Our Teacher is a Devil (Youjo Senki x BNHA)

(Credit to "Glas" from spacebattles. Although the thread is gone, their awesome work still lives on!)

Our Teacher is a Devil


Chapter 1

Izuku was feeling anxious. His first week in high school had been far more chaotic and nerve-wracking than he ever could have imagined. First his teacher had threatened him with expulsion on the first day, then Kacchan had nearly killed him during the battle trial and then a few days ago his whole class had been attacked by villains! Real villains!
Not to mention the other countless moments which had turned his life upside down lately. Like the fact that he had actual friends now or that he talked with a girl on a daily basis! His mother had been so proud. And All Might had given him his quirk! The best and most awesome quirk there was! Honestly, he often asked himself what he had done to deserve all this luck. All Might had told him that he earned his new power through his own effort, but still...

Was he really worthy?

He shook his head. Enough of those gloomy thoughts! Even if he was not worthy now, he would give his best and slowly over time prove to his mother and his friends that he deserved to be a hero! Izuku would save everyone he could with a smile on his lips, just like his mentor.

“I am here!” he whispered to himself and grinned.

The smile on his face froze when he looked at his watch and realized that he would need to hurry if he wanted to be punctual for the start of class. Aizawa didn´t tolerate tardiness in the slightest and he had no desire to be expelled in his second week here at UA high school! Thank you very much!

Izuku sprinted through the mostly empty school corridors (which would probably displease Iida) and hastily ripped open the monstrous door to his class room. His eyes scanned the room for his teacher’s signature sleeping bag.
“Huh... He isn't here yet.” he breathed out relieved.

“Midoriya! Are you alright?” asked Iida. Many others followed suit, most notably Uraraka who even hugged him! A girl had voluntarily hugged him! What should he do? What should he-

Mina snickered as she saw his completely flushed face.

Eventually he relaxed into the hug, although he was not brave enough to reciprocate it. It was nice to have friends who cared about his well-being.
His blissful mood was shattered by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

Instinctively he turned around and looked up only to find nothing. Slowly his gaze travelled lower until came face to face with a person even smaller than himself. That was not something that happened often, considering he was already rather diminutive, but the little, blond girl in front of him was half a head shorter than him!

“Would you all please move out of the way and get to your seats? Class is about to begin.”

Nervously he scurried over to his desk and sat down along with the rest of his classmates. Well, all except for one...

“What the fuck is a little girl doing here? Has one of those stupid teachers lost their kid or what?” sneered Bakugou.

“No, Mr. Bakugou. This is not the case and I would advise you to show more respect to your superiors in the future. Now sit.”

As she spoke the last part a silvery shimmer appeared to envelop the boy before he was slammed down into his seat. Hard.

Izuku perked up. He knew that twinkling energy field! The blond girl was a pro hero! She was...

“Greetings class A-1. I am Tanya von Degurechaff also known under the hero alias Argent.”

“The Eleventh Goddess!” he loudly proclaimed. Too loud maybe as the hero in question shot him an annoyed look, but he was so excited that he just couldn't control himself.

Even though she was not in his top five hero list, she had quickly earned her place as the number seven in his heart after her flawless debut and comet-like ascend up the rating board. There wasn't much public information about her personal life as she was very secretive in her interviews, but he knew that she was barely twenty years old. Despite her young age that should have allowed her next to null practical experience she was one of the most effective heroes on the field!

Of course her monthly capture rates paled in comparison to All Might or even Endeavour, but she had a near hundred percent success rate. An incredible feat that was an unachievable dream for most professionals in the industry. Furthermore, in contrast to Endeavour or other “high capacity” heroes with powerful quirks she could claim to possess a very low property damage and injury register. All her missions were executed flawlessly and with the utmost professionalism and speed. A model hero in Izuku´s opinion!

This impressive work ethic awarded her the spot of place eleven on the national leader boards merely one year after her debut in Tokyo. A record that even eclipsed that of Hawks who had achieved the spot of number three after two years of hard work.

Only two months ago an anonymous user on social media had posted a picture which showed Degurechaff carrying multiple injured civilians out of a burning building on her silver barriers. The backdrop of the low evening sun had given her the illusion of a halo while the eponymous argent shields had appeared like shining wings. (Izuku had immediately saved the picture in his folder “coolest hero pics of all time”, because it was so epic.)

Another user had jokingly commented: “Looks like a goddess descending from the heavens lol. Our Number eleven is awesome <3”

Since then the term “Eleventh Goddess” had become an affectionate nickname in the online community for the cute and devastatingly powerful heroine.

“I knew it!” he heard Uraraka say.

That she was interested in Ms. Degurechaff came as no surprise to Izuku. She was a rescue hero enthusiast of similar calibre to him after all. Now that he thought about it the gravity quirk user could probably learn much from Argent...
“You are most likely asking yourself what I am doing here right now instead of your home room teacher Mr. Aizawa. The answer is that I will take over his lessons as well as Mr. All Might´s lessons in Foundational Heroics for the foreseeable future. Both of them have been wounded to various degrees and need to take care of other business at the moment so the Hero Commission has assigned me as a temporary replacement.”

“Yay! I am saved!” cried Mineta. He probably believed that without Eraserhead present he would be unlikelier to be expelled.

“I do not know how Mr. Aizawa has handled your education so far, but let me assure you that I take my new position very seriously. I will not tolerate misbehaviour or disobedience of any kind. When I ask you a question I expect it to be answered immediately. Furthermore you may only address me as ‘Ms. Degurechaff’ or if German is too difficult to pronounce for you ‘Ms. Argent’. Is that understood?”

“Yes Ms. Argent?” mumbled half the class. Most sounded so unsure that it seemed more like a question.

“I asked if I was understood.” she said more forcefully this time, her eyes blazing blue.

“YES MS. ARGENT!” shouted everyone more energetically.

“Hmph... We will need to work on that.”

Izuku let out a small sigh of relief when the cerulean light in her eyes dimmed. The small woman had for a moment appeared even scarier than Aizawa. How was that possible?

“Now, before we begin, do you have any questions for me?”

Izuku slowly raised his hand while looking around to make sure he did inconvenience anybody else who wanted to ask her something. His other hand wandered to his notebook to immediately jot down her answers.

“Yes Midoriya?”

“Would you rather call yourself a rescue focused hero or a combat focused hero?”

“I meant questions of administrative nature, but I guess I was unclear on that."

What a shame. He would have loved to interview her more about her quirk! It was so interesting!

"I would call myself neither, for I see both these aspects as intrinsic to my job as a pro hero. You cannot save somebody without neutralizing potentially harmful elements first and you cannot fight someone without saving the mission objective or else you will have failed. I do what I can wherever I am available to the best of my abilities as should every pro hero with a versatile skill set. Does that answer your question?”

He nodded.

“So manly...” whispered Kirishima somewhere in the background.

What an interesting person. Izuku idly wondered how someone so young could already possess so much maturity and experience. How could Argent have grown up to become the way she was today?

~[#҈#]~
​

Nedzu was intrigued. That did not happen often when he possessed such startling intelligence that he could predict
entire conversations before somebody even opened their mouth.

Tanya von Degurechaff however was a mystery with many confusing solutions...

The hero Commission had obviously tried to gain a foothold in his school by sending one of their most loyal agents here. Their sheer ruthlessness and determination to gain more influence over his domain was as astounding as it was pathetic. Normally, he would have suppressed such attempts with his far-reaching influence, but this time they had used the USJ incident to cry out for more safety measures and everybody believed them. Like the wretched fools they were, supplied the part of his brain that still had not forgiven humanity for what they did to him.

Although, if he was honest with himself he was kind of glad that they succeeded with their ploy. For as much as the Hero Commission could learn about him through Tanya, he could learn as much about them as well.

And maybe even gain insight into the mind of the Argent Hero, or the mystery girl as he privately called her.

Because Nedzu had known the little blond girl before the Hero Commission had sunk their claws into her. Before her immigrant parents had died under suspicious circumstances and she had been transferred to the public orphanage for a single night. Before all that.

They had met only a single time, but he would never forget the look of cold apathy as she watched a man getting torn in half. He thought himself a good judge of character, (humans were predictable animals after all) and yet he was unsure if the tiredness he perceived from the small child back then had been real or just his imagination.

It had been a weariness resulting not from a lack of sleep or rest which would have been normal for a child her age, but one of purely psychological origin. The kind of fatigue he saw sometimes when he looked in the mirror or the one many pro-heroes had late in their career. An expression only those were familiar with who had seen the world burn far too many times to cry anymore for the innocents that got swallowed up in its flames. When you had accepted deep down that there was no hope for things to ever truly change, because the cycles of history, big and small, would repeat themselves forever.

That resigned hopelessness was not something a child should understand.

But young Tanya had.

And he couldn't figure out how.

 

Chapter 2

“So now that I know what I will have to work with, I think it's time to inform you about what we are going to do in the next two weeks.”

Although everybody’s head felt like it was about to explode from the mind-numbing amount of questions they had just weathered class 1-A collectively perked up. Miss Degurechaff had bombarded them with inquiries about their work-out routine, their diet plans, their quirk training, their combat experience and much more over the course of the last hour with a ferocity that had even exhausted Izuku.

They all had to write their answers down as fast as she asked for them. Apparently that had been part of an exercise, but she wouldn’t elaborate for what exact purpose. Afterwards a silvery shimmer had surrounded each piece of paper and lifted them up through the air, collecting them on the teacher's desk. (A sight that had Izuku frantically scrambling for his notebook.)

“You might have survived against common street thugs and a few high-level villains, but in comparison to what you are about to face you are totally underprepared. A match against those vastly weaker or stronger than you can teach only so much, but against those of similar skill... That is where you will need to truly push yourself and overcome your weaknesses.”

The whole class was hanging at Argent’s lips.

What would she say?

What could be worse than actual villains?

“I am talking of course about the annual sports festival.”

Chaos broke out.

“Really?” “Oh man, I thought she was gonna say we have to fight All Might or something!” “Ridiculous!” “This can't be…” “Is she for real?”

Until suddenly Degurechaff’s voice cut through the noise like butter:
“SILENCE!”

Most instantly quieted down and the rest lowered their voices to a whisper to finish their thoughts.

“There is no need to scream like monkeys. You are heroes in training. Act like it!”

Iida sheepishly looked down at his desk.

“If you have questions, raise your hand and ask. Like I said, the sports festival will be held in two weeks.”

“B-but shouldn't the school postpone the event?”

“Yeah, what if the villains attack again?” asked Kaminari.

Many shivered at the mere thought.

“The principal made the decision and I am not here to question his orders. Regardless if you agree with Nedzu’s judgement or not you will have to attend if you do not wish for a one week long detention with me.”

Her tone was so flat and her glare so icy that it instantly shut them up.

“Besides, the principal is probably the most intelligent being on this planet. I doubt he would carelessly expose you all to danger. Whatever his reasons are, they are most likely very good.”

Momo thoughtfully nodded at that.

“The lesson is almost over, but let me tell you this: I am going to assist with your training and offer advice where necessary, but you will be the ones that have to put in the effort. If you require upgraded support equipment go to the support course! If you want to get stronger go to the gym! I am not here to hold your hand. As future heroes you are expected to take care of yourself. Do you understand?”

“YES MS. ARGENT!”

“We will go over some training routines for you next time. Any more questions for today?”

Nobody dared to make a sound.

“Dismissed.” she said with a wave of her hand right before the bell signalled the end of class. How she had timed that so perfectly was anyone's guess.

~[#҈#]~​

“Midoriya, a word please.”

Oh no. Was he in trouble? Had he said something wrong? Did she think that he had written too much information on his sheet? Was he too annoying? Would he get detention? Would he-

“Relax. Nothing of the sort is true.”

While that was a relief his cheeks started colouring from embarrassment. He had been mumbling again.

“Yes, you are mumbling. A nervous tick that you should get under control sooner rather than later. I know that you are an intelligent kid judging from your ninety-six percent in the entrance exam.
So giving away your potentially insightful thoughts to your enemies might backfire at the worst possible moment. Understood?”

“Y-yes, Miss Degurechaff.”

“Good. What I want to talk with you about is why you are by far the most injured student in this institution only one week after school has started. I read your file and you have been treated by Recovery Girl three times already, not counting the one time after the USJ incident. Why is that?”

“Um... Eh... My... M-my quirk is... ah... tricky to control. I end up hurting m-myself if I use it...”

“Is that an innate feature of your quirk? Do you need to get hurt to get stronger?”

“N-no, Ms. Degurechaff! It's just... I... It came in really late. I mean my quirk. I don’t have much experience... using it...”

“So what you are saying is that with more practice you could reach a point where you do not cripple yourself accidentally?”

Ouch. If she put it like that it sounded so brutal. Well, it kind of was actually...

“Yes?” he whispered.

Argent just nodded as if she had heard that story a thousand times already.

“Good.”

“W-what?”

“That means you can improve. Do you go to quirk therapy or quirk counseling?”

“No?”

“You know that this school has trained professionals to do that job? Have you not been sent to UA’s quirk counselor yet?”

“T-they have a counsellor?” he asked in puzzlement.

“But Eraserhead – I mean Mr. Aizawa knew about your... condition?”

“Yeah. I-I told him.”

Ms. Degurechaff groaned and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. Izuku could only make out: “... X... punish... again.”

Finally she bit her teeth together and hissed out: “And pray tell, what did he say in response to your problem?”

“Um... Mr. Aizawa told me that I need to figure out how to use my quirk without injuring myself.”

“Really? That's it?”

“Y-yeah?”

He shrunk in on himself under the sheer, ice-cold fury of her glare. Argent was smoldering with fury! Objectively Izuku knew that his teacher was a pro hero who wouldn't hurt him, but that didn't change the fact that he suddenly felt very afraid for his physical well-being. Whatever he had messed up... He would surely be expelled for it now!

“I-I’m s-s-sorry M-ms. D-degurechaff! It w-won’t happen a-again!” he pleaded while bowing as deep as he could.

“What? Midoriya stand up.”

Hesitantly he straightened his back, but could not bring himself to meet her gaze. Thankfully she did not force him to. He did not want her to see the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“Why would you believe that you are at fault here?” she asked softer this time.

“I… Am I n-not?”

“Of course not. You should never apologize for being ignored or mistreated. Everybody deserves help and those that deny them that are either monsterously incompetent or villains.”

Despite his shame he could not stop himself from gawking at her in shock.

“Let us continue this conversation another time. A hallway is hardly fitting, no? Today after school, go to Hound Dog’s office and tell him that I sent you there with a Code Blue-35. He will know what that means. Understood?”

“Y-yeah. B-but…my mom… she might worry...”

“Ah, then better text her now and maybe ask Hound Dog for a letter that explains your absence.”

“Good. And tomorrow afternoon you are going to come to the teachers’ lounge and wait for me there. Together we will test your abilities a bit before I hand you over to the specialists. Most likely this remedial quirk training will commence every second weekday for the next few months until this lapse in your education has been corrected and you are on a comparable level with your classmates. Can you do that Midoriya or do you have appointments that might come in the way?”

He shook his head quickly.

“N-no. I should be f-fine. I'll have to ask my mom, but I'm s-sure she'll be okay with it.”

“Then go, Midoriya. You don't want to be late for history class. Meanwhile I will have to talk with the principal about this debacle.”

Izuku, filled with new panic, turned around and ran.

 

Chapter 3

The next day was filled with excitement for (depending on the individual) either the favourite or least liked lesson of the curriculum. Although Argent was a lot less popular than All Might (he was THE Symbol of Peace after all) she was still the number eleven ranked hero.

“Welcome to Foundational Hero Studies. I already told you that you would need to train on your own for the sports festival, but that does not mean that I am going to let your education in similar fields suffer. From what I heard All Might simulated a bomb threat scenario with varying success last week, but because he decided not to write anything of value down and the video tapes were deleted for privacy reasons, I am left with nothing.”

“Oh no... Do we have to repeat that now?” asked Denki. He had no desire to repeat his less than stellar performance from last time and embarrass himself again.
She fixed him with a glare:

“To answer your question, Kaminari, yes and no. This time you will be dealing with a hostage situation.”

“Oui! I shall save the damsel in distress and be the shining knight this world desires!” proclaimed Yuga, earning himself the confused stares of the whole class.

Ignoring him the diminutive hero continued:
“Two of you will be the villains and two of you will be the heroes.”

“So far so good.” mumbled Izuku nervously. He too did not wish to re-experience the slightly traumatic events of the first exercise. Although compared to actual villains trying to kill his friends, Kacchan trying to hurt him was nothing new.

“And one will be the hostage.”

“Darn it.”

Tenya raised his hand and butted in:
“Ms. Argent, will we be randomly chosen again? And why are we playing the hostages? We are heroes in training, not civilians!”

Izuku couldn't contain himself. Wasn't it obvious?

“That is because we can't always predict what's going to happen to us. Even with our powers we could be caught unaware and held hostage. For example if a villain took your partner captive then what do you do? It will happen to at least one of us at some point and this exercise is designed to prepare us for that! We need to also know how to behave as hostages safely so that we don't endanger other when they are trying to rescue us.”

“Very good Midoriya. And no, you will not be randomly chosen. That would be counterproductive to a controlled test of your abilities.”

“Um, didn't All Might say-“

“Don't interrupt me again if you don't want detention.”

Absolute silence suffocated the classroom.

“The rules are as follows: The two villains will attempt to move from one end of the training area to the other with their captive. If they touch the yellow line on the eastern wall they win. To do this they may use any means necessary to a reasonable degree. Quirks are allowed, but please refrain from action that may seriously harm or debilitate your classmates. Is that understood?”

“YES MS. DEGURECHAFF!” intoned the crowd of nervous students.

“The heroes naturally start on the opposite side of the field and will try to... Bakugou are you listening? What do you think real pro heroes should do in this kind of situation?”

With a look that practically screamed ‘Are you shitting me?’ he huffed:
“Stop the bastards obviously.”

“Incorrect. Does anyone care to explain why?”

Momo instantly held her hand up which earned her a nod from Argent.

“The top priority of a hero should be to save the hostage and then apprehend the criminals. The whole mission would be a failure if the victim gets abducted or worse – killed.”

“Completely right. You should always prioritize saving people over beating the villains as a general rule. Of course there are exceptions, but you will likely cover those next year. You have a question, Uraraka?”

“Ehm... Are the hostages allowed to fight back? I mean... ehm... how realistic is this going to be?”

“An excellent question. Yes they will be able to fight back, but not in the way you think. First, their hands are going to be tied together with capture tape behind their back and you are not allowed to break it! Only the hero team or the villain team may unbind them if they so choose. Secondly, if the villains feel threatened enough by either the heroes or their prisoners then they will be able to kill you.”

Shocked gasps rang out.

“Not really of course. What are you thinking? If they can immobilize their target on the ground for longer than five seconds then that counts as a kill. In that case the heroes are going to automatically lose, but the villains also give up their leverage and will be mercilessly hunted down. If they cannot reach the border during the next minute they will be announced as captured.”

“That sounds kinda cool actually...” whispered somebody.

“Dude, didn't you learn anything from the first day? You jinxed it!”

Fortunately Argent seemed to ignore the remark and instead sent the student to the locker rooms to change into their costumes.

~[#҈#]~
​

Many liked to think that while Nedzu was incredibly intelligent he obviously couldn’t know everything that happened in his school. That was true to a certain extent, but those people also forgot that he had access to some of the most advanced design and production facilities in the world together with a sheer unending stream of fresh and innovative minds that could build him whatever gadgets he desired. It was funny really, he mused, that a species which would have died out long ago if they had not embraced progress, so often forgot about what technology could do for them.
Individual humans were weak.

Although the age of quirks had somewhat remedied that fact, it still held true for the majority of the population. To bridge the gap and become more powerful they could either join a collective and search for protection in a group or they could use science to achieve the impossible. From experience he could tell that only the second option worked reliably. Too bad then that technological progress has been brought to a near standstill with the rise of superhuman powers. The humans had romanticized their organic skills while forgetting that the most awe-inspiring thing, nature itself, left them with so many unused possibilities.

Intellect and understanding reigned supreme, even against super-strength or speed. It always had and it always would. For those who knew how to play the strings of the universe were the ones in control over those that blindly followed them. It was the ‘Mind over Body’ principle and Nedzu had proved it to be correct an uncountable number of times. (Well, actually he could count them, but that was not the point.)

In its most basic application that meant that even a small, powerless rodent like himself could kill All Might if he wanted. All it would take would be an untraceable amount of poison in his tea or a
direct bullet to the head or a room full of Fluor gas. It would be ridiculously easy really and that terrified him.

Not because he feared himself, that would be pathetic.
But because anyone not blinded by the propaganda of the Hero Public Safety Commission and similar organizations could easily see through the great lie that quirks were the most powerful thing
a person could possess. That it was what gave them value and identity.

In reality that could not be further from the truth. Did having hands give you an advantage over someone with no hands? Of course. But if that person lost their hands in an accident? Then they were just as useless as the other one. And more importantly, what if the handless person learned to work with their feet? As silly as this metaphor was, it still applied to the world of quirks.
Nedzu didn’t need a surveillance quirk or one that let him look through walls or turn invisible. He had an army of robots and cameras and bugging devices tirelessly reporting everything of importance in his domain to the comfortable safety of his office.

He had wandered off topic again, hadn't he?

Nedzu chuckled to himself. Sometimes hyper-intelligence also had its downsides.

Anyways, at the moment he was watching the live feed of Degurechaff’s first exercise with class 1-A. Tiny spider-bots, barely visible to the naked eye were recording her body language and heat signature while cleverly hidden cameras all over the campus were tracking her facial expressions down to the most minute twitch. Long-range directional microphones captured her every word, although that was not really necessary as his lip-reading software already automatically translated whatever she said.

He could do that with every person who set foot on school grounds (and even most people in the world when he hacked himself into the traffic camera network). While not legal, he was careful to never leave a trace that would point these ‘cyber-attacks’ to him. (Which also was redundant considering that nobody had ever noticed him breaking into the system at all.)
Perhaps he should send an anonymous tip to improve digital security to the government...

Oh, he was getting sidetracked again.

Silently he sipped at his lukewarm tea as he watched with rapt attention how Degurechaff treated her students. She was efficient, professional if not a bit too reserved sometimes. Her unwavering focus on her pupils brought him joy. To think that she would take her job so seriously and become so comfortable in her role already...

The HPSC had sent her résumé four days ago. It had included a provisional teaching licence which he strongly suspected to be a fake pretext to infiltrate his school. When would the girl have had the same time to learn pedagogy after all? All the signs pointed to the reality that she had spent most of her short life getting stronger to quickly climb the public hero rankings. If his hunch was correct then that meant the girl had been drilled on how to properly treat school children in only three days. Impressive.

In such a short amount of time she seemed to have integrated better than Toshinori did during his three month crash-course.

Was she a trapped genius like him? Had she been forced into the life of a marionette for the HPSC despite a mind that understood too much and learned too fast?

The pain in her eyes had disappeared, Nedzu noted with interest.

Had he deluded himself about the memory of that fateful day?

Maybe she had found peace and slipped back under the blessed veil of obliviousness?

Or had she just learned to hide it from this cruel world that sought to exploit one’s every weakness?

~[#҈#]~
​

Izuku excitedly scribbled into his notebook. This lesson was so interesting! He got to learn so much about the character of his classmates! While he would have rather discovered more about their quirks instead he knew that a psychological evaluation was also important to determine their optimal strategies as heroes.

For example Kouda had hesitated to ‘kill’ his hostage Sero despite the game not being real and as a result had ended up tangled up in the tape he produced. A potential weakness that was endearing, but could cost his life if not corrected.

Bakugou had been as angry as always and had blasted off without listening to his teammate. Unsurprisingly his aggressive strategy had gifted him the win, although Ms. Argent seemed pretty displeased with it.

He himself had been picked as a hero together with Yaoyorozu which he guessed had something to do with the fact that he couldn't really use All Might's quirk at the moment. Yaoyorozu could basically create anything she knew the atomic makeup of, so he could fight with access to support items. Indeed her flash-grenades had been the key to victory for them both against Hagakure and Mina. (He was calling another girl by her first name! How cool! His mom would be proud if he had the courage to tell her about it.)

Suddenly someone shook his shoulder and he instinctively flinched.

“Deku, lesson is over. We have to go.”

“Y-yes, Ochako.”

He could feel his cheeks flushing red.

~[#҈#]~
​

"You wanted to talk to me after class, Miss Degurechaff?

"Yes, I want you to explain a few things to me. Specifically, the fire aspect of your quirk."

Shoto's fist clenched at his side and his voice involuntarily grew tight as he asked:

"What about it?"

"Does it only allow you to create small flames?"

"... No."

"Then why do you only use it to free your opponents caught in your ice during training exercises?"

"Why is it any of your business how I use my quirk?"

"Because I'm your teacher, which you should keep in mind when you are talking to me. Now answer the question."

"Tch. It's because I can become Japan's top hero without using my father's flames. My ice will be enough alone."

"I see, so you openly admit that you haven't been performing to the best of your abilities this entire time, and your reasoning for doing so is nonsensical."
Shoto grinds his teeth and grits out, "If that's all you needed to say, am I free to go?"

"You are not until I dismiss you, which depending on the rest of this conversation, might be on a permanent basis."

"What are you saying?"

"That you are very close to being expelled from this school, Todoroki Shoto."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Actually, as I can file a formal complaint to the principal about your behaviour within five minutes, it would be rather easy. Seeing as Mr. Aizawa has expelled entire classes for less, I think it would be approved immediately."

"But you wouldn't. I'm the top student of my year and son of the number two hero in the country. UA wouldn't risk the public backlash."

"Any negative press generated from your expulsion would pale in comparison to that brought about by having a lazy and careless hero associated with this school. Especially when, not if, but when you inevitably let someone die because you didn't utilize your quirk to its fullest. UA has a reputation of producing the finest heroes in Japan, and having someone as arrogant as yourself become an alumnus would tarnish that reputation."

"Then I'd just go to another school. Any hero school in the country would take me."
Tanya shrugged behind her desk and leaned her elbows on it, fingers crossed in front of her.

"Perhaps, but expulsion is a black mark on your record, and when the reason behind it is revealed, it will form a powerful stigma around you. It's cost versus benefit at that point. Do they risk dealing with such a troublesome, albeit prestigious student who may very well become a subpar hero? The potential negative association you'd bring them might very well be enough to dissuade any from accepting you."

Shoto was practically shaking with cold fury by now, but managed to ask:
"What do you want?"

"It's quite simple, actually. You are going to go speak to the counsellor, Hound Dog about whatever your issues with the fire aspect of your quirk are, while also utilizing said fire during training exercises from now on. If I feel you aren't giving your all during these exercises, I won't hesitate to expel you, understand?"
The young man did not answer as he glared at the diminutive woman, but she simply quirked a brow and repeated herself.

"I asked if you understand, Todoroki."

"... I understand. I'll use his fire during exercises," he says, voice low. "Once I graduate and become a pro-hero, I can prove to you and everyone else that my ice is enough."
Tanya hummed and leaned back in her seat, picking up a paper on her desk and reading it, no longer focusing on the boy.

"We'll see," she said simply. "You are dismissed."

Shoto held his glare for a few seconds longer before he turned around and stiffly walked out of the classroom.

Tanya would wait a few weeks to see what her colleague, Hound Dog, had to say about the issue and how much the boy began to improve before she decided whether to follow through with her threat. Should worst come to worst she would need to bring the issue before the principal and convince him to expel him for his dangerous arrogance. Since she had no authority to do so without his approval the whole affair could potentially get quite tedious, so she rather wanted to avoid that. Nonetheless, even if it meant more work for her, she would give her best and make the most rational decisions. She worked HR in a previous life after all, and was no stranger to firing underperforming employees.

... Hopefully this one wouldn't try to kill her for it this time, though.

 

Chapter 4

Hound Dog groaned while he sifted through the pile of papers on his desk. So much extra work at the beginning of the school year was unprecedented! It would cut much into his free time to suitably analyze these notes, but in a strange way he was kind of thankful for that.

After all, it meant that the kids were getting proper help for their problems instead of bottling them up internally until they broke. He sadly reminisced about the few cases he had the displeasure of handling in the past. Especially in a stressful job like theirs, burnout, psychosis, trauma and emotional detachment were far too common. Hopefully he could assist them in healing old mental
wounds and give them the tools to guard against new ones.

He would be even more satisfied if Nedzu had accepted his proposal to send all students of class 1-A into therapy, but alas... The animal must have had a reason, although he would not tell him.
The newcomer to the faculty, Argent, or as her fans called her online the “Eleventh Goddess” seemed more reasonable and had already sent multiple people to his office. There was something strange about the young woman, but he would not pry as long as she continued to take her role as teacher seriously. More seriously than Eraserhead certainly. After he spoke with the stuttering, mumbling mess that was Midoriya and the ice-cold, closed off Todoroki he could not understand how that man had not immediately set them up for a psychological evaluation. Well, he could guess the answer. It started with “Lazi” and ended with “ness”.

As good as Aizawa was with combat and strategic thinking, his pedagogic skills left much to be desired. He cared for his students that much was obvious, but he had problems showing that and putting it into practice beyond throwing himself between them and danger. The USJ incident had shown that.

While the Erasure Hero had not thought twice about risking his own life for the wellbeing of his pupils, he had not accepted any of the presents or visitors to his hospital bed. It was concerning that he kept everybody (including the other teachers) who cared about him at a distance, barely participating in any other activities outside of work.

Oh well... It was one of the hard truths Ryo had to learn early on in his career that you simply could not help everybody. He could only dearly hope that Aizawa would come to him when it all became too much for him to bear alone.

On another note, Argent displayed some noteworthy characteristics as well. To have risen so high in the national hero rankings at such a young age was not the product of luck, but of talent honed by years of brutal training. Hound Dog could not imagine what the young woman must have gone through on her path to adulthood to already have that much experience. Whatever it had been, it could not have been healthy for a developing mind.

Children needed time to grow and discover themselves. Too much training and not enough freedom could lead to all sorts of abnormalities in the human psyche. Ryo had noticed the alarming absence of close friends or family on her contact information sheet. Instead only the hotline of the Hero Public Safety Commission was listed as the closest confidante. Either she was an orphan or had no contact to her family on top of being socially isolated.

Perhaps he was interpreting too much into those signs, but it was always good to keep small details like this in the back of your mind. So far she had shown herself (during their two meetings) as a confident, will-strong individual with a focused and objective outlook on life. Nothing to officially worry about.

Personally though... he was not sure about what hid behind those sharp, radiating eyes of hers.

~[#҈#]~​

Tanya was drinking a cup of coffee at one of her favourite outdoor cafes when she suddenly spoke up, seemingly at random towards the crowd.

"I hope the blood you used for that disguise was ethically sourced through the HPSC and not stolen, Himiko."

A plain looking girl who had been walking absently in Tanya's direction suddenly froze, a frown forming on her lip as she groaned.

"Senpai! How do you always know it's me?"
Not looking up from the papers she was grading, Tanya gestured to the seat across from her as she answered:

"I'd recognize the smell of blood no matter how faint. I take it your last mission was a success?"
The girl plopped down into the cushioned seat, smiling far too widely for the thin face she was wearing.

"Yep!" she chirped. "I've made contact with the League and convinced them that I want to join! They bought the story that I was ostracized for my quirk and now want to destroy society because of it without a second thought." She snickered as she added: "What a bunch of rubes."
Tanya finally lifted her eyes from the stack of papers to give the shapeshifter a dry look.

"Weren't you initially ostracized for the blood requirements of your quirk and nearly driven insane as a result?"
Himiko rolled her eyes.

"Well yeah, but that was before I met you, Senpai, and you saved me and vouched for me to the HPSC." She sighed wistfully in remembrance. "You were like my own knight in shining armour."
Tanya quirked a brow.

"I restrained you when you ambushed me in an alleyway, then dragged you to the police."

"Yes, but then you visited me while I was in custody and told me my quirk could help people."

"I was merely pointing out the obvious undercover hero work your quirk could be utilized for. Anyone could see the value in being able to perfectly mimic others."
Himiko's expression became serious.

"Anyone could, but it took eight years after I discovered my quirk for you to be the first to tell me that it wasn't evil." She looked down at the table and mumbled: "Sometimes I still wonder how terrible things would have been had I chosen anyone else to be my first victim that day..."

"It's pointless to worry about what-ifs," Tanya lectured as she put away her graded papers and sat back to enjoy the rest of her coffee.
Himiko grinned once more.

"I guess you're right, especially because I never could have chosen anyone other than the cutest, most adorable girl in the whole world that day. The way you were pouting was just the sweetest thing ever! Yeah, just like that! So adorable!"

Tanya brushed the finger pointing at her face aside and did her best to smooth out her annoyed expression.

"Need I remind you that I am both three years your senior and your superior?"

"Nope! You're the boss, Chibi-senpai!"

Tanya resisted the urge to growl at the infuriating nickname and reminded herself that Himiko Toga, codenamed Carmilla, was a valuable asset to the HPSC. A natural prodigy who was not only able to meet all scholastic requirements in order to finish highschool at the age of fourteen, but had also managed to earn her special-operations hero license in only one additional year of training. Even Tanya herself was impressed, though she would never actually tell the girl to what extent. Himiko was already incorrigible without her knowing how much Tanya respected the younger women's skills and keen, albeit odd intellect.

"How much longer will that disguise you're wearing last?" Tanya asked to change the subject, causing Himiko to put a finger to her lower lip in thought.

"Hm, maybe one or two more minutes? Why?"

The barely contained smile turned into a full-blown grin as Tanya slammed her empty cup down, tossed some bills on the table, stood up and grabbed Himiko's wrist to drag her to the nearest alleyway away from public view where a (literally) melting girl would no doubt cause panic.

"Oh~ Senpai, what are we going to do in here?" Himiko asked in a sensual tone, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

Tanya chose to ignore the cackling gremlin's attempts at flustering her by looking away and gesturing in an impatient fashion.

"You're no fun hehe..." giggled the younger girl whose form began to promptly slough off to reveal a naked blonde girl with cat-like features underneath.
Sometimes she didn’t know which is crazier.

This quirked-up world she's found herself in, or the people in it.

 

Chapter 5

Administrator Moujin, called “M” by most, looked over the reports for today. He was the handler of both agent Argent and agent Carmilla, two of their most exceptional assets. Normally only one subject would be assigned per supervisor, but due to the unusual nature of their relationship it was deemed more appropriate for their cases to be processed together.

Of course while that was simply a way of saving additional budget for the higher-ups, it only meant more work for him. Especially considering that they were often used apart from each other in different operations. The sheer amount of paperwork that went over his desk each day was madness inducing! Next year he would plead for a reassignment at Central Management if he hadn't suffered a burnout by then.

He forcefully calmed himself down with the help of his quirk “Clear Head” that let him slow the brainwaves of any individual within a certain radius. A handy quirk, but thankfully not powerful enough that the higher-ups had deemed him “operationally applicable”. He did not want to be thrown in the meat grinder that was the Special Operations Unit, no thank you. Moujin valued his life very much, regardless of how shitty his job could be at times.

At least he had the potential for promotion now that he was basically spearheading the newest brainchild of the Modern Tactics Department. Even if the paperwork was absurd, he had the satisfaction of knowing that his efforts were being watched by those above. The elusive committee had many careful eyes trained on his charges.

While agents Argent and Carmilla may act independently at the moment it would not be long until Protocol 21749-b triggered and they would be deployed together again. The “Mirror-Image-Initiative” had been declared a success four months ago after all and the Modern Tactics Department was filling binders upon binders with new theoretical applications for the two-man team. Or should he call it a “two-woman team”? Irrelevant.

Since the moment Argent had been given responsibility for subject Carmilla (who back then had been simply registered as Vampire) they had trained together. Argent was the committee’s favourite agent produced by the Legacy Program. Sometimes Moujin wondered why the ones above not simply acquired more children to mould into perfect heroes when Argent and Hawks had been such perfect achievements. Subtly creating more orphans was well within their capabilities and more candidates would lead to an increase in production.

Oh well, it wasn't his job to think about such things.

Absentmindedly he stamped another report describing the internal workings of UA highschool by Argent. Why even bother reading it when all the information was unimportant anyway? Who cared what kind of coffee they drank or which students had problems with algebra? A pure waste of time.

Carmilla on the other hand...

Damn, that girl was on a killing spree! Two crime lords in one week! As opposed as some of the eggheads in Central Management had been to her recruitment it was clear the investment had paid off! Her quirk “Transformation” was simply an amazing skill for infiltration and intelligence gathering. Not to mention her superhuman speed and agility that made her the deadliest knife-wielder in the whole Association. If he hadn't seen the videos himself then he would not have believed what that girl could do with a blade. An amazing tool that was as effective as it was versatile. Those numbers she achieved were bound to gather favour from the higher-ups. He could already smell that promotion...

~[#҈#]~
​

Tanya sat down at a rare abandoned table in a corner of UA cafeteria's for lunch. Normally, she would eat from a bento box in the teachers' lounge while working on some paperwork, but dealing with a villain attack near her apartment complex in the early morning led to her running late and forgetting her lunch. However, when she smelled the meal Lunch Rush prepared for her, she began to think that perhaps that was not such a bad thing. Especially as she eyed the large piece of chocolate cake that the man had packed on the upper right corner of her tray.

A few minutes into enjoying her lunch, a pair of shadows fell over the ruins of her feast and she looked up to see two of her students. Asui Tsuyu and Uraraka Ochako, the former had her hand on the latter's shoulder, who looked quite flustered and ready to flee, not unlike a frightened rabbit.

"Hello, Ms. Degurechaff, may we sit with you? Ribbit."

Tanya quirked a brow, but politely answered: "Of course, please take a seat."

Once the girls settled down with their own trays, she continued: "Is there something you'd like to discuss with me? Concerns? Schoolwork?"

"Nothing like that. Ochako-chan is just a really big fan of yours and wanted to ask for your autograph. Ribbit" Asui explained bluntly.

At the revelation, Uraraka's face grew even redder and she whined: "Tsu! You're embarrassing me in front of our teacher!"

Asui blinked at her friend. "There's no reason to be embarrassed, I'm also a fan. Ribbit."

"I... see," Tanya said evenly, prompting Uraraka to hurriedly explain herself.

"I-it's just, I know you said you don't think of yourself exclusively as a rescue hero, but you're still one of the best in that regard, and I'm aiming to be a rescue hero myself. Honestly, you and Thirteen are some of my biggest inspirations."

"You are an inspiration to all of us girls who want to become heroes. Ribbit," Asui added. "You're strong, intelligent and hardworking. Everything a good hero should be. Ribbit."

Tanya's lip twitched upwards and she sighed: "I suppose I can sign something, if you have-"

Before she could even finish, Uraraka thrust her notebook forward. Idly, she noted that the cover had been extensively decorated, featuring a menagerie of female heroes such as Mirko, Ryukyu, Midnight, and even Tanya herself, surprisingly.

Tanya blinked, but accepted the notebook and proffered pen, deciding to sign the inside cover. As she did so, she remarked: "A rescue hero, hm? I suppose I can see the rationale behind that considering your quirk."

Uraraka nodded enthusiastically at that.

"Yeah, with Zero Gravity, I can easily lift fallen debris, no matter how heavy, to find civilians caught in disaster zones."

Tanya closed the cover and slid it back to her student.

"Yes, and it also lends itself well utilizing a wide array of support gear to aid in that endeavour."

Uraraka stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"Um, what do you mean?"

Tanya tilted her head, thumb and forefinger on her chin as she thought it over and explained: "A camera, for instance, perhaps designed like those tumbler dolls young children play with. That is to say, one that's designed to orientate itself directly downwards. With your quirk, you could float it high above the site of a disaster to get a bird's eye view of the area. Since your quirk provides the lift, it could be quite compact, and with added thermal imaging, it would make identifying civilians in need of rescue significantly easier instead of merely using your quirk to lift every large piece of debris randomly in search of them. After all, in our line of work time is always of the essence and every second you save in rescuing someone is another moment medical professionals have to stabilize their condition."

Another idea suddenly came to her mind and she snapped her fingers in annoyance that she hadn't thought of it immediately.

“Also you should seriously consider a jetpack or grappling hook of some sort. Maybe even both, why not? I saw in the footage of the battle trial that you can briefly remove gravity from yourself as well, so you should seriously consider upping your air mobility to properly take advantage of that. Just short bursts of your quirk should be enough to get you from street level to a nearby roof in seconds if you can maneuver more than just flying in a straight line.”

When Tanya returned her attention to her bubbly student, she found her writing furiously in her newly signed notebook as she nodded emphatically, eyes sparkling like a certain green-haired boy when he was taking notes about other people's quirks.

"Those are all great ideas! Thank you, Sensei! Are there any other support items you think would work well with my quirk?"

Tanya contemplated the question for a moment then brought her hands up as if pulling back the string of an invisible bow.

"Projectiles. Specifically manually loaded and powered ones, like a bow and arrow... No, a slingshot would be more compact and easier to carry on patrols. By using your quirk on the projectile itself before firing, you would no longer have to account for drop off while aiming, making it easier and more accurate. As I said during my first class, rescue or combat heroes shouldn't expect not to have to be competent in both fields, and you will have to fight villains during your career. A good weapon will be useful in such a situation."

"Yes, Sensei," Uraraka declared more seriously as she wrote that down. "And thank you for the advice."

Tanya simply nodded and was about to return to her meal (that chocolate cake was practically calling her name) when she suddenly remembered that there was more than one student at her table. Looking over, she saw Asui staring at her, finger on her lip and head slightly tilted.

"Is there something you'd like to ask, as well, Asui?"

"Ribbit... Is there any support equipment I should add to my kit, or advice on better ways to use my quirk?"

Tanya held back the sigh that threatened to escape her and gazed sadly at her dessert that was growing staler by the second. Alas, she is a teacher, and she would be remiss in her duties not to advise one of her students when requested.

"You can cling to most surfaces, yes? Would that perhaps include skin and clothing?" Tanya asked.

Asui blinked, turned to her friend and poked the other girl's hand. After a moment, she tugged, and pulled Uraraka's arm with her slightly, who just stared at the point of contact with confusion. Then Asui moved her finger to instead touch the sleeve of her shirt and repeated the process.

"I can cling to both, but not as well to the fabric. Ribbit."

