It seems like I might have to run my course with what I got considering that the growth of this story had pretty much dried up. We'll see if things change, but it is difficult to continue writing when it seems like people aren't interested anymore. Plus I am starting to ramp up writing my actual novel series, so this just might be a sign to put more effort on that instead of these fanfics.
I am up to chapter 47, and will finally be able to increase the frequency of uploads now that I have a solid routine with my new job.
My Hero Academia Untold: The Knights of Fafnir
Saga I: Dusk
Arc III: The Sports Festival
Chapter XXXIII: Training Begins!
"The bonding of the team is exceptionally important and trying to create a good team spirit and to have some fun."
-Sam Allardyce
Detective Hajime Tanaka sat in his office with his phone to his ear while it rang. He had just gotten out of a massive meeting of the Police Commission and several of the highest-ranking officers in the Nation. No longer was he the simple junior detective who once handed the files that sealed Draco Knight's fate. He was now a Detective Captain and Adjutant to Kai Doumeki, yet he had another role to play in current events.
"Go ahead, Tanaka," He heard the voice of Tensei Iida answer.
"I just got out of that meeting I told you about." Hajime began saying after making sure that no one was listening. "I'm sure that Kiriyūin will fill you in on the broader details at the meeting tomorrow, but I'll tell you the stuff that I'm sure he would not know of right now."
He could hear Tensei fiddle around with some equipment, likely to record the call.
"I'm ready."
"Okay, just understand that some things are not completely in the clear, so they're subject to change."
"Understood."
"First: The Noumu, that thing from the USJ. The commission had a DNA test done on it, and the results were…strange, to say the least."
"How so?"
"Multiple strains of DNA were found. So many, in fact, that the commission has ordered another test. Just to verify that it wasn't a mistake due to contamination. Or on the off-chance that the sample had somehow been tampered with."
"Interesting...but I feel like there is something else here?"
"Well, here is the thing. Do you remember when I told you that Doumeki ordered an Internal Affairs investigation after the whole Stain fiasco?"
"Yes, you and several others helped in the investigation along with Kiriyūin himself."
"Indeed, when Internal Affairs started the investigation, I was assigned to help look into cases that happened before I was transferred to Doumeki's department ten years ago. While the cases I was personally involved in since were then handled by other officers as per protocol."
Hajime briefly grimaced.
"Anyway, when I began my assignment with Internal Affairs, I came across a case that I didn't think much of at the time," Hajime eyed the door and lowered his voice further. "Until some names that came up during the first round of DNA testing appeared and recognized them from that case. Names from an incident that happened thirteen years ago."
Hajime let out a short breath of hesitation.
"A real big one."
"What case?"
"It's come to be known as The Nursery Incident, and it was under an extreme amount of security regulations," Hajime answered as he anxiously tapped on his desk."I'm talking high levels of National Security red tape, and there was a detail in that report that makes me think why this could be a huge breakthrough if I my hunch is correct."
"What is it?"
"It seemed like a minor thing at first, but it was enough to make me pause when I read the USJ incident report and the initial results of the test."
Hajime paused to flip through his personal notes and pulled up what he was looking for.
"Now, for context, The Nursery Incident involved several missing children; kidnappings mostly. But there was also some evidence of human tracking, experimentation, and..."
The man grimaced again as he continued reading.
"Even genetic engineering. The police at the time managed to uncover evidence of all these crimes. So they could produce the warrants needed to raid a laboratory where some of the suspected children were said to have been held, but I digress."
"Now," Hajime continued as he leaned back into his seat as there was some trepidation to these disturbing findings. "A key detail that was hidden from the public, yet it matched all of those children was the one thing they all shared in common. All of them were noted to had either ruby-red or golden-yellow eyes."
"Another thing to consider would be this supposed bounty on the students at the USJ with golden-yellow eyes, and then you add the genetic engineering from the Noumu."
"Indeed... now here is another interesting detail about The Nursery Incident. Draco Knight was involved as the Hero-in-Command and served as the vanguard during the initial start of the operation with the then Commander Kai Doumeki, serving as the SWAT Leader."
"Wait, Draco Knight was involved in this? With Doumeki?"
"Indeed, the Operation was going smoothly. Until a rather infamous villain made his appearance on the battlefield. The Phoenix King, one of the Four Cardinal Kings, the Yakuza gang leader, arrived on the scene with several underlings and had the laboratory blown up. Along with all of the trapped children and officers trying to rescue them. It's been suspected that the villain was trying to hide the evidence of his involvement."
"Good lord...I remember that name...The Phoenix King was Endeavor's mortal enemy, given his Quirk's ability to absorb fire which I believe gave him incredible regenerative abilities. I heard he had died thirteen years ago...is that the case that ended his life?"
Hajime paused on whether or not tell Tensei about the...bloody details of how the Phoenix King ultimately met his end on that night.
"Yes, it caused a massive headache for the commission. Honestly, the only odd thing about the incident was the Operational Code. It started out as Order One. The objective was to save all of the children and capture any villains."
Hajime flicked a finger up to check on the next page of his notes.
"But it got upgraded to Order Zero—post mission. I know from the incident report that Draco Knight personally killed The Phoenix King when the objective should have been his capture."
"Wouldn't that have placed Draco Knight under sanctions? A big case like that failing should have been grounds to strip the man of his license."
"The report mentioned that. According to the record, Draco Knight was to face the Board of Ethics for Professional Heroics. Especially since there were apparent concerns regarding his mental health..."
Hajime answered, turning to another page in his notebook.
"Yet, that changed when Doumeki himself ordered the upgrade and basically took the fall for the operation as soon as he recovered from major surgery from wounds sustained during the Op."
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense! As far as I know, Chief Doumeki had always hated Draco Knight, even when I interned in the Drake's Den. I was always told that should The Chief appear, let Draco Knight handle it personally."
"I'm going to do some more digging here...I'm wondering if I could try to convince Doumeki to allow me back into the archives. My security clearance for those files should still be green. But it's best not to act on this information just yet..." Hajime added as he looked down at three files in front of him. "I still feel like there's something off about everything, and I'd rather have all of my cards on the table so we can do this clean."
"Makes sense...thanks a lot for the information, Tanaka."
"One last thing Iida...Kiriyūin should know this too by now, but he won't know when it'll happen, but my department has been tasked with transporting Overhaul to Tartarus next Saturday. Doumeki himself is personally leading the operation on the field."
"He's taking command personally?"
"Yes, sir, I think he feels responsible for losing some of my fellow officers during the Stain escape. I think this is his way of making the others feel better about going on another assignment like this again."
"I see...anything else?"
"Nothing else that wouldn't be repeating previously known information; otherwise, Kiriyūin will go into detail about what was discussed at the meeting."
"Very well, thank you, Tanaka. I wish you good luck on your assignment."
"Thanks; best wishes to you as well." Hajime finished up as he hung up his cellphone.
He leaned against his seat for a moment before looking at the three files on his desk. Carefully read the names attached to them. They were the remaining suspects from the initial investigation. The females and Vlad King were dropped from the case upon further inquiries.
