Will there ever be an end?
Unlikely. If there is, it won't be for us to know.
What will come after?
If all goes according to plan? Nothing.
And if it doesn't?
We won't have any way of knowing.
He loved this view of her.
His fingers gently brushed over her cheek, delicately pushing a few rogue strands of hair back behind her ear.
She was still asleep, her breathing calm and relaxed, deep and slow.
Her short, shoulder length mane of silky blond hair sprawled across the pillow, her head shifting as she gently nuzzled into his warm chest.
Ajax was laid on his side, head propped up on his arm, simply staring down at her.
His face held the same look it had since she had arrived the night before, a near imperceptible smile. One that held affection, love, even adoration.
He'd completely fallen in love with this girl. How it happened, hell, even he wasn't sure, but he would never deny that it had.
She mumbled in her sleep, nuzzling deeper into him.
It was stupid, he was well aware, but he'd probably reduce all of existence to ash if it meant she got to remain just like she was, blissfully at peace.
He was a romantic like that.
He craned his neck down, gently pressing his lips against her forehead in a soft kiss, drawing a content hum from her throat as her hand clutched the blanket to her chest, body cuddled up against his.
It was one of his favorite sounds.
His gaze rose, eyes wandering out the side of the parking structure they called home. The sun was rising, the sky slowly brightening.
He sighed, and reached a hand down, gently cupping the girl's cheek. "Time to wake up, Himi." He whispered in her ear softly, smiling at her adorable whine and wiggle. "The sun's rising, and we have to rise with it."
She whimpered sadly, eyes clenching to stay closed, head nuzzling harder against his chest, trying to hide her face. "Make it go back down…" She whined out, making him chuckle.
"I wish I could, but not even I'm that perfect, Toga. Come on now." He said gently, leaning back and looking down at her face, met with her squinted golden eyes.
"Yes you are." She mumbled stubbornly, leaning up and kissing his cheek, before rolling her way out of the bed with a stretch, taking the blanket with her.
Ajax could only chuckle and stand up behind her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist, his head leaning down, chin on her shoulder, watching the glowing sunrise along the skyline before them.
They stood still and silent, basking in the rising light, before it grew enough to hurt their eyes, making them turn away.
"What should we do today?" He wondered aloud as he pulled a shirt over his head, running a hand through his now shorter, and even spiker hair.
Toga hummed, dropping the blanket back on the bed as she turned on her phone. "Something….exciting." She said, flashing him a grin, making him smile.
His hand held the mug close to his mouth, feeling the heat rising from the brown liquid within, eyes staring blankly down at the numerous papers laid out before him.
His coffee wasn't strong enough, Shota decided, letting a sigh fall from his lips.
"That bad?" A teasing voice came from over his shoulder.
"Something you need, Nemuri?" He asked, deflecting her teasing with practiced ease.
The R-rated Hero simply giggled and walked beside him, finding a desk of her own to sit at. "Just wanted to let you know Nezu asked to talk with you whenever you have a chance."
…..His coffee was nowhere near strong enough.
'At least it's a break from the paperwork.' He decided, quickly finishing his mug of coffee, and making his way down the hall.
Conversations with Nezu were always….interesting, for lack of a better word.
You could never tell quite what he was thinking, or where the conversation was going to go, but in the end, you usually learned something that you felt stupid for not knowing beforehand.
He hated it.
Taking a deep breath, he gave a knock to the door before opening it. "You asked to see me, Sir?" Shota asked, looking at the small white being, sat at the desk in the middle of the room.
"I did indeed Shota. Come in, come in." The principal said, his voice ever cheerful, waving one of his small paws to the chair sat opposite his desk, which the pro hero quickly took, relaxing into the seat with a soft sigh. "I've been reviewing the report for your last operation. Quite an interesting one."
"You could say that." Aizawa grumbled rubbing a hand on his chin. The bruises from the few hits that the drug dealer had managed to land on him had almost finished fading already.
"Yes, well done, though I must say, this young man you mention has caught my intrigue." Nezu stated, tapping at the page as he read it. "Have you managed to find out anything more than what you wrote here?"