"I figured as much, still, that will contribute greatly to grip strength, which in turn will lend itself well to maintaining holds on opponents, such as limb locks and the like. I suggest looking into a grappling-based martial art, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With your quirk aided grip, even a technically sloppy hold will be significantly harder for an opponent to break out of, and will help in nonlethal captures. I also know you have exceptionally powerful legs, which beyond your impressive jump height and distance, means you should be able to kick like a truck. Perhaps you should think about incorporating those into your fighting style, as well."

Once she was done speaking Tanya carefully observed the young girl's face and although her expression was the same as always, Tanya could
practically see Asui's eyes sparkling as she said: "Thank you, Sensei. I'll take your advice into consideration."

"I'm glad I could help," Tanya replied evenly, quickly eating a mouthful of food to hopefully stave off any more questions. Lunch Rush's meal was far more delicious than what she would normally bring to school, but perhaps she should take it to the teachers' lounge next time in order to enjoy it in peace.

She was all for helping her new students out whenever possible, but even her patience has limits, and letting perfectly good desserts grow cold and stale comes dangerously close to pushing them. They could take her freedom, but never her culinary enjoyment! Hopefully she would not be transferred to a new case any time soon.

 

Chapter 6

Foundational Heroics was ridiculously simple to teach. So simple in fact that Tanya was unsure if she had perhaps misinterpreted the curriculum and was conducting the class wrong. Just sharing a few pieces of wisdom from her experience as a pro hero with the eagerly listening students and then showing them hand-to-hand combat techniques couldn’t be all that was required of her, right? Luckily All Might was coming back next week so he could show her how it was done.

A pro of his calibre was bound to be bursting with wisdom and useful strategies for the newbies to absorb. What else did she have to teach, besides basic melee, a few tactics and common sense? Tanya was certain that she was doing far worse than her precursor in that position.
Still, she gave her best.

“Midoriya, raise your arm higher! Feet further apart and deep breaths! Understood?”

“Y-yes Ms. Argent!”

“Remember, only when you achieve control of your body can you achieve control over ‘Superpower’. Pure strength alone isn't going to cut it when you want to master utilizing your quirk.”

“Yes!”

“Good. Yaoyorozu, nice work. I think it would be beneficial if you could show Kirishima the grapple again. He hasn't quite gotten that move down yet.”

“Of course, Sensei!”

“Bakugou, it is good to see that you take this exercise seriously, but please go over to a different station now. Any more strain on your legs and you could hurt yourself.”

He only grunted in reply, but did stop from trying to kick the moving punching bag any further. Although his demeanour was lacklustre and his attitude tolerable at best, he did have potential. Should his behaviour become more pronounced then Tanya would not hesitate to send him to Hound Dog as well. The explosive teen could do great harm if that nasty temper got the better of him.

A problem child of the different kind was sitting at the edge of the gym, badly pretending to perform stretches. Instead he was ogling Ashido’s and Ochako’s shapely behinds, which were even more pronounced due to their skin tight costumes.

“Mineta! This is the third time I have to warn you to take this seriously! Any further harassment of your classmates will result in detention!”

“B-but Ms. Argent, I was j-just doing stretches-“

“Do not lie to me boy! Deception is part of hero work, but it has no place in school. For that poor attempt of a lie I want three pages on the practical applications of lying until tomorrow!”

“W-what, but I-“

“Do not complete that sentence if you don't want to add another page to your essay. Also you should really show more effort in your training. It is disgraceful how far behind your classmates you are. Show some of that ‘Plus Ultra’ spirit UA is known for or you are going to find yourself expelled faster than I can say ‘pervert’.”

“Did she really just call him a pervert?” asked Kaminari incredulously.

“Yeah, but he is one though. No shame in saying the truth.” added Jirou from behind him.

“I guess...”

Meanwhile Tanya was busy with convincing Kouda to punch Tokoyami harder than a slap. It was truly a miracle that the pacifistic boy had made it through the entrance exam. Perhaps teaching normal children was not as simple as she had at first presumed.

~[#҈#]~
​

The next day Tanya sat in the quiet teachers' lounge and ate the meal Lunch Rush had graciously allowed her to take from his cafeteria. She was glad that most of the faculty chose to eat in the large meeting room instead of here to have discussions over their lunch. Really, she probably should be doing the same, if for no other reason than to gather more intel for the HPSC, but with all the craziness she had to put up with in this madhouse of a school on a near daily basis, she thought she deserved this momentary respite.

'... Or not,' she thought bitterly as a shadow once more fell over her and her meal. Already she can sense her chocolate éclair becoming soggier by the second as the tasty cream seeps into the buttery pastry.

"Yo! Tanya-chan! Whatcha doing down here all by yourself again? Don't you know all the cool cats are upstairs?"

Putting her utensils down with forced calm, she looked up at her fellow teacher and hero, Yamada Hizashi, and spoke coolly:
"I think you meant Tanya-san, Mr. Yamada, and yes, I am aware the rest of the faculty is currently upstairs. I chose to eat down here willingly."

The man faltered a moment under her icy gaze, but recovered quickly as he leaned a forearm onto the table and placed his other hand on his hip.
"My mistake, Tanya-san, but I still gotta know why. Isn't it boring eating all by yourself? You'd be more than welcome with us." He snapped his fingers as if coming to a revelation. "You're not intimidated by the thought of sitting with so many senpais, are you? I know we're a bunch of experienced pros, but we're all very humble, you know."

Tanya quirked a brow.

"Yes, so humble. Still, you're mistaken, if only taking into account the fact that, other than All Might, I'm currently the highest ranked hero in the faculty, and thus, technically your senpai, not that I put much stock into such things."

Hizashi's eyebrow twitched and a frown pulled at his lips, but Tanya continued. "Regardless, my choice to eat here instead of in the meeting room simply stems from my wish for some peace and quiet before returning to class. So, that being said, if there's nothing else you need..."

Not taking the hint for what it was, Hizashi instead sighed and pulled up a seat to plop down. "Okay, asking you to eat with the rest of us isn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you," the man explained, demeanour more serious now. "It's because of Shota."

At the mention of that name, it was Tanya's turn to frown as she asked, "What about him? He's still recovering, yes? Have there been any complications? If so, then rest assured that I'm willing to stay enrolled as a teacher for as long as necessary."

Hizashi chuckled. "Nah, his recovery is coming along just fine. Heck, if he had it his way, he'd already be back and tormenting his students with logical ruses and sleeping in his sleeping bag under the desk, but Principal Nedzu won't let him."

"He sleeps under his desk?" Tanya asked incredulously, her already low opinion of the man dropping even further.

While her first life had made her familiar with the concept of inemuri, that is, sleeping in the office being common and socially accepted as it was seen as a sign of diligence, she had never personally partook in any life. To her, it wasn't a sign that a person was so dedicated to their job that they worked themselves to exhaustion, but instead a display of one's mismanagement of personal resources. Bad diet and sleeping habits lead to running out of energy before your job was properly finished.

Hizashi didn't share her opinion apparently as he just barked out a quick laugh. "Yeah, it's a pretty funny sight, seeing Shota slink around like an inchworm. The students always love it when they discover that he uses the vent tunnels for a short nap during the breaks."
"I'm sure." Tanya mumbled, clearly unamused.

Sensing this, the Voice Hero cleared his throat and barrelled on. "Anyway, what I mean is that Shota has been hounding me about his students. He wants to know how they're doing in your class and all that, so I told him I'd talk to you about it."

"I see." Tanya said flatly, leaning back in her seat and folding her hands on the table. "If that is the case, you can tell Mr. Aizawa that all is going well with MY students."

Hizashi blinked behind his yellow-tinted shades. "Er, your students?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I've been making great strides in correcting the mistakes of Mr. Aizawa's frankly atrocious teaching methods," she explained almost acidly before reigning herself back in.

Frowning, Hizashi began to say, "Mistakes? I know Shota's teaching methods can be a bit unorthodox, but-"

"Unorthodox? Is that what we're calling sheer laziness, now?" Tanya interrupted. "Please, enlighten me if you can, the unorthodox nature in letting a student, who until only recently and only rectified because of my intervention, was crippling himself with every activation of his quirk, or how another's obvious traumas were preventing him from utilizing half of his power? And yet Mr. Aizawa was content to merely sit back and watch these errors unfold in the hopes that they would work themselves out without any effort on his part. If he hoped they would at all."

She snorted derisively and added: "The fact that he cannot even show enough respect to his students and co-workers to take care of his appearance or sleep the appropriate amount at home, shows me how much he is invested in the education of the next generation of heroes. No wonder his expulsion rates are astronomical if he only accepts naturally gifted students that he doesn't have to personally train. If not for his actions at the USJ, one could almost believe he was actively hoping his students would get themselves killed out in the field."

"Hey! That's going too far," snapped Hizashi, slamming a fist down on the table. "Shota might not be perfect, but if there's one thing he cares about, it's ensuring his students live long lives as heroes."

"Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Yamada," Tanya replied, voice frigid. "And Mr. Aizawa's actions speak of gross negligence at best, and disdain for his job at worst. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish my meal while it's still at least somewhat warm. You can tell your friend that the students of Class 1-A are in good hands, better ones, and that their education and training are coming along smoothly."

When Hizashi opened his mouth to argue, Tanya simply tacked on a firm: "Goodbye, Mr. Yamada." while returning her attention to her food and picking up her utensils. The man stood up abruptly, and his shadow lingered above her for nearly a whole minute, until finally receding when he turned around with a huff of indignation and stomped out of the room.

Once she heard the door slam shut, Tanya released a breath that sounded more like a growl and clenched a fist around her fork. Was this going to be a new routine now? Was she going to be interrupted at every lunch? Idly, she wondered if it would be considered rude to maintain a barrier over the door in the future to discourage people from bothering her.

~[#҈#]~
​

“Yes Mr. Principal, you wanted to speak with me?”

“Ah Ms. Degurechaff... You are as punctual as your reputation claims. It is always good to work with people who respect your time.”

“Indeed.”

Their gazes locked momentarily and the world seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

“Would you like some tea?” the white creature of unidentified origin suddenly asked with a charming smile that instantly broke the tension.

“No, thank you.”

Although he would never poison her so unsubtly her paranoia was on an all time high.

“A shame. It was a new brand I ordered from the Philippines just yesterday. It is supposed to be extremely relaxing. I thought you could use some
after your first intense few days at our lovely school and that exhilarating battle before class today.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I needed to withdraw some money and he chose that time to rob the exact same bank. I would say that that was simply bad luck on both our parts.”

“Is that so?” Nedzu asked with a twinkle in his beady eyes, his paws busy with preparing the beverage.

Tanya just shrugged and hummed noncommittally.

“Nonetheless, it was a fairly intimidating villain you fought today. A quirk that turned his whole body into a super-hard and durable chainsaw blade is no easy thing to work around. The press are already calling him the monster of the week.”

“A very insulting term in my opinion.”

“Pray tell.”

That infuriating “conversation” with Present Mic in the teachers’ lounge had obviously put her more off balance than she believed, if she fell so
easily for Nedzu’s traps. Although perhaps she could use this opportunity in her favour...

“Well, I only got sent a preliminary summary of the case file an hour ago, so I am no expert, but from what he was yelling, young Irukaka was probably a victim of mutant quirk discrimination throughout his whole life. His résumé shows that he graduated from highschool with above average grades and attempted to find a job, but no business was willing to employ him. If that was caused by either bigoted beliefs or an inability to house his abnormally large frame is unclear at the moment, but at least he seemed to believe that it was the fault of his – admittedly grotesque – appearance.”

“So you think that he attacked the bank out of desperation?”

“Yes. I am by no means condoning his actions that put innocent people at risk, but I can empathize with his desire to escape the downward spiral he found himself in. Social programs failed him, because he is technically still living with his family, but his father has gone missing for several years and his mother is severely disabled. The money their insurance provides is apparently not enough to sustain her treatment and pay the rent for their apartment. Add unemployment and an absent father into the mix and I believe it becomes pretty clear why he resorted to robbery in the end.”

“Impressive. You managed to glean all that from the few scraps of information the police released. How marvellous.” he grinned, making it clear that he had known the whole story already.

“Humans are normally not too complex if you abstract their behaviour a bit. The motivations for crime stay the same throughout history. Greed, fear, desperation and a lust for vengeance are in my experience the most common causes for people to turn a weapon against their neighbours. From an analytical standpoint Irukaka made a somewhat logical decision when he went against the law. He believed that society had failed him after all, so he tried a different approach. The definition of insanity is to try the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Subsequently he went for the only other option his young and inexperienced brain knew from watching the daily news.”

“Mmm... So you partly blame the media for promoting villainy? A bold claim that I am sure would make for an excellent research paper. Turning a normal, young man into a violent criminal... Yes, yes that would create quite the stir in the public perception of news coverage. Humans are truly scariest when they suppress their emotions in favour of calculated goals.”

“No.”

Damn it! She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Now Nedzu looked like a hungry shark which had smelled blood in the water. Tanya would need to indulge his curiosity or else he would probably not let this topic drop easily.

“Oh you disagree?”

“Yes. Humans are then at their most dangerous and depraved when they forgo logical reasoning and premeditated ideals. It is their inability to ignore their misguided feelings that has led to so much misery and senseless violence over the course of history.”

“Mmh oh yes. Naturally, not thinking things properly through is the mother of most problems, but it is also that trait which enables much good in our society. A hero rushing towards a victim to save them even at the cost of their own health or life is – while not strictly objective – an admirable action.”

He was doing this to test her; she knew that. By not keeping her mouth shut when she really should, Tanya had opened a can of worms that would sooner or later explode in her face. Whatever he wanted to verify about her character could be crucial to the continuation of her mission.

“And yet, by throwing their life away too hastily the hero may doom many more innocents when they are unable to come to their rescue. Prioritizing one’s overall ability to keep working over the well-being of others is the most reasonable reaction from an evolutionary standpoint.”

“An evolutionary standpoint you say? How interesting. What a remarkable opinion for a professional hero to have.”

It sounded serious, but she immediately realized that he was mocking her! Or was this another test?

“I am fully aware that it may sound cold to civilian ears, but you and I both know that the world is more complicated than the rose-tinted version the government is trying to show us. Sacrifices for the overall prosperity of the system have to be made all the time. The needs of the many outweigh that of the few. Even All Might cannot save everyone. If what the report says is true then he only showed up late to the USJ disaster because he was preoccupied with stopping muggings and rescuing cats from trees on the way. Had he arrived just a few seconds later a student or teacher could have paid with their lives for that mistake.”

“I quite agree. It was reckless of him to neglect his duties as a teacher like that. He is still very much stuck in his ‘Symbol of Peace’ mindset.”

Hurriedly she used his admission to change the topic. Tanya knew that he would detect her diversion right away, Administrator M had warned her of his superhuman intelligence multiple times, so she decided to be blunt about it.

“As gripping as this discussion is, you hardly made me come here for idle banter, did you Mr. Principal?”

“True enough, my dear Ms. Degurechaff. Say... How have you settled in at this fine institution?”

“Well enough. I admit it can be challenging to take care of so many children at once, but it is nothing I cannot handle. Teaching is certainly a very gratifying profession if one is able to watch young heroes learn and develop over time.”

“Fascinating.”

He smiled at her serenely, but she could see the glint of steel in his eyes.

“And the other teachers are treating you well I hope?”

Ah... So that was what this meeting was about. She wanted to slap herself for not figuring it out sooner.

“They are nice enough. We didn't have much time to get to know each other yet. Seeing as Eraserhead is allegedly insisting on resuming his scholastic duties as soon as possible I will sadly not get the chance to do so either.”

Tanya would miss the food very much. And lecturing or overseeing a bunch of kids was also far safer and cushier than going out in the streets to fight crime.

“Well it seems that your opinion of Aizawa is not very high. Rumours are already spreading that you would try to permanently replace him.”
Oh, she could imagine who was behind this smear campaign.

“Whoever is spreading such nonsense should wash their ears and learn to think before opening their mouth. I never expressed such a thing, nor did I ever think of it. I merely expressed my displeasure about some of his educational failings.”

The tea had long since finished brewing and the white rodent finally settled behind his desk, holding his cup with both paws like a sacred treasure.

“I see... Mhhh... You are really missing out on this excellent flavour. I am afraid that next time I will have to insist that you partake in at least a mouthful. I would deeply regret it if you missed out on the opportunity to enjoy this blend.”

“Of course.”

Was this a threat? Some cryptic message? What kind of game was Nedzu playing here?

“But alas... Maybe my taste is just different from humans? Perhaps what I find pleasant about this tea is totally lost on your kind? Or are you noticing other sensations that I cannot experience? A human brain is more complex than an animal brain after all.”
Appealing to his ego with the truth would hopefully ease the strain on their barely formed work relationship.

“Humans are for the most part like any other animal: Impulse-driven, reliant largely on instinct and pattern recognition and without true thought or comprehension of the world around them. To claim that they are something special in the universe is one of the greatest lies ever invented.”

“Hahahahaha... Wonderful! Why do we fight for them then? What are we hoping to accomplish by helping out these animals – as you described them?”

“That is the question.” she answered diplomatically.

“That is the question.” he repeated quietly, sipping his tea and nodding at her.

Wordlessly she bowed and left his office, not knowing if she had failed or passed his evaluation.

 

Chapter 7

The end of the week came quicker than expected. So much had happened between her acting as a pro hero on the streets and as a teacher in school, that time seemed to fly by like a bullet. Even though she had met the members of 1-A only a few days ago, most of the kids had already grown on her in some weird way. Midoriya´s enthusiasm for learning and improving, Yaoyorozu´s surprisingly insightful commentary, Uraraka´s cheery optimism that reminded her of Himiko...

They would make for excellent heroes, as stupid as the whole profession was. Not all of them, naturally, but those that were willing to work on themselves and become stronger and better for it. If they were lucky they would only be active for five or so years and then become popular marketing figures who barely stepped into actual danger zones anymore. At least she hoped that would happen to her, if the government let her...

On the weekend she only had to teach one hour in the morning and then could go back home to do the paperwork that had accumulated over the course of the week. Being a solo pro hero without an agency proved to be a hassle sometimes, but the flexibility and control over her life was something she treasured. The HPSC didn’t care what she did as long as she satisfied the minimum amount of heroic actions to keep her spot in the rankings and stay visible in the media.

Well, that and she had to accomplish special missions of course, like spying on UA or luring a couple of disgraced heroes into spots where they could be conveniently ambushed by ‘criminals’. Normal stuff.

Sunday she went out in her ‘civilian getup’ which was not a common occurrence. Sadly, if it didn’t somewhat hide her features then there was bound to be at least one fan who recognized her on the street only to then pester her with demands for autographs or photos. That could be useful for publicity, and she sometimes let herself be discovered ‘accidentally’, but it was also very annoying. Although some stores would give her products for free if she posted a photo of their business on her social media account, so that was a plus...

But if she really wanted some privacy then she would let her hair down, wear a pair of glasses and a medical face mask and she would become practically invisible in public spaces. The citizens only knew her in a hero costume with a specific appearance, so nobody recognized the young blonde sitting on a park bench.

Not to mention that she wasn’t the only blonde in the park.

“Hi Himiko.” she greeted offhandedly.

“Hello Tanya.” Replied the girl in the same serious tone before bursting out laughing.

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

“You are always funny, Senpai!”

“Do you want me to schedule an emergency drill again? I had planned to take you to that new ice cream shop and then go to the zoo, but I guess a bit of extra training couldn´t hurt, right?”

“Oh no please! You are so mean Senpai! Please, I’ll never call you funny again!”

“Thought so. Now let’s get going. I heard that they have a flavour with three different types of chocolate all at once.”

“That sounds awesome! But I want raspberry sorbet though.”

“It’s just because the colour reminds you of blood.”

“No it doesn’t! I just like the taste!”

“Sure, sure...”

~[#҈#]~
​

“Did you enjoy our day together, Himiko?” Tanya asked while looking at the setting sun over the ocean. Dagobah beach had been mysteriously cleared about a month ago of all the trash that had once ruined the place, so she thought it would be a wonderful location to end their ‘team-building-day’ before it got popular once again.

“Mmh!” hummed her partner affirmatively. “It was awesome! The baby seals were so cute! Thanks Senpai.”

Himiko´s smile turned serious and she hugged Tanya around the side, bringing her mouth close to her ear.

“You are the best, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I would do without you Tanya.”

“You´re welcome.”

Tanya allowed a rare true smile to flash across her features. Being valued so highly by your subordinate was a nice feeling. The sun appeared to nearly touch the shimmering surface of the endless ocean, filling the sky with countless shades of scarlet and orange. Together with Himiko´s warm body at her side and the rhythmic breaking of the waves at the shore, it created an extraordinarily peaceful moment.

She slightly turned her head to look at her fellow blonde only to find her licking her lips in that specific way that indicated that she was thirsty. It was one of Himiko´s many mannerisms that she had picked up during their countless hours of joint training.

“Did you take your dose today already?” she asked, concerned.

“Well, I was so excited for what you had planned that I kinda... forgot?”

The vampiric girl could be so neglectful at times! Any other day Tanya would have admonished her for forgetting something so simple, but today was different. Tanya honestly didn’t want to make a scene and ruin the serene atmosphere.

“Then do it now. You need to be well-rested and fed before tomorrow.”

“W-what?” the normally confident girl uncharacteristically stuttered.

“Come on. You can drink from me. It’s ok.”

Tanya held out her arm and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt to expose the pale flesh underneath.

“B-but...”

“I don’t have any diseases if you are afraid of that. And I just showered this morning so I am clean.”

Himiko looked at her with big, vulnerable eyes and whispered: “Are you really ok with this?”

“Yes. We have been partners for a while now. We killed for each other and we lied for each other. What is a little blood when compared to that?”

Hesitantly, the younger girl reached out and took her arm before slowly raising it to her mouth, keeping eye contact the whole time. Unconsciously, Tanya´s heart rate quickened when she felt the warm breath wash over her delicate skin. Then two small pricks of pain radiated from her outstretched limb as Himiko´s small fangs sunk into her flesh and she began to suck at her wrist almost tenderly.

The poor girl must have gotten quite cold from the sea breeze, because she clung harder to her and began to shiver. Not wanting to let her closest confidant get sick she huddled closer to her and erected a silver, heat insulating barrier around them to keep her warm. Rubbing soothing circles on her back Tanya let her co-worker feed off her blood for a while longer before she finally pulled away, seemingly satisfied.

“I hope it didn’t taste too bad. We ate a little too much ice cream today.”

“No! It was excellent.” mumbled Himiko who appeared to be intoxicated to some extent, judging from the faraway look in her lidded eyes and the manic grin on her red-painted lips. She looked so out of it that Tanya took pity on her and carefully cleaned her blood-stained mouth with a napkin. It wouldn’t do for a random civilian to spot her with blood on her face. That would devolve into a PR-nightmare!

“Let’s go home. You can sleep on my couch if you don’t want to go back to the hideout. I´ll text your location to Administrator M so you won’t be in trouble.”

“M´kay.” she muttered and fell headfirst into Tanya´s chest, having already fallen asleep.

With a bemused sigh Argent created a barrier beneath them both and lifted them straight into the air until she reached a full kilometre in altitude and then began to push it through the sky at breakneck speeds.

~[#҈#]~
​

It was Monday morning and Tanya was once again inconvenienced due to an ill-timed villain attack. This time it had been late at night right near the end of her patrol, and resulted in a torn sleeve on her uniform. Much to Tanya's shame, she had suffered a momentary bout of laxity upon flying in through the window of her apartment, and simply tossed the ruined garment into her closet while she took a shower.

Looking after Himiko, who had used her temporary absence to crawl into her bed, had been her priority at the time. How do you throw someone out of your resting place without being rude? In the end she had simply taken the couch, only to find out later in the morning that the annoyingly snugly girl had somehow ended up there too. It spoke of Himiko´s impeccable skill as an infiltrator that she had managed to sneak under the sheets and cuddle up to her senpai without waking her, despite Tanya´s finely honed senses.

Anyone would understand how under such distracting circumstances the condition of her uniform had been forgotten. By the time she remembered and looked down to notice the damage, she was already halfway to UA and didn't have the time to turn back and switch out the jacket for a spare.

And now here she was, currently rushing towards Kayama Nemuri's classroom in hopes of procuring some materials to make a quick repair before anyone else caught her in such an unprofessional state. The R-Rated hero taught Modern Art History, better known as the ‘Costume Design’ class, so it stood to reason that she probably had at least a needle and thread somewhere in there. Luckily, Tanya arrived early as usual and so the other heroine would most likely not be in just yet.

"Oh my! Is the elusive Argent gracing my classroom with her presence?" a sultry voice said from down the hallway as Tanya had just opened the door to the room. "Whatever could you want with me?"

Tanya glanced up to send a silent curse to Being X before she turned to the older woman and pasted on a smile.
"Ah, hello, Ms. Kayama. I am sorry to intrude on you this fine morning, but I had an issue with my uniform and-"

There was a gasp as the other woman quickened her step, a wide smile pulling at her lips.

"Don't tell me... You're here to change your hero costume, aren't you? I just knew a cutie like you wouldn't want to stick with such a drab outfit. Those so-called designers at the HPSC probably thought it was the height of gap moe to dress a cute little girl like she was in the military, but it just doesn't work."

"Ah, I'm afraid you're mistake- hey!" Before Tanya could explain herself, Nemuri had already dragged her into the classroom and begun riffling through a wardrobe near the back.

"Now, we obviously don't have time to go into detailed plans, but I know I have a few accessories to improve your image right away, things that will really up your cuteness. Like these," Nemuri said as she whirled around and held out a headband adorned with cat ears, which made Tanya recoil.
Seemingly not caring, the woman aligned the headband with one open eye with Tanya's head, then frowned. "Hm, cute but not quite your style. Oh! Your fans call you the Eleventh Goddess enough, so why not lean into it?"

Once again rummaging through the wardrobe, Nemuri rushed over and plopped something atop Tanya's head. Tanya was confused until Midnight held up a mirror. Seeing the halo now bobbing over her blonde hair, held aloft by a thin but rigid wire, Nearly made Tanya send the horrible thing flying with a scream, but she managed to control herself enough to gingerly take it off and hold it far away from her person.

"I don't think so." she said. "And really, while I appreciate the effort, I came here to-"

"Go the magical girl route, of course ." Nemuri finished wrongly as she hammered a fist into her palm. "It's so obvious now. The majokko hero, Argent. I can picture it now. A short, puffed out skirt, a skin tight leotard, frills everywhere , and a tiara. You'll look adorable and sexy!"

Her expression turned into something that Tanya thought would be more appropriate on an old, lecherous man than a heroine as she mumbled: "After all, nothing is hotter than the corruption of the pure and innocent. I can see the fan art already..."

Tanya formed a blade-shaped barrier behind her back and moved to create some distance between her and the deranged pervert before clearing her throat.

"Ms. Kayama, while I appreciate your... enthusiasm in trying to help me update my image, that's not what I came here for."

Nemuri blinked free from her lewd stupor to look down at the smaller woman.

"You didn't?"

"No, I didn't. I simply came in search of supplies to fix the sleeve of my jacket before school started." Tanya explained, holding up her arm for emphasis.

The R-rated Heroine sagged a little.

"Really? That's all? You want me to repair your jacket?"

"I can perform the repairs myself. I just need a needle and some thread."

Midnight shook her head and held out a hand.

"Nonsense, I will gladly do it. It's the least I can do after wasting so much of your time as it is."

"It's really not necessary. I know how."

"But classes start in only a few minutes. Do you really think you can do it in time?"

Tanya opened her mouth, but looked at the clock on the wall and closed it, lips forming a thin line while Nemuri's stretched out into a broad smile.
"Thought so," said the older woman. "I'm a master with a needle and thread, though, and can have it done in no time at all. Please, I insist."

Tanya sighed, but pulled the jacket off and dropped it into Nemuri's waiting claws, leaving her in only her thin undershirt which made her feel surprisingly vulnerable. She certainly did not appreciate the other woman taking an unnecessary moment to eye her chest, and so quickly crossed her arms over it. There was hardly anything there to even look at anyway! True to her word, though, the immodestly dressed woman really did finish repairing in only a couple minutes, doing such a good job that Tanya could hardly even tell there had been a rip in the sleeve at all.
Smiling, Tanya put the jacket back on and said: "Thank you. I appreciate your help."

Midnight waved her off.

"It’s fine." she began, before her expression suddenly took on a scheming air. "Though, if you really want to thank me, there is one thing you could do..."
Blade reformed, Tanya hesitantly asked: "And that would be...?"

She was left blinking as the other woman ran back to the closet, only to quickly return, hands outstretched.

"You have to wear this all day! You'll look adorable!"

Tanya was about to refuse, but one look into that eager expression, and a sudden reminder of a certain blonde pain who also had a penchant for calling Tanya things such as cute and adorable, and the girl caved.

It was hardly that bad, and it would ingratiate her with a fellow staff member and heroine. Networking often required the sacrifice of some dignity, after all.

Later, her students would find themselves staring at their teacher like she had grown another head instead of simply wearing a bright blue ribbon in her hair.

 

Chapter 8

“So what have you learned today? Whoever answers the best gets extra credit.”

“Ehm... We learned that proper communication is important?”

“Why does that sound like a question Hagakure? Are you unsure?”

“Ehm... No, Ms. Argent. I just...”

“Yes. And that is the perfect example why verbal discipline on the field is so important. Facts have to be stated short, precise and clearly phrased as statements, not unknowns. The sooner you internalize that, the better. What else have you learned?”

“You told us that requesting clarification when we don´t understand something is crucial, rather than being polite and staying oblivious.”

“Exactly, Yaoyorozu. Next.”

“Uh... We now know that information itself is worth nothing if you cannot use it.”

“Precisely, Jirou. Next.”

“Leaving one´s foe entombed in a surplus of light may blind him to the darkness encroaching on them trough their own shadow.”

“And could someone please repeat that without trying to act out a Shakespeare play?”

“I think Tokoyami means that bombarding your opponent with too much or false information can distract them from your real plans. Uh. Right?”

“Very good, Ojiro. In the future make it a habit to speak like you actually live in the twenty-fourth century, Tokoyami. That comes right back to our first point from Hagakure. People need to understand you or they won´t be able to help you. Next.”

“Ms. Argent, you taught us today that being well-informed is the cornerstone of becoming a successful hero. We all need to learn the ins and outs of our gear, our surroundings, our teammates and if possible our enemies before engaging. Without sufficient preparation we could risk endangering ourselves – or worse – the civilians we are sworn to protect. In fact it would be the greatest dishonour to fail them by not adequately learning the details that the hero profession thrives upon. If we want to live up to the expectations placed on us by others then it is imperative that we absorb as much useful knowledge as possible.”

“Correct, Iida. Although you should aim to be more brief in your explanations. I did not ask you for your morals, but only for the strategies I told you today. No, don´t apologize. Next.”

“Uh... L-letting others k-know of your position regularly is essential f-for protecting yourself against ambushes.”

“I only mentioned that offhandedly, so it is nice that you caught that, Midoriya. Anyways, what do- Oh. We don´t have time for that anymore. As homework I want you to scream the phrase: ‘Help! Request backup immediately! I need help!’ as loud as you can and as long as you can. Make sure to find a spot where you don´t disturb the peace too much and don´t hurt your vocal cords. Also write on a piece of paper why you think this exercise is important and bring it tomorrow for me to collect. Dismissed.”

~[#҈#]~
​

Tanya stepped through the door of her apartment and tossed her jacket on the nearby coat hanger before heading towards the bathroom for a quick rinse-off shower. As she walked by the entrance to her kitchen however, her heightened sense for danger suddenly flared and she quickly somersaulted away, throwing up her barriers and readying herself for a fight. However instead of a villain or assassin sent to take her out, there was only Himiko. She was standing rigidly in the kitchen near the table and was facing her, but she had her head down and her fists were clenched into the front of her skirt.

Tanya blinked and straightened from her combat stance, dismissing her silver barriers.

"Himiko? Is something wrong? Has something happened?"

"You tell me, Senpai." Toga spat, not lifting her gaze.

More confused and chest tightening for some reason, Tanya took a hesitant step forward.

"Himiko...? Please tell me what's wrong."

"I saw."

"Saw what?"

"The pictures. They're all over social media." Himiko said as if that explained anything.

Tanya was now close enough to reach out, though she hesitated, hand hovering as she didn't know what she was supposed to do.
"I still don't understand-"

"You don't understand this?!" Himiko suddenly screamed, hand reaching into her pocket to whip out her smartphone, the screen lighting up to reveal a picture of Tanya in profile as she lectured in class. And judging by the bright blue ribbon in her hair that was now currently in her pocket, it was from today.

Now Tanya was confused, and angry that one of her students had taken their phone out during class. "What? I'm just teaching. Why would that make you upset?"

"There's a dozen of them!" Himiko wailed with tears in her eyes as she swiped through the pictures.

Some of her in hallways, some in the lunchroom, and a few more from the classroom from different angles, meaning she had more than one student to punish tomorrow. But right now, she had a very distraught girl to calm down, and that required her to first understand why these images made her so upset to begin with. Something that couldn’t happen as long as the younger girl was a blubbering mess.

Reaching out, Tanya grabbed her wrist, causing the phone to clatter to the ground, and pulled. Himiko resisted, but not as much as she could have, considering Tanya managed to move the physically stronger girl without use of her quirk. She wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and held Himiko's head to her chest while she rubbed soothing circles into her back. Those lessons on how to pacify distraught children during a crisis response were really coming in handy right now.

"Shh, shh..." Tanya whispered. "Calm down, Himiko. It's alright, everything's going to be alright."

"N-no it's not," was the whimpered response as Himiko's legs gave out, bringing both of their knees to the hardwood floor. "You've fallen in love, a-and now you're going to spend all of your time with them, a-and you aren't going to want to be around me because I'm weird and not cute, and I'd scare them off, and- and-"

"Wait? Fallen in love? Me?" Tanya asked, pulling back to search the girl's tear-stained face. "Who said that? And how would any of those pictures prove it?"

Himiko rolled her eyes and sneered at her, which made Tanya's chest clench again with how unusual the expression was on her subordinate’s face.

"I'm not stupid, Tanya! I can see the ribbon, same as everyone else, and I know what that means. I know that you would never, ever wear something so adorable because it's too girly. Not unless someone really special gave it to you. Obviously it's a gift from someone you love. Why else would you wear it, and in public, no less?! I can barely get you to wear the 'kiss-the-cutie' apron I got you when we cook together, and that's only when it's just the two of us!"

Tanya stared gobsmacked for several seconds at the panting girl in front of her, then started to chuckle heartily.
"Toga Himiko, you are a very amusing young woman, you know that?"

In response, Himiko sputtered and leaned back. "Amusing? I'm not joking, Tanya!"

"Yes, amusing, because you got all worked up over this." Tanya went on to explain, pulling the offending ribbon from her pocket. "It's not even a gift. At least not one accepted happily. It's from Kayama Nemuri."

Himiko's eyes narrowed as she repeated in a harsh whisper, "Kayama Nemuri... so that's the name of the one taking my senpai away."

"Himiko, no!" Tanya said sternly. "You will not try to attack a fellow heroine, especially when she's not even guilty of what you're accusing her of. It was merely me paying back a favour for her helping me this morning. My jacket had been torn last night during a fight, and she repaired it for me before classes started. In return, however, she asked me to wear this ribbon for the school day, and it would have been rude of me to refuse. That's all that happened."

It was silent for a few seconds before Himiko asked in a surprisingly fragile voice: "... Really?"

"Yes, really." Tanya assured with a lopsided smile, causing the other girl to lunge forward to hug her, once more crying onto her shoulder.

"Really, Himiko..." Tanya whispered as she resumed rubbing up and down the girl's back. "I can't believe you'd think I'd abandon my kohai so easily."

"I'm sorry, Senpai." the distraught girl whimpered with a little hiccup. "I just saw the pictures, and got so... so jealous. It was like my heart melted and burned down into my stomach. I thought someone was taking away the only good thing in my life."

"Come on now, there's no need for dramatics. I'm sure I am not the only good thing."

Tanya felt the head in the crook of her neck shake. "You are."

"Hm, well what about raspberry sorbet?"

There was a snort and giggle, then a reply of: "Not funny."

"That's right." Tanya agreed with a nod, "I am not funny, and don't you forget it. Now come on, stand up and let’s go make ourselves presentable. We both look utterly unprofessional right now."

"Alright... Were you about to take a shower?"

"I was, yes."

"Can I join you?"

"No, Himiko. That would be indecent."

"But we showered together at the HPSC gym!"

"Three times, and you failed to keep your hands to yourself those three times, and so now we shower separately. Also, we are in a private setting so it is generally less socially acceptable." she lectured.

Honestly, Himiko was lucky that she had Tanya as her partner, because other people would be far less willing to ignore being groped while washing themselves. They could even get the impression that Toga had tried to initiate something sexual! Which was frankly ridiculous if you knew the over-excited girl any better. Tanya was sure that it was all fun and games to her due to her uncaring nature concerning any social boundaries. It would be a surprise to Argent if her young ward even really knew what love was beyond the dictionary definition.

"But what if I promise to keep my hands to myself this time?"

"In a shower that has barely more than a hundred centimetres squared in floor space? I find that unlikely."

"But you're super small! We can fit in easily!"

"... I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, and the answer is still no."

"Ahh..."

"...But you can have your turn first so you won't have to worry about running out of hot water. It'll give me time to make us something to eat, anyway."

"You're too good to me, Senpai."

"I'm starting to believe so, yes. Now hurry up and go."

"... Senpai?"

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow morning, before you go to your teaching job, can... can you let me do your makeup?"
"I don't wear makeup."

"Please! I promise I won't make you even more super adorable and cute than you already are! It'll be professional! I've learned a bunch about makeup to accentuate my disguises! The HPSC even hired real makeup artists to give me lessons, so I can make you look mature and serious and even more appealing all at once!"

"I don't know..."

"Pleeease! Please! Please! Pleeease!" whined the girl, pouting in a way that made it impossible for Tanya to resist. Why did she have to look like a fluffy kitten at times?

"Alright, fine! I'll wear the makeup."

Damn it! She was becoming soft.

"Yes! I'll show that Nemuri lady how to really make Tanya-sama pretty!"
"What was that, Himiko?"

"Nothing, Senpai~. I'm hopping into the shower now!"

Tanya stared with narrowed eyes in the direction her subordinate had skipped off before shaking her head and returning her attention to the near-barren fridge. Looks like they would be having stir-fried vegetables and glasses of milk for dinner tonight.

Maybe they could head down to the bakery a couple blocks away for dessert. For Himiko's sake of course, since the girl did have a stressful day and could use it. Tanya was certainly glad that her third puberty had all but run its course so she didn't have to deal with things like mood swings and hormones trying to make her irrational.

She was a paragon of rationality and emotional control, she thought as she put on the 'kiss-the-cutie' apron and tied it behind her back. After all, making her partner happy was one of the most important and satisfying activities in her new life.

 

Chapter 9

While Tanya still didn't like the feeling of wearing makeup, it was making her subordinate smile, so it was worth it. Himiko also masterfully hid the bags under her eyes from her lack of sleep today which was a plus. She was not normally a night-time hero, because the Commission wanted her to be visible, but the abrupt relocation towards Mustafu had required her to take the understaffed and unpopular patrol routes early in the morning. Crime rates here were thankfully low due to All Might´s presence in the area.

“Aaaaand done.” chirped the excited vampire in front of her, finishing the last brush stroke of her eyeliner.

Himiko held a small mirror up to show Tanya her face, grinning proudly as if she was unveiling the Mona Lisa itself. Upon inspection Tanya noted with relief that she looked indeed surprisingly decent. Himiko´s talent in changing one's appearance through minimalistic techniques was apparent, despite how subtle the changes were that she made.

“Look how gorgeous you are. I mean, normally you look extremely good too... But today you look extra good!”

“Thanks, Himiko.” she weakly smiled.

“No problem, Senpai! I will gladly do it again whenever you want! It makes you look even more professional, you know? When you need to entertain these stupid media vultures again then they wouldn´t be able to utter a single word at seeing how cute you are! They´d be rendered speechless by your perfection!”

Tanya´s smile grew larger at hearing the ridiculous plan that the over-energetic girl laid out. One could never be too sure if Himiko was serious about such things or if she was playing into the role she had created for herself, but Tanya found it amusing either way.

“No, that would be bad. I need my publicity to stay high in the hero rankings. I also don’t want to be known for my beauty, but for my actual competence. You know what I think of heroes like Uwabami or Mt. Lady.”

“They are useless dolls that nobody would care about if they didn't make their fans too horny to think clearly.” Himiko droned on, in a tone that made it clear she had heard that particular argument a dozen times already.

“Exactly.”

“Although I wouldn't mind seeing you in a skin tight suit...”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

“Anyways, I have to go now. School starts in an hour.”

“Yeah...” her ward replied dejectedly.

Then as an afterthought to lift her mood she added: “Thank you for making me so pretty, Himiko.”

The girl beamed back at her so brightly that she nearly went blind. How adorable...

~[#҈#]~
​

“Yes I know that is two minutes before the start of class, but please sit down in an orderly fashion and remain silent. I spoke with Mr. Toshinori today and he assured me that All Might would indeed be coming back today. So please show the appropriate amount of respect for the man who got wounded in his line of duty to save your lives.”

“YES MS. ARGENT!” answered the class as one.

Silence lay heavily over the class room as every student had their eyes trained on the door, waiting for any kind of movement. One minute ticked by, then the next. And the next...

The pointer of the clock crawled with an agonizing lack of haste over the painted numbers at the wall, slowly but surely filling everybody with restless energy. Each passing minute made Tanya´s glare turn colder and colder, making some of the students wonder why the door had not been frosted over yet. Nonetheless did she continue to sit motionlessly, save for the soft rise and fall of her chest as she observed the entryway.

Some students had begun to lay their heads on their tables in hopes of catching a few minutes of sleep. Others discretely used their mobile phones to entertain themselves. All of them however instinctively knew not to make a single sound, lest they drew the attention of their balefully staring teacher.

It seemed as if the entire lesson was doomed to be wasted in quiet boredom, until...

“I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR AGAIN LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

“You are late.”

“Uh... Sorry. The printer was stuck. ANYWAYS, WHO OF YOU IS PUMPED FOR ANOTHER PRACTICAL EXERCISE?”

“We are not going to do that.”

