Grand Munchkin
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Our Teacher is a Devil (Youjo Senki x BNHA)
- Thread starter Morte_Perpetua
- Start date
Chapter 26
Morte_Perpetua
Know what you're doing yet?
- Joined
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Chapter 26
Tanya suppressed the growing urge to facepalm. Assistant? What had Himiko been thinking when she crawled into the vents? At least the excuse she delivered wasn't too terrible. Although it certainly would have been more believable if she had not emasculated Kuroiro beforehand.
"Yes, that is true. She is my special teaching aide in a way." she smoothly lied, smiling pitifully at the black-skinned student clutching his privates. His shadow transportation quirk was quite powerful to be able to spot and ambush an accomplished agent like that, yet in his human form he was as vulnerable as every other male.
"This was a... uh, test!" chirped her partner cheerfully, digging their grave even deeper.
'Why are you doing this?' Tanya thought distraughtly as murmurs erupted among the gathered children.
"Indeed. Despite not going as planned ," she eyed Himiko sharply to pre-emptively shut her up, "we wanted to surprise you a little. Can anyone tell me what this lesson was supposed to teach you?"
It was an age-old trick to use audience participation as a way to stall for time. In this case it was enough for her to subtly wave her disguised friend over.
"Yes, Kendo? What do you think?"
"To expect the unexpected, Miss Argent! We need to be prepared for villains to surprise us everywhere in the future!"
Approving grunts and hums filled the classroom as 1-B collectively nodded their heads as they committed the wisdom of their class president to memory. It seemed that this disaster, much to Tanya's relief, ultimately turned into a net positive for everybody involved.
"Precisely. Very good. As pro heroes it will be your duty to investigate any suspicious activity you come across and that means staying attentive and careful. Anything else anyone would like to add?"
"To buy a crotch protector!" Kuroiro wheezed, though it was clearly played up for dramatic effect.
Most people in the room laughed and even Himiko giggled a little.
The only blond boy in this class raised his hand.
"I have a question, Sensei."
"Hmm, Monoma?"
"Was this your way of comparing us to 1-A?"
There was a hostile undercurrent to his voice which she didn't like. Was this whole 'class rivalry nonsense' not already dead and buried?
"Elaborate please." she stated coldly.
"UA's golden class got attacked by villains three times already and you also got ambushed on your day off. Is this your way of measuring how we could handle such threats? Don't you have any confidence in us that we are just as good as those posers?"
Instantly, multiple people tried to berate him for the last comment, but she raised her hand to silence them. The eleventh ranked hero gave the boy a long hard look that put him visibly on edge, no matter how hard he tried to hide his nervous hand-wringing.
"Simple answer? No. Long answer? I do not hold you to a lower standard than class 1-A. What they had to go through went way above what you all are expected to endure as first years. Be happy that you were spared that experience. Principal Nedzu designed your curriculum and he is most likely the smartest person on earth, so I urge you to have more faith in UA as an institution. Many fine heroes have come from the B class in the past and that will not change if you continue to work hard. If you feel personally inadequate then you can gladly come to me or your homeroom teacher, Vlad King, to schedule extra training. Does that solve your issue?"
He gritted his teeth in frustration, but before he could get a word out the school bell signalled the beginning of lunch break. Smiling amicably to the remaining children Tanya watched them pass by her desk and a waving Himiko with only one question on her mind:
How did Monoma know of Stain's and Iida's confrontation when the police had not given out any details about the participants?
~[#҈#]~
Himiko was relieved to see that her beloved's eyes were neither distant nor icy as they focused on her, which meant that her punishment would be light! Probably…
"Why did you do that, Himiko?"
"I wanted to see you!" she grinned honestly.
"You literally crawled into my bed this morning. Was that not enough?"
"Nope! I can't get enough of you!"
She longed for the day when Tanya would say the same back to her... Instead her senpai just sighed and put a hand on her shoulder which was also very nice.
"I know this is a difficult time for you – no, for both of us – and you must feel very scared and alone, but can't just sneak after me. I'll try to make more time for you, alright? It's just that the Commission has gotten pushy with their patrol hours lately and I have to prepare lessons as well, so please don't be sad. I am not leaving you behind."
More time with her love was wonderful news regardless of the reason, but not if it put additional stress on her. Making her senpai's life worse was unacceptable. That was when a new brilliant scheme entered her mind. She was on a roll!
"Mmh, I have an idea, yep!"
A tilted head was all the sign she needed to continue.
"If the cat is out of the bag already, so to speak..." she smiled slyly, "Then why can't I become your official assistant? I'm gonna help you out and we can spend time together simultaneously! It's the best!"
Tanya looked like she was actually considering it. Success!
"I am not sure what the principal would say to that arrangement..."
"He told me that he would allow it as a reward! And I think I deserve a hefty reward for spending the whole week holed up in that dusty old cellar! It's gonna be fine when you are there to watch over me."
It was a shame that did not carry a camera with her because the face her love made as she bit her lip in concentration was absolutely precious!
"Okay. I am going to ask him and if Nedzu says yes then I see no prob-"
"Yaaaay!" she squealed, tackling Tanya in a crushing hug.
Muffled by her shoulder Himiko barely heard a whispered: "I'm really going soft."
~[#҈#]~
"Come on, let's peek on the girls in the shower later!" Mineta had simply said which was met with unexpected opposition. He just wanted to make a few more friends while doing what he loved! Was that so wrong?
Apparently it was, if his fellow teens were to be believed.
"Bound by earthly desires you shall never ascend to the night sky and bask in the moon's shadow." Tokoyami rasped with a sagely nod that could mean literally anything.
Kaminari was unusually insightful as well: "It's not worth it, dude! That could get us… like, suspended!"
"Also it's really unmanly, dude. We shouldn't disrespect our classmates who fought right beside us like that! They're all too manly to deserve that." added Kirishima.
In Mineta's humble opinion none of the girls with the exception of Jiro were 'manly' at all, but he had the feeling that the red-haired blockhead was gay for a long time already. Nobody who was interested in the female form talked so much about manliness!
"Okay, okay... It was just an idea."
"Pfft. Fucking pervert." Bakugou, the ass, sneered as he swaggered by them.
Still frustrated by his classmate's rejection Mineta couldn't hold himself back from retorting:
"You probably haven't seen what a woman looks like outside of textbooks!"
"What did you just say, you shitty midget?"
"You're never gonna get a girlfriend, you... Pomeranian!" he declared with righteous anger.
"As if you could ever land one. The only thing a woman will ever give you is a restraining order, you freaky dwarf. Keep on dreaming. Trash, wanna
deny it?"
Mineta really wanted to reply and tell him how his dream to get a harem of beautiful babes would one day become reality, but he was not stupid enough to further antagonize one of the strongest people in their year. So instead he swallowed his pride and crossed his arms with a scowl. Which would have been far more menacing if his eyes weren't level with Bakugou's hips...
"Mmph. Thought so. Anyways, might as well ask you losers where Argent is. Her bureau is locked."
"No clue, dude." Sero shrugged.
"I dunno... In the cafeteria I overheard a few girls from 1-B talking about her new assistant or something. Maybe she is showing them the ropes, you know?" Kirishima pointed out.
"You mean like the orientational day that we skipped because Mr. Aizawa didn't feel like it? Haha... Feels like a lifetime ago..." Kaminari chuckled with a strangely nostalgic expression.
"Wait, do you mean that cute brunette who was walking around with her? I've never seen her before so she must be Miss Argent's new assistant!" the tape quirk user remarked, interested.
Mineta was suddenly immensely jealous of his classmate for catching a look of this fresh addition to UA's already considerable pool of beauties...
Ojiro, who until now had stayed silent, suspiciously narrowed his eyes at Sero.
"Didn't you just say yesterday that your memory is terrible when you forgot your homework and had to copy mine?"
"Hey, cute girls are different!"
"Uh-huh... "
His fantasies were running rampant and so Mineta just had to ask:
"What did she look like? Was she well-endowed? How old is she? Is she hotter than Argent? Did she look like someone who is into partners that have a slight height difference to them?"
Instead of answering his very normal questions, Tokoyami decided to spew more cryptic drivel.
"Thy great longing shall be your undoing. By reaching for the sun your wings shall inevitably be burnt."
How useless! Even Bakugou agreed.
"Ah, fuck this. What a waste of time. Thanks for nothing, I guess."
"Hello, sweethearts~... Are you looking for me?"
Every boy in the common room collectively halted mid motion and turned around towards the window. Where moments ago had been simply empty space, now stood a young brown-haired woman, posing cutely. Her vulpine smile barely distracted his trained eyes from taking in her soft figure. She was a solid eight in his initial estimation, possibly a nine if her bust got bigger, though that was true for every woman.
All in all, leagues better than the petite Argent!
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm your teacher's super-cute assistant! You and I are going to have so much fun together!"
Between her and Midnight he was absolutely certain that the occasional villain attack would be well worth it to stay enrolled at UA!
"Mmmmh... You don't seem too happy to have me here..." she pouted.
"No! I am!" Mineta instinctively yelled.
"Oh, is that so?" purred the brunette, advancing towards him with a catlike gate that had him completely entranced.
Words failed him as for the first time in life a woman other than his mother laid a hand on his cheek.
"U-uh... Ehm..."
"You wanted to know if I fancy guys shorter than me, right?"
He could only dumbly nod.
"Well..."
Abruptly the hand that had caressed Mineta's face pinched his flesh tightly, eliciting a small cry of pain from him as he struggled in her iron-hard grasp.
"Truth be told, I'm not into pathetic worms . Vermin like you are not cute at all."
His attempt to free himself from this crazy chick was stopped when he glimpsed the murderous glint in her eyes that made him nearly soil his pants. There was no mercy in her gaze as if she was merely stomping out a particularly annoying insect. Only death awaited him inside these two bottomless pits of darkness!
"And if I catch you thinking dirty thoughts about Tanya – Argent – again then you can say goodbye to ever calling yourself a 'full' man again. Understood?"
It was a minor miracle that his skin did not tear from how frantically he nodded.
~[#҈#]~
Izuku carefully knocked on the door to Iida's room. Despite talking to his friend only a few hours ago, he still wanted to check up on the... slightly socially awkward teen. It was kind of ironic that he thought of Tenya that way when Izuku didn't even have real friends until a few weeks ago, Kacchan did not count , but it was true that the vice president of 1-A had problems in how he dealt with others and himself.
To people that did not know him; Iida would seem brash and perfectionist. However what was not immediately obvious about this was that he genuinely wanted to do what was right . And that often involved being strict about rules, so Izuku could only imagine how much of a hard time his friend was giving himself after what he had done.
If need be, he wanted to reinforce the knowledge in Tenya's brain that he was still a good person and could become an awesome hero, especially since he surely had been chewed out by Miss Argent this morning.
The thick dormitory door was penetrated by a muffled yell: "A moment, please!"
When it opened five seconds later, Izuku was surprised by the scent of incense and the sight of his friend in a fluffy bathrobe with the Ingenium logo on it.
"Please forgive my attire, but I was not expecting a visit so soon."
"Ehm, that's alright. But why are you..." he gestured vaguely in his direction, "you know..."
"It was part of the instructions. Please enter."
Stepping into the room, the smell of incense got noticeably stronger. What was going on?
"Which instructions exactly?"
"The top rated guide for easy meditation recommended that I dress in something that I feel most comfortable with. This was a gift from my brother and although I rarely have use for it, I cherish it immensely."
"Uh, ok, I guess that makes sense. But why were you meditating in the first place? Is that what the incense is for?"
"Correct. It is actually just a scented candle that I mysteriously found at the bottom of my suitcase. I do not recall ever buying or otherwise acquiring such an item, but maybe my parents deliberately left it for me. I will thank them later."
"Ahhh..." Izuku nodded slowly, though he was still confused.
"They are somewhat relaxing. Anyhow, while meditating I hoped to fulfil Miss Argent's task of reflecting upon the true nature of heroism."
Immediately the topic grabbed the interest of his inner hero nerd.
"Oh? That's some interesting homework. What did you find out?"
"I only began ten minutes ago and then you interrupted me."
Izuku rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"O-oh, is that so? Sorry, hehe..."
