We're back! 2 chapters away from 50, wild.
There is art on the A03 Version
=VI=
[Dispatch: Orders]
Target: Martin Krantz Age 43 Single Blood Type: AB- Tax ID #: 39 743 236 515
Location: Munich, Germany
Quirk: Fire Infusion, can imbue objects with flames similar to a fire magic enchantment.
Delusion Compatibility Estimate: 94% Acceptable
By order of the Second Harbinger of the Fatui, bring him in alive for further testing.
This message will now self-destruct.
=VI=
[Tau Household, April 11th, 2243]
Ochaco yawned as the early morning sunlight crept through the blinds, right into her eyes. She hadn't had that good a rest in ages. Wait, her room was facing away from the sun! Ochaco's eyes shot open to the purple walls of an unfamiliar bedroom.
Oh, right. Her apartment burned down. She was in Tenno's room. Speaking of her classmate, she was in the bathroom judging by the sound of running water. The bathroom door opened a moment later and Haylee, wrapped in a towel, emerged.
"Oh, good. I didn't want to wake you up too early. The shower's already warmed up." Haylee gestured toward the bathroom. "I'll be downstairs, Ordan probably already made us breakfast before he left."
Ochaco nodded, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Alright, I'll be down in a few."
"Don't take too long, we don't want to be late!"
=VI=
Ochaco and Haylee arrived outside the gates of U.A a few hours later. As they approached the school, they came across Lumine and Izuku who had arrived at the same time.
"Hey guys, good morning!" Lumine waved.
"Good morning." Haylee greeted. "How's it been?"
"Pretty good. I'm pumped for the first real day of class!" Lumine said with stars in her eyes. "How about you guys?"
Haylee glanced over to Ochaco, who nodded. "Could've been better."
"What happened?" Izuku asked.
"My apartment burned down. Villain attack." Ochaco replied sadly.
Lumine and Izuku gasped. "Oh my god, are you okay!?" Lumine asked.
"I'm fine, I wasn't there at the time. Thankfully Tenno was kind enough to bring me to her place. For the time being, I'm living with her."
Izuku nodded. "That's good."
"It's not any trouble, she'll even have her own room once Ordan clears it out. Good thing my bed is big enough to share." Haylee added absentmindedly.
Izuku flinched, watching Lumine glare daggers at Ochaco while she wasn't looking. Her eye was visibly twitching.
Lumine exhaled deeply through her nose, a visible pout on her face. This was fine. She wasn't jealous, not at all. Haylee was only trying to be helpful to someone who had lost a place to stay. That was all. No need to get worked up about this. Nobody liked a jealous and clingy person.
"Anyways, what's your class doing today?" Haylee asked, steering the subject away from Ochaco.
"I think the syllabus said we were doing combat training today," Lumine replied.
"Oh, so is ours," Izuku noted. "I don't think we are doing it together though."
"Nah, Ayaka-senpai told me that combat training is per class." Lumine confirmed. "I don't think we do joint training until later in the year."
"You know some of the second-years?" Ochaco perked up.
"Yep, Kamisato Ayaka and Fuwa Mawata, they are in class 2-A," Lumine said. "They had Aizawa-sensei last year. I'm sorry I didn't ask them about him for you guys beforehand."
"Eh, I'm not sure it would've mattered if we knew." Haylee shrugged.
"Yeah, plus this year we have Mr. Karris… Karris-sensei…" Izuku struggled.
Haylee lightly smacked him in the back of the head. "Dude, just call him Ordan, he doesn't care about formalities when it comes to us."
"Right, uh… they didn't have him last year, and uh… Mr. Ordan-" Izuku heard the loud slap of Haylee facepalming. "Is a bit unpredictable. I think he's going to be teaching our heroics classes."
"Yeah, I think that's what they said during orientation, that for Class 1-A, it will be Mr. Karris, 1-B will be Ms. Tau assisting, and then All Might and Mr. Yagi will be helping out in some classes for the first year hero course," Lumine added.
Haylee and Izuku stumbled simultaneously. "What!"
"Wait, did you guys not know that Mr. Yagi was working at U.A. too?" Lumine asked. "Did he not tell you?"
"No, what the fuck?" Haylee muttered. "When did you find that out?"
"He showed up with All Might during the orientation ceremony." Lumine elaborated. "I didn't know he worked for All Might!"
Izuku glanced at Haylee, who looked back equally baffled. What? How? All Might and Mr. Yagi at the same place?
"Who's Mr. Yagi?" Ochaco whispered to Izuku.
"Uhhhhhh…" Izuku combed his brain for the cover story, trying not to freak out due to how close she was getting. "He's the guy who supervised our training for U.A."
"Woah… you got trained by someone who works for All Might?" Ochaco gasped.
=VI=
"What!?" Nana spat out her drink all over Yoichi, who was sitting in her lap.
"Why…" He lamented.
"Wait, so Eighth is being Yagi and All Might?" En inquired. "How the hell does that work?
"It's quite simple," Yoichi snapped his fingers, instantly drying himself off and taking a thinking pose. "I have no goddamn idea."
Bruce karate-chopped him over the head. "First, shut up. It's obviously Tau in disguise as one of them. She can shapeshift, remember?"
"Ohh!" Yoichi looked up at him, eyes filled with wonder like a fucking child. "I knew I was right to pick you Third, you're so smart."
"You didn't pick me, dumbass, Second did. Stop claiming credit for things you didn't do. The only thing you did was approve of her choice." Bruce sighed, pinching his nose.
=VI=
For hero students, the first half of the day consisted of their normal core classes on a rotating schedule. Their curriculum was tailored to study things that would be useful in the field, which for the most part could be mistaken for a high-school curriculum if one had never sat in on a class. This was also on purpose, as the knowledge would be useful if a student found that heroics was not the right track for them and would not be left behind in other courses. This, however, was very rare.
As the new first years soon discovered, the topics discussed were at a much higher level than most high schools. It was as if they were starting at a university rather than just stepping out of junior high mere months ago. Thankfully, the teachers were good at easing them into the new workload.
This was to be expected. After all, U.A. went Plus Ultra in all aspects, not just heroism.
Izuku was having the time of his life today with the rotating roster of heroes teaching his classes. First up was English with Present Mic, then Math with Ectoplasm, followed by Computer Science with Stingray, and the last class before lunch was Art with Midnight.
Needless to say, Izuku's notebook had several new autographs by the time they left to eat.
"Man," Haylee groaned as they finished grabbing their food. "History fucking sucks."
"We didn't have history class today?" Ochaco questioned while watching Midoriya geek out and ask Lunch Rush for his autograph.
"I'm doubling up on history classes," Haylee explained. "It's my worst subject."
"Oh yeah… come to think of it, you were absent during Ectoplasm-sensei's class during second period," Ochaco remembered. "Iida thought you were skipping class." She giggled, remembering how the tall bespectacled boy looked like he was going to have an aneurysm.