“YOUNG TANYA-“

“That is Ms. Degurechaff to you. Didn't you read the lesson plan I sent to Mr. Toshinori?”

“OF COURSE I DID! I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO-“

“No. I cleared that plan with principal Nedzu. If you have complaints about how this class is run or what is taught here then I suggest you take your issue to him. I understand that you must be confused after your brief absence and we are both in our first year of teaching so such mistakes are completely understandable. Just relax and let me handle this.”

“Uh... OF COURSE, YOUNG TANYA! I AM IN YOUR CAPABLE HANDS.”

In an instant her posture relaxed and with an almost pleasant smile on her face she forcefully cheered: “Now everyone, please give a warm welcome for the number one hero!”

~[#҈#]~
​

Izuku had never been this baffled before. Well, maybe when he got the confirmation that he had actually been accepted into UA. That had also been pretty surprising, considering that he had gotten exactly zero combat points in the entrance exam.

But seeing All Might getting so casually bossed around for the remainder of the period took the cake. Was Ms. Degurechaff mad at him? Well, he had wasted more than half an hour of their collective time, but he was also All Might! He must have had a valid reason! A mere printer couldn't stop him, right?

She made him sit in the corner for the purpose of ‘giving her feedback on her pedagogic skills’, but he had the sneaking suspicion that she wanted him out of the way as much as possible. When All Might finally spoke up to contribute to the lesson, she coolly brushed him off and made him hand out the worksheets she brought only to find out that she had ’accidentally’ printed out too few of them so he had to get more.

By the time he was back the period was over and Ms Degurechaff seemed not the least bit sad about that fact.

Oh no! What if she hated him now? As ridiculous as that statement was, there were apparently people out there who didn't like All Might very much and she seemed to be one of them! That could be disastrous ! The tension between two teachers managing the same class would only make things worse for everybody. He really wanted two of his favourite idols to get along.

Perhaps he could apologize on his mentor´s behalf? Would that improve or worsen the relationship between the two heroes?
In his mind it was worth a try at least.

Hesitantly he approached her desk while the rest of his classmates packed their belongings.

“Ehm... Ms. Argent... D-do you have a minute?”

“Ah, Midoriya. Perfect timing actually. I was just about to ask you something.”

“W-what would that b-be?”

“You are a pretty observant kid. I have not looked into any of your notebooks that you carry around, but if even half the stuff you mutter ends up there then they are probably filled to the brim with useful information. If I were to remain in this role here at UA a while longer then I would make it a mandatory assignment for all of you to write down their observations.”

“Y-you know about m-my n-notebooks?” he stuttered embarrassed.

She raised a perfectly coiffed eyebrow.

“How could anyone not notice your notorious scribbling? You should hide that better if you don’t want to be found out then. But enough of that, do you know who created these pictures? They have caused quite a bit of trouble for me.”

Ms. Degurechaff held up her phone and swiped through multiple photos depicting her with special focus on the blue ribbon she had worn yesterday.

“Ehm... I... I think I t-took one o-of those? Sorry... ”

“Why?”

“Huh? I thought it w-would be interesting for other people to see a more playful side of you. With all due respect, but you are s-so serious all the time. N-not that there is an issue with that! You are a teacher and a respected pro hero, so you should not constantly be silly if that is not part of your image like in the case of Ms. Joke or Present Mic. Those two use humour to lighten the mood and bring hope to distraught civilians as well as-”

Tanya cleared her throat loudly, interrupting his monologue.

“Ehm, y-yeah... I uploaded it t-to hero-net, because I believed it would be nice to humanize you more in the public eye. Seeing the ever-professional Eleventh Goddess break character so much could be inspiring... S-sorry. I am being stupid again.”

“No, no. That is a far better reasoning than I expected. It was nonetheless thoughtless of you to openly post a picture of me. Can you tell me why?”

“I am sorry, Sensei. Um... W-was it because you were not in public? I mean pros get photographed all the time, but that is when they are out and about doing their job. When they show their face openly then they're basically consenting to having their picture taken. But you Ms. Argent are off hero duty right now in the classroom, so that same ambiguous consent to be photographed is not present.”

“I am impressed, Midoriya. You have repeatedly demonstrated that you can overcome your speech impairment with some determination. But, yes. What you deduced is part of the reason. Still, you should really know better than to release sensitive information like the inside of the school building or who your teachers are. UA has already been targeted by villains, no need to make it worse when they attack you the next time.”

“Th-the next time? ” he squeaked, now being painfully reminded of the USJ incident again.

“Of course. They couldn't accomplish their goals last time so they will try again. Now, back to the topic at hand.”

Hurriedly he composed himself, pushing the ghastly image of his broken and bleeding teacher out of his mind and taking a deep breath like Hound Dog had taught him.

“Sh-should I take it down? The photo, I mean.”

“No, don´t bother. It will have spread by now which would make deleting the source useless. Although... ”

She searched something on her phone before showing him a social media page. It was titled: “The palace of pleasure from AnonymousGrape69” and was filled with suggestive imagery that tested the limits of what was legal on the site. One of the newer posts was another photo of Ms. Degurechaff, but in a side-profile that was centred on her bust. An obnoxious red arrow pointed at her hair ornament.

The caption read: [ See, even our hard-ass teacher tries to look nice sometimes. There’s no excuse, girls! ]

“Who is the culprit behind this obscenity? The image id confirms that it was first uploaded here and I want to know who did it.”

“... M-maybe... I am unsure... b-but I think it could be Mineta... He h-has this whole ‘grape motif’ going on.”

“Ahhh... that is what his costume is supposed to represent.”

“Y-yes. The p-pants symbolize a bowl. At least he said so last week.”

“I thought it was just an elaborate crotch protection. Not an unwise choice considering how many times he must have been kicked there if he has always been this perverse.”

Izuku nearly choked.

Suddenly the heroine raised her voice, clearly addressing the whole room:
“I nearly forgot to tell you, but here at the best hero school in the country we cannot waste time on doing nothing; especially with the sports festival taking place soon. So for all of you who value your education I will arrange an extra session after the end of lessons today.”

Oh! Then he could perhaps finally show All Might the progress in his training! His mom had not let him out of the house during the weekend which meant that he couldn´t meet with his mentor. Of course he had texted him some of the stuff he found out about All for One, but he had kept the biggest breakthrough a secret to surprise him. (Izuku only felt a little guilty about that, because he knew All Might would be proud. Hopefully.)

“Oh man, I wanted to go to the cinema later.”

His excitement was obviously not shared among the others.
“Yeah! My mom baked pie today. It's gonna be cold by then...” whined Kaminari.

“If your education is less important to you than pie, I will not stop you from leaving. You just shouldn't be surprised to find that you are no longer a member of the hero course if your performance at the sports festival is not satisfactory.”

Kacchan smirked for some reason and looked at him. What was that supposed to mean?

“And Mineta... I have seen your questionable online activities. Go to Hound Dog´s office immediately and give him this note. I will know if you don´t.”

“Why? I am just appreciative of the female form! That is free speech and there is nothing wrong with that!”

“It went wrong the moment you photoshopped my head onto Midnight´s body! Get out! ”

Izuku was unsure if his disgust outweighed his amusement at that moment.

~[#҈#]~​

The only reason why Mina didn´t try to catch a picture of how beautiful her teacher looked was the talk she had given to Midoriya a few hours ago. She wasn’t a stalker or anything creepy like that, but she wanted to analyze what kind of makeup Argent was wearing. And more importantly...
She wanted to discuss with her friends who she was wearing it for!

Who could this special person be? Clearly Ms. Degurgenchaff – no Degurshaft? Deggu- whatever...

Her name was so difficult to pronounce! Mina decided that from this point onward she would just call her teacher Tanya in her head, although she wouldn't dare to say that out loud. The verbal lashing the diminutive young woman had given All Might for that had been enough to convince her that acting so informal around her would be a terrible idea.

Anyways, before she had been distracted by the impossible spelling of Argent´s family name, she had been thinking about Tanya´s love interest!
No interview that she remembered had talked about Argent´s relationship status, but in Mina´s mind there were only a few possible candidates. First the bright blue ribbon yesterday and now the elaborate makeup during school hours. Either Tanya was seeing her mysterious lover on UA grounds or shortly after leaving them.

Mina, however, firmly believed that the reserved and pragmatic Argent would not fall for anyone in the faculty so quickly. Someone who appeared so guarded needed months of gentle prodding and romantic gestures to open up, at least if her novels were to be trusted. Instead it had to be someone she knew for a longer period of time. The acidic girl loved the childhood friends to lovers trope!
Someone who had also come to this region not too long ago...

Someone who was both charismatic and strong enough to woo Tanya´s heart...

It could be no other than – Mina knocked against the wall to imitate a dramatic drum roll – Hawks!

“Whatcha smiling about?” asked her new friend Tsu.

Mina looked around to verify that her teacher was not nearby and conspiratorially whispered to the frog girl: “I think Ms. Argent is in love with Hawks!”

“What gave you the idea? Ribbit.”

“It makes perfect sense! Both work directly under the HPSC so they are guaranteed to know each other, both are incredibly strong and, come on... Isn’t it obvious? Hawks comes here for a charity event, has to stay because UA expressed security concerns and then through pure coincidence Argent accepts the teaching position here immediately. They have to be secretly together!”

“If you put it like that...”

“Who is together?” asked a cheerful Ochako who had apparently just finished putting on her gym clothes in the changing room.

“Argent and Hawks. Ribbit.” replied Tsu in her typically blunt fashion.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, they are such a cute couple!”

“How do you know that though?”

“Like I said, it can´t be a coincidence that they moved simultaneously to a new city and I bet they have lots of experience working together. Also, that cute ribbon that she was wearing yesterday? Do you honestly think she would have put that on if it wasn't a gift from someone precious to her? And today she is wearing, like, super awesome makeup that lets her look more mature... All I'm saying is that my ‘date senses’ are tingling.”

“Your ‘date senses’ ?” deadpanned Ochako incredulously.

“They let me feel whenever two young people are about to go out on a romantic date. I am rarely wrong about that kind of stuff.”

Mina would have continued to present more evidence for her case if the object of their discussion had not chosen to appear.

“Are that all of you? Mph. Today we are fighting uphill battles. Does anybody want to guess what that means? Sero.”

“Of course we are going to fight on uneven terrain. On a slope most likely!”

“Incorrect. Yaoyorozu?”

“I believe you meant it less literally and more metaphorically, Ms. Degurechaff.”

Ahhh... That was how it was supposed to be pronounced, Mina noted with interest.

“We are going to fight against an opponent significantly stronger than us.” the rich girl continued.

“Indeed. You will spar with one opponent and the same safety rules apply as always. One of you will not be allowed to use their quirk while the other does. Within reason of course. Any unnecessary injuries will get you detention. Understood?”

“YES, MS. ARGENT!”

“Because Mineta is still with Hound Dog, the number of partners is uneven. Mmmm...”

Tanya theatrically grabbed her chin in mock thought.

“Kaminari, I see you have not abandoned your class for the temptation of baked goods. You are fighting against me. The spar lasts until you can't move anymore or I call it quits. Understood?”

“Why me...” he mumbled under his breath, but Ms. Argent still heard him.

“Because why not? After all, yesterday you were still of the opinion that I was –quote unquote – ‘trying to impress a guy’, no? Why don' t you impress me instead.”

“But Sensei, you are the number eleven hero! How am I going to prevail against your quirk?”

“Who said that I would be using my quirk? This is supposed to be an uphill battle for you, not an unwinnable scenario. Use whatever you feel like. I even am going to limit myself by not moving my arms from behind my back at all and keeping my eyes closed.”

“There is no way...”

“Yes, there is. Now come on! This is supposed to be nearly one-sided!”

With a battle cry Kaminari leapt into action, throwing his sparking fist towards the unmoving hero. Everybody watched with bated breath as he put all his power into a single attack to incapacitate their blind and seemingly defenceless teacher.

Needless to say...

He stood no chance.

Tanya had spoken the truth. It had been one-sided.

~[#҈#]~
​

Kirishima Eijiro stood at attention, back straight and arms at his side as Tanya looked him up and down. Honestly, she rather liked the boy, as he reminded her of some of her more boisterous soldiers from her previous life. Diligent, determined, and with a fire in his heart that refused to be smothered. At least, that was what she gathered from her interactions with him so far, and if she was even remotely accurate in her assessment, then he would flourish most under her special brand of training just as her precious 203rd did.

And if she was wrong? Well, it would be nothing Recovery Girl and Hound Dog couldn't fix, she was sure. Kaminari´s largest wound had also been that to his pride.

"So, you wish to be a shield, do you?" she asked as she circled him, getting the boy to nod once, gaze focused straight ahead.

"Yes, Sensei! I want to be a wall that will never fall! A shield for people to stand behind!"

"Heh, a mobile bunker." she mused with a smirk. "I could see the appeal."

The smirk quickly turned into a hard frown as she continued: "However a bunker must be sturdy, so as to not collapse upon those it's meant to protect in their most dire hour. Your hardening will help in that, but it's not enough, not yet and not on its own."

She stopped in front of him and snapped her fingers, causing two large robots to whirl up, each holding a bokken.

"Tell me, Kirishima, have you ever heard of kongoken?"

"Um, I don't think so." he answered honestly, eyeing the two UA provided robots wearily.

"It's a martial practice in Kung Fu, sometimes referred to as the iron shirt. It's a routine of intense training used to build up one's durability." she explained. "This is achieved through subjecting the body to increasingly extreme forms of punishment." She gestured to her robotic companions.
"The first stage of which is enduring the strikes of wooden swords repeatedly across the body. I believe these machines would be more effective than one of your classmates wailing on you."

He grinned at that.

"Is that all? That's easy!" he said as he began to harden his body.

The process was halted though, when Tanya harshly yelled: "No! You will not be using your quirk for this. At least, not at first."

This caused the boy to blink, confusion clear on his face.

"No quirk? But why? I mean, I'll be using my quirk in real fights as a hero, right?"

"That's true." she agreed. "But I know stamina is an issue in your hardening, both in merely maintaining it over extended periods, and doing so under continued assault. Out on the field, there's no telling what sort of scenarios you might encounter, but prolonged battles, especially if they end up being against multiple opponents, or consecutive fights, aren't out of the question. In which case, you will either want to reserve your quirk usage to defend against certain attacks or powerful adversaries, or extend your time limit over the course of the situation. That's why we're beginning a new type of training today."

She slapped a palm onto the man-sized robot to her left as she explained. "You are going to put up your guard, tense your muscles, and let B-12 and C-13 hit you repeatedly with their bokken until you can't take it anymore. Then you will go to the Nurse for healing and return to repeat the process. Recovery Girl has agreed to do this one time per training session and once again before you return home, provided you let her perform post-training examinations and follow a diet plan meant to replenish what her quirk will take out of you."

"That sounds pretty intense..." he mumbled, gulping as sweat started to form on his brow.

Tanya quirked a brow. "Too much for you? Here I thought you took the school's motto of ‘Plus Ultra’ seriously."

Eijiro shook his head and stood straight and proud once more, eyes steely as he glared at the two robots in challenge.

"You're right! It'd be totally unmanly of me to back down now after I asked you to come up with a training plan for me."

Tanya smiled and nodded approvingly. "Just so." she agreed. "And after you grow accustomed to the sticks, we'll move onto iron chains, then steel bats, and finally cannonballs. Recovery Girl and I also theorize that this training will translate to an improvement in your quirk as well, which she'll be keeping an eye out for during her examinations. Once you can withstand that level of punishment with your unaltered body, we can begin proper quirk training with a zero-pointer."

With her eyes turned to the ceiling and hand on her chin as she said this, she didn't see Eijiro's face grow increasingly pale.

"Anyway, there is no better time to start than right now. Put up your guard, Kirishima. B-12, C-13, initiate training routine two-oh-three."

"With. Pleasure." B-12 said in a tinny voice as C-13 bounced its sword eagerly against its metal palm, both approaching the red-haired boy as he took a hesitant step back. He only just barely had time to put up his guard before the strikes came raining down.

Turning away, Tanya scanned the gym for the next student in need of her help. She frowned upon noticing that the majority of them had stopped duelling for some reason to instead stare wide-eyed in her direction.

Ignoring the sound of wood impacting flesh and the pained grunts from behind her, Tanya yelled:
"What are you doing?! Get back to work! Koda! Come over here! Don't think I haven't noticed you refusing to fight back against your sparring partners! You're not only hindering your own training, but your partners' as well! If you're so worried about hurting someone, then I'll be your opponent. Rest assured, you won't have to worry about hurting me, and I won't allow you to pull any punches, or else... "

His frightened glance in the direction of Kirishima who had already passed out again told more than words ever could.

EDIT: I might have to split such long chapters up in the future because my browser struggles really hard with editing so much text lmao

 

Chapter 10

Although the first half of the exercise had been carried out quirkless (oh the memories...) Izuku had more than enough time to practice his quirk later on. All Might´s time limit had decreased again as a result of his wound from the USJ incident, which left him not enough time to visit the gym in his “muscle form” to watch him train. Still, the opportunity to show off a bit for his idol made him giddy. With his mentor steadily growing weaker he needed to push himself harder than ever before to become worthy of All Might´s legacy.

He swallowed nervously at the mere thought of becoming the next Symbol of Peace, but he owed it to his mother, to his friends – no, the whole world to try his best at fulfilling that role. The nasty voice of his inner doubts reminded him that he would never be able to live up to the greatness of his mentor, that he was useless, unworthy, just a Deku-

“NO!” he screamed mentally, clamping down on those thoughts of inferiority that had been drilled into his head since his fourth birthday. Even though he had told some of his experiences to Ochako and his mom, letting out absolutely everything out in front of Hound Dog had been incredibly relieving. It had taken multiple hours until he could properly open up about that topic, but it had been worth it! Of course Izuku couldn't tell the counsellor everything, because the existence of One for All was a secret, but the weight of the mistreatment that he had suffered for most of his life had been lightened just enough to make him feel like he was starting life all over again.

Hound Dog had also shown him how to meditate “to calm his centre” whatever that really meant. When he was worried or stressed it still took him a while to clear his mind and focus on the here and now, but he was getting better at it. Izuku hoped that it would help with his control over One for All and he liked to believe that it worked to a certain extent.

That was also what he was currently doing to prepare for using his quirk. Now was the time to test if his quirk counselling had been a success.
His breathing slowed, his mind emptied of doubts and his veins began to thrum with power . Izuku opened his eyes and grinned up at the skeletal form of his favourite hero.

“Look! I can channel it through my entire body!”

Green lighting danced over his skin, but it did not hurt him.

“Very impressive, young Midoriya.” replied All Might with a similar smile.

“Remember how I told you that my body is like an egg in the microwave oven?”

The number one hero cringed at the terrible comparison.

“Well, I think I got the perfect power setting down. Now the egg doesn't explode anymore! Although I still haven't punched anything, so I don´t know if it really works. Would the egg explode if I-“

“Young Midoriya, please never talk about exploding again.” said his mentor sternly.

“Y-yes, All- uh Mr. Yagi.”

They were not completely alone so he needed to make sure to only address him in his civilian name, lest the secret of All Might's ‘muscle form’ be discovered.

“How much of your quirk can you safely use so far?”

“Uhm... Like I said, I didn´t test it. I only tried to manifest as much of the quirk as I can handle... Like dragging something from the depths of the ocean to the surface without suffocating...”

“Your metaphors should really be centred less around you dying.”

“Hehe... I guess... I can't say for sure, but when the lightning appears like it does right now, it feels as if I am calling upon maybe... three to five percent of the total power?”

“Very good. Very good, young Midoriya. Do you want to see how your technique holds up on the field of battle?”

“W-why are you saying this so seriously?”

“Come on! Stand up! Punch this sandbag with as much force as you think you can handle! Let your heroic desire become your strength!”

“Uh... okay.”

Izuku gathered the small trickle of overwhelming power inside him and tried to disperse it throughout his whole body as he had been instructed to do. His vision shrank as he focused solely on his target, doing his hardest to keep the egg from explo- uh, cracking.

“I call this... MINOR SMASH!”

Nobody could tell if Mr. Yagi was coughing from laughter or because he had gotten sand in his mouth after the bag detonated. Nonetheless, it was obvious that he was proud of Izuku´s achievement. Even Recovery Girl was pleasantly surprised when she had to heal only two hairline fractures!

~[#҈#]~
​

Kaminari Denki stared at the case held up to him as if it was going to explode, then at his blond teacher like she was a rabid ferret ready to attack.

"Take it, Kaminari, and open it." Tanya repeated impatiently, eyes narrowing a millimetre which had the boy scrambling to follow her command post-haste.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he yelped as he opened the case, only to stall as he stared inside. "Um, what is this?"

"Support gear. Power Loader was willing to whip up a prototype based on the functionality I described to him." she explained.

Tanya had been lucky that she was able to convince Power Loader to create the weapon at such short notice. All it had cost her was a signed autograph for his niece, who was apparently her biggest fan. The propaganda network of the HPSC was unreasonably effective if they could boost her popularity so much, despite her just doing her job properly.

"Okay, I get that... I guess, but, uh... why does it look like a weird gun?"

"Because it is in fact a weird gun, though for legal reasons, I suggest we continue calling it a support item."

Denki looked from her to the strange device in the box, tentatively taking it out and setting the case on the floor beside him. "You're giving me a gun?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, because our spar a few days ago showcased for me how cumbersome your quirk can be in certain circumstances."

"Using it at too high wattage impairs your mental faculties, and you're liable to shock an ally if they happen to be too close. It also lacks effective range, which this will rectify nicely."

"By shooting people?" he said sceptically. "Why not just become a police officer instead?"

"Because this weapon does not use gunpowder as an ammunition propellant, instead operating through the use of a strong electromagnetic pulse to fire bullets, which your quirk will generate."

As she explained this, she began pointing out some of the features in the pistol-like weapon in the boy's hand.

"By eliminating the need for brass casings, the magazine is able to hold twenty rounds, and the lack of an onboard power source aids in the compact form even more. Also, as it's powered by your quirk, muzzle velocity can be adjusted situationally by you, allowing for both subsonic and supersonic rounds which would normally not be feasible for small arms. In fact, on the lowest end, the bullets are hardly lethal at all, which makes it a fine piece of support gear for taking in villains alive. Honestly, for a prototype, it's a rather robust weapon already. Power Loader outdid himself. He even provided a nice thigh holster for you."

Denki stared down at the small pistol in a new light, a smile pulling at his lips as he looked back up at her. When he did, however, the smile faded.
"I don't get it. Why would you do something like this for me?"
Tanya tilted her head.
"I don't understand what you mean."

"Well, it's just... Don't you hate me?" he asked awkwardly, looking away. "Like, that spar yesterday was just an excuse to kick my butt and embarrass me in front of the class, right? I mean, I know that stuff with the picture was out of line, and I get that, but-"

"I don't hate you." Tanya interrupted. "I don't like your lackadaisical attitude towards your heroic studies, and perhaps I was upset about the photo, but that's in the past. It is my job as your teacher to correct your behaviour and, among other things, instil in you the appropriate attitudes to become an effective hero. I don't expect you to be the perfect hero, or even student right now, but I do expect you to improve with time, and for you not to waste my efforts on you." she tilted her head and asked quietly: "Are you a wasted effort, Kaminari?"

He stared, mouth slightly agape, before his eyes became moist and he shook his head. "No, Sensei! And thank you! I promise I'll be better from now on!"

She smiled fondly at the boy, but smoothed her expression when he refocused his attention on her. "Good." she said. "I hope you strive not to waste your new instructor's time either."

"Um, new instructor?"

"Of course, I'm certainly not fit to teach you how to use that. After all, I don't use guns." Tanya said with a shrug, and it was the truth in most ways.

She'd hardly used a gun in this new life, relying almost entirely on her quirk for her public operations. Even in her previous life, she wasn't so arrogant as to claim she was a sharpshooter.

No, the man approaching them was far more qualified than her.

"Howdy." Snipe greeted, tilting the brim of his Stetson at them when he came to a stop beside Tanya. "So the lil´ lady here wants me to teach ya how to use that little peashooter, that right?"

"Indeed." Tanya confirmed, holding a hand towards her student. "This is Kaminari Denki, and I think he has much to learn from you, sir. Not just in how to utilize his new tool in the context of heroics, but also in managing his image while doing so. After all, the fact that you have become such a well-respected hero in Japan, a country known for its very reserved views towards firearms, is a testament to your PR skills."

The much taller hero looked away, scratching the side of his gas mask-covered face as he muttered, "Well shoot, I already agreed to teach the kid. There's no need for flattery, miss."

"There isn't." Tanya agreed. "I am only speaking the truth, now Kaminari, I know you're probably eager to try out your new equipment, but I suggest you first read the instruction manual Power Loader provided so as to not risk blowing your fingers off."

"Yes Ms. Degurechaff!" he nearly yelled before turning bodily towards Snipe and bowing at the waist towards the man in a show of respect Tanya had not seen from the boy yet. "And thank you, Snipe-Sensei. I promise to take this training seriously and to not waste your time."

"Thanks, I guess, now come on, kid. The shooting range is on the opposite side of campus, and we're burning daylight as it is."

"Yes, Sensei!" Denki said as he grabbed the case and hurried after his new tutor.

And so, Tanya watched the pair leave with a small smile and new hope for the boy's future. Now if she could only figure out how to correct Mineta Minoru's deviant behaviour without flinging the little horndog into orbit. Maybe she could brainstorm with Himiko to come up with something. Her partner had a wondrous ability to make people do her bidding even before she showed them her knife collection.

~[#҈#]~
​

Meanwhile, Himiko was going over the mission plan that had been sent to her through the encrypted network of the HPSC Special Operations Unit. Her infiltration of the League of villains had gone off without a hitch. She had created somewhat of a name for herself in the criminal underworld by murdering countless people either directly or falsely claiming responsibility for their demise. It was not work that she actually enjoyed, but nobody would notice that when she wore her trademark smile wherever she went.

There was only one person in this whole, wide world that was able to detect the sorrow and disgust beneath her mask. She was the personal sun of Himiko´s life; her sole star in the bleak darkness that otherwise threatened to swallow her up. Yet this source of comfort and affection was bound by the same chains as she was! Neither of them was free from the iron-hard grip of the HPSC.

These... pigs forced them to do their bidding. To bloody their hands so that this rotten society could decay just a bit longer. It was abhorrent how corrupt these men in fine suits and their lapdog heroes in motley costumes had become. She would kill them all if she could!

But she couldn´t. Not when it would put her love at risk. For her saviour she would endure.

So Himiko had taken on the role of a villain in order to blend in with the rest of the lowlifes that housed in this city. Like a good, little soldier, she followed the demands of the pigs that held her chains and carved the name “Blood Dancer” into the fearful hearts of villain scum. She shuddered to think that she could have become a hopeless bottom feeder if her love hadn't saved her.

Hanging out in bars and flirting with stinky, drunk men was so not cute!

Regardless, her infamy had spread wide and multiple organizations had tried to hook her already with empty promises. Only one of them had been the one she was allowed to accept: The League of Villains.

A band of clueless psychopaths without restraint or intelligence or cuteness. Worthless.

However, her orders said that she had to get close to them so she played her usual game and enticed them with her body and her combat prowess. The alleged leader was a manchild who only acknowledged her as a human being because she defeated him in a match of Mortal Kombat 32. That made her his “favourite NPC” and he started to even listen to her suggestions from time to time.

His pride had been hurt badly by his failure to kill anyone at the USJ which had made it child's play to goad Shigaraki into immediately seeking revenge. He promptly sent her on a mission to break into the “high-level dungeon” to steal the safety codes that would let them bypass the automated security to the sports festival. It was stupid, childish and ridiculously dangerous, but he did not appear to care.

Shigaraki´s babysitter, a misty bartender that gave off uncomfortable vibes, attempted to dissuade him from the terrible plan, but the hand-loving moron was having none of it! All it had taken on Himiko´s part was to self-assuredly declare that she could accomplish any mission without backup or die trying! For a second she felt pity for whoever was the real leader of this nonsensical organization. Who needed enemies with such subordinates?

Why the pigs wanted her to instigate a villain attack during the UA sports festival of all places was beyond her. Did they want to weaken the school's reputation? Or strengthen it? At the end of the day it was unimportant. The whole world could burn as long as she was together with her senpai.

Now she was reading over her final instructions before the plan could commence.

Protocol 21749-b was rather simple. Himiko would receive the package with the blood of Aizawa Shouta (commonly known as the underground hero Eraserhead) six hours before the launch of the operation. The life fluid had been channelled off from the regular blood tests that the man underwent by an insider in the hospital, who soon after would be found as the unfortunate victim of a memory loss quirk which made him forget the last two weeks of his life. It was a clean, humane and effective way to wrap up a loose end that could potentially turn into a liability later down the road.

Himiko, or as the documents called her: “Carmilla”, would ingest that blood two hours before school started and exit the hospital with Aizawa´s face. Her quirk could not replicate physical injuries so she needed to get her disguise of bandages and plaster casts right. The videos of Eraserhead´s body language and typical mannerisms that had been attached to his dossier were all blurry and short, so she needed to make up most of his behaviour on the spot.

Oh well, the extra challenge would make it more fun.

Not to mention the chance to tease Tanya a bit in her new form! The cute faces she would make were going to be hilarious!

~[#҈#]~
​

Tanya let out a deep breath as she closed the door to her apartment behind her and finally took the time to check her phone. Her newest post on hero-net about social equality was blowing up which was nice to see. Apart from that nobody else had sent her anything of importance. Just the usual spam of marketing deals and requests for interviews. Nothing that her automatic reply system could not deal with.

Then she pulled out her special, unofficial, untraceable and most importantly secret phone from a hidden pocket and checked that too. Despite being as technologically secure as humanly possible the HPSC did not like to send compromising data through their network often. The reason had been something about emerging technomancy quirks, but Tanya could not care less.

So it came as a surprise to find a new message in her inbox.

[Do not be alarmed by a familiar face . More commands coming soon.]

What? She read the text again and subsequently deleted it from the device to leave no trace.

This was most likely a ‘know-only-what-you-have-to’ case. There was no other reason for this instruction to be so vague and cryptic otherwise. Possessing mission critical information could be dangerous, especially when dealing with mindreading quirks or similarly frustrating abilities.
But still...

Was she in danger? Probably not, seeing as she was supposed to “not be alarmed”. Also why had the word “face” been highlighted? This whole scenario was fishy. Furthermore, now that she thought about it, Himiko had been acting strange over the last few days, behaving more clingy and moody than usual. Did she know what was up?

Tanya did not want to be dragged into this mess. If a conflict of some sort arose then staying at UA should be her safest bet. From what she could tell the security had been amped up considerably. Cameras and motion detectors in the hallways were everywhere. With over a dozen pro heroes on site Tanya was sure that the HPSC was not crazy enough to cause a fight near the school grounds. Those spineless paper pushers would not dare to upset the smartest being on the planet.

She sighed again.

“I am not going to get involved. If they call me in, I´ll just claim that my school work required me to stay there or risk breaking cover. I have a flawless record! I deserve some rest, damn it!” Tanya angrily muttered to herself.

“Damn you Being X for giving me this much power!”

Once again she wondered how her third life could have gone differently if she had been born with an ordinary, plain, weak quirk. Instead she had been “gifted” with near limitless potential and was chained to an organization that used her however they saw fit. A nostalgic experience, one could say.

Her quirk worked in a variety of ways, some of which were not unlike the magic of her last life. Officially it was registered as “Light Walls”, but as it was often the case, this entailed far more than what the name would suggest. In its most basic form Tanya could form shields of translucent, silver-shimmering energy which had given her the moniker “Argent”. They were resistant even against excessive force and could cover more than a football field with their surface area.

She could manipulate certain properties of these barriers like their shape, position, opacity or permeability. By applying a force field around her feet and torso she could “fly” through the air, although in reality she was just pushing herself with a nearly invisible platform of sorts whose position she altered along a calculated vector.

The greater these changes, the more focus energy this took out of her though. For example, clouding a barrier so that normal sunlight could not pass through was far, far easier than manipulating it until no radiation of any kind could pierce it. Of course this also applied to how big her shields could become. A four thousand square metre force field required at least four thousand times more stamina to maintain than a one square metre large one. Subsequently it had taken her a nearly inhuman level of training to push herself to endure such strain.

Nonetheless, that quirk made her ideal for crowd control or rescue work, because she could hold back either large amounts of people or debris. Separating protesters, supporting collapsing buildings, levitating wounded civilians or utterly immobilizing criminals were all tasks she excelled at. No wonder that she had reached the top of the national hero rating charts so quickly (with the subtle help of the HPSC of course).

However, should the force that pressed on her defences exceed the capabilities of the shield then it would collapse in rather painful fashion and she would be unable to erect another one for a few seconds afterwards. A substantial weakness that she covered by erecting multiple smaller barriers in a staggered fashion next to each other, so that if one failed it would not cause her whole support structure to collapse.

As strong as her quirk was to fend off normal humans, “normal” did not exist in the world of the twenty fourth century anymore. Mutant type quirks often came with slight strength enhancements and/or spikey bits that could be used to concentrate kinetic energy into very small points. Anyone with a crowbar or an axe could also replicate this effect to smash through her defences with comparative ease. It would still be hard to accomplish, but multiple villains working together could make short work of her barriers.

Of course she could limit her surface area and channel that energy into more powerful fields that could withstand those blows, but that would be merely delaying the inevitable. Tanya was not fond of focusing on pure defence if attacking could prove more far safer. After all, nothing was gained from committing resources to merely delay an enemy. Her second life had taught her the importance of mobility and overwhelming firepower to crush any opposition before they could really become a threat.

Due to her barriers being constructs of pure energy, they had no physical mass or thickness which made them excellent blades if she pumped enough power into them so that they could actually separate solid objects from another (which was not much). The downside of using her quirk as a weapon in this way was that it was simply too effective.

The smallest amount of error on her part would bisect a man or at the very least lacerate important blood vessels. Humans were annoyingly fragile things and she was not sure if even the Commission could save her from the public backlash of openly killing a villain. Tanya would rather not risk being labelled as a murderer (although that description would be more than accurate). Therefore, she resolved to only ever use her “Silver Slice” technique in case of a catastrophic emergency.

Far more applicable were her “Silver Wedge” and “Silver Bash”. Whoever at the marketing department had come up with these stupid names should be fired for their apparent lack of imagination. It was an established part in modern hero culture to cry out the name of your attack like a moron before using it, so her handler had vehemently insisted for her to partake in this absurd ritual. Luckily she only had to scream like a bad action hero when cameras were nearby.

The “Silver Wedge” was technically also a blade, but ninety five percent less lethal. As the name aptly described it was a wedge, although the naked eye couldn't see that. Basically, two small shields were overlapping each other in a V-shaped form, creating a relatively dull edge compared to the practically two-dimensional “Silver Slash”. In reality it still served as an extremely sharp knife or sword that she could control at will.
Tanya´s “Silver Bash” was the simplest of all weapons since the dawn of humanity: A club.

She simply projected a small, hard force field over the head of her target and pressed down with enough force to knock them out. If it didn't work the first time then repeated bonks on the head typically put most of her victims out of commission. It's effectiveness came from the fact that most people never bothered to look directly up if their eyes had not mutated to do so.

Her range to use any of these attacks amounted to more or less exactly forty metres in every direction, but Tanya was optimistic that she could expand that area with time and effort. Discipline and diligence had carried her this far already, so it stood to reason that they would carry her further. Quirks also had the chance to spontaneously evolve under stress, but that was pretty rare and not something she could rely on.

Anyways, in Tanya´s opinion, it was now time for more ice cream. She deserved it for the stress that was soon to come.

 

Chapter 11

Himiko hadn’t messaged her in two days and Tanya was feeling restless. Of course she was not concerned; the girl could take care of herself. Nobody she had ever known was as dangerous as her partner in close combat situations. It filled her with immense satisfaction and gratefulness that she had managed to find Himiko on that fateful day and train her up to one of the finest agents the HPSC had seen to date. That was one of the few unambiguously good things that had happened to her in this life.

Why then did she feel so... empty? Probably the weather. Too much sunshine could also weigh down on one's mood, apparently.

Once again she dressed herself for school. Although this time she chose a more civilian attire instead of her iconic hero costume. Today was the day that the first pros from neighbouring districts were arriving to serve as extra security during the sports festival. That meant that she did not need to go on patrol, because all relevant areas of the city were already covered enough. For the next few days she would only need to serve in her role as teacher, not as a soldier.

A downside she sadly failed to consider was that she was technically not allowed to use her quirk when outside her hero persona which meant that she had to take the train to UA instead of flying there. It hurt her professional pride a bit that she had to run to the classroom in order to be on time, as that was a clear indication of time mismanagement, but at least she was not late.

So in her hurry she did not even notice the dark figure hiding under her desk when she entered the classroom.

~[#҈#]~
​

Shoto watched with interest as their normally perfectly prepared teacher rushed into the room. Well, to the untrained eye it might have looked like she was just casually walking in, but he could notice the subtle signs signifying her hurry. Her slightly dishevelled hair, the marginally raised breathing rate, and her uncharacteristically late appearance mere seconds before the clock signalled the start of class...

To Shoto for whom interpreting such details could mean the difference between getting a good night's sleep or not being able to properly walk the next day, it was all too obvious.

“Good morning 1-A! Today will be our last official lesson together before the sports festival. If Mr. Aizawa has recovered enough by that point he will be taking over your education again. I must say that I have enjoyed our shared time immensely – as short as it might be – and I hope that I could be of help to you aspiring heroes. So I wanted to say preemptively... Thank you.” spoke Argent.

A shame. Although he still kind of resented her for forcing him to use the fire aspect of his quirk, he could also understand why she did it. It may seem cruel, but her teaching was much different from that of his sperm-donor, if one could even call that “teaching” . She wanted to push him to be at his best, not for selfish reasons, but simply because she actually wanted to do her job.

Ashido broke the ensuing silence by clearing her throat.

“Ehm... Ms. Argent, couldn´t you ask the principal to hire you for real?”

“Yeah! That would be awesome!” added Uraraka.

Fools. As if the number eleven heroine would risk her position by further staying at UA. Perhaps she was different though...

“I do not want to slander Mr. Aizawa; for he has proven exceptionally brave in our defence at the USJ and our overall experience with his teaching methods is limited, but it would be a welcome change if you attempted to share the position of Homeroom Teacher with him. Ms. Argent, your dedication to our training has been commendable in every aspect and your enthusiasm to support us in unexpected ways much closer aligns with the vision I had of UA when coming here. I believe I can speak for most if not all of us when I say that it would be terribly sad to see you leave!” Iida started to drone on in his usual stuck-up fashion.

“Sure! What he said!” yelled Kirishima.

Why did they all have to be so loud? Screaming would not change anything.

“The shine of your appearance has been most dazzling, mon prof! Our little school will glow much less brilliantly without you, oui mademoiselle?”

One wave of her hand was enough to take back control of the room. Impressive. His bastard-father would have needed to flare his disgusting quirk for a similar effect.

“It warms my heart that you think so, but it is not my decision. If the higher-ups are unwilling then I am powerless to refuse them.”

He found it comical how some of his classmate´s postures simultaneously deflated as if they were a hive mind.

“Nonetheless I will try my best to present my case to them. After all, how could I refuse if you ask me so politely.” she smiled lopsidedly.

It was a nice smile. A small, but real one. Idly, Shoto thought back to the last true smile he had gotten from his family.

Suddenly a familiar dry voice rasped: “Well, isn't this sweet.”

Argent´s body briefly tensed as if she was expecting an attack before slowly turning to the podium where Eraserhead had seemingly appeared out of thin air. How the man had been hiding inside the cramped space with his giant plaster casts was a mystery beyond mortal comprehension.

“Welcome back Mr. Aizawa. I was not aware that the hospital had released you yet.”

“They haven’t.” he grumbled.

“Then why are you here? Surely you would know that aggravating your injuries will only lengthen your absence from your position as teacher.”

“I am not going to aggravate them. Anyways, that speech was very cute, but don´t you think I have a say in this?”

Had he just said ‘cute’? Unironically?

“Of course. Naturally I will respect your opinion on the matter, but ultimately it is up to the principal to decide how this school is run.”
Eraserhead only grunted in reply, but remained silent. Both of them seemed to wait for the other to make a move until Ms. Degurechaff broke the tension.
“If that was everything you wanted to say, then I must ask you to leave. I have a lesson to give and we certainly don't want to waste our students’ time any longer, right?”
“No. I am going to watch. I want to see what is so praiseworthy about your teaching style that got the kids all excited.”
Argent nodded her head in contemplation and produced a translucent chair with a wave of her hand in the corner of the room. Wordlessly the bandaged man limped over and cautiously sat down on the silvery construct.
Hers was a powerful and extraordinarily versatile quirk. Too powerful, one could say. Just like with the Midoriya boy, Shoto had the feeling that there was more going on than simply good genetics. It was rather suspicious how someone with no personal information that his begetter´s spies could dig up had already achieved the number eleven rank. The informants that Endeavour employed were all top tier or else the bastard would have not managed to hide nearly as many scandals as he did.

Was Ms. Degurechaff also the product of a quirk marriage? A secret government experiment? Hmmm...
The lesson continued. He felt neither bored nor particularly engaged by it, but that was how they were most of the time. At least it was better than math with Ectoplasm. While taking notes he observed Eraserhead from time to time.

If Shoto had not known any better, then he could have sworn that Mr. Aizawa was eyeing their replacement teacher up. She seemed to be the sole focus of his gaze, roaming her body up and down, but never straying for too long from her shining, blue eyes. He reasoned that he was most likely wrong though, because the bandages around his head obscured much of his actual expression.

“So that concludes that particular topic. I am sorry that I had to overrun the time a bit, but it is important that you understand this particular subject. It will be the basis of much educational content in the future. If you have any more questions, please approach me now or in the teachers’ lounge where I will be spending the next five to seven hours. Goodbye everyone!”

“Goodbye Ms. Argent.” he mumbled, but it was drowned out by the much more enthusiastic responses of his peers. They were all so noisy and emotional; it was incomprehensible to him how they could act so carefree. He would definitely not miss them when he got his license.

Vaguely he could hear: “A word please...” from Eraserhead, but he was already half way on his way to the door, wanting to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible. A wish that was promptly squashed by the large crowd of people outside who were nearly filling the gigantic hallway.