Denki Kaminari
Ryu Kasei
Shino Mizuoji
Hajime wasn't sure what Kaoru Kiriyūin was going to share with the group tomorrow. The details about what is happening with the remains of the Eight Precepts of Death didn't seem necessary to their case, but one never really knows. No matter what, however, Principal Nezu was sure to be informed that three students had passed background checks that should have raised some serious red flags.
The First is the son of an infamous villain.
The Second is the bastard son of a dead corrupt politician and the adopted son of his own boss.
The Third is a well-connected socialite with several familial ties to the Neocons.
'One or more of these three could be either spies or simply the targets of an assassination due to their ties,' Hajime thought to himself. ' Is there really a connection between any of them and the incident thirteen years ago?
Then there were their ages to be considered as a factor in play.
Denki was Fifteen.
Ryu was Sixteen.
Shino was Fourteen.
None of the children could have been older than three years old during the kidnappings that led to Nursery Incident. In contrast, all of the children who were said to have been held up were no younger than four and no older than seven, the typical age range that quirks manifested. Which meant one of them would have to be eighteen at the minimum to fit the timeline. Not to mention that none of the three had been listed among those kidnapped and recovered.
The Nursery Incident.
What was the connection?
Hajime was almost one-hundred percent sure that there was a connection to this cold case with the USJ Invasion and, by extension, to this new League of Villains. Still, all of the evidence was circumstantial at best. Depending on what information Tensei would give him after the meeting, Hajime might be able to make a more thorough investigation instead of searching blindly in the dark.
Then, he heard a loud rumbling outside his office that snapped him out of his thoughts.
The young Captain sighed in frustration as he decided to leave his office and see what was going on outside. He was instantly met with loud roars of laughter when he opened it. The veteran spotted one of the newer recruits, Ganji, performing one of his infamous acts for everyone using his quirk.
"And then the boss goes like, 'I'll accept the task and lead the operation personally.'" The man perfectly mimicked Kai's voice -and face with a pout. "You should have seen the faces of all the old farts on the commission."
That tidbit made all of the other junior officers laugh, with some doubled over at their desks with tears rolling down their faces. That was until Hajime cleared his throat loud enough that made everyone in the room go silent instantly.
"Haha- Oh shi-" The recruit nearly tripped over as he straightened into a salute.
"Captain! Haha, hello there!" Ganji began saying nervously as he turned to spot his superior standing behind him with an annoyed look on his face.
"Nishimoto, do you have that report on traffic plans for next Saturday?" Hajime asked with narrowed eyes.
"A-almost done, sir!" The man flustered out; his blood-red eyes looked around the room as several now stone-faced officers looked away awkwardly.
"Then finish it and have it on my desk by fourteen hundred hours, or I could invite The Chief-Superintendent to come and see your next performance. I'm sure he would find it just as amusing as everyone else here."
"On it, sir!"
Izuku sat happily in the observation room with his notebook out, finally getting a chance to see his classmates' quirks in real-time action without any disturbances. Midnight called for today to be what the class discovered to be known as a free-training day. Allowing the teams of Class 1-A to try out fun activities, which included various obstacle courses, sparring, and general practice in using their quirks, all while wearing their costumes.
"Having fun, Midoriya?" Izuku heard Kashiko ask as she took the fourth seat on the row he was sitting to him to observe everyone else.
"Yep, I've always been fascinated by quirks," Izuku answered with smile and wrote down another note. "Mostly because I really wanted to be a hero myself. But the subject of quirks itself has always been interesting to me."
"I think Quirkologists missed out on having a mind like yours," Kashiko said playfully.
"Maybe if I was born quirkless, that could have been a career path I would have taken," Izuku retorted. Only to realize that Kashiko talked with him instead of being with her team. "Hey, Sekigai, not that I mind you being here, but shouldn't you be training with your team?"
"Am I being a bother?" Kashiko questioned with a glare.
"N-no! I mean, it's ju-" Izuku's response was cut off by Kashiko giggling as her face became softer.
"Hehe, I'm kidding, Midoriya relax! No," Kashiko began saying while fiddling with some of the camera control modules. "Uraraka is clearly having more fun racing against Ashido."
The display showed the two heroes-in-training as they worked hard to jump, climb and charge through a series of obstacles. Izuku sat there amazed at Ochako and Mina applying their quirks to get through some of the same challenges differently yet efficiently. Kashiko could see Izuku focusing on the two. However, an extra glance was thrown Ochako's way every now and then.
Maybe she was a bit jealous of Ochako.
Now she didn't have a thing for Izuku mind you, but it wouldn't hurt for her to have an admirer like Izuku was to Ochako. Despite her conversation with most of the girls at the beginning of the year. It wasn't like she was utterly disinterested in dating. She was afraid it could interfere with her studies, given the various horror stories she'd heard from the rumor mill and online.
Yet seeing how these two acted with each other made almost everyone in the class "ship it," as Mina would say.
"Satou is doing some strength training with Kirishima, Bakugou, and Ojiro," Kashiko continued changing the displays again. Noting that Izuku looked ever so slightly disappointed when it did. "While Kasei is in the support department getting refitted with a costume upgrade and last I heard, Aoyama..."
The last display change was of Yūga practicing with his laser piercing through thick stone walls while staring into a portable mirror.
"…Is being Aoyama."
Izuku chuckled uneasily.
"In any case, since my quirk doubles as an analyzer, this is the perfect place for me to practice using its other features."
Kashiko moved over a seat closer so Izuku could see as her eyes begin to glow.
"Oh, your quirk is also an analyzer?" Izuku questioned, flipping to the pages that featured Kashiko's powers so he could amended it.
"Indeed," Kashiko answered with a nod. "It's a bit like Ragdoll's Search quirk only based on my eyesight. My quirk can eventually pick up small details of individuals I've encountered, including possible weaknesses."
"That's so cool and incredibly useful in a support role! From back in the battle trial, I knew that your quirk could create those 2-D and 3-D maps that could tag people on the field," The boy lowered the notebook. "But the fact it also performs an analysis on quirks or on an individual's weaknesses is just beyond cool!"
"You really think so?" Kashiko questioned with a slight blush, surprised that her quirk would get such praise given Izuku's relatively high pedigree quirk.
"Yeah! Is that how you got through the robots at the entrance exam?" Izuku asked as he added additional notes to his notebook.
"Indeed! I used my quirk to efficiently map out the area and isolate my targets. After a while, I discovered that each robot had a built-in weakness that I think was meant to give candidates like myself a chance at passing," Kashiko explained with enthusiasm as she moved up again to actually sit right next to Izuku. "But, I also managed to snag a few rescue points for helping others who fell during the Zero Pointer attack."
"Wow," Izuku exclaimed with amazed expression. "What about objects or buildings? Can your Quirk pick up details on things like structural integrity or other forms of damage?"
"Yes, and no," Kashiko began to answered as she finally felt completely comfortable with the conversation. The truth was, she had come here to get over some of her nervousness about Izuku. Discovering that he was Draco Knight's son and seeing his power firsthand during the USJ Incident made her more than a little skittish around the greenette.
Even if she was good at hiding it compared to others.
In the end, it was a combination of Tenya's speech after the incident and Izuku's commitment to Eri that made her a little more open to the idea that there was more to Izuku than what some in the media wanted to present. Now, Kashiko was glad she did, she already knew Izuku was intelligent and observational thanks to the Bomb Trial. But it was just reassuring to see his calm gentle nature with his nerdy hobby that doubled to improve his skills. It was safe to say, that Kashiko would be willing to set aside her fears and put her faith in him.