"I tested out of it. They didn't have anything to teach me. It was either have a free period or take a different class." Haylee shrugged apathetically. "And I'm not going to waste time sitting around doing nothing. I might as well improve on something I'm bad at." She slid her tray to the desserts, piling an excessive amount of brownies onto her side plate.
"Is that healthy?" Ochaco asked.
Haylee shrugged. "Probably not, but I burn so much energy that it doesn't really affect me."
"That's unfair…" Ochaco pouted. Getting to eat as many sweets as you want was like a dream.
The three of them sat down at one of the tables.
"Izukuuuuu," Haylee whined. "Why do I need to take History for the heroics course?" She hated history. If you asked her who the father of Void technology was, or the early history of the Orokin's conquest of the Origin System she could tell you easily. Learning the history of a whole new world was so tedious. Like, who the hell the Quirk Warlords of certain countries were, the founding of the WHA, etc. She'd caught up on some pre-quirk history, as she would be expected to know some of this already, but it was a damn headache to retain all that info.
"Well, uhhhh, I think it's because they want us to learn about the actions that early heroes and vigilantes took and how they shaped the modern hero industry. Plus, all the laws and why they are important and the rationale behind them. It's also important to see how crises were handled as an example of what does and doesn't work. That's why it's all tailored toward heroics and the legal side of things rather than world or Japanese history that we took in junior high." Izuku explained. "Like, Ms. Midnight's class is Modern Hero Art History, which doesn't seem that important for a hero course, you know, drawing and referring back to old comics and stuff. But it does help us with costume designs, and drawing up things like police sketches of criminals and stuff like that."
Haylee slurped up some of her noodles. "You would like that sort of thing, Mr. Hero Fanboy. Plus you actually draw already."
"You carve things. I'm surprised that you wouldn't." Izuku replied.
"There's a difference between doing something as a hobby and doing it for school." Haylee sighed. "But I guess the reasoning makes sense." She popped a chunk of her brownie into her mouth.
"Hey guys!" Lumine strolled up, with Setsuna and a green-haired boy with yellow-green skin and sharp mandibles jutting out of his cheeks. "Mind if we sit with you?"
"Sure." Haylee agreed.
Lumine immediately sat down next to Haylee, who took the spot to her right. Setsuna sat down next to Izuku and gave Lumine a knowing smirk. The other boy sat next to her.
"So, I heard you guys like swords." He said, not bothering to introduce himself. "Based."
"Kamakiri, introduce yourself first!" Setsuna scolded.
"Ugh, fine… I'm Kamakiri Togaru, Class 1-B." Togaru grunted. "Eikyō mentioned you two know the way of the blade."
'Such an edgelord!' Ochaco giggled, both at his attitude and the unintentional pun.
"Yup, we spar together sometimes." Haylee nodded.
"I heard you're pretty good, and I want to fight you. My quirk lets me make any type of blade I want from my body." Togaru challenged.
"Oh, so you're like Ordan then." Haylee nodded. "Sure."
"You mean 1-A's new co-teacher? What does he do?" Togaru inquired, eyes glinting with interest.
"Bone manipulation, he prefers to make weapons with it." Haylee explained.
"Dope… man, I wish he was my class's co-teacher." He replied. "Maybe I'll go to one of his after-school combat workshops…"
"I'd be down to spar sometime, but I think we need teacher supervision." Haylee agreed.
"Nice!" Togaru flashed a competitive smile, then began to dig into his lunch.
=VI=
"Hashibiria." Shoto placed a small plate of rice cakes next to Inosuke's lunch tray. "Here. Take these as an offering." He bowed, then walked away without another word.
"Huh?" Inosuke was about to question why he was given a homemade meal, but also, free food!
Shoto sat down by himself at the nearby table. He was the only one in this class, it seemed, who had realized Hashibiras true nature as a Yokai. Of course, an offering was warranted to appease him, maybe he'd be rewarded with blessings of good luck, protection, or the possibility of a bountiful harvest of the single bamboo shoot he had growing in his room.
Maybe he should start growing crops in his backyard?
=VI=
Nemuri and Anan watched Ordan pour a whole bottle of soy sauce on his lunch, staring in a mixture of disgust and morbid fascination. "Why is he doing… that?" Neumri gagged.
Natah planted her face on the table. "I don't know." She replied, voice muffled by her sleeves. "The worst part is that Ordan knows how to cook, he's just been obsessed with that stuff ever since we started living here."
"Rush, it ain't worth it." Snipe struggled to hold back Lunch Rush, who had pulled a kitchen knife from his apron.
"He's defiling it!" The Cook Hero screeched.
"Does he… need it for his quirk?" Anan asked, ignoring the antics of the other teachers.
"Not really, there are better things than soy sauce he could be getting it from. He does drink a lot of milk and eats chicken bones." Natah grimaced. "He buys soy sauce by the carton too, I don't even know where he gets it but it's not at the store." She elected to ignore… whatever it was that Ordan was doing. The man was just excited about his first heroics class, or so she assumed. Her class with 1-B would be at the same time, and she still needed to coordinate the agenda with Kan.
This would be the first time that she taught someone in person, and it would be different from the Mastery tests she gave to her Tenno in the past. Due to the complex variety of quirks 1-B possessed, each student would have their own needs beyond "defeat all enemies in this area" or "hold this point". For the first time in her life, she was… nervous about teaching. What a ridiculous notion, however true it was.
'I'm sure it will be fine.'
=VI=
"Alright class, today we'll be doing some battle training!" Ordan announced.
"Battle training…" Katsuki grinned eagerly.
"Hell yeah!" Inosuke cheered.
"I'll be co-teaching this class today with another hero." Ordan continued, walking toward the classroom door. "A hero you know quite well-" He reached out to open the door.
Then, in a sequence of events that wouldn't be forgotten by class 1-A…
"I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO-"
All Might entered the room, apparently not knowing that Ordan was behind the door, slamming into the other man chest first and sending him flying into and through the drywall on the other side of the room, leaving a person-shaped hole in the wall. He continued his journey until he hit the window on the other side, which didn't shatter because Nezu had polycarbonate panels installed on the windows. Instead, the window popped out of the frame with Ordan following after.
Everyone stared wide-eyed and gaping at the new hole in the wall.
"Oops?" All Might rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
=VI=
Natah and Sekijiro, followed by their students, glanced at the hole in the wall and then the missing window to their left.
"Was… was that Karris?" He sweatdropped.
"It appears so." Natah sighed, walking up to the window. "Ordan!" She shouted. "Are you alright?"
Down below, Ordan gave a shaky thumbs-up.
'Dammit… that really hurt!' Ordan coughed. He definitely broke a few bones, luckily just minor fractures that his quirk could heal. 'I think…I might have a concussion though. Toshinori, you moron, don't go charging through doors like that." He struggled to his feet, wobbling as he made his way to the nurses's office. "Looks like I'm going to miss this class."
=VI=
Toshinori hung up his phone. "Mr. Karris is fine!" He reassured the class. "Unfortunately, he will be sitting out today's training while he recovers."