"Only a few things. Ajax Kaizen, sixteen, born in Naruhata, Tokyo. Mother was Aviva Kaizen, killed in the Naruhata Mall incident nine years ago. Father unknown. Bounced around in the foster system for a little while, disappeared from the last group home he was placed in almost eight years ago. There were some medical files, but I couldn't gain access to them." Shota reported, eyes wandering out the window as he did.
"How curious. Let's see if I can." The principal said, with a town of what the pro hero could only assume was excitement, pulling the smaller than normal keyboard towards him, typing away. "You recovered a firearm from his possession, yes? How did he seem with it?"
"Hm?" Aizawa hummed, confused at the question for a moment, before understanding what Nezu was asking. "Calm. Relaxed. Confident. He had the perfect grip, handled it professionally, treated it with care, respecting the power he was holding." He answered, rubbing his chin in thought.
"So he has experience with firearms it seems." Nezu summarized, getting a nod from the hero, before he let out a small noise, giving the computer his full attention for a few moments.
"Everything alright?" Shota asked with a raised eyebrow, looking towards the principal with curiosity.
He didn't receive an answer for a moment.
"How did he act, Shota?"
Now came even more confusion. "Act? Calm. Annoyed. Irritated. Kept trying to end the conversation and get me to go away."
Nezu hummed, his paw rubbing at his chin. "He showed emotion, is what you're saying."
"Simply put, yeah. Why does that matter?" Aizawa asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Because according to this, he shouldn't be able to." The principal clarified, turning the monitor of the computer towards the man, allowing him to look over the medical files belonging to the subject of their discussion. "His quirk is recorded as an internal mutation type, Devoid. It has mutated his brain to be unable to feel just about anything."
The man's eyes quickly read over the files in silence, his frown deepening. "Are you saying his quirk was wrongly recorded?" He asked, eyes still darting through the digital text.
"That is one possibility. Another is that these doctors were lazy and used this as an excuse to close his patient file." Nezu responded, his furred hands clasping in front of his face.
Aizawa hummed deeply, the frown in his face showing his thoughts on the possible professional incompetence, before his gaze turned towards his boss. "You don't think either of those are the case, do you?" He asked, his experience with the principal telling him there was something else that had the little genius's mind at work.
"I do not. One of the doctors on this file. I know him, personally. He is not one to stand for such an act of incompetence. He would have verified this as thoroughly as he could have at the time." Nezu responded, standing on his desk, pointing at one of the names on the digital file.
"Do you just think he got wrong then? It sounds like this diagnosis would be pretty hard to prove." Shota conceded, his frown lightening.
"It's a possibility, but I don't believe so. In fact, I believe that at the time this data was recorded and this file closed, all of the information was technically accurate." Nezu answered cryptically, a smile on his face.
It took Aizawa a moment to process what he meant, but the principal was quickly met with a stare once he had. "You're suggesting this boy's quirk has changed? Undergone an awakening? From what?"
"Not an awakening, but changed, yes, or perhaps this was something caused by the quirk, a byproduct if you will, that is no longer an issue." Nezu clarified, sipping a small cup of tea he had seemingly pulled out of thin air.
Aizawa stared at the principal for a long moment, before letting out a deep sigh and rubbing at his exhausted eyes. "In other words, we have no idea what this homeless teenager's quirk is, and that intrigues you."
"Quite!" His boss responded with excitement, and another sip from his cup.
"How would we even go about finding out?" Shota asked, knowing he was going to hate the answer he got.
"Why, we go ask him, of course!"
The weather wasn't too bad today.
There was a light breeze, he noticed as he walked through the streets, enough to lightly tousle his fluffy dark green hair, which meant it would be even better along the beach, right in front of the water.
All in all, Izuku Midoriya thought today was going to be a good day.
December was almost over. He had a little over four months left, but he was determined. He would get the beach cleaned, and he would make All Might proud, proud to call the boy his successor.
His feet carried him along, hopping on to the walking path that led down to the beach. He'd walked this path almost every day for months, his body knew it without even thinking.
