Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy :)
wellingtonlucas282 - Thanks so much as always. Hope you like the next chapter.
djinn - Thank you. Nighteye is certainly a tough character to write, so I'm glad I was able to do him justice. I think I mentioned this in the chapter itself, but I always thought Aizawa and Nighteye had the same type of personalities (despite their conflicting appearances), but I remember in one issue Mirio said that Nighteye smiled and laughed regularly so it would be interesting to expand on that in this story. Thanks as always.
Neo Infinity - No problem, glad that you enjoyed it. In terms of Lewis' quirk and the physics behind it, I think that his quirk is much more plausible then a lot of quirks already in cannon, so I'm not too bothered about accuracy. Bubble Girl is also one of my favourites and that theory is really interesting. I may need to bring that up in this story. Momo's quirk theory is just as amazing, she can be almost considered OP. Thanks for reading.
Anonymous - Thank you so much. You're too kind. I love what parts you liked the best and I'm so glad why you liked them. I'm especially glad you like the character interactions as they are probably the hardest to get right. In this chapter, Lewis will fight with Iida, Midoryia, Todoroki against Stain and then, in the chapters after, I will write the other things Lewis has to do at his Work Study. Especially, his part in the scouting mission Nighteye will send him on. I guess he can shift his density, but in only one direction. I doubt Lewis would be thrilled if somebody crashed a car into him ha ha. Thank you for all the support and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
MBS41 - Thanks so much. I do love my character development and it would seem Lewis' confidence is growing with his quirk. I hope you'll like this chapter.
Guest - Thanks and don't worry, I'm not stopping this story any time soon.
Lelouch of Zero - Pony is too cute, I have to remember to include her and the other Class 1B members in the future. Sorry about Ryukyu, but he will definitely meet her or intern at her agency (unless Mirko had already taken him). Nighteye's theory is certainly great and I do have one idea why Lewis can't teleport without being observed. However, I think Lewis will learn the reason why just when the Work Study ends. Thanks for reading.
Blaze1992 - Ha ha, I had almost forgot the Tickle Hell controversy. That was such a mess. Not as bad as the Nejire's breast controversy in the anime, though.
Nitro - Thanks so much. We will see the effects of his fading in this chapter. I had to look up what you meant by experiments changing depending if they are being observed or not and I had no idea that was a thing (I'm more of a historian so quantum physics is my natural enemy). I definitely look into it, because that's quite a fascinating concept. Thanks for pointing it out and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Guest - Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it. Bubble Girl is one of my favourites so I have to include her more in the future. It was also fun to expand on characters like Centipeder who didn't get much coverage in the manga/anime. I'm also so glad you liked Komi-san. The anime is amazing and I love the cute noises Komi makes. Thanks for reading.
Thank you all for reviewing :)
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Quirk Analysis
Chapter 20: Fading Away
Nighteye's Office
Sir Nighteye hummed as he inspected a slightly translucent Cheshire as he sat on down at a chair.
Well...it was actually one of them. The rest of Cheshire (let's call it Cheshire Alpha) was sitting in another chair, waiting for Nighteye's inspection to be over. After (eventually) returning into his solid form and having a nights rest, Lewis was more than eager to demonstrate what he achieved last night. He did this by teleporting around 50% of his form into a second chair (Cheshire Beta) much to the amazement of Bubble Girl and Centipeder. He guessed that he teleported at least 80% of his form before, judging how solid objects moved though him.
Cheshire had to admit that it was quite unnerving for a few reasons. First of all, since Alpha and Beta forms are both still connected, Cheshire was able to see, smell, taste and hear in two different points of views. Secondly, if Alpha makes a move then Beta copies it with the same arm and everything. Although, he did notice that Beta was slightly delayed with his actions as if it was an echo. Thirdly (and certainly the most weirdest), was that this was possibly the first time Cheshire has seen himself in the flesh. He has seen his reflection in mirrors and other reflective surfaces, but it was very different in 3D. Possibly because he was used to the opposite image of himself in mirrors.
'I wonder if this is what it's like to have an identical twin,' both Cheshire' pondered.
"This is quite an achievement, Cheshire," Nighteye said, standing to his full height, "you said that you were much more translucent the night before, but now both forms seem fairly opaque."
Bubble Girl nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if I were to walk into the room now, I would assume that you had a twin. Although..." she trailed off, poking Beta's shoulder, "If you look closely you can see there's something wrong."
Cheshire Alpha hummed as he felt something prod his shoulder in exactly the same place Bubble Girl was prodding Beta.
"Huh, that's weird," both Alpha and Beta said at the same time, causing Bubble Girl to stop poking him in shock.
"It would seem master Cheshire...both of them share their senses and thoughts," Centipeder observed, earning a nod from Nighteye.
"That's another thing we can investigate more on," Nighteye hummed, "Cheshire can you please complete the transportation."
Both Cheshire's nodded, before Alpha slowly became more translucent while Beta became more defined. Soon Alpha had completely disappeared and Cheshire was in one form again.
Nighteye nodded, "Good, we will continue the experiments this afternoon. You are one step closer to be able to teleport to unfamiliar territory, Cheshire," he said, making the hero-in training smile proudly, "However, it is time to get back to work. Bubble Girl, Cheshire, you two are on morning patrols. Centipeder I have some paper work you need to sort through. Am I clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" the sidekicks and student shouted.
Outside the Agency
Bubble Girl and Cheshire had just finished their morning patrols and were heading back to the agency. Unlike yesterday, today's patrol was slightly more productive. They had stopped an argument between two people which could have been violent if they didn't intervene, they helped a few people who were lost, and a couple of tourists wanted to take some photos of them. Cheshire was confused until Bubble Girl explained it was common for tourist to request photos of heroes in their costumes.