'I'm an idiot,' He thought. 'Injuring another teacher because of my own showboating. I'll make it up to you, Ordan.' To think he'd blunder the entrance that badly! He shouldn't have let his guard down just because he was somewhere safe. What kind of example was he setting with situational awareness like that?
He knew he was in for an earful later, judging by the look Haylee was giving him.
Toshinori cleared his throat. "Anyways, battle training!" He boomed. "As a hero, it's highly unlikely that you will never have to fight someone. Combat skills are part of the basic lessons that you will be taught here!"
He could see the students begin to chatter again. Good, his efforts to restore the mood were working!
"But that's not all! Of course, you'll need to look the part for this exercise!" He pulled out a remote and pressed the button, causing several rows of suitcases to emerge from the wall. The last one jolted slightly due to the wall damage next to it, but still popped out all the way. "These are your costumes, based on the designs you submitted at the beginning of the year alongside your quirk forms! Put these on and meet me in Gym Gamma!"
=VI=
Haylee placed her costume suitcase down on the locker room bench and popped it open. The familiar sight of her restored transference suit greeted her, neatly folded with a note on top written in Orokin.
Haylee,
I managed to re-create your suit using some of the leftovers from our arrival. It should be a nearly 1:1 replica with a few material changes and adjustments due to your growth. I also took some of your cells and had it keyed to your DNA so that it can repair itself using your Void energy. I had to custom make this myself because the company that did your classmate's outfits couldn't make heads or tails of your energy signature. ( ‿ )
I've also included some hip-mounted retractable daggers for you to use when not transformed, since they are small enough to merge with your body. Unfortunately, I was unable to fix the shield generation or self-cleaning modules. The former would require a large backpack battery to power for even an hour constantly due to technological limitations, and the self-cleaning isn't feasible either. (In other words, oh no, you have to shower like a normal person ᴗ).
I hope you like the costume.
- You will always be my operator
Ordan 3
Well, it was a shame that some portions of her suit were fried. He probably had to remake the whole thing from scratch based on the blueprints stored in his memories. It was probably a good thing that none of the advanced technology from the Origin System came out intact or there would likely be some Corpus running around with laser rifles or some bullshit like that.
Seeing as the rest of the girls were already undressing and putting on their costumes, she probably shouldn't be wasting time. If any of them saw her scar they didn't say anything as she zipped up her suit. Good, the less time spent on something that didn't matter the better.
God, she'd missed her transference suit. The texture was different, but it still felt like a second skin to her. Now it was time to see if it still held up in a fight.
=VI=
Izuku followed the other boys out, nervously tugging on his costume. A battle trial… he'd get to see all of his classmates in action today, and that also meant he'd have to fight.
"Look at you kids! You look so cool!" All Might complimented the class as they lined up outside. "You're all heroes in training now!" He could see the variety in their stylistic choices. The knight-like aesthetics of Iida and Aoyama, the punk style of Kaminari and Jiro, hell, there were even some more standard outfits straight out of classic comics like Sato and Sero's outfits. Some probably needed work, but that was what today's training was all about!
"Hey Midoriya!" Ochaco sprinted up to Izuku as he entered the gym, followed close behind by Haylee. "I love your outfit, it's nice and simple!" She rubbed her helmet. "I probably should've been more specific with mine. The bodysuit is so skintight."
"I think it looks good on you," Haylee replied gruffly, crossing her arms while taking quick looks at everyone else's outfits. She was dressed in the same outfit that Izuku had first met her in, though in a much better shape.
Izuku was incredibly grateful that his mask hid his face so they wouldn't see how flustered he was. Haylee and Uraraka's uniforms were both form-fitting and didn't leave much to the imagination. 'Look at their eyes. Look at their eyes Izuku.' He gulped.
Toshinori and Haylee glanced at Izuku's costume. She looked at Izuku, then All Might, then Izuku again. 'It's so obvious!/Oh my god he didn't… that's so cringey!' They thought.
All Might cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "All right everyone, today we'll be getting a baseline for your combat skills. Can you all give me a show of hands for those who have practiced some sort of martial art or have trained in hand-to-hand combat?"
Haylee, Izuku, Ojiro, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Bakugo, Hashibira, and Kirishima raised their hands.
"Excellent, about half of you then." Which meant that the others would be at a disadvantage. Originally, he'd planned for the students to do a live combat exercise with fake bombs inside a building. However, watching Haylee train with Izuku and Eikyō before the entrance exams made him realize that not everyone would be on the same level of experience, and that was before he took into account their quirks (or lack thereof in Hashibira's case).
His lessons had been modeled after Gran Torino's during his first year at U.A. all those years ago. Then again, Sorahiko had always been a harsh teacher, even more so than Aizawa. Plus when Toshinori was training, heroics was a far more dangerous field with a much smaller class size due to how dangerous things were back then. His classmates had been trained to fight beforehand, but these kids had not.
"Today I want to get a baseline of your combat abilities before we throw quirks into the mix so I know where you all stand. While I'm all for going Plus Ultra, it wouldn't be fair to you kids if you get steamrolled by someone who has combat experience. I'm a firm believer in hands-on learning, but you can't learn anything if you aren't given the time to process it." That would be especially true in Todoroki or Tenno's case. If they could use their quirks during combat most of the class wouldn't get time to respond.
'Fighting quirkless?!' Katsuki gritted his teeth. 'What kind of bullshit is that?"
Toshinori pulled out his phone and tapped the randomizer. "Midoriya, Bakugo. Can you two come up and give a demonstration to the class?" Toshinori winced at the panicked look in his successor's eye at being called out. 'Sorry, my boy, luck of the draw.'
Katsuki grinned. He got to fight Deku? Quirkless combat or not, that loser wouldn't stand a chance against him. He wasn't shit in Aldera, and most of the nerd's points were rescue points anyways. Time to show him that he was still the best. He only regretted not being able to fight Tenno and show that blue-haired bitch that he deserved the number one spot.
Izuku handed his sword to Haylee and gulped. Katsuki looked a bit too excited to be up against him. The pressure of being watched by the entire class loomed over him as well. But as he glanced back at Haylee, she gave him a confident nod. He could do this. He'd sparred with Haylee for the past few months. Suddenly, Katsuki didn't seem so bad in comparison to how scary Haylee could be.
Breathe in. This was Katsuki, and he would take this just as seriously as Haylee would. Izuku thought back to his training with Haylee. If this were a real fight, he wouldn't get the luxury of learning an opponent's moves. But luckily, he knew how Katsuki fought. Izuku had known him for years, and Katsuki didn't know just how much Izuku had grown these past few months. In his eyes, he'd probably still be weak little Deku. Izuku's eyes opened as he breathed out, filled with focused determination.
Katsuki glared at Izuku warily. The uncharacteristically confident look in Deku's eyes gave him pause. What, just because the bastard had a quirk now he was suddenly hot shit? "I hope you're ready to lose, nerd." He growled, assured in his victory.
"On the count of three, you may begin! One, two… three!" All Might brought his hand down.
Katsuki lunged at Izuku, and as predicted he began the fight with a right hook. Time seemed to slow down, and Izuku grabbed his outstretched arm and flipped him over his shoulder.