Shoto clicked his tongue in annoyance.

~[#҈#]~
​

“How can I help you, Sir?”
It always paid to be respectful to veterans in the industry. You never knew what kinds of connections they had formed that could make her life harder in the future. Her strained relationship with Present Mic was a prime example.

“Well, would you like some feedback on what I thought of your lesson?” he asked.

Tanya had been expecting something of that sort already. Despite how she felt about Aizawa from the bits of information she had been able to piece together, she also knew that Nedzu would not have appointed him as homeroom teacher for the most prestigious class in Japan out of a whim. There had to be some hidden characteristic buried beneath his unprofessional laziness and it would prove beneficial to find out what that was.

“Of course. I would be thankful for more criticism. I imagine that despite our different work philosophies I could learn a lot from you.”

The Erasure Hero smirked underneath his bandages.

“For one, why are you not in costume? Shouldn´t you demonstrate your presence as a hero in front of the kids? Not that I mind it, though. ”

Um... What was that?

“I do not think it is necessary to always wear my uniform in school. The children have already gotten used to it now, so I thought it would be a good idea to shake that up a little.”

“There is something else you definitely need to change though.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

From the sound of it he sounded quite serious! Had she broken some unwritten rule? Was she in trouble?

“You need to stop being so damn cute. It’s distracting.”

It took a full three seconds for her brain to comprehend what he had just said.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you need to take a damn cue .”

Oh. That made slightly more sense. She must have misheard.

“A cue from what? Your own style?”

“Hmph. Figure it out. Can you help me to the teachers’ lounge now? Don't want to fall and embarrass myself in front of the brats.”
As weird as the man was, his last wish was at least understandable. Tarnishing your image in front of an audience was never fun. Walking side by side they made their way over to the door only to be immediately blocked by a heatedly glaring mob of students. Most of their scorn was directed at Bakugou unsurprisingly.

Huffing in annoyance she stepped in the middle between the two sides to deescalate the situation before someone resorted to actual violence.
“What is this commotion about?”

“These extras want to scare us like the pathetic losers they are. ‘Declaration of war’? Don’t make me laugh.”

Out of fairness she should ask for the perspective of the other side as well. Bakugou was hardly an objective source. In front of the crowd stood a purple-haired kid with an almost bored expression. He seemed to be in charge so Tanya addressed him.

“Could you tell me please what is going on here?”

“I was just advising the hero course that they should be prepared to give it their all next week. Because if they don’t... There are many people here who did not pass the biased entrance exam and they are more than ready to take their place.”

“Uh-huh. What is your name?”

“Shinso. Shinso Hitoshi. From 1-C.” He stated defiantly.

Petty rivalry? How amusing... Time to crush his misguided jealousy.

“How many points did you get during the entrance exam then, Shinso?”

“Zero. The test was not fair. It was heavily favouring those with physical and flashy quirks. Those with less destructive powers were left behind in the dust. You wouldn’t understand that .”

Ignoring the whispered barb at the end she followed up: “Oh? You got absolutely zero points, because of your non-flashy quirk?”

“Yes. The exam was deeply unfair.”

“How do you explain then how Hagakure here, got in?”

She pointed at the pile of floating clothes to her right.

“I cannot fathom how only being invisible could help directly in taking down giant robots. You would additionally need to be athletic, fast and smart to succeed. Or take Koda here, who can speak to animals. How do you imagine talking with birds and bees helped him in the entrance exam?”
The previously confident boy appeared to lose his previous bravado with every word she spoke.

“I... uhm...”

“Exactly. The truth is that you could have made it in somehow if you had just found a way. There is more to fighting than your quirk. I honestly don’t know how the evaluation works at UA, but even I can see that it measures more than brute strength alone.”

She turned to the rather nervous looking green-haired boy to her left.

“Midoriya, you only learned to control your quirk not too long ago. How many points did you get?”

“Ehm... Z-zero combat points a-and sixty rescue points.”

“They had rescue points?” Tanya asked mildly surprised. With a raised eyebrow she stared straight at Shinso, looking so thoroughly unimpressed that a few children at the sidelines began to snicker.

“Am I right to assume that helping other examinees was what granted you your score, Midoriya?” she asked, not breaking eye contact with the Gen Ed student.

“Y-yeah.”

“Good to know. Now that we cleared that up, please go back to your classrooms or to the cafeteria. Blocking the corridor is unacceptable.”
Obviously not all fighting spirit had left Shinso, because his face twisted in fury and he yelled: “That still doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve to be in the hero course! I’ll show you by entering through the sports festival!”

Tanya regarded him with an encouraging nod and made her way through the dispersing mass of bodies towards the teachers’ lounge. Hopefully Midnight hadn’t broken the coffee machine again. For all her talent with the needle that woman was as clumsy with electronics as a villain with snapped hamstrings.

~[#҈#]~
​

Nemuri had in fact not broken the coffee machine! The settings were glitching out randomly and the brew it produced was a little thicker and spicier than normal, but she did not really mind...

When she heard the door creak she innocently sipped at her cup and sifted through her papers as if nothing was wrong. Nobody needed to know that she had-

“ Not again , Nemuri!” groaned Snipe as he uselessly pressed the start button over and over again.
Damn it! How did he know?

“Why do you always suspect me? I haven't done anything! I was just sitting here and-“

“Yeah, yeah spare me the details. You owe me Nemuri! You owe me for this injustice!”

Oh no! That was bad! She didn’t want to fund his Karaoke Night again. Well, they were actually pretty fun, but the Sharpshooting Hero could drink like few others and good booze was quite expensive nowadays! That would cut harshly into her savings and she wanted to rather spend that money on the awesome new whip she found...

Think, Nemuri, think...

When in doubt, use your body as a distraction! That was a tried and tested Midnight specialty!

“Ohhh~... What do you want to do with me...” she mock-shivered, pretending to shield her modesty with her hands, which only served to accentuate her curvy figure even more.

“Stop that. Ya ain’t getting me with that ol’ trick.”

She pouted, clasping her hands and pushing her bosom out in a seductive yet innocent manner.

“You are no fun... Don’t you want to do some naughty things to a young maiden like me, you strapping fellow?”

“You are no young lady anymore.”

Wha- That comment went too far ! He would taste her wrath for this unfairly accurate insult!

“How dare you! I look not a day over twenty-two! Take this!”

The R-rated Heroine threw her half-empty cup at the fiend that had disrespected her beauty. Snipe expertly dodged the object with the ease of a veteran hero and so it continued unhindered on its trajectory towards the entrance area. She could only watch in horror as in precisely that moment the door swung open again and the projectile hit another target.

The porcelain burst and showered the entering person with coffee. Wait, was that...

“Shouta! Oh, I’m so sorry Shouta!”

Hastily she jumped out of her seat and began her best to clean his plaster casts and bandages with a napkin. Not that it did much, but further smearing the pristine white cloth with brown.

“Enough.“ snapped her friend and she fiddled with the stained handkerchief in shame. Her friend was in the process of recovering from severe wounds and what did she do? Throw a mug at him!

“Sorry... It's wonderful to see you so well already. But... uh, should you be out of the hospital? I mean the rat would have notified us if they released you...”

“Who knows? Maybe he thought it would be funnier that way.”

“Alright. That sounds like him.”

“Also I released myself. Another day looking at a white ceiling and I think I would have gone insane.”

Nemuri chuckled at that.

“Yeah. Somehow I knew you would try that. Can’t leave your kids alone for two weeks, ey? You are such a sweetheart.”

“Whatever. I trust my replacement has been adequate?”

“Ehm, Shouta, she’s standing right there...”

Argent appeared to realize the awkwardness in the air and pointed at the coffee machine.

“It’s ok. I was just going to-“

Snipe despondently shook his head and the number eleven heroine glanced at Midnight with unbridled contempt. Oh shit...

~[#҈#]~
​

Nedzu had sunken deep in thought. His eyes were fixed to the live feed on his screen and his paws were absentmindedly tapping on the surface of his office desk. Normally, even the most complicated problem could be solved by him within a few minutes, but the scenario at hand was consuming his whole focus for more than an hour already.

The enigma in question was no other than his dear employee Aizawa Shouta.

When his familiar face had shown up on the security feed after entering the front gate Nedzu had been amused. The stubborn man seemed to never prioritize his own health above what he perceived as necessary for the wellbeing of his students. An admirable trait that led to much foolishness.

Then his amusement switched to confusion when he saw Aizawa apparently flirting with Ms. Degurechaff. Was it a technique to catch her off guard or disorient her? Had the trauma to his head perhaps produced undiagnosed side effects? Was he on drugs?

For his safety Nedzu needed to understand what precisely was happening to his former student. So he examined the video and audio footage closer and found more strange irregularities. They were subtle and could all individually be explained away, but they formed a pattern that was too consistent to ignore.

For example Aizawa spared his students not a single look. It was like they were of no importance to him at all. Or when he ate a peppermint bonbon which he normally hated.

The only logical conclusion was that this was not really the pro hero Eraserhead. An impostor had taken his place to infiltrate UA.

Of course there was a direct way to prove this, but if he went down there and arrested the doppelganger on the spot then that would only alert whoever was behind this operation. He had a few candidates for that in mind, mainly the League of Villains or the Hero public Safety Commission. Last time an outside force had penetrated the school security it had ended in the USJ attack, one of the most humiliating moments of his career. It had shown him that he had become far too lax and arrogant. Nedzu vowed that such an event would never come to pass again as long as he drew breath.

So investigating this suspicious individual was his highest priority at the time.

First he checked all traffic cameras in a five kilometre radius to ascertain where the Aizawa-lookalike had come from. Despite them using more hidden passageways and other less frequented routes it took his facial recognition software only half an hour to pinpoint their exact way through the city. What he found was either the most disturbing fact that he learned today or the one that could put his worries entirely at ease.

They came from the hospital.

Maybe it had been the real Aizawa from the beginning? Or… something terrible had happened to the poor man. Visions of a villain skinning his employee alive and wearing his skin or forcefully taking over his body assaulted Nedzu with gut wrenching dread. As fast as his paws could manage he dialed the number of the clinic, but was put directly into a waiting loop.

That was bad! This much planning and competence was the work of an experienced team! Far too professional to come from the League of Villains who only recently had made their clumsy debut. Not to get him wrong, Nedzu was extremely grateful that they did not kill anybody during their assault on the USJ, but it also demonstrated a certain level of incompetence on their part. Armed with hundreds of criminals, a biological super-weapon and an incredible warping quirk they could have staged a slaughter if their plan had been any good.

“I should be going now. The doctors are certainly searching for me all over the place like headless chickens.” spoke Fake-Shouta through the speaker of his computer.

“Aww… You know I missed you? Without you grumbling in my ear I’ve felt lonely all week!” whined Nemuri.

“Only one week? I have been gone for two in case you haven’t noticed.”

Midnight punched the pretender slightly on the arm.

“Hush you. Will you show up to the sports festival?”

“Of course! You can count on it!”

“Wow, you sure sound enthusiastic about it, Shouta. Never thought you had it in you!”

“Hmph. How am I going to get in by the way?”

“The same as every year, silly. With your ID pass.”

“Doesn't that sound a bit insecure? What if someone steals my pass or replicates it? Don’t tell me that I am paranoid, Nemuri! After recent events we cannot be too cautious.”

The previously jovial heroine sobered up and nodded seriously.

“Yes. You are right. The rat installed a ton of new security measurements for this reason.”

“And what are they? I don’t know if I feel comfortable with blindly trusting the security this time.”

“That is not-” she began, but stopped herself when she looked down at his bandages. “Of course.”

Nedzu would need to have a stern talk with Midnight when this was over. To give out sensitive information so readily was more than foolish, but in this special case he would not stop her. This failure would become unforgettable for her, he was going to make sure of that. Furthermore, if he knew which security details were given to the intruder then he would be the one in control. Should the breach become too severe he could still change the configuration of the safety protocols and special codes on a caprice.

By luring the attacking party into a false sense of confidence, the principal would be able to play them however he wanted and lure them into a trap. Then he could also observe how they acted when believing themselves to be alone and safe, which was objectively the best way to catalogue human behaviour.

Putting a tracker on their spy could possibly alert them and they would increase their efforts of staying hidden which would make it harder to roll out his retribution. No… he would do nothing for now, merely watch from afar.

But their transgressions would not remain unpunished for long. As soon as they crawled out of their holes the principal of UA would obliterate them! Their fruitless attempt was going to show the whole world that nobody messed with HIS school without painful consequences! Destroying their plans would be most satisfactory.

His shrill laughter reverberated through the building, filling students and teachers alike with trepidation.

 

Chapter 12

Pling!

The sound of a knife being parried away uncomfortably broke the silence of a seemingly peaceful home life. Tanya had just been standing at the stove, stirring a pot full of noodles when she had intuitively thrown the kitchen knife on the counter at the shadows behind her.

Any question as to who her assailant was went out the window as soon as a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her waist and Himiko’s voice giggled into her ear: “ Too slow... ”

“In all fairness, the only person who knows the layout of my photoelectric barriers is you. I was more occupied with cooking than being alert.”

“ Aww... And here I thought the Eleventh Goddess was losing her touch.”

“Stop that. You know how much I hate that pretentious nickname.”

“It’s fitting though! You look absolutely stunning when you go around saving people! Of course they are gonna give grand titles like that to you.”

“Please... Gods and goddesses are useless concepts made to distract humans from the grim reality of their day to day lives. They do nothing besides looking pretty and wasting people’s time with their worship.”

“Isn’t that what pro heroes do?”

“Actually... yeah. Since when did you get so smart, Himiko?” she asked with a bit of mirth in her voice.

“I learned from the best, Senpai!” cheered the smiling girl.

“So, do you have anything noteworthy to talk about?” inquired Tanya with a subtle squeeze of her partner`s hand to signify that she was talking about whatever classified mission Himiko had undergone in the last few days.

She had been meticulous to search her new apartment for bugs or hidden cameras, but it was impossible to tell if the HPSC might be listening in. Regardless of how many times the higher-ups had promised her that they respected her privacy, Tanya did not believe them. Politicians and government agents were all cut from the same slimy, rotten piece of cloth.

“Not particularly. Everything is as peaceful as ever.”

Two squeezes back indicated that Himiko could not tell her the whole truth or risk punishment by the HPSC. Neither of them wanted that to happen even if most of their negative reinforcement techniques were milder than what Tanya had dished out in her previous life.

“Just infiltrating the League and all that stuff. Anything interesting going on at school?”

“I'm rapidly approaching the end of my contracted time as a teacher. Today, the one I was substituting for visited the school, so I guess he will be able to take over my class again soon.”

“My class? You've grown attached to the brats already?”

“Don't call them brats. You are barely older than those students.”

Himiko pouted: “I am a grown woman like you! I am not a kid!“

“Yeah, yeah… talk to me about that again when you are old enough to drink.”

“Not fair, Senpai! Your own birthday is still a week away so technically you are barely of age yourself!”

“But I am not a teenager anymore.”

“I don't want you to see me as a child. I want to be a woman for you.”

An understandable desire. Himiko wanted to be respected by her superior. If she was in her kouhai's position Tanya would strive for the same. How else would she ever earn a promotion?

For someone who had killed dozens and was tortured on multiple occasions, mental maturity was a given. To be called a kid was an insult to Himiko's many achievements as a person.

“I am sorry. I did not intend to underplay your progress. You are my valued colleague and dare I say closest friend. Despite the negligent difference in physical age between you and my students, your mind has evolved far further than any of them.”

Strangely, Himiko did not seem happy about that. Should she have emphasized her outstanding work ethic more? Or had she perhaps misunderstood and Himiko was also insecure about her body or something ridiculous like that?

“You are also exceedingly pretty if that is what you are concerned with. If you could show your face openly in public then you would be overrun with suitors, I bet.”

Tanya had no idea what the more feminine members of her gender were concerned with, but romance always appeared to be an important topic for young adolescents. The few movies and novels she had consumed were her only source in that regard. Sadly, she had apparently missed the mark again if Himiko's sour expression was anything to go by.

“Why won't you notice, Senpai…”

Quickly changing the subject of the discussion before it could become too awkward she turned to Himiko before asking: “Mmh? Want some noodles?”

“Alright…” answered Himiko despondently.

What would cheer her up? More ice cream? No, that trick was getting old. A higher salary? Also no. The higher-ups kept a tight financial leash on both of them. Running out of options she chose the cheapest one. Hopefully it would be enough.

“We can spend tomorrow together if that doesn't interfere with your orders. I am not on patrol this weekend.”

It was remarkable just how fast her partner’s mood could switch. In spite of experiencing the process of growing up three times, Tanya suspected that she would never comprehend how people of this age group actually functioned.

With a wide smile the young vampire exclaimed: “Yay! Let's go to the cinema! They are running this super cute rom-com at the moment that sounds perfect for us!”

“I guess our lives are like a comedy sometimes...” Tanya mused.

Why was Himiko looking at her like she had said something idiotic?

~[#҈#]~​

The day of the sports festival was here. Powerloader had really earned himself an extra vacation with all the overtime he was putting into expanding the security. Nedzu was positive that an attack of some sort was coming and he would not be surprised by it this time!

He had shared some of his concerns with the faculty and the heroes stationed around the stadium, but he had kept the finer details to himself. It could tip the villains off if they noticed them acting differently or worse, giving away information through word of mouth.

There was also the dilemma with a potential spy being already planted inside his school. While he possessed no evidence and was generally against accusing anybody in particular, Degurechaff was the most likely candidate for that job. However, so far she showed exceptional commitment in educating her students and her affiliation with the HPSC ruled out a life of secret villainy.

If Nedzu had not visited Aizawa himself in the hospital then he would be at the top of his suspect list too. Thankfully the man had been honest when he described the awful migraine and mysterious memory loss he experienced yesterday. Judging by the bump on his head someone had knocked him out none too gently with a blunt object. Luckily it wasn’t a concussion that would slow down his recovery process.

No, as loath as he was to admit it, if there was a traitor among them then it was probably a student. Another reason to carefully observe the festival and scour the footage later for the slightest hint of collaboration with the enemy that was certain to reveal itself.

No matter how the day went, it was sure to be memorable.

~[#҈#]~​

Ochako was trembling in her boots for multiple reasons. First and foremost, because she was afraid to embarrass herself on national TV and in front of her family. But also, because she was so damn excited!

She had already felt like the happiest girl in Japan when her acceptance letter came in the mail. It was like a dream come true! Or a nightmare, some might argue. The entrance exam had been her first brush with death as the zero-pointer nearly flattened her and then she was attacked by real, actual, living and breathing villains too? Madness!

Both times she was scared. Afraid and helpless against obstacles threatening to utterly crush her. Despite how recent those situations were to her, those memories shaped her . Ochako did not want to be just some damsel in distress! She wanted to be strong like her friends and idols!

Subsequently she trained her butt off in the last weeks and was itching to see how much progress she had made. The sports festival was as much a test from the school to evaluate the students, as it was a test for herself to evaluate her own growth.

Suddenly the speakers in the corner of the waiting room blared to life.

“Heeeeello and welcome to the annual UA Sports Festival, dear listeners! I am your host for today, Present Mic and as a very special guest here in my studio I am thrilled to introduce to y’all… drumroll please ... the number eleven heroine and temporary substitute teacher, Argent!! Say something to your fans!”

“Greetings. It’s a pleasure to be here on this fine morning. Thank you for having me, Present Mic. I am looking forward to what the kids are going to show the world today.”

“Yup! Dear listeners, are you also as excited as us to see the up and coming hits of tomorrow make their big entrance today?”

Deafening cheering permeated even through the gate to the stadium.

“Wonderful! Wonderful! Then let the festival commence! First we have the shining star of our school, the class that has drawn everybody’s attention after their run-in with some real villains two weeks ago. Give it up to Class 1-A!”

If possible the cheering got louder as they stepped out into the blinding light of the sun mixed with thousands of flashing cameras. It took everything she had not to duck and hide her face from the raving crowd.

“And next we have the other heroics class of UA! 1-B has much to prove and I wager that some of them are going to surprise us with how hard they’re gonna fight for the spotlight!”

Ochako tuned the rest of the introductions out, in favour of subtly warming her muscles up and stretching her arms and legs to be in top condition for whatever the teachers were going to throw at them. At the end of the festival nobody was going to say that she didn’t give her absolute best! Nobody would-

She was ripped out of her personal motivation speech by Bakugou tapping the microphone on stage. Wait. Why was he speaking at the microphone again?

“If you wanna compete here I have one thing to say to you…”

Oh no. Ochako had a bad feeling about this...

“I’m gonna win. But you extras better give it your damn best, scrambling for second place. ‘Cause it’s more fun that way.” he grinned darkly.

Angry booing erupted among her fellow students and she was inclined to chime in. What a rude thing to say! Did he have no shame to mock the whole school like that?

On the other hand though, she could admire his drive, his will to stand at the very top and his confidence in achieving that goal. Had she not tried to think about herself similarly less than a minute ago? Although Bakugou’s way of saying it was more than questionable, he had successfully inspired everybody who wanted to prove him wrong. They all would be giving it their best just to stick it to the arrogant kid who was now leaving the stage.

Ms. Midnight was hyping up the crowd again: “What a fiery speech from our student representative! Things are only going to get more stimulating when we see which game will get chosen for the first round of this girthy festival! Gird your loins contestants, for you will be participating in...”

The R-rated Heroine dramatically waved her whip at the spinning wheel which was supposed to randomly determine the next event. Ochako wondered in passing if it wouldn’t get tiring to constantly come up with different innuendos.

“The obstacle course!”

Fantastic. Over and over her teacher had hammered into them that mobility was key, and she had a quirk perfectly suited for that. If only she could use her new support gear then it would be even better.

~[#҈#]~​

Izuku gulped, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as they stood in front of the large tunnel, mere seconds away from charging into the fray. He tried to concentrate on his breathing exercises like Hound Dog had told him, but it turned into a hiccup as he heard Bakugou's palms pop and fizzle somewhere nearby. He could not see the other boy, but he had been threatened by these particular fireworks too many times not to recognize either the sound or sweet smelling smoke instantly at this point.

Kacchan was not threatening him though, just bleeding off the nervous energy they were all feeling as they awaited the crack of Midnight's whip and the declaration to start. Trying again, he closed his eyes and breathed deep, focusing his attention inwards, starting from his toes and working his way up. Like a system's check, he went over each joint and muscle, tapping thumb to finger one at a time and rolling his neck. He needed to be limber. Ms. Degurechaff made clear that remaining loose was always important in avoiding injuries, and that went doubly for him.

“If you're going to toss yourself around like that with your quirk, you'd do well to make sure you know how to take a fall without getting hurt.” he remembered her saying, as well as the hours of internet videos he watched after about how gymnast tumblers hit the ground safely.

Shaking out his wrists and rolling his neck, he opened his eyes just in time for Midnight to give them the signal, and then they were off. Or, more accurately, many of his competitors were, yet he remained still, crouching low and observing the screaming and pushing crowd ahead.

“It's admirable, running into the fire without hesitation. Very heroic. I am sure you've all heard such notions romanticized before. I, for one, find it the height of foolishness. Are there times when a moment cannot be spared and action is needed immediately? Certainly, though it is less common than you might believe. Not every incident is a crisis. It takes years of experience before your instincts are honed well enough to rely on impulsive speed and until then, rushing in will rarely result in the best possible outcome. Recognize when there is time to think, and utilize it accordingly. Analyse, plan, and competently execute, and you will find success always within reach.”

The crowd that had rushed ahead of him were now jammed at the entrance of the tunnel, wedged in and preventing each other from passing through the narrow opening. Ochako, having been one of the other students who held back, no doubt recalling their teacher's words as well, got a running start and jumped before bringing her fingers together to send herself soaring over the crowd. Sero also had the same idea to go up and over, along with Bakugou propelling himself above their fellow students. With a firm grasp of the situation, Izuku prepared to do the same, green lightning dancing across his body as-

Ice engulfed everything in an instant.

Izuku blinked at the tundra in front of him, but quickly shook his head, regaining focus and thanking his teacher's advice for preventing him from getting caught up in Todoroki's... enthusiasm . Instead, he leapt with the barest minimum of One for All circulating through his muscles, catapulting his body over the majority of the group whose feet were still frozen to the ground.

"Sorry!" he yelled back as he used the head of a hapless student as a stepping stone.

He didn't look back when he hit the ground, instead converting his momentum into a roll that disoriented him briefly, but conserved his speed. The fewer times he would have to use his quirk the smaller was the risk of him injuring himself, so he needed to make the most out of his super-powered jump. Even if he was confident that he would not completely shatter his bones anymore, Izuku instinctively knew that he hadn't mastered One for All enough to use while running, so instead he relied on old fashion sprinting to quickly surpass the Gen Ed students who were ahead of him.

He really did need to talk with All Might about how he managed to stay stuck to the ground when running at high velocity without accidentally launching himself into the stratosphere.

Izuku was proud to see that he was already pulling ahead of the mob. He could even spot Kacchan’s explosions in front of him. Eyes narrowed in focus, the green-haired boy decided that the risk was worth it and began to occasionally incorporate more three or five percent powered leaps into his run, making the distance between him and the frontrunners shrink rapidly.

That was until the giant zero-pointers rear their blocky heads and he nearly sprained an ankle by messing up one of his landings. They expected them to fight those things during a race?! The memory of the entrance exam caused phantom pain to bloom in his arm and legs, and he clenched his jaw.

No. He doesn't need to fight, just get past them.

“Discretion is the better part of valour. Perhaps it seems strange to you here in the heroics class, but it's something to keep in mind. Sometimes, if a fight can be avoided, you should do so...”

Stomping with a flicker of his quirk to embed his shoe into the dirt, he formed a rudimentary starting block to brace his foot against and bent his knee to let himself fall forward. Izuku felt his side chilled as he throttled All for One and kicked off, sending up an explosion of dirt and causing someone behind him to enter a coughing fit and passing Todoroki just as he readied some large ice attack.

However, while the zero-pointers and everyone else was focused on them, Izuku had already gotten past the cyclopean robots and was well on his way to the next obstacle.

He would do it. He was going to show everyone, All Might and even Ms. Degurechaff that He! Was! Here!

~[#҈#]~​

Toru was shivering badly. Her thin school uniform was doing nothing to alleviate the searing coldness spreading throughout her body. The pain would have been manageable if she had not already been hurting all over from the countless bruises she earned while fighting her way out of the crowd at the start. Nervous, competitive people tended to be brutal when clawing for a position at the top. A fact she was made even more keenly aware of due to being invisible and eating more than one stray elbow to the face.

Nonetheless, she did make it out of the flailing pile of screaming and shoving students. Somehow. She might have to become religious for miracles like that to happen more frequently to her.

Toru knew that without a physical quirk her chances of doing well in this event were relatively low, but the true reality of how hopelessly outmatched she was presented itself when she found her way blocked by frozen and destroyed zero-pointers.

How.

Sometimes life was simply unfair. Oh well. It also wouldn’t be fun if it was too easy. So she bit back a curse as she climbed with her bare hands over the icy and sharp-edged barricade and slid down the other side. Most of the smaller robots that had been spared were confused by her seemingly empty school uniform and she remembered the spots where each of their different kill switches were located from the entrance exam, which made dispatching any she could not avoid child’s play.

Just as Toru came into viewing distance of the next obstacle, a pit with ropes over it, Present Mic announced that the front runners were reaching the one after that. At least she now knew that a minefield of some kind was waiting for her.

“Class 1-A seems to be in the lead. With powerhouses like Todoroki, Bakugou and Midoriya, will the others even stand a chance to win this race?” commented the Voice Hero from his studio.

“Normally I would say yes, but attacking other students was explicitly prohibited so I am not too sure.”

“Oh? Who would you have picked as a promising candidate if that was the case, Argent?”

“The pink-haired girl from the support course-”

“Hatsume Mei.”

“Yes, Hatsume. I guarantee you that some of her equipment could be used for long distance capture. Like that grapple hook she used earlier. Quirks are powerful on their own, but technology can be just as versatile.”

“Well, folks, you heard it here first. The number eleven is a support item enthusiast! What might be her hidden gadget that she kept a secret for so long?”

“I never said-”

“Oh look! Midoriya is digging up the mines! What could he want with them? Genius or madman? We will soon find out!”

Ignoring their banter Toru feverishly checked the other participants to figure out the fastest way over the ropes. Tsu caught her eye as she was speedily crawling along the ropes hanging over the chasm thanks to her extraordinary grip strength. Maybe Toru could replicate that.

She tried to not look into the abyss below her as she hung herself on the nearest rope upside down. Her legs were crossed over each other as she bobbed along the swinging cable towards the other side. Left unoccupied by the exhausting, but repetitive task, Toru started to listen to the broadcasted commentary again.

“Oooooh! Dear listeners, can you believe it? Midoriya just used the mines as a cushion to soften his fall after jumping nearly fifty meters into the air, securing him the first place by a split second! What a maneuver!”

“Indeed. It was impressive that he was able to think of his own safety instead of just jumping without planning for the impact. Although I would urge everybody who is watching right now to never attempt a similar trick. The margin for error is so small that you would risk life threatening injuries without a shock absorption quirk. Midoriya is lucky to have multiple capable pro heroes on standby who could have surely intervened if his borderline suicidal plan went wrong.”

“Eh… Yes! Stay safe kiddos! We’re pros and we know what we’re doing! Anyways, Todoroki has used his ice to skate over the field and Bakugou flew over it entirely! Directly behind them we have Shiozaki from 1-B coming in unexpectedly and Iida…”

As Present Mic droned on and on about who was making it to the finish line Toru grew increasingly nervous. Time was running out if she wanted to make it to the next round. Her palms were raw from all the abuse she was putting them through, but she nonetheless continued to climb until she reached the other side of the pit, instantly falling into a sprint despite her aching lungs.

Due to the minefield being largely cleared of actual obstacles by now, she skidded into the 30th place without much trouble. Too bad that no one would pay attention to her on TV when she reached the finish line. Once again Toru wished that her quirk could be turned off at will. She was not a vain person, but she wanted people to at least know that she existed! Or if that was too much to ask, even remembering her own eye colour would be nice.

Getting forgotten by everyone around you sometimes sounded worse than death to her. Wiping an invisible tear from her cheek she approached her classmates to feel a little bit more “real” again.

~[#҈#]~​

Shigaraki was rubbing his hands in anticipation of the upcoming raid, disintegrating the smartphone between his fingers in the process. His Rogue had collected valuable info about the dungeon and now he held the key to defeating the boss in his hands. He could almost feel it! Victory was in reach!

He would need to buy her some cosmetics later to keep her morale up. Useful NPCs like her were hard to come by and didn’t want to reroll for a new character with possibly shitty stats again. Even with Sensei’s vast resources such pay-to-win tactics could get too expensive really quick.

Shigaraki had planned the whole mission out meticulously, so nothing would go wrong if his team members could follow his instructions properly. Else Kurogiri was going to teleport a few hundred kilos more dust into the ocean...

The seasonal “UA sports festival” event always consisted of three phases. All three challenges were designed to keep the trash mobs busy while the guards patrolled around the arena periodically. His clever plan intended to strike them when their attention would be lowest to cause as much chaos and confusion as possible. Therefore the period after the start of the second phase would be most ideal moment of attack, because even the “heroes”, bored from the uneventfulness of the first, were going to watch what the stupid NPCs were doing.

Then he, Destroyer of Peace and Provider of Truth, would destroy the fragile thing that they called “safety”. Nobody in this world was safe, because the “heroes” could not protect them! He would show them! Shigaraki would show them all!

“Hahahaha! I’ll tear this rotten society down! Starting… now!”

 

Chapter 13

Tanya was on her way to the nearest soft drink machine to quench her thirst when a vibration in her pocket suddenly put her on high alert. The reason for this was that it had not been her normal phone, but instead her unofficial one inside a hidden fold of her uniform. Was this the instruction she had been told to expect ‘coming soon’?

She grabbed her stomach in mock discomfort before rushing towards the bathroom, locking the door behind her and pulling out her work phone. A new message in her inbox simply read:

[East side. 30 minutes.]

Her heart beat accelerated. Something was going to go down in half an hour and she would be right in the middle of it. What had these crazy bastards planned that required an operation during the UA sports festival? Millions of people were watching this event live! If a scandal of some kind happened then it would be impossible to hide and her career would be over!

Finding a new profession honestly would not bother her too much, but leaving Himiko behind felt just... wrong to her. Without her being present to protect the girl, Tanya was certain that the HPSC would run her into the ground, squeeze every last drop of energy out of her and then discard her immediately.

Even if the higher-ups understood that exploiting valuable assets was going to bite them in the ass sooner than later, they would definitely use her as leverage to keep Tanya quiet about their dirty business. She was going to become a hostage as long as her senpai drew breath, threatened with her life at the slightest hint of their secrets being exposed.

Himiko was a bright, hardworking young woman who deserved better than that. Letting such a precious human resource be wasted was unacceptable . Who knew when Tanya would discover a subordinate half as loyal and capable as her ever again?

Pushing images of a teary-eyed, bruise-covered Himiko from her mind, she calmed her aching heart to think the situation appropriately through. In all likelihood though, she was just overreacting. Surely nothing bad would happen. Nedzu’s intellect would deter the higher-ups from pulling anything crazy that could be traced back to them.

“There is no need to panic. It’s probably a PR-stunt to excite the masses! Fireworks maybe... or some mildly infamous criminal hiding in the audience for me to capture.”

The only question was: What excuse could she use to appear at the specific time in the allocated location?

Checking the time revealed that she had around ten minutes until the start of the next round. Tanya needed an idea. Quickly.

~[#҈#]~
​

“You want me on your team for the cavalry battle, Deku?”

“Of course Ochako! Your quirk is integral to the strategy I came up with!” he practically beamed.

She liked that determined expression of his when he broke out of the shell that typically surrounded him when talking with others. Actually, she liked it a lot . Izuku’s eyes practically sparkled like emeralds under starlight and his smile was...

Ok, stop! Where were those thoughts coming from all of a sudden? How strange…

Naturally after showing off his confident, charismatic side he reverted back to his old, insecure self.

“O-only if you w-want though... I-I don’t want to pressure you-”

Before he could undo more of his progress she intervened.

“Don’t be silly! I’d love to!”

Aww ... The way his cheeks lit up was adorable! Wait, why was she thinking that? Her own face reddened in embarrassment.

Behind him, the pink-haired girl with the annoyingly large bosom grinned manically and pumped her fist.

“Together we will show everyone the true power of my babies! This is going to be awesome!”

She sweat dropped at that statement. Did she really have to talk about her gadgets like that?

“A-alright. Yes! Here is what we are going to do...”

~[#҈#]~
​

Shouta nibbled on the cap of his pen as he mulled over the results of the first event. Originally he planned to visit the sports festival in person, but that nasty knock to the back of his head had prompted the overly cautious doctors to keep him in bed for a day longer. It was infuriating, but the rat had made it pretty clear that he didn’t want to see him on school grounds again until he could present his recovery certificate.

At least the news coverage of the festival was so comprehensive that he could see his students from basically any angle by just flipping through the TV channels. Begrudgingly, he even admitted that he was actually able to observe their performance better from his hospital bed than if he sat next to Hizashi and his ear-splitting screaming.

In his lap lay a notepad filled with barely legible scribbles about what his children did right or wrong. Eraserhead had only known them for a few days before the incident happened, but he could already tell that some of them had improved much in the last two weeks. For example, the number one problem child Midoriya seemed to no longer break his bones with his quirk, although his punches and kicks looked far weaker than what he had demonstrated before.

The next round of the festival would show him how well they had learned to work together which was almost equally as important. They would need to rely on each other as much as themselves in the future.

So he sat there and blankly stared at the screen in front of him, waiting for the advertisement break to be over.

“... Don’t forget to reserve tickets for ‘Heroes of the Heart’ this weekend! The critically acclaimed opera about Uwabami’s love life that you don’t want to miss under any circumstances! A once in a lifetime experience, so romantic it will make your heart melt!”

“No, thank you. I’d rather keep it functional.” he sneered, half disgusted, half amused.

Which idiot would want to watch a garish display like that? Truly, career heroes were all tasteless morons of some sort. Shouta would bet one of his remaining organic teeth that his substitute teacher, Argent, was a fame-hungry, greedy pretender much like the rest. All Might had turned out to be exactly the naive, empty-headed muscleman the media depicted him to be and Eraserhead knew from personal experience how unpleasant Endeavour was.

Well, she couldn’t be too bad. His students had obviously learned something in her lessons and what little footage he had seen of the number eleven on hero-net portrayed a fairly impressive capture speed paired with near unmatched efficiency. Her attire, while stylish, was also clearly designed with utility in mind instead of accentuating feminine sexuality in any way like Mt. Lady’s or Mirko’s did.

Not that there was anything wrong with showing off your body, his childhood friend Nemuri would say, but to expose yourself purely for clout and attention was decidedly unheroic in his opinion. A lack of protection was essentially inviting a villain to stab you. Dead heroes were of no use to anybody.

“Aaaaaand we’re back, dear listeners! Our poor Argent has suddenly suffered a migraine, so for the time being I will be your sole host.”

“Can’t imagine why sitting next to you might cause her physical pain...” Shouta snickered, a rare smile ghosting over his lips before he tugged his capture scarf further up.

“The forty two students who got into the second round must now prevail in a team exercise of epic proportions! The cavalry battle is...”

Present Mic continued to explain the rules for the viewers who were just tuning in before that game properly began. As expected, most teams went immediately for Midoriya’s headband due to its absurd point value. The green-haired child however was making the rational decision of not engaging in an unwinnable fight. Instead he fled to the air to avoid the dozens of contestants trying to dogpile him.

Shouta nodded approvingly at his perfect team composition. Uraraka was able to extend his airtime after leaping tremendously while the support course student provided equipment to hover indefinitely. Tokoyami could defend them effortlessly in all directions with the help of his shadow quirk. Overall, it was a very solid strategy that would be hard to overcome by the other teams.

Bakugou used the vagueness of the rules in his favour and attempted to propel himself upwards with his explosions to reach them, but a quick strike from Tokoyami’s bird-shaped shadow sent him tumbling down again. If his teammates had not been there to save him from that foolhardy manoeuvre then he would have touched the ground and lost the round. Such hot-headed recklessness would end up killing him sooner or later.

Meanwhile, the remaining teams were duking it out among themselves for the lesser headbands with lower point values. Multiple strategies were employed to-

What was that?

Purple Mist?

Oh no! No, no, no, no ! It could not be! The nightmare of the USJ was repeating all over again!

A black monstrosity with large, leathery wings dropped out of the swirling portal and halted the playing students in their tracks. Then it screeched and Shouta leapt out of his bed.

The rat could fire him, but he would not sit by and watch while his students were being attacked a second time!

~[#҈#]~
​

“I’ll tear this rotten society down... starting now!”

Himiko had to hide a scoff by clearing her throat. This manchild was as simpleminded as he was melodramatic. To claim that he could ‘tear society down’ when he was going to go up against her beloved? How pathetic . The moment Tanya got sight of this scum he would get eviscerated.
Ironically the only thing preserving him from total annihilation was the exact society he raged so uselessly against. Many live cameras and onlookers would regrettably be ensuring his survival today.

Oh, how Himiko longed to slip a knife between his ribs and string him up like the puppet he was. What made him think he was worthy of even laying eyes on her cute senpai? The insolence!

Despite her loathing of Shigaraki she had to keep up the charade and pretend to be excited about the upcoming mission. As always, fantasizing about her love helped improve her mood.

“Yay! What fun would it be if we could bathe in the blood of these pigs together...” she laughed dreamily.
“Whatever, come on. We have a boss to kill.”

Totally unbeknownst to him Himiko grinned; because he was one of the pigs she had been talking about. And she would make it extra painful when his time came. Everybody who directly or indirectly planned to cause her love harm, needed to suffer.

The purple mist guy opened a portal which took her to a service entry that had been unlocked by the codes she learned from Midnight. Of course that would not be nearly enough to trick the security system whose true scope only the principal knew, but that would be soon taken care of.

She sprinted up the stairway leading to the seats outside and arrived at the maintenance hatch just in time for the lights to go out. The guy with the electro quirk who the League had found on the streets was doing a fine job at overloading the power lines and internal circuitry of the stadium as well as anything connected to it. Too bad that he was most likely not going to make it with a lethal overdose of Trigger ravaging his bloodstream. How would he taste, she wondered. Like ten condensed energy drinks mixed with raw thunder perhaps?

Himiko kicked the door open with strength that belied her tiny frame and stepped out into the open. The sudden illumination of sunlight blinded her for just long enough to be almost hit by a taser from the security drone waiting for her. Like she had predicted, Shigaraki’s preparations had been insufficient to completely distract Nedzu.

One flick of her wrist sent a retaliatory blade into its optic, shutting the machine down in a spectacular light show of sparks. What a flimsy construct. One would think that UA had the budget for better security robots.

Her adjusting eyes scanned the crowd of slowly panicking civilians and instantly found the source of their fright. A ’Nomu’ had been dropped by Mist-Man in the middle of the stadium where it was busy attacking the students and kicking up as much dirt as possible to deny the heroes an overview of the situation.

Nomus were her number one research priority after she had infiltrated the League and she could understand why the voracious pigs at the HPSC were interested in them. Gentle prodding and much feigned admiration for the ‘impressiveness’ of their organization revealed that they were apparently humans infused with multiple quirks. The elusive leader of the League, often called ‘Master’ or ‘Sensei’ by its members, was the one responsible for this.

Of course the assholes in charge of the operation told her no more than necessary, but she had an anonymous tablet, courtesy of Senpai , and an internet connection. Piecing the clues together through forum posts and dubious online news articles was not the best way to conduct research, but Himiko felt rather confident that ‘Sensei’ was in some form linked to the urban legend of ‘All for One’, the man who could give and take quirks.

Most people would dismiss that story as a mere myth, she however knew better than anyone what kinds of atrocities the government was already hiding. And honestly, a transfer quirk wasn’t even really weird. She had blackmailed a guy who could turn into a horde of rainbow-coloured spiders once. Not much could top that.

Shaking the distracting thoughts off she began to incite proper hysteria in the crowds by roaring a dramatic war cry and driving another blade into a nearby civilian. His fat would absorb most of the damage and she was careful to not hit any extremely vital organs. He would be fine if he got medical aid within the next twenty minutes.