Cheshire didn't how he felt about that. It was as if they were some sort of attraction. But he complied since they were polite about it.
As they headed back to the agency, Bubble Girl looked up at Cheshire's hidden face, "You know, kid, I'm kind of glad you decided to become a hero. With that quirk of yours you could be be a great thief."
Cheshire chuckled awkwardly, "What made you think of that?"
"Nothing really," Bubble Girl shrugged, "Just a thought."
"And you thought thief before...postman or something."
Bubble Girl punched his shoulder lightly, "No need to bite my head off, kid. Have you seriously never thought what you would do if you used your quirk for evil?"
"No, not really," Cheshire answered honestly, "What would you do with your quirk? What is your quirk, by the way, I never really asked?"
She gave a look that said 'are you serious' before raising her hand and releasing a few bubbles from her palm.
"Pretty self explanatory, kid."
Bubbles: Allows her generate bubbles with the aroma of anything she smelled before, both foul-smelling and sweet-smelling bubbles included.
One of the larger bubbles floated up and popped in front of his face. Cheshire smelt a lavender aroma as the bubble burst, making him hum in delight at the sweet smell.
"That's pretty cool," he told her as she lowered her hand.
"Thanks, but other than blinding villains, it's not very useful. That's why I rely mainly on combat," Bubble Girl said.
"I'm very aware of that," Cheshire grumbled remembering yesterday, making her giggle, "so if you can copy the smell of anything does that mean you can bubbles containing flammable gas? You can probably produce bombs."
Bubble Girl sweat dropped at that, "That's a horrifying thought."
"Well, at least we know how you can your quirk for evil," he said, making her laugh as they entered the agency.
Cheshire felt his phone buzz in his pocket and quickly took it out to see that Mina had sent him a text along with a photo of herself in her hero suit. The text was a little hard to read as she tended to use a lot of text talk, but what he could gather is that she was having a break from her Work Study and asked how he was doing. He quickly replied to her message as he didn't want Bubble Girl to think he was slacking off. However, the hero did notice and grinned when she saw a perfect opportunity to tease him a little.
"You know you're still on duty, right?" Bubble Girl said, in a fake serious tone.
She almost laughed when Cheshire almost dropped his phone in surprise before shoving it back in his pocket.
"S-sorry I was just-"
Bubble Girl lightly jabbed him in the shoulder again, "Don't worry, kid. I'll let you off this time. So, who were you talking to?" she asked as they walked up the stairs.
Cheshire gulped when she asked that, feeling like he had to tell her or he'll be in trouble. Of course, Bubble Girl didn't expect him to answer if he didn't want to, but he didn't know that.
"Err...well...It was my classmate she-"
"Oh it's a she, huh," Bubble Girl interrupted, making Cheshire seat nervously, "No wonder you replied."
"It r-r-really isn't like that-"
"Talking to another girl while you're out with me. What does she have that I don't?"
Bubble Girl noticed the parts of his face not hidden red as a tomato and she saw what looked like steam spew from out of under his hat. Perhaps she should stop...for now.
The hero laughed and bumped her shoulder against his side.
"You're so cute. I never met somebody so easily teased," she said through fits of giggling, making Cheshire groan in embarrassment.
"I'm fairly sure you can't do that to your colleagues," he muttered crossly.
Bubble Girl gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, kid. It gets pretty boring working with two and occasionally three other people. Nighteye and Centipeder are not great conversationalist and Mirio usually has school. I promise I won't tease you too much in the future, okay."
Cheshire looked down at her honest face and smiled behind his mask, "I suppose that's fine. I'm glad I came to this agency and met you. You're really cool."
Bubble Girl smiled as she blushed a little, "You're sweet, but save the compliments for your girlfriend, alright."
Cheshire blinked in confusion, "I don't have a girlfriend."
"Huh really?" Bubble Girl questioned in surprise, "So the girl texting you-"
"She's a classmate. We're not together," Cheshire answered honestly.
Bubble Girl raised a curious eyebrow, "Would you like to be together?"
Cheshire was taken back by that question. He hadn't really thought about it much. That's the problem with going to a hero school, you don't really have a lot of time to do actual school stuff.
'But do I want be with Mina?' he thought, 'Well, she is pretty, has a cute personality and she always makes me happy when she's around. However, what about Momo, Jiro, Hagakure and Shoko. Momo is beautiful and how she switches between upper class to extremely humble is adorable. Jiro is so cool, cute, plus I like her sarcastic personality. I haven't really hung out with Hagakure much, but I like how stands out just by being so bubbly and cheerful. Then there is Shoko, she may not express a lot of emotion, but that means you can always depend on her to remain calm. Plus she's is super adorable once you get to know her and very beautiful. Ochako and Asui are great and jsut pretty as the other girls, but I think they have their eyes on somebody else. However, what about the girls in 1B or Hatsume. This...this is all getting a bit too much for me. I need to stop answer Bubble Girl.'
Cheshire coughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "I suppose I would love to," he admitted, "but that's only if she really wants to. Maybe she just sees me as a friend."
Bubble Girl rolled her eyes, "Yeah, something tells me that's not it."
"Boys and girls can be friends," Cheshire argued, "like...like...oh 'When Harry Met Sally'. That film was proof that men and women can become friends."
"You do know they confess their love to each other at the end, right?" Bubble Girl said with a deadpanned expression.
"... I may have not finished it," Cheshire admitted sheepishly, remembering he stopped watching because he got embarrassed with the scene in the café, "but my point still stands. I recall Lisa Adams from my class in Year 2 saying that thick rimmed glasses suited me and nothing came of that."