'What the hell!" Katsuki's mind couldn't comprehend what was happening to him. 'How did… what?!'
While Katsuki was in midair, Izuku did a handstand and locked his legs around his former friend's neck in a triangle choke. The blonde hit the ground with a thud, unable to move as Izuku had him in a lock. All of this occurred in less than five seconds. Haylee, Toshinori, and Ochaco stared in shock, but none so shocked as Izuku.
"We… we have a winner!" Toshinori stammered.
"I won?" Izuku questioned.
'Deku won!?' Katsuki stared at the roof, near catatonic at the reality of his loss. Had this been a real fight, he would maybe, just maybe, be able to use his quirk to escape. If it was a villain, they could've easily broken his neck.
Deku beat him within seconds.
Without his quirk.
There was no way he could've gotten this good in just a few months. He'd been hiding his quirk, training in secret this whole time?
Toshinori was proud. He was worried that Izuku might freeze under the pressure of having to demonstrate, but he'd managed to impress with an example of a quick, non-lethal takedown. The real question was… where the hell did he learn that. Izuku had been training, but he'd never seen him practice this.
Haylee gawked. 'How… I didn't teach him to do that! Did he… did he seriously figure out how to do it all on his own just from me using it on him once?'
Ochaco, on the other hand, had a single unholy thought on her mind as she stared at Izuku's well-defined legs. One that was perhaps shared by a few other girls in the class. "God I wish that was me."
=VI=
Natah and Sekijiro watched as 1-B broke up into groups to spar.
"The overall power of 1-B's class is usually lower than 1-A's, but they have finer control over their quirks as a result." He nodded toward Shizaki, who had trapped Kaibara inside a bundle of her vines. The boy quickly broke out with his Gyrate quirk, his arms shredding through the plants like a buzzsaw despite being more akin to a drill. "In the absence of overwhelming power, technique can make all the difference. Especially if they are having trouble controlling their quirk." He remembered Togata during his first year, falling out of his clothes constantly. The boy was now one of the third-year's strongest heroes alongside his friends. They'd probably have to update the "Big Three" to the "Elite Four" this year.
"This class does seem exceptionally skilled." Natah nodded.
"So is Aizawa's considering he didn't expel anyone on day one. Usually, he gets a few, hell, last year he kicked half the class out on day one, and the rest left due to… other circumstances." The Blood Hero shook his head. "I don't agree with his methods, but he gets results. That said, this class might have some stiff competition this year."
"I agree, though that is also because I know a few of his students personally," Natah replied.
"Your kid, right?"
"Yes." Natah confirmed.
"Tenno was originally going to be in my class, but Nezu overrode our decision when we were picking students." Sekijiro informed her.
Natah pursed her lips. "Were you upset with that decision?"
"Not particularly. She's a strong kid, but Nezu wanted her with Aizawa." He shrugged.
Komori was sent flying by a solid blow from Kendo. Natah's arm extended like a tentacle, expanding like a small scoop and catching the small mushroom-themed girl before she could hit the ground.
"T-thanks sensei!" Kinoko bowed before sprinting back into the ring.
Natah turned back to Sekijiro. "I take it he wanted to have a contingency with Aizawa's quirk?"
"Yeah, that's why he gets the stronger kids. He can shut them down before they accidentally hurt someone." He explained. "Though your kid seems to have a good handle on her quirk."
"Yes, she does." Natah nodded. The practical side of her agreed with Nezu's decision to have someone who could lock down Haylee's quirk if needed, though she was unsure how Erasure would effect Voidshell. Would it simply stop her from using Void energy and Warframe abilities like a Corpus Nullification Field, or revert her back to human form? It wasn't that she didn't trust Hayle, in fact, her Warframe was weaker than back in the Origin System.
She was, however, afraid of what could happen if the Indifference took control, regardless of Haylee's deal with the deceased entity. The fact that it still had some presence in her mind, even as a fragment, was worrying. She didn't doubt that Haylee had control over it, thanks to her assurances… but it was still something to be wary of. She and Ordan hadn't informed anyone of that development, because who knows how the government would react to knowing that she had the powers of what was essentially and eldritch deity locked away.
Maybe she was worrying about nothing. It was probably just the instinctual fear and paranoia of the Void that all Sentients had. She needed to take her mind off her trepidation and focus on helping this class.
Across the gym, Lumine and Togaru's blades clashed. With her offhand, she manifested a cluster of water globs and attempted to catch him off guard. His black ragged cloak hid his slender body, making him appear larger than he was while also allowing him to hide what he would create with his quirk.
"You're pretty good, Eikyō!" Togaru grinned. "I'm all fired up now!" two scythe-like blades emerged from his arms, making him look even more like a mantis than he already did.
"You're not so bad yourself." Lumine twirled her sword around and channeled wind in one arm, flame on the other, setting her sword ablaze.
"Eikyō's martial skills are nothing to scoff at." Natah pointed toward the white-armored girl.
"Nor are Kendo and Rin's," Sekijiro added. "Karate, and kung-fu I believe. It will be good for the others to train with them and adjust to different fighting styles. Plus, we have those like Eikyō and Narfidort using traditional weapons like a sword and bow, along with Kamakiri's quirk." He mused.
Natah inspected each student as they fought, cataloging the way they moved, how they spoke, and the subtle details that made each of them unique. With but a touch she could use Mimic Queen to copy their shape, but she had to observe personality. Already she could see several things that could be improved upon in terms of fighting style. Their quirks would be another matter, as she could copy the effects of physical transformations like Kendo and Kamakiri.
Ironically, she could understand her students better than she understood herself.
=VI=
Ordan winced as Recovery Girl finished with her quirk.
"I swear, that Toshinori." She shook her head. "He needs to be more careful. Not everyone is made of such strong stuff as he is."
"It's my fault too that I didn't hear him coming." Ordan sighed. "I screwed up, as usual."
"Don't take that pessimistic tone with me, young man!" Chiyo scolded.
"Shuzenji, you do realize that you're the younger one here?" Ordan asked.
"Shush." She pressed a cup of water up to his lips. "Hydrate yourself."
Begrudgingly, Ordan downed the whole cup, then planted his head back on the bed. The first day of class and he was already out of action. He'd be better by tomorrow thanks to Recovery Girl's quirk, but still…
He'd let his class down by getting hurt.
Because apparently all he could do was sideline himself.
Chiyo noticed the forlorn look on Ordan's face. "Karris, is something the matter?"
"No." Ordan lied.
She gave him a skeptical look. "Dear, I've worked in the medical field for over fifty years. I can tell the difference between tiredness and depression."
Ordan shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "You're aware of… my past, right?"
"Yes, I've been informed." Chiyo nodded.
"So you know what I've done?"
"I know."
Ordan's eyes opened, staring at the ceiling. "Am I a fool, for trying to change myself?
Chiyo hopped up onto the medical stool next to his bed. "I don't think anyone is a fool for trying to better themselves. I can't begin to understand your circumstances, however horrible you were I know that you hated it."