"Young Midoriya!" An all too familiar voice called out to him, making him freeze in his steps, turning towards the parking lot he was passing on the path.
There stood his hero. No one could tell, the stick of a man with blue eyes looked quite plain as he was now, in baggy clothes, waving at the boy, but he was the greatest hero the world had yet to see.
This was Toshinori Yagi, or as he was better known, All Might.
"Sensei!" Izuku responded energetically, waving back as the man made his way onto the walking path, joining the boy in his journey. "You didn't say you were coming today."
The older man chuckled softly. "No, I hadn't, but today seemed like a nice day to come and check on your progress, see how the training plan was going." Toshinori said, patting the boy's shoulder gently as they continued walking, the beach coming into view.
It wasn't the prettiest sight, trash still covered a good bit of it, but there were paths through it, and the shore was almost spotless.
"Well done my boy! This is amazing progress, both for you, and this community! Look, there are even some people enjoying the fruits of your labor as we speak!" The man said, his form exploding into its muscled state in excitement, but quickly deflating before it caught any attention to point at two people who seemed to be on the shore.
Izuku's eyes followed his direction, eyes scanning over the couple from a distance, his cheeks dusting red a few moments later when the information from his eyes reached his braIn.
On the shore, upon a towel, sat a teenage boy with black and white hair, spiky, in random patterns. It didn't look wet, so he likely hadn't been in the water much. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of red and white swimming trunks, showing a lithe form, not muscled but toned, with a few scars along his skin, some looking simple, others pretty nasty.
Running through the crashing waves, laughing quite cheerily, was a girl. A very pretty one at that. She had blond hair, tied in messy buns with strands hanging everywhere, water dripping from them.
She was wearing a bikini. A nice one. Black with silver designs on it, the dark contrasting her pale skin. It looked a little small on her, the way the top showed a significant amount of chest, from both the side and the center, not to mention how nicely the bottoms hugged her hips, showcasing the curve of her bubbly-
He should really stop staring.
"Young Izuku? Are you alright?" The deep voice came, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts, his cheeks burning red as his head snapped towards his mentor.
"Y-Yes! I'm fine! Let's get to work!" The boy stuttered, quickly sprinting to the pile of trash he'd been working on last, embarrassed at the direction his mind had wandered concerning a complete stranger.
Toshinori stood still for a moment, watching the boy get farther away, before letting out a chuckle. "Well, at least he's eager." He muttered, before following the path along the sand the boy had taken.
She loved the water.
Her favorite was probably the rain. She could run through it, spinning as she went, feeling it falling on her, soaking her, and flying off of her as she moved.
It was so much fun.
The ocean was a close second. Feeling the waves crash against her legs, her body shivering with a slight chill as the ocean breeze cooled her soaked form, making her giggle.
She even got to wear the newest bikini she stole! Today was the best!
Her feet stopped running, planting in place, staring out at the water, and taking a deep breath of the salty air.
Toga spun around, lips curled in a wide smile as she looked at the boy on the shore. He was calm, relaxed, eyes almost closed, but still watching her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
She skipped along the sand towards him, stopping a few feet away. "Ajax! This is the best!"
His smile grew, and he nodded. "A day of relaxing, watching you have fun? It really is." He said, watching as her attention shifted, from looking at him to looking behind him. "What caught your eye?" He asked, knowing that look.
"Something...delectable. Sweet, I think." She mumbled, her golden eyes locking onto the form of a boy with quite fluffy looking hair, who was carrying some trash off of the beach, before coming back to get more.
She raised her arm, waving excitedly at him, making his steps falter. He turned towards her, and waved back shyly, rubbing his head sheepishly.
"Adorable." She whispered, her grin wide, only making Ajax more interested.
"Thirsty?" He asked in a knowing tone, his eyes following the way her tongue licked her lips.
"Parched." She agreed, her eyes still locked on the boy cleaning the beach.
Ajax stood, gently grabbing her chin to break her focus, locking eyes with her. "Then let's go say hello, and we'll quench your thirst."