Bubble Girl gave him a strange look as they reached the top floor, "Is she the reason why you still wear thick rimmed glasses?"
"Yep," Cheshire answered happily, "Give a man a compliment and they'll remember it for life. I haven't seen Lisa in ten years and I still picture the moment she said so."
She chuckled, "Alright. If you say so," she said as they walked towards Nighteye's office.
'Wow, I haven't thought of Lisa in years. I wonder how she is?' Cheshire pondered, 'She would always talk to me, sit next to me, try and invite me to...' his face dropped in realisation, '...Oh my God, she had a crush on me.'
Nighteye and Cenipeder looked up as a chipper Bubble Girl and a depressed Cheshire walked into the office. They quickly gave their report on the patrol before Bubble Girl left to deal with her other duties, leaving Cheshire behind.
"Master Cheshire," Centipeder said standing next to Nighteye's desk as his boss filled out page after page of forms, "Are you feeling alright."
The centipede-headed sidekick noticed how the student had a gloomy aura surrounding him throughout the report and wondered if he was feeling well. Cheshire perked up at being addressed and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed, "What should I do now?"
Before Centipeder could say anything, Nighteye answered whilst still keep his eyes firmly on his paperwork.
"We have something to discuss in private, Cheshire," he said, the way he said it was slightly ominous, "Take a seat," he ordered and Cheshire swiftly did so. He placed the last form on the pile of paper and leaned his elbows on the desk, "Centipeder, file these and contact Manual's agency to see if they received the reports."
"Yes Sir," Centipeder obliged, picking up the stack of paper and heading out of the room.
Sir Nighteye waited for his sidekick to leave the room before turning back to Cheshire. The student took off his hat, placed it in his lap and nervously waited for him to speak. He had no idea what he was expecting. Surely he hasn't done something wrong already.
Nighteye cleared his throat and leaned towards him, "You are not in trouble if that is what you're thinking," Cheshire sighed in relief, "I wanted to enquire about All Might."
"All Might?"
"I heard he has taken a position as an educator at U.A. How has he been as a teacher?"
Cheshire hummed in interest at the question. Nighteye asked if so seriously, as usual, but there was something else hidden by his stern gaze.
"Well, honestly, in the first lesson we had with All Might it was quite clear that he was quite nervous. He probably wasn't used to teaching twenty students," Cheshire answered.
Nighteye nodded, "Understandable. He is more used to larger crowds of onlookers."
"But that doesn't mean he wasn't any good," he hastily added, "sure he often read off a script, he struggles to answer multiple question at once, and there was the one time he accidentally set the fire alarm off," he said, recalling the fairly recent incident, "but he was able to provide us with support, encourages us to keep improving our quirks and we have significantly benefited from his teaching. All Might is a great teacher."
Nighteye hummed and smiled briefly at the answer, "I'm happy to hear that. I am quite a fan of his hero career."
"I gathered that," Cheshire said, looking around the room at the many All Might memorabilia, 'maybe he should get a plant. It'll definitely brighten up this place.'
"I'm sure you done research on me and how I used to be his sidekick," Nighteye continued, looking down at the table, "however…I haven't been in contact with him for a while."
'Oh I see, he's worried about him,' Cheshire realised, "May I ask why you fell out...if you don't mind."
Nighteye didn't look up, "It's complicated," he simply answered.
Cheshire gave him a concerned look, 'If he worked for All Might then he has to know his secret. Perhaps he's wondering how long he's able to keep his powerful form.'
He pulled down his mask and offered a kind smile, "All Might's hero form may be limited after the USJ incident, but he's still very sto-"
He didn't know what actually possessed him to say that. Maybe it was him trying to offer him comfort that blinded him. However, as Sir Nighteye snapped his head to him that he knew he made a mistake.
"What did you say?" Nighteye coldly questioned with a severe glare.
Cheshire gulped as he realised that Sir Nighteye didn't know that he knew about All Might's Secret.
'I am so stupid,' he thought in despair.
Unknown Place
Somewhere in the middle of a city, down a dark alleyway that few people go down, there is a dingy bar. It was situated in the basement away from curious eyes, the law and heroes who happen to come across it. However, despite there being a seats, shelves holding bottles of various alcohol and a karaoke machine on the far wall, this bar has not greeted patrons for a very long time.
This was the hideout of the League of Villains or what was left with it. The skinny, grey haired Shigaraki, now only wearing a pale hand to cover his face, sat on a barstool and leaned lazily on the sticky wooden bar. Behind the bar was the mist villain known as Kurogiri, who was the one who scattered the students across the USJ. However, he no longer surrounded himself with the black mist and therefore revealing that he was wearing an elegant grey suit and tie and a metal brace around his neck. His head and hands were still enrobed in the mist.
The last person in the bar was not part of the League of Villains. He was a muscular man in his thirties with piercing red eyes, a triangular-shaped face, and (most terrifyingly) no nose. He had long, messy black hair held back by a red bandanna and wore a white bandages to mask the top half of his face. He wore a dark combat suit with metal plating to protect his torso and to hold his numerous metal blades he uses as weapons. Lastly, he wore metal plated boots and a long red tattered scarf. This man was known as notoriously as the Hero Killer: Stain and he was invited to the League of Villains lair, licking his long tongue across his teeth in boredom.
"I seeeeeee," Stain hissed menacingly, "So it was you bastards who raided U.A...and you wanna add me to your little gang, too."
Shigaraki peered at the Hero Killer though the fingers of his mask, "Yep, If you would. You're the great sempai of us criminal filth."
Stain didn't seem to pleased with what he said and glared at the villain.
"...What is your goal?"