Of course the chubby guy was not very appreciative of her skilled work and began screeching like a swine on slaughter day. Japan’s population was truly growing soft if a little shanking was upsetting a grown man so much. With a voice like this he would never get a girlfriend! At least the red added a nice contrast to his white shirt, similar to the national flag, only cuter.

Jumping on a middle-aged woman’s shoulders she raised her bloody knife in the air and screamed: “Hahaha TREMBLE IN FEAR, FOR THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS IS HERE! Oh, that rhymed? Nice. ”

A tumult broke out as everybody scrambled to put as much distance between her artfully dancing blades and themselves. Himiko cut tendons and aimed for limbs, but stayed largely far away from larger blood vessels which would result in lethal injuries. A favourite area of hers to hit was the scalp since those wounds would bleed tremendously and look far more dangerous than they actually were. People running around with bloody faces, calling for help got the mob riled up pretty effectively until the whole side of the stadium was in disarray.

All in all it was good fun.

Some overeager sidekick crashed in front of her and raised his fist, shouting: “Your reign of terror ends here, villain! You shall not harm-“

Only to be cut off by a tranquilizer dart to the neck.

“You talk too much. Why would you expose your throat like that anyway? Disappointing. ”

He was apparently only a distraction though, as the dagger she was raising to cut him up some more was shot out of her hand by a bullet. No police officer had such good aim which meant that it had to be Snipe the Sharpshooting Hero! Himiko threw herself to the floor not a moment too early as a second bullet barely missed her shoulder.

Shit! That bastard was supposed to be stationed outside, not in here! As fast as she was able to move, Himiko was under no delusions that she could consistently dodge his bullets. If she went out there she would get shot. Getting wounded was not what she was afraid of, but instead the ensuing time in the hospital and police custody until the HPSC broke her out. Unnecessarily wasting a week away from her love was going to suck.

Maybe she could transform again and trick the heroes…

Another shot punched clean through the seat she had just been used for hiding, forcing her to crawl behind a new cover. Hole after hole was blown wherever she went with surgical precision. Did the guy have clairvoyance or what?

No, screw the pigs in their fancy suits! She cared not if their stupid power play worked out or not. This farce was annoying enough without the risk of being perforated with lead.

By sending the pre-prepared emergency codeword via a text message she informed Purple-Mist-Man that she wanted an extraction asap before the situation could further deteriorate. Hopefully he was going to read it immediately.

Himiko looked around for something to protect herself against Snipe. There! Behind two collapsed seats cowered a little boy who was bawling his eyes out. Such a cute hostage provided the perfect meat shield. Sneaking up behind him she seized the boy and pressed his tiny frame against her chest. A threatening glare in the direction of wherever the bullets were coming from together with a knife to the kid’s carotid artery sent the appropriate message.

As it turned out, walking backwards over uneven terrain with a child on one arm was not easy. Especially considering that she was unable to look where she was going, lest the Sharpshooting Hero chose to blow some of her fleshy parts to pieces.

“Stop. Release the hostage. Put your hands up in the air. You are under arrest.” droned a clearly synthetical voice in a monotone fashion.
Wonderful… Now a security bot showed up as well! Those were supposed to be fried by the system overload!

The most rational response would have been to comply with the machine’s wishes and let herself be arrested. Later, all the officers who saw her true face after her current disguise inevitably wore off would be subtly mindwiped, demoted or sent on suicide missions. Himiko was proud of the fact that they had caught her only once so far and that had been on purpose.

Consequently, her pride as a fighter was wounded. Defeat at the hands of a damned robot was not an option!
“Why would I? He is so warm and cuddly!”

“The temperature of the civilian is irrelevant. Release the hostage.”

“Aww… Why are you so cold, robo-chan? Don’t you wanna dance? Like Cha-Cha-Cha or… tap dance!”

In tandem with her speech, Himiko stomped her feet on the concrete, triggering the concealed smoke bomb in her heel. Inky blackness rushed forth and concealed the area. She dropped her meat shield and jumped sideways to avoid any eventual shots at her position. In an incredible feat of acrobatics she managed to leap blindly from seat to seat, crossing the distance to the irksome machine in the span of a few heartbeats.

Its glowing, red cameras shone faintly in the dark fog, guiding her way and making it an easy prey for the superhumanly agile girl.

“Gotcha.” she chirped as she drove one blade into the unprotected joint on its nape before she yanked hard to sever the cables inside.
When the smoke cleared, Himiko was nowhere to be found.

~[#҈#]~
​

“Here, sweetie. Take one every hour and it should help.”

“Thank you, Recovery Girl.” murmured Tanya, playing her bit as the patient with migraine.

Even with modern medicine it was impossible to prove if a person suffered from headaches or not, so that had been her ailment of choice to get out of the commentary booth. It was not very creative, but at least she got some free painkillers out of it. Now she just needed to make her way over to the east side of the stadium and wait.

How about a conveniently timed walk around the facility? Some fresh air would do her good. Furthermore, Nedzu might actually be impressed by her diligence in securing the perimeter. Yes, that was perfect.

Satisfied with her ingenuity Tanya leisurely strolled around, soaking in the peaceful sunshine as long as it was still possible. However, as the minutes ticked by she grew intrigued by the sudden, incessant cheering from the crowd inside and decided to take a look.

Supported by a barrier she levitated herself above the stadium to gain a bird’s eye view of the game. Midoriya, and his team were seemingly hovering in the air too which was amusing if not pretty precarious. Flying was a pleasure like no other, but also required practice which none of these kids should possess yet.

But why were they waving so frantically at her?

Tanya elegantly slid towards them and in doing so changed the angle of her viewpoint on the arena. A dust cloud obscured the field and towers of flame appeared to randomly erupt from it. Additionally, some unidentifiable, winged silhouette moved around at rapid speeds.

“-llain -ack! Nomu!” Midoriya yelled in her direction before recklessly jumping into action.

Nomu? Wasn’t that the bioweapon used by the League of Villains?

Absent-mindedly she wrapped the foolish greenette in a barrier and safely deposited him on the rooftop.

Himiko would have told her if the League was planning an assault…

Oh.

Abruptly everything snapped into place like the pieces of a puzzle. Himiko’s absence, the secrecy of the HPSC… Those madmen had manipulated a villain organization into attacking UA! Once again power-hungry morons were tangling her up in their petty conflicts!

“Curses!”

Growling irritably she dove towards the chaos, simultaneously creating half a dozen ‘Silver Wedges’ to rend that beast apart. It was a weapon, not a human and deserved neither kindness nor mercy. Tanya channelled all her rage into her quirk, pushing her speed to the utmost limit her body could endure. Was even a single , peaceful job really too much to ask for?

She couldn't even blame Being X like she used to!

 

Chapter 14

Minoru cried out more from shock than the unexpected pain as he was thrown around like a pinball. Dust had found its way into his eyes and tiny shrapnel from the exploding concrete floor ripped open the tiny boy’s side as his back crashed into the ground. He coughed and screamed as the battle around him continued to rage on.

Through the haze of tears he could make out Todoroki’s giant, red flames and Bakugou’s white explosions as they tried to bring down the abominable beast that had interrupted their sports festival. The earth was shaking, people were rushing to and fro and the ambient noise was giving him even more of a headache than the fall had, but despite this pandemonium there was only one question echoing in his head:
Why was he doomed to die a virgin?

It just wasn’t fair! UA highschool was supposed to be safe, yet villains were attacking him for the second time this month! Maybe the delectable skin-tight costumes of his female classmates could be worth the trouble, but that bitch of a teacher had forced him into therapy! As if he needed to be cured of his enthusiasm for the objectively best part of female anatomy! Dreaming of squeezing them was a natural part of every healthy male.

Now Minoru would surely meet his end before he even got the chance to touch them! In contrast to most others in his class he was neither strong nor fast. The sticky balls on top of his head were all he had. Confronted with a monster that could shrug off buckets of caustic acid and meter long ice-spears, what could he do?

Everything hurt, the world was spinning and Minoru knew that death would claim him any moment-

“Stand up, Mineta!”

What?

“Are you deaf? Stand up! Ribbit!”

A hand roughly grabbed his uninjured arm and yanked him upwards with surprising strength.

“Get yourself together! Ribbit! We need to get out of here!” roared the normally quiet Asui over the sounds of carnage in the background.

He stammered an affirmative and used his torn school uniform to hastily clean his eyes a bit. The cute frog girl had saved Minoru once; maybe he would get to touch her again when she carried him on her-

“Help me carry her! Ribbit! The noise is too much for her!”

Finally he noticed the twitching girl slung over her shoulder. Jirou seemed to be pretty out of it if her rolled up eyes and bleeding ears were any indication. Normally he would have used that opportunity to measure her non-existent bust some more, but at this point he simply wanted to get out of this hell as fast as possible.

Distributing the weight of the deliriously moaning girl between them was rather difficult considering Asui’s and Minoru’s height difference, but they somehow made it work. On their way to where the frog girl believed the nearest exit to be they had to occasionally dodge another student or falling debris, however the now visible edge of the arena gave him hope that this nightmare would come to an end soon.

Unfortunately the beast responsible for this entire mess decided that they would make good targets for its mindless aggression and charged them from the side with a screech. Minoru barely had time to turn his head and open his mouth to yell for help before a black fist came down on him.
People say that memories of one’s life resurface in the last few moments of existence...

That many sinful people regret their wrong choices over the course of their life...

Not Minoru though...

He could only think of how pleasantly relieved his bladder felt all of a sudden.

The Nomu’s clawed fist approached his frozen face with the force of an oncoming freight train until-

“Thump-Crack!!!”

-it broke on a hovering, translucent barrier that appeared in front of him out of thin air!
A silvery hexagon made from what appeared like pure, rippling energy stopped the grizzly appendage in place. Only a heartbeat later more shining shields slammed into the creature, giving it no time to scream as they shredded its wings and cut off its legs.

The malformed fist that had nearly pulped him and the girls lowered just in time for the barrier to crumble into glittering shards, much like a glass pane shattering under pressure. Simultaneously a tiny, although no less silvery glowing, object smashed into its torso and broke the Nomu’s ribs with an audible crack.

One after another the shimmering blades stuck inside its black flesh twisted sideways, causing the bulging muscles to nauseatingly rupture and burst. Thick, steaming blood splattered the dirt as the monster was literally plucked apart like a dough puppet in the hands of a small child. It tried to futilely lift its hideous head in retaliation as a final shield hammered it so hard into the ground that Minoru was nearly thrown off his feet.

Not even ten seconds had passed yet the Nomu lay defeated in a rapidly growing puddle of its own unidentifiable fluids. Scary.

“ Mmm... This one apparently has no super-regeneration... I might have overdone it a little...”

Was that the voice of their teacher?

“Ms. Argent, you came! Thank you! Ribbit.” cheered Asui and Minoru never wanted to agree with something more. At long last someone actually qualified showed up to protect them!

“Where is All Might?” asked the pitifully flat woman sternly, compelling him to speak lest he suffer grievous consequences.

“ Uh... ” was his eloquent answer which in retrospect might have been worse than saying nothing.

“Doesn’t matter now. Gather your classmates and exit the stadium. Stay together and wait for authorities to arrive!” she ordered, already flying off to the next problem that caught her eye.

If Jirou had been able to pay attention to anything beyond the rushing of blood through her sensitive ears then she would have heard Argent murmuring: “Why do I always need to clean up other people’s messes?”

~[#҈#]~​

Stage two could finally begin! It was a genius strategy created solely by him! This time he would surely not fail. Oh, how proud Sensei would be if he told him that he killed the end boss by himself!

Shigaraki was uncomfortable outside of his standard armour set, but this mission required a stealthier approach. So, dressed as a civilian with baggy clothes and a medical mask he let himself be teleported to the east side of the dungeon where the stupid NPC’s had remained safe so far.
Everywhere else Kurogiri had deposited his party members so that they could rile up a mob and aggro the local heroes. Roughly a dozen villains running around spreading chaos and fear among the audience would do that nicely. Ironically that left this side of the stadium vulnerable to the biggest threat of all: Shigaraki himself.

Distracted and confused those idiotic oppressors would be far away from his spawn point when he struck. Only All Might would be fast enough to get to him and then...

Then, victory would be his!

Stepping through the portal to his destination he attempted to hide in the masses, but a painful sensation unexpectedly bloomed in his shoulder.

“Aghh! What the-“

Blood? Did he get shot? That bastard Snipe must be hiding somewhere again! Shit! Why did this NPC have such OP gear? Tomorrow, after he killed All Might, Shigaraki would find a ranged fighter like that to complete his party.

Diving for cover he decided to enact his glorious strategy earlier than planned. There was no use trying to dodge a sniper with bullshit hitscan bullets. Enemies you couldn’t see were bad game design in general. So unfair...

In retaliation he pressed his hands on the ground of the spectator stands. Instantly the familiar itching feeling intensified, but it was increased a hundredfold! Decaying the floor strained his quirk to its absolute limits. It was as if scorching magma was flowing through his hands as he bit back the urge to scream. Never before had he attempted to destroy something so large. However he would endure for his Sensei, for a better world, for his dream!

Slowly the area of disintegration widened and some NPCs were catching on to what was happening. Shigaraki though paid them no mind as he kept his hands glued to the fracturing ground. More cracks started to appear and the stage began to quake as its foundations got eroded. The concrete around his hands had long since turned into sand that was slipping through the extending cracks in the building.

“I’ll show you... He will save us and then... ugh... I can touch him... The whole world will see the ‘Symbol of Peace’ turn to... ugh... dust!” he huffed in exertion.

Shigaraki only vaguely registered the screams of the citizens trying not to fall into the void beneath the crumbling stadium. To him their fear sounded like music, but it was not what he was looking for. With trembling arms he forced himself to sit upright on top of his shaking island of disintegrating concrete. He had no fear of falling into the abyss he had created; merely anticipation for the approaching showdown.

Underneath his mask he grinned and gave his best imitation of a frightened NPC: “Help! Help me please!”

As far as he was concerned this was a flawless scheme. And indeed someone came to ‘rescue’ him, falling right into his magnificent trap! Blond hair, a large smile and...

Wait a second!

The person rushing towards him wasn’t All Might!

~[#҈#]~​

Nedzu mashed his keyboard in frustration to get a reaction from the sparking machine. Fifteen seconds was all it had taken for the altered security codes to be overwritten and the stadium’s system to be destroyed!

He had made extra sure to overhaul the power lines, but the strength of the electro quirk had overwhelmed every defence Powerloader had installed. No ordinary street thug possessed such a powerful ability so either it was the work of a specifically designed Nomu, a mediocre quirk that had been boosted by Trigger or the missing villain “Thunderstorm” was making a comeback.

His arrogance had cost him again! “Stupid!” he chastised himself. But who could have known that four separate fail-safes would not be enough?
Most of his automated defence plans and warning systems were reliant on UA’s power grid in some way which was a rather obvious mistake in hindsight. They would need to be outfitted with independent generators in the future. Luckily not every security bot had been connected to the network when disaster struck, because they were randomly patrolling the corridors at the time.

Overall they proved themselves to not be very effective, but they bought enough time for the heroes to arrive and take out the villains that appeared from floating portals of purple mist. Furthermore they were going to be his best proof that UA had not been unprepared. The experimental sniper unit in particular was doing an excellent job at taking out or scaring the villains into submission. Potentially lethal guns in the hands of robots were not something the media would approve of, but with Snipe present at the scene those injuries could be easily explained away.

Nedzu only had access to a few functioning drones, so his coverage of the entire stadium was less than complete, but the pros he could see were doing a splendid job so far at keeping civilian injuries at a minimum while simultaneously quelling the mass hysteria that was breaking out.

Although Endeavour looked pretty upset that he could not contribute much due to the many citizens nearby...

His students were another matter entirely. A Nomu had appeared on the field and was attacking the participants of the Cavalry Battle with an animalistic savagery that was only matched by its brutish strength. Fortunately it possessed no higher intelligence to improve upon the strategy it had been programmed with. All the creature could do was flap around with its leathery wings and punch, which to be fair, was still sufficiently dangerous that it needed to be dealt with immediately.

If Nedzu’s communications relay wasn’t fried then he would have ordered All Might to take care of the rampaging bioweapon already, but the threat to his students was so obvious that he did not think that the number one hero needed encouragement to dispose of it. Yet that left the question: Where the hell was that oaf?

One minute passed and All Might still wasn’t showing up anywhere on his video feeds that he was streaming to his laptop. Enough! There was no more time to waste!

Pulling out his mobile phone, he speed-dialled the pro’s number and impatiently waited for the other end to pick up.

“Toshiori, where are you?” he hissed.

“Uhm... on the toilet?”

“Stop lying, the situation is urgent!”

“Uh... I kind of forgot the medals in the teachers’ lounge? I went to get them now before-“

“Come back here! At once! We are under attack!”

“YES! ” answered the deeper voice of All Might’s muscle form as he hung up.

What an idiot! Nedzu had specifically told him to stay available throughout the whole event! Maybe this was another result of his arrogance. From now on he would monitor the location of his employees around the clock!
Speaking of the devil, where was Argent?

Oh... It seemed like she already took care of the Nomu in a particularly gruesome fashion. While that demonstrated a worrying affinity for extreme violence it also showed the conviction to fight for UA without holding back. Being so utterly dedicated to protecting her students that she used what many were going to consider ‘excessive force’ only added to her trustworthiness in Nedzu’s eyes.

Still, he was going to sharply question Argent about her notable absence in the last two minutes. Degurechaff was the most unpredictable human he had met in a long time. She was a mystery that needed to be solved urgently!

~[#҈#]~​

Himiko watched the TV with bated breath. The dust cloud had obscured much of the spectacle, but it was hard to miss the shining meteor crashing into the earth. Her love looked like an angel raining down fiery retribution on those she judged unworthy! A pleasant tingle ran up Himiko’s spine at the image of both of them standing side by side, cleansing the world of all that filth crawling around. Senpai would be her angel in the sky and she would be her demon on the ground! Together they could accomplish anything!

“Ha... Religion can be funny sometimes...” she mused offhandedly.

“Indeed! One could call organized faith the greatest show in human history! However, only in battle is where the true thrill of a grand performance can be found!” proclaimed Marble-Guy.

The masked weirdo called himself “Mr. Compress” and he was apparently a disgraced stage magician with a quirk that could turn nearly anything into small, round stones. He could have been an intimidating criminal if he hadn’t completely lost his marbles . Yeesh… Ok, that joke was a bit too corny even for her tastes.

Himiko diverted the topic of the conversation: “Do you see how cute Nomu-chan looks with its guts in the open like that? So awesome! How are you here by the way? Shouldn’t you be helping Boss-Man out there?”

“A good entertainer always knows when to make an exit.”

“Huh. I already knew you were a coward. That just means I’ll have to stab you in the back when the time comes, so you don’t run away.” she thought.

Not wanting to encourage this pointless exchange any further she snatched the remote and changed the channel to a newsfeed that showed her love in action. Most of these brainless journalists had the audacity to focus on the boring heroes like that grumpy number two (who would forever remain number two as soon as Senpai became number one). Who wanted to see these weaklings?

Ah, there it was! A gorgeous streak of silver zipping around carrying civilians from the collapsing stands to safety. How her shields flickered in and out of existence, supporting pieces of debris or transporting terrified spectators was nothing short of beautiful.

And in the middle of it all sat Shigaraki like a cockroach marring an otherwise exquisite painting. The mentally-handicapped gamer might fool the millions of viewers with his relaxed posture and common street clothes, but she recognized that mob of grimy, greyish-blue hair anywhere. Himiko’s nose was very sensitive and the rotten smell that clung to his form had permanently ingrained his dishevelled appearance into her memory.

Her love stabilized his deteriorating platform and went on to slip a barrier beneath him to take the moron to stable ground, but the energy construct fizzled out as soon as it touched him. Huh?

Tanya tried again with similar results and Bad-Touch-Man slowly turned towards her. Damn it, that was not good! Her heart began to beat faster, dreading what was about to happen.

She could not understand what they were saying and the camera angle was too awkward to read their lips, but she would bet that her love was staying true to her serious personality by telling him something like: “Sir, please deactivate your quirk. The situation is under control. You are impairing your own rescue.“

Obviously that was not going to work, because he was a villain scum!

Himiko wanted to scream ! She wanted to cry ! She wanted to warn her beloved!

Instead she numbly watched as the bastard leapt at her with his filthy, abhorrent and unfortunately deadly hands stretched out. Pure horror swept over her as she saw him come closer and closer in almost slow motion.

Tanya recoiled backwards in shock evading his first hand, but the second managed to make contact with her torso. The barrier supporting her midsection dispersed and her uniform underneath turned to ash. Hectically she paddled away, struggling to keep her balance, her normally relaxed expression turned into one of surprise.

Shigaraki apparently cared very little for the rift below him, because he jumped after her with a shout of hatred that even the distant camera microphone was able to catch.

Panicked, the heroine formed another barrier between them, but it materialized a few centimetres too far in front of her, detaching her attacker’s fingertips as she moved backwards. Himiko observed with satisfaction how the barely visible chunks of flesh plummeted into the depths together with the man that she hated more than anything in the world at the moment.

The TV did not have to show her the purple fog to know that he was alive though. A corresponding purple portal in the centre of the room spit him out like the piece of garbage that he was and Himiko had to suppress a growl. Her entire willpower was focused on not tearing his throat out right then and there.

“Agh... That bitch! Aghhh... I’ll kill her! Aghhh!”

He waved his left hand around, displaying the cleanly cut off stumps where his middle-, index- and ring finger were supposed to be much to Himiko’s malicious joy. What better punishment for a barking dog than to lose his teeth?

Seconds later Mist-Man appeared and took him away again, most likely to the ominous Doctor who made the Nomus. Hopefully the hopes of fixing his demented leader were going to be dashed, or at the very least the process would be extraordinarily painful.

Calming her breath, Himiko examined the place where he had fallen. Curiously she went over to the tiny puddle of blood on the floor and sucked it up with one of her many needles. A single drop made it onto her fingertip and she reflexively licked it up.

“Ughhh... bah! Disgusting!”

It tasted worse than he smelled! How was that even possible? Maybe the best way to dispose of his filth was to burn him? She certainly didn’t want his remains on her hands! What would Tanya think if she found her elbow deep in such waste?

 

Chapter 15

Not much beside Himiko got the jump on her these days. More than two collective decades of training and constant vigilance gave Tanya the skills to easily stay on top of most fights. One needed to heighten their awareness and evolve their sense for danger of any kind, in order to not get killed by stray bullets, assassination attempts or bloodthirsty madmen lying in ambush. She could defeat ordinary, run-of-the-mill villains with her eyes closed by now.

Although the Japan of the twenty fourth century was filled with a diverse array of enemies with unpredictable skill sets and abilities, in reality a confrontation with the so called ‘villains’ was rather mundane. Most of them tended to flaunt their imaginary superiority either directly or by brazenly using their quirk in public, so identifying and disposing of them was child’s play.

And there exactly was the biggest problem.

It was only ever easy until it was not.

If ninety nine percent of the criminal population was dumb, boisterous and/or unhinged then the remaining one percent was all the more dangerous for it. Those that did not fit the schema could inflict far more damage on society by being sneaky and cunning. They got overlooked by law enforcement, because they knew how to blend in with the crowd instead of presenting themselves on a silver platter.

They weren’t spouting pathetic speeches about how unjust they had been treated or about how much fun it was to crush someone’s skull. They were not stupid enough to rob a bank in broad daylight or attack the UA sports festival with knifes drawn, shouts of glee on their lips.

Tanya saw the Nomu when it rampaged around and instantly connected it to the League of Villains, an inexperienced terrorist group full of dreamers and small-time killers. People like them lacked a proper vision and calculative mindset to be anything other than barking dogs. Their assault on the USJ training facility had been terribly executed, regardless of the half decent preparations that went into it.

Subsequently she deemed their raid on the UA stadium a mad attempt for revenge, performed without cleverness or hidden agendas. Of course she kept her guard up for any unwelcome surprises, but by the time she incapacitated, i.e. crippled , the Nomu and went over to the panicking civilians she believed the violence to be largely over. After all, dozens of pro heroes were present as visitors for the event.

Then the building started crumbling and she figured it had been a desperate last strike by the League to send a message by killing a large number of spectators. Not too bad of an idea, but a few bombs would have done a better job in her opinion. If it came to massacring droves of people quickly, explosives were unmatched.

She kept the disintegrating floor from breaking away with her barriers which took considerable effort, seeing as she was stabilizing tons of stone and terrified humans. Nonetheless, she was able to quickly evacuate the collapsing stands before most of the heroes even arrived from the other side of the stadium. Being able to fly at lightning speed was wonderful to reach disaster zones, despite how dizzy the sudden accelerations and decelerations could make her feel.

Ten civilians, twenty, thirty...

Their number blurred as she pushed her quirk and concentrated solely on effectively saving as many as possible. Erecting a temporary pillar here, carrying a hyperventilating woman there...

So focused was she on rescue that she fell for a trap that normally would not even deceive a rookie. It was perhaps the second most embarrassing mistake of her career as a professional hero! Tanya had not expected a villain to masquerade as a helpless citizen after the brutish approach earlier. If he had not telegraphed his attack in such an incredibly obvious way then she would have fallen prey to his scheme.

How? She should have seen it coming! His relaxed demeanour in the face of death and the fact that he sat right in the middle of where the disaster originated from... Overlooking those apparent hints nearly ended her third life!

It was a disgrace that stoked the bright flames of indignation in her chest which had been first ignited when she realized that the entire world was probably able to see her bra through the hole in her uniform. Luckily, covering herself with a silver veil was simple, even though she looked like an awful fashion designer had wrapped her in aluminium foil.

A shout of “ HAVE NO FEAR FOR I AM HERE! ” snapped her out of her spiral of self-critique, directing her surging anger at another target.
All Might was apparently saving the last couple civilians and placating them with his usual brand of energetic confidence. It was loud. It was grating. And it was totally unearned! She was the one who nearly got killed right now! Where had this asshole been while she did her job?
“Do you make a habit out of showing up too late?” she sneered coldly.

Her voice was not very loud, but enough for the number one hero to hear. Slowly he turned towards her, his trademark smile nowhere in sight.

“I APOLOGIZE FOR ARRIVING SO LATE! AS SOON AS MR. PRINCIPAL INFORMED ME I FLEW OVER AS FAST AS I COULD!”

Closing the distance, Tanya got right up in his face and hissed: “Is that the best excuse you have? The media will never know, but I hope you are aware that a lot of today’s calamity could have been prevented if you did what you were supposed to. You failed your duty, All Might.”

She didn’t care that she was making an enemy out of the most influential man in Japan or that one snap of his fingers could break her barriers and splatter her entrails all over the floor. This close call with death was pushing memories to the surface of her mind that lay long forgotten. Old hatred and even older fears clawed at the edges of her sanity, reminding her of times full of blood and acrid smoke.

When she had been called the Devil.

“I know. I do not seek forgiveness for my mistakes, but let me attempt to make this right. I am sure Nedzu will chew us all out later anyhow.”
Huh? He admitted to his mistake? At least that was a beginning…

~[#҈#]~
​

Indeed, Nedzu looked deadly serious when he called the teachers together as soon as they had given their police interviews, sent everybody home and underwent medical checkups. Surprisingly, Aizawa was present as well for some reason. From his brief explanation it seemed to have something to do with confiscating a sports car and crashing it through the police blockade, but that sounded far too absurd to be true.

All Might was missing, though his stand-in Mr. Toshinori was able to represent his interest. The principal did not question why a mere assistant was privy to this meeting, so Tanya held her tongue. She had the suspicion that he might be secretly Himiko in disguise, considering the strong stench of blood on his person and the tiny spot of dried red on his chin. Not many other people had vampire quirks after all. Later she would need to lecture her partner if she was getting this sloppy in a room full of pros.

Another odd face was an unannounced man clad in a beige trench coat and white gloves who most likely was a criminal investigator of some sort. The way his presence purposefully blended into the background was telling for someone who had received intelligence training, but the standard issued boots and the lack of those dead, placid ‘government-agent eyes’ indicated that he was not from the secret service.

Only someone who completely lost connection with normal, everyday life to become a shadow of society could look so apathetic. It was one of the major reasons why she tried to involve Himiko in peaceful ordinary experiences and pull her away from an existence of pure bloodshed and corporate busywork. To see that wonderful spark inside her go out would be... most unpleasant.

Then again, this trench coat guy could just be faking it. Without reading his mind she would never know.

Fitting to her gloomy thoughts, the orange light of the afternoon sun seeped through the windows and cast the conference room into an ominous glow. Long shadows obscured the principal’s expression which made the suffocating silence in the air even more menacing. Nedzu’s paws lay carefully folded on the conference table, giving him an outward appearance of calmness that fooled nobody.

“It is with my greatest regret that I have to announce the second emergency conference of the UA faculty this year. Although you all have performed amiably in the defence of our school, the possible long-term consequences of this catastrophe are going to be severe. Already I have been messaged by multiple members of the school board who want to implement drastic changes to the way our school is run. I presume that many more parents will also want to reconsider the enrolment of their children in our institution. Even the Hero Public Safety Commission has approached me just half an hour ago with the demand of more oversight into our internal security.”

Shocked gasps rang out among most of the gathered teachers.

“Of course they have no legal rights to do so, but I doubt that will stop them when the media campaigns against our independence. Public support will naturally be swayed to what they perceive as the ‘safer’ alternative.”

A hair-thin smile spread over his animalistic face.

“Argent, what do you think of this extraordinarily quickly made proposal? Would our situation improve if the HPSC got more influence over us?”

Why was he putting her on the spot like that? Tanya understood why he would be sceptical of her, but such blatant antagonism was undeserved.

“I cannot say. I am not an expert in this field. In fact, coming to decisions beyond my actual job description is rarely something that is required of me, despite my willingness to learn.”

Saying ‘I am not involved in this debacle, but also am not allowed to talk about it’ any more clearly would be dangerous.

“Is that so? Then Midnight, what would you make of...”

On and on the questions went, ranging from innocuous to organizational. What version of the story they would present at the press conference, what ideas they had in order to improve themselves and the security in the future, how to best pacify the legions of angry parents that were going to show up and so forth.

That was until Nedzu all of a sudden dropped a metaphorical bomb on them.

“Now to the most concerning topic of this meeting. Our dear Eraserhead here has returned to UA high school for the first time since his injury... today. ”

Oh…

‘Himiko what have you done?’

Uncontrollable noise broke out as every emotion from shock to confusion was expressed among the teachers. The news that a shapeshifter had managed to trick all of them appeared to hit Midnight and Present Mic the hardest.

“Calm down!” the Voice Hero shouted, overpowering the frantic discourse with the help of his quirk. “There must be a mistake! He visited last week!”

“No, I am not mistaken. Else Mr. Aizawa would be able to recall such an event happening, don’t you think? Not to mention that the security information leaked to his impostor was the same that provided the villains with an opportunity to break into the sports festival. Isn’t that strange...”
Nemuri winced in discomfort, now aware that she was partly to blame for the incident.

“But who could predict something like this? Were there any rumours circulating in the criminal underworld perhaps? You are the most active hero out of all of us at the moment, Argent. Have you heard of any possible plans that the League might be hatching?”

“I am not an underground hero. I don’t make a habit out of listening to the chatter of random thugs in dirty alleyways.”

“So you heard nothing at all?”

Why was he so insistent on her spelling out the truth? There was some sort of ploy at work here for certain. What if he believed to have found incriminating evidence on her and was now attempting to goad her into revealing it?

“Nothing. It was not my assigned case and I learned early not to stick my nose in other people’s business. Even if I had possessed the faintest inkling that any organization, let alone the League of Villains, was planning an assault on UA then I would not have sat by idly. It was as surprising to me as the rest. Believe it or not, but I have not climbed the public rankings by withholding information on villains.”

At this point she was becoming rather annoyed. For a being who claimed to be the smartest mind on the planet, the principal sure was lacking in interrogation skills.

“Please forgive me. My question came off as rude, but I never tried to insinuate negligence on your part. It was merely harmless curiosity.”
As if! He sounded so painfully sincere that it was almost comedic.

“And why, if I may ask, was your first response to use lethal force against the Nomu?” glared Aizawa from across the table.
Really, what had she done to deserve this much hostility?

“ You are the one asking this? After getting near fatally injured by a creature of similar design? I acted with the best interests of myself and my students in mind. So I chose the fastest way to take down and permanently immobilize the largest threat on the field. The police report on the first one declared it officially brain-dead which makes eliminating those weapons both legally and morally acceptable. You would have done the same.”

She was losing her relaxed composure, but having to deal with the unprofessional behaviour of people who were dumb enough to voluntarily pursue heroics without adjusting their worldview was draining. Many experienced heroes killed at some point in their career! It was only natural when one participated in violence that a slightly too hard kick or an unfortunate fall would end a fragile human’s life. Endeavour exterminated a few villains per year with the thermal shock of his flames alone!

If Tanya’s covert operations far away from the public eye had not forced her to learn the delicateness of a spine or the frailty of internal organs the hard way then she would not have the flawless track record in her day time job. Through much bloody experimenting she knew exactly how much pressure she could put on each body part, giving her an advantage over those who studied anatomy only theoretically.

“And what about the villain that you maimed on live TV?”

Her face scrunched up in distaste. This bastard just had to remind her of that failure. Losing control like that was going to haunt her dreams for a while.

“He came very close to touching me with whatever powers turned an eighth of the sports stadium into rubble. Forgive me for prioritizing my own safety over that of my assailant. The loss of a few fingers is hardly worthy of outrage.”

Aizawa’s eyes flashed a venomous red, but he finally ceased his unnecessary critiquing.

Snickering broke their impromptu staring contest and continued to spread through the entire room.

“Pardon me, what sort of joke am I missing?”

Midnight looked at her in a way that made her quite uncomfortable, but Tanya refused to show weakness and turn her body away from her leering gaze. Oddly enough, the laughs were only increasing in volume. Cementoss was pressing his lips together and looking away with a slight frown, but most of the others were openly giggling like children.

Ultimately it was Present Mic who burst out in full laughter and pointed his finger at her.

“Hahaha... Roses! Hahahaha!”

“Wha-“

She looked down where he was pointing and discovered to her growing horror that the reflective veil preserving her modesty had mysteriously dissipated. Her printed undergarments were openly visible! Eraserhead, that absolute prick had cancelled her quirk!

“Aghh! You pervert! ” she yelped and reflexively conjured an opaque cylinder around her whole body.

These degenerates pretended to be heroes? Disgusting!

“Hahahaha! Who would have guessed them to have a flower motif? Hahaha!”

Never would she let Himiko gift her any piece of clothing again! In the name of good work relationships she had perhaps been too lenient with her kohai. Cuteness of any kind was going to be forbidden from this point onwards!

~[#҈#]~
​

“Anything noteworthy to report?”

“You know that I am technically not allowed to disclose any details of an ongoing investigation, Nedzu.” answered the detective.

“I was not asking for that. I have a law degree after all. But as a friend... could you tell me what I should keep in mind to better manage my dear colleagues?”

“Mmm... As a friend I would say that most of them are very honest. You should not be overly worried.”

“Most of them?”

“Well... That some statements were identified as lies by my quirk was fairly troubling...”

“Oh? Could you give me examples? Purely for educational purposes, you understand.”

“Argent, was... at least not completely convinced that her success is not based on withholding information on villains... In and of itself that is not too worrying, but...”

It seemed that provoking Degurechaff had paid off. Argent was far too comfortable in her role if she remained unchallenged. Questioning her in a room with witnesses forced the young hero to react to his probing under enhanced stress. In a rush to appear as believable as possible Degurechaff had less time to come up with a strategy and hide her secrets.

Still, she was no simple puzzle to crack.

“Interesting...”

“Nedzu, let me remind you, my quirk is not perfect. It does not filter for objective truths, only for what people believe to be true or untrue at any given time. This could mean literally nothing. ”

“Of course. I am not assuming any guilt here. Although... if we for a moment take her statement at face value... then the implications are very, very remarkable.”

“Ugh, I know that I am going to regret this, but please explain.”

“You see... Our beloved Ms. Degurechaff has not been a hero for very long. In fact, she has been in the public rankings for barely over a year. That is certainly not long enough for her to be tempted to fall back on such unscrupulous methods in order to achieve fame. Corruption of this breed evolves in heroes who are so deeply unsatisfied with their career progress that they see no other alternative but to cheat their way to the top. Yet based on her stellar ascent towards the number seven spot this is highly unlikely...”

“A powerful quirk like hers makes that a somewhat straightforward process.”

“Only a potent quirk would not have been enough, but it definitely helps. Anyways, due to being closely associated with the Hero Public Safety Commission it stands safe to reason that she faces stronger and more severe oversight than most in the business. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Detective Tsukauchi hummed noncommittally, however his furrowed brows showed that he was pondering intensely over what Nedzu was saying. Perfect.

“If the public success of one of Japan’s brightest rising stars is partly the result of corruption then it stands to reason that her benefactors would be the first to notice. And if the HPSC is aware of this... then that would be quite the scandal. They might not simply be condoning it, but possibly even endorsing it... Why else would a young woman with keen intellect, outstanding discipline and an astonishingly powerful quirk be indirectly collaborating with villains in her first year on the streets?”

“Careful , Mr. Principal. This train of thought might take you to places that could be unpleasant even for a figure of your renown.”

The detective’s lips were pursed in the grim realization that he could not intellectually disagree with him, but was also not very fond of the uncomfortable conclusion that that led to. Upsetting the belief system of humans almost always resulted in denial.

“Why, I was only speculating. Never in a thousand years would I accuse our benevolent and capable government of such heinous crimes.”

He was lying and they both knew it.

 

Chapter 16

Izuku had seen what happened to the Nomu and he wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Heroes shouldn’t kill, yet his teacher appeared to have done just that. From his perch on the very edge of the awning above the stadium he could observe nearly everything that was unfolding below. The gruesome spectacle of the black monster being ripped apart had been mostly obscured by the dust in the air, but the bloody aftermath still made his stomach churn.

Mangled limbs...

Flayed skin...

And the ripped innards...

All spread out like a macabre art piece in a growing puddle of red.

Why did she do it? Couldn`t there have been a different way to resolve this situation?

Argent was a rescue hero (although she disliked that term) with a flawless record. She did not kill or maim. It was antithetical to the character profile he had scribbled in his notebooks. Never before did Izuku see so much gore and unfiltered violence in a single place. Media reports were automatically censored when things got that bad and for all the bullying his life had thankfully been rather peaceful up until now. Only Eraserhead’s injuries could compare, but even those were not lethal!

Despite mortal danger, nobody died at the USJ or the entrance exam.

Witnessing his first true murder, changed something inside Izuku, but what exactly that was, he could not tell. The Nomu was a weapon, a brutal, vicious, brainless abomination of muscle and violence. However it was also a living being...

What was he supposed to feel about it being killed? Satisfaction that it could harm no one else? Relief that his classmates would be safe from its rampaging onslaught? Disgust at the loss of life?

And what did it say about him that he just felt... nothing?

“Deku!”

Ochako’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Should we get down there and help the others out or do you think we should stay up here where it’s safe?”

“Ehm... W-why are you a-asking me?” he deflected.

“Because you are our team leader. And you are the smartest among us.”

“Hey, I resent that!” cried Hatsume who was leaning dangerously over the edge of the roof; probably trusting in her hover boots to keep her from harm should she fall.

She was right though. He could not abandon his friends and teammates now. Similarly to how he could not abandon the civilians in the stadium. A true hero saved people whenever possible! All Might would not sit around and mope. Instead he would act!

“We are going down there and help with the evacuation. Ochako, we will need your quirk once again for a controlled descent. Tokoyami, have Dark Shadow keep his eyes out for any villains that may ambush us. Hatsume, do you have anything with you that could be of use?”

“Of course! My awesome babies will certainly come in handy!”

Yes. Together they would brave this storm and act like real heroes! Izuku had the feeling that Ms. Degurechaff would disapprove, but he could not suppress his daring desire to help. Even if it was stupid, he would not stand by and do nothing!

~[#҈#]~
​

Ochako was kind of amazed at how well she had reacted. One moment her heart felt like it was going to fall out of her chest and shatter on the concrete below from the pure dread that was filling her mind and in the next she was already leading dozens of people to the exits. As easy as vowing to be brave in the future was, in reality it took far more than a few bold words to actually move and willingly step into danger.

She had known that of course, but only now could she fully understand how difficult it was. Her body did freeze up for a second and her memories flashed back to the recent instances of her utter powerlessness. When she saw the purple smoke and the monster erupting out of it she was sure that somebody was going to die. And worse, a small, shameful part of her was glad that she was high up in the air, out of reach of the monster that began terrorizing her classmates.

Her friends were fighting for their lives while she watched and did nothing. Again.

Luckily Ms. Degurechaff showed up from... somewhere and took care of that problem. The gore though had seared itself into her imagination and was sure to haunt her dreams for many future nights.

Nevertheless, she pulled herself together and fell back on her new favourite strategy to do when in doubt: Ask Izuku.

His confused green eyes had cleared almost immediately and sharpened into stunning emerald orbs of absolute conviction. He knew what to do and she happily grabbed onto his plan like a lifeline. Regardless if it worked or if she went into more danger, anything was better than doing nothing, as she so painfully learned.

Ochako would stand strong, not as a victim or a damsel in need of rescue, but as a hero!

~[#҈#]~
​

Outside the teachers’ lounge the members of the UA faculty stood around idly or left the school in different directions. The only reason Tanya had not stormed past them already was that she would under no circumstance admit weakness and give off the impression that she was fleeing. They might laugh about her, but she was not about to run away like a little girl from her bullies!

This forced appearance of casual disinterest however was also why she wanted to curse rather strongly when her currently least liked person stopped her in the middle of the hallway.

“What is it?” she asked with carefully masked disdain.

To his credit, the bandaged man did not squirm under her gaze that had sent many accomplished villains running in the past.

“I wanted to apologize. I was unaware of your... state of undress and used my quirk without thinking. It was an accident caused by my emotional investment in this case that made me act so regrettably.”

“ Hmph. ” she commented with no change of her expression.

Aizawa continued with a small bow: “It was irrational of me to use my quirk as an intimidation tactic in this environment and I want to assure you that something similar will not happen again.”