"No problem. I already re-read most of our textbooks in the hospital, so I should soon catch up with the rest of class, which gives me two more free hours to try today."
He couldn't help but shake his head fondly at the typical seriousness of his friend.
"I'm glad you are well, Iida."
"Please call me Tenya, Izuku."
"Sorry, force of habit."
"Nothing to worry about. And, Izuku?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for checking up on me. It means a lot to me that you care so much about our friendship. I think that is extremely admirable."
If anyone later asked, he only blushed because of the smoke in the air.
~[#҈#]~
"Damn it! How could you morons lose her! Do you know the security risk she poses? If she leaks one word I will have your heads! Get out and find her at all costs! Get out! " yelled the Chief Director.
Moujin did the clever thing, the expected thing and bowed his head in submission before shuffling as fast as possible out of the gigantic office of his superior. He spared the other idiots walking alongside him not even a glance, because their face quite frankly made him sick.
They had messed up everything!
They lost Carmilla before she could be extracted from police custody and now she was a walking, breathing info hazard waiting to doom their entire operation.
Of course they could silence all courts that would accept her claims, but even for the HPSC it would be hard to eliminate any trace of their involvement afterwards. It was a matter of principle. No one would normally believe a crazy girl that drank human blood like a filthy animal, but who knew what details that fell under operational security could be extracted from her by a capable third party?
According to their insiders, the police and the PSIA were equally stumped about her whereabouts which spelled a possible disaster for them all. The ones responsible for taking her could be criminals, the Chinese or any number of malicious organisations that would profit from defaming the Commission!
And he had no doubt that it would be innocent, upstanding folk like him who the President and the Chief Director would throw first under the bus
when worst came to worst.
He was not ready to go to prison!
Why was the world so unfair?
He had done nothing wrong and now because of the incompetence of others his wonderful career was going up in flames.
Well, if he was about to get punished for something he was not responsible for then he would take as many of these bastards with him as he could!
Spite and hysteria began to form a half-mad plan in his mind that would ensure his ungrateful superiors and worthless co-workers would curse the damned day when they wronged him. He was going to make sure that in case he 'went on an extended vacation' someone would enact his vengeance!
After everything he had done for that wretched girl, the least she could do was be his instrument of justice!
However he was going to need a while to accomplish this. Hopefully whoever was torturing Carmilla at the moment would take their sweet time and give him a few months, possibly a year. Then again those Chinese barbarians allegedly had a division of mindreaders for things like this, so
they could already be on the move...
A single application of his quirk 'Clear Mind' was not enough to calm him down completely, but administrator Moujin was nonetheless able to clearly reflect on the future.
And it looked dark indeed.
Tanya suppressed the growing urge to facepalm. Assistant? What had Himiko been thinking when she crawled into the vents? At least the excuse she delivered wasn't too terrible. Although it certainly would have been more believable if she had not emasculated Kuroiro beforehand.
"Yes, that is true. She is my special teaching aide in a way." she smoothly lied, smiling pitifully at the black-skinned student clutching his privates. His shadow transportation quirk was quite powerful to be able to spot and ambush an accomplished agent like that, yet in his human form he was as vulnerable as every other male.
"This was a... uh, test!" chirped her partner cheerfully, digging their grave even deeper.
'Why are you doing this?' Tanya thought distraughtly as murmurs erupted among the gathered children.
"Indeed. Despite not going as planned ," she eyed Himiko sharply to pre-emptively shut her up, "we wanted to surprise you a little. Can anyone tell me what this lesson was supposed to teach you?"
It was an age-old trick to use audience participation as a way to stall for time. In this case it was enough for her to subtly wave her disguised friend over.
"Yes, Kendo? What do you think?"
"To expect the unexpected, Miss Argent! We need to be prepared for villains to surprise us everywhere in the future!"
Approving grunts and hums filled the classroom as 1-B collectively nodded their heads as they committed the wisdom of their class president to memory. It seemed that this disaster, much to Tanya's relief, ultimately turned into a net positive for everybody involved.
"Precisely. Very good. As pro heroes it will be your duty to investigate any suspicious activity you come across and that means staying attentive and careful. Anything else anyone would like to add?"
"To buy a crotch protector!" Kuroiro wheezed, though it was clearly played up for dramatic effect.
Most people in the room laughed and even Himiko giggled a little.
The only blond boy in this class raised his hand.
"I have a question, Sensei."
"Hmm, Monoma?"
"Was this your way of comparing us to 1-A?"
There was a hostile undercurrent to his voice which she didn't like. Was this whole 'class rivalry nonsense' not already dead and buried?
"Elaborate please." she stated coldly.
"UA's golden class got attacked by villains three times already and you also got ambushed on your day off. Is this your way of measuring how we could handle such threats? Don't you have any confidence in us that we are just as good as those posers?"
Instantly, multiple people tried to berate him for the last comment, but she raised her hand to silence them. The eleventh ranked hero gave the boy a long hard look that put him visibly on edge, no matter how hard he tried to hide his nervous hand-wringing.
"Simple answer? No. Long answer? I do not hold you to a lower standard than class 1-A. What they had to go through went way above what you all are expected to endure as first years. Be happy that you were spared that experience. Principal Nedzu designed your curriculum and he is most likely the smartest person on earth, so I urge you to have more faith in UA as an institution. Many fine heroes have come from the B class in the past and that will not change if you continue to work hard. If you feel personally inadequate then you can gladly come to me or your homeroom teacher, Vlad King, to schedule extra training. Does that solve your issue?"
He gritted his teeth in frustration, but before he could get a word out the school bell signalled the beginning of lunch break. Smiling amicably to the remaining children Tanya watched them pass by her desk and a waving Himiko with only one question on her mind:
How did Monoma know of Stain's and Iida's confrontation when the police had not given out any details about the participants?
~[#҈#]~
Himiko was relieved to see that her beloved's eyes were neither distant nor icy as they focused on her, which meant that her punishment would be light! Probably…
"Why did you do that, Himiko?"
"I wanted to see you!" she grinned honestly.
"You literally crawled into my bed this morning. Was that not enough?"
"Nope! I can't get enough of you!"
She longed for the day when Tanya would say the same back to her... Instead her senpai just sighed and put a hand on her shoulder which was also very nice.
"I know this is a difficult time for you – no, for both of us – and you must feel very scared and alone, but can't just sneak after me. I'll try to make more time for you, alright? It's just that the Commission has gotten pushy with their patrol hours lately and I have to prepare lessons as well, so please don't be sad. I am not leaving you behind."
More time with her love was wonderful news regardless of the reason, but not if it put additional stress on her. Making her senpai's life worse was unacceptable. That was when a new brilliant scheme entered her mind. She was on a roll!
"Mmh, I have an idea, yep!"
A tilted head was all the sign she needed to continue.
"If the cat is out of the bag already, so to speak..." she smiled slyly, "Then why can't I become your official assistant? I'm gonna help you out and we can spend time together simultaneously! It's the best!"
Tanya looked like she was actually considering it. Success!
"I am not sure what the principal would say to that arrangement..."
"He told me that he would allow it as a reward! And I think I deserve a hefty reward for spending the whole week holed up in that dusty old cellar! It's gonna be fine when you are there to watch over me."
It was a shame that did not carry a camera with her because the face her love made as she bit her lip in concentration was absolutely precious!
"Okay. I am going to ask him and if Nedzu says yes then I see no prob-"
"Yaaaay!" she squealed, tackling Tanya in a crushing hug.
Muffled by her shoulder Himiko barely heard a whispered: "I'm really going soft."
~[#҈#]~
"Come on, let's peek on the girls in the shower later!" Mineta had simply said which was met with unexpected opposition. He just wanted to make a few more friends while doing what he loved! Was that so wrong?
Apparently it was, if his fellow teens were to be believed.
"Bound by earthly desires you shall never ascend to the night sky and bask in the moon's shadow." Tokoyami rasped with a sagely nod that could mean literally anything.
Kaminari was unusually insightful as well: "It's not worth it, dude! That could get us… like, suspended!"
"Also it's really unmanly, dude. We shouldn't disrespect our classmates who fought right beside us like that! They're all too manly to deserve that." added Kirishima.
In Mineta's humble opinion none of the girls with the exception of Jiro were 'manly' at all, but he had the feeling that the red-haired blockhead was gay for a long time already. Nobody who was interested in the female form talked so much about manliness!
"Okay, okay... It was just an idea."
"Pfft. Fucking pervert." Bakugou, the ass, sneered as he swaggered by them.
Still frustrated by his classmate's rejection Mineta couldn't hold himself back from retorting:
"You probably haven't seen what a woman looks like outside of textbooks!"
"What did you just say, you shitty midget?"
"You're never gonna get a girlfriend, you... Pomeranian!" he declared with righteous anger.
"As if you could ever land one. The only thing a woman will ever give you is a restraining order, you freaky dwarf. Keep on dreaming. Trash, wanna
deny it?"
Mineta really wanted to reply and tell him how his dream to get a harem of beautiful babes would one day become reality, but he was not stupid enough to further antagonize one of the strongest people in their year. So instead he swallowed his pride and crossed his arms with a scowl. Which would have been far more menacing if his eyes weren't level with Bakugou's hips...
"Mmph. Thought so. Anyways, might as well ask you losers where Argent is. Her bureau is locked."
"No clue, dude." Sero shrugged.
"I dunno... In the cafeteria I overheard a few girls from 1-B talking about her new assistant or something. Maybe she is showing them the ropes, you know?" Kirishima pointed out.
"You mean like the orientational day that we skipped because Mr. Aizawa didn't feel like it? Haha... Feels like a lifetime ago..." Kaminari chuckled with a strangely nostalgic expression.
"Wait, do you mean that cute brunette who was walking around with her? I've never seen her before so she must be Miss Argent's new assistant!" the tape quirk user remarked, interested.
Mineta was suddenly immensely jealous of his classmate for catching a look of this fresh addition to UA's already considerable pool of beauties...
Ojiro, who until now had stayed silent, suspiciously narrowed his eyes at Sero.
"Didn't you just say yesterday that your memory is terrible when you forgot your homework and had to copy mine?"
"Hey, cute girls are different!"
"Uh-huh... "
His fantasies were running rampant and so Mineta just had to ask:
"What did she look like? Was she well-endowed? How old is she? Is she hotter than Argent? Did she look like someone who is into partners that have a slight height difference to them?"
Instead of answering his very normal questions, Tokoyami decided to spew more cryptic drivel.
"Thy great longing shall be your undoing. By reaching for the sun your wings shall inevitably be burnt."
How useless! Even Bakugou agreed.
"Ah, fuck this. What a waste of time. Thanks for nothing, I guess."
"Hello, sweethearts~... Are you looking for me?"
Every boy in the common room collectively halted mid motion and turned around towards the window. Where moments ago had been simply empty space, now stood a young brown-haired woman, posing cutely. Her vulpine smile barely distracted his trained eyes from taking in her soft figure. She was a solid eight in his initial estimation, possibly a nine if her bust got bigger, though that was true for every woman.
All in all, leagues better than the petite Argent!
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm your teacher's super-cute assistant! You and I are going to have so much fun together!"
Between her and Midnight he was absolutely certain that the occasional villain attack would be well worth it to stay enrolled at UA!
"Mmmmh... You don't seem too happy to have me here..." she pouted.
"No! I am!" Mineta instinctively yelled.
"Oh, is that so?" purred the brunette, advancing towards him with a catlike gate that had him completely entranced.
Words failed him as for the first time in life a woman other than his mother laid a hand on his cheek.
"U-uh... Ehm..."
"You wanted to know if I fancy guys shorter than me, right?"
He could only dumbly nod.
"Well..."
Abruptly the hand that had caressed Mineta's face pinched his flesh tightly, eliciting a small cry of pain from him as he struggled in her iron-hard grasp.
"Truth be told, I'm not into pathetic worms . Vermin like you are not cute at all."
His attempt to free himself from this crazy chick was stopped when he glimpsed the murderous glint in her eyes that made him nearly soil his pants. There was no mercy in her gaze as if she was merely stomping out a particularly annoying insect. Only death awaited him inside these two bottomless pits of darkness!