"First of all," Shigaraki said as he leaned his head to the side, "We want to waste All Might. Then we'd like to destroy all the things that aren't to our liking. Like say..." he pulled out a few photographs from his pocket and showed Stain, "...these little shits."
Stain glanced at the photos and growled when he saw that they were photos of Midoryia and other members of Class 1A taken at the Sports Festival.
"I was ill-advised to be interested," Stain snarled, "You...hahhh...you're they type I despise the most."
Shigaraki hummed in surprise at his response. He kills heroes, for crying out loud, and slaughtering wannabes would be something he should want. He saw Stain reach for one of his knives and stood up straight ready for an attack while Kurogiri looked nervously between them.
"You want me to rub shoulders with some childish temper tantrum? Hahhh...Hahhhh," Stain muttered beginning to pant madly, "What is the sense of bloodlust without cause?"
Kurogiri ready his quirk ready to defend Shigraki from any attack, 'This is not shaping out the way we thought it would,' he thought, as he looked over to the blank karaoke screen, 'However, I trust in sensei. He knows what's best for the master.'
Sir Nighteye's Office
Cheshire shivered underneath Nighteye's frosty stare. It was different to how it was during the interview. His severe glare was fuelled by anger that he had somehow figured out one of the greatest secrets in hero society.
"Explain yourself," Nighteye ordered firmly.
"Er..." Cheshire stammered.
Nighteye suddenly stood to his feet and slammed his hand on the desk, making Cheshire jump in his seat.
"Well?"
"It was at the USJ incident," Cheshire immediately answered, "I kind of suspected that there was something going on, but I knew it was none of my business. Then I saw him in regular form after he defeated the villain accidentally, but I promised I wouldn't tell anybody. Mr Yagi knows that I know, I swear...I'll...I'll call him and he can tell you," he said, taking his phone out of his pocket.
But before he could dial make the call, Nighteye raised a hand telling him to stop.
"Fine," he sighed as sat down on his chair, "I believe you."
Cheshire blinked in surprise, "Really? That was...quick."
"The secret of One For All can be devastating in the wrong hands. The less people who know, the safer everyone will be. Especially, someone who had no business knowing in the first place."
"My homeroom teacher says I tend to accidentally stumble into things like this," Cheshire said with a sheepish look.
"Indeed," Nighteye sighed in exhaustion, "but since All Might has trusted you then he sees no deceitfulness in your character. Therefore, I can trust you to keep this a secret as well. Please don't slip up like you did just now again."
"Sorry. I just assumed that-"
"Never assume," Nighteye cut him off, "Make sure you analyse all your facts before you execute. You wouldn't arrest somebody without solid evidence that you can provide the judge. Even if I was his sidekick and you trusted me as your employer, you have no right to provide me with this sort of information. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir," Cheshire nodded firmly, "And you can definitely trust me with this secret. Mr Yagi is a good man and I will never compromise something so important."
Nighteye hummed and nodded, "Besides, I see nothing you can gain from knowing this knowledge."
"Is that another way of calling me useless?" Cheshire accused crossly.
Nighteye chuckled in reply, "You may interpret my words any way you like, Cheshire."
'So that's a yes,' he thought miserably.
"What do you know about All Might? Perhaps you can explain how you...accidentally stumbled on it."
Cheshire began to explain everything from the beginning. Seeing Toshinori in the park, noticing the odd interactions between All Might and Midoriya (although he didn't give the hero his real name), the USJ attack, how his quirk worked. Basically anything that Nighteye needed to know. Nothing more, nothing less.
The hero leaned back in his chair and hummed thoughtfully, "I see. It would seem All Might is looking for a successor at U.A or perhaps..." he raised a curious eyebrow, "he has already found one."
Cheshire began to open his mouth to answer, but stopped and reconsidered for a moment. He firmly shook his head at him.
"I'm sorry Sir, but I can't tell you that."
Nighteye smiled, "Good. You're a quick learner. Now let's move onto your quirk training."
He reached into his desk drawer and took out a bundle of photos and placed them on the desk in front of him. Cheshire glanced over and saw that the first photo showed a downtown neighbourhood, but he didn't recognise where it was He did note that in the bottom right corner of the photo there was an addressed followed by coordinates.
"There are ten photos here," Nighteye explained, "they are all of places near the agency or from in the next city over. The longer distance ones are images I got from the internet while the local ones were taken by Bubble Girl who has reassured me that you haven't been there on your patrols. Your task for the rest of the day is to teleport to these places and take a photo with your personal device as evidence."
Cheshire almost laughed in glee. He wanted him to practise teleporting to places he had never seen before using the fading technique he demonstrated this morning. However, something did bother him about this.
"Sir, I've only used the fading technique to go to places I have already been to. I'm not quite sure if I can do this."
Nighteye hummed and leaned back in his chair, "Take me through the steps on how you fade."
"Well..." Cheshire had to think for a moment, "I just need to remember everything that reminds me of the place. What I see, taste, smell, touch, hear. Then once that happens I can control how much I fade."
"Then you must do the same," he picked up one of the photos showing a park and placed it in front of him, "You know where it is and what you can see, so all you have to do is fill in the blanks. What would you assume to taste, smell touch and hear in a park?"
Cheshire frowned in concentration, "I can see a playground in the photo," he muttered to himself, "So maybe there will be children laughing and playing or birds singing in the trees. It looks like quite an open area so I could feel the breeze on my skin. I can probably smell the flowers and taste the crisp air- oh"
He gasped when he realised that he was starting to fade away a little. He decided he wasn't ready to leave quite yet and returned to his full self.