"So, in summary, I can only really analyze what's in my direct line of sight and have a general understanding of what might constitutes an abnormal condition for said object. However, if I was to expand my knowledge on whatever I was analyzing, then my Quirk could be able to provide more details."
"I see! Well, if that's the case, could you help me improve my notes with some of the things you found, Sekigai?" Izuku asked, switching back the display to Ochako's and Mina's race. Judging from the reactions of some of the others, Ochako had won.
'This may be a great way for me to get an edge at the Sport's Festival.' Kashiko thought to herself as her eyes began to glow.
"Sure thing!"
'This must be really uncomfortable for him,' Tenya thought to himself as he saw Ryu getting a pat-down from Mei Hatsume.
Even though his mouth was closed, Tenya could see that Ryu was gritting his teeth. He and Shouto, who were already used to Mei's antics, sat nearby, waiting for their own turns to have their liaison go through them for costume modifications. Still, as the newly elected Vice-President of Class 1-A, he felt the need to say something to ease his classmate's comfort levels.
"Hatsume, couldn't you just learn to take measurements correctly?"
Mei stopped feeling up the boy for a moment to look at her childhood friend/favorite crash test dummy.
"But this method is way better to get a real feel for the baby I'm gonna be making for Mr. Dragon here!" Mei answered while patting one of Ryu's pecs.
"MAKING WHAT NOW?!" Ryu screamed as he hopped away from the girl's reach. All while instinctively guarding his crotch. This forced Shouto to look away from the scene to stop himself from laughing at the fire-eater's reaction.
"The term 'Babies' is her way of addressing her inventions, Kasei," Shouto managed to say with a straight face upon recovering.
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER!"
"And since I'm going to be making a brand new costume baby from scratch," Mei continued answering, completely ignoring Ryu's concerns. Mei simply maintained that giant grin and had her hands held out to continue the pat-down without care. "Momma here needs a proper feel.".
Ryu looked at Mei before turning to Tenya.
"Can I get someone else to do this to me...Please?"
"I'm afraid Hatsume is our only liaison..." Tenya admitted flatly as he pushed up his glasses. "So no."
"Oh, come on, Mr. Dragon!"
"Stop calling me that! My name is Kasei! And for the last time, the Kanji for the name Ryu means FLOW, not DRAGON!"
"Making a fuss for no big deal," Mei added dismissively. "Besides, you're not as muscly and fun as Teni, so I was almost done with you anyway."
Tenya felt his face burn as Ryu slowly turned his head to look at him with a questioning gaze. The expression on the Fire-Eater's face looked like he wasn't sure if he should have felt relieved or insulted by Mei's comment.
"Teni?" Ryu mouthed to his vice president.
"Look, it's no big deal, watch." Mei turned from Ryu to at Shouto. "Hey Shou! Assume the position!"
Shouto promptly stood up in a T-pose to assert his dominance over the room. Mei quickly hopped up and began feeling up Shouto while giggling like a madwoman, all while the latter kept the same stoic face.
'What even is my life?' Ryu questioned as he looked at the strange trio.
Inko sat by the kitchen table with large stacks of manila folders, envelopes, and photo albums. The Midoriya Matriarch was looking for the most recent copy of her family registry. She would need it as part of the documents to enroll Eri into a school that she and All Might would be scouting for next week. Inko stood up to better organize all of the materials, placing the extra photo albums to the side to show Ochako later. At the same time, double-checked that Eri was happily seated while watching a rerun of Animal Buddies.
A smile crept up on her face knowing that Eri was in for quite the surprise next week.
"I know I placed it here after I finished Izuku's enrollment at UA," Inko said to herself. Mildly frustrated with the task at hand. After several minutes she lifted the last set of folders in the stack, praying that she hadn't somehow lost the registry. It would be highly embarrassing to need a replacement at such a last-minute moment. As she sorted through the paperwork, Inko didn't notice a small but long envelope slipped out and landed gently on the floor.
"Ah! Yes, here it is!" Inko said happily after finding the copy of the registration. With the way things were proceeding, Eri might soon be officially adopted by the Midoriya household, making this document critical in order to make that happen. Sighing with relief, Inko placed the paper aside with the photo albums to clean up and get started on making lunch for the two of them.
"Hope you had fun today, kids!" Comicman's voice called out from the TV while Anima signed the same. "And remember to practice safe and responsible quirk use, be kind to one another, and we'll see you next time on Animal Buddies! I'm Comicman, and this is my co-host, Anima! We'll you all next time!"
Eri put down the tiny notebook that Izuku had given to her to help keep track of all the animals featured in today's episode. She got an idea after seeing her surrogate father's note-taking skills when it came down to quirks. The two even shared some notes when the show would talk about animals with quirks.
The baby bear was very cute.
Eri wrote crudely in the notebook, along with a few attempted drawings of bears and what bears liked to eat, like fish and honey. Once she was satisfied with her work, she placed the notebook down to try and see what else might be on TV when her stomach began grumble with hunger, she quickly hopped off the couch and made her way into the kitchen, where Inko was already hard at work fixing lunch.
Upon spotting the child, Inko flashed Eri a quick smile while taking an educated guess on why Eri was there.
"Lunch will be ready soon, okay, Eri?" said Inko as she skillfully balled up some rice with her hands while using her quirk to move some of the fillings closer to her. Eri nodded and was about to head back to the living room when she spotted something white on the floor.
'A letter?'
Eri carefully picked and saw some somewhat faded black ink that made it difficult to read. After trying a couple of times, she managed to make out what it said.
To: Section-Chief Kai Doumeki.
Eri didn't know the name, but knew that this most likely belonged to Inko. Eri carefully walked up to Inko, holding up the letter before calling out, "Inki-ko-"
Eri paused for a second to correct herself this time before pulling slightly on the hem of Inko's apron.
"Inko! I found this."
Inko looked down while shaping the food with a look on her face.
"Hm? I'm sorry, honey, did you say something?"
Eri nodded before holding the letter up a little higher. Inko, not wanting to dirty the old-looking letter with her wet hands, focused on the letter with her quirk, pulling it mentally from Eri's grasp.
"Thank you, honey," Inko said with a smile as Eri nodded again with approval that her small task was done and returned to the living room.
"Now let's see what this is...oh," Inko said as she turned the envelope to see what it really was.
"Oh Hisashi...you never did get your chance, did you? I'm sorry I never delivered this for you."
Ochako and her team were happily eating the food that Jou provided for everyone again.
The class was having an on-field lunch today. To replicate what might happen in the case of extended rescue operations. Midnight requested everyone eat with their teams separately from everyone else to build morale and create more effective team bonds. Everyone except Ryu, who's new costume was still in development, was wearing his PE gear, was wearing their costumes.
"Mhmm! This rice is really tasty, Mori!" Ochako exclaimed as Jou continued to distribute food to everyone else. They found themselves in the middle of an area full of fake rubble, with enough passage to allow them to walk around easily.
"I would save your thanks for my helpers back in my class along with Lunch Rush for giving us some extra ingredients to work with," Jou chirped happily.