"And if I catch you thinking dirty thoughts about Tanya – Argent – again then you can say goodbye to ever calling yourself a 'full' man again. Understood?"
It was a minor miracle that his skin did not tear from how frantically he nodded.
~[#҈#]~
Izuku carefully knocked on the door to Iida's room. Despite talking to his friend only a few hours ago, he still wanted to check up on the... slightly socially awkward teen. It was kind of ironic that he thought of Tenya that way when Izuku didn't even have real friends until a few weeks ago, Kacchan did not count , but it was true that the vice president of 1-A had problems in how he dealt with others and himself.
To people that did not know him; Iida would seem brash and perfectionist. However what was not immediately obvious about this was that he genuinely wanted to do what was right . And that often involved being strict about rules, so Izuku could only imagine how much of a hard time his friend was giving himself after what he had done.
If need be, he wanted to reinforce the knowledge in Tenya's brain that he was still a good person and could become an awesome hero, especially since he surely had been chewed out by Miss Argent this morning.
The thick dormitory door was penetrated by a muffled yell: "A moment, please!"
When it opened five seconds later, Izuku was surprised by the scent of incense and the sight of his friend in a fluffy bathrobe with the Ingenium logo on it.
"Please forgive my attire, but I was not expecting a visit so soon."
"Ehm, that's alright. But why are you..." he gestured vaguely in his direction, "you know..."
"It was part of the instructions. Please enter."
Stepping into the room, the smell of incense got noticeably stronger. What was going on?
"Which instructions exactly?"
"The top rated guide for easy meditation recommended that I dress in something that I feel most comfortable with. This was a gift from my brother and although I rarely have use for it, I cherish it immensely."
"Uh, ok, I guess that makes sense. But why were you meditating in the first place? Is that what the incense is for?"
"Correct. It is actually just a scented candle that I mysteriously found at the bottom of my suitcase. I do not recall ever buying or otherwise acquiring such an item, but maybe my parents deliberately left it for me. I will thank them later."
"Ahhh..." Izuku nodded slowly, though he was still confused.
"They are somewhat relaxing. Anyhow, while meditating I hoped to fulfil Miss Argent's task of reflecting upon the true nature of heroism."
Immediately the topic grabbed the interest of his inner hero nerd.
"Oh? That's some interesting homework. What did you find out?"
"I only began ten minutes ago and then you interrupted me."
Izuku rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"O-oh, is that so? Sorry, hehe..."
"No problem. I already re-read most of our textbooks in the hospital, so I should soon catch up with the rest of class, which gives me two more free hours to try today."
He couldn't help but shake his head fondly at the typical seriousness of his friend.
"I'm glad you are well, Iida."
"Please call me Tenya, Izuku."
"Sorry, force of habit."
"Nothing to worry about. And, Izuku?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for checking up on me. It means a lot to me that you care so much about our friendship. I think that is extremely admirable."
If anyone later asked, he only blushed because of the smoke in the air.
~[#҈#]~
"Damn it! How could you morons lose her! Do you know the security risk she poses? If she leaks one word I will have your heads! Get out and find her at all costs! Get out! " yelled the Chief Director.
Moujin did the clever thing, the expected thing and bowed his head in submission before shuffling as fast as possible out of the gigantic office of his superior. He spared the other idiots walking alongside him not even a glance, because their face quite frankly made him sick.
They had messed up everything!
They lost Carmilla before she could be extracted from police custody and now she was a walking, breathing info hazard waiting to doom their entire operation.
Of course they could silence all courts that would accept her claims, but even for the HPSC it would be hard to eliminate any trace of their involvement afterwards. It was a matter of principle. No one would normally believe a crazy girl that drank human blood like a filthy animal, but who knew what details that fell under operational security could be extracted from her by a capable third party?
According to their insiders, the police and the PSIA were equally stumped about her whereabouts which spelled a possible disaster for them all. The ones responsible for taking her could be criminals, the Chinese or any number of malicious organisations that would profit from defaming the Commission!
And he had no doubt that it would be innocent, upstanding folk like him who the President and the Chief Director would throw first under the bus
when worst came to worst.
He was not ready to go to prison!
Why was the world so unfair?
He had done nothing wrong and now because of the incompetence of others his wonderful career was going up in flames.
Well, if he was about to get punished for something he was not responsible for then he would take as many of these bastards with him as he could!
Spite and hysteria began to form a half-mad plan in his mind that would ensure his ungrateful superiors and worthless co-workers would curse the damned day when they wronged him. He was going to make sure that in case he 'went on an extended vacation' someone would enact his vengeance!
After everything he had done for that wretched girl, the least she could do was be his instrument of justice!
However he was going to need a while to accomplish this. Hopefully whoever was torturing Carmilla at the moment would take their sweet time and give him a few months, possibly a year. Then again those Chinese barbarians allegedly had a division of mindreaders for things like this, so
they could already be on the move...
A single application of his quirk 'Clear Mind' was not enough to calm him down completely, but administrator Moujin was nonetheless able to clearly reflect on the future.
And it looked dark indeed.
Grand Munchkin
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Woo! New chapter, and one that's every bit as glorious as the last one hinted it would be. Props, OP! Thank you for this meal.
Morte_Perpetua
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I forgot to post it here but your nice comment reminded me XD
Thank YOU for reading and encouraging me to continue this story!
Crimson Grave
The Amused. The Bemused. The Cemused.
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Not enough that deserve to use the title.
Because the majority of those who know, are because they used them to save their own asses or help push them higher for greater fame and money.
After all, the Glorious and Righteous HPSC make sure those who find out and don't agree with their views are given extended vacations as soon as possible.
Some fight back and get labeled villains and sent to Tartarus despite their rather light crimes.
Some accept and enjoy their vacation coming back enlightened.
Some are unfortunately killed in heroic action by villains.
Tanya's 1-B lesson - Extended Cut
apeljohn
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"In fact, I would explicitly not have given this test to Class 1A. Can anyone guess why?"
After a moment's silence, a student raised her hand. "Um... because Jirou-san would have been able to hear your assistant coming too easily?"
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "A tactically astute answer - good work Reiko-chan - but no. My assistant is perfectly capable of bypassing sensory quirks by a number of methods. Any other guesses?"
A green-haired girl spoke up. "Because the 1A students might have lashed out and hurt her when she dropped down?"
"I assure you, Ibara-chan, there would be little chance of my teaching assistant being hurt," Tanya said, studiously ignoring Himiko's smirk. "But you're actually fairly close." The class buzzed with whispers at her words, until she slammed a hand down on her desk, silencing them immediately.
"Yuuei Academy is the best Hero School in the country! This is generally accepted! But what is less well-known to the civilian population is why this is so. In short: we are the Hero School that teaches all the things that graduates of other schools wish they had been taught!"
She continued in a more normal tone. "As you would typically have discovered going into your third year, one of those subjects is Heroic Psychology. This is a field that Japanese society in general, and the Hero Public Safety Commission in particular, likes to pretend doesn't exist. You should be extremely glad that Principal Nedzu has enough political capital - was willing to expend enough political capital - to overrule them.
"Why? Because, in this era of relative peace, the single greatest cause of death in the heroic profession can be roughly described as 'suicide by villain'. Heroes going into situations that they were unprepared for - that they knew they were unprepared for, often deliberately or gratuitously so - against adversaries known for using lethal force, and essentially offering up their throats to madmen. Because a lifetime of combat stress can break a person down, and having to maintain professionalism throughout that career can accelerate the decline, and eventually many are willing to do whatever it takes to make it stop." She paused for a moment, as if lost in thought, before shaking herself roughly and continuing with the lecture.
"Principal Nedzu's support for the research, teaching and practice of Heroic Psychology is the primary reason why Yuuei graduates, over the course of their careers, have a twenty percent lower SBV mortality rate than their peers from other schools. That is gross not proportional: from a typical graduating hero class of twenty, the Principal's innovations will save no less than four lives.
"One of the key findings of this research - codified by none other than our own Hound Dog - is the importance of the period immediately after a hero is first blooded in combat against villains. In short: it is vital that young heroes be given time to recover their equilibrium, and rebuild their peace-time routine, before being thrust back into the crucible. That includes anything that could trigger a true fight-or-flight response.
"And that," she concluded, taking a deep breath, "is why Class 1A will not find my assistant jumping out of vents at them. For them it would be, not an amusing learning opportunity, but a potentially-harmful reminder of a traumatic experience."
A solemn silence spread through the classroom, before being broken by an unwelcome voice.
"So, wait," said Monoma. "You're saying that you wouldn't test Class 1A like that because they'd be too scared?! Oh, this is priceless! Hahahaha... hah... heh... um..." The blond troublemaker's uproarious laughter slowly petered off as he noticed the utterly enraged glare being directed at him by the two women at the front of the classroom.
"Well," said Tanya through gritted teeth, "I had intended for this to be a one-off demonstration to introduce my assistant. However, it appears some students could gain value from a more... comprehensive introduction to the importance of situational awareness." Ignoring Kuroiro's muttered "yeah, definitely buying a crotch protector," she turned to Himiko.
"Assistant-san, would you have some time now to discuss the specifics? I feel that this class has reached a natural end point for the day." Still struggling to contain her fury, she stomped from the room, her friend trailing after her.
The classroom was silent again for a moment before the yelling started.
---------------
That day was notable for being the last time Monoma complained about Class 1A. None of his fellow students brought up his rapid change of heart.
Nor did they discuss the loud screams from his room at 3am the following morning, or the way he would subsequently break into a cold sweat every time Assistant-san waved cheerfully at him. After all, it would be inconsiderate to rub another hero's trauma in their face, right?
Alone in her office, Tanya smiled in satisfaction.
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Morte_Perpetua
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Damn, that is soooo good! I wish I wrote that lol
The lesson was absolutely awesome! Thank you so much OMG
Can I post this in the Omake section on AO3 (with credit and everything of course)?
Also if you want to help me write scenes in the future or want to introduce your own plot points then please feel free to hit me up on Discord. It would make my heart burst from joy to read more from you!
https://discord.gg/NcebmpfY
You have my gratitude <3
apeljohn
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Go for it. I'm very glad it resonated for you
(Although the image of Monoma waking up with Himiko looming over him was definitely its own reward here!)I'm currently a bit too much of a mess to deliberately write stuff - medication issues - but I'll drop by Discord once I'm in a better headspace. Thanks for a great fic, I'm currently mid-way through a reread.
Morte_Perpetua
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That makes me glad! I wish you the best and want you to know that amazing people like you are the greatest reward I could wish for!Go for it. I'm very glad it resonated for you
I'm currently a bit too much of a mess to deliberately write stuff - medication issues - but I'll drop by Discord once I'm in a better headspace. Thanks for a great fic, I'm currently mid-way through a reread.
Have a wonderful day
Schneisse13
Getting sticky.
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I was wondering why I haven't seen any updates of the adventures of Tanya the strict teacher and Himi-ko at spacebaffles these past 6 months. Gone? And then to find it here, in qq, in the sfw forums that I don't usually watch? Joyful and joyous and jostling in japes~
Best read the tales from the start again, ehehehe~
Also shouldn't be surprised spacebaffles dubious mods strike again. Not sure how many other good and fun fics like this were driven off.
Best read the tales from the start again, ehehehe~
Also shouldn't be surprised spacebaffles dubious mods strike again. Not sure how many other good and fun fics like this were driven off.
Chapter 27
Morte_Perpetua
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Chapter 27
He inhaled deeply. The smoke was thick and acerbic, carrying with it a million fragments of broken dreams and a life that would never reach any satisfying conclusion. It was a bitter, hopeless scent that reminded him of the night when he burned his old self and became a wraith of ash and hatred that lived solely to take revenge on his accursed father and the cruel world that cheered him on.
"Nice work. Elemental Fire is always an awesome damage type to add to the party. You can join!" grinned the guy next to him as if this was supposed to be an honour.
What a prick.
While he felt nothing but ambivalence for the man whose apartment he just set ablaze, the same could not be said for his 'employer'. Shigaraki was a detestable weakling who hid from the cruel reality in his own make-belief fantasy world. Out of principle, Dabi hated anyone who closed their eyes from the truth and ignored their surroundings, like his mother did, the spineless coward.