Nighteye nodded before handing him the rest of the photos, "It will take a lot of practise so take your time. You have the rest of the day to develop it. However, if you still don't feel confident, try and make only your eyes fade away before teleporting. At the very least you will know where you are disappearing to and they will be less chance of you sustaining serious injuries. I believe you said that there's a chance of that happening if you teleport to somewhere you don't know. Although, be advised that members of the public will likely panic if they see a pair of googles and eyes floating in mid-air."
"Of course, sir," Cheshire said, "but will it be alright to use my quirk in public. I don't want to get arrested."
"That's why you also need this," Nighteye continued, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a business card and slip of paper before handing both to him, "the card says you have been given permission by me to use your quirk out in public for practise only," he explained, putting emphasis on the last two words, "So, in the unlikely even that you see any criminal activity then you must contact the local authorities and that's it. This is not a 'get out of jail free card'. If you use your quirk for anything other than practising your quirk and say I have given you permission to do so then I will terminate your Work Study on the spot! Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir!" Cheshire agreed firmly, the last thing he wanted to do was cause any sort of trouble. He looked over the slip of paper that Nighteye had also give him, "What...what is this for?" he asked in confusion.
"That will be essential for when you visit the bakery. I believe it is number seven on the places you are teleporting to," the hero answered.
"It's a shopping list."
"Actually, it is my Bubble Girl's and Centipeder's lunch order."
"I'm doing errands now!"
Suburban Street
A man hummed a tune to himself as he walked down the street. In his left hand was a basket carrying tea, cakes and other pastries that he was taking home for him and his companion to enjoy before they go out. He was tall and looked to be in his thirties with slicked back white hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. He sported a handlebar moustache and small beard and wore a green vest over a dark red shirt and black trousers. He also had thick black rings around both his eyes which he drawn on himself. He often like to take less populated routed to their hideout in case somebody had recognised him from, what he likes to call, daring feats.
"Mustn't keep a lady waiting," he told himself, "We have an important-"
He stopped suddenly when he noticed something strange. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after looking left and up into large tree that he just walked past he can now see that it was real.
Floating in mid-air was a large wide grin.
He stared at it for a few seconds, not quite sure what to make of it. That's when he noticed the dark googles hovering a few centimetres above the smile. He almost didn't see them at first due how much shade the tree was casting.
"Hello there," a voice called out from the grin, making the man jump in surprise.
He looked around to see if anybody was pulling a prank on him. However after a few frantic looks, he confirmed that the smile was talking to him.
"Oh...good day to you," he replied politely, a bit unsure what was going on, "Who am I speaking to?"
The smile shuffled as if it was trying to find something, "Oh sorry. It looks like I'm not all there. One moment, please."
To the man's astonishment, a person seemed to fade into existence until he saw Cheshire sitting calmly on a tree branch.
"Sorry about that," Cheshire sheepishly said, "Can you tell me where I am?"
The man, after a moment's hesitation, told him.
"Great. I made it," Cheshire sighed in relief before producing a phone from his pocket, taking a picture of the area before putting it away.
"My good sir," the man called out to him, "I do not recognise you from the hero billboard. Are you a new hero or, dare I say, a vigilante?" he asked interest.
Cheshire raised an eyebrow at the question. The way he said it was as if he wanted him to say that he was a vigilante.
"Neither, really," he answered honestly, "I'm a hero in training and I have been give permission to practise."
"Oh," the man uttered in disappointment.
Cheshire was about to question further when he spotted the contents of his basket, "Is that black tea?"
The man looked down at the basket before nodding in confirmation, "Indeed my good sir. To be precise it is Assam. Are you a tea admirer yourself."
"Yes actually. I quite like Earl Grey or Darjeeling."
"Fine choices."
"Do you prefer floral or spicy blends."
"Hmmm...it really depends on the time of day. A spicy blend in the mornings like Spice Imperial and a more floral blend in the afternoons like English Rose."
"Have you ever had Covent Garden Blend before?"
"I can't say I have."
"It's lovely. Floral flavours with a hint of apricot. I recommend it."
"I'll be sure to look out for it next time."
Cheshire nodded, "Anyway I must be going. It's been great talking to you."
"Likewise my good man," the white haired man replied happily, "farewell."
"Bye."
In a blink of an eye, Cheshire was gone. The man hummed and stared up at the tree for a few more seconds before continuing his way back.
"How extraordinary," he told himself, "I must tell La Brava what just happened when I return."
Nighteye's Agency
Cheshire was recovering from his quirk training.
It had taken a few hours, but he managed to get to all the places Nighteye had told him to go as well as getting lunch for everybody at the agency. Now he was sat in a chair, taking deep breaths and drinking plenty of water that Bubble Girl provided him. Nighteye looked over the photos he had taken and nodded, satisfied with the results.
"Congratulations, Cheshire. You can now teleport to places you never been to."
Cheshire lifted his head to give a celebratory shout, but felt dizzy and immediately dropped his head back into his hands.
"Don't overwork yourself, kid," Bubble Girl said, rubbing his back comfortingly, "I'm quite surprised you managed to achieve it so quickly."
Cheshire shrugged, "It's like a maths question. As long you know how to solve it, answering becomes easy. If you keep on trying it becomes second nature."
They looked up when Cetipeder entered the room, an annoyed expression in his insect face.
"The Manual Agency has finally returned my email. They have informed me that they have lost the report," Cetipeder told Nighteye, causing him to hum in anger.
"This is the third time they have lost an important document," Bubble Girl muttered as Nighteye made his way to his desk, "Just because Hosu has low crime rates doesn't mean they have to be sloppy."
'Hosu,' Cheshire repeated, slowing lifting his head, 'that's where Iida is doing his Work Study. I wonder if I can visit him-"
"There done," Nighteye said, holding a newly written report.