"Come on, Pani, give yourself some credit," Rikidou said as he grabbed a few more wrapped rice balls from the cart. "I know being humble is good and all, but it's alright to get a little glory for yourself."
"Agreed," Ryu and Kashiko said in unison after finally being served and seated on the floor nearby. Kashiko with some vegetable tempura. Meanwhile Ryu was digging into a bowl of very spicy curry that could make the eyes of the devil water up.
"I'll keep that in mind then, but in the meanwhile, could you please fill out these survey cards for me?" said Jou as she started distributing the cards and dropping a small case containing extra drinks."They're part of my coursework as your Business Liaison. Just give them to Ms. Midnight when you're done, please. Otherwise, enjoy the food, guys!"
"Merci!" said Yūga as he sat on a piece of fake rubble with a fancy-looking steak on his plate cradled on his lap.
"You're welcome?" Jou responded before shrugging and began pushing the cart toward Katsuki's team. While Rikidou sat looking slightly disappointed that he wouldn't have lunch with her today like usual.
"Ah, fear not, mon ami!" Yūga exclaimed upon seeing Rikidou's face, making everyone turn to look at the walking disco ball knight. "I'm sure that La dame Mori is just as disappointed as toi."
"Ra dame what now?" Rikidou questioned, not understanding the bastardization of Japanese and French Yūga always tried to speak.
"I think he might be teasing you, Satou," Kashiko spoke up, understanding a bit of the French thanks to some period dramas she watched here and there. "Disappointed that Mori left us?"
"Aww, that's rather sweet," Ochako breathed out between bites of her food.
Rikidou's face went red. Sure it was common knowledge that he was dating their Business Liaison. Still, it wasn't something he really talked about with anyone. Even when Mina tried to coax out some "deets," as she would say, from the two of them every now and then.
"Did you expect anything else from our resident sweets hero?" Ryu added in with a small laugh.
"Kasei, that was terrible, and you know it," Kashiko said, shaking her head while unable to stop herself from smirking.
"Guess I'll leave the humor to Kaminari then," Ryu said with a shrug.
"Then again, Satou's relationship is old news," Ryu added, giving Ochako a sideways look."Because I'm sure someone else is disappointed by not eating with their significant other today."
It took Ochako a moment to process what the Fire-Eater had just said before she broke into a red face.
"Hey!"
"Oh indeed! I imagine it must be the same for said significant other." Kashiko decided to join in the teasing, remembering her conversation with Izuku earlier.
"It's not like that with me and Izuku!" Ochako exclaimed with a red face
"It's 'Izuku and I' Uraraka," Kashiko corrected with a pointed finger and a stifled giggle.
"Funny, I didn't even mention a name, Uraraka," Ryu retorted as Rikidou laughed.
"It seems like our madame Uraraka has been caught!"
"Oh, har har," Ochako said with a slight pout.
"Oh my goodness, that is adorable!" Momo exclaimed, seeing the photo on Shouto's phone. This group had found themselves inside one of the fake buildings. This one, in particular, was filled with a few empty crates and sheets of metal that helped serve as their dining area after a little bit of set up.
"That's Hikari for you," said Shouto with a warm expression, remembering the day the picture was taken of his beloved niece with a set of finished braids while sitting on Shouto's lap.
"Wow, Wonderboy, I didn't expect to know that you were a hairstylist," said Kyouka, surprised to learn of Shouto's handiwork with the little girl.
"Right?! Hey Todoroki, do you think you could do my hair?!" Tōru asked excitedly with her gloves moving around dramatically.
'Where would I even start?' Shouto mentally question how he would even begin to braid the invisible hair of an invisible girl.
"I'm no expert on hairstyling, but that looks pretty professional if you ask me," Mashirao commented while sitting on top of one of the larger crates since his tail needed the extra room. They were waiting for Jou to arrive as she was currently serving Katsuki's team. "Where did you learn how to do it?"
"Youtube videos and hard work," Shouto firmly answered before pulling the back of his hair into a small ponytail. "She just saw me once with this hairstyle and asked if I could style her hair...I found it impossible to say no."
The remaining four laughed at Shouto's last comment.
"She's also Iida's niece, right?" Kyouka asked, seeing some of the Iida family features on the young girl.
"Our siblings got married about," Shouto paused to ponder. "Eight years ago? And Hikari was born six years ago next month."
"Oh, so her birthday is coming up?" Momo commented curiously to see what kind of gift someone like Shouto would give to someone he clearly cares so much about. It was difficult to gauge the normally stoic boy.
"It's the day just before the Sports Festival. She's already going to be celebrating later next since my father got her tickets to the live showing of Animal Buddies."
"Oh, my little sister loves that show," Mashirao said with a chuckle, "she'll be jealous to hear that."
"Comicman and Anima are pretty cool guys. I got to meet Anima once when he was on a patrol, got his autograph too." Kyouka added with a grin, bringing up a selfie she took of her with the Pro-Hero.
"Well, I do hope she enjoys herself. Will you and Iida be going with her, Todoroki?" Momo questioned out of curiosity.
Shouto shook his head.
"No, my father only got three tickets, and her parents have already decided to take her. Honestly, I'm rather glad. I think she needs to spend more time with them."
Katsuki sat with a grin on his face placing down a card as the game he was playing with his squad.
They were seated in the center of a crossroad in a small circle playing a game of UNO courtesy of Hanta. The sticky hero had initially planned to play it earlier with Eijirou and Mashirao before realizing they would do this exercise most of the day. Given the game's rapid pace, the squad all continued to take quick bites of their food as their turns came up.
"Yellow one bitches," Katsuki proclaimed on his next turn while thinking about his recent decision. After much internal infighting to keep quiet about what he knew about Ochako's story to himself for now. As he didn't want Izuku to be distracted by being all lovey-dovey with Ochako as the Sports Festival loomed overhead. However, that's not to say he couldn't use this information to his advantage later down the line. It was just a matter of time before he would start feeding Izuku and Ochako hints here and there.
'Yū might have been right...but if I play this right. I'll not only help Izuku out but...I'll get beat out Yū and the Old Hag on the bet they made of when the two will get together.'
Katsuki had accepted that Ochako was likely in it for the long haul and stopped being hostile to her. Still, he found it hard to try and make conversation with her. Not for the lack of trying mind you, but they just didn't share much in common, which often made things awkward. Ironic that Tenya knew Ochako for even less time than he did but could talk to her, him, and Izuku without batting an eye.
Yet, in another twist of irony.
Katsuki actually felt relief as the blond didn't have to worry about Izuku as much anymore, which allowed him to focus on developing himself. He could relax and let down his guard if ever so slightly. Class 1-A had proven to be something else when it came down to his insecurities about how the class would interact with Izuku after his secret was revealed. He could still feel the hesitation in some, but it was nowhere near as bad as the reaction he was getting from most of the general population from the rest of the school. Mainly those from General Studies, but he definitely knew that a few from Class 1-B still had a problem with Izuku still being here. For now, however, he was actually able to breathe better and actually open up somewhat to his team.
"Wild Card Trade! Switch cards with me, Bakugou, and the next color will still be blue!" Hanta proclaimed, placing down a card on the ground.
The rest of the squad instantly reacted to the bold move.