Tanya seriously considered just suing him for sexual harassment, but being petty would not bring her dignity back. Making enemies with the staff and wasting much of her free time on a pointless court battle was also less than ideal. Not even factoring in that Nedzu would definitely assist his loyal subordinate which made her chances of winning slim to none.

In another life she would have arranged a demotion or manipulated the brass into relocating this guy to the most unpleasant parts of the front, but those times were behind her. Aizawa appeared suitably regretful, so perhaps he would learn from his mistake without such drastic measures.

“You should be more careful with your quirk cancelling in the future. Who knows which side-effects that could have on other people. Someone who passively relies on their quirk to stay alive could be seriously hurt simply because your ‘emotional investment’ made you lose control of yourself again. See to it that you teach your students the dangers of unsolicited quirk use in the future and then hold yourself to the same standards.”

Man, her temper was slowly boiling over from this miserable day. Not that she let her frustration show on her face of course, but she wanted to get home as quickly as possible and take a long, relaxing bath before she accidentally destroyed something.

With a curt nod to her fellow teachers she exited the building in an almost hurrying fashion and flew off with maximum speed.

~[#҈#]~
​

Haggard.

That was how her senpai looked. Like some disgusting leech had sucked off ten years of her beautiful life, diminishing the normally blazing fire in her eyes and burdening her shoulders with an invisible weight that seemed to shrink her small frame even further. Witnessing the sun of her personal universe so dimmed physically hurt Himiko and she desired nothing more than to see her light up again with life and joy as she properly deserved.

Jumping up from her spot on the couch where she had anxiously awaited the return of her beloved, Himiko hastily closed the door behind her senpai and helped her take off her shoes before embracing Tanya in a tight hug. The target of all her affection remained stiff as a board and made no attempt to hug her back.

“It’s okay. We are alone. Let it out.”

Only after she rubbed her beloved’s back in soothing circles did she relax, slumping into her like she only did when they were unobserved. If the feeling of worry had not overshadowed anything else in Himiko’s brain at that moment then she would have been giddy that Tanya trusted her so much as to let her guard down so much.

As much as it hurt to let her go, the younger girl knew what had to be done in order to soothe the agitated mind of her senpai. Chocolate coffee was not something that could be served every day, but tonight it would work wonders for her love. A good bath would also do her well considering that the filthy hands of that maggot had nearly touched her wonderful skin...

The spoon in Himiko’s hand slightly deformed as she thought about that wretched scum who dared to-!

No, she needed to calm down. Her beloved needed her with a clear head right now. Vengeance could wait for later.

Tanya sat still on the couch where Himiko had deposited her, eyes closed and rhythmically breathing in and out. Silently she sat the steaming mug down on the table in front of her to let the smell slowly rouse her from her meditation. Interrupting her love when she was ordering her thoughts would be akin to blasphemy!

It did not take long for her nostrils to twitch and eyelids to crack open, filling Himiko with joyful anticipation. Reverently she watched as her goddess’s slender fingers grasped the cup and brought it to her lips.

Would it taste right? Had she messed up the recipe? Would she disappoint her senpai with a culinary failure? Oh, the shame-

The minute tugging at the edge of Tanya’s lips dissuaded her fears and she let out a sigh of relief. Ever the attentive one, her Senpai naturally noticed and gave her a small smile.

“I’m fine, Himiko. Just a... disappointing day, I guess...”

Of course she was not ‘fine’! Nobody on this planet knew her Tanya better than she did!

“Senpai, are you really alright?” she whispered, peering deep into those azure stars that enchanted her heart.

“Perhaps... not.” Tanya admitted dejectedly as her gaze turned towards the floor.

Himiko patiently waited, absentmindedly trying not to stare at the hole in her uniform too much. If Tanya wanted to open up and share her thoughts then she would need time.

“I almost got killed...”

Oh, Shikaragi would be begging for death when she was done with him!

“Dying doesn’t scare me. It’s just... It has been a long time since I was in a situation like that. I got distracted and ‘whoosh’ ... I could have lost it all. Makes you think, doesn't it... ha ha...”

Huddling closer, Himiko slipped an arm around the person that mattered most to her in an attempt to ease the pain with her companionship. Apparently it worked because Tanya leaned a little bit into her touch.

“And... It seems my time as a teacher is rapidly approaching its end and I will not leave as a positive example to be remembered, but as a mockery. A shame really... I liked that job. The food was good. And until today I thought the faculty wasn’t too bad... And I think without my interference All Might is going to ruin their education... These kids really deserve better... But that is the way of the world. We must adapt and roll with the punches. Yes, exactly!” she spoke distractedly as if to convince herself of the truth of that statement. “ Everything changes and we must change with it or suffer the consequences. This life is no different.”

‘This life’? What was her beloved talking about? What a strange figure of speech.

“I am so, so sorry that this happened. If I had known what he planned I would have squished that worm before he had any chance to come close to you. Maybe things would have been different-”

“No, Himiko. There is no use in thinking about what could have been. I am not mad at you in the slightest. Even if you had known, the higher-ups would not have allowed you to share it with me. Plausible deniability and all that hogwash. In the end we both made it out healthy and with our secret identities intact. That is all we can hope for as long as we are agents of the HPSC.”

‘As long as we are its slaves’ went unsaid.

They both sat in companionable silence until the coffee mug was emptied and dusk was replaced by night.

“I am going to draw you a bath, if you are alright with that. The one with lemon bubbles.”

“That would be very nice. Thank you, Himiko.”

Overall her senpai looked a lot better now, but she was still not completely recovered. With tender love and care she would be back to her usual unshakable self in no time!

Humming cheerfully she entered the bathroom and prepared the water. As sad as it was, the tub was too small for two people, but she would not have done that anyway. Her beloved needed the space right now and she wasn’t in the mood for that specific kind of intimacy. The missed opportunity was regrettable, but that sacrifice of skinship would prove her devotion even more.

“It’s ready!” she chirped when she turned off the faucet.

No response came from downstairs.

“You can hop in, Senpai! What is it?”

Any further word froze on her tongue as she entered the living room. Tanya was glued to the screen of her phone. Lifting her head at a snail's pace she turned in Himiko’s direction, her face once more a hollow mask.

“A new order came in.”

Himiko’s blood froze. This couldn’t be good!

“It appears that my service as a teacher just got drastically expanded. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this is not a good thing.”

~[#҈#]~
​

Nedzu knew that the fight was lost when Endeavour’s name was dropped as a supporter of the ‘security oversight program’. He would need way too much time to work against the media presence that the number two hero could conjure with his far reaching PR network and he had his paws full with other problems at the moment.

What exactly had persuaded the Flame Hero Endeavour to take a stand with the HPSC was anyone’s guess, but Nedzu strongly suspected that it was connected to the recent developments regarding his son, Shoto Todoroki. Where the young boy had previously refused to use the fire side of his quirk during the official recommendations exam and in the first week at school, this attitude changed after Argent forced him to attend regular meetings with Hound Dog.

It was most tempting to look into his psychological profile, but Nedzu would not breach the trust of a student under his care. Not yet at least…

However, he didn’t need to see the contents of the school counsellor’s notes to discern the origins of young Todoroki’s dislike for fire. His father was a career oriented man who surely drove his progeny to excel in anything if it benefited his image. Furthermore, Endeavour’s harsh and distant attitude was apparent even in his fan interviews, so it stood to reason that his parenting as a single father away from the public eye would only be worse. How much worse Nedzu shuddered to imagine. There was a rather prominent burn scar over his son’s eye after all...

The principal made a note to investigate this further, which judging from the already booked out calendar on his desktop would have to wait for a while. Nonetheless, caring for the well-being of his students was no less important than the rest of his tasks and he would give this case all the attention it deserved.

Back to the most pressing topic at hand: the encroaching tentacles of bureaucracy that the HPSC attempted to slither into his domain with the finesse of a charging bull.

Normally he would have been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the generally slow-moving governmental apparatus, but for the finished letter to appear mere hours after the ‘sport’s festival attack’ as the media unimaginatively called it was highly concerning.

Their proposal for the ‘security oversight program’ was pretty straightforward and consisted of two parts: A bi-yearly examination of the internal security by an independent team of experts (which was not too unreasonable) and the permanent installation of an ‘Autonomous Danger Mitigation Manager’ into the school hierarchy.

What precisely that job description entailed was hidden behind three whole pages of flowery legal speak, but for an intellect of Nedzu’s calibre it was so obvious that it could as well have been written in red paint on his office wall. This meant that a government puppet with access to everything vaguely related to the protection of UA was about to legally infiltrate his home.

Such a transparent ploy was to be expected after they had forced Ms. Degurechaff to substitute for Aizawa, although the principal was glad that his employee got the time to properly heal instead of overworking himself like usual.

Truthfully, he could still cash in some of the many favours that humans around the earth owed to him in order to avoid these changes, but if he put up a fight then the HPSC would only double down harder on their efforts to undermine his authority. If his worst assumptions were true then they were not above causing villain attacks on civilians or infiltrating his campus in disguise. Rousing their anger would escalate the situation to levels that even he could no longer control.

It was better to lull them into a false sense of victory, to make them believe that they had won the battle and weaken them instead where they would not expect. When the rules of battle stood not in your favour then you needed to change them. And the HPSC did present him with the perfect opportunity...

The tool with which they sought to monitor him was not as willing or as obedient as they thought...

“Yes, Ms. Degurechaff, I am sure we can work together wonderfully in the future. UA Highschool aims to make true heroes out of everybody who enters its halls and you will be no different.”

EDIT: I always forget to link my discord lol so here is the link
https://discord.gg/g8sjcNqBQW
Join if you want to talk about yout life, Youjo Senki or anything inbetween. I am always open for feedback and requests

 

Chapter 17

The school remained closed for the rest of the week, although that did not mean that the students were left to their own devices. Homework and assignments continued to be sent out digitally, cementing UA’s reputation for constantly demanding excellence from all who attended it. Heroes could not afford to waste time and even a villain attack was apparently not enough to let the kids slack off in their studies.

Kaminari was among those that complained the loudest over the class 1-A group chat. In his mind it was ‘totally unfair’ and ‘downright criminal’ to burden them with algebra and English grammar after nearly ‘getting squished by a giant crow’, as he put it.

Mina found that pretty funny, even if she agreed with his dislike for homework. Sitting in her room and typing up text after text was rather boring and she couldn’t even get out, because her parents fretted way too much. They were under the impression that she would get attacked by a villain as soon as she left the house, which obviously sucked. When she told them as much they did not react well and threatened to revoke her pocket money. A disaster! How else would she get into the arcade or buy sweets!

So she reluctantly played her role as a good daughter and spent her free time chatting with her friends online. She learned something new about all of them in the last few days, except maybe Bakugou and Mineta who either spammed uppercase profanities or uncomfortably sexual stuff respectively until Yaomomo, ever the reliable admin, blocked them.

Another exception was Iida who remained eerily silent. Nobody knew what was happening on his end and he answered none of their messages to Mina’s growing concern. The rule-loving boy could be a real stick in the mud, but he was also a valued class member, so they all had to stick together and support each other. Such absolute radio silence was highly worrying.

Izuku, or as Ochako called him, Deku, had let it slip that he knew what was going on or at the very least possessed a good theory, but he selfishly refused to share. Something, something, ‘privacy’ and ‘personal matters’. As brilliant as their little broccoli-boy sometimes was, he could also be annoyingly stubborn. Maybe she should bring Ochako to tease her soon-to-be boyfriend until he told them?

Nah, she was not that curious yet.

Then the email came...

[From: UA_Principal@UAHS.net]

Dear students,

I want to take the time to once again personally apologize for the incident on the day of the sports festival and the one at the USJ training facility. None of you should have had to experience what you did and I as the headmaster of this school should have prevented such a tragedy from ever occurring. The fault lies not with the brave teachers who risked their lives for your protection, but with me as the head of security.

For this you have my intense regret and I promise that we as a faculty have taken every possible step to ensure that something like this will never happen again.

Nonetheless, we cannot reliably predict the future, so we will do our utmost to support your transfer to a new school should you wish to quit the hero course here at UA. We understand that you may no longer feel safe in our care even with improvements being made and nobody will judge you if you choose a different place to carry on your education.

Not a chance! As if Mina would give up her dream because of some villains attacking her class! This was what being a hero was all about, wasn’t it? She worked too hard to throw her chance of becoming a top hero away now!

Also, by the virtue of these extraordinary circumstances we have opted to reactivate the dorm program. For all of you who choose to stay enrolled in 1-A and 1-B we will be offering rent-free rooms in our freshly built dormitory! This will give us the opportunity to protect you around the clock and eliminates the risk of travelling from your home to school. Your parents/guardians have been informed of this and naturally need to record their permission to allow it. [More information is available by following this link to our website.]

Oooo... That sounded kinda awesome? On one hand she would spend less time with her family, but on the other she could get to know her new friends even better! Furthermore, she could wake up later for school, because she wouldn’t have to take the bus! Mmh... Decisions, decisions...
Lastly, I want to mention your internships. Since your performance at the sports festival was lamentably cut short, the pro heroes in the audience were unable to gather enough information and come to an accurate conclusion about who of you they want to invite for the upcoming internships.
Oh snap! She had totally forgotten about that!

To mitigate this, I have personally contacted roughly 150 heroes who I believe would be well equipped to deal with your individual quirks and personalities. Attached to the end of this mail you should find a list of two to four pros which in my humble opinion are the best suited to teach you their particular way of surviving and thriving in the industry.

Mina skimmed over the rest of the principal’s message, but what really interested her was who her ideal teachers would be. Someone glamorous? Maybe from the top fifty?

Mina Ashido:

- Clean Angel (Rank 572) Quirk: [Detergent] Produces streams strong biological detergent from her fingertips
- Yakoly (Rank 689) Quirk: [Hot Tongue] Can spew small amounts of lava from his mouth

What? She had never even heard of these guys! This sucked! Life was truly unfair!

~[#҈#]~​

“Administrator M, sir?” Tanya announced her presence in her usual impersonal yet attentive tone, specifically tailored to appease superiors, but make it clear that she had not come to chitchat.

The dark-haired, plain looking man pretended to only notice her now as he plastered a smile on his forgettable face that could belong on a hannya (demon) mask rather than a human being. Silently she wondered if it pained him to express any emotion at all.

“Argent! Wonderful to see you. Glad you could come on such short notice.”

As if she had a choice.

“It is no issue. I always have time for the Commission.”

“Right, right. Let’s get down to business.”

Once again did he pretend to bring his documents in order, despite them obviously being sorted already.

“Yes, here it is... You have heard of our new occupational proposition, yes?”

She deigned such a stupid question not with a reply, but instead simply nodded.

“Well I am sure you enjoyed spending time with those children and now you get even more opportunities to do that! Isn’t it great?”

This guy should have visited a theatre club in highschool. How could he call himself a Human Resource Manager and not understand the basics of manipulation on a basic level? Tanya was not amused to be managed by someone whose job she could do better herself.

“I'm thrilled.”

“Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. And you know what? Our analysts say that you will fit in perfectly. Hell, Nedzu himself recommended you for the position of ‘Autonomous Danger Mitigation Manager’ before we could!”

That was indeed surprising.

“Really?”

“Yes. We had to wait for his approval before we wanted to make a more direct move, but he beat us to it. Apparently your profile of him is incorrect, because he welcomed the change with open arms! Or, at least, you made a highly positive impression on him and he wants to keep you.”

Bullshit. The higher-ups could not possibly believe that. After years of failed plans to undermine the superintelligent animal they thought that he would cave in just because of the sports festival attack? Laughable. Absolutely ridiculous. Nedzu was so smart that his quirk could be called ‘minor foresight’ under the right conditions! Not in a thousand years would he reach out to the HPSC without at least a dozen plans in mind.

And she found herself in the middle of these schemes, like a fly trapped between the webs of two particularly hungry spiders.

Damn it!

“Of course you will still need to keep an eye on him, but with your new status you are going to have much greater access to the internal documents of this place. The committee has a vested interest in the youth and the future heroes of our glorious country. Together we can help keep them safe from corruption both inside and outside of society, don’t you think?”

“Ah, here comes the indoctrination.” she tiredly thought.

Wholly in contrast to her inner disgruntlement Tanya affirmed with a genuine seeming smile:
“I am proud to serve such a noble goal. Freedom and prosperity are mankind’s greatest treasures.”

“Oh? Have you gone under the philosophers, Argent? He he he...”

M’s laugh was awkward and stilted just like the rest of him.

“Hardly. I am a woman of action as my track record should prove. Was that all you wanted to discuss?”

“Yes, yes. Indeed. The finer details are listed in this folder here.” he said while sliding a moderately sized stack of paper over his desk. “Continue your duty and I am sure the higher-ups will be quite pleased. You will go far, Argent. I believe in you.”

The hungry gleam in his eyes told Tanya everything she needed to know about his intentions to use her achievements for his own promotion.
Wordlessly she packed the documents into her suitcase and moved towards the door. Not once did Tanya turn her back to him in the process.

“Administrator.” she nodded as an obligatory farewell before leaving the dingy office.

If she had not been sure that the hallway was lined with invisible cameras, she would have allowed her stoic face to morph into a deep frown. Instead Tanya simply did what she always did in these circumstances: Plunge herself head first into as much work as possible to make the numbness go away.

~[#҈#]~
​

Come Saturday morning, Tanya was making a traditional breakfast. She enjoyed the simple act of cooking in its peaceful productivity. When leading a life defined by violence, one needed to be careful in balancing out with simpler pleasures such as these. Stirring the rice, cutting vegetables, turning over the fish in the frying pan centred her mind and reminded her of all the positives that her third life still offered.
Not to mention that it was also healthy and cheaper than going to a restaurant.

Suddenly she heard the sounds of the front door to her apartment clicking shut. It appeared that Himiko had let herself in with a replica of her house key that she had managed to replicate by some unknown means. Tanya was proud of her partner’s skill to steal her original and return it unnoticed.

“Come in! I made enough for two!” she called over her shoulder.

Bouncing footsteps closed in on her location before a pair of slender arms circled around her form.

“Hi, Senpai! I’ve got some time to spare! My ‘ job’ is pretty uneventful at the moment and the leader of that silly circus is strangely indisposed. How long can healing one hand take? Jeez... A shame I can’t find him, ya know? I bet he has a wonderful singing voice... Would have loved to make his ugly mug a lot cuter with my knifies~” babbled the energetic girl, somehow making her plans to brutally torture a grown man sound endearing.

Normally Tanya was a quite vehement opponent of intense physical torture due to its ineffectiveness at procuring correct information and the target one painted on their back by engaging in such culturally shunned acts. The risks of being discovered were mostly not worth the effort in her opinion.

That being said, if Himiko wanted to let out some of her more violent tendencies on a piece of human garbage then she would certainly not object. Society as a whole would be better off without a man who possessed the power and ruthlessness to turn children into dust for his own amusement. (A small, vindictive side in her also delighted in the suffering of someone who had come horribly close to maiming herself.)

“Won’t that violate mission parameters?”

“He is just a puppet! They find a replacement for him within the month. Screw these paper pushers!”

Tanya could only smile at her subordinate’s antics for she felt much the same. Many years ago she herself had been a bureaucrat whose view of the world consisted of rules and guidelines, all forming the ultimate path towards a comfy future. Yet the hardships of war and corporate enslavement had shown her that laws and tenets were more flexible than she would have ever believed otherwise...

“So let’s use this time for something fun! I know you are free today!”

“What did you have in mind? The Art Museum? I heard that they still have the exhibition about that guy who made sculptures out of artificial meat. Mmmh?”

“Aww, thanks but no. I thought we could go hiking in the woods for a change? After the incident with the squirrel I was never allowed to visit free nature since I was nine. Also... I mean, we would be relatively alone and I could wear my true face? It’s not a problem most of the time, but I wanna be myself out in the open again. Feel the sunlight on my actual skin and stuff...”

“I understand.” Tanya plainly stated, for what else was there to say?

“Of course you do! Because you’re awesome, Senpai!” cheered Himiko, hugging her tighter.

“Get... off...” she wheezed under the crushing embrace of her colleague.

Not letting go, but marginally loosening her hold, the girl behind her continued to giggle. If she wanted to act that way, fine! Two could play that game! Instead of a leisurely walk through the forest, this would be an endurance run! One should never skimp out on training and this was the perfect opportunity to check the fitness of her student!

Tanya wanted to see if the vampiric girl would still have the last laugh after sprinting for two hours non-stop!

~[#҈#]~
​

“Huff... No fair... Huff... Agh... It hurts... It hurts so much... Huff...”

“We should do this more often. You’re totally out of shape! Do you remember that first month of your training? Perhaps a refresher is in order...”

Tanya was not winded in the slightest. She had only covered half the distance on foot to give herself a modest workout which left her sweaty but not exhausted. Being able to comfortably ride along the path on top of an energy barrier akin to a magic carpet was most convenient in this case.

“Please! Huff... Don’t! Please! Huff... I’ll do anything!”

Pure desperation clung to Himiko’s voice as she obviously relived the hellish memories of her initiation in her mind.

“Wonderful. I am glad that you have chosen to clean my apartment. It’s gotten rather dusty as of late.”

“You are so mean! Huff!”

“Many have said that in the past. Most regretted it deeply.” Tanya quipped, although the upturned corner of her mouth showed that she was not being serious.

“Huff... Still... This was nice... Did you see that pretty bird... Huff... who followed us? Huff... It was so cute...”

“I guess it was. Here, drink up!”

Tanya threw an already prepared water bottle at the panting girl, trusting her lightning-quick reflexes to catch it before it hit her in the face. Himiko caught the drink blindly while she flashed a smile in appreciation which revealed her pointed canines.

“Let’s get home and change. Afterwards we will see what we can do the rest of the day. We both burned a few calories, so I can treat you to something nice. You’ve earned it.”

Rewarding exceptional behaviour was basic courtesy if one wanted to nourish good work relationships. It encouraged loyalty and diligence. Paired with a few words of praise it could go a long way to raise employee satisfaction. At least that was what Tanya told herself.

~[#҈#]~
​

Freshly showered and disguised they made their way through the city, visiting wherever they felt like, yet not actually stopping anywhere. They let themselves be guided by their whims and merely appreciated the scenery. Nevertheless they both made sure to actively stay away from areas with high crime statistics or an excessive amount of traffic cameras.

Barely forty minutes passed before Himiko found a charming little establishment to satisfy their growing hunger. Underneath the towering skyscrapers of the office district, tucked away into a side street stood a small European style cafe which served different sorts of cheesecake and carrot cake as this day’s specialty.

Despite its relatively hidden nature, business appeared to be going well as many seats were already occupied. The place was not too full to be obnoxiously crowded, but also not too empty as to make them stand out. In a nutshell: It was perfect.

Taking a spot outside to experience the warmth of the summer sun, each girl was fast to order cake and coffee for themselves. Himiko was not usually a ‘coffee person’, but whenever she was with Tanya she attempted to drink it as well. The pro heroine found that solidarity humorous enough to not comment on her behaviour.

From across the street her sharp eyes caused the flash of a camera. It could be an unknowing tourist or some Paparazzi who had discovered them. Hopefully they would be satisfied with the photo from afar and not come to demand an autograph. Ultimately though, such an occurrence was of no consequence for her, so she quickly ignored it.

“Woah... this is amazing! You should try some, Senpai!”

She turned her attention back to her partner only to find Himiko expectantly holding a fork full of cake in her direction. It looked indeed good, but manners prohibited her to simply eat food from another’s cutlery in public.

“Uh, thanks, I-“

“Come on, Tanya! Please! Give it a try! For me?” the momentarily disguised girl pleaded with her lip quivering slightly (a subtle sign that her emotions were spiralling out of control).

This was so awkward! Yet... she had to accept; else her sometimes psychologically unstable protégée would be grumpy for hours. The effects of over a decade of child abuse were slow to heal, so it was completely understandable for the previously isolated girl to become somewhat attached to her and indulge in such friendship-building rituals. After all, Tanya knew better than anyone that no other trustworthy people worked at the HPSC which made her the sole target of those adorable acts of intimacy.

Her refusal of this harmless gesture would possibly ruin the mood of their entire outing. Especially after she had punished Himiko already earlier. Was her dignity worth the hassle?

Hesitantly she leaned forward placing trust into her appreciatively smiling partner to end this embarrassment swiftly. Against Tanya’s hopes however the fork remained just out of reach, leaving her hanging over the table like an idiot. Himiko’s smile turned into an impish grin as she beckoned her closer with a single finger. Retreating now would be admitting defeat and as childish as the notion was, it bothered the heroine to no end to be so effortlessly outplayed.

Narrowing her eyes in challenge, she lunged forward, attempting to capture the morsel with her lips.

Himiko meanwhile began to snicker joyfully, moving the piece of cake away at the last second.

“Come on, Senpai! Don’t be shy~”

“Don’t go too far...” she warned.

“Of course not, my dear. Just a bit further~”

Slowly standing up from her chair Tanya glanced left and right to avoid making a scene and bent over to close the distance. This was definitely skirting the edge of what she dared to do while others were watching. People without context might mistake this for a sign of romantic affection or something ludicrous like that!

“Isn’t it great? So sweet...” whispered Himiko, wearing an enraptured expression that made Tanya’s stomach explode into hectically fluttering butterflies. To be looked at with so much concern and personal interest was a novelty for her. This was not a medical examination or the searching gaze of an employer scouting for talent... it went far deeper than that and she was unsure if she liked this feeling or not.

Undeniably the cake was excellent, nearly melting its buttery aroma on her tongue, but their eye contact felt so much more sensual and tangible that it nearly hurt. For a tiny moment, a split-second, the world around them took a step back and left them be. A small eternity connected the two girls with an untold sense of understanding and longing fascination. Two lives so similar, yet so fundamentally diverse collided in a grand harmony of opposites as they were, for the first time, close enough to fully intersect.

Only to be shattered instantly in a single, overwhelming instant of raw pain and surprise.

White-hot agony spread through Tanya’s whole left side before she faintly registered that she got sent flying. In vain she tried to stabilize herself in the air, but her broken body did not obey her commands and so she crashed helplessly into a wall on the other side of the street.

“Crack!”

She was uncertain if that was the feeling of concrete or her bones shattering. Her vision swam, her back felt like it was on fire and for a few terror-inducing heartbeats even her lungs struggled to draw breath.

Through the nauseating ringing in her ears, the heroine could barely make out a smug voice talking to her. It was unnervingly familiar; although she could not immediately place a name on the fuzzy face swimming into her field of view.

“Ha! You are so easy to find! Just skimming over the most popular channels on hero-net and everyone can trace your location! You heroes are so arrogant to believe that you are safe everywhere when in reality you are-“

He was interrupted by a blade of light projected from her fingertips slamming into the space where his head once was. Had he not been suddenly enveloped in purple mist and teleported to a different location then the villain would have received a crippling blow.

Tanya managed to clear her head enough over the course of his little speech to recognize the man who just evaded her attack as the same who ambushed her at the sports festival: Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains, user of an extremely dangerous decay quirk.

“Hey! How dare you! You NPCs can’t just skip dialogue! This is my moment you stupid mini boss-”

Not waiting for his rant to finish, she pulled herself out of the human-sized crater in the concrete and layered as many protective barriers around her form as she could in such a short timeframe. Her busted ribs dug into her flesh, causing her to cough up a handful of blood.

“Internal bleeding... damn it!”

Luckily Shigaraki seemed to be utterly convinced in his victory, because he obnoxiously shouted some nonsense about video games or something. That served Tanya just fine, for she planned to use his egotistical gloating to her advantage. Nobody revelled in their assumed superiority if they did not believe to already have won which bred exploitable complacency.

Looking around she searched for whatever had dealt such a crippling blow to her. Quickly her trained senses locked onto the shadow looming over where her table had been standing just a minute ago. Blinking her eyes to make sure that she was not hallucinating she focused on the... blob?

The black, ooze-like figure was difficult to describe. It was a ball of slime writhing with rippling waves of inky darkness that made it look more like a moving statue than a living creature. Parts of it were hardening and liquefying at random with long spikes erupting out of its centre semi-regularly. Seemingly the League was mo re crafty or advanced than the reports suggested if they could constantly produce new models of bioweapons.

Either this one was clever enough to catch her while she was distracted or the timing of the villain’s arrival was impeccable. Regardless, taking out the beast was priority number two, right after she hospitalized Shigaraki of course. Destroying the chain of command was always preferable to exhausting your limited resources in pointless attrition warfare.

Abruptly her heart was gripped by icy terror. Where was Himiko? Was she okay? Was she in critical condition?

She was the one person that mattered to Tanya in this universe and not being able to determine her wellbeing was horrifying. Beating the enemy could wait. Retribution was unimportant in the face of Himiko’s absence. Sooner would she let this city burn to the ground before she let harm come to her friend!

“...- But enough! I made my point. She’s regaining her consciousness, I think. Camera, zoom in! I want the entire world to see what ensues when some trash-tier NPC tries to challenge me! Nomu, finish her!”

Tanya winced as she wrapped herself in a skin-tight shield to perform evasive manoeuvres.

Meanwhile the slime merely wobbled vacuously from side to side.

“I said: Nomu, finish her!” shouted Shigaraki, raising the volume of his voice.

Next to him a figure made from purple fog materialized.

“Young master, I believe this is what the good doctor meant with ‘unstable’ and ‘not finished.”

“Yeah, no shit. That old fool can’t get anything right! How are we supposed to ever kill All Might if they can’t beat fucking mini bosses! Nomus were designed to be the ultimate weapons!”

“Complaining is of no use here, Shigaraki. You must adapt to the battlefield.” advised the mist man.

“Yes, you’re right. I rolled a negative check and now I have to balance my bad luck out with skill... Hey, wait!”

Making the most of that distraction, Tanya had created her own plan. From what she could observe, Himiko was not nearby which filled her with equal amounts of dread and relief. So, in order to find her friend she needed to go higher, but her wounded state weakened her ability to fly. Confusing potential snipers was key here.

In the absence of a smoke bomb she had instead formed a massive opaque barrier in front her and lifted herself into the air behind it. To sustain this construct she had to unfortunately drop a few of her protective shields, but as soon as she fled together with Himiko everything would be alright. She had to believe that…

Propelling herself upwards without gradual acceleration whiplash-inducing, but she needed every second she could get. When she reached the upper edge of obstruction Tanya was barely able to witness a catastrophe unfold itself.

Himiko had jumped out from inside the ruined store window of the cafe, her knife gripped firmly in hand as she aimed for Shigaraki’s throat. She swung with untainted murderous intent, all hints of her usual playfulness erased from the calculated motion. Agile like a cat rushing towards a mouse she aimed for the kill and would have ripped open his neck if he had not turned his head slightly at the last second.

The metal bottom of the hand-shaped mask on his face got in the way, redirecting the blade into his shoulder.

“Agh!” screamed the decay quirk user.

Instinctively his hand reached behind him to touch his attacker and Tanya acted.

She drove downwards in an attempt to cleave him in half, because separating them at that close distance was impossible. A deep-violet portal appeared in her path, but she dived around it, certain that the teleporting mist man would not be capable of redirecting his quirk in time.

Which turned out to be a false assumption.

Wallowing tendrils of darkness enveloped her form before she was spat out into even more black. Up or down were completely indeterminable to her as she clawed at the suffocating and viscous fluid that she was drenched in. The thick, inescapable darkness pressed itself against all her wounds, pushing bones further inward or rubbing scraped skin in an agonizing manner.

Then, all of a sudden there was light again and she gasped for air. Blinded by the abrupt brightness it took several long moments until Tanya understood her current predicament. She was trapped inside the slime monster that despite not obeying the commands of Shigaraki earlier was apparently functional enough to restrain her.

“Huh? It works after all! Wonderful! You see, I ordered this one directly to counter you, Argent.” sneered the bloodied man. From his cracked lips the title sounded like an insult.

Still, Tanya only had eyes for Himiko who was held to the ground by a burly figure whose naked torso left no illusions that his muscle mass was more than a match for the teenage girl below him.

“This Nomu can harden around you just like that and if you attempt to cut it to pieces then it automatically pierces you with its thorns! Not to mention that it can also reform, because it’s made out of goo! A totally OP build to destroy a spellcaster like you!”

Spells? If she had access to real magic from her lifetime of war then she would have wiped that bastard off the face of the earth long ago!
As if sensing her enraged thoughts Shigaraki bent down and roughly grabbed Himiko’s face, but left his pinkie raised in an unspoken threat to dissolve her at the slightest provocation.

Tanya’s adrenaline-addled brain hyperfixated on his fingers, noting that the fingertips looked brighter than the rest of his ashen skin. They were pink like a newborn, ill-fitting compared to the rest of his rotten persona.

“Who’s this? Does she mean something to you? Your girlfriend, ey? Hehe... I’ll make her suffer. Like you made me suffer!”

“Noooooo!” she shrieked without thinking, clawing and fighting against her restraints uselessly.

“What the...?” asked the bewildered villain as grey sludge began to stream down between his fingers, exposing Himiko’s real face underneath. His confused gaze wandered between his dirty hand and the naked captive on the street.

“Blood Dancer? What are you doing here?”

“GO TO HELL!” spit the now bare girl in an act of defiance.

“Don’t tell me... You’re with that bitch? No way...

“Let me go! You pig! You disgusting fuc-“

Himiko thrashed against his grip.

“SHUT UP! You’re a shitty traitor and I can’t tolerate this!”

He splayed his fingers and she knew instantly what he wanted to do and she was powerless to avert it.

No. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NONONONOONOONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Time slowed to a crawl for the distressed Tanya as soul-crushing anguish set in.

She knew that she would not be able to save her.

Her most important possession throughout all her lives, a real friend, a companion, was about to be taken from her forever.

Survival did not matter to her any longer. Pride even less.

And so, Tanya begged with all her heart!

Tanya pleaded with all her soul!

“Please! Anyone! Being X! God! Whatever you want to be called! Please! Help! HELP ME! SAVE HER! PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING!”

Tanya cried out into the obscenely silent void of her own mind...

And finally her prayers were answered. 

 

Chapter 18

Himiko’s life had always been controlled by others. Her parents were the first who came to see her as merely a monster that needed to be leashed. Then came her teachers who forced her to sit silent and still, work hard, study stuff that interested her not in the slightest and scorned her should she ever fall out of the range of what they perceived as ‘normal’. Other children in her school had not been much better. They were vicious and cruel whenever they believed they could get away with it, so Himiko had to hide even more of herself in order to not be singled out for being ‘freaky’.

The urge to just let the mask slip and be free grew stronger with every day that she was starved by the alleged experts who told her to ‘simply ignore the thirst’ at the back of her throat no matter how nauseating it became. Countless nights she spent crying into her pillow at night, because the desire to drink was unbearable. Back then she did not want to disappoint her parents who thought her to be finally ‘cured’.

Now she understood how heartless and self-absorbed all these adults really had been. Her plight was merely an inconvenience for them. Nobody cared who she actually was and what she required to live a happy life. Perhaps someday she could have learned to tune out the constant agony and dizziness, found a boring, fruitless job and slaved away with a hollow smile on her lips. That certainly would have made her begetters proud.
Fortunately the one time that Himiko took her fate into her own hands turned out to be the best decision she had ever made.

Running away from her prison, blinded by the desperate, all-consuming need for blood she found the shining hero whom she had yearned for. If following this angel meant that she was about to be bound in even thicker chains then she would gladly do so and that was exactly what happened. Once again most of her life was beyond her control as she was used as a tool for faceless bureaucrats in service of obscure goals.
Yet she never regretted it.

Together with Tanya she felt free and unburdened. Because they could see each other face to face and be themselves in a thousand little ways. Because they had each other’s back in spite of a dangerous and uncaring world. Because Himiko’s personal hero was capable and strong, unbroken by the cold brutality of the HPSC. No obstacle was too great and no enemy was too strong for her. Regardless of how many times her senpai emphasized that she was not invincible, Himiko was of a different opinion.

Fate however, in its endless ironic mockery, decided to prove her wrong today.

Everything went perfectly. Together they went out into the woods and then found a super cute cafe. She even managed to feed her love a piece of cake! In public no less! And that was where she had made her first mistake.

Without her insistence on fooling around, Tanya would not have been distracted enough to be caught off guard by that Nomu. Normally Himiko would have relished the smell of such sweet blood, but in this case it made her so sick that she wanted to bite her tongue off. How she had to watch for the briefest moment how her beloved’s entire left side deformed under the blow of that accursed beast broke her heart into tiny pieces.
And it was entirely her fault!

The sun of Himiko’s existence, her reason for living, had gotten hurt directly because of her!

She tried to make things right and put that fucking bastard into the grave, but her incompetence messed it up again!

If she had been a split-second faster... If she had been more composed and thought her situation through like Tanya hammered into her mind after every lesson... If her hatred had not compelled her to strike right there and then... If she had been better...

Then things would have turned out another way.

It was purely her fault.

Hers alone.

She brought shame on her beloved by being too weak when it mattered the most. An angel fell from heaven today, because of her greed. What a horrible disgrace...

Now, as a last shame, she would soil her senpai’s eyes with her pitiful death. Shigaraki was a pathetic pushover who should have been as easy to split open from chin to belly as a gutter rat. How could she be overwhelmed by a man-child like him? No way...

Himiko refused to let her years of suffering be in vain!

She would not lie down and take this humiliation!

She would defy the expectations placed upon her by the world!

She would fight back and wrestle for control over her own destiny!

She would avenge her beloved even if it was the last thing she ever did!
Tanya taught her that there was always another option if one searched hard enough. Those rough hands which held her in place were merely part of a human being and all humans possessed exploitable flaws. What could she do, naked and pressed to the ground?

A slurry of thoughts raced through her head, all the while her hands tried to find purchase against the stone of the street. Seeing Shigaraki’s hand close in on her face renewed her strength to struggle free, but it was not sufficient to throw off the guy on her back.

In a last vengeful attempt to get back at the man who she despised more than anything else, she stilled her movements and drew her neck in as far as she was able to. Judging from the sneer on his ugly, cracked lips he believed that she was avoiding him to buy herself another second at life.

How wrong he was...

There was only one continued existence that held any importance to Himiko in the world.

And it was not hers.

With her eyes searching a last time for her senpai, she lunged forward, her jaw nearly unhinging itself by how fast she opened her mouth to bite down on the dusty fingers coming her way!

What she had not expected was for everything to suddenly erupt in golden light.

~[#҈#]~
​

Time appeared to freeze for one Tanya von Degurechaff.

A few leaves which were swept up in the summer breeze were stuck midair.

Terrified passersby remained standing in place, holding their poses like a horde of carefully arranged mannequins.

Long ago the sight of such a motionless world would have filled her with impotent rage and loathing. Now she could only feel indescribable relief. For once the cause of this anomaly was not appearing at an inopportune moment to bring unwelcome news, but was rather called by herself in desperation. She had been unsure if her distressed pleas would work, if her thoughts could even be heard over the ether or if the entity she was trying to reach cared enough to respond.

After all, they had made peace with each other and vowed to never meet again.

“You surprised me, my child.”

There it was again. A voice made up of a million other voices speaking in harmony. Utterly inhuman and simultaneously a culmination of humanity as a whole.

Tanya knew not how to respond, so she nervously awaited whatever judgement was coming. There would be a price to pay, yet she was determined to bear it; for what was living if not constant sacrifice?

“Indeed.” chuckled the formless voice. “Nothing good usually comes without consequences. You showed that to me in an impressive display of courage. Do you remember what happened next?”

How could she not?

The war... the dreadful war... the Great War as the historians called it, had neared its end. Savaged and mutilated the nations fought themselves to a mutual loss. Nothing prevailed and nobody except those far away from the slaughter profited. It was a disgrace. Nearly one hundred million men, women and children wasted to satisfy the pride and greed of a few short-sighted elites. A billion more would feel the impact of this global travesty for the rest of their lives, be it in lost friends and property or wounds and sickness.

At the end, only fields of ash and ruins of former grandeur stayed behind. Broken husks, hollowed out by raging fires and violent explosions reached to the skies with long, blackened fingers as if they were begging for divine intervention to save them from this man-made hell.
Help that never came.

Tanya saw the famished peasants crowd inside the churches in hope of deliverance! She smelled the festering wounds of her fellow soldiers entreating to be forgiven for their sins and released from this mortal coil! Cries of faith from the charging enemies were still as fresh in her memory as the sermon of the military chaplain making his rounds through the hospital!

If Being X wanted her to believe...

If he was willing to give her extraordinary power in return...

If he granted Mary Sioux magic capable of toppling mountains for the purpose of testing her...

Then why did his help not extend to those who were actually deserving of it? Those that praised him with all their heart and fully entrusted their souls to his care? Where was he when his loyal followers had to feast on garbage and began to rot from the inside out?
What was the glorious reward for their devotion aside from additional suffering?

During their last meeting she asked him exactly that. Before he could answer she had followed up with an even more burning issue:
What made her so special that she was exempt from this neglect?

Tanya never saw herself as anything special. In her first life she was an ordinary human who was particularly unlucky enough to encounter a being beyond her comprehension. Before that however she took control of her life as much as she was able to. College, working her way up the corporate ladder, bettering herself... it all served to secure her standing and not get trampled under the heavy boot of society.

Her second one was no different. Riding the wave was preferable to getting washed away with it, so she joined the army and tried her damnedest to become irreplaceable to the general staff. While not working as intended, her plan succeeded and she climbed the ranks of the ruling social order again. Every person with common sense would do that. Purely the advantage of her reincarnated knowledge gave her a leg up above the competition.

Hence arose the question, why was her fate more of a concern to Being X than that of others?

His little experiment to see if he could convert her was meaningless. When he was not willing to support all his believers then concentrating on a single individual would change nothing in the long run. She compared this fallacy to a CEO who underpaid his workers, but tried to raise company morale by forcefully relocating one of them into a luxury villa without food or water. No one would be happy about that and ultimately the boss was wasting money on underutilized real estate.

Contrary to how she had worded it during the last moments before her male body was crushed by the incoming locomotive of the Tokyo train station, Tanya did not abhor the concept of god’s existence itself. What got under her skin were people who claimed credit for achievements they did not commit. Laziness, narcissism and baseless entitlement were sins she could not tolerate.

Should God bring about actual value for society then she would happily repay his service with a form of worship of his choosing (appropriate to the amount she benefited from it of course). However, letting humans do the work and then requiring them to laud him for that was disgustingly abusive, comparable to the Yakuza squeezing protection money out of innocent citizens.