'Already!' Cheshire exclaimed in his mind, 'I didn't even finish my last thought!'
Centipeder glanced at the clock with a frown, "The post office would be closed by now. We may have to deliver it tomorrow."
"Can't we just scan it and sent it by email," Bubble Girl suggested.
"The report needs to be stamped by both parties," Nighteye sighed, "I suppose it would have to wait."
"Why don't I take it," Cheshire suggested, standing to his feet, "I never been to Hosu before so it'll be great practice."
Bubble Girl shared an uneasy look while Nighteye raised an eyebrow at the suggestion.
"That's nice of you, kid, but you shouldn't exhaust yourself," Bubble Girl told.
"I agree," Centipeder added, "besides the report isn't terribly important. It could wait."
"But it could be lost again. If I hand it in person the report it would be stamped and processed and it's out of our way. It won't take long," he reassured.
The two sidekicks shared another look before glancing over to their boss. Nighteye closed his eyes in concentration, weighing up the pros and cons. Finally, he sighed and handed the report out for Cheshire to take. The hero student approached and was about to take it, but Nighteye pulled it away at the last second.
"Be quick about it. Hand it in and leave. I am taking a risk allowing you to travel to another city so try and not get yourself into trouble," his serious expression soften slightly, "However, if you still feel unwell go outside and rest for a few moments before teleporting back. The last thing I need is my Work Study student getting brain damage."
"Of course, Sir," Cheshire said, putting on his mask, goggles and hat, "I will be as quick as possible. Nothing will stop me..."
...
...
...
"...where am I going?" he sheepishly asked.
Bubble Girl and Centipeder sighed in despair while Nighteye briefly reconsidered whether this was a good idea or not.
On top of a building, Hosu City
A portal made of black mist appeared upon a water tank and from the inky blackness Stain walked out, followed by Shigaraki and finally Kurogiri. The meeting had not gone as planned for the League of Villains and Shigaraki was almost killed by the Hero Killer, due to Kurogiri becoming temporarily by Stain's quirk. Stain hated the idea of working for the League of Villains and Shigariki had no patience for his crusade to rid the world of 'fake heroes'. Once the discussion has broken down Stain had forced them to take him back to Hosu.
By now night had almost fallen and Shigarki scratched his neck in irritation as he watched normal people go about their lives.
Stain looked down at the city, his tongue hanging out of his mouth disgustingly.
"I'm gonna reform this town," he declared, "and for that, more... sacrifices are needed."
"Is this 'the thing you've left to do' that you spoke of earlier?" Kurogiri questioned.
Stain didn't look back, but stared down at the people, "You, you're the kind guy who gets it."
"Don't push your luck," Shigaraki muttered in distaste.
Stain looked up, his arms spread away from him as he beheld the city, "The title 'hero' should only be permitted to those who have achieved great undertakings. There's too many of them...counterfeit 'heroes' who worship the almighty dollar. Until society realises its error on its own...I shall continue to appear."
At that Stain jumped off the water tank and onto the side of the building elegantly. He then proceeded to climb down deeper and deeper into the city before he was out of sight. The two members of the League of Villains watched him leave. Shigaraki continued to scratch his neck, annoyed by everything that has happened.
"You keep waxing on like that," he spat, "you wanna raise up a damn grassroots movement or what? I'm about to weep from the gallantry."
Kurogiri turned to him, his yellow eyes narrowing, "...You can't make fun of him for that. The places where he's appeared up to now have seen crime rates abating across the board. One theorist has it that there's been 'bashing' linked to the increase awareness of heroes."
Shigaraki snapped his head towards him, "Fantastic! So the heroes doing their best, reduces the amount of crime in the area. The Hero Killer is also the Hero Breeder. How circumspect. As I thought...at root we just don't get along...pisses me off..." he muttered, "I'm not satisfied with having a blade in my side. If you wanna kill shit, then kill shit," Shigaraki said with a small maniacal chuckle, "This is a competition of who can rampage the most..."
As soon as he said that monstrous forms limped out of the Black Mist portal. They were muscular and each one had their brain exposed like the Nomu at the USJ incident.
"Well, Hero Killer," Shigaraki said, grinning behind his hand mask, "I'm going to take your precious pride, your self-worth, your prestige and crush them."
The Streets of Hosu City
Cheshire walked out of the Manual Hero Agency in Hosu. After managing to disappear to around the right place and giving in the report, Cheshire felt he need take a break. He found a bench on the side of the road not to far away and slowly made his way to it. He slumped onto it and tried his best to relax by watching the people and cars go by.
He leaned his head back and looked towards the night sky. He couldn't see much due to the light pollution, but staring into the vast darkness was quite calming.
'One step closer,' he thought happily to himself, 'Mum, dad...I don't know what you wanted me to do with my life, but I hope you are proud of me. I have gotten stronger, made friends, and I'm happy. The happiest I have been in a long- What was that?'
Something appeared in the sky above, darting through the air so swiftly that he almost didn't see it. It was big with two large bat-like wings. He sat up and searched the air around him for any sign of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it again appearing above the road to his right.
And it seemed to be getting closer.
He squinted trying to see what it was. However, his eyes widened when he caught sight of two large talons it had for feet.
And they were aimed at an unsuspecting citizen.
Cheshire didn't think, but acted. He disappeared and tackled the middle aged business man to the pavement before the thing could wrap its talons around him. He heard a sickening snap of the talons grabbing at air and the beat of wings as it swooped past him, causing other citizens to scream and shout in shock. Cheshire rolled off the stunned citizen and looked back in time to see the thing fly away, releasing a shriek in anguish at not successfully capturing its target. Although, it didn't seemed to care to much as it flew away over the buildings and out of sight.