"Son of a bitch," Katsuki growled as he looked at his hand; he only had three cards left, and one was a wild card. After trading cards, he realized that he was left with five regular cards none of which were blue. "I'm going to blow your ass to hell, Tape Arms."
"Phrasing!" Denki called out with a laugh before calling his next card on his turn. "Eight blue."
"He's coming for that booty, Sero," Mina interjected with a laugh before eating a quick bite of her rice ball and placing down her next card. "Blue skip!"
"Is this high school or prison?" Hanta joked with a shifty look in his eyes.
"Aw damn it!" Eijirou exclaimed when he looked at his hand; he only had three cards. "Looks like I gotta draw."
Slowly but surely, the team broke out into a fit of laughter as Eijirou kept pulling cards, having no luck, and only cutting down his chance of victory further. Finally, after nine cards were drawn, he managed to find success.
"Three Blue!"
"Wait, so Eri had already called us 'Mama and Papa' before?" Izuku questioned, surprised as the two animal teens looked back at him with some amusement on their faces. His group had been fortunate enough to have been nearby a fake cafe when lunch had been called, so they were seated in the patio area to enjoy their meal.
"Indeed," Fumikage answered with a nod before biting into a dumpling from his plate.
"We didn't have much time, ribbit, to think about what she had said at the moment." Tsuyu added as she put a finger to her chin, pondering about that day. "We just mentioned you and Uraraka to coax her out the rubble, ribbit, and that's how she answered."
"I see..." Izuku said as he put his hand under his chin, thinking hard, and his bowl of Katsudon was left to cool on the table as he began to mutter to himself.
"And there he goes," Minoru said, putting down his drink to watch Izuku's mumble storm in action.
"Midoriya, if you want my personal opinion," Tenya spoke up with a reverse chop of a hand. "Given what I had seen of you and Uraraka, especially when Eri had joined us here. I cannot imagine a better people she could have landed with, not to mention there was Bakugou to help you both like the 'Fun Uncle' he called himself."
Tenya managed a small smile after wiping his mouth with a napkin. As an uncle himself, Tenya respected Katsuki's firm commitment to helping Eri with the two when they arrived. Even going so far as to tone down his spats with Ryu...when he could help it.
"You really think so, Iida?" Izuku asked quickly, snapping out of his mumbles quicker than usual.
"I have to concur with Iida; you and Uraraka managed to prioritize her comfort while balancing schoolwork with ease," Fumikage commented with a solemn nod. "It was quite impressive."
"Ribbit, and it was cute when Eri let some of us hold her," Tsuyu said happily. "She clearly started to trust us, ribbit, thanks largely to you two, ribbit. Like with Tokoyami and the apple."
Fumikage coughed with some embarrassment at mentioning his close encounter with the unicorn kid.
"And I didn't screw it up!" Dark Shadow called out, projecting from his host's body as Fumikage tried to get him back on under control.
"No, you did a good job, ribbit." Tsuyu answered while patting Fumikage's dark projection, much to its delight and Fumikage's chagrin.
"Ohohoho, I like you! Fumi never treats me like this!" said Dark Shadow, relishing in the affection.
"Damn it, Dark Shadow!"
"Oh, he's fine, ribbit...plus this is my chance to thank both of you for helping to shield us from that fireball." Tsuyu added as Dark Shadow nuzzled against the frog girl. The remaining three laughed as Fumikage, whose face usually hid his blushes, couldn't stop the rest of his body from turning red with embarrassment.
"Asui...You already thanked me at the hospital," Fumikage finally managed to say.
"I thanked you, ribbit. But I never got a chance to thank Dark Shadow, who deserves getting thanks too!" Tsuyu stopped with the patting for a moment. "Also, I told you to call me Tsu."
"Revelry in the dark..."
"Yay! I get to stay!"
Midnight sat comfortably in the observation room eating lunch with All Might, with the first week after the USJ finally over and things returning to a sense of normalcy again. The two teachers had agreed that while the students still needed to be trained. They also needed time to have fun and bond over their shared experiences, with next month's Sports Festival looming overhead. These bonds would be challenged as these promising future heroes would need to compete, resulting in conflicts where teamwork and perhaps subtle manipulations would be needed to win.
"I'm happy to see that my planned free day worked," Midnight commented as she looked at the monitors displaying the teams enjoying themselves.
All Might coughed lightly before nodding in agreement, happy that everyone seemed relaxed after the exercises. They had further plans to continue the lighter training exercises to compensate for the lost time. Due to the USJ incident and keeping the promise he made to them after Aizawa's Trial by Fire.
'Good lord, they really did go through a lot for their first month at school.' All Might thought to himself."Indeed, the simpler exercises and the emphasis on team building are something I could easily agree on."
All Might knew that he wanted Izuku to follow his own path, where All Might often worked alone with only one sidekick in his whole career. In the long run, that plan had utterly backfired on him. He hoped that on the day that Izuku ultimately succeeds him as the next Symbol of Peace, he won't repeat the same mistakes that he himself had made.
"I got some ideas from Vlad," Midnight continued pulling out a small notebook with some of her own teaching notes.
"A mistake I think I made early on was that I tried to be a nicer or 'more fun' version of Eraserhead rather than just being myself," Nemuri admitted sighed. "Given the differences of being a normal teacher versus being a Hero Course Homeroom teacher where I had so many more responsibilities than before, helped put things in perspective. So after the USJ. I wanted to try and learn from that and spoke to Vlad about his methods and compared them to Aizawa's. He does place a much stronger value in teamwork and cooperation."*
All Might thoughtfully scratched his chin.
"Is that why you haven't been cracking out your whip and riding crops as of late?" All Might questioned; it was a minor observation, but the veteran had noticed that Midnight hadn't been using her favorite props as of late.
Instantly, Midnight looked away in shame.
"Before, it was for Eri's comfort, but after I read the police report and statements during our meeting before the press conference," Midnight answered as she looked at the monitors again. Her eyes focused on three particular students. "One cold-hearted bitch used a flaming whip on my students, All Might."
"In my class alone, we had Asui, Tokoyami, and Kasei. The last one got it especially bad...when I saw the state of his old costume, the kid needed surgery to survive it, All Might," Nemuri shuddered slightly as tears began welling up in her eyes. "I think the last thing any of those three need is a reminder of what they went through...I mean. I still have nightmares All Might...so I can only imagine what horror they might reli-"
She was cut off as All Might sighed as he reached for his coworker's hand. The students may have been on the upswing of their recoveries. However, the teachers still needed to recover from parts of the horror themselves. It was a good thing that the Golden Week holiday was coming up to give them a chance to recover themselves.
Alex sat at one of the small tables set up for three next to the training field. Eraserhead was nearby to supervise their training, hidden as he wanted to remain as hands-off as possible. It was okay, though, since the wait gave Alex plenty of time to think about his approach as he waited for his two trainees to arrive in their PE gear.
That being said, Alex did have something else on his mind, thanks to his earlier conversation with Mirio that day.
'I hope it works out for him.'
It was difficult to give advice on the topic, let alone romance, as it wasn't his strong suit. Hell, Alex had never even had a girlfriend himself. So he wasn't sure that the advice he had given would be helpful for his friend and former rival. Though he admitted that it didn't help that Mirio was going to ask the girl he had once liked as well. As much as it hurt, she had already declined his advances so despite his personal feelings, Alex truly wished Mirio nothing but the best of luck.