Izuku panted, putting down an old microwave. It was a lot heavier than he expected, but at least the current pile he was working on was nearly done, and All Might had seen the fruits of his labor. Another few days of work, this section of the beach would be almost completely clean.
He even got to wave at that cute girl! Sure he probably looked like a sweaty dork, but he at least managed to wave back!
He trudged through the sand, making his way back to the trash pile he was working on. The sun was still pretty high in the sky, it couldn't be later than early afternoon. He was right this morning, today was a good day, he thought as he rounded the corner, and froze.
"He's working on all this by himself? Aw, what a little hero~" A soft, giggly voice came from the blonde girl he'd waved at, who was now standing by the pile of trash he was working away at.
"Determined, I'll give him that. There used to be a lot more trash on this beach, if he's been the one cleaning it, he's doing some pretty hard work." A deeper, calm voice came from the boy beside her, the one Izuku had seen sitting on the beach earlier.
Izuku saw the boy tense, and his fingers twitch, before his head turned to look over his shoulder, steely grey eyes locking with his own. The fourteen year old couldn't bring himself to say anything, just kept staring in the tense silence, until it was broken by the older teenager.
"Some pretty heroic work you're doing here kid."
It almost startled Izuku, being talked to directly. "O-Oh, thank you. I'm just t-trying to help the community I guess, plus it doubles a-as a pretty good workout, so it's like k-killing two birds with one stone…." The boy said, mumbling a bit towards the end, realizing he was quickly going into a rant, but stopped by a soft, melodic giggle.
"You are just adorable." The girl's soft voice came again, her eyes locked onto him now, making him freeze up. She skipped towards him, leaning forward, her face getting very close to his. "Aw, cute freckles too. What's your name, freckles?"
Izuku stammered, tongue tied, taking a moment to get the few words out. "I-I'm Izuku M-Midoriya!" He stuttered with a bright red face, drawing more giggles from the girl, and a nod from the boy.
"Nice to meet you Izu!" She responded cheerily, making the older boy chuckle.
"Ajax Kaizen. She's Himiko Toga. Thank you, for your community service." The boy introduced them, offering the teenager his hand to shake, which he did slowly. "You're using this for a workout, you said?" Ajax asked, sounding interested.
Izuku nodded, pointing to the trash pile they were in front of. "Y-Yeah, I try to completely clean at least one stack a day. Divide it all up, and t-take it to somewhere it can properly be disposed of. I-It's a good workout, I'm t-trying to prepare for the U.A. Hero entry exams in April." He said, mumbling shyly at the end.
"Impressive!" Toga exclaimed, giving small claps for him with a grin. "You must be working really hard to get into a place like that!" She complimented him, making his face turn an even deeper shade of red.
"Aiming to become a hero….a noble goal, if done for the right reasons." Ajax said, staring at Izuku intently, making him sweat just a little.
"T-The right reasons?" The green haired boy inquired, making the older one hum and turn, eyes gazing over the piles of trash.
"Two people can do the same thing for different reasons." Ajax stated, getting a nod from the younger boy. "Some people want to become hero's for the glory. The fame it will bring. Some for the power. The status they'll have compared to normal people. Others, for the freedom it will bring. The ability to freely use their quirks."
Izuku stared, almost enraptured by the calm explanation the teen was giving.
"So, what's your reason, Freckles?" Toga asked, leaning in close to him again.
The boy looked to the side, avoiding their gaze shyly. "I-I want to be a hero to help people. To put a smile on their faces." He said shyly, scratching at his cheek in a nervous tick.
There was a moment of silence, before Ajax began walking, passing by Izuku, giving the shorter boy a gentle pat on the head as he went.
"Then you have a good reason. Give it your all." The checkered haired teen said, walking towards the path off the beach.
"See you around Freckles!" Toga added cheerfully, skipping after him.
Izuku stood stunned for a moment, a bit of red dusting his cheeks, before it turned back to his current pile of trash, a determined smile on his face as he got back to work.
Ajax walked, eyes watching Toga as she skipped along beside him.