"What the hell was that thing!?" the business shouted in terror, having got over his shock.
"I don't know," Cheshire muttered as he helped the man up, "Are you alright?" he asked the man.
"Fine," he stammered, "Are you a hero?"
"Yes...kind of...call the police and tell them what happened. I need to follow it. Now where did it g-" he looked around and saw a plume of smoke rise over the building in the distance, "I suppose I'll start there."
In a blink of an eye, Cheshire disappeared onto the roof of a building where he had a perfect view of where the smoke was coming from. However, he barely took one step before he stumbled and fell onto his knees.
"I've reached my limit," he muttered to himself, feeling his mind start to cloud over.
Thankfully, he had a way to remedy this.
He reached for his car ears and turned them on. They hummed to life and it wasn't long until music started to play into his ears. He smiled when he recognised Ian Anderson's rapid flute playing and the steady beat of drums and a bass guitar. It wasn't long until the fog covering his mind began to lift and he started to feel much better.
"'Cross Eyed Mary' by Jethro Tull. A good start," he told himself standing to his feet, "I have to remember to thank Hatsume.'
Carnage.
Absolute Carnage.
That was the sight that Cheshire was met as he got closer to the rising smoke and now he can see what was causing it. Four giant monsters rampaged and destroyed a small plaza whilst the heroes desperately tried to fight back against them. Each monster were had human physiques, but they were slightly different than the others: one was muscular with black skin and was twice the height of a normal person, another one (which Cheshire encountered earlier) had bat-like wings and talons large enough to carry someone, another one walked on all four of its long, thin arms and had four eyes, and the last one was grey in colour with two pairs of arms and a scorpion-like tail. The only common thing they all shared was their exposed brain which reminded Cheshire of one thing.
"Nomus...they're all Nomus."
He looked down at the street and saw citizens leaving the cars and running away in the opposite direction in panic. Cheshire disappeared onto a lamppost and surveyed the scene, making sure nobody was injured in the evacuation. He spotted a mother franticly getting her child out of their car booster seat and instantly disappeared to help her. The straps of the booster seat were tangled and Cheshire had to cut them with one of his cards. Once freed, the mother picked up her baby in her arms, thanked him and ran off away from the Nomus. However, Cheshire wasn't done yet. He had to help a lot of other people on all four sides of the plaza. Some were trapped, others were confused and stood still in a daze, and others were trying desperately to find somebody else.
However, Cheshire spotted one teenage idiot who thought it was a good idea to film the Nomus on his phone rather than just run. Cheshire growled in frustration, but his eyes widened when he saw that the scorpion Nomu spot the teenager as well. The Nomu leapt towards him, his tail ready to pierce him and the teenager could give a frightened shout.
Cheshire appeared in mid-air and slammed the tail away feet first, making the Nomu miss its target. He then quickly disappeared and reappeared above the Nomu's head and aimed a kick to it's exposed brain. The Nomu roared and backed away in pain, obviously that was its weak point. Cheshire appeared in front of the stunned teenager and pushed him away from the Nomu.
"Run! Get out of here!" he shouted at him.
The teenager nodded and quickly took off with his phone still in his hand. Cheshire briefly wondered if he was still filming, but shook away those thoughts and focused on the Nomu. However, the Nomu seemed uninterested in him and jumped onto the building to the side and crawl up to the top like a spider. Cheshire frowned as he was met with a difficult decision.
One one hand, he couldn't let the Nomu get away and potentially attack more people. But on the other, Nighteye had given him specific orders to not get involved otherwise he would be arrested for vigilantism. He was pushing his luck by even helping citizens. Maybe he could inform a hero about it, but they were all too busy dealing with the-
"YOU!" a loud voice bellowed snapping his attention.
He turned around and yelped when he saw Endeavour pointing at him from the plaza. He fire blazing around him, ready to attack the Nomu still.
'Oh no, oh no, oh no! Please not him! He's the last person I wanted to see!' Cheshire thought in panic, 'What is he even doing here!? Wait, does that mean Shoko's around? Never mind that! What does want from me!? Oh God, he must be still angry at me for the last time we met!'
"What are you doing!?" Endeavour shouted at him, "Go after it!"
...
...
...
"I'm sorry?" Cheshire replied in confusion.
Endeavour growled in annoyance, "You must have just got your license. Stupid rookie hero."
Cheshire sighed in relief, 'Oh right, he doesn't recognise me in my hero costume,' he thought before he realised what he said, "Wait, I'm can't actually-"
"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! BRING IT BACK HERE NOW!"
"But I-"
"NOW!" he roared before turning away and attacking the Nomu with a jet of fire.
Cheshire looked at where the Nomu went and then back at Endeavour. He shrugged, "Looks like I just got permission," he said out loud before disappearing.
Not to far away, the scorpion Nomu rampaged through a street. Flipping up cars, tearing up the road, and terrifying the citizens as they ran away. Its keen ear detected sounds coming from a car and leaned down to the window to inspect what was inside. A woman in a business suit screamed as the Nomu's beady blank eyes stared through the window, moving on to the other side of car to get away from it.
The Nomu raised its scorpion tail above the car, moving it to where it would strike the woman. It was about to attack when it felt four sharp objects dig into back. Confused it looked around and saw four playing cards attached to him. It didn't hurt him in the slightest, of course, but before it could swipe them off, the cards started to flash red and give off a beeping sound. The flashing and beeping got faster and faster until all four of them exploded at the same time.
The Nomu squealed in shock and pain. They were not powerful explosions, but they did hit where it hurt most. After the pain subsidised it looked around trying to find who did that to him so it could rip them in half.