'Talk about irony...' Alex thought as he turned his head to see that his two newly made trainees had finally arrived. 'Welp, it's showtime.'
Alex sat up and placed his folders back into his side bag.
The young man had made it a critical point to learn as much as he could about the two, from their quirks and backgrounds to general likes and dislikes. As a former liaison himself, he couldn't deny having a bias towards these two and wanted to help them reach their dreams of making it to the hero course. But before he could train them properly, Alex needed to know them on a more personal level. Knowing how they ticked alongside on how they view and utilize of their quirks would prove invaluable in setting them up for the best methods of training them. At least, that's how he learned from his days as a General Studies student.
'One whole year of Hell.'
Alex had been prepping to condense an entire year-long experience within a span of three weeks; which called for these liaisons to stay after-school in addition to their .
'I hope they're ready because they have no idea what they've signed up for.'
"Hello guys, please take a seat," said Alex as the duo arrive at the table.
"Alright, I don't think we've been properly introduced yet," Alex started with a lighthearted tone as the two trainees took their seats. "So I'll start us off. I'm Alexander Springfield, but you can just call me Alex...or Spring if you prefer because the full versions of my names are mouthfuls. I am hoping that our training together will be fun and educational for the both of you."
"Hitoshi Shinsou."
"Reiko Yanagi."
The three sat there awkwardly for a few moments, following their brief introductions.
'Oh boy, this is going to be a challenge, isn't it? Thankfully, I prepared for something like this...'
Since the two quiet teens, actually reminded him a bit of Eraserhead. Alex knew that he would have to break them out of their shells to get the ball rolling. Now it was only a matter of how he was going to that; thankfully, he had an idea of where to start.
"Okay, now, before we start," Alex continued as he leaned forward. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask to get a better feel of what you want to learn here with me."
"How about we actually get started on our actual training instead, Springfield?" said Hitoshi with a bored sigh and folding arms.
"We know what we want, Springfield. To get stronger and make our way into the hero course," Reiko followed with a blank expression, but her voice carried the tiniest hint of sass. "We have been waiting for quite some time for Mr. Aizawa to start teaching us."
"But we ended up getting you instead," Hitoshi added, looking back towards the main building. "So forgive us if we don't seem to be the most pleased with your introduction and having to stay after school."
Alex maintained his relaxed smile while internally suppressing his growing annoyance.
'Okay...Tough crowd, tough crowd, no matter, no matter...I can work with them...NO, I will work with them the best I can.'
"Guys, I understand your frustrations, really," Alex spoke as calmly as he could, before his eyes went downcast.
"More than you realize...Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am nowhere near as good as a teacher as Mr. Aizawa. But! There is a reason why I was chosen to be your trainer. Just like you guys, I was once a liaison! Hell, I had to become a liaison from the General Studies population before being promoted to the Hero Course. So you two already have an edge!"
"And yet you found a way to screw it all up," Hitoshi countered sharply with a same bored expression.
'Cutting it real close,' Alex thought to himself as he grit his teeth and forced another smile as he ignored the rude comment. "In any case, these questions will help me, help you. So please, the sooner we get it done. The sooner we can start your training."
The two give near-identical sighs of exasperation.
'Never mind, they're more like Aizawa than I first thought...'
"Alright, I'll take that as a 'Yes,'" Alex continued while still keeping up that bitter smile. "So who wants to go first?"
"Me," Hitoshi answered flatly.
"Oh goodie...well very then, Shinsou..." Alex began saying, turning his attention to the mind binder, his face turning slightly more severe. "Why do you want to be a Pro-Hero?"
"Are you seriously asking that?"
Alex's sapphire eyes flashed dangerously as his voice became firm; his patience was starting to wear thin.
"Answer the question."
"The same reason anyone would, I want to help people in my own way."
"I would have to answer the same," Reiko interjected, agreeing with Hitoshi's answer.
Alex leaned back in his seat, seemingly unimpressed.
"That doesn't answer my question, Shinsou."
Hitoshi silently blinked, confused by Alex's response.
"What do you mean? I gave you my answer."
"You want to help people, right? But there are many different ways to "help people,"" Alex explained with air quotes. "This includes several different career paths that would let you "help people" that doesn't involve being a Pro-Hero."
Alex leaning in forward with a stern face.
"So I ask again...why do YOU want to be a PRO-HERO? This is important."
Hitoshi looked away with a grimace to collect his thoughts, uncomfortable with Alex's piecing stare that seemed try burrowing into his soul. His middle-school years quickly came to mind with the hushed comments often said about his quirk at a distance.
How he was born with the perfect Quirk for a villain.
"I want to prove that someone with a villainous quirk like mine can be a hero." Hitoshi answered honestly, while Reiko nodded along with approval.
"Pathetic," Alex said flatly as his expression turned to disappointment, catching both liaisons off guard. "What a selfish and pathetic reason."
Hitoshi not being to tolerate the American's response finally had enough as he suddenly rose from his seat.
"And who the hell are you to judge?! You don't know what it's like to have people walk on eggshells when they discover that I have a quirk that lets me take over their bodies. To be called the perfect villain, unlike you! You were lucky to be born with a heroic quirk!"
The look that Alex gave the young mind binder instantly chilled him to the bone.
"A heroic quirk, eh?"
In an instant, Alex disappeared in a blue flash, appearing behind the indigo-haired teen and grabbing him in a vicious headlock while swiftly covering Hitoshi's mouth with his free hand. Reiko instantly got up to try and help her companion, only for Alex to knock her away to the floor with a flat kick to the stomach.
"What's a Villain, Shinsou? What's a Hero, Shinsou?" Alex asked with a cruel look on his face, his voice growling as he began doing a closer examination of the boy.
'No muscle, skinny...no technique...' Alex was surprised by his findings. 'Nothing...compared to most of the boys from Classes 1-A and 1-B...He might as well be a twig...'
"You'd be surprised just how thin the line between the two could be," Alex continued as he placed additional pressure on Hitoshi's neck. "After all, my so-called "heroic" quirk ended a life during the USJ invasion."
"I've already killed someone Shinsou," Alex's grip became firmer. "I did it to save one of my juniors who was about to be killed by an A-rank villain. And what was my reward? I was humiliated and stripped of the career path after I had worked my ass off to get here!"
Hitoshi's heart pounded hard into his ears as he felt himself starting to blackout. At least until Alex eased some pressure from his neck, allowing him to get some much-needed air.
"And you know what?! If I had to make the same choice all over again, knowing where I would end up, I would do it all over again," Alex continued to eased his grip on the boy while firmly holding on to him. "Because in the end, a proper hero should always put others before themselves while on duty."
Hitoshi froze, from what he had seen from Alex mainly had been based on the Battle Trials and seeing him on TV. He seemed like the type of hero he typically disliked. The showboating type who would prioritize their own ego over doing actual hero work... so he hadn't expected anything like this.
Alex turned to Reiko, struggling to get up, coughing hard as she clutched her stomach.
"Yanagi, did you experience similar treatment like Shinsou here? Did people judge you from your Quirk?"