"Okay..." he drawled, hands stuffed deep inside the pockets of his hoodie.
A dark-purple portal took them effortlessly back to the bar where he started his 'job interview'. Honestly, for a group that boasted to be able to kill All Might, their secret hideout was rather disappointing. An abandoned Arcade definitely did not scream 'villain lair', but he didn't care either way.
As long as that Shigaraki asshole helped him accomplish his one goal, Dabi was content to just sit around and try the dusty, old machines all day.
He had enough coins to spare, seeing as those did not burn in contrast to banknotes.
"Although there is one last thing..." Shigaraki added, lazily playing with an apple he had gotten from somewhere.
Ah, he knew where this was going...
"You see, we had a past recruit who has been unfaithful to the cause, so Sensei told me to be a bit more cautious."
The loser's hand closed completely around the fruit in his grip, turning it near instantly into rotten, brown filth that finally fell as unrecognizable dust to the floor. How threatening… If the guy ever laid a finger on him he would cremate him without remorse.
"That's why I had these special equipables made. Kurogiri, give him one."
A black armband fell out of the air in front of him and Dabi hesitantly picked it up.
"This thing will let me know your location at all times and it doubles as an emergency beacon! If you're in trouble just press the button on the side three times and we will come to the rescue if it's worth our time."
Shigaraki was obviously proud of his 'ingenious' idea, but did he have to be such a smug dickhead about it? Regardless, he wouldn't use it anyway.
"No way am I putting that on."
"What?"
There was a dangerous edge to the villain's voice that promised violence. His palms instinctively began to heat up.
"I'm not gonna let you look over my shoulder all the time. I don't need a babysitter wiping my ass. Constant surveillance was not part of our agreement."
"Well, you are either putting this on or..."
The implication that they would separate on less than friendly terms made him snort.
"Or what? You need me more than I need you. Who would wanna join your little circus after you failed to kill a hero three times in a row? You're not finding an idiot with such a powerful fire quirk as mine anywhere else."
"Why, you arrogant-"
"Shigaraki."
One single word from the television in the corner was enough to quiet the decay quirk user. Dabi had not paid it much attention prior as it was simply playing static with a flickering text message in the centre that read: 'Audio Only'.
"Young Dabi, would you please come closer?"
He found himself compelled to obey, despite his instincts fighting against it. Tentatively he stepped closer to the device while subtly glancing around the room.
"A little closer if you could."
Such was the power of the mysterious voice that he completely turned his back to Shigaraki to face the flickering TV which normally would have been unthinkable for him.
Nonetheless did he manage to sneer: "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"
"Now, now I was coming to that, Dabi or should I say... Toya Todoroki?"
What the fuck? How could this asshole at the other end of a machine recognize him? He purposely changed his appearance as much as possible to never be seen as the son of his abuser again!
"You want to know why? Hahaha... I would recognize such a beautiful flame anywhere, Toya." the damned voice chuckled in a sickeningly grandfatherly fashion.
"Don't you dare call me that, asshole!"
"Oh, struck a nerve, did I? But you made your distaste for Endeavour clear enough already. I can understand wanting to be rid of your closest relative, trust me. Family always causes more trouble than it's worth. I can help you reach your revenge if you help me with mine.
Dabi had half a mind to smash the stupid screen, but he also felt like it would be a pretty terrible idea.
"You still haven't answered my question, dude."
"Ah, yes, it must be my age getting to me, haha... You may call me All for One. Does that old title ring a bell?"
"You want me to believe that that sketchy rumour is true? A villain who can take and grant quirks? Pull the other one, it got bells on it."
"Unfortunately, I am not joking." spoke the unseen man with a sudden coldness that surprised even him.
Abruptly, black tentacles sprung forth from the TV and wound themselves around Dabi's body. Reflexively he called upon his fire, but aside from the sleeves of his hoodie nothing got burned by them.
"Stop that or you will find me far less agreeable to your disrespect. Immediately."
His pride demanded that he burn this whole building to the ground and show this fucker who he was messing with, however his caution one out at the end. The teleporting butler guy was directly behind him and he was sure that he could find himself dumped out in the middle of the Pacific if they wanted him gone really badly.
With great reluctance he let his blue fire die out and the disgusting black tentacles loosened their grip, but did not retreat completely.
"I know your type Dabi. You think you can do everything alone, because you cannot rely on anybody. What you fail to realize is that trust goes both ways. If you do not believe in Shigaraki to hold to his end of the bargain then how can he believe in you to do your job when the time comes?
You've been burned in the past-"
Was that an honest to god pun!?
"- but I really think you can find new connections here. If not friends then at least allies who you can proudly fight alongside in the war for a better world."
He made a vague sound of acknowledgement just to get the creepy asshole to shut up.
"So don't see the armband as a negative. You can still go out into the city at your leisure and Kurogiri will gladly take you anywhere else."
"Yes, Master." answered the purple butler like the obedient dog he was.
"See? We are only going to track you when you have gone missing. Without it we can't trust you to not run off and go rogue. It's as simple as that. In a way it's like a personal ID, only for members of the League. Really, you should count yourself lucky. In my youth the Yakuza used to cut off a finger from new recruits. In comparison this is no worse than what your smartphone is already doing with the difference that we won't sell your data to a third party. So, Dabi, are you going to accept and follow the path of revenge or are you too scared of this challenge?"
He hated it.
He hated how that old fart was manipulating him.
And most of all he hated that it worked.
"Fuck. Alright. But if you abuse this I'm gonna slowly roast you like a suckling pig!"
"Hahaha! I wouldn't have it any other way."
Dabi felt the strong urge to incinerate something again.
Himiko joyfully recounted how she handled a random mugger some time ago: "And then I, like, just hit him on the nose and he went out in one punch! For all his posturing he was such a wimp!"
"Makes sense when he had a mole quirk. Their noses are very sensitive. Ribbit." the cute frog-girl to her right chimed in. She would probably know stuff like that as a fellow animal quirk user.
"That's so awesome! Going out and beating up baddies during the night! It's like in one of those ancient American cartoons." laughed the equally adorable pink girl, sitting to her left. Mina was her name and so far she was a lot of fun!
"Mina, you know that it's illegal to do that without a hero license, right?" asked the invisible girl in mock-seriousness. Himiko obviously couldn't see her, but judging from her voice the transparent hero student was also, probably, very cute.
"Nope! If you don't use your quirk you can get away with a lot as self defence! Tanya taught me that you can't even get charged with vigilantism if you can prove that you did it quirkless."
"Woah. That's a big loophole..." marvelled Ochako, scrunching her little freckled face.
Why did they all have to be so gosh darn adorable upon closer inspection? Was this what having real friends felt like? Maybe after they got to know each other they would let her taste their blood?
"Don't you have a hero license, Himari? Or at least a provisional one? From what you described, I thought you were Miss Argent's sidekick."
'Yaomomo', the serious ravenette, questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Ah, yes her new fake identity. Perhaps she should have made more of an effort to hide her relationship with her senpai, but at the moment Himiko was just ecstatic to be able to talk with anybody about her beloved.
"Nah. I'm just her assistant, silly. Though I certainly wouldn't mind being her brave and loyal companion for life, hehe!"
A collective "Awww" filled Kyouka's bedroom which served as their impromptu meeting room. After she dealt with the boys, Himiko of course dutifully followed her obligations as teacher's assistant and developed a psychological profile of each student firsthand!
That was at least what she was going to use as an excuse. And yes, helping herself to the offered sweets was absolutely necessary for the 'infiltration process' to succeed.
She promptly took another handful of flower-shaped cookies and began happily munching on them.
"That's so cool, Himari. Any other juicy titbits you wanna tell us about Argent? Is it true that she is in a secret relationship?" Tooru whispered conspiratorially.
Cookie crumbs rained into Himiko's lap as her hand clenched in response. Still grinning widely, although it was a touch more strained to the perceptive eye, she merely shrugged.
"She's a very busy person, you know? She might make time for you all, but normally she is on patrol ten hours per day. Also, there isn't anyone she can really trust enough with a serious relationship like that."
'Except me. Tanya can always count on me.'
"Mina had a theory that it might be Hawks! They both seem close and it definitely fits the theme."
What theme? That stupid, ugly bird had absolutely nothing in common with her angel!
"A few weeks ago she came to class with makeup and everything! It was really unexpected because she doesn't use any – not that I'm saying she needs to – and it only makes sense if she did that for a boyfriend. If she's so busy then their dates should be pretty rare, right?"
"Don't forget how Hawks coincidentally transferred to this city almost at the same time as her! But that's just a theory! A looooove theory!" Mina loudly proclaimed and burst out laughing in spite of all the weird looks she was receiving.
Absent-mindedly Himiko noticed the relatively silent Kyouka wincing from the loud sound as she centred her breathing to stop her jealous fury from escalating.
'Their words mean nothing. They are nobodies. They can't take Senpai away from me!~' she chanted to herself in order to remain composed.
"Is that not way too far-fetched, ribbit? At the time it was understandable, but literally nothing else has pointed in this direction since then." Tsu calmly stated which instantly cemented her as the most likeable of the class 1-A girls in Himiko's mind.
"Yeah, Argent is a strong role model for us all. She has to have trained very hard to nearly reach the top ten at such a young age, so it's no wonder that she would continue to prioritize her career over her social life."
"Heh, you think she never had a boyfriend before, Momo? That's cold." joked Tooru again, making Himiko sincerely wonder if anybody would even be able to detect her corpse or if the invisibility would dispel upon getting brutally murdered.
The tall girl in question blushed a little, but nodded seriously nonetheless.
"There is nothing wrong with being inexperienced. It just shows that our main concern is our future work and not frolicking around."
Ochako smiled faintly and scratched one of her squishable, round cheeks in thought.
"Frolicking is such a funny word. Never heard it used before to be honest."
True. It sounded like something Tanya would use sarcastically though.
"Bet our fancy princess knows all kinds of even fancier words." teased Mina with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.
"Please don't call me a princess. I'm just a normal student like every one of you."
"And she's humble too!" cheered the fluffy pink girl and the group erupted in chuckles.
"Himari, what's your quirk? You haven't mentioned it yet, ribbit."
Of course she had a multitude of pre-prepared backstories ready, most of which she memorized together with her beloved as part of their training. Mmh, which to choose?
"It's quite simple actually. My quirk is only a mediocre speed and agility enhancement. Nothing cool like floating stuff or extending my tongue like you girls. Not hero material at all."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that! At the beginning of the school year Deku – uh, Midoriya, could only punch really hard and every time he did he broke his bones. Apparently his quirk evolved super late, but he still has incredible potential! Or take me for example! I thought I would only ever be useful for transporting heavy tools around and such, but with the right application even my Zero Gravity can be super strong! So I think you can be an amazing hero too, Himari!" Ochako exclaimed so passionately that Himiko could only stare at her in befuddlement.
She? A hero? In what world?
"Man, Izuku really rubbed off on you. Wow."
But despite how wrong it was...
"You two fit well together, ribbit."
It felt good to have others believe in her for once. No one besides Tanya ever truly saw potential in her.
"Oooh, that's so romantic!" Mina cried and Ochako ashamedly hid her face in her hands.
Yes, Himiko was definitely going to enjoy spending more time with these kids. They were precious and surprisingly nice. Maybe they could become actual friends in time or maybe not. Regardless, she would observe and protect them just as her senpai ordered.
"Greetings, sir. I hope you had a good day." Tanya smiled in the way she always did when talking to a superior who looked easy to aggravate.
"Argent, I have a question for you." her personal slave holder replied brashly.
Really, the longer she reflected upon her third childhood, the more disdain she felt for him. He stood by and watched when a few words could have helped both of them. There had been others of course – the doctors and instructors – who tried to mould her into a useful tool for the HPSC. Sometimes with honeyed words and sometimes with violence, although she seldom gave them reason to be disappointed with her progress.
At the time she just accepted her fate, for she knew of worse and could handle the mental strain due to her literally supernatural maturity. Yet when she thought of what could have been if she had been a simple child, then her stomach clenched in disgust.
What was hard work for an adult would have been torture to a devolving child.