Somebody whistled from behind it, causing the Nomu to turn around and look up at Cheshire perched on a nearby lamppost.
"Now I have your attention," Cheshire called out as the Nomu roared at him in anger, "Well, come on then! Catch me if you can!"
He then threw more playing cards at him, skilfully hitting its chest and face before they too exploded. He wasn't trying to kill it. Just making sure it was angry enough so it will go after him. Then he will lead it back to the plaza where Endeavour can deal with it. It's going to be tricky, but he knew he could do it.
He felt his head becoming clouded and therefore his cat ears choose a different faster song to combat it. Cheshire instantly recognised it as 'Lazy' by Deep Purple.
A good song when you are being chased by a monster.
Sorry to leave you guys on a cliff-hanger, but I hope you enjoyed it.
Anyway, I think this is the first time Lewis has fought in his hero suit, so they was really cool to write. He also got to practice his quirk more and met somebody that you may recognise. The manga doesn't specify where Nighteye's agency is so I have to take some liberties with the story. All I know is that it's an hour away from U.A.
Anyway hope you enjoyed it. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!
(Also happy belated thanksgiving to my Canadian readers. I wasn't aware that it was a month ago. Sorry.)
Omake
Victor Soul glared at the screen of his laptop in concentration. He pushed his glasses up his nose and scratched his cheek in thought. He had to make a decision. A decision that could potentially be disastrous for him.
One false move and it's game over for him.
His focus instantly broke when a knock at his office door made him jump in surprise. He cleared his throat and called out to the person behind the door.
"Err...come in."
The door jostled for a moment, followed by a yelp in surprise from the other side, until finally the door opened and Lewis poked his head through with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, I thought it was a pull, but it's a push," he awkwardly chuckled, "Are you busy?"
"Um..." Victor stammered, looking down at the game of Minesweeper he had almost completed, "... a little, but I always have time for my OCs. How can I-"
He looked up and sighed when he saw that Lewis was already sat on a chair with his cat on his lap. The elderly black and white cat purred contently as Lewis cooed and petted her fur.
"-help," Victor muttered, 'She's never sat in my lap before,' he thought bitterly.
Lewis realised that he was being addressed and snapped to attention, "Right...well, it's about the story-"
"Oh no," Victor sighed, "not you as well."
"How do you mean?" Lewis asked in confusion.
"Edgar I expected, Night Terror was a surprise, but I expected more from you. Is it about how I wrote your character to be a nervous wreck? Or is it because I made your quirk too weak?"
"What? No, of course not," Lewis answered, "social anxiety is a shared human characteristic and the point of My Hero Academia is to improve your quirk to become useful for a hero career. If I had an OP quirk, this story would be boring."
Victor's annoyed expression softened when he said that, "Oh that's a relief. Sorry about that. I get a lot of complaints about those things. It's to be expected with your franchise's," he coughed awkwardly "less than great fanbase."
"Yeah," Lewis sighed in despair.
"I'm honestly surprised I didn't get any complaints about making Todoroki female."
Lewis frowned, "Wait. Todoroki's a male in the canonical story."
...
...
...
"Anyway, how can I help you?" Victor ask, hoping to swiftly get past that conversation.
"W-well, I was kind of wondering why nobody in the story uses my first name," Lewis said, "everyone either calls me Fleetwood or use one of my many...many nicknames."
Victor gave him a shaky smile, "Right. Well, when I first thought up the name, I was basing you on the Cheshire Cat. So I thought I could name you after Lewis Carroll. It's also why you're from Oxford, because he was a lecturer at the university. However, when I published the first chapter, I realised that it would be quite a hard name to pronounce for native Japanese speakers with it's hard 'L' and soft 'W' sounds. Which was...rather ignorant of me, to be honest."
"Ah I see," Lewis said in realisation, "I guess I don't mind then. But can you please stop with the cheer-wood already," he requested in a deadpanned tone.
Victor laughed loudly when he said that.
"Yeah...that's not going to happen," he told him, much to Lewis' misery.
"Fine," he muttered bitterly, "Can you at least tell me the playlist for the story."
"Playlist?"
Lewis nodded, "You said that I will be listening to music while I do my hero work, so I was wondering if you had a playlist in mind."
"Not really," Victor admitted with a shrug, "I was just going to say what you were listening and I choose a song that fits the scene, you know."
Lewis raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Victor, I know full well you want to show off your knowledge of music dating between '65 to '06 to the readers."
"It's actually '64 to '06," Victor boasted with a grin, "And I will publish the playlist in the next chapter."
Lewis rolled his eyes playfully before placing the cat on Victor's writing desk and standing to his feet.
"I better get going. Thanks for answering my questions."
"No problem," Victor happily told him before he remembered something, "Oh right, this was the first time you used your cards properly in a battle. I hope I was able to give your skills justice in the chapter."
Lewis smiled proudly and made a playing card appear in his hand, "You sure did. Thanks, I've been wanting to show off for a while," he said moving the card back and forth through his fingers, "You know I have ideas fo-oops!"
He gasped as he accidentally flicked the card in the air. The two watched as the card fluttered around before landing on the enter key on Victor's laptop, making it click a square on the Minesweeper game. Judging by the sound of bombs exploding from his speakers, the square had a mine in it. Victor and Lewis looked at laptop in shock as the screen displayed that he had lost the game.
It was the on most difficult setting and it had taken Victor at least half an hour to get this far.
Victor glared up at a sheepish Lewis, who rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I...probably should save the card throwing for battles," Lewis said with an anxious chuckle.
"Yeah," Victor muttered, "you probably should."