"The name...of my Quirk, along with my appearance...often made...people more...skittish around me," Reiko managed to answer between large breaths, yet the look on her face told Alex that she clearly thinking about what he had said to them.
"Despite it being basically an advanced form of telekinesis, huh?"
Reiko nodded slowly in response.
Alex returned his attention back to Hitoshi as he wasn't finished with him. It was time to address his biggest flaw. With ease, Alex used his natural speed and strength to pivot and threw Hitoshi overhead right next to Reiko.
"Shinsou, what type of training did you do to prepare for the practical entrance exam? And don't you dare use your quirk on me," Alex demanded, looking down on the two with folded arms.
Hitoshi looked up blankly at his trainer with a groan while Reiko moved to help sit him up.
"There was no way to know that we would be going up against robots!" Hitoshi managed to yell out between breaths. "My quirk is useless against them!"
"Was that an excuse not to do some strength training to help your skinny frame?" Alex instantly countered, not buying the boy's excuse. "Did you expect to get by using your Quirk alone? Okay, add arrogance to mix alongside being selfish and pathetic!"
"That isn't fair, Springfield!" This time it was Reiko's turn to snap up."How could we have known how to fight an unknown enemy?"
"Because life isn't fair..." Alex answered without skipping a beat while his voice returned to a calmer tone. "Because when you're a Pro-Hero, you never know just what kind of villain or crisis you might run into every day while on the job."
"If you want an example, look no further than the USJ itself. It was supposed to be a simple training day. Only to turn into a living nightmare for everyone involved. When villains of all shapes and sizes appeared, some of which I know for a fact would be completely immune to both your quirks. How would you have dealt with that, eh?!"
The two couldn't find an answer under Alex's piercing and unblinking gaze.
"I won't lie that the exam favors certain types of quirks. Ones with some real oomph behind them. But even so, there were other ways you could have still passed the exam. For example, did you know those robots had built-in weaknesses that you could have exploited? Or you could have stepped in to help others in need which would have netted you rescue points?"
Alex sighed as he allowed his arms to slack to his sides, his face turning somber.
"Because sometimes...even the best heroes have to improvise and adapt to overcome situations, including working with others that you may have a low opinion of..."
As Alex finished up as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. The two liaisons looked at each other, not knowing what else to expect until Alex walked up. Quietly, he knelt down to their level and showed them a picture on the screen.
It was of him two years ago when he was noticeably heavier than he was now.
"Remember what I said at the beginning of this? That I understand your frustrations? I want you to understand that I didn't just mean it as me saying that I was a former liaison," Alex spoke with a gentler expression and tone with his confession. "But because I, too, had to learn from the same mistakes you two committed."
"I once had a very selfish reason for wanting to be a Pro, and..." Alex cleared his throat with some embarrassment. "You can clearly see that I once had a body unsuited to help anyone. Because I was arrogant to believe that my Quirk would be enough to get into UA alone."
Alex let out a bittersweet chuckle.
"A delusion that was shattered when I got here, but as you said, Shinsou...I managed to screw it all up."
Hitoshi looked away, guilt now gnawing at him for his insensitive comment. Only to feel a gentle hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Alex looking at the two of them.
"And that's why I am here...to teach you everything I learned to give you a head start. I want to see you kick ass and make sure neither of you never repeat my fuck ups."
Neither of the two liaisons could say anything else in response as they finally understood why he had been asked to help them train. His personality might have been vastly different from theirs. But his experiences were aligned with their own. Finally, when the trio was back on their feet, Hitoshi bowed first, with Reiko quickly doing the same.
"I'm sorry." The two said in unison.
"I don't want your apologies, guys," said Alex with a nervous laugh and a kinder face. "I just wanted you to get into the right mindset for the training."
"Now!" Alex continued, spreading his arms out wide. "Come here for a group hug!"
"No." The two liaisons said flatly together, with mild looks of amusement.
Alex threw his head back in laughter.
"Aww...Oh well, no matter, we got three weeks. I'll be getting that hug before we finish up sooner or later."
"Yeah, no, not happening, Spring," Hitoshi responded with the tiniest smile.
"Not in a million years, Spring," Reiko added with a ghost of a smile.
The responses only made Alex's smile grow wider.
"So you say!" Alex started up as he turned around and invited them to the field. "Now that we got that out of the way. Let's begin the training from Hell."
Hitoshi and Reiko looked at each other. He shook his head and gave her a knowing smirk. Her response was an awkward smile with a hint of a laugh; after an introduction like that. Hell seemed an appropriate way to describe it. The two began walking with renewed confidence in their future as possible Hero Course students.
Eraserhead lay nearby, still wrapped up in his sleeping bag and with a rare smile on his face.
"Good work, Springfield."
/
An hour later, in the Nurse's Office.
"Good lord boy!" The old lady chastised the foreign trainer as she treated the bruised and unconscious Liaisons. "I know Aizawa said to give them hell, but they're not going to learn like that!"
"I'm sorry, Recovery Girl!" Alex pleaded, remaining on his knees with his head to the ground in repentance while nervously sweating.
"But now that I know their current limits. It should be much easier next ti—OW!" Alex tried to explain before the old woman gave him a solid wack on his head with her cane.
"You better! Or no amount of luck will save you from me!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Mirio sat there outside as the afternoon light became the twilight of dusk.
A lot was running through his mind at the moment. It was his last year at UA, in addition to being the leader in the UA third year rankings and leader of The Big Five, so there was always something or other going through his head in some way, shape, or form. From his work studies to his future possible partners in the business, and finally to his grades.
However, all of that changed in a single day as so much had happened despite still being so new into the school year. From helping train some very talented first-years to repelling a villain attack on a massive scale within the halls of UA itself. He had fought alongside those same first-year students. The third years in The Big Five had all had their own brushes with death since gaining their provisional licenses.
Yet, this incident seemed like the closest they had ever come to dying. And that can make anyone stop to think about life when the dust finally settles. This, in turn, brought back some old feelings he had had for quite some time, feelings he had thought that he had buried deep within himself for well over a year. Feelings for his fellow teammate and best female friend, Nejire Hadou.
It was almost laughable.
Nejire was considered to be one of the most beautiful girls at UA, bar none. Yet that was all that seemed to be talked about when it came to her by the general population. Yes, Nejire was extremely beautiful, but she was also incredibly talented, resourceful, and actually quite intelligent when it comes down to it. Yet, none of it ever went to her head. Her bubbly nature kept her in check, always keeping her grounded. It was no wonder why many wanted her as a romantic partner–even among some of the ladies.
So the competition was stiff, to say the least.
Mirio sighed as he looked at the time displayed on his phone's screensaver. He had worked very hard to get where he was in life with countless hours of training with his quirk with various teachers, mentors, and even fellow students. He wasn't the best when it came to his grades, only being above-average when compared to the rest of his teammates.
The young man once felt like he should have saved the romance until getting his career established after finishing school. He had been afraid of letting these feelings interfere with his career here at UA. It was something that Nejire seemed to believe in as well, given that every confession or request for a date was shot down by her without batting an eye. After thinking about it repeatedly and considering everything, he decided to confess to her today.
Even if she rejected him too, he at least wanted to let his feelings be known. Earlier today, he had asked one of those previously rejected suitors...who happened to be the only one he trusted for some encouraging words of advice when it came to situations like this.