Hawks was the living example that the system was effective, however the Commission did forever rob him of a normal childhood and it showed. Moujin might not be the one pulling the strings, but he was a symbol of the government's oppression and corruption all the same. He was a yes-man and a coward and he uncomfortably reminded her of the person she herself had been so long, long ago.
"I am all ears, Administrator."
"You know I always cared about you right? I always gave my best to help you out and now you have become a splendid hero! It's wonderful, right?"
Desperation leaked from his every pore so thickly it nearly caused her to laugh at how pathetic his manipulation attempt was. It was a bit too late to play the father figure now.
"Of course, sir. I am very grateful."
"Yes, it's good that you remember that. But I wanted to give you something extra. You see, I was of the opinion that you should receive a hefty bonus for your injury which luckily was not too severe. Nonetheless I put in a good word at the financial department and I am proud to award you two million Yen for your service to our glorious country. Take them with pride."
Extra funds were naturally nice, but why now of all times? Either the wheels of bureaucracy turned even slower than usual or he was making it up to get in her good graces. The third option was that she should have indeed received the compensation earlier, but Moujin passed it onto her only now because he wanted to bribe her with the money he stole from her in the first place.
Yeah, it could be either of them.
"Thank you very much, Administrator. I will spend it well."
"Sure. If you could put your weekly report here, then that would be all for today."
He wagged his finger at her like a dog.
"Do not forget to immediately message me if Carmilla attempts to contact you. We have to reacquire her no matter the cost. Understood?"
White-hot hatred exploded in Tanya's chest so strongly that it took her breath away for a second. Her practiced mask of subservience held however. Barely.
"I will remember that."
"Then I look forward to our next meeting. We could meet in a cafe next time, what do you think? To properly celebrate all your achievements. Remember the sweets I gifted you when you were fourteen? We can get more of those if you want."
Ah, how could she forget the squished bag of Wagashi that he gave her on her sixteenth birthday? Truly, a delicacy for the ages.
Unsure of what to do, she merely bowed her head.
"If you'd like that, Administrator."
Honestly, she mostly agreed because she was morbidly curious to see what extended exposure to sunlight would do to the man. His waxy skin indicated that M's only contact with fresh air consisted of the walk to and from his car.
"Wonderful. Wonderful. I already reserved a table so you don't need to worry about anything!"
It seemed he would have forced her regardless if she wanted or not.
"I'll be in your care, sir."
Just how much longer would that be when Nedzu finally finished preparing his plan?
He inhaled deeply. The smoke was thick and acerbic, carrying with it a million fragments of broken dreams and a life that would never reach any satisfying conclusion. It was a bitter, hopeless scent that reminded him of the night when he burned his old self and became a wraith of ash and hatred that lived solely to take revenge on his accursed father and the cruel world that cheered him on.
"Nice work. Elemental Fire is always an awesome damage type to add to the party. You can join!" grinned the guy next to him as if this was supposed to be an honour.
What a prick.
While he felt nothing but ambivalence for the man whose apartment he just set ablaze, the same could not be said for his 'employer'. Shigaraki was a detestable weakling who hid from the cruel reality in his own make-belief fantasy world. Out of principle, Dabi hated anyone who closed their eyes from the truth and ignored their surroundings, like his mother did, the spineless coward.
"Okay..." he drawled, hands stuffed deep inside the pockets of his hoodie.
A dark-purple portal took them effortlessly back to the bar where he started his 'job interview'. Honestly, for a group that boasted to be able to kill All Might, their secret hideout was rather disappointing. An abandoned Arcade definitely did not scream 'villain lair', but he didn't care either way.
As long as that Shigaraki asshole helped him accomplish his one goal, Dabi was content to just sit around and try the dusty, old machines all day.
He had enough coins to spare, seeing as those did not burn in contrast to banknotes.
"Although there is one last thing..." Shigaraki added, lazily playing with an apple he had gotten from somewhere.
Ah, he knew where this was going...
"You see, we had a past recruit who has been unfaithful to the cause, so Sensei told me to be a bit more cautious."
The loser's hand closed completely around the fruit in his grip, turning it near instantly into rotten, brown filth that finally fell as unrecognizable dust to the floor. How threatening… If the guy ever laid a finger on him he would cremate him without remorse.
"That's why I had these special equipables made. Kurogiri, give him one."
A black armband fell out of the air in front of him and Dabi hesitantly picked it up.
"This thing will let me know your location at all times and it doubles as an emergency beacon! If you're in trouble just press the button on the side three times and we will come to the rescue if it's worth our time."
Shigaraki was obviously proud of his 'ingenious' idea, but did he have to be such a smug dickhead about it? Regardless, he wouldn't use it anyway.
"No way am I putting that on."
"What?"
There was a dangerous edge to the villain's voice that promised violence. His palms instinctively began to heat up.
"I'm not gonna let you look over my shoulder all the time. I don't need a babysitter wiping my ass. Constant surveillance was not part of our agreement."
"Well, you are either putting this on or..."
The implication that they would separate on less than friendly terms made him snort.
"Or what? You need me more than I need you. Who would wanna join your little circus after you failed to kill a hero three times in a row? You're not finding an idiot with such a powerful fire quirk as mine anywhere else."
"Why, you arrogant-"
"Shigaraki."
One single word from the television in the corner was enough to quiet the decay quirk user. Dabi had not paid it much attention prior as it was simply playing static with a flickering text message in the centre that read: 'Audio Only'.
"Young Dabi, would you please come closer?"
He found himself compelled to obey, despite his instincts fighting against it. Tentatively he stepped closer to the device while subtly glancing around the room.
"A little closer if you could."
Such was the power of the mysterious voice that he completely turned his back to Shigaraki to face the flickering TV which normally would have been unthinkable for him.
Nonetheless did he manage to sneer: "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"
"Now, now I was coming to that, Dabi or should I say... Toya Todoroki?"
What the fuck? How could this asshole at the other end of a machine recognize him? He purposely changed his appearance as much as possible to never be seen as the son of his abuser again!
"You want to know why? Hahaha... I would recognize such a beautiful flame anywhere, Toya." the damned voice chuckled in a sickeningly grandfatherly fashion.
"Don't you dare call me that, asshole!"
"Oh, struck a nerve, did I? But you made your distaste for Endeavour clear enough already. I can understand wanting to be rid of your closest relative, trust me. Family always causes more trouble than it's worth. I can help you reach your revenge if you help me with mine.
Dabi had half a mind to smash the stupid screen, but he also felt like it would be a pretty terrible idea.
"You still haven't answered my question, dude."
"Ah, yes, it must be my age getting to me, haha... You may call me All for One. Does that old title ring a bell?"
"You want me to believe that that sketchy rumour is true? A villain who can take and grant quirks? Pull the other one, it got bells on it."
"Unfortunately, I am not joking." spoke the unseen man with a sudden coldness that surprised even him.
Abruptly, black tentacles sprung forth from the TV and wound themselves around Dabi's body. Reflexively he called upon his fire, but aside from the sleeves of his hoodie nothing got burned by them.
"Stop that or you will find me far less agreeable to your disrespect. Immediately."
His pride demanded that he burn this whole building to the ground and show this fucker who he was messing with, however his caution one out at the end. The teleporting butler guy was directly behind him and he was sure that he could find himself dumped out in the middle of the Pacific if they wanted him gone really badly.
With great reluctance he let his blue fire die out and the disgusting black tentacles loosened their grip, but did not retreat completely.
"I know your type Dabi. You think you can do everything alone, because you cannot rely on anybody. What you fail to realize is that trust goes both ways. If you do not believe in Shigaraki to hold to his end of the bargain then how can he believe in you to do your job when the time comes?
You've been burned in the past-"
Was that an honest to god pun!?
"- but I really think you can find new connections here. If not friends then at least allies who you can proudly fight alongside in the war for a better world."
He made a vague sound of acknowledgement just to get the creepy asshole to shut up.
"So don't see the armband as a negative. You can still go out into the city at your leisure and Kurogiri will gladly take you anywhere else."
"Yes, Master." answered the purple butler like the obedient dog he was.
"See? We are only going to track you when you have gone missing. Without it we can't trust you to not run off and go rogue. It's as simple as that. In a way it's like a personal ID, only for members of the League. Really, you should count yourself lucky. In my youth the Yakuza used to cut off a finger from new recruits. In comparison this is no worse than what your smartphone is already doing with the difference that we won't sell your data to a third party. So, Dabi, are you going to accept and follow the path of revenge or are you too scared of this challenge?"
He hated it.
He hated how that old fart was manipulating him.
And most of all he hated that it worked.
"Fuck. Alright. But if you abuse this I'm gonna slowly roast you like a suckling pig!"
"Hahaha! I wouldn't have it any other way."
Dabi felt the strong urge to incinerate something again.
~[#҈#]~
Himiko joyfully recounted how she handled a random mugger some time ago: "And then I, like, just hit him on the nose and he went out in one punch! For all his posturing he was such a wimp!"
"Makes sense when he had a mole quirk. Their noses are very sensitive. Ribbit." the cute frog-girl to her right chimed in. She would probably know stuff like that as a fellow animal quirk user.
"That's so awesome! Going out and beating up baddies during the night! It's like in one of those ancient American cartoons." laughed the equally adorable pink girl, sitting to her left. Mina was her name and so far she was a lot of fun!
"Mina, you know that it's illegal to do that without a hero license, right?" asked the invisible girl in mock-seriousness. Himiko obviously couldn't see her, but judging from her voice the transparent hero student was also, probably, very cute.
"Nope! If you don't use your quirk you can get away with a lot as self defence! Tanya taught me that you can't even get charged with vigilantism if you can prove that you did it quirkless."
"Woah. That's a big loophole..." marvelled Ochako, scrunching her little freckled face.
Why did they all have to be so gosh darn adorable upon closer inspection? Was this what having real friends felt like? Maybe after they got to know each other they would let her taste their blood?
"Don't you have a hero license, Himari? Or at least a provisional one? From what you described, I thought you were Miss Argent's sidekick."
'Yaomomo', the serious ravenette, questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Ah, yes her new fake identity. Perhaps she should have made more of an effort to hide her relationship with her senpai, but at the moment Himiko was just ecstatic to be able to talk with anybody about her beloved.
"Nah. I'm just her assistant, silly. Though I certainly wouldn't mind being her brave and loyal companion for life, hehe!"
A collective "Awww" filled Kyouka's bedroom which served as their impromptu meeting room. After she dealt with the boys, Himiko of course dutifully followed her obligations as teacher's assistant and developed a psychological profile of each student firsthand!
That was at least what she was going to use as an excuse. And yes, helping herself to the offered sweets was absolutely necessary for the 'infiltration process' to succeed.
She promptly took another handful of flower-shaped cookies and began happily munching on them.
"That's so cool, Himari. Any other juicy titbits you wanna tell us about Argent? Is it true that she is in a secret relationship?" Tooru whispered conspiratorially.
Cookie crumbs rained into Himiko's lap as her hand clenched in response. Still grinning widely, although it was a touch more strained to the perceptive eye, she merely shrugged.
"She's a very busy person, you know? She might make time for you all, but normally she is on patrol ten hours per day. Also, there isn't anyone she can really trust enough with a serious relationship like that."
'Except me. Tanya can always count on me.'
"Mina had a theory that it might be Hawks! They both seem close and it definitely fits the theme."
What theme? That stupid, ugly bird had absolutely nothing in common with her angel!
"A few weeks ago she came to class with makeup and everything! It was really unexpected because she doesn't use any – not that I'm saying she needs to – and it only makes sense if she did that for a boyfriend. If she's so busy then their dates should be pretty rare, right?"
"Don't forget how Hawks coincidentally transferred to this city almost at the same time as her! But that's just a theory! A looooove theory!" Mina loudly proclaimed and burst out laughing in spite of all the weird looks she was receiving.
Absent-mindedly Himiko noticed the relatively silent Kyouka wincing from the loud sound as she centred her breathing to stop her jealous fury from escalating.
'Their words mean nothing. They are nobodies. They can't take Senpai away from me!~' she chanted to herself in order to remain composed.