Choice needed to be free and unhindered on an open market. If god wanted to be competitive then he better provide the best deals around and if he wanted to be fair then he had to be accepting of people who selected other options that they liked more. Monopolies led to stagnation which was probably why religion was failing nowadays.

Oh, how she had ranted on that moonlit night...

Impassioned arguments between the two of them were the norm rather than the exception, but surrounded by the devastation of their collective failures all pretences of personal pride were lifted. Together they had brought a calamity to these lands, feeding the flames of destruction in their own ways. For what?

The voice of her supernatural acquaintance continued: “I saw into your soul and noticed the change to it. Although I regret what I have done to you, I also appreciate how you have grown from that tragedy. Many would consider the difference miniscule, yet for me the disparity between the man you once were and the woman you are today is like heaven and earth.”

Well, he was certainly the only person who could draw such comparisons, so Tanya accepted his evaluation without resistance. It would have been illogical if the circumstances of her multiple lives did not have some sort of influence on her. Humans were malleable creatures, as demonstrated by her voluntarily praying for the first time ever.

“Yes, that is true. But I doubt you have invoked my name to reminisce about the past or discuss philosophy. What is it that you require assistance with, my child?”

Anger briefly flared up inside her, because he made her spell it out despite the obvious reason for her despair.

“Toga Himiko, my... friend... is in grave danger. I was reckless and overconfident and I alone cannot prevent her... demise. Please, save her.”

Admitting her powerlessness physically pained her.

“My, my... It seems your heart has finally thawed near-completely. You yourself are in quite the precarious position; don’t you want me to help you too?”

“I... will find a way.”

“Oh, I know that you are strong. Of that I have no doubt. To defy me year after year was as impressive as I found it annoying back then. Luckily for us both, we could come to an agreement, right?”

Unbidden memories of her orphaned childhood and the relentless training under the HPSC rose in her mind. Being X made it sound like he did her a huge favour when in reality her feelings on this new life were far more mixed.

“Yes. But I was under the impression that you promised to not purposefully make me suffer.” she remarked perhaps a bit too passive-aggressively.

Unaffected by her indirect accusation the indescribable voice appeared to smile.

“That was the deal. I also said that I would bring you to a world like your home. The Empire as well as Japan had left their marks on you, so I gave this planet elements of both. You wanted to retain your experiences, which meant that you were reborn in a similar body as compensation. I admit that I took some... creative inspiration with your quirk from the computation magic you were already familiar with, but there were no malicious intentions behind its creation. Anything else is pure coincidence or a result of your actions.”

Unfortunately, he was most likely sincere. Deflecting blame would get her nowhere anyway.

“I know. It was my responsibility as her superior to keep Himiko safe and I failed at that. Please give me a chance to make things right.”

“Ahh... And what would you be willing to pay for your friend’s wellbeing?”

“Anything.” Tanya answered without hesitation.

“Fascinating... I could have never foreseen you putting anything above your own life. I am proud of you.”

What? Being X was proud of her?

“Truly. You showed me the error of my ways; that I must be equal in the dispersion of my love and cannot force anyone to reciprocate my feelings. Now, after decades of war and crime have you understood that there are more important things than merely continuing your existence.”

“I was never that simple-minded.”

“Of course not. Yet at the centre of all your plans stood always your survival. Often you have helped others, but only for selfish gain. This is your first absolutely one-hundred percent altruistic choice and choices are the most powerful aspect of mortals.”

“Hmph. So what is your price? My soul? Praying twice per day? A body-part? Founding a church?”

“Far simpler, my child. I want you to remain on this path. People who are supposed to act in the interest of the Greater Good, who put themselves in the line of fire and protect the innocent, are called ‘heroes’ here. A true hero fights for those weaker than them, sacrificing their all regardless if they get rewarded or not. Basically, try to do what is right.”

How was that any simpler than just setting up a charity for a church building? This was suicide with extra steps! Then Tanya remembered why she was having this conversation in the first place and her resolve instantly steeled itself. Her friend’s companionship would make the upcoming trials hopefully bearable.

“I swear I will do my best to live up to what the concept of ‘hero’ is meant to be.”

A satisfied presence enveloped her being, wrapping around every cell of her body like a warm blanket.

“Then go forth my Harbinger of Justice! Let me awaken what was inside you all along!”

Shining lightning flooded her nerves, burning her, remoulding her, improving her.

And entropy resumed once more.

~[#҈#]~
​

[OMG OMG WATCH THIS OMG] was the extremely descriptive title of the stream Sero had linked in the group chat.

Toru opened the video feed mostly because she was bored and whatever had excited the duct tape swinging boy so much was probably more entertaining than her English homework that she still needed to finish before next week.

A window popped up on her phone and she wondered what in there required three ‘OMGs’. All she could see was some villain- oh...

That was the hands guy from the USJ; the same man who attacked them a second time at the sports festival. And he was threatening a young girl.
Oh, no.

Her invisible hand cramped around her smartphone, accidentally raising the volume of the stream. The audio quality was abysmal, but it was enough to make out what he was saying.

“- mean something to you? Your girlfriend, ey? Hehe... I’ll make her suffer. Like you made me suffer!” he grinned and Toru feared for the worst.

Where were the heroes to stop that fiend? Her eyes were glued to the screen, despite the overwhelming urge to glance away and spare herself of the scene that was sure to follow.

“Noooooo!” screamed a familiar voice and it only took Toru a split-second to recognize the face of her diminutive, blond teacher, now restrained by some giant ball of black goo. The normally composed and collected woman looked so different that she would not have been able to identify her without hearing her voice.

Ms. Argent’s bloodied mouth hung open, her eyes were widened in terror and she fought against her slimy prison with animalistic fury. None of her usual calmness was present at the moment and that made the whole state of affairs even scarier. Their teacher had lost control of the situation and was about to witness the torture of her girlfriend.

Toru felt like she was being choked. This was beyond horrifying.

She wanted to vomit as all her fears came true. The civilian’s entire face melted into sludge while the grey-haired villain withdrew his hand quickly.

Wait... Why was there another face underneath?

Strangely enough, it appeared that the criminal responsible for the shocking reveal was as bewildered by this outcome as her...

Soon after a completely new person laid in a puddle of unidentifiable slosh. Blonde hair, yellow eyes and fairer skin were the main differences of the transformation. However, the hands-wearing man seemed to recognize this individual now for some reason.

“Blood Dancer? What are you doing here?” he asked, barely audible over the howling of the wind through the microphone.

“GO TO HELL!” roared the unknown girl with an almost tangible amount of venom carried by her voice.

“Don’t tell me... You’re with that bitch? No way...”

Did they know each other? How? Wasn’t this a friend of Ms. Argent?

“Let me go! You pig! You disgusting fuc-“

“SHUT UP! You’re a shitty traitor and I can’t tolerate this!”

Toru was highly confused, but the fact that her teacher was still trapped by a murderous psychopath made these finer details look irrelevant. The villain flexed his fingers again, obviously going in for the kill and the invisible girl was not ashamed to admit that she nearly began to cry at the sheer helplessness of the situation. Whoever this person on the ground was did not deserve such a fate.

Meanwhile, Ms. Argent’s wide, disturbingly expressive eyes seemed to glaze over for multiple seconds, making her abrupt motionlessness appear like she had just died herself. Then, in the time it took for Toru to blink, those same cerulean orbs started to glow ominously with golden light. More blinding beams exploded outwards from her form as she ripped herself free and blurred across the street.

Walls of shining energy slammed into the gathered villains, throwing them away like ragdolls. They crashed into the destroyed shop window where they would certainly land on many unpleasant pieces of broken glass.

It went too fast for the Toru to properly track, so she could merely observe the aftermath of her teacher’s blitz strike. Only when the intensely shining hero fell to her knees to examine the girl who had been an instant away from dying could Toru make out more features of her appearance.

Besides the mesmerizing golden light, cascading in radiant waves around her like some set of magical armour, Ms. Degurechaff’s wounds were the first to draw attention. Her left arm bent in places it should not have been able to, only held in place by the barrier surrounding it, and a fresh gush of blood steadily leaked from the corner of her mouth. No doubt more grievous injuries were hidden behind the sheen of pulsating energy that obscured her body.

Regardless of her own constitution though, the hero bent forward and gently cradled the victim in her embrace. Heavy breaths racked her chest, yet she still managed to carry the strange girl in her unmistakably broken arms. With nary a glance in the direction of her downed opponents she took off and flew out of range of the camera.

For the next minute nothing happened before the feed cut unexpectedly off.

Alone in her bedroom the static of her speakers was deafening for Toru.

[Holy shit]

Toru jumped in surprise as the ping of a new message alerted her to the group chat.

[uihriffewhfgkdds]

[What the hell]

[This can’t be real]

[WTF]

[I don’t know what to say]

[It’s on TV!!!!!]

A torrent of similar expressions was shared by every online member of her class. Numbness was spreading through her chest as she realized that what he had seen was not some weird dream, but reality.

[Guys at the end... Was that a new quirk?]

[Wow]

[As if]

[Maybe?]

[No I think it was a Quirk Awakening]

That was from Midoriya, their resident quirk expert and the biggest hero nerd she ever met. If anyone in 1-A knew what was going on then it would probably be him.

Shaking herself out of her stupor Toru hesitantly typed: [What is that?]

[Yeah never heard of it] added Kaminari.

[I also only read about it in textbooks, but under extraordinary concentrations of emotional stress, quirks can evolve into more powerful versions of themselves. It is very rare and I have never seen it happening, but that is how it looks to me.]

Man, how could he type so fast?

[Cool]

[I am more interested in who that girl was] wrote Mina.

[Shigaraki seemed to know her which means she is a villain]

[Is that the name of that guy?]

[What]

[Why was she together with Ms. Degurechaff then?]

[Have you forgotten that she was disguised]

[You think a villain impersonated Argent’s girlfriend????]

[OMG]

[No way]

[Are you all ignoring that our teacher nearly died just now?] posted Todoroki in a rare fit of talkativeness.

[Yes]

[No, but what are we supposed to do?]

[It’s not like this is something new]

[]

[She survived and we should be happy for that]

[I will buy her a bunch of flowers]

[Yeah let’s!]

Toru put her smartphone down and sank deep into thought. Becoming a hero meant that she could end up in a spot like that. No, she would definitely experience something similar to this attack someday. Would her family, her friends also get drawn into the crossfire?

Would she, the invisible girl, the forgotten one, be able to stand such perils?

Especially without super-strength or speed to rival a sports car?

Did she even want that?

 

Chapter 19

Muted sounds assaulted her ears even as she struggled to blink away the glaring light above her eyes. Everything felt sluggish and her body seemed to have been filled with lead judging by how she was only able to move a few fingers at a snail’s pace.

“-waking up-!”

“Quick, put her under-“

The tiniest pinprick of pain flared on the skin of her less numb arm and Tanya was forced back into a dreamless slumber. One she would not be released from for the next eighteen hours.

~[#҈#]~​

Administrator Moujin’s fingers still hurt from all the reports he was required to type up last night. He looked miserable even with the medical facemask that hid his bitten lips and the sunglasses that concealed his bloodshot eyes from the nurses and visitors of the Musutafu General Hospital. While he would gladly curse the two foolish girls who had illicitly gotten themselves in trouble if he had the energy, his downtrodden and slightly dishevelled appearance made him fit right in with the aura of misery that was prevalent throughout the hospital.

Why did both his subjects have to get critically injured in public of all things? Especially on one of his rare free days, forcing him to abandon halfway through the session with the very enjoyable (and even more expensive) courtesan he rented for the evening. A week’s salary down the drain... At least overtime pay would partly recoup that disaster.

He glanced at his watch, impatiently waiting for the stupid doctor to clear that miserable Argent for conversation. Unfortunately he needed that notice on paper for the file, so he couldn’t just rush past the security checkpoint and get this over with. Oh, what a mess...

“Mr. Moujin, you can see her now. Please avoid hectic movements, loud noises or topics that could be stressful. The patient needs her rest.”

Wordlessly nodding to the man in white who surprised him by appearing from his blind spot, the administrator rose from his uncomfortable plastic seat and flashed his badge to the armoured guards standing watch before the door. Those were from the Police which would make keeping them quiet all the more difficult in case they learned something they shouldn’t.

Ugh, furthermore the quota of excusable ‘accidents’ for this year was already filled over the recommended amount. His life was truly a challenge unlike any other.

A fact which was further compounded by the annoying unresponsiveness of his charge. Instead of her typical greeting, she merely gazed towards the barred window. Honestly, if one punch was enough to turn her into a liability then maybe she wasn’t worth the Commission’s effort after all.

“Argent, can you hear me? It’s me, your administrator! Pay attention, Argent!” he whisper-shouted in the ear of the blankly staring agent.
Moujin dared not to raise his voice any higher to avoid attracting the attention of hospital staff outside.

Slowly her eyes rolled around and fixated him more or less clearly. Good enough.

“Blink twice if you can understand me.”

Luckily she was able to do that at least. Hammering every bit of info into her skull like a baby would have been terribly bothersome.

“Yesterday you were ambushed by the known criminal and leader of the League of Villains organisation, Shigaraki. With the help of a specifically developed bio weapon he hoped to take revenge on you. This plan partly succeeded as you were gravely injured and captured. The girl who accompanied you was secretly a villain in disguise who plotted to kill you herself which prompted Shigaraki to murder her as well. However in a fit of heroic passion you found the strength to overcome your captor and save the girl, regardless of her villain status. That is the official version of the story.”

Normally he would trust in her intellect to piece the rest together, but today he couldn’t leave things up too chance because he was being too subtle. Those above would have his hide if his tool messed up again.

“Do you understand, Argent? I hope I don’t have to explain to you why this is a catastrophe. You will deny all connection to Agent Carmilla if asked. If word gets out that you were... frolicking with a girl who is legally dead and who was a member of the League then even we could not shield you from the backlash. Carmilla was unmasked in public, so it’s not like she will remain your partner much longer. We will find other uses for her.”

Something must have slipped into Argent’s windpipe because she loudly gasped. Best to console her with the usual propaganda that she seemed to eat up since childhood.

“The higher-ups approved the nation’s best healers to work on you. A few broken bones and ruptured organs shouldn’t be a problem for them. The only thing that seems to cause complications is the infection from that sludge... eh, Nomu. Well, anyways, get better soon. The Commission needs you. Don’t disappoint us now.”

Finishing his motivational speech with a light clap to her bandaged shoulder, he turned and left to finish the rest of his paperwork before he keeled over from exhaustion. If he wasn’t on the right side of the law then he would call his employers criminal for how much work they squeezed out of him! Some may even call it slavery!

Moujin nearly wished that he could switch places with Argent. Lying down on a soft mattress sounded like heaven at the moment.

~[#҈#]~​

Nedzu’s computer alarmed him that the ambient volume in Ms. Degurechaff’s room had risen by four hundred percent, indicating the presence of another person. After the impersonation of his dearest Aizawa, he was not willing to take risks when it came to the care of his employees. Perhaps it was paranoid to hack into the hospital security network, but one could never be too careful when there were villains out there who could teleport or act under the guise of legality.

UA’s youngest and newest teacher captured his interest frequently in the last weeks, and due to the number of concerning events which involved her person transpiring in such quick succession, he was under no illusions that Tanya’s life would get boring anytime soon. Keeping an eye on her subsequently to the awful attack by the League was only common sense and apparently his quick thinking got rewarded.

The panic button next to every hospital bed was equipped with a microphone to let the patients express their desires or emergency calls to the nurses. Contrary to what an inexperienced mind might believe the receptive membrane inside the device was not turned off when nobody was listening. Instead the signal simply was simply not being transmitted to the offices in the floor below.

Altering the coding in such a way as to intercept the signal was child’s play for an intellect of Nedzu’s calibre.

So, temporarily putting his organisational business on hold he began to listen to the scratchy audio...

A truly... enlightening monologue graced his sensitive ears and instantly filled his mind with a cascading flood of equally satisfying and dreadful conclusions.

In the end, his suspicions were proven correct. Tanya was being manipulated and exploited by the HPSC for nefarious gains. Furthermore, they had either infiltrated the League or, more unlikely, they were directly working with them. Of course his face recognition software had sifted through the video footage of the attack and identified dozens of possible matches. Most of these were being tossed out due to dissimilar quirks or solid alibis, but with the new information that his mystery shapeshifter was ‘legally dead’...

‘Toga Himiko’ was the name that appeared on his screen. Two clicks of his specially designed computer mouse later and he was confronted with the smiling face of a blonde, fifteen year old schoolgirl on the wanted-poster of the Musutafu Police Department. Her quirk? ‘Transform’.

Bingo.

Withholding the girl from her parents was definitely a crime that the HPSC would not be able to cover up. Kidnapping, human trafficking and similar charges could be levelled against them. A wonderful entry in his growing pile of evidence.

Now he needed to secure this witness before the Commission could find a way to make her disappear. If he had to guess then she was being held in police custody at the moment on charges for vigilantism and assault with a deadly weapon. Young Himiko had attempted to carve up Shigaraki after all.

Hmmm...

Nedzu would need to call in a few favours to make this possible, but it was going to be worth it. The shapeshifter served as both leverage against the HPSC and as an emotional motivator for Tanya. He saw the first seconds of the livestream which proved that Argent was close to the girl. In case either the shadowy organisation or Ms. Degurechaff got out of control he could hopefully use Himiko to rein them in.

Only how could he secure the girl of unknown danger level and allegiance?

Well, the plan was risky and would speed the investigation process up by a lot...

Oh, this was an exciting challenge! Yes, he would accept! How satisfyingly nerve-wracking!

By the time he finished his phone calls his tea had regrettably gone cold. The good news was that the Witness Protection Program would indeed be gaining a new member and that the tender for an extra janitor which Power Loader just posted got approved.

Everything was going swimmingly in spite of what the world threw at him. As demanding as it was, keeping these silly humans from annihilating themselves was a fulfilling job.

~[#҈#]~
​

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Relief?

Many intense feelings jumbled together in Tanya’s brain. Her thoughts felt hazy yet clear as polished glass simultaneously. There were so many decisions to make, so many paths for her to walk that it became overwhelming. Her whole life rested at a tipping point of innumerable possibilities and for the first time in a very long time she asked herself:

“What do I do?”

She was supposed to be ‘heroic’, yet how did one accomplish such a thing? When was it enough? What would she sacrifice? Who could she trust?

Complex problems sometimes required simple solutions. Breaking down a dilemma into its individual components often helped.

Taking care of Himiko was obviously her priority. That was the entire reason for her bargain with Being X to begin with. But could she do that when her life was about to become a lot more complicated?

Simply leaving the HPSC to no longer associate herself with their crimes was not nearly enough to qualify as ‘heroic’. Tanya had to dismantle that rotten institution and purge its corruption regardless if it secured the stable status quo of Japan or not. Anything less would be selfish cowardice which was certainly not allowed by her contract. Not to mention that it was necessary to protect her friend from their greedy claws.

However, this was also going to be insanely dangerous. If any of her superiors caught wind of this intent then she would be disposed of immediately. Assassins and other heroes would hunt her down across the globe to silence her.

Most pro heroes dabbled at least a tiny bit in questionably legal affairs such as dragging out fights for the spectacle, using their quirks off duty, patrolling less profitable neighbourhoods ineffectively or using their celebrity status to demand unfair advantages over their fellow citizens.

There was barely any hero whom the Commission could not blackmail into obeying their orders. That was by design. Strict rules all but forced the people to break the law, making digging up dirt on them a straightforward process. In a society which demonized its criminals as ‘evil-doers’ nobody wanted to be declared a villain. Humans were by nature herd animals, born with an instinctive dislike of standing against the crowd. Attempting a political coup on this scale was impossible without allies, but none who profited from the current system were reliable candidates. They all could be pressured into turning on her or might do so for even pettier reasons.

The Police perhaps?

No, those were likely to have been infiltrated first next to politicians.

All Might?

He was independent and seemingly untainted by the Commission’s influence. Being X only knew how many times her handlers complained about his unwillingness to submit to their authority. Indeed, he was powerful, highly influential and skilled at hero work. Holding his spot as the number one hero for decades was proof of his competency in that field.

Yet, in her humble opinion, he also appeared like an oaf. Anything not directly related to heroism turned to failure in his hands. Subtlety and nuance were lost on him. Such was the problem with experts who specialized too much, neglecting skills with broader applications.
What about... Nedzu?

Unbelievably intelligent, hardworking and meticulous, with a multitude of connections around the world and commanding over a dozen pro heroes in his school... Most importantly, he already stood in direct conflict with the HPSC! The sentient animal had a vested interest in weakening the Commission to stay in control of his school. His autonomy and power threatened their iron grip on Japan’s internal politics, dooming both parties to be rivals as long as they did not submit to the other.

If he had not already figured out who was behind the sports festival attack then she could inform him and establish herself as a helpful, sympathetic presence. Yes, that could work...

Planning a revolution against a government built on lies was heroic enough, right? She could be a proper hero while continuing her normal life as a disguise to fool her administrators!

Or was that actually the easy, egocentric, craven way?

So many decisions...

It made her head spin just by thinking about it.

Then her already strained nerves frayed further as her blasted handler showed up, babbling about the usual nonsense of secrecy and-

WHAT?!

What was this scum setting up for Himiko? Tanya wanted to move, to scream, to rage how stupid these idiots were being! How could they forget all the things Himiko had done for them?! Were they going to squander her potential just because they could not be bothered to clean up the mess that they caused in the first place?! These brainless, spineless bureaucrats!

Nonetheless, despite the bottomless disgust burning brightly in her heart she kept quiet and pretended to be calm.
Emotions would not control her in this state.

Not while she was drugged and wounded.

Not while she schemed her revenge.

~[#҈#]~​

Koji wrung his hands in silent distress. The one time he tried to socialize with his classmates and make a light-hearted joke like his parents told him to, had backfired spectacularly. Normally he just stayed silent, preferring to listen to the loud world of humans, but for some inexplicable reason today that changed.

Wanting to lift his somber mood after they received the news that their Ms. Argent would not be returning to teach for the rest of the week he suggested bribing a crow to keep tabs on her in the hospital. To his absolute surprise the others were excited about this idea! With the exception of Iida everybody thought it was a splendid plan to ‘make sure that she was well and protected’ in the words of Uraraka.

[Koda, come on! It would be just a little effort!] wrote Mina followed by a string of differing emojis which should probably represent a pleading face.
But why did she have to include a heart at the end? Koji involuntarily blushed.

[Yeah and it’s completely legal too!] added Kaminari.

Technically he wouldn’t be using his quirk in public because he only spoke with the bird in his own garden... And merely asking an animal to fly around somewhere and keep an eye out was also not culpable... No! Why was he even entertaining this ridiculous proposition!

Izuku was quick to join in: [Please Koda. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I think we all could sleep better tonight if you checked. It’s going to be fine! We already missed our chance with Mr. Aizawa.]

Oh, that was right. They should have visited him! Although Eraserhead was their teacher for only a few days they should have made him feel better. Now Koji felt bad. His furred and feathered friends would be sad if he didn’t check up on them regularly... How would Mr. Aizawa feel?
[Oui! This idea is très bien!]

Tentatively his thick fingers reached out to the screen of his extra large smartphone and typed a simple “Ok”.
[Most excellent. The shadowy wings of thine herald shall soon reveal the dark truth.]

[No need to be so pessimistic about it, Tokoyami. Geez.] commented Kirishima.

Putting his phone down Koji slowly stepped outside his house and called for anybody who was hungry, a pre-prepared bag of corn and breadcrumbs in his hand. A squirrel lolloped across the lawn and two cats strolled through the small opening under the hedge. All of them approached him fearlessly as they were already used to the strange human who could talk with them.

“Thank you. I only have bread and corn with me though. Sorry about that.”

One of the cats immediately turned tail and strutted away; clearly not interested by the ‘inferior food’ he had to offer. The other one looked curious however.

“Alright, you two. I need you to look for a crow. Would you be willing to help me and bring one here? I promise I’ll bring you more yummy stuff later.”

In a startlingly human gesture both the squirrel and the feline nodded their tiny heads.

He grinned as he reached out to scratch them.

“Thank you so much. You are the best!”

“Naturally.” declared the cat with palpable smugness lacing her voice.

Five minutes later a group of crows landed on his fence, some snapping their beaks hungrily. It took the rest of his treats until the biggest of them consented to carry out the errand. With a majestic beat of his wings ‘Stormwind-Sharpclaw’ swung himself into the air and disappeared in the urban thicket of Musutafu’s skyscrapers.

~[#҈#]~
​

That evening Tanya von Degurechaff was locked in an epic staring contest with a bird on her windowsill. Neither she nor the avian creature let their opponent escape as they fought to discern the other’s intentions. Who was hiding what?

The crow would have loved to pick at the woman’s face, expressing his displeasure at being challenged.

Tanya wanted to skewer the animal to eliminate a potential spy. Using the form of a bird to gather intel could be an effective strategy in the right hands.

None of them moved, weighing their options and preparing for the worst.

Until...

“Knock Knock Knock... Routine Check!”

Whatever spell hung over them broke and the aura of tension receded from the combatants.

As the nurse controlled the machinery beside her bed, Tanya simply glared out of the window, sending the silent message: “If I ever see you again, you are going to regret it.”

Similarly aggressive, the crow stared at her for another few seconds before croaking something back and vanishing in a flurry of angry black feathers.

 

Chapter 20

A few hours later, after she had insisted on using the toilet herself instead of relying on the provided bedpan, Tanya was visited once again by two members of the Musutafu police force. One of them stayed largely silent and near the door which had her on edge that he might be a disguised assassin there to keep her from escaping. She dared not to openly use her quirk, but her muscles were painfully tense as she made sure that he never left her peripheral vision.

The other one possessed a familiar face. He was the same guy who was present during the teacher debriefing about the sports festival attack which marginally served to reassure her of their honest intentions.

They questioned her on the course of her recent incident and took her testimony as evidence. Honestly, the fact that they required her version of the events badly enough to bother her while she was still mildly high from painkillers pointed towards how serious they were taking the League of Villains as a threat. Not that Tanya was complaining about that! On the contrary! Eliminating those murderous fools would save her quite the hassle of tracking them down herself. With some luck All Might would bring them to justice before she was even fully healed.

Alas, some of the detective’s questions were of a significantly more uncomfortable nature...

“Who exactly was the girl you were going out with?”

What could she say that was neither incriminating nor painted her as a fool?

“We are friends from work. She helped me with paperwork in the past.”

Technically that was true, since Himiko had indeed helped her fill out forms in the past. Only her calculation skills were so abysmal that she never bothered to do it again as Tanya needed to correct most of her work afterwards.

“What was her name again? I can’t find it in my notes...” shrugged the investigator with feigned remorse.

It was clearly a manipulation tactic, because he had not even pretended to search his notepad.

“Uhm... Himari... or was it Hina? Ah, just ask the human resources department. They should know. We knew each other not too well, you see... and my memory is a little hazy...”

Let the HPSC sort out this mess! She wanted no part in it.

“Is that so? Okay.”

He scribbled something down which took entirely too long to be a simple ‘does not remember’. Tanya had the bad feeling that she had just made a mistake.

“Then, were you aware that your co-worker was actually another person entirely whom we presume to be the missing seventeen year old girl
‘Himiko Toga’?”

Ugh, damn it! Thankfully her trained mask showed nothing but honest surprise.

“Really? And how should I have known that? My quirk is not suited for spy work like that.”

Many modern workers reduced their worth entirely to their quirks which was infuriatingly stupid. One did not need a camouflage quirk to hide or a water quirk to put out some fire, although those helped, but people rarely considered using common sense due to a large portion of society being dependent on their genetic mutations.

Playing dumb here was going to be far from an uncommon response.

“So you had no prior knowledge of Himiko Toga acting as your co-worker?”

Steely, brown eyes fixated her mercilessly, scanning her face for the slightest twitch.

Repeatedly dodging the question and remaining vague would only serve to make her more suspicious now, yet her instincts told her that lying again would be equally unwise.

“Detective, I guarantee you that I would not have gone drinking coffee with a person who I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of was safe. The HPSC staff gets vetted regularly and never have I heard of an impostor being discovered.”

The man in a trench coat hummed noncommittally. A long silence stretched on before he finally nodded and packed his belongings.

“That would be all, Miss Argent. Take care and get better soon.”

Suspiciously not long after their departure the nurses brought in a fourth visitor. Wasn’t she supposed to be resting? Regardless, Nedzu showing up at her sickbed was not something she had anticipated, although in hindsight it really should have been obvious.

“Miss Degurechaff, I hope I am not arriving at an inopportune moment?”

Forcing herself to be polite, Tanya attempted some small talk. Despite the super-intelligent mammal undoubtedly knowing far more than he let on, she needed to remain in a friendly relationship with him. Allying herself to the sentient animal was risky, but also her best plan at the moment.

“Well, quite the opposite in fact. I am feeling rather bored and I imagine whatever news you are bringing will certainly be... interesting.”

“What gave you the idea? Don’t you think that visiting my dear employees is not simply basic courtesy?” he grinned.

“You are a busy man, Nedzu. Your time has to be well spent. If the matter could wait any longer then you would have come in a few days. I imagine you are already drowning in paperwork.”

“How presumptuous of you, Miss Degurechaff, but not incorrect.”

“How can I help you then, Mr. Principal? Is this about my new position at school?”

“In a way, yes. Say... I asked you roughly three weeks ago why we even bother helping out those humans around us who seem to never learn from their mistakes, instead falling back to greed and hatred to solve their problems. ‘Animals’ you called them even. In the end, I believe you replied rather diplomatically with ‘that is the question’, no?”

Dread pooled in her stomach.

“Yes?” she asked cautiously.

“Have you come to a definitive answer now? I don’t believe for a single second that a woman with your... resolve would not have a concrete goal for her life.”

What was that supposed to mean? Was he discussing philosophy to put her off-balance? She needed him on her side, but what answer would he like the most? She could tell him about compassion or bravery... Would that sound heroic enough?

Heroic...

That was what she was obliged to be for the gift of Himiko’s continued survival. Would constantly pretending to be something she was not violate this arrangement? Sooner or later she would have to start being honest. Why not begin now to display her trust in Nedzu, which was hopefully going to be reciprocated sometime in the future… Convincing him of her sincerity would ultimately be beneficial for the deepening of their bond.

“I never had a choice.”

She turned her gaze to the window, indirectly signalling him that she trusted the white-furred creature to not stab her while she wasn’t looking. Also, looking at the bits of swaying greenery in the wind served to calm her nerves.

“I did what I needed to do in order to stay alive. It was either being a hero or living on the streets.”

“Was there no remaining family in your homeland that could have taken you in?”

“No. There were... reasons for why I couldn’t have left this country anyhow.”

“So you say that you are a hero by necessity?”

His voice did not convey any expression of disbelief or disgust; only calm curiosity.

“Originally yes. It was merely another profession created by demand of the populace. Kind of like tax collectors or road inspectors. Only more dangerous and with harder requirements.”

Nedzu chuckled softly and she allowed herself a small smile as well.

“What changed?”

“Well... That is something I wanted to talk about with you.”

Tanya swallowed as her hands clenched her bed sheets. This was it. Time to see if her gamble would pay off. Normally she would not have taken the risk, but with Administrator Moujin’s words fresh in her mind...

“I met someone. For the first time I made a... a real friend. Someone who meant something to me, more than a student or superior. All this time I tried not to care, because it would be used against me, to keep me in line or perform better... Whenever I got close to someone they inevitably got killed.”

Unbidden flashes of her soldiers, her 203rd, her brothers and sisters in all but blood assaulted her psyche. The way that some of them had cried out for help while others simply... ceased to be. How they dropped from the sky like tiny, dying stars... Their nightmarish faces had not visited her dreams for years.

“It was only logical that I saw everybody around me as either obstacles or tools, sometimes both. A long, long time ago I would have been satisfied with working a simple, peaceful job in a faceless corporation to earn my keep, so performing as a glorified civil protection officer was no different to
me.”

Focusing her attention back on Nedzu’s beady, black eyes Tanya searched for any sign of recognition. Maybe it was too arrogant to expect a kindred spirit in the greatest intellect on the planet, but she thought that her experience would be at least somewhat comparable to his.

“That is not to say that I don’t enjoy my work. Helping innocent people is always more pleasant than destroying things. I know how important it is for the public to continue believing in their safety; else anarchy would have long consumed the world like it did during the Quirk Wars. Making sure that millions of families can raise their children without fear that their city will be turned to ash next week is wonderful.”

“Indeed.” nodded the principal, his paws folded neatly in front of him.

“I used to think that progress would reduce poverty and violence with every generation. That free trade and human ingenuity were going to lead us into an age where everybody could find a way to be useful and be provided in turn with all the basic necessities of modern life. Obviously, we now live in the twenty-fourth century, hundreds of years after man has set foot on the moon, split the atom and connected the whole world through the internet... and I am still wrong.”

“And why is that, Miss Degurechaff?”

“Quirks. They are the worst thing to ever happen to humanity.”

“Oh? Quite the intriguing thesis.”

“Yes. They moved the primary worth of the individual to a genetic level. Before the age of quirks most humans could have become athletes or politicians for example. Of course some held certain advantages, but ideally those could be overcome by hard work, determination and a willingness to improve yourself. Man back then was not created equal, but equal enough.”

“Are you suggesting that such power is nowadays distributed hereditarily in the sense that birth decides one’s standing in society? Those with powerful quirks are likely to sire powerful children who will find it easier to occupy positions of power within society than those born less lucky?”

“That is part of the problem. But I have already slightly strayed from the topic. Aside from causing technology to stagnate and order to decay, they also split the people into those with useful, useless and villainous quirks. Nobody wants to hire a person who can produce deadly poison, but everybody expects the child who can control both fire and ice to become a top hero.”

“Discrimination has always existed.” Nedzu pointed out.

“However those suffering from it were not innately given the power to turn into terrorists and dangerous criminals. One push too many is all it takes to turn a hapless kid into a serial killer. Quirks are tools, capable of making wonders possible, but also atrocities. This... friend I was talking about... She is a good girl. Sly and talented with a penchant for cute and adorable things. She should have been allowed a carefree childhood, but her quirk...”

“’Transform’ I presume? Allows her to take on the appearance of whoever’s blood she consumes, yes?”

What?! How did he- Oh, of course. This was Nedzu who she was talking to.

Her shock must have been pretty visible, because the deceptively harmless looking animal chuckled heartily.

“I figured you would want to involve young Himiko. After all, the despair on your face when she was about to be murdered was fairly obvious to spot. The emotional stress was even great enough for an awakening of your own quirk to occur. Under better circumstances I would congratulate you, but I am sure there will be a more optimal time for that.”

“Huh?” she blinked dumbly.

In one fell swoop he had taken control of the conversation and twisted it into a direction she had absolutely not anticipated.

“Oh, how rude of me. Have you not noticed? Your quirk has spontaneously evolved! A most rare phenomenon which I have never had the pleasure of directly witnessing.”

When did that happen? Tanya tried to think back to the events following her meeting with Being X, but recalled only worry for Himiko and an all encompassing fog of pain and gold.

“From silver to gold... poetic, don’t you think? We are going to have to test out the exact changes at school. You have me quite intrigued, I must say. Anyways, let’s come back to the fate of your unfortunate friend. I assume that you want me to save her from her former employers?”

Was he attempting to put her off balance by rapidly switching between topics? If so, it was admittedly working.

Nervously she scanned the room for any recording devices, even though she checked for that already hours ago. Focusing back on Nedzu she nodded near imperceptibly as to not spell out those treasonous words burning on her tongue. Plausible deniability was important in case this turned out to be an elaborate trap.

“No need to be so cautious. I ensured that nobody will overhear us here.”

That sounded vaguely like a threat. Idly she wondered if this wasn’t the real Nedzu...

“The flowers behind my desk on the day of our first conversation were bluebells. I am in fact the real me. And no, I did not just read your mind. I merely avoid spelling out the obvious most of the time, because it frightens others and is generally considered uncomfortable. No one wants to be at a disadvantage or feel powerless, right?”

“Right.” Tanya responded drily.

He was a genius after all and those tended to be eccentric.

The principal of UA chuckled once again.

“If you know this much already then you also are probably aware that Himiko needs protection immediately. I fear for her safety now that she was unmasked and I don’t know where they brought her. Please, I need your help to secure her before they make her disappear. It is a lot to ask from you, but I would do anything-“

“It is done.”

“... You enjoy this, don’t you?”

“Mmh? I am afraid I don’t follow?”

His grin told her that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Suppressing a sigh she bowed her head as far as she was able in her injured state and whispered: “Thank you. Please keep her safe.”

“No problem, Miss Degurechaff. She is the reason for your newfound heroic passion, no? Protecting those you care for is a fine goal. I have sworn to help all who are part of my school and you, Argent, are not exempt from this.”

The burden pressing on her heart suddenly felt a lot lighter.

“Well, I’m off then. You said it yourself, I’m a busy man! Get better soon! I look forward to welcoming you again as a healthy member of my staff!”

Tucking his white paws into the pockets of his immaculate designer suit, Nedzu approached the door without even glancing back. Everything seemed well enough, but there was an uncomfortable feeling gnawing at the back of Tanya’s mind...

“Wait! Wasn’t there something you wanted to discuss as well?” she called out.

“Oh, I’ve got all the answers I needed. This was indeed about your continued employment at UA and I am glad to note that you passed my tests with flying colours! I just needed to confirm how attached to the HPSC you still were. Luckily it appears as if you are not unhappy to betray them.”

Panic filled her as he casually signed what could very well be her death sentence.

“But I never mentioned-“

“No you didn’t. You did not need to. Toodles, as the kids say!” he waved cheekily before he slipped through the door, leaving Tanya to stew in the implications of his ominous words.

Somehow she knew that she had been played from the very beginning.

~[#҈#]~​

Keigo Takami, commonly known as Japan’s third highest rated hero ‘Hawks’, slowly breathed in and out on his way to the little monster that was his childhood acquaintance. Despite having been trained in different facilities for security purposes, he and Tanya had crossed paths often during joint exercises or special missions. Together they kept the streets clean by acting as the Commission’s secret strike force. Now though, he dreaded meeting who many considered merely a cute young girl, for he knew better.

In many ways they were similar and had faced the same tribulations. Nonetheless the contrast between him and the cold-eyed, fanatical facsimile of a human could not be starker. Keigo occasionally joked to himself that he was lucky that his parents never loved him. After all, if losing your actual parents changed a person so much, as seen in Tanya’s case, then he wanted no part in it. His childhood before the HPSC had been shitty, but he at least did have some childish joy and innocence left when they took him in. Tanya on the other hand was stern and unfeeling from the moment he first met her.

No baby could be born with such a dead expression. He refused to believe that the world could be so cruel. Instead the traumatic loss of her mother and father must have been the reason behind the fact that in his experience, Tanya Degurechaff had never been an actual child.

Only blank darkness lay behind her shining blue orbs.

Neither mirth nor pride ever showed itself; regardless of how thoroughly she defeated him in a spar.

Anger and frustration were equally absent whenever he pinned her to the rough concrete of the training hall.

Although sometimes...

Sometimes Keigo thought that he spotted pity in her gaze.

Shaking away those creepy memories he handed in his hero licence and entry permit at the security checkpoint outside her door and flashed the bored police officers his trademarked grin. Stuffing his hands back into his pockets and whistling a low tune he opened the hospital door and waltzed in as if he had all the confidence in the world.

“Hi, Tanya! Pretty banged up I see.”

Cheerful carelessness was one of his greatest weapons. It confused villains, ensured civilians that everything was under control and irritated his
superiors (which was amusing). The facade of slightly oafish jovialness was as much a part of him as his quirk.

“Certainly.” drawled the girl-shaped pile of blankets and bandages.

“Been in quite the shuffle, ey?” he tried to rile her up.

Getting a genuine reaction out of her was one of his longest-lasting games.

“I bet it was all over the news. What do you want, Hawks?”

As usual, Tanya did not rise to the bait.

“Nothing major. It’s been a few days since you got nearly put through a wall by that Monster Inc reject and M being his caring, fatherly self wanted me to check up on you, eleventh goddess. Or should I say ‘Valkyrie’ now? Kinda jealous that I don’t get cool nicknames like that.”

“What?”

Hilarious! Well, not really. But he had been forced to laugh about far more awful stuff in the past.

“Don’t you have WLAN here?”

She lightly shook her blonde head in bewilderment.

“Honestly... After turning golden and all that, it was kinda inevitable. Guess who got a new moniker on social media? You lucky pumpkin! Of course we will have to see if it sticks or if everybody forgets about it next week, but still. I’ll have to give it to you. Your merch is probably gonna sell better than mine this quarter.”

“That is... unsurprising.” she admitted quietly.

“Eh, that’s how those fanboys are. If I was an adorable little girl like you they would be frothing at the mouth for me too.” Keigo smirked.

As his hero name suggested his quirk gave him most biological benefits of a hawk, including sight. Smugly he noted with his enhanced eyes the disdainful twitch of her lip as he called her ‘adorable’. Tanya had always attempted to appear like a boring, unremarkable adult.

Promptly she deflected: “And how have you been doing?”

“Pretty alright all things considered. Had to clean up a few thugs who thought that they could take advantage of the tumultuous mood in the city right now. Crazy times where villains can attack heroes in broad daylight and get away with it.”

“Yeah. I wonder why the higher-ups allowed that to happen. Doesn’t fit their typical agenda.”

“Who knows? By the way do you think the League is gonna stay relevant much longer now that they have basically the entire pro scene hunting them down?”

Tanya possessed an uncanny ability to predict future events and strategies on occasion. Then again even a broken clock was right twice per day.

“If Himiko has her way then they won’t even exist anymore next month.”

Had it not been for his gruelling training he would have almost flinched.

That was the true cause of his wariness around Tanya. She was a proper psychopath and apparently could infect others with her thirst for blood.
When she killed that bio-terrorist over seven years ago there had been no hesitation and no remorse for her actions. She merely cleaned her knife on his shirt and then proceeded to explain why it was necessary to put him down before he released his artificial viruses into the air. Her efforts to console him afterwards were even more terrible.

Of course he understood the requirement to neutralize certain dangers to society, but such an innate talent at killing was simply unnatural. It was deeply twisted. Keigo had gotten his fingers fairly dirty over time, yet it never got really easier to take a life for him. Tanya however...