"Dude...just be yourself." He remembered Alex saying that when he visited him in the faculty lounge earlier that day, having been busy reading the files on his new trainees. "It's cheesy as hell to say that, I know, but if she likes you, then she likes you for being you. Simple as that, she didn't like me in that way, and I accepted that...then again, I was riding a high from when I got the then good news, so I wasn't thinking too hard at the moment I asked her."
"Are you sure that you're okay with it, though?" He remembered asking back.
Alex had been repeatedly screwed over this past month. The last thing Mirio wanted to do was rub salt on his wounds on the off chance he was somehow successful. Yet to his surprise, Alex turned out to be far more encouraging than he had originally expected.
"Come on, man, I just said I accepted that she didn't like me in that way! Besides, I'm not going to be hung up over it since I'm leaving next month, so it wouldn't really matter. I'm not one for long-distance relationships, so even if I had somehow gotten the chance, I'd most likely have broken it off by now. So I don't want you to feel guilty over me because I don't matter in this equation. All that matters to me at this moment is you guys. I want you to be happy, and I want her to be happy, because both of you are dear friends who helped me get where I am today, alright?"
"Alright...thank you, Alex."
"No problem...oh, if I can add one last thing, Mirio?"
"What is it?"
"I ship it."
"Mirio!"
The blond boy was snapped out of his thoughts as he finally heard the voice he had been waiting for. Mirio turned his head to wave at bluenette as the sun shined right behind her, giving her an almost ethereal glow. She smiled at him walking forward with a slight lean.
"I finally found you! Have you been waiting long? I'm sorry about that; Yuyu held me up longer than I thought..." Nejire began saying and continued to speak, asking several questions and, in some cases, answering them herself.
Mirio simply chuckled under his breath as the girl continued to speak. He knew that he would be unable to get a word in until he got the opening which would be any second now. Once you knew Nejire long enough, you knew that she would eventually need to stop for a breath.
"But the cat was really, really cute! So anyway, now I'm here, so what did you want to talk about?" Nejire finished up as she stood next to Mirio with hands behind her and took a rather large, albeit silent breath.
Mirio stood up from his seat to look Nejire in the eyes; she leaned back a bit while looking upward at him.
"Wow, I keep forgetting just how tall you are, Mirio!"Nejire observed with a giggle.
Mirio smiled; she really knew how to ease his nerves even without realizing it.
"Thanks for coming here; I really appreciate you coming here like I asked."
"No problem! I'm just happy that I caught up before it got too late."
Mirio hummed in response, it was now or never; he couldn't back out now.
"Hey...Nejire," Mirio started off by surprising her with her given name. The firmness in his voice alone was enough to catch her off guard; Nejire knew now that this was a little more serious than she initially thought. She remained silent, knowing now was not the time for her regular routine.
"For the last two-plus years, you've been a great friend to me and Tamaki. From training to studying and everything in between. And in that time...I...I grew to have feelings for you."
Nejire's eyes grew wide as she realized what this was, Mirio was confessing to her.
"And at first," The blond lad continued, undeterred by her expression.
"I simply thought it was a simple crush and nothing more, but it only grew and grew with time," Mirio let out a tired sigh. "Until finally, it all came to a head last week, when we all got another taste of reality. So I just couldn't go another day without letting you know. Nejire Hadou, I like you much more than a friend, so I would like to ask...you will please be my girlfriend?"
Nejire looked down; eyes were hidden under her hair. She was speechless; she had heard numerous confessions before in her years here at UA, often by people she barely knew. Few of her possible suitors ever spoke to her with such passion, and even fewer spoke with such earnestly.
Yet she had rejected all of them.
Because none of them had come from the one person, she had wanted to hear those words from...until today. Nejire had sincerely thought that her feelings had been one-sided, which is why she had never brought it up, yet in the end, as luck would have it, her feelings were mutual. Part of her always thought she would simply let out her feelings for him one day.
Now that this was happening, she didn't want her chance to slip. Mirio had always been so sweet and kind, confident and brave. And while not the most brilliant guy in the world, with a strange sense of humor that she frankly just found endearing. Mirio was and had always been Mirio, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
The blond boy stood there with the same passionate expression on his face; while on the inside, he was scared out of his mind.
'Oh no...did I mess it up?' Mirio doing his best not to panic, after all, Nejire was pretty quick to whip out a rejection without hesitation.
'Maybe I came on too strong...I should just apologize, an-' His thoughts were cut off as Nejire suddenly embraced the tall blond boy.
"I thought that I would never hear those words from you," Nejire said just loudly enough to hear, making his heart race with excitement. "And I'm so happy that I finally did."
"Nejire, does this mean?"
"I've liked you too, for a very long time. I just thought my feelings weren't shared by you, and I didn't want to get in your way."
Mirio chuckled as he returned her embrace; at last, it looked like they had more in common than he initially thought. The two simply stood there in that warm embrace until Nejire finally gave him the answer he had waited for.
"Mirio," said Nejire, looking up at him."Yes, I would like to be your girlfriend."
Mirio's face blew up into a shining grin, only for Nejire to grab his face and plant her lips on his. The two shared that quiet moment alone and out of sight.
Or so they thought.
Snap! Click!
"Oooh, how scandalous!" A voice said to herself quietly from a fair distance away, hiding in the brush as she continued to take pictures of the newly formed couple. "Now this is a scoop of the year Nejire Hadou finally nabs a boy after rejecting an army of suitors! No, no, that's a shit title...no matter, no matter, it's all a work in progress! All of the seniors in the Journalism Club will flip their shit at this!"
Once the happy couple left the scene, the young girl hopped out of her hiding place. She was of average height with flaming red hair. Her only real feature of note was a stylish heart-shaped black and brass eye patch that hid her right eye. She was Class 1-B Business Course Liaison Kiyoko Mikami, and she was planning to make a name for herself here at school. As the best upcoming journalist in the business.
"Can't wait to develop these jaw-dropping pics!" Kiyoko said to herself with an excited grin as turning around to head over to the journalism club, only to bump face first into someone. "Hey, what gives! Oh crap..."
Right in front of her, clad in trainer's gear and with a fresh bandage on his forehead, was Alexander Springfield with his arms folded, carrying a stern expression. He had just gotten out of the nurse's office to clean up some of the remaining gear he had left behind on the field after training. Only to notice the redhead sneaking around the area with that camera.
"Yeah, no...that ain't happening on my watch."
Author's Commentary
This was one of the more interesting chapters to not only write, but also re-edit considering that that the ending of this chapter was once an Omake III that I decided to integrate into the chapter directly.
Mirio x Nejire wasn't a ship that was part of my original plans. (I've always been a bit more fond of Tamaki x Nejire, but for the purposes of this story, Mirio x Nejire actually might be more appropriate from a thematic sense.)
(If I'm being honest I haven't thought much about ships for the older students until this one became a thing.)
This ship was done at the request of a contest I held for the very first cryptogram challenge.
(This is also the reason I no longer do said prizes because it was a right pain in the ass to write this ship since I had done no set-up.)
It's also the reason why I added a couple of hints of foreshadowing this ship in the remastered version so try and make it a little more natural.
Plus, Wingman Alex is best wingman.
ZX