"Is that not way too far-fetched, ribbit? At the time it was understandable, but literally nothing else has pointed in this direction since then." Tsu calmly stated which instantly cemented her as the most likeable of the class 1-A girls in Himiko's mind.
"Yeah, Argent is a strong role model for us all. She has to have trained very hard to nearly reach the top ten at such a young age, so it's no wonder that she would continue to prioritize her career over her social life."
"Heh, you think she never had a boyfriend before, Momo? That's cold." joked Tooru again, making Himiko sincerely wonder if anybody would even be able to detect her corpse or if the invisibility would dispel upon getting brutally murdered.
The tall girl in question blushed a little, but nodded seriously nonetheless.
"There is nothing wrong with being inexperienced. It just shows that our main concern is our future work and not frolicking around."
Ochako smiled faintly and scratched one of her squishable, round cheeks in thought.
"Frolicking is such a funny word. Never heard it used before to be honest."
True. It sounded like something Tanya would use sarcastically though.
"Bet our fancy princess knows all kinds of even fancier words." teased Mina with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.
"Please don't call me a princess. I'm just a normal student like every one of you."
"And she's humble too!" cheered the fluffy pink girl and the group erupted in chuckles.
"Himari, what's your quirk? You haven't mentioned it yet, ribbit."
Of course she had a multitude of pre-prepared backstories ready, most of which she memorized together with her beloved as part of their training. Mmh, which to choose?
"It's quite simple actually. My quirk is only a mediocre speed and agility enhancement. Nothing cool like floating stuff or extending my tongue like you girls. Not hero material at all."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that! At the beginning of the school year Deku – uh, Midoriya, could only punch really hard and every time he did he broke his bones. Apparently his quirk evolved super late, but he still has incredible potential! Or take me for example! I thought I would only ever be useful for transporting heavy tools around and such, but with the right application even my Zero Gravity can be super strong! So I think you can be an amazing hero too, Himari!" Ochako exclaimed so passionately that Himiko could only stare at her in befuddlement.
She? A hero? In what world?
"Man, Izuku really rubbed off on you. Wow."
But despite how wrong it was...
"You two fit well together, ribbit."
It felt good to have others believe in her for once. No one besides Tanya ever truly saw potential in her.
"Oooh, that's so romantic!" Mina cried and Ochako ashamedly hid her face in her hands.
Yes, Himiko was definitely going to enjoy spending more time with these kids. They were precious and surprisingly nice. Maybe they could become actual friends in time or maybe not. Regardless, she would observe and protect them just as her senpai ordered.
~[#҈#]~
"Greetings, sir. I hope you had a good day." Tanya smiled in the way she always did when talking to a superior who looked easy to aggravate.
"Argent, I have a question for you." her personal slave holder replied brashly.
Really, the longer she reflected upon her third childhood, the more disdain she felt for him. He stood by and watched when a few words could have helped both of them. There had been others of course – the doctors and instructors – who tried to mould her into a useful tool for the HPSC. Sometimes with honeyed words and sometimes with violence, although she seldom gave them reason to be disappointed with her progress.
At the time she just accepted her fate, for she knew of worse and could handle the mental strain due to her literally supernatural maturity. Yet when she thought of what could have been if she had been a simple child, then her stomach clenched in disgust.
What was hard work for an adult would have been torture to a devolving child.
Hawks was the living example that the system was effective, however the Commission did forever rob him of a normal childhood and it showed. Moujin might not be the one pulling the strings, but he was a symbol of the government's oppression and corruption all the same. He was a yes-man and a coward and he uncomfortably reminded her of the person she herself had been so long, long ago.
"I am all ears, Administrator."
"You know I always cared about you right? I always gave my best to help you out and now you have become a splendid hero! It's wonderful, right?"
Desperation leaked from his every pore so thickly it nearly caused her to laugh at how pathetic his manipulation attempt was. It was a bit too late to play the father figure now.
"Of course, sir. I am very grateful."
"Yes, it's good that you remember that. But I wanted to give you something extra. You see, I was of the opinion that you should receive a hefty bonus for your injury which luckily was not too severe. Nonetheless I put in a good word at the financial department and I am proud to award you two million Yen for your service to our glorious country. Take them with pride."
Extra funds were naturally nice, but why now of all times? Either the wheels of bureaucracy turned even slower than usual or he was making it up to get in her good graces. The third option was that she should have indeed received the compensation earlier, but Moujin passed it onto her only now because he wanted to bribe her with the money he stole from her in the first place.
Yeah, it could be either of them.
"Thank you very much, Administrator. I will spend it well."
"Sure. If you could put your weekly report here, then that would be all for today."
He wagged his finger at her like a dog.
"Do not forget to immediately message me if Carmilla attempts to contact you. We have to reacquire her no matter the cost. Understood?"
White-hot hatred exploded in Tanya's chest so strongly that it took her breath away for a second. Her practiced mask of subservience held however. Barely.
"I will remember that."
"Then I look forward to our next meeting. We could meet in a cafe next time, what do you think? To properly celebrate all your achievements. Remember the sweets I gifted you when you were fourteen? We can get more of those if you want."
Ah, how could she forget the squished bag of Wagashi that he gave her on her sixteenth birthday? Truly, a delicacy for the ages.
Unsure of what to do, she merely bowed her head.
"If you'd like that, Administrator."
Honestly, she mostly agreed because she was morbidly curious to see what extended exposure to sunlight would do to the man. His waxy skin indicated that M's only contact with fresh air consisted of the walk to and from his car.
"Wonderful. Wonderful. I already reserved a table so you don't need to worry about anything!"
It seemed he would have forced her regardless if she wanted or not.
"I'll be in your care, sir."
Just how much longer would that be when Nedzu finally finished preparing his plan?
etulauna
Versed in the lewd.
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So Tanya realizes something is up but thinks he's just going to ask a big favor and is willing to go along with it for now. Won't she be surprised when he gives her critical information for her and Nedzu's takedown plan.
strongboar
I trust you know where the happy button is?
- Joined
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That's not a lot of money. The guy who won Takeshi's Castle got more money than that
Vanbers
Well worn.
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It's a reward from the government, she should be grateful for that 1.5 million yen!
...What? Of course she has to pay taxes on it. just because it's from the government doesn't mean the government won't take their cut.
averagejoe32
Versed in the lewd.
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Its not a millionaire money, but I wouldn't turn down a 14,987.28 dollar bonus.
2,000,000 Japanese Yen=14,987.28 United States Dollars.
Morte_Perpetua
Know what you're doing yet?
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We also have to consider that it is hundreds of years in the future so we have no clue what the currency is worth. Don't think about it too hard because its just meant to be a large but not quite remarkable sum of money.
Chapter 28
Morte_Perpetua
Know what you're doing yet?
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Chapter 28
Nedzu patiently folded his paws together as he waited for the Prime Minister to finish his little speech. With his journalist license he was allowed to sit in during meetings like these which from time to time came in very handy. He could tell that the balding man up on the podium was genuinely trying to do his best – else he wouldn't have bothered to contact the politician in the first place – but it was also clear as day that he was not in control of the state. Someone was pulling the poor minister's strings from behind the scenes and Nedzu had a good idea who that might be.
"- That would be all for today. Thank you for listening, honoured members of the Cabinet. If there are no further questions I declare this meeting closed and wish you all a wonderful day."
As the room emptied and his target wiped the sweat from his brow, Nedzu struck.
"I hope I don't come to you at an inopportune time, Prime Minister Kishimoto."
"Of course not, Mr. Principal. What can I do for you?"
"Well you see, we haven't caught up on things in a while and I wanted to check how you are doing and what problems potentially trouble you. If you want to chat about life or our beautiful country then I would be overjoyed to host you."
He could have made an appointment over the phone or per email, but Nedzu was reasonably sure that every digital message that graced the minister's eyes was being carefully reviewed by his opponents. Even now there were definitely multiple bugging devices in the room with them, listening to their every word.
"Ah, you see... As much as I'd love to chat with you I am rather busy at the moment. I can make room maybe in the next few months at the earliest."
How predictable. One tug and the man tumbled dutifully in the right direction like the proper marionette he was.
"That is unfortunate. Luckily I might be able to free your schedule up quite a bit! Could it be that you were going to me with – and please feel free to correct me on this – Kurokawa Kin, the famous car mogul tomorrow?"
"How did you-"
Nedzu stretched his grin to the exact specification that evoked an optimal fear response in most adult humans. His teaching staff proved to be ever so gracious test subjects for his studies in that field.
"Wonderful! Well, I fear that associating with him in the near future could have unpleasant consequences for you, Prime Minister. I have it on good authority that a major scandal involving the cleanliness of his air filters will come to light in the upcoming days. If such outrageous rumours were to come true then at least twenty-five thousand vehicles would need to be recalled in the name of public safety immediately and who knows what that might do to Kurokawa Industries stock price?"
Kishimoto paled and audibly swallowed.
"Of course. Uhm... That would be most unfortunate."
"Indeed." Nedzu smiled amicably, letting the politician stew in the uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.
"Anyways, as it so happens I have recently expanded my tea leaf selection and what better way is there to get over the pain of a lost business opportunity than by sharing a fine cup with friends? My office doors are always open to you and the other brave leaders of our nation, honoured Prime Minister. No pressure though."
It was a bit of a waste to give high quality tea to an uninteresting human like Kishimoto, but he would never give up hope to reform the unenlightened and introduce them to true herbal greatness.
"Y-yes. I'll ask my secretary and see what we can do."
"I wanted to hear nothing more. Thank you for your time, Prime Minister! See you tomorrow!"
He waved cheerily to the sweating man and skipped away without looking back, his mind already set on the next dozen steps in his plan for the ultimate liberation of Japan.
Tanya raised her hand in greeting as she hovered multiple meters above the plaza. Hundreds of passerby looked up to her, many cheering or snapping photos while she gave them a kind smile in return. Now it was more important than ever to show her strength and convince the populace that she was there to protect them.
To the collective disappointment of the crowd however, she left shortly thereafter to continue her patrol. It was the more fulfilling part of her job, although it often only involved menial tasks like helping the elderly over a street or discouraging teenagers from loitering. Argent did not mind, for peace was always something she would treasure.
Her patrol route was predetermined, but she nonetheless made an effort to pass by some of the poorer areas in town. Many pro heroes assumed that it would not be lucrative enough to bother with such places as they received less media attention and allowed statistically few 'big villain fights' like bank robberies, but that could not be further from the truth in Tanya's experience.
As long as she was seen, people would report about it online and stopping 'simple' muggings were also nothing to scoff at in her opinion. Here, in relative poverty where the arm of the law could not reach into every crack, was the breeding ground of tomorrow's super villains. Humans did what they believed was necessary to survive and if pushed too far anyone could become a criminal.
Naturally, social workers and police officers were more useful in preventing these tragedies from ever happening, yet she was in the unique position to spread what they couldn't with her mere presence:
Hope.
It sounded cheesy, but if All Might's rise and the ensuing era of peace proved one thing then it was that good PR was indeed the best tool of the state to keep its population under control. Thus, Tanya strived to be a symbol of stability and order as this was a fundamental part of being a true hero.
Under her sweeping gaze she instantly noticed the colourful ball flying through the air away from the nearby playground. Catching it in between two shields was equally easy before she deftly threw it back. Luckily no errant gust of wind blew it off course as the children screamed in delight over the return of their toy. Now that she thought about it, the little rascals had probably thrown it in her direction on purpose.
She shook her head in amusement and decided to raise her altitude completely over the roofs of the district in order to get a better overview and avoid more meddling from curious kids. The sun shone brilliantly upon the city while its inhabitants went about their daily routines, living their ordinary, boring, amazing lives.
For all their faults, the Hero Public Safety Commission was also partially responsible for upholding this fragile status quo which would have seemed unthinkable not too many decades ago. All Might was certainly not getting younger and if the League of Villains was anything to go by then heroes would have to contend with even tougher and organized opposition in the future.
Would 'clean' methods really be enough to keep this complex system of hidden daggers and mirrors running or would Nedzu have to resort to similar 'off the records' methods to keep his power once they dismantled the HPSC?
Tanya trusted his intentions, but could she even stop him if he ever went too far?
Had she possibly just switched one tyrant for another?