Sooner or later the tiny blond monster would snap and she was going to carve a bloody path through Japan before he managed to stop her. With her flawless track record and high popularity among their handlers his concerns would be brushed aside as paranoia or worse: defamation. There was nothing he could do until it was too late and that would be his biggest regret.

Judging from how often she beat him in a one on one fight he might not survive when she grew bored by the HPSC and became the greatest villain in modern history.

“Mhm… Be that as it may. Nice chattin’ with ya, but my wings are getting cramped. See ya soon and don’t torture your kids too much!”

Ignoring her goodbye he fled the hospital.

During his whole flight back home the irrational part of his brain asked itself how difficult it would be for her to gut him. Wasn’t he supposed to be the ultimate predator of the air? Hawks definitely needed to keep a closer eye on her in order to avoid a gory nightmare if she ever turned against the Commission!

 

Chapter 21

Shoto had no idea how the principal had done it, but he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have not been selected for the internship with his father. Either that was due to random chance, a genuine attempt at diversifying his skill set or pity, but he was thankful for it either way. Six whole days that he would not have to spend with the bastard were a welcome vacation. He even might learn something genuinely new instead of getting beaten into the ground ever since his fourth birthday.

Secretly he also didn’t want to see the disgustingly smug look on Enji’s face when he used his fire in training for the first time in years. He could not bear it to give that despicable man such a petty victory.

“So kiddo, watcha sulkin’ about?”

Well, his current ‘teacher’ was sadly more than a bit obnoxious in his own way.

“Nothing.” Shoto blankly replied.

“Awesome!” grinned the annoying man cheerily as if his answer had been an insightful revelation.

What a weirdo.

“Let’s get going! We have a minor fire to put out on the Tereseki street 23! Hop hop! The nice lady from the fire department owes me one, hehe!”

Wordlessly the teen sprinted off towards the address, unheeding when the pro hero hot on his heels cried out ‘Unfair!’ as he used the ice side of his quirk to slide along the ground quicker. Using his quirk to the fullest extent was how he was going to beat his father. There would be no holding back now or later when he proved to the world what a useless piece of shit his old man really was.

Arriving at the scene he immediately noticed the burning trash-bin (there was a possible joke about his father to be made somewhere, but he couldn’t be bothered to think of it right now) and Shoto did what he did best: Encase the entire thing in a block of shining blue ice. All in all it was rather anticlimactic.

Huffing and puffing his mentor caught up with him, astonishingly not that much too late considering he possessed no special ability to run faster.
“Ha! Isn’t it great kiddo? Heroing? Come on, smile a little! Show all those pretty girls who just saved their city from a burning pile of garbage!”
Deadpanned, the hero-in-training stared up at the man who was supposed to teach him about being a pro hero. Not a shred of hilarity was to be found on his scarred face.

“You set me up for this.” Shoto accused.

“Yup!” admitted ‘Thermostat’, the Temperature Hero, without a hint of shame. “Say cheese!”

Promptly a camera flashed.

And Shoto felt the irrational urge to hit something.

One wave of the hero’s hand was enough to melt the block of ice into water that consequently seeped away into the drain. Temperature manipulation was handy like that.

“Come on, give those nice lasses an autograph! That’s part of the job too, ya’ know?”

Gradually he turned his head and found that they had indeed attracted a small group of spectators, most of which indeed appeared to be schoolgirls excitedly whispering to each other while they stared at him. As they noticed his own gaze one of them went red in the face and another yelped so loud that the rats probably heard her in the dumpster down the road.

‘How bothersome...’

Adopting his long-practiced media smile, he waved at the girls who promptly squealed in synchronicity.

Hastily he returned to their pre-planned patrol route, eager to avoid such encounters in the future. Of course Shoto knew that a certain amount of media presence was required to be a hero, but that did not mean that he enjoyed the hollow, superficial attention of strangers judging him more for his looks and heritage than who he was as a person.

Suddenly his dark thoughts were interrupted by a buzz in his pocket, which was an unusual occurrence. Only his private messages were set to alert him via vibration and aside from his sister nobody really contacted him that way. Oh, there were certainly many who would try, but his number was a well kept secret.

Shoto left his temporary mentor to escort an old lady over the street while he checked his messages.

Strangely enough they were from Midoriya (or ‘Deku’ as he called himself).

[Help! Hero Killer]​

Followed by a string of numbers that he assumed were auto-generated coordinates.

Oh...

This was bad if it was what he thought it was.

All Might’s secret lovechild had found an infamous villain by sheer stupid coincidence. No, this was too convenient. A trap? An assassination attempt? He would need help for this.

“Thermostat! I have an emergency!”

~[#҈#]~​

“Mmph...” she grunted vaguely.
Himiko was careful to betray none of her emotions to the adorable bear-thing that had introduced himself as Nedzu, principal of UA and – most importantly – her love’s employer. He told her that he would rescue her, that she would see her beloved again soon, that this was a chance to break free from the chains of the HPSC and she wanted to believe him. She really did.

But powerful men like him always lied. They hid behind honeyed words which barely concealed their disgust and apathy. How could she possibly trust anybody in this cruel world who was not her saviour?

Although Nedzu certainly was very cute... So that counted in his favour.

“I am glad you like it here...”

“Yeah...” she once again answered without saying anything.

Seeing as the silence between them began to stretch uncomfortably she opted for a simple misdirection.
“Sorry. It’s all a lot to take in still. The food here is good.”

‘Not as good as what Tanya could make’ was left unsaid.

“Wonderful. I will share your compliment with Lunch Rush. We are truly blessed to have such talent working at UA.”

“Yeah...”

“When this whole affair is over, where would you like to work, Toga-san?”

He said that with such casual cheer as if dealing with the HPSC was just typical Monday business! Well, maybe it was for him... Her beloved had lamented how easily the overgrown rat had outmanoeuvred her.

Only after mulling that over did the actual content of his question catch up with her brain.

“Huh?” Himiko blinked.

“Would you like to get a formal hero licence or go to the theatre perhaps? With your acrobatic skills and useful quirk you would have good chances in both fields, I believe.” Nedzu smiled.

“U-uhm...” she stuttered.

Nobody had really asked her that before. Not even her love. Her parents had always chosen for her and later there never seemed as if she would get to decide stuff like that. Subsequently she couldn’t recall ever spending much thought on her career choice. Desperately she searched for the first thing that came to mind...

“I’ll become Tanya’s sidekick! That would be nice.”

Going out on patrol with her, stopping crime, making a few gangsters cuter with her knives... Yeah, that sounded like fun.

“How lovely! It’s nice to see such a wholesome friendship. When we talked in the hospital, she immediately tried to convince me to take you in before the HPSC could get to you. It was her most pressing concern. She seemed of the opinion that you were no longer safe in their care.”

Himiko’s nose scrunched up as she failed to fully hide her sneer. Those parasites naturally wanted to get rid of her at the slightest hint of trouble. Pathetic cowards, the lot of them.

“I assume you don’t miss them terribly?”

For the first time she allowed her real emotions to leak out. There could be no harm in demonstrating her disgust for the Hero Commission, right?
With venom in her voice she hissed: “Of course not. They can rot in hell for all I care.”

“I am sorry that you had to endure what you did, but I promise you that I will do my best to bring them to justice. No one should endure being kidnapped and forced to do things against their will. Especially not from the government that was sworn to protect them.”

“Hmph.”

She really didn’t care that much about politics and the like. Obviously, seeing the bastards responsible for chaining her beloved for years being dragged out of the courtroom in handcuffs would be extremely gratifying, nearly as much as cutting them up would be, but it was not too important. Himiko’s focus in life would always lie on spending time with her saviour and having fun.

Shiny, black eyes appeared to vivisect her mentally while the fluffy mammal adjusted the sleeves of his adorable little suit.
“Well, good news is that your partner is going to be returning soon. She is healing quite nicely.”

A stone that she didn’t know was weighing on her got lifted from Himiko’s heart. Tanya was going to be alright.

“Under a disguise you should be able to freely interact out in the open; maybe you even want to participate in her class as a junior instructor. That could be arranged...”

It was obvious that the favour being offered here would cost her something. Nonetheless was the opportunity of interacting with Tanya outside the basement far too tempting to pass up.

“What do I need to do?”

“Oh, just the usual. Obey the school rules and don’t compromise your identity while anyone could possibly recognize you, be nice, don’t leave UA’s premises, try to entertain yourself and eventually – if you want – talk with our school counsellor.”

Unbidden, the nasty memories of the ‘quirk counsellor’ returned who had merely told her to suppress her urges, to abstain and act ‘normal’. As if mere words could make anything better, he never bothered to see her needs as real, but only as problems to be solved! Once again she was labelled as the problem child who needed to be fixed with ‘therapy’.

Somehow Nedzu read her thoughts, because he reassuringly raised his paws.

“No, no, no, I can assure you that Hound Dog’s services are nothing like the quirk counselling you received in the past. We don’t want to talk about your quirk, but about what you suffered.”

“Why? Why do you care?”

Oops. She hadn’t meant to let so much of her anger slip.

If the principal was offended then he did not show it.

“To help you of course. Bottling up all your feelings after certain traumatic events is never the best choice. It does wonders to the psyche to just speak about anything you want without fear of repercussions. I am aware that you trust Ms. Degurechaff more than anyone in this world, but I imagine that there are things you would not want to talk about with her, at least not initially. That is totally normal. Please think about it. His door is always open for people like you who had a difficult upbringing, an unfortunately common occurrence.”

“Okay.”
“The choice is yours, but I will be offering it to your partner too. You are neither alone nor weak. Anyways, would you like me to secretly contact your parents about your wellbeing?”

Himiko instinctively scowled.

“I assumed so. No need to fear, I was merely confirming a suspicion.”

What? How could he know what her parents were like? They had always done their best to appear normal and ordinary, so how could he confirm anything just from her expression? Nedzu was scarier than she originally realized.

“Humans can be unkind creatures. Luckily I am not one, for better or worse...” he smiled widely, exposing a mouth full of very sharp teeth that glinted ominously in the neon light.

She naturally returned it, presenting her own fangs which caused him to chuckle.

“Lastly, if you want to ever return fully to society we will have to address the details of your previous... occupation.”

“Mou~... It’s not fair to bore a cute girl like that! Talking about all this business stuff makes me soooo tired!” she fake-pouted, attempting to regain control of the situation. Staying passive and silent for long periods of time triggered uncomfortable memories that she couldn’t help but want to escape from, despite her training.

“I fear there is no way around it, Toga-san. For you see... As much as I can sympathize with you – and I truly do – I am also devoted to the safety of my wards. The only reason why I allowed you to live here, in the arguably safest place in Japan, is that I know from your previous two unauthorized entries into school premises that you bear no ill will towards my students. I am aware that you were compelled to commit certain unsavoury actions, but that does not mean that I will overlook these misdeeds. No matter how justified, a crime is still a crime.”

There he was, calling her a criminal. Ironic. Wasn’t abducting an agent of the HPSC also illegal? Not that she was complaining.

Instead she energetically nodded. Those parasites she removed from the streets had mostly been deserving of their fate, but as long as she was in the claws of this scary, white teddy bear she would abide by his silly little rules. It was the smart thing to do. It was what Tanya would have wanted her to do.

“From this moment onward you will never endanger another sentient life if it is not absolutely necessary for the survival of yourself or other innocents. Am I understood?”

“Okidoki, Nedzu! I promise not to stab anyone anytime soon!” she chirped and saluted.

Inwardly she winced. Judging from his unamused expression, that was probably not the right move. Hastily she course-corrected.

“Eh, I meant, indeed I understand. As long as I am not threatened I won’t hurt a fly! Honest!”

“Good.”

His friendly smile was back again.

“I never doubted you, Toga-san. Though, you said that Argent was your superior, yes?”

Himiko raised a single eyebrow in confusion.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you blame her for what she made you do? She took you in when you ran away, right? So, it stands to reason that all of this would have never happened to you without her interference. The blood on your hands is in a way her fault, one could argue.”

Shock.

Then rage.

Blinding, white-hot smoking hatred flooded her entire body. Her fingers curled, her spine went straight as a board and her heightened senses kicked into overdrive as the muscles in her jaw prepared for a strong bite.
This stupid furball dared?!

Only pure fucking willpower stopped her from tearing into him with her bare hands.

“As if I could ever blame her for what those pigs did to us; to her! No number of broken bones or cut throats could ever be enough to repay her for saving me! You don’t get to talk about her like that! Tanya-sama is better than any of you filthy paper-pushers! You don’t know what it takes to survive out there! She SAVED me! If I had to gut the entire world for her I would do it in an instant and with a smile on my face! Don’t you dare try to sully her name!”

Panting, she only now noticed that she had stood up from her seat to tower over the still unperturbed looking principal.

“Fascinating... Forgive me; I was simply speaking hypothetically of course. I do not blame either of you. I must apologize for this terrible misunderstanding. Please think nothing of it.”

His bow was deep, but the force of his insult stung unmitigated.

“I am going to leave you to your own then. You know where to find your blood supply if you need any and you can contact me through your armband any time you want. Have a nice day Toga-san! It has been a pleasant conversation.”

Moving to the door of the small concrete room Nedzu calmly waved his paw and disappeared into the hallway.

Her faith in her beloved could never be diminished by such a pathetic scheming rodent. Himiko saw right through his game!

Anything else she could endure, humiliation and libel, but nobody attacked her love and got away with it. Especially after she had failed miserably to protect her already...

Too weak.

She was too weak!

Filled with fury at the world and herself she threw herself into her workout routine until she blacked out from exhaustion.

~[#҈#]~​

Izuku was not a religious boy. Nobody he knew had ever visited a church, in fact.

That still did not stop him from sending a quick prayer to god in hopes that he could help his friend. There were many times in his past where he had been sad or hurt or afraid; even for his life, but there was a different kind of horror seeing a person he cared about bleed out next to him.

Fighting with all his might, going beyond Plus Ultra was comparatively simple. No matter how much his muscles hurt while they tore themselves in exertion, it felt good to stand up against evil and prove to himself and indirectly his idol that he was no longer helpless. This was his dream, his reason for enduring years of bullying from Kacchan and it was liberating.

However, this experience was massively soured by two soul-crushing facts:

Firstly, every second he wasted fighting was lowering Iida’s chances of survival.

Secondly, this was not a fight he could win.

Armed with a dented steel bar and his dwindling hope, Izuku was under no illusion that he stood any chance against a combatant many times more knowledgeable, more ruthless and more unburdened than he was. An opponent so terrifying that the world had given him the moniker ‘Hero Killer’...

The insane vigilante ‘Stain’.

“You disappoint me, hero! Is that the end of your resolve?” taunted the ghastly murderer, grinning in an utterly unhinged fashion.

Since the beginning of their confrontation Izuku had recognized that the madman loved to preach his ideology to others and would spend precious time monologuing. Alone he might have been able to escape relatively easily, but due to Iida’s wounded state that was not an option.

Consequently he stalled as much as possible without it being obvious.

“Th-that's rich coming from you! You kill kids for fun!”

“It’s not for my own pleasure! It is for a better world!”

Lightning quick Stain’s wicked looking katana shot forwards, probing Izuku’s defences. Because of his friend's warning, he avoided getting cut like the plague. Apparently the Hero Killer’s quirk let him paralyze victims whose blood he ingested, explaining his unnaturally large mouth and focus on swordplay.

“And that involves murdering kids?” Izuku shouted back, frantically dodging out of the way of another slash.

“If I must... No right choice is ever easy, but if I can clear the streets from these fakes then it’ll be worth it!”
“You're wrong!” he retorted in the absence of a more clever argument.

‘Well done, Deku...’ he chastised himself. Despite his plan, actually engaging the armed psychopath in front of him in a verbal and physical fight simultaneously was pretty hard.

“What a shame that you cannot see it, young one. There could have been much potential in you...”

Oh, frick! That sounded awfully foreboding…

He could really use some assistance now before the situation got entirely unsalvageable.

Luckily he had just managed to send a message to all of his stored contacts before jumping into the fray, so hopefully one of them would understand his plea for help for what it was and send reinforcements. The emphasis was on hopefully.

“Uh... Heroes don’t kill!”

“Yes, but I am no hero. I am the one who cleans society, taking on its sins to stain myself with their corruption!”

Izuku saw the blade coming directly for his throat and made a split-second decision that could potentially end the fight if he survived it. Because Iida lay behind him, he couldn’t spin out of the way or else his friend would be exposed to the merciless killer hell-bent on ending him, which left the greenette only to face the blood stained sword head on.

Yeah, the ‘plan’ was terrible, but he did not have the liberty of coming up with something better on the spot!

Tapping into the near bottomless well that was his power, Izuku channelled as much of One for All’s liquid lightning through his flesh, his bones, his very soul as he could grab without literally exploding and delivered a devastating punch to the side of the incoming instrument of death.

Green sparks filled the air as his supercharged knuckles connected with the rusty steel in slow motion, knocking it off course and ripping it out of Stain’s unprepared hands.

Instantly time seemed to speed up once more to its normal tempo as the sword shattered against the brick wall of the alleyway, embedding itself in partially and shooting sharp shrapnel everywhere. The villain grunted in pain and surprise as he was hit by the fragments of his weapon while Izuku tried to shield the immobile body of his classmate against the danger.

Groaning, Stain removed a larger piece of steel from his bare shoulder, eying the gaping hole in his arm more with annoyance than pain.
“Very nice! Perhaps I judged you too early, hero! I saw the determination in your eyes... Keep it up and you might become a fine hero one day. Never hesitate to strike back and rob your opponent of their advantage!”

What the heck? One moment the guy wanted to kill him and now he praised him and gave tips. Stain was seriously insane.

“Too bad that this was not my only sword!” laughed the villain and reached for the second sheath on his back.

‘Oh no, you don’t!’ roared Izuku mentally, shattering the pavement underneath his feet as he ploughed into the Hero Killer and swung his unbroken arm into his ribs to stop him from reaching for another weapon.

Nimbly the athletic man avoided most of the blow, although his bones still bent dangerously under the impact. Nonetheless he was forced to abandon the grab for his sword, leaping further down the alley instead.

“Excellent! You are already taking my lessons to heart, I see!”

Slowly but surely, Stain’s ramblings were starting to get on his nerves. Time was running out for Iida. Should he risk it and make a run for it with his friend over his shoulder? That would of course only worsen his internal injuries and maybe lead him to-

Izuku cut that thought off.

Desperately he tried to plead reason one last time.

“Leave already! You sent your message. Th-the heroes or the police will no doubt show up at any moment!” he lied. “With all the noise we made it is inevitable. Do you want them to catch you?”

A dark scowl overtook the murderer’s twisted features.

“They would be too late for the fake. Cowardice is unbecom-“

“Woooooosh!”

Fire filled the street, cutting them off from each other. Strangely though, Izuku felt pleasantly cool all of a sudden, which, taking into account that he stood only a few steps away from a giant wall of bellowing flames, was pretty weird.

“Halt right there, villain! Surrender!” screamed somebody from above his line of sight, most likely the rooftops.

It was of no concern to him. What mattered was that the heroes had arrived.

“Your perversion of justice ends today!”

Rushing to his classmate’s side he attempted to recall everything he read about first aid on the internet.

“Iida stay with me! We’re getting you help.”

He should have studied regular anatomy more! Was he bleeding so much because Stain hit an internal organ or was the wound more superficial? It was impossible to tell.

“Midoriya, I told you to run away...” whispered the injured boy in a disbelieving tone.

“I wouldn’t leave you alone with a villain! We’re friends, remember? And you can call me Deku if you want.”

The last part slipped from his lips involuntarily.

“Haha. Only if you call me Tenya... I really messed up, didn’t I?”

There was more yelling behind him, but Izuku was solely focused on his friend and the hand that he held while pressing it over the wound in his stomach.

“Yeah you did. Miss Degurechaff and Mister Aizawa are going to chew you out so badly when you come back to school.”

Where was this confidence coming from? Here he was bantering like this was the school cafeteria!

“Oh, I am sorry for poor Yaoyorozu. She will have to deal with all the class president responsibility alone while I am stuck in detention for the rest of the year. Ha...”

And did Tenya just make a joke!? Honestly? This day was plain crazy.

Abruptly his face shifted back to his usual expression.

“But if I don’t make it-“

“Don’t say that!” interrupted Izuku, but Tenya continued calmly.

“If I don’t, please tell my parents and my brother that I am deeply sorry. I got so angry when Tensei told me how Stain attacked him, how he ruined him and I couldn’t... I... I was not myself. I convinced my mentor to visit Hosu for a single day, because I wanted to find him and I did... Look where that got me...”

“Tenya you can tell them that yourself. The ambulance will be here any second! Don’t give up!”

“I won’t. Thank you for being there for me, Deku. You are an amazing friend.”

As the approaching sirens lit up the shadowy alleyway both boys shared a watery smile that would forever burn itself into their memory.


__________________________________



[Thanks to Tatteredking and Pandora (Succy) for the beta read! My Discord: https://discord.gg/cmPAWxcTfh]

 

Chapter 22

To be perfectly honest, Tanya was unsure if she had ever been so bored in her multiple lives. Technically she was allowed to leave the bed, but due to security concerns an actual walk outside the boundary of her walls was impossible. She called bullshit on that as she felt more than prepared enough to protect her life as she had for decades, but Nedzu probably had his reasons for keeping her locked up in this not-quite-prison-cell.

The anxiety of sitting around all day, uselessly twiddling her thumbs forced her to pace restlessly, performing whatever meagre exercises the doctors allowed her. Meanwhile she tried to come up with as many contingency plans as her non-magically enhanced brain allowed, in case the Commission somehow got wind of her recent change of heart which was bound to happen sooner or later. Most of them involved the two hard drives hidden underneath the floorboards of her apartment and in the basement of her previous flat.

Tanya knew that most of her dirty info was easily combatable in court, because she lacked any witnesses who could testify the authenticity of her documents, but the pressure that her blackmail was going to enact on the HPSC would definitively drive them to act rashly. Especially Administrator M who was going to try to neutralize her rashly in a misguided attempt to save his own skin. Fat load of good that would do him, replaceable cog that he was in the government’s war machine.

Her gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone on the nightstand. It was her co-conspirator’s number.

“Hello, Mr. Principal. How are you and what can I do for you?”

Light chuckling resounded at the other end.

“Despite everything, I am feeling perfect, thank you for asking, Miss Degurechaff. The last few days have been... Well, I can’t say more stressful than normal, because since the beginning of this school year such troubles have become an almost everyday occurrence, but it surely was not easy.”

She dared not to ask. If he wanted to tell her then he would. Interrupting one’s superior while they were about to deliver orders tended to be unwise.

“I imagine that we will have to resolve that particular issue collectively. Anyways, how are you holding up, Miss Degurechaff? The peace and quiet is getting rather dull, I trust?”

Damn, this was apparently serious if he was buttering her up in such a way; reminding her that the keys to her freedom were dangling in his furry paws.

“I am managing. It’s been a while since I took a vacation is all.” she replied dryly.

“Well, good news! I believe you should be released right about now! Give it the obligatory fifteen minutes until the nurses have checked everything over, but then you should be good to go. Furthermore, I believe there is a wonderful surprise waiting for you back at school. Cementoss will pick you up at the foyer.”

A surprise? Why was he so awfully vague about this? She was getting bad vibes from his painfully cheery tone.

“I am afraid I don’t follow, Mr. Principal. Could you please clarify?”

“Ah, don’t worry! You will find out when you see it! ‘Till then, toodles!”

‘Oh no. Could this be the end?’

Numbly she prepared herself in the small bathroom mirror and silently signed her discharge papers soon after when the nurse came knocking. Her mind was alert, but at the same time everything appeared dampened by a slight haze. Tanya was not a slave anymore, yet her treasured freedom was still as unreachable to her as the stars. She was a woman caught between the lines, tangled in webs that she could easily cut, only to be faced with the yawning abyss below her feet.

Throughout her lives she had experienced many forms of treachery, but this betrayal at Nedzu’s hands stung in a special way. Probably because she had been idiotic enough to believe in him, to actually trust that he would help a troublesome soul like her. Nonetheless, it was shocking.

So she remained quiet as she was led to the hospital entrance where the Cement Hero was already waiting for her. Despite his friendly gestures she knew full well that she was being carted to her execution. Maybe the blocky, grey hero was unaware of her destination or maybe he didn’t care. Either way she could not find in herself the energy to hate him.

On and on she mulled over the question in her mind.

Was he really getting rid of her? Disposing of the unpleasant traitor and associate in multiple murder cases to spare himself the hassle? But she had been complicit so far! She was dependent on him! He was the only one who knew about Himiko’s current whereabouts. Why would he kick her, his most useful pawn, out of the game before she even had the chance to move!? It was plain madness.

Their car drove through the security check on campus unhindered; demonstrating undeniably that this whole coup was planned in advance. Finally Cementoss pulled up on a building Tanya had never seen before. Yep, there was no denying that things were going south.

Still, she would not go down without a fight.

Logically, she should break out of the trap now before the jaws fully snapped shut, but who could say which crazy defences the wretched rodent had put in place? Snipers on the rooftops, a remote controlled drone full of explosives or simply Eraserhead hiding in a place from where he could deactivate her quirk midflight to send her plummeting to her death!

Hopefully he would confront her himself one last time. Maybe she could prove her worth to him once again, demonstrate why he should keep her around. An intelligent man like him certainly wouldn’t squander her potential, right?

Right?

“Go right in, Argent. This is your day.”

Geez, he couldn’t have made it more obvious if he tried! Weren’t these normal heroes supposed to be trained to never kill, let alone deliver another person to the slaughter like cattle? Nedzu’s influence could apparently corrupt everyone with enough time.

Steeling her nerves, her quirk kicked into overdrive as she opened the unassuming front door.

Immediately there was an explosion and blinding light dispelled the interior darkness!

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

...

Tanya stood behind her barrier, a silver blade formed around each hand as she blinked owlishly at the confetti that drifted slowly to the ground. On the other side of her barrier, her students blinked equally owlishly back, Ashido and Kirishima standing frozen with blown party poppers in their hands.

“Er, happy birthday, Ms. Degurechaff...” Mina Ashido said awkwardly as the rest of the class stumbled through their own utterances of the age old platitude.

Absentmindedly she remembered that today was indeed her birthday.

Huh. Time flew.

Tanya wanted to say much to that as she deactivated her quirk, from starting a lecture about how heroes are often high strung and thus rarely appreciated surprises, to a reminder that party poppers weren't supposed to be on campus and that they would now have to clean up their mess, less the janitor have more work needlessly thrust upon him.

More than anything she wanted to curse that damn, blasted animal undoubtedly slurping tea in his office and howling with laughter at the needless worry he caused her.

However, instead of all of that she just asked:

"How did you know it was my birthday?"

"Erm, b-because I told them." Midoriya sheepishly answered as he raised a hand, drawing her eyes to his hunched form. "Hawks alluded to as much, anyway, four years ago when he was stopped by some fans. He said he was in a hurry to celebrate one of his kohai's birthdays, and um, a lot of people on the forums recently speculated that he was referring to you, considering you both work directly under the HPSC and have been seen together both professionally and casually on multiple occasions."

Tanya pursed her lips, but eventually replied: "I thought I told you to start standing up straight and to speak with confidence, Midoriya. If you're going to be a hero, people need to feel that you have the situation under control so as to assuage fears. Besides, that was excellent logical deduction and good intel-gathering you just displayed, a skill that will be useful in your career."

She was being petty, but her heart was still racing! Nedzu would pay for this embarrassing misdirection!

Yet she also couldn’t help but smile as the absurdity of the situation set in. A birthday party! For her! Such sentimental wastefulness… Getting born was nothing special, at least after the second time. That her students would nonetheless go through all that effort for someone as insignificant as her was – to be perfectly honest – kind of heart-warming.

Collecting her thoughts she directed an approving nod at the gathered crowd, idly noticing the absence of Iida.

“Yes, you guessed correctly. Today is indeed my birthday and although I was frankly expecting nothing, every one of you has gone above and beyond what is expected of students. I am honoured that you would consider me worth the effort.”

“Of course we had to!” cheered that over-excitable Ashido girl again.

“Yeah we forgot to visit Mr. Aizawa at the hospital and we thought that we didn’t want to miss this opportunity too, you know?” Sero laughed self-consciously.

“It’s also kind of a nice housewarming party for this awesome place!” added the floating pile of clothes that was Hagakure.

That reminded her...

“Out of curiosity, where exactly are we then? I do not recognize this building.”

“The dorms!”

How enlighteningly specific.

Her blank expression must have been obvious, because Uraraka hesitantly asked: “Nobody told you?”

The fact that a literal child had been informed instead of her stung quite a bit.

“Yes.” she replied blandly, successfully masking her annoyance.

“Oh, these are our dorms, mademoiselle! Aren’t they magnifique?”

If one could call the sturdy looking, white walls and stainless steel security doors such a thing, then sure. While an interior decorator had been undeniably absent in the construction process, the whole thing appeared rather defensible at first glance. Always a plus in an environment filled with rowdy teenagers.

“Certainly. Is this some new safety measure Nedzu cooked up? Keeping the students under surveillance on campus?”

“There is surveillance?” squeaked Mineta from somewhere at the back of the crowd.

“I believe so. After the repeated attacks on our class we considered it prudent to accept the principal’s offer for protection. Most do not wish to put their families at risk and the rest accepted out of solidarity.” explained Momo Yaoyorozu in a dignified and concise manner.

Wonderful. Now she was probably going to be responsible for them twenty-four seven.

“And your internships all went well, I presume?” Tanya asked, pointedly staring at Midoriya’s bandages.

“Uhhh... Ms. Argent... You see-”

“Shut the hell up, Deku! The candles aren’t gonna blow themselves out! I didn’t bake this shitty cake so you could fucking talk the entire day!”

“Language!” thundered the heroine, glaring at Bakugou who had interrupted them so rudely.

Slight snickering spread among the students, loosening the tense atmosphere.

With that, she moved past a pair of students and went towards the table in the middle of the room, appreciating the adorable display of amateurish flower bouquets and home-made baked goods prepared for her. It made her heart ache the tiniest bit.

“And what might this be? A chocolate cake?”

“Y-yes, Sensei!” Ochaco stuttered. "Um, red wine chocolate cake to be exact!" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “W-well, Rikido gave me the recipe... And Yaomomo brought the wine, hehe."

Another smile tugged at the teacher's lips. Her students were feeling especially risky today. Alcohol on school grounds could be risking an expulsion. Just for a cake? How ridiculous.

“Good. I hope you won’t mind if I indulge in two slices today. I am famished for something other than standard hospital food. You will have to divide the rest amongst yourself equally.”

Wound up shouts of approval and hunger broke out as Tanya cleanly split the baked goods into the appropriate number of servings with her energy fields to be handed out at class 1-A that was busy regaling the events of the past week to one another.

“Regardless,” she spoke over the mild chaos “while I appreciate the gesture, this is still school property. Ashido, Kirishima, make sure you clean up that confetti afterwards.”

“Yes, Miss Argent!”

~[#҈#]~​

Listening in to the conversations of her students and basking in the carefree mood, Tanya found herself enjoying the presence of other people quite a bit. She rationalized it as the innate desire of humans for companionship, but deep down she was fully aware that seeing all the naive innocence of her students reminded her of happier times as well, ones untainted by war or crime. Nostalgia was truly a powerful drug.
If only Himiko was here to share this moment with her then it could have been even better...

Bzzzt-bzzt!

Angry buzzing from her phone disrupted her daydreams. Shaking her head, Tanya silently chastised herself for drifting off like that. As she checked her screen she was greeted by a new message from Nedzu.

Joy…

A small part of her wanted to throw the damn thing through the nearest window as petty payback for getting tricked by his vague orders earlier, yet her calm and collected nature won out.

There was no reason to act irrational. As long as she could not confirm that the hyper-intelligent animal had actually been toying with her previously, holding such a grudge was entirely unfounded. Even if it was his fault, she needed to suck it up and accept the power play of her boss lest she alienate her greatest ally.

Excusing herself after reminding the children to behave responsibly, Tanya followed the red arrow on her navigation app to wherever ‘Storage 89-20’ was. The route took her through multiple winding corridors down to the basement of the side wing. Countless nondescript doors lined the walls, giving the whole dimly lit area a surreal feeling like these corridors could stretch on forever. At some point she realized that this underground labyrinth had to be significantly bigger than any building above ground, likely connecting the entire campus.

Finally though, she arrived at the properly designated location.

What should she do?

That was until Tanya sensed someone speedily approaching her from behind, causing her to spin around in preparation only to be tackled to the floor by a familiar blonde bundle of manic energy.

“I missed you!” squealed Himiko as she buried her face in her chest.

Tanya wanted to laugh, but the air was literally being squeezed out of her lungs, so she had to contend herself with affectionately rubbing her friend’s back.

“Can’t... breathe...” she managed to rasp out which thankfully lessened the crushing force on her ribcage slightly.

“I missed you so much! This Nedzu guy took me with him and suddenly I’m in a basement and he tells me you are coming and...”

Her partner began to rhythmically press her fingers into her skin, using Morse code to transcribe the simple words: “WATCHED – FLEE?”

Of course they had often trained in nonverbal communication, both officially for the HPSC and for their own benefit, but utilizing skin contact for complex silent massages was a novel system. Tanya was proud of how crafty her kohai had become on her own. Himiko was no genius, but she kept her cunning as sharp as her blade collection.

Haltingly she typed back: “NOT YET – TRUST FOR NOW”

Meanwhile, out loud she said: “You are safe here. They wanted to get rid of you, but the HPSC won’t find you here. The principal is an odd individual, but I believe he has a good heart. He will help us, if only to bring the Commission down. As long as I am with you he won’t dare to lay a finger on you.”

Himiko pulled back from her hug to stare her intensely into the eyes, searching for her true thoughts on the matter. Tanya just smiled comfortingly.

“Honestly, as warm as your embrace is, Himiko, this hallway is not a very stimulating place to hold a conversation. Why don’t you show me your room, hmm?”

Instantly, an invisible flip switched in the vampiric girl’s mind and she started to drag her off towards the grey door on their left.

“Come Senpai! I made something! For your birthday!”

Everybody in the world except herself seemed to have remembered this blasted day!

Inside, though spartanly equipped in the way of actual furniture, the room already had acquired that certain Himiko touch. A framed portrait of them
both together hung above her bed and deceptively childish paintings covered most surfaces at eye height. Flowers, stars, animals, blood droplets and Tanya’s face were lovingly depicted in random patterns. Multiple sharp objects lay at handy positions and judging from the marks on the training dummy in the corner, her friend was taking her training more seriously than ever.

The desk was littered with knickknacks and loose papers, now pushed to the side to make space for the glossy, red cake in its centre.

“They have giant kitchens here! Like, big enough to feed an army! It’s kinda hard to find what you need, but I managed! Senpai, look! I baked you a cake all on my own! Isn't it pretty?”

Hopefully she was not expected to eat the whole thing or she might burst. Well, before that she would probably die of sugar overdose if this conformed to Himiko’s usual preference for cooking.

“Yes, it looks very beautiful. What flavour is it?”

“Red velvet!” the younger girl exclaimed excitedly.

Tanya smirked. “Of course it is.”

Himiko abashedly averted her eyes, shuffling her feet.

“Will you try it?”

“How could I not? Thank you for your gift. It was very thoughtful of you to think of me, despite your own situation.”

She really meant it. Most would have picked something simple like flowers or wine as presents, but to undergo hours of effort to create something with one’s hands held a lot more meaning. Despite the grief she brought onto her friend, she did not choose to abandon her.

The taste was buttery and rich, melting on her tongue with just enough sweetness to not be overpowering and making her yearn for more. After a week of mostly physical inactivity, gorging herself on fat and sugar was definitely not the smartest choice, but she would be damned if she made her kohai sad by ignoring the product of their affection.

“Wow, this is amazing, Himiko. Your skills are improving every day.” she remarked offhandedly.

A high-pitched cry of elation and two strong arms wrapping around her waist was all the conformation she needed to know that her compliment had been received well. Honestly, her partner was a bit more touch-starved than expected, but Tanya absolutely didn’t mind the feeling of the younger girl’s softness protectively curling around her. In a way, every hot little breath which caused her skin to unwillingly erupt in goosebumps was a living reminder that she had chosen wisely.

They were safe.

Her life still held such joy.

Despite everything that was taken from her, she felt richer than ever.

As she savoured another bite from her second excellent cake of the day, in the embrace of the one person she was happily willing to guard with
her life, Tanya was actively thankful to be alive.

~[#҈#]~​

“Argent!” called out a voice to her on her way back to the dorms.

“Eraserhead.” she relied neutrally, but in a polite tone, walking slower so that the older hero could catch up.

“I wanted to talk to you, but I wanted to wait until after the ‘party’.”

So he was watching? Impressive, if not a smidgeon creepy. His stealth must have been perfect.

“Very considerate. What in particular?”

“Two things. You know how the new lesson plan works, right?”

‘Arghhhhhh! Curse this overstuffed teddy bear!”

Pursing her lips she replied:“Vaguely. I received the abridged version yesterday.”

Tanya gave the man high credit for sparing her some humiliating comment like: ‘Why would the principal not inform you in detail even though this is your fucking job?’

Instead he stoically explained to her the extra six hours per week added to the curriculum for self-defence and ‘advanced field training’ that were designed to make use of the increased free time of their students. A sensible idea in her opinion, because the less time these kids had to come up
with mischief, the better. Furthermore, it would most likely increase their chances of survival dramatically.

Taught by mainly herself, but a differing rotation of other UA heroes as well, this year’s 1-A and 1-B were certainly going to perform significantly better than the previous year in the final physical exams. Provided that those were not adjusted of course.

“Thank you for bringing me up to speed. I am grateful for you going over the finer details with me again.”
Aizawa seemed like an alright guy and so she strived to keep their relationship distant and professional.

“No problem. The other thing is... Tenya Iida’s brother was critically injured by the Hero Killer last week.”

Stain, an infamous serial killer responsible for a dozen murders of small-time heroes. The Commission had deemed him a useful pest, effective at scaring the lower ranks into submission. Naturally he would have been removed by either the big heroes which would strengthen their image or by more covert means, but his confidence seemed to be growing if he dared to hunt a popular figure like Ingenium. Subsequently his days were numbered as his very existence was now threatening the stable and undefeatable image of Japan’s heroes that the HPSC arduously maintained.

“My condolences. Is that why he was missing today?”

“Partially. Somehow he got it in head that it was duty to avenge his brother and-“

Tanya stopped dead in her tracks.

“Don’t tell me...”

“He is alive and they are optimistic that he will make a full recovery. The question remains what we should do with him. I am technically still 1-A’s homeroom teacher, which grants me full autonomy over who gets expelled or not, but from what I have seen of your work here... Argent, you are rather effective and have shown a unique perspective fitting for UA’s extraordinary students, so I would like to hear your opinion on the matter before coming to a decision.”

She blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Man, this day really was a rollercoaster of emotions, wasn’t it?

 

Chapter 23

“Argent, what do you say to the allegations that you are dating a villain?”

Ugh, press conferences were a pain. M, the snivelling bastard insisted that she show up to the appointment he had scheduled, but he couldn’t be bothered enough to just set up a fake event where the annoying reporters knew beforehand exactly what to say and how, if they didn’t want to lose their careers.

Tanya kept her pleasant smile however, fixing the crowd with a calm gaze that made it clear that she was absolutely in control of the situation. No reason to throw bait in the water when so many hungry sharks were present.

“Firstly, I was not dating anybody. I am the eleventh ranked pro hero, I do not have time for romance. Secondly, the person who accompanied me wore a disguise. I admit that I should have noticed sooner, but who would expect their co-worker to turn into a completely different person?”

It was somewhat unpleasant to publicly deny her connection with Himiko when she knew that her friend would be reading a transcript of this conference at some point, but it was for the best.

“So you could have gotten ambushed later by this person if they completely blindsided you?”

She expertly faked a chuckle.

“Could I have gotten surprised? Of course! My quirk is not lie detection or illusion dispelling after all. But if this disguised person could have actually killed me is a whole other matter. After all,” she lowered her voice to a darker tone, “the League tried their hardest as well.”

A few murmurs broke out and instinctively knew that this quote would be clipped and posted on the net in some sill compilation.

“And what about your employment of potentially lethal force? It looked like you wanted to seriously harm this villain, Shigaraki I believe!”

Ahh, this was truly the most unpleasant question of them all. If she chose the wrong words here it could potentially ruin her career. In a way it was as laughable as it was reassuring that the modern people of Japan were so shocked by violence, despite being more exposed to it than ever.
There was not a single day that the news would not talk about superheroes, but real blood was seldom seen anywhere.

“I would not have killed them of course,” she totally would have , “but I was fully prepared to take drastic measures to protect my own life and that of others in the face of the threat he represented.”

The best lies contained a large amount of truth.

“Shigaraki’s quirk lets him disintegrate anything he touches, so I planned to scare him with my shields and then take care of his hands. It looks far more menacing in the video then it was in reality, I assure you. Even with a slight concussion the control over my quirk remained impeccable. Next.”

She pointed at a meek looking man in the front row.

“Are you afraid for your life now that the League has gone after you in private?”

“A very good question. Luckily, principal Nedzu was kind enough to house me on campus, so I have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
Hopefully, soft-soaping his work would be useful for the genius’s plans. A little flattery could grease a lot of doors...

“Despite their attempts, the fact that the League got dispelled twice even with the aid of their powerful bioengineered creatures is testament to UA’s security. Furthermore, I will aid him in the future to improve the already considerable foundations of its protections. I am honoured to receive such a privilege. Truly, when I say it out loud, I feel a little guilty that I am one of the lucky few people in Japan who get to live rent-free in a nice room with the best security systems money can buy.”

“Do you fear your ratings will plummet after spending so little time on the streets? Will you choose your teaching job over your hero career?”

Ha! Tanya did not even know herself how her future would play out! One of the few good things the HPSC had provided her was stability. She knew how her life would play out if she kept being useful. Bureaucrats were predictable like that.

But now...

“I am not worried. Ratings are just numbers after all. What matters should be my service record. Helping people is what being a hero is all about and I will continue to focus on that goal more than ever! I promise to the people of Musutafu that I won’t let them down! I will never yield to evil!”

Her bandaged hand lay softly over her