"He was so cute!" She squealed, looking back at him as they walked. "He'll be the best little hero!"
He chuckled, nodding his head in agreement, a small smile on his face. "Something tells me he'll be more than just that." He said, glancing up to the sky, before looking back to her.
Toga had stopped skipping, looking at him with a face he knew well. Her hands were held together, fidgeting just a bit. Her lips parted, just enough for her tongue to run over her canines.
She was parched, dying for a drink, but doing her best to keep it under control. To stay calm. Like he had taught her.
Ajax couldn't be more proud.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, gently pulling her a few steps down the sidewalk, and into an alleyway covered in shade.
All she had time to let out was a squeak of surprise, before his lips captured her own, in a slow, tender kiss.
Her amber eyes drifted closed, leaning into his embrace, melting into the kiss. Her arms lifted, wrapping around his neck, her bikini-clad body pressing against his shirtless form.
The kiss held for a moment, before he gently pulled back, leaving her panting with a smile.
"W-What was that for?" Toga asked, looking up at him with half lidded eyes as she caught her breath.
"For being a good girl, and having patience." Ajax said, gently rubbing her cheek, before he leaned his head to the side, exposing his scarred neck to her. "Go on, Himi. Get your fill."
Her eyes widened, locking onto his pale, scarred flesh, before his words registered in her head, and she stopped holding back.
She pounced forward, her head diving into the crook of his neck, her sharp teeth sinking into his rough skin, quickly swallowing down the mouthful of crimson liquid she's rewarded with.
A pleased hum vibrates her throat as she continues drinking, her body relaxing into him as he holds her, smiling down at her.
Ajax closed his eyes, holding her hips gently, letting her drink to her heart's content.
The cracked concrete crunched beneath his boots as he walked down the street, stretching his shoulder, unused to the extra weight.
"My apologies Shota."
"It's fine." Aizawa replied, turning at the next corner. "It's faster, and safer. Wouldn't want you to get cut by god knows what is on the ground around here." He said to Nezu, who sat comfortably upon his shoulder.
The furred being nodded, looking around. "You bring up a fair point. This is really the area he resides within?"
"Yeah, just up ahead. Parking garage turned into a campsite, from what I saw." The hero confirmed, walking towards the aforementioned structure in the distance.
The sun had begun setting some time ago, almost cresting the horizon by now. Some street lights flickered, the ones that actually worked managing to provide a decent degree of illumination to the desolate streets.
The pro hero continued on his path, turning once more before the parking structure came into view.
"This is it." Shota said, helping Nezu hop down off his shoulder.
"In we go then!" The smaller being said, strolling inside the concrete building, making his way to the ascension ramp with the pro hero in tow. "Lets try to knock and get off on a good foot, shall we?"
Hello, hello, hello!
Welcome back everyone! Glad you could make it!
Hope you enjoyed this installment! Personally, I think this chapter came out as perfect as possible.
I tried to give it a different feeling compared to the first.
The first chapter focused on the start of Ajax's journey, and where he is now.
I wanted this chapter to give a small glimpse into where that now is. A glance into the world around him. The people that interact with him.
First, Toga! I made it a bit obvious at the end of the first chapter, but she'll be quite the large part of this story. Ajax and Toga are quite heavily connected, they've been through a lot together, and don't worry, you'll be sure to find some of that out soon.
Next, Izuku! I didn't think I would write him in so soon, if I'm being honest. I considered giving a small glance at him here or there, but not much more until we've entered UA proper. Instead….well, you've seen what happened instead! My hands kept going, and the story created it's own path. Tell me what you think of it! Any and all reviews are welcomed!
Lastly, Nezu and Aizawa! They-...well, actually, I don't think I'm going to dive into that just yet. I think I'll leave that for after the next interaction, so you'll have to come back and read it then!
Either way, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come and read this wonderful little creation of mine! I hope you enjoyed, please feel free to leave any parting words on your way out, and come back soon for more if you like!
With that, it seems our adventure for the day has ended. It's been a pleasure having you, and have a good one!
Cya later!
TheInfiniteWolf, signing off!