No matter… In exchange for Himiko's life she had sworn to give her best and nothing less. She was not alone anymore and regardless of what the future held, she was prepared to embrace it.
Something tickled at her neck, distracting her both from the view and her thoughts as she reflexively surrounded herself in a translucent cylinder of energy.
"He. Good to know you're still ticklish, Tanya."
A red feather twirled in a lazy loop around her before returning to its owner: Hawks.
"Keigo, it's been a while. Have you been hiding behind that chimney for hours just to surprise me?"
"Nah, just one or two minutes. Maybe five. I was having a late lunch break and then you floated along so I couldn't resist jumping you."
He winked at her goofily through his yellow sunglasses and she was immediately struck by a wave of strange nostalgia. His smile might have become more cynical with age, but at heart he was still the little boy who played Janken with her after training.
"Charming. That exhibitionist last week said the same exact thing before I arrested him." she replied good-naturedly.
"Ouch, you're comparing me to a sexual deviant? That hurts, Tanya. That really hurts." Hawks deadpanned.
"The truth does tend to do that." she quipped back.
When Tanya contemplated his playful expression and remembered their journey together over the years she couldn't help but look at him in a new light that she had never fully considered before.
Wasn't Keigo someone who needed her help as a hero too? Was he not a victim of the government in the same way as her?
Of course she had pitied him in the past, but never had she actually planned to free him from the invisible chains that bound him like she did with Himiko. In her mind he was always just an unfortunate tool for those in power, yet in hindsight that was an awfully reductionist approach.
"And what have you been up to besides expanding your repertoire of insults? Any news from UA?" the winged hero asked.
"Nothing much, although I am quite thankful for the opportunity to remain in the position of educator. At least partially. I like training good students..." she answered truthfully. "If you had to take on a second job what would that be? I could see you as a teacher as well."
Really, if Present Mic was able to do it then so could Hawks.
"Me? Grading homework and making sure none of them accidentally kill themselves is not exactly my style."
"Maybe not, but I think you would secretly enjoy watching the kids grow up. With your easy attitude and humour they would absolutely love you while still being capable of respecting your diligent work ethic."
His brows creased as he stared at her for a few seconds inquisitively. Then he broke out into bellowing laughter without warning.
"Hahahaha! I can't! Hahahaha! It's just... Hahahaha! Ha... Man, you really changed in the hospital didn't you?"
It was Tanya's turn to narrow her eyes at him.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Of course not. Anyhow, I'll have to go now. When you see Himiko tell her I said hi!"
And then with a mighty flap of his wings he shot out of reach and disappeared into the urban jungle of Musutafu.
Nobody had seemingly told him that as far as the Commission was concerned her friend was officially still missing. Interesting but not at all surprising considering that it was supposed to be top secret information.
Either that or he in fact suspected her of treason.
How troublesome…
Izuku idly played with his pen, his notebook open and his mind swirling with ideas.
One for All was a very strange quirk and he just couldn't get a good grip on why it was so special. Naturally, that was kind of obvious since the moment he learned that it could be passed on from one person to another. However he had also figured out that it was more than 'a stockpiling quirk' as All Might described it after he compared his own abilities to his mentor.
For example, why didn't the world's greatest hero manifest similar green lightning as Izuku did while using his power?
It just made no sense.
His leading theory was that One for All reacted to every host differently and gave them each a tiny variation of its power which would also neatly explain All Might's ability to morph into his 'muscle form' at will. Yet that brought with it a bunch of other problems.
Regardless of the specifics, he was happy that he wasn't breaking his bones anymore as long as he was being careful. Going over the threshold of around eight percent power output would still injure him, but it was amazing progress to be able to use even that much when four months ago he did not even have a quirk at all.
The greenette grunted from the strain as he pushed the leg trainer to its limits while he tried to concentrate on his handwriting at the same time. Izuku knew one thing for certain and that was that he couldn't afford to slack off if he wanted to make All Might proud and accomplish his dream. He was far too weak to be worthy of taking on the title of 'Symbol of Peace' and in spite of his best efforts he would remain so for the foreseeable future.
A new idea for a test involving the amperage of his green lightning crossed his mind and was promptly scribbled into the book. Until now it had appeared rather worthless like a cosmetic purely effect, but maybe he could refine it into something related to Kaminari's 'Volt Punch'...
"Hey Midoriya! Nice legs, bro!" Kirishima complimented him completely out of the blue while he made himself comfortable in the machine beside him.
"Thank you?"
Getting complimented from anyone but his mother was still weird.
"No problem, bro. Stay on the grind and the grind stays on you!"
What did that even mean? It sounded vaguely American...
"Have you seen Miss Argent's assistant? – Ugh – I swear she looked about ready to kill Mineta –Oof – when he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Scary stuff, but kinda manly you know?" blabbered the red-head as he lifted what looked like half a ton with ankles.
Of course he heard the story. Hopefully they would get to see her in tomorrow's afternoon lesson.
"Uh-huh. But why does Miss Argent need an assistant? She can handle our class just fine alone."
"No clue. Though Bakubro had the idea that she is there to help out when we do joint exercises with 1-B! – Ugh – So we learn to work together better and bring more equality to the hero courses."
"Kacchan said that?" Izuku asked, astonished.
"Well... not exactly. His words were more like 'another babysitter to watch these shitheads while they fail to catch up with us!' or something, but I'm sure he meant what I said."
Yeah, that sounded definitely more like Kacchan.
"Ehm...And how prepared do you feel for the next math test, Kirishima? I studied what I could, but Ectoplasm can be a bit strict with grading." he switched the topic, closing his notebook because he wouldn't be able to write now anyways.
This uncomfortable reminder drew a longer and louder groan from his classmate than all the physical exertion previously combined.
"I hate math. And it hates me in return. I'm so gonna fail that stupid test."
Izuku attempted to cheer him up: "Nah-nah... Don't say stuff like that. It's... uh, unmanly."
For a moment the frowning boy stilled before renewing his leg-pumping with twice the vigour.
"Oh... I guess that's true. Giving up is not manly at all! If quadratic formulas aim to defeat me then I'll crush them instead! How can I call myself an invincible shield if I let such simple tricks weaken me! Thank you Midoriya!"
That was more impassioned than anything he was expecting, but if Kirishima was motivated to go plus ultra on Ectoplasm's test then who was he to judge?
"Ehm... Y-you're welcome?"
From then on they settled into a comfortable rhythm of sweaty exertion as they both struggled to push their bodily limits. After a solid hour Izuku barely managed to climb out the machine and wobbled over to the showers where he nearly collapsed against tiles.
Flicking on the water he let it run over his aching back and breathed a deep sigh of relief which was immediately ruined by the snide remark from the stall next to him.
"Oi, Deku, don't think just 'cause you wiggle your scrawny legs a little you can stand up to me."
Pure tiredness overwrote the parts of his brain that normally would have made him flinch instinctively. He was quite simply too exhausted to care.
"Could we not right now, please?" Izuku said flatly with his eyes closed.
"You think you're hot shit now, but not for much longer." growled his former best friend.
Shrugging off the violent threat as usual he asked: "Since when were you even here?"
"I was at the power rack in the corner, dumbass. Are you blind?"
Izuku was rather certain that it had been impossible to see the power rack without the aid of an extendable eye quirk, but Kacchan was resistant to common logic on the best of days.
"Okay. Sorry for not noticing you then."
"Hmph. How about I teach you a lesson you won't ever forget, hm?"
"You can't. If you start a fight on school grounds that can be enough for a suspension. Mister Aizawa would subtract that from your end of the year certificate."
"I know that already, Deku! I'm not gonna beat you up in the fucking shower like a wimp! I'm gonna destroy you in Argent's field exercise tomorrow!"
Oh, joy…
Blindly, Izuku grasped for the soap and began to rub it over his chest. While Kacchan was ranting he might as well use the time.
"I'm gonna rub your face in the dirt and expose you to the entire hero course as the fraud you are! You won't tell me how you cheated your way into UA? Fine, I'll prove that you are a quirkless bastard once and for all! You don't have what it takes to be a hero, Deku! You'll just get yourself killed by chasing that idiotic dream of yours! Really, you should be on your knees fucking thanking me for showing you the truth! Not even those 1-B losers are going to accept you when you get thrown out as an absolute embarrassment!"
Only the sound of splattering, hot water on the floor filled the room as Izuku stood stiffly and waited.
He waited for the poisonous words to end.
He waited for the muscles in his jaw to relax so he could speak without hissing.
And most importantly, he waited because strangely... he felt utterly powerful and he did not know why.
A year ago he would have cowered before Katsuki, but he wasn't the same defenceless boy anymore. All Might trusted in him to one day stand up against all the evils in the world and after facing a literal monster, after fighting Stain the Hero Killer... well, not much compared.
Especially not his childhood bully.
It was liberating to see how far he had come.
Slowly he opened his mouth, forming each sound that left his throat deliberately:
"Okay, Kacchan. If we get to fight each other you can try. Our 'rematch' you would call it."
Izuku spat that word out with disdain. The whole concept was just so unbelievably petty to him.
"But you'd better consider beforehand what it says about you when you lose in a fight against me..."
His steely green eyes met the burning red orbs of his adversary, for that was all they were in this moment.
"... Again."
Nedzu patiently folded his paws together as he waited for the Prime Minister to finish his little speech. With his journalist license he was allowed to sit in during meetings like these which from time to time came in very handy. He could tell that the balding man up on the podium was genuinely trying to do his best – else he wouldn't have bothered to contact the politician in the first place – but it was also clear as day that he was not in control of the state. Someone was pulling the poor minister's strings from behind the scenes and Nedzu had a good idea who that might be.
"- That would be all for today. Thank you for listening, honoured members of the Cabinet. If there are no further questions I declare this meeting closed and wish you all a wonderful day."
As the room emptied and his target wiped the sweat from his brow, Nedzu struck.
"I hope I don't come to you at an inopportune time, Prime Minister Kishimoto."
"Of course not, Mr. Principal. What can I do for you?"
"Well you see, we haven't caught up on things in a while and I wanted to check how you are doing and what problems potentially trouble you. If you want to chat about life or our beautiful country then I would be overjoyed to host you."
He could have made an appointment over the phone or per email, but Nedzu was reasonably sure that every digital message that graced the minister's eyes was being carefully reviewed by his opponents. Even now there were definitely multiple bugging devices in the room with them, listening to their every word.
"Ah, you see... As much as I'd love to chat with you I am rather busy at the moment. I can make room maybe in the next few months at the earliest."
How predictable. One tug and the man tumbled dutifully in the right direction like the proper marionette he was.
"That is unfortunate. Luckily I might be able to free your schedule up quite a bit! Could it be that you were going to me with – and please feel free to correct me on this – Kurokawa Kin, the famous car mogul tomorrow?"
"How did you-"
Nedzu stretched his grin to the exact specification that evoked an optimal fear response in most adult humans. His teaching staff proved to be ever so gracious test subjects for his studies in that field.
"Wonderful! Well, I fear that associating with him in the near future could have unpleasant consequences for you, Prime Minister. I have it on good authority that a major scandal involving the cleanliness of his air filters will come to light in the upcoming days. If such outrageous rumours were to come true then at least twenty-five thousand vehicles would need to be recalled in the name of public safety immediately and who knows what that might do to Kurokawa Industries stock price?"
Kishimoto paled and audibly swallowed.
"Of course. Uhm... That would be most unfortunate."
"Indeed." Nedzu smiled amicably, letting the politician stew in the uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.
"Anyways, as it so happens I have recently expanded my tea leaf selection and what better way is there to get over the pain of a lost business opportunity than by sharing a fine cup with friends? My office doors are always open to you and the other brave leaders of our nation, honoured Prime Minister. No pressure though."
It was a bit of a waste to give high quality tea to an uninteresting human like Kishimoto, but he would never give up hope to reform the unenlightened and introduce them to true herbal greatness.
"Y-yes. I'll ask my secretary and see what we can do."
"I wanted to hear nothing more. Thank you for your time, Prime Minister! See you tomorrow!"
He waved cheerily to the sweating man and skipped away without looking back, his mind already set on the next dozen steps in his plan for the ultimate liberation of Japan.