"Hate doesn't begin to describe it," Ordan grumbled. "I was a monster, responsible for the deaths of thousands. But did people see that when they heard the name "Ordan Karris"? No. Of course not. They wrote ballads, fucking ballads of my death like I was some sort of legendary figure. The Orokin? They laughed as I bled out, and applauded me like I was party entertainment." He seethed, closing his eyes as he imagined Ballas looming over him. "I was dead and gone, but they brought me back and it was hell. I remembered what I did over and over and over again, and every time I wanted to die."
"Nobody deserves that." Chiyo tried to console him.
"It was a fitting punishment for the lives I took. In time, I accepted that." He looked over at the younger woman. "It was hell, but it was a deserved hell. And then, I had Haylee to look after, and even when I remembered my atrocities she pulled me back from the brink." Ordan paused, letting his breathing slow as he tried to calm down.
Chiyo had to remind herself that despite Karris's looks, he was vastly older than her by centuries, even if more than half that time was spent as a disembodied computerized soul. In her eyes, he appeared no older than Aizawa. Behind his humorous, albeit slightly unhinged personality lay someone with lifetimes of experience and loss.
"I never expected to be brought back, and I can't…. I can't just throw away what I've been given. But every time I look in the mirror I see my old self, and every time I dream I see what I did." Ordan continued. "As much as I try not to be Ordan Karris, The Beast Of Bones, he is a part of me, just as much as Ordis was." He held his empty glass bottle up in the air and stared at his reflection, the cracked irises of his eyes reminded him of his former form.
"So you are trying to distance yourself from your old self then…" Chiyo shook her head. "Are you disassociating in any way?" She asked worriedly.
"No, it's not- ah, It's not like DID or anything… I just… I don't want to be me, if that makes any sense." Ordan clarified.
"I believe so, you are trying to distance yourself from your past by creating a new persona, is that it?" She inquired.
"More or less." Ordan nodded drowsily. Man, he really needed to rest. "I don't know how Natah does it, cause she has -triple threaaaaaaaaat!- three separate personalities in her head, but she seems to have it all figured out." He frowned. "And I have this bullshit, verbal outbursts and all."
Unknown to him, Natah did not have herself figured out at all.
"When I did your checkups there was nothing wrong with your head that I could find," Chiyo admitted. "But your situation is unique."
"Who knows?" Ordan shrugged, then yawned.
"Get some rest now," Chiyo instructed.
"Yeah, yeah…" Ordan waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, Shuzenji?"
"Yes?" She paused, cane about to turn off the light to the medical suite.
"Thanks for… listening to me. I don't have many people I can talk to about this stuff."
=VI=
"Now, today you will be practicing your quirks on these training dummies and sparring hand to hand, or if you have the proper release forms with weapons," Toshinori nodded to Izuku, Haylee, Yaoyorozu, and Hashibira at the last bit while the UG Units wheeled in the dummies along with several punching bags. "Once I have a good gauge of your skill, Mr. Karris and I will adjust our lessons for quirked combat accordingly. For today, I'll allow you to start with whatever you wish so long as you complete both tasks."
The students broke up into small groups upon hearing this, Katsuki immediately made his way over to one of the target dummies. Already in a foul mood due to his earlier loss, he raised his hand and fired off Explosion.
"DIE!"
KABOOM!
Where one dummy once stood, only the smoldering remains of the simulated human body were left. Toshinori was once again glad he decided to see their quirks in action first. If that hit a student it could very well kill them.
"Holy crap…" Hanta gaped at the raw destructive power of his classmate. His Tape seemed insignificant compared to that blast.
Haylee rolled her eyes and walked away from the explosive blonde. Izuku was already going ham on a punching bag with the small amount of One For All he could use, and Uraraka had started sparring with the girl in the green frog-themed bodysuit… Asui if she recalled correctly. Sensing two people behind her, she turned around to see Ashido and a blurry, semi-transparent girl (judging by the shape of her body) wearing gloves and boots.
"Heya! I knew I recognized you from somewhere, but I didn't remember till just now!" Mina greeted.
"Yeah, I remember you from the mall… bout, what, almost a year ago?" Haylee recalled. That's right, she'd been meaning to talk to Ashido. "I uh, wanted to apologize for how I acted back then. I was in a really shitty headspace but that was no excuse to treat you like that."
"Nah fam, you're fine! All is forgiven!" Mina exclaimed loudly. "You were new to the country, right?"
"Yeah…" Haylee was slightly taken aback by the pink-skinned girl's friendliness, though it wasn't unwelcome. "So… no hard feelings?"
"Nope!" Mina replied cheerfully. "We're all good!"
"Cool, cool." Haylee shifted awkwardly. "Did you uh, want to spar or anything?"
"Maybe in a bit, but it looks like Hashibira wants to fight you first." Hagakure pointed behind Haylee.
"Yeah!" Insouke confirmed.
"Fuck!" Haylee startled. This was the second time he'd snuck up on her.
"You're strong, and I wanna fight you!" Inosuke challenged, a cloud of steam blasting out of the nostrils in his mask. Inosuke's costume had to be designed with help from Rumi and Iwao due to his atrociously terrible drawing, but he had most of the creative input. It was based around the original outfit he wore in the Corps, though made with modern materials, and he had an overcoat-like cover on his upper body to protect himself, which was made of a lightweight material similar to Kevlar. It was open, and a highly breathable fabric to allow him to still sense things without feeling stuffy.
"Sure, I'd be down for that." Haylee agreed, eyeing the dual katanas strapped to his back. "Swords or fists?"
"Swords!"
"Alright." Haylee popped her neck and cracked her knuckles. "Let me grab a weapon." While she didn't have a katana as part of her costume, luckily Toshinori, sorry, All Might, had brought spares. She still needed to figure out a way to carry larger weapons on her, as they would try to be absorbed by her body when she transformed into Excalibur as if they were clothing. The only alternative was carrying them around in her normal form, and if she wanted a good weapon that wouldn't break after a few hits it would have to be a heavy one.
"Gotcha!" Inosuke walked over to one of the designated sparring zones and began to stretch.
Haylee walked over to the weapon rack and grabbed a spare katana. "Hey, All Might-sensei!" Haylee shouted. "Hashibira and I are going to be doing live combat with swords. That okay?"
Toshinori paused his discussion with Kirishima, hastily hiding a notecard in his pocket. "Yes, although I will have to supervise it. Hashibira, have you fought with real weapons before?"
"Yeah!" The older boy puffed out his chest proudly.
"Alright, so long as you two are careful. If any blood is drawn, I'm calling the match though." He gave Haylee a knowing look, to which she responded with a cheeky roll of her eyes.
Haylee moved to the section opposite Hashibira and bowed, as was tradition for duels among the Dax.
From the get-go, Inosuke could tell that Tenno was strong. She set off every instinct he had telling him that she was a powerful fighter. She had a powerful aura that while distinctly different, was eerily similar to that of an Upper Moon demon, or even Kibutsuji himself though lacking the malevolent aura of overwhelming evil and blood. The perfect sparring partner.
As soon as All Might gave them the signal to start, Inosuke was already coming at her, surprising Haylee with the low angle of attack. She was forced to parry one blade and narrowly dodge the other, though she could tell Inosuke could have stopped right before it would've struck. An incredible showcase of control. 'Oh… he's good!' Haylee realized, a feral grin appearing on her face. 'He's really good!' She could afford to not hold back, he could take what Izuku and Lumine couldn't.
"Hahahahahaha!" Inouske cackled. "Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" His instincts were correct after all, and judging by her smile she knew as well.
Two swordsmen, the thrill of battle, the clash of blades to prove one's skill. That was all that mattered now. No holding back.
'Beast Breathing: Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting!'
Inosuke leaped into the air, spinning around with wild slashes in every direction, slicing up the ground beneath him and forcing Haylee to dodge the rapid, unpredictable strikes. As one of his blades flew mere centimeters from her face, she noted the gaps running along the blade of the sword. 'It's serrated? That's an interesting choice…'
Fighting someone wielding two weapons was nothing new to Haylee, but Hashibira was incredibly skilled and his unique fighting style didn't seem to have any set patterns or openings. In addition, whenever Haylee tried to retaliate it was as if the masked boy could sense her attacks without sparing a glance. Was his quirk some sort of danger-detecting ability? 'He might be a match for me in this state. I'm not used to fighting a real battle in this form!'
The only reason she was able to keep up with Lumine and Izuku was that they were beginners. Her skills with the blade were all honed in her Warframe, and everything she had been doing was pure muscle memory. Against someone with years of experience, she would lose. An impressive feat for someone so young to have this much skill with the blade.
Izuku and several of his classmates stopped mid-spar as Haylee and Inosuke's fight picked up. To Izuku's complete shock, Haylee was on the defensive and seemed to be actively struggling against Hashibira based on the tense look on her face. She was holding her own but couldn't seem to get any retaliatory strikes in.
"So manly…" He heard Kirishima mutter to his right. "I can't even keep track of their movements!"
To Izuku, he could keep track of them just fine. Was that a side effect of One For All? Before he had One For All Haylee's strikes seemed faster, and that was when she was holding back.
Despite knowing that she would probably lose, Haylee didn't back down. The next time Inosuke swung his sword she jammed her blade inside one of the gaps and twisted. Predictably, her sword broke, as it was a mass-produced one used for sparring while Inosuke's seemed to be of exquisite craftsmanship. But that action gave her all she needed to knock the blade from his hands and close the gap between them. She could-
'Honorary Kamado Family Technique: Headbutt!'
Inosuke cocked his head back and the crazy bastard headbutted her square in the forehead. Haylee staggered back, her ears ringing as she tried to recover. Instinctively she thrust her sword toward Inosuke, at the same time feeling the cold steel of his blade touching her neck. As her eyes regained focus, she could see a faint scratch along his shoulder where the shattered blade had barely nicked him.
Inosuke had landed a small cut on her chin before his remaining sword reached her throat. He watched as the wound healed nearly instantly, leaving only a small dribble of blood. 'She heals like a demon too…'
"Alright, I think that's enough," Toshinori called the match. Haylee would've given up anyway. He was surprised and impressed with Hashibira's reflexes and skills, having known just how powerful Haylee was for months. On top of that, the boy was quirkless and managed to overpower her with pure ability and technique.
"That's fine. I would've yielded anyway," Haylee grinned. "Nice play, Hashibira."
"You're pretty good yourself. Maybe even good enough to be my minion!" Inosuke offered.
Haylee stared at him for a second, making sure that he hadn't hit her in the head too hard before she started laughing. "Ha! Hehahaha! That's a good one, but no thanks." Haylee chuckled briefly before hauling herself to her feet. "I like you though. Nobody's pushed me that hard for a while." She wiped the blood off her chin with her thumb. "Next time though, I'll win."
Inosuke huffed. "Is that so? I'll take you up on that!"
"Rivals then?" Haylee asked.
"Hell yeah!" Inosuke cheered. "Don't go thinking I'll take it easy on you next time! I'm gonna win again!"
"Woah…" Haylee heard Hagakure speak. "That was awesome! Can you two teach us to fight like that?"
Inosuke glanced at the floating gloves before him. "Sure, of course you would want to learn from the strongest and coolest person in this class." He puffed out his chest and posed.
"Uh… yeah, that's it." Toru nodded invisibly.
"I'll take you then, Ashido." Haylee offered, rolling her eyes at Inosuke. "What do you want to learn?"
"Hagakure and I wanted to brush up on our close combat skills to compliment our quirks." She pointed to the blurry girl, who Hashibira had brought over to a punching bag. "My quirk is called Acid, which is pretty self-explanatory. It's good at range, not so much at close combat though."
Haylee thought for a moment. "Can you show me how you usually use it?"
"Yeah!" Mina led Haylee over to one of the practice dummies. "So, since my quirk is kinda dangerous I never really have the chance to practice fighting with it." To demonstrate, she generated a large glob of acidic goop in her hand and tossed it at the dummy. It quickly burned a large hole in its chest.
Haylee let out a long, impressed whistle. 'So its corrosive damage as expected. Good for armor stripping, but also incredibly dangerous.' She thought back to herself, mowing down a Grineer battlegroup with a Synapse, the corroding beam of the weapon melting through the dense alloy plates and then the clones' decaying skin until nothing was left but the steaming bones. "I'm guessing you can adjust the potency of the acid?" She asked, channeling her inner Izuku.
"Yea, but if I do too much it will burn my skin, plus if I overuse my quirk I get super dehydrated," Mina explained. "My costume was designed to be acid resistant, so I can secrete it out of my shoes." She pointed to her boots. "And it looks cute too, which is a bonus."
"Hmmm…" Haylee mumbled. "That's a difficult quirk to fight people with, so I can see why you want to learn close combat skills. Even if you don't use it on people it will make them wary to get near you." She surmised. "But if you were facing someone who could counter it or was just flat-out immune to it you would be in trouble. Do you at least know how to throw a punch?"
"Yep! I took some self-defense classes, but not any formal training." Mina threw a quick punch to demonstrate. "That good?"
Haylee nodded. "Not bad, could use a bit more power behind it. Here, follow me." She led the pink girl over to the punching bag. "Watch how I move." Her fists sparked with Void energy and she Void dashed directly in front of the bag, unleashing a rapid flurry of punches and kicks.
Mina watched how Tenno moved, hitting a variety of marked spots on the bag denoting the head and other vital areas you would want to strike. 'She's really flexible like me, and she's building up momentum with her strikes as well.' Mina noted as Haylee executed a powerful spin-kick, nearly knocking the bag off its chain. 'Maybe I could incorporate my dance moves into a fighting style?'
Haylee stepped back, panting. "So, did that help?"
"I think so." She confirmed.
"Alright, throw a few punches then."
Mina began to practice on the punching bag with Haylee adding tips and pointers every so often.
Meanwhile, Toru and Inosuke continued their session and began sparring. Toru had removed her gloves and boots and began to circle Inosuke. While he couldn't see her, he could feel each of the invisible girl's footsteps and the air vibrating from her quiet breathing.
Ever since Toru wanted to become a hero, she knew that her quirk wouldn't be the best for combat. Ever since it first manifested at the age of three she'd been invisible, so she leaned into that, learning to walk quietly and sneak around. Every day, Toru trained her body since training her quirk never seemed to go anywhere. That was the only reason she had passed the practical exam with all villain points, because she was fit enough to rapidly dash around and reach the shut-off buttons on the back of each of the UG Units.
Toru planned to become an underground hero, but that meant she would have to learn to fight like a pro. She leaped into the air behind Inosuke, hoping to catch him off guard.
Inosuke felt the vibrations in the ear as she approached and without looking his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, flipping her over his shoulder and pinning her to the ground.
'What? How did he know where I was? I didn't even touch the ground…' Toru coughed, an unseen blush forming as she felt Hashibira's calloused hands release her bare skin. 'Is his quirk some sort of extrasensory thing?'
"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Inosuke asked, quiet enough that no one could hear but still bluntly.
"They uhm… don't stay invisible," Toru replied, embarrassed.
"You're gonna hurt yourself on the terrain. You wouldn't survive a day on the mountains." Inosuke huffed.
"What?"
"Eh… never mind." He held out his hand to help her up.
"Thanks." Toru sighed. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tenno giving her a curious look while Ashido was hitting a nearby punching bag.
Wait, could she… see her?
=VI=
By the end of the session, everyone was covered in sweat. Those that practiced sparring sported a few light bruises but were otherwise fine.
"You all did very well today." All Might congratulated. "Now, pop quiz time! I wasn't lying when I told you that we would be gauging your overall skill level, but there was another goal for today's session! Any guesses on what?"
Sero's hand shot up. "To practice our quirks?"
"No, that was why I brought the dummies out." All Might shook his head. "Any other guesses? Tenno?"
Haylee lowered her hand. "Uh, to get us to know each other better?"
"No, while you did do that, it wasn't the goal of the exercise. Anyone else?" Seeing as no one seemed to know, Toshinori decided to explain. "Now that you have fought in your costumes, have you noticed anything that hindered you or felt uncomfortable moving in? This is your first time wearing them; no hero's first costume is perfect."
He could see the understanding in their eyes now, with several students glancing at certain parts of their costumes.
"Think about this, zygotes,"
'Zygotes?' Kyoka snorted.
"This isn't an assignment, per-se, but if you feel as if your costume needs some tuning, now is the time to start thinking about what you want improved. Better to get a head start on it now than to get into any bad habits that you need to break later on!" He advised.
'Man, Mr. Yagi is actually giving sound advice. Why couldn't he do this when Izuku and I were-' As the hero turned, she caught a quick glimpse of a notecard in his back pocket. 'You've got to be fucking-'
=VI=
The class was dismissed shortly thereafter. Ochaco made her way back to the locker rooms to shower. The skintight suit was really sweaty and gross after such a long workout. She could feel it sticking to her skin like a gross sweat-filled latex glove. "I wonder how Tenno does it." She muttered out loud and leaned against the wall to fan herself. "She didn't seem to have any trouble with her costume…"
Hearing her from across the hall, Haylee turned and jogged back toward Ocahaco, who was lagging behind the group. "Did you say something?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about your costume and mine…" She pushed herself off the wall and took a step toward the locker room.
Haylee's hand hit the wall with a sharp thud, stopping Ochaco in her tracks.
"Uraraka," The taller girl leaned in, causing Ochaco to back up against the wall. The foreign girl's piercing blue eyes bored into her. "Do you want a costume like mine?"
"Uh- uhuh." Ochaco nodded, acutely aware of her quickening heartbeat. A single bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. "I guess? This one is a bit uncomfortable…"
"Well, I can see if Ordan can get you something similar to mine, still somewhat sleek but not as skintight." She reached over and pinched the shoulder of Ochaco's costume before running her hand down the suit's arm. "And made of stronger material."
"S-sure." Ochaco gulped, still reeling from the sudden realization that she may not be as straight as she thought she was. Thinking back to her conversation with Haylee from the night before on crushes, she came to a quick conclusion: either Haylee was full of shit when she said she didn't think about romance, or the blue-haired girl was the densest person on the planet and not realizing how this looked to Ochaco.
In 1-B's locker room, Lumine sneezed.
"Anyways, that's something to think about." Haylee shrugged and disengaged herself from the wall. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind, he probably made spares of my suit and he'll make something better than the support company the school contracts."
"Uh…" Ochaco blinked rapidly, trying to still her rapid heartbeat. "ThanksI'llthinkaboutit!" She dashed into the locker room.
"That was weird, what's up with her? Oh, right. Her costume is probably super uncomfortable and I was holding her from taking it off." Haylee (incorrectly) realized. Lifting her arm, she sniffed her armpit and grimaced. "Ugh, speaking of that, I do need a shower." She followed after Ochaco into the locker room.
"What took you guys so long?" Mina asked.
"Talkin' bout costumes," Haylee replied, quickly removing said apparel with practiced ease.
"Your costume is pretty dope. I dig the sci-fi design." Kyoka complimented as she stepped into the shower area with the other girls. "Do you know which company made it?"
"Ordan, er, Karris-sensei made it for me." Haylee explained, stepping under the showerhead and letting the warm water wash over her with a relaxed sigh. "Uraraka's costume is kinda similar to mine, and Asui's. Having a sleek design for an outfit can be good if it's built right. How are you all liking your costumes."
"Mine feels fine, ribbit." Asui croaked. "It's a wetsuit, and my quirk makes it so sweating isn't too much of a bother for me."
"I'm having second guesses about my suit…" Momo blushed. "I wanted to show skin to use my quirk, but I think I went too overboard on the design. I might change that to use DNA-infused clothes instead, and remove the bookshelf for something more compact."
"Wait, DNA-infused what?" Toru asked.
"DNA infused clothes? It's what support companies use to make suits that react with quirks." Momo explained.
The other girls looked over to Toru, who had frozen in place with a bottle of shampoo in her hand. "Oh my god. That's a thing?"
"Yeah, wait, Hagakure…" Mina gawked. "Is your hero costume just gloves and boots?"
"I didn't know that was a thing, okay!" Toru wailed. "I just asked for reinforced gloves and boots so I wouldn't hurt myself hitting things!"
"So you've been naked this whole time!" Mina shrieked, causing Kyoka to wince and cover her ears.
"You need to get an actual costume," Haylee advised. "They just need some DNA like hair or toenails I think, something that reacts with your quirk. God, running around like that would feel awful on your chest." She shuddered.
Momo winced. "That… is something I should've considered more. I should get a sports bra to put under my costume."
"Nah," Haylee shook her head. "Get a costume with built-in support if you are going with something slimmer, you'll thank me later." She thought for a second. "And you'll want compression shorts like me and Uraraka were wearing or else your underwear will ride up your ass. Picking a wedgie out all the time is a zero-out-of-ten experience, plus it can chafe, ugh."
"Noted." Mina nodded. "You sure know a lot about costumes."
Haylee paused scrubbing herself. "Well, I'm going to be fighting in it, so I want it to be comfortable and not distracting." Probably the only excuse aside from "it was designed in a lab for warfare".
Kyoka looked down at her chest and frowned. "At least that's something I don't have to worry about…" She glanced at some of the other girls.
"You're lucky." Haylee huffed. "You have more range of motion with your arms. Having bigger boobs sucks if you use a sword, or any melee weapon for that matter."
"Don't worry Jiro!" Mina consoled. "You're still young so you have time to grow."
"Oh no…" Haylee froze. She'd seen her older alternate self, so she knew that she was going to have a larger chest when she was older. "They are going to get bigger…" The other girls looked quizzically at Haylee's distraught expression because to them it looked like she just remembered that aging was a thing.
"What do you think of your costume, Uraraka?" Tsu decided to change the subject.
"Oh, uhm, It's fine. I might go with Tenno's suggestion." Ochaco avoided looking at her housemate and blushed.
After a few more minutes of chatter they all finished washing up and began to dress themselves.
"Man, that hot water felt so good. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow." Toru groaned. "At least we don't have training again till Thursday."
"Yeah, you kinda got roughed up by Hashibira," Haylee noted. "I like him, he has a unique fighting style."
"I don't know how he does it. He managed to grab me without seeing me." Toru wondered.
"He probably just saw your blur." Haylee shrugged.
"What?" Momo queried.
Haylee noticed that everyone was staring at her. "Huh?"
"What do you mean her blur?" Mina asked.
"Can you... Can you guys not see it?" Haylee asked.
"Wait, so I wasn't imagining you looking at me?" Toru shouted.
Haylee blinked. Oh, that's right, Tenno could see dimensional shifts and more light frequencies than normal people. "What does she look like to you?" She inquired.
"She's invisible?" Ochaco replied.
"Yeah, I don't see her at all besides her clothes," Mina added.
"When I look at myself I can see a blur," Toru noted.
"Huh…" A sudden thought came to Haylee's mind. "Let me try something. Hagakure, can you see me when I do this?" Haylee crouched and entered Void mode.
Toru squinted at Haylee's blurry form. "Yeah, you look really blurry, just like me."
Haylee reappeared. "Wait, you can see me when I'm doing that?" She responded with wide eyes. "But I'm not going invisible, I'm uh, how do I explain this… stepping out of sync with reality?" She wasn't sure how exactly it worked now that the Void no longer existed, but presumable it was similar to Limbo's rift walk. "How can you see that, it's not invisibility? Not really, at least."
"I don't know." Toru shrunk back. "I just can?"
Haylee's eyes narrowed in concentration. Hagakure's quirk was invisibility, so why could she see Haylee if she was dimensional shifting? Unless…. "Toru, have you always been invisible?"
"Uh, no? I was visible until I was three, but my dad has been invisible since birth and my mom is only visible at night." She twiddled her thumbs. "My quirk manifested when i got scared one day, the doctors said it was probably permanent like my dad's."
Momo tilted her head to the side. "But that's not how transformation quirks work or else you would've been born that way."
"Like my jacks," Kyoko said.
"And my skin and horns." Mina seconded.
"Though, the three classifications aren't entirely accurate as your cells should have slight secondary mutations to account for the invisibility…" Momo mused. "So in theory you should be able to turn it off."
"I don't know how, if that's even possible." Toru slumped.
"Can I try something?" Haylee asked. "If your quirk is similar to mine, I might be able to help."
"I guess…" It wouldn't hurt, but Toru wasn't about to get her hopes up.
"Take my hand." Haylee extended her right arm.
"Okay…."
"This might sting a little, I've never done this before," Haylee said.
"Wait, what?"
Haylee concentrated, slowing her breathing to a crawl, and let her energy flow over Hagakure like a bubble. Sparts of purple lightning traveled up her arm and onto Toru's. To Toru, it felt like she had put her hand on one of those plasma balls you would see at a science museum. Similarly, she could feel her hair sticking up on her head.
"Woah…" Mina gasped. She could see the faint outline of Hagakure's body outlined by a faint purple glow.
"Okay," Haylee instructed. "This might feel a bit weird, I'm not sure if this will work because I can't take other people with me." She crouched, and her and Toru, clothes included, disappeared. Haylee felt something shift inside the other girl and immediately stood back up.
Before her, Toru stood, fully visible. She had green hair that seemed to shimmer like pink, yellow, and green stained glass in the light.
"Oh my god…" Mina gasped. "Hagakure, you're so pretty!"
Toru glanced down at her arms. She could see them. "I'm… pretty?"
"Look in the mirror!" Mina said excitedly.
Toru turned to the mirror by the sink. She was too young to remember what she looked like as a kid, having only seen the few pictures her parents took before her quirk came in. She only knew the general shape of her face by feeling it herself. Gently, she placed her free and on her face and tugged on it, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "I'm… I'm not invisible…" Tears began to well in her eyes. "I'm not invisible!" She turned back to Haylee. "Tenno, thank-" Toru faltered.
Haylee was staring back at her, pale as a sheet with pupils dilated to mere pinpricks. "What the hell…" Haylee stammered. She hadn't expected that to work, having only been gambling on the faint possibility that Hagakure's quirk was somewhat similar in nature to her own. But that wasn't why she was shocked, nor was it because the first words that came to mind upon seeing Hagakure was that she was strikingly beautiful (in what would probably have been an important moment of self-discovery), but rather a secret, even more ridiculous thing.
'Why does Hagakure… have almost as much power as One For All?!'
=VI=
Ordan eats chicken bones just like me, although I only did it once because I didn't know chicken wings had bones in them, and technically this story is Warframe related so I'm including it.
Flashback to July of 2017 or 18 (?), I'm on the way back from Tennocon in the Detroit airport. My dad got me some chicken wings before the flight and I started eating them. They were pretty crunchy so I just thought they weren't cooked very well and after eating about half of them I asked my dad if he wanted them because they were too crunchy.
He asked me if I was eating the bones, so I looked at him, wide-eyed. "Wait, chicken wings have bones?"
My dumbass learned that information way too late in my life and my friends never let me live that down ever since I told that story. In all fairness I only ever had nuggets and tenders/fingers everywhere else I went.
Haylee has gained another friend with a sword! Katsuki is getting humbled, and people are learning.
All Might is trying his best, and Ordan Natah aren't as ok as they make themselves out to be, struggling with who they want to be (which is why they seem so out of character, they are putting on an act/persona)
Haylee definitely has the advantage of years spent wearing the same transference suit, so she knows what she wants. Having a larger chest blocking your range of motion isn't something one thinks about until it becomes an issue. Let me tell you, going from being able to move your arms in front of your chest to not being able to do so anymore really gets to you. Why was I not informed of this earlier!
Anyways, plot bombshell dropped, Toru's quirk will be explained next chapter
Also, the USJ will begin next chapter!
