaker: I have a baby ready for testing!
BabyMaker: Why did I receive a message from someone who calls herself Lockluster? What did you two do again?!
BabyMaker: CUOPSTUEME?RTE
BabyMaker: SHE WANTS A COSTUME!
BabyMaker: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
SmallMight: She does. Could you come to U.A.?
BabyMaker: NEDZU CALLED. SEE YOU AT U.A.!
"About what I expected," he stated with a small grin.
"Lockluster," Gran Torino called as he grabbed the younger Heroine's attention. "Nedzu would like to invite you to U.A. grounds for...reasons. Are you willing to come with us?"
The Heroine, who cosplayed as a sheep, grew wide-eyed as she stared into empty air for a second. "Yes?"
"Good enough," Midnight giggled as she gestured for everyone to follow her. "Please do be careful about anything suspicious."
"I will," Takuma sighed as he followed the Heroine into another van, with Gran Torino, Midoriya, and Lockluster in tow.
"I-If it isn't asking too mu-much, what is your Quirk?" the wool-themed Heroine asked. "You asked about our Quirks, but you never told u-us yours."
The conversation started as Midnight drove them to U.A.
"I can sense emotion—from you, him, them. Everyone around," he revealed to the girl, who froze. "And yes, I can feel how uncomfortable that makes you. Don't worry, I make it a point not to search into everybody's head without a good reason."
The girl nodded, now more guarded around him. "Bu-But I—how does that help you... feel? Ea-Earlier today, you told us about fee-feeling something... down your leg."
"I can sense emotion, and when it reaches a high enough level, I can feel other elements backpacking on those emotions, like physical sensations," he explained, revealing nothing new to the others. "So when I said that I would really like you to get your ass up in gear, it was because I was feeling the aftermath of what those thirteen women had to go through. As you can imagine, it was not pleasant."
A sick atmosphere emanated from the car as they made their way to U.A. without any more chitchat. It surprised him, given how much of a chatterbox Izuku could be.
Was it something I said? he wondered.
True, he had brought up the fact that he had felt the same sensations as thirteen women who had been repeatedly assaulted, but that wasn't bad—not to him, at least. He had felt much worse before. It didn't mean anything. Not at all.
He was glad for the more crowded-than-usual roads they were driving on. It was painful, so many minds. But the pain was distracting enough to dull the leftover disgust clinging to his skin. Pain was good sometimes.
U.A. came into view after another fifteen minutes, and Midnight drove inside the compound through one of the gates. The university was massive, protected by walls designed to stop villains and overenthusiastic journalists alike. The car finally stopped, and Takuma opened the door to get out. Barely a second later, a small robot was at his feet, handing him a pass.
"Thanks," he told the robot mechanically as he took the piece of plastic and put it in his pocket. "Where to now?"
"The Support Lab for us," Midnight informed them as she stretched with more enthusiasm than necessary, making Izuku blush. "Ah, that felt good. Power Loader is waiting for us. Your lady is already there."
"Oh," Takuma chuckled, imagining Mei going absolutely feral over the sheer quantity of equipment available at U.A. "Welp, I hope you have explosion insurance."
"U.A. has all the insurance it needs, given the fact that Nedzu owns half the insurance companies in Japan," Gran Torino drawled as he turned to walk away from them. "Don't wait for me. I have a meeting with the rat."
"See you later, sir!" Midoriya called to his mentor as the elder waved back at him before toddling his way toward the main building.
"Let's hurry up before Mei manages to explode either herself or the pro," Takuma intoned as he followed behind Midnight.
"Good idea," Izuku said with a small chuckle of his own.
"Do-Does her Quirk make things... explode?" Lockluster asked shyly as she followed the group, unsure about everything and a little starstruck.
"Nope, but she tends to make things, and those things sometimes explode," he recalled with a smile. "Mei's imagination leads her to make everything and anything she can think of. Trial and error is a way of life for her."
"Ah, young love," Midnight teased as she winked at him.
Takuma rolled his eyes. She wasn't wrong. From behind his mental wall, he could sense the heroine working on something. Her persona was in play—distracting and alluring, yes—but Takuma wasn't born yesterday. It was working well on Izuku, who barely dared to raise his eyes from the ground as the scantily clad heroine walked in front of them, knowingly giving them a show. It made him wonder what the point was. He had already called her out on her persona the first time they met, so she knew he knew it was just an act. So why bother? For fun? He doubted it. Midnight was many things, but he wouldn't call her stupid. The heroine was planning something, and he didn't know what just yet.
Shock and power greeted him as he reached the range of the Support Lab—second-hand sensations of students working the heavy machinery around the place. Only a dozen people were there, discounting Mei and Power Loader. The former was literally in heaven, dissecting everything around her, her eyes zooming so quickly she nearly got whiplash from turning her head too fast. The latter, on the other hand, oozed exasperation while actually enjoying giving a tour to Takuma's adorably hyper girlfriend.
Simply feeling her presence eased his thoughts. Her love for him, ever-present, was like a balm for the soul. It made everything easier.
They arrived soon after. A heavy steel door blocked their path as Midnight ran her pass against a pad next to it. The door began to open.
Lockluster cleared her throat behind them. "Wh-Why does the Support Lab have such a hea-heavy door?" the girl asked, bursting with shyness but overcome by curiosity.
"To protect our students and their research," Midnight explained as she led them into the room, which looked exactly like Mei's hangar. "U.A. is one of the top research centers in Japan. We're not quite on par with what I-Island can achieve in terms of groundbreaking technology, but leave enough Support Engineers in a room long enough, and you'll end up with two or three prototypes worth protecting from the competition until the patents can be hammered down."
"With Mei here, you can expect more than two or three prototypes," Izuku stated as he took in their surroundings. "This place looks like her house, without the machinery."
Workbench, pieces of half-finished prototypes, and every type of gear under the sun—this place smelled like grease, oil, and hot metal. Just like home. Speaking of home, Mei was busy climbing a three-meter-tall robot to the tech-inclined hero's horror.
"Get down from there!" the pro demanded for what Takuma imagined was the tenth time. His gremlin of a girlfriend simply ignored him, so focused on a piece of wiring on the robot's neck that she didn't even hear him.
"Oh, Mei," Midoriya facepalmed as they arrived next to the irate hero.
"How long has she been there?" Midnight questioned as she watched Mei, clad in her usual black tank top and coveralls tied at the waist, pry open a plate.
"Five minutes, and she refuses to get down," seethed Power Loader, who did a good enough job selling his angry act to everyone here—except Takuma, who could tell he actually found the situation very funny.
"Heh, she's nearly done," Takuma informed them as he waited for her to finish. "When she starts bouncing from left to right, it's because she either learned something new or finished working on her latest baby."
"Mei calls her inventions 'babies'!" Izuku nearly shouted in his haste to correct him.
"I know. She's been talking about 'babies' before she even set foot in the room. I got the idea quickly," the helmet-wearing pro groaned as Takuma noticed he was only wearing pieces of his hero costume.
The bulkier parts of his costume weren't far, resting against a rack by the wall.
"I got it! That's not a compensator; that's a kinetic multiplier!" his girlfriend shouted as she pressed something on the back of the robot's neck. A second later, Takuma heard whirring. Power Loader grew pale as both fists of the robot slammed straight into the ground, hammering the concrete and making the entire room shake. Mei looked on with wide eyes before turning her head toward the pro. "Oops?"
Takuma exploded into laughter—the pale face of Power Loader was just too funny for him to resist. The many shocked expressions of the people around him didn't help him keep his composure as they all stared, either in awe or fright, at the chaos his little gremlin had caused.
He forced himself to take a sharp breath to calm down. "Hatsume Mei, will you get down from there?" Takuma asked as he took a few steps closer to her perch. "Now?"
Mei's eyes widened, and as he expected, she simply jumped. He was ready and caught her easily, already braced for her weight. Even chaos was predictable if you lived with her long enough.
"Hi," he said with a smile she mirrored.
"Hi," she replied, kissing him on the nose.
Only then did he notice she was covered in soot. "How long were you here?"
"Five minutes?" she offered uncertainly.
"We've been here for half an hour!" Power Loader shouted, raising both arms in exasperation.
"Oh," Mei said in mild surprise. "Welp, that's something, I guess. So, who's Lockluster, and why do I have to make her a baby?" his overly cute little gremlin of a girlfriend asked, looking over his shoulder.
He turned just in time to see the younger heroine turn crimson, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "I don't—I don't actually know," the girl stammered with difficulty.
"I'm sure Nedzu would have explained, but he probably finds it funnier not to," Power Loader groused, scratching his head. "Alright, so to make this short: after a quick search, Nedzu discovered the company that made Lockluster's costume was Overdrive Authority. We've had so much trouble with this company in the past that we dropped them from working on the hero course students' costumes. I've been working on a case against them for the last year, but I haven't been able to nail them on anything more than shoddy work bordering on criminal."
The hero revealed this with a genuine hint of frustration. "What I want is to humiliate them in the eyes of the support community. I can't do it myself since I'm a teacher at U.A., and any product made by me would undoubtedly be biased due to the funding and fame of our establishment. What I need is someone not yet affiliated with us to absolutely embarrass them with a costume far superior to the one you're wearing right now in every aspect," he continued, passion in his voice. "That's where you both come in. Lockluster, as a recent graduate and low-ranked hero, you don't have access to the support higher-ranked heroes get, leaving you with… whatever the hell this is supposed to be." He seethed, looking over the heroine's costume. "And you, Ms. Hatsume, Nedzu told us you're one of this year's hopefuls and not too shabby with a power tool. Since you're unknown to the support community, you're the perfect agent to deal a blow to those morons at Overdrive. Given the time required, this will double as your entrance exam for the support course—but only if you think you have what it takes to send those hack frauds packing."
Mei blinked owlishly. "FUCK YES, I'M IN!" she shrieked so loudly that the other students heard her over their own power tools for a second. "Oh-ho-ho, what I'm going to do to you," she added, wearing a nearly lustful expression as she eyed the very uncomfortable Lockluster, who didn't know how to react to his girlfriend.
She tried to jump from his arms, but he held her back, much to her disappointment. "Hatsume Mei," he stated, using her full name to get her attention. "Do not start groping the heroine's costume without her consent," he demanded as Mei caught herself.
"Ah-ah, sure, wasn't totally about to do that. Nope, not me," she chuckled with some embarrassment before he gently let her down.
He missed her touch the second she left him, walking closer to said Heroine, who was slightly reassured by their previous exchange. He hadn't realized how much he needed her right now. Still, there were more important things to do at the moment.
"Hatsume Mei, hi. Can I take a look at your costume?" she asked, barely stopping herself from jumping the poor girl.
"Yo-you can, bu-but there's not much to look at," the woman said as she opened the front of her costume to allow his girlfriend access.
Takuma blinked once, then twice, as he was met with the lean mass of her abdominal wall, a six-pack, and some scars. Another thing that immediately made his blood boil was the joke of a reinforced purple bra that barely covered her breasts as it showed more underboob than was strictly necessary—which he believed was none in every case.
"What the fuck is this?" Mei let out tonelessly as he felt her anger turn into rage, then wrath, as she went from zero to eleven in a single heartbeat. His adorable gremlin was the type of person who became calm when they reached their limit of how much anger they could deal with. "There isn't a single piece of protection inside this costume!"
"About what I expected," Power Loader groused as he walked closer to the two.
"How did you know?" Mei asked, turning her head toward the tech-inclined pro.
"The weight distribution is wrong. When her costume is zipped up, all the weight rests around her neck," the Pro revealed, sharing his insight. "I don't even want to know how they managed to do that. A well-balanced costume will spread the weight evenly or as much as the surface area allows. The only reason she hasn't snapped her neck is because of the lack of actual weight armor would add to her costume, and even then, I'm sure there's some discomfort."
Lockluster looked down as she nodded. "I tr-try not to move my head too much when I fight. I bruised a muscle a few times in the past," she told them as she rubbed the back of her neck.
Takuma didn't feel it behind his ever-ready mental wall that had already worked overtime today. He sighed as he took a seat next to a workshop, ready to let the tech monkey work it out. He was tired.
"Alright, the poofy sheep jacket is a dud. There's nothing to save there," Mei declared as she took another look at something inside, then froze. "Please tell me your... bra isn't part of your Hero costume."
Lockluster blushed. "I-It is."
"It doesn't offer any support, does it?" Mei demanded rhetorically as the Heroine nodded again.
"Whoever thought that a Hero costume consisting of a poofy sheep jacket, pants, and half a bra was acceptable needs to be shot," his adorable girlfriend seethed as she took a step back from the girl. "There's nothing in here. I would have expected more if you had bought your outfit at a thrift store!"
"No protection? Did you get those scars recently?" Power Loader asked as he took in the two scars on her abdomen.
"I did, right after graduating," the girl told the older Hero. "I thought my costume would protect me, so I let a strike past my defense to finish the fight and capture the Villain. I was lucky it was dull, or..."
The girl didn't quite finish her sentence. She didn't need to, as everyone understood what she was telling them.
"How do you fight?" Mei asked as she walked around the girl, looking over the outside of her costume from every angle possible. "Oh, knuckle-dusters. Do you have an enhancement Quirk?"
"No, my Quirk allows me to freeze someone in place if they're a-attracted to me," the girl revealed again with an ever-growing blush.
"Oh, that's why you're named Lockluster. I like it," Mei told the girl, who smiled shyly before looking away.
"I mostly fight with my hands. My da-dad was a boxer, so I took most of my fighting style from his repertoire," the girl revealed, raising both hands to let everyone see her pair of dark metallic brass knuckles, still with some blood on them.
Takuma felt some lust and looked toward the two Support Course students who were using some kind of telescope to look at the Heroine's exposed front. He grabbed a slightly large nut that was next to him on the workshop and threw it in their general direction. It nailed one of them in the jaw as he fell back with a whimper. "GET BACK TO WORK!" he roared as the other two flinched and turned, acting as if they hadn't been perving a second ago.
Takuma sighed and turned back toward the group, who were all staring at him. "What?" he asked as he noticed the dumbfounded expressions on everyone's faces.
Right, they didn't notice.
"Those two were checking her out," he said with a shrug. "We should have done this somewhere else."
Power Loader frowned as he turned toward the two boys. "I'll be right back," he told them right before making his way to them.
Midoriya looked at him with a weird expression. "I don't think I've ever heard you yell before."
"Never had a reason to," he replied simply, as Mei raised a thumbs-up in his direction while a now zipped-up Lockluster nodded gratefully.
He winked at his girlfriend, making her grin before she turned back to her work.
"We have private rooms if you need a more thorough look at her costume," Midnight offered, her tone laced with some recrimination and disappointment, mostly directed at herself. "I should have thought of it sooner. My mistake, Lockluster."
"I-It's nothing. It happens," the girl replied without looking up from the ground.
"It shouldn't," Takuma and Midnight replied in unison.
They caught each other's eyes, and he felt another wave of that strange emotion he didn't quite dare to examine. The Heroine was planning something; he just didn't know if it was good or bad.
"We can move to one of those rooms. I need you to take the jacket off," Mei told the Heroine as Midnight pointed toward the private rooms. "We'll be right back!" his girlfriend said, skipping toward the room and pulling the younger Heroine by the hand.
"And now that Power Loader has been rescued from your girlfriend," Midnight drawled with a shit-eating grin, "you still need to get checked by Recovery Girl."
Takuma sighed. "I blame you," he said, looking at Midoriya, who immediately looked down.
"S-Sorry," his friend stammered, having missed the social cue of Takuma teasing him.
"I'm joking, you anxiety-ridden bitch," he said with a wink, this time making the green-haired boy chuckle.
"Follow me," Midnight called over her shoulder, leading them to another part of the building.
Sooner than he would have liked, he found himself in U.A.'s infirmary for the second time. Rows of beds lined the room, occupied by a few students with minor injuries that were more annoying than painful.
"Shiyo, I've brought you some hooligans!" the Heroine shouted to the older woman, who was busy speaking with a nurse.
"Make those adjustments, and if there's no further reaction, call me," the older Heroine instructed, the nurse nodding before leaving. "You two better not make this a habit. You're too young to put yourselves in danger like this," she added, looking at both of them.
"Next time a Villain tries to take my head off, I'll just give them your number," Takuma groaned sarcastically. "Can't fight—sorry, Granny doesn't want me."
"Snide comments aside," Recovery Girl said with a glare in his direction, "do you have any injuries to report?"
"I-I hurt my wrist when I lost control of my Quirk," Izuku explained, raising his shirt sleeve.
"And you?" she asked Takuma.
"Not a scratch, surprisingly enough," he replied in a tone full of disbelief, using his lack of injuries to put her at ease and divert attention away from himself. "I broke a nail?"
"Please do not waste my time," the old woman said, motioning for Izuku to get on a bed with a wave of her hand.
Takuma stepped back as Recovery Girl began examining Izuku's bruises.
"I assume today wasn't the most pleasant for someone with a Quirk like yours," Midnight said, walking to stand beside him. Her usual persona had faded into the background—no overt displays of her curves or flirty winks and smiles. She was all business.
"Understatement of the century," he replied with a small shrug, opting to play defensive until he could gauge what she wanted from him. "I need a shower before I can even think about feeling clean again, but besides that, business as usual."
"Snipe has been begging Nezu to offer you an advanced scholarship since Aldera, and I imagine after today, he'll use it as an even better excuse to get you in sooner," the Heroine informed him, skirting around the topic she clearly wanted to discuss.
"Tell him not to bother. I have to study for the written exam, and I can't afford distractions right now," he replied honestly. Just because his studying was going well didn't mean he could ease off the gas. "Also, I sent a request for accommodations during the written and physical exams. Do you know when I can expect an answer?"
"It's been approved. You can expect a confirmation letter one week before the entrance exam," Midnight revealed.
"Nice, but why a letter?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Nedzu likes to do things his own way," she told him with a shrug.
'The rat will do as the rat wants,' he thought as someone joined them in the infirmary.
Hound Dog.
"Oh, so that's what you were working on," he stated, cutting off Hound Dog's greeting. The two-meter-tall and half-as-large Etheromorph had a scruffy mane of blond hair sticking straight out behind his head. The muzzle on his slightly pointed snout annoyed Takuma on a spiritual level, even if it wasn't a stretch to assume he was wearing it willingly. "You want me to go to therapy."
He turned his head toward the heroine, who had a look of surprise, then to the school counselor, who had every potential theory on how this meeting would go ripped from under him. Takuma was never one to stay on the defensive.
"It makes sense. You've got an idea of what I can do and go through, and I imagine you think you can help me deal with it," he offered as the two heroes didn't even blink. "Thanks for the offer, but no thank you."
He felt the question forming in Midnight's thoughts and answered before she could speak.
"And no, I haven't been snooping around," he cut her off as her mouth was about to open. "See, an Empathy Quirk helps us read people in a way few can, even with a mind-reading Quirk. Hell, I'd even say we can do it better than them as long as we're willing to train for it. I could already tell something was going on when the whole Midnight persona was out in full display when we arrived at U.A. There was no logical reason to keep the ruse up with only the three of us, so it meant you had a reason to keep it going—besides, you know, flustering Midoriya." Both heroes were hanging on his words as he continued explaining. "There's also a pattern that has been established since you learned about my Quirk," he told Midnight specifically. "You always look at me as if I were a sick puppy who'd just been stabbed, which, besides being annoying, told me you understood the more problematic parts of my Quirk in a way others didn't or haven't had a strong reaction to." He revealed this as he scratched his brow before turning his stare toward the taller hero. "And as for you, Midoriya told me he started going to therapy earlier today, and I imagine he had spoken about me some. Even more reason to get me into therapy from your point of view, I assume," he told the man as he looked him in the eyes. "And I did all that without taking a peek from behind my mental wall, without even searching for a mental pattern or anything I could glean from you two—only pattern recognition and cold reading. So tell me, how close am I?"
To his surprise, Hound Dog started to laugh, a smile revealing two sharp rows of teeth. "You are right; this is exactly what I came here for," the dog-mutant revealed.
"It's hard to keep your intent hidden from an Empathy Quirk," Midnight pouted. "You have a pretty sharp mind; this will serve you well."
'You have no idea,' he sighed internally.
"Despite the turn this discussion has taken, I would like to extend the offer still," the tall hero stated. "Today hasn't been the most pleasant, from what Midnight told me. If we can help—"
"You really think today has been anything noteworthy?" he asked with genuine frustration. "Thirteen women raped and chained in a basement—you really think I haven't felt worse before?" Takuma questioned again as he felt his blood boil. "Sensation and emotion—I could feel one of them try to slit her own throat with the collar around her neck while another was trying to get the last drop of a used syringe to get as far away from there as she could."
His words finally had their effect as both heroes winced at his description. "You can't even begin to understand the shit I have to go through. Hell, I can't fucking explain it, and I live it every day," he seethed as he tried to calm himself down. "So don't pretend you can help me when I can't even help myself," he added as he looked at both of them in turn. "I don't need this shit, certainly not coming from your kind. Heroes."
There were a thousand things he could learn if he decided to peek from behind his mental wall, and he knew it would probably be the smart thing to do right now—help him better prepare for the next confrontation. But he was too tired; he couldn't handle that much bullshit in a day. So he turned around and walked away, back to the Support Lab.
'When did I become so soft?' he wondered as he walked the halls of U.A.
He knew he wasn't back to his full capacity since whatever bullshit Quirk hit him during his search for the serial killer. He was tired, done, overwhelmed, but still with hundreds of minds around that kept prodding at his sanity. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to hug Mei and take a break from reality. So he went back to her.
He felt her enter back into his range, and the weight on his chest lessened enough for him to feel like he could breathe again. He arrived back in front of the room and entered, walking straight toward her. Next to Lockluster, he noticed both of them were the same height. For once, his cute gremlin of a girlfriend wasn't the shortest person in the room.
She was deep in thought, so he didn't actually go for her. He took a seat next to her. He never wanted to be between her and her work. He never wanted to hold her back. So he took his time to calm down and wait until she was done.
He blinked, and she was there. In his arms as he rested his forehead against her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her midsection. He took a breath, and everything felt... easier. He didn't feel so stuck. His vision wasn't just focused on himself, and he could now tell who was around him again. Lockluster was confused, if a bit worried about him. Power Loader was alert and keeping an eye on him for some reason. No one else had come back yet, and he used this moment to breathe and get himself in the right headspace for the next round.
"How's the costume coming along?" he asked.
"Pretty well. I have all the measurements I need and an idea of what Saya wants, so as far as I'm concerned, I just need to get to it," Mei informed him as she ran a hand through his hair.
"Saya?"
"Lockluster."
"Makes sense," he chuckled as he brought her closer to him and kissed the side of her head. "So anything else you want to do, besides, you know, terrorizing Power Loader?"
"I'm not that bad," she shot back with a grin, right before she turned her head toward her future teacher. "Tell him!"
"My liver won't survive teaching her, that much you can be sure of," the short man with spiky ginger hair replied. "And also, I have to remind you U.A. won't be able to help in any way—no tools or materials. Since the request came out of nowhere, I'll allow you to start now, but keep in mind you must be done with her costume by the day of the written exam since this work will replace the glider you would normally have to make."
"Heh, I'll be done by the end of next week," Mei declared without skipping a beat. "This baby will be the second best piece of equipment I've ever produced!"
"Not the first?" the Pro asked.
"Nope, Takuma's costume took me months to make," she clarified with a sharp nod. "I'm good, but I can't beat months of work in only two weeks. So, second."
"Now I want to take a look at it," Power Loader told his girlfriend with some interest. "Anything particular about his costume?"
"Lots of pockets, the ability to go into stealth mode to allow him to blend into a crowd. High collar jacket and breastplate made with the strongest metal I could get my hands on," she listed with pride. "And I'm not even done making the bottom part. As soon as I have access to U.A., I'm making sure he can leap buildings like All Might."
"Not that I doubt your capability, but you'll have to wait some time and acquire some trust before you earn enough funding to pay for that kind of tech." Power Loader was quick to rein back her enthusiasm. "We have access to a lot of equipment, but keep in mind there's multiple years and courses fighting for funding."
Mei scoffed. "I don't need equipment or funding, just access to the nano-printer to make the part I can't make!" she shouted in frustration. "I wouldn't even need to come here if it wasn't for those stupid state clearances," she groused in turn as she let herself rest against him.
"There, there," he whispered as he patted her on the head. "Mei's parents were experts in making exo-skeletons and suits for work in construction; I think that's what she might have in mind for the pants."
"Exactly!" she confirmed excitedly. "I already prepared the exo-skeleton that will go on your leg. You'll have enough strength to leap buildings, but only once or twice before you need to let the battery recharge," she informed him and the teacher as she finally explained what she had in mind for the latter part of his costume. "I managed to make a battery that doesn't hold charge well but can store a lot of it for an explosive release. I used one of my mom's old exo-skeleton prototypes she never had time to finish. It was supposed to be self-sufficient, working like some kind of dynamo with the wearer's movement. Both work well, with the strength and flexibility needed to be useful, but without the nano-printer, I can't stick those two together to test the idea."
Mei kicked some dust with the bottom of her shoe. "That sucks."
Takuma felt Power Loader's ever-growing interest in Mei rise even more. "An exo-skeleton that can offer enough assistance to a hero to help him move and fight like that can't be anything but clunky. I wouldn't recommend it."
"It's not!" Mei shouted back in a heartbeat as she stomped toward her future teacher. "It's light as a feather and you won't even see it under a normal pair of pants unless you're looking for it. But the best thing is, it's strong enough to hold back two tons of weight!"
"And how large is the battery?"
"It's not large but long. I made it into a belt to save space," she explained, oozing frustration. "I just can't test those two together because I need to have many points of contact, and there's nothing I own that can handle the output from the belt to the legs."
The pro hummed, Takuma's Quirk whispered he was deliberating about something. "Tell you what, if you do make Lockluster's costume before the end of next week, as you proclaimed earlier, I'll let you take your prototype here so you can use the nano-printer UNDER SUPERVISION to make your missing component. How does that sound to you?"
Mei made a sound that he didn't think was possible for her to make—somewhere between a giggle and an old man moaning.
"You sound like a perverted old man. Look, even Lockluster is blushing," he pointed out as Mei looked at the younger heroine.
"She's always blushing, even worse than Izu," she retorted without missing a beat. "I accept, under one condition!"
Power Loader let out a groan as he facepalmed his faceplate. "And which is it?"
"I want an autograph!" Mei demanded as she held a piece of paper. "Please."
Takuma let out a snort as watching his girlfriend being herself was a delight. The pro signed the piece of paper, and Mei then walked back to him with a skip in her step, right before she went to lean back on him.
"You want me to buy some picture frames for it?" Takuma asked her as she nodded enthusiastically.
"So, a-are we done?" Lockluster asked, still quite unsure of what she had gotten into.
"We are. Both of you feel free to visit the school grounds or go home," Power Loader told them. "I believe the Senior exam is tomorrow."
"It is," Mei confirmed. "I have it in the bag, and Takuma already has it."
"Then... have fun, I guess. I still have a bunch of students to stop from making a bomb... again!" the pro stated as he left them to take a look at the overly excited bunch of third years who were crowding one of their own.
"Let's go home, Mister 'I fight villains and forgot to tell me,'" Mei declared as she sent a glare his way.
"Guilty," he chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her. "But first, I have a bean to beat."