~[#҈#]~
Tanya raised her hand in greeting as she hovered multiple meters above the plaza. Hundreds of passerby looked up to her, many cheering or snapping photos while she gave them a kind smile in return. Now it was more important than ever to show her strength and convince the populace that she was there to protect them.
To the collective disappointment of the crowd however, she left shortly thereafter to continue her patrol. It was the more fulfilling part of her job, although it often only involved menial tasks like helping the elderly over a street or discouraging teenagers from loitering. Argent did not mind, for peace was always something she would treasure.
Her patrol route was predetermined, but she nonetheless made an effort to pass by some of the poorer areas in town. Many pro heroes assumed that it would not be lucrative enough to bother with such places as they received less media attention and allowed statistically few 'big villain fights' like bank robberies, but that could not be further from the truth in Tanya's experience.
As long as she was seen, people would report about it online and stopping 'simple' muggings were also nothing to scoff at in her opinion. Here, in relative poverty where the arm of the law could not reach into every crack, was the breeding ground of tomorrow's super villains. Humans did what they believed was necessary to survive and if pushed too far anyone could become a criminal.
Naturally, social workers and police officers were more useful in preventing these tragedies from ever happening, yet she was in the unique position to spread what they couldn't with her mere presence:
Hope.
It sounded cheesy, but if All Might's rise and the ensuing era of peace proved one thing then it was that good PR was indeed the best tool of the state to keep its population under control. Thus, Tanya strived to be a symbol of stability and order as this was a fundamental part of being a true hero.
Under her sweeping gaze she instantly noticed the colourful ball flying through the air away from the nearby playground. Catching it in between two shields was equally easy before she deftly threw it back. Luckily no errant gust of wind blew it off course as the children screamed in delight over the return of their toy. Now that she thought about it, the little rascals had probably thrown it in her direction on purpose.
She shook her head in amusement and decided to raise her altitude completely over the roofs of the district in order to get a better overview and avoid more meddling from curious kids. The sun shone brilliantly upon the city while its inhabitants went about their daily routines, living their ordinary, boring, amazing lives.
For all their faults, the Hero Public Safety Commission was also partially responsible for upholding this fragile status quo which would have seemed unthinkable not too many decades ago. All Might was certainly not getting younger and if the League of Villains was anything to go by then heroes would have to contend with even tougher and organized opposition in the future.
Would 'clean' methods really be enough to keep this complex system of hidden daggers and mirrors running or would Nedzu have to resort to similar 'off the records' methods to keep his power once they dismantled the HPSC?
Tanya trusted his intentions, but could she even stop him if he ever went too far?
Had she possibly just switched one tyrant for another?
No matter… In exchange for Himiko's life she had sworn to give her best and nothing less. She was not alone anymore and regardless of what the future held, she was prepared to embrace it.
Something tickled at her neck, distracting her both from the view and her thoughts as she reflexively surrounded herself in a translucent cylinder of energy.
"He. Good to know you're still ticklish, Tanya."
A red feather twirled in a lazy loop around her before returning to its owner: Hawks.
"Keigo, it's been a while. Have you been hiding behind that chimney for hours just to surprise me?"
"Nah, just one or two minutes. Maybe five. I was having a late lunch break and then you floated along so I couldn't resist jumping you."
He winked at her goofily through his yellow sunglasses and she was immediately struck by a wave of strange nostalgia. His smile might have become more cynical with age, but at heart he was still the little boy who played Janken with her after training.
"Charming. That exhibitionist last week said the same exact thing before I arrested him." she replied good-naturedly.
"Ouch, you're comparing me to a sexual deviant? That hurts, Tanya. That really hurts." Hawks deadpanned.
"The truth does tend to do that." she quipped back.
When Tanya contemplated his playful expression and remembered their journey together over the years she couldn't help but look at him in a new light that she had never fully considered before.
Wasn't Keigo someone who needed her help as a hero too? Was he not a victim of the government in the same way as her?
Of course she had pitied him in the past, but never had she actually planned to free him from the invisible chains that bound him like she did with Himiko. In her mind he was always just an unfortunate tool for those in power, yet in hindsight that was an awfully reductionist approach.
"And what have you been up to besides expanding your repertoire of insults? Any news from UA?" the winged hero asked.
"Nothing much, although I am quite thankful for the opportunity to remain in the position of educator. At least partially. I like training good students..." she answered truthfully. "If you had to take on a second job what would that be? I could see you as a teacher as well."
Really, if Present Mic was able to do it then so could Hawks.
"Me? Grading homework and making sure none of them accidentally kill themselves is not exactly my style."
"Maybe not, but I think you would secretly enjoy watching the kids grow up. With your easy attitude and humour they would absolutely love you while still being capable of respecting your diligent work ethic."
His brows creased as he stared at her for a few seconds inquisitively. Then he broke out into bellowing laughter without warning.
"Hahahaha! I can't! Hahahaha! It's just... Hahahaha! Ha... Man, you really changed in the hospital didn't you?"
It was Tanya's turn to narrow her eyes at him.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Of course not. Anyhow, I'll have to go now. When you see Himiko tell her I said hi!"
And then with a mighty flap of his wings he shot out of reach and disappeared into the urban jungle of Musutafu.
Nobody had seemingly told him that as far as the Commission was concerned her friend was officially still missing. Interesting but not at all surprising considering that it was supposed to be top secret information.
Either that or he in fact suspected her of treason.
How troublesome…
~[#҈#]~
Izuku idly played with his pen, his notebook open and his mind swirling with ideas.
One for All was a very strange quirk and he just couldn't get a good grip on why it was so special. Naturally, that was kind of obvious since the moment he learned that it could be passed on from one person to another. However he had also figured out that it was more than 'a stockpiling quirk' as All Might described it after he compared his own abilities to his mentor.
For example, why didn't the world's greatest hero manifest similar green lightning as Izuku did while using his power?
It just made no sense.
His leading theory was that One for All reacted to every host differently and gave them each a tiny variation of its power which would also neatly explain All Might's ability to morph into his 'muscle form' at will. Yet that brought with it a bunch of other problems.
Regardless of the specifics, he was happy that he wasn't breaking his bones anymore as long as he was being careful. Going over the threshold of around eight percent power output would still injure him, but it was amazing progress to be able to use even that much when four months ago he did not even have a quirk at all.
The greenette grunted from the strain as he pushed the leg trainer to its limits while he tried to concentrate on his handwriting at the same time. Izuku knew one thing for certain and that was that he couldn't afford to slack off if he wanted to make All Might proud and accomplish his dream. He was far too weak to be worthy of taking on the title of 'Symbol of Peace' and in spite of his best efforts he would remain so for the foreseeable future.
A new idea for a test involving the amperage of his green lightning crossed his mind and was promptly scribbled into the book. Until now it had appeared rather worthless like a cosmetic purely effect, but maybe he could refine it into something related to Kaminari's 'Volt Punch'...
"Hey Midoriya! Nice legs, bro!" Kirishima complimented him completely out of the blue while he made himself comfortable in the machine beside him.
"Thank you?"
Getting complimented from anyone but his mother was still weird.
"No problem, bro. Stay on the grind and the grind stays on you!"
What did that even mean? It sounded vaguely American...
"Have you seen Miss Argent's assistant? – Ugh – I swear she looked about ready to kill Mineta –Oof – when he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Scary stuff, but kinda manly you know?" blabbered the red-head as he lifted what looked like half a ton with ankles.
Of course he heard the story. Hopefully they would get to see her in tomorrow's afternoon lesson.
"Uh-huh. But why does Miss Argent need an assistant? She can handle our class just fine alone."
"No clue. Though Bakubro had the idea that she is there to help out when we do joint exercises with 1-B! – Ugh – So we learn to work together better and bring more equality to the hero courses."
"Kacchan said that?" Izuku asked, astonished.
"Well... not exactly. His words were more like 'another babysitter to watch these shitheads while they fail to catch up with us!' or something, but I'm sure he meant what I said."
Yeah, that sounded definitely more like Kacchan.
"Ehm...And how prepared do you feel for the next math test, Kirishima? I studied what I could, but Ectoplasm can be a bit strict with grading." he switched the topic, closing his notebook because he wouldn't be able to write now anyways.
This uncomfortable reminder drew a longer and louder groan from his classmate than all the physical exertion previously combined.
"I hate math. And it hates me in return. I'm so gonna fail that stupid test."
Izuku attempted to cheer him up: "Nah-nah... Don't say stuff like that. It's... uh, unmanly."
For a moment the frowning boy stilled before renewing his leg-pumping with twice the vigour.
"Oh... I guess that's true. Giving up is not manly at all! If quadratic formulas aim to defeat me then I'll crush them instead! How can I call myself an invincible shield if I let such simple tricks weaken me! Thank you Midoriya!"
That was more impassioned than anything he was expecting, but if Kirishima was motivated to go plus ultra on Ectoplasm's test then who was he to judge?
"Ehm... Y-you're welcome?"
From then on they settled into a comfortable rhythm of sweaty exertion as they both struggled to push their bodily limits. After a solid hour Izuku barely managed to climb out the machine and wobbled over to the showers where he nearly collapsed against tiles.
Flicking on the water he let it run over his aching back and breathed a deep sigh of relief which was immediately ruined by the snide remark from the stall next to him.
"Oi, Deku, don't think just 'cause you wiggle your scrawny legs a little you can stand up to me."
Pure tiredness overwrote the parts of his brain that normally would have made him flinch instinctively. He was quite simply too exhausted to care.
"Could we not right now, please?" Izuku said flatly with his eyes closed.
"You think you're hot shit now, but not for much longer." growled his former best friend.
Shrugging off the violent threat as usual he asked: "Since when were you even here?"
"I was at the power rack in the corner, dumbass. Are you blind?"
Izuku was rather certain that it had been impossible to see the power rack without the aid of an extendable eye quirk, but Kacchan was resistant to common logic on the best of days.
"Okay. Sorry for not noticing you then."
"Hmph. How about I teach you a lesson you won't ever forget, hm?"
"You can't. If you start a fight on school grounds that can be enough for a suspension. Mister Aizawa would subtract that from your end of the year certificate."
"I know that already, Deku! I'm not gonna beat you up in the fucking shower like a wimp! I'm gonna destroy you in Argent's field exercise tomorrow!"
Oh, joy…
Blindly, Izuku grasped for the soap and began to rub it over his chest. While Kacchan was ranting he might as well use the time.
"I'm gonna rub your face in the dirt and expose you to the entire hero course as the fraud you are! You won't tell me how you cheated your way into UA? Fine, I'll prove that you are a quirkless bastard once and for all! You don't have what it takes to be a hero, Deku! You'll just get yourself killed by chasing that idiotic dream of yours! Really, you should be on your knees fucking thanking me for showing you the truth! Not even those 1-B losers are going to accept you when you get thrown out as an absolute embarrassment!"
Only the sound of splattering, hot water on the floor filled the room as Izuku stood stiffly and waited.
He waited for the poisonous words to end.
He waited for the muscles in his jaw to relax so he could speak without hissing.
And most importantly, he waited because strangely... he felt utterly powerful and he did not know why.
A year ago he would have cowered before Katsuki, but he wasn't the same defenceless boy anymore. All Might trusted in him to one day stand up against all the evils in the world and after facing a literal monster, after fighting Stain the Hero Killer... well, not much compared.
Especially not his childhood bully.
It was liberating to see how far he had come.
Slowly he opened his mouth, forming each sound that left his throat deliberately:
"Okay, Kacchan. If we get to fight each other you can try. Our 'rematch' you would call it."
Izuku spat that word out with disdain. The whole concept was just so unbelievably petty to him.
"But you'd better consider beforehand what it says about you when you lose in a fight against me..."
His steely green eyes met the burning red orbs of his adversary, for that was all they were in this moment.
"... Again."
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Know what you're doing yet?
- Joined
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SHOTS FIRED!
guisniperman
Pregnancy Fetishist
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Hello I'd like to report a murder. The corpse is burned to a crisp and littered with bullet holes.
LuridThrone
Sitting On The
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Wow Deku just woke up and chose violence today huh?
strongboar
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Oh hey. He's not a doormat. Well still is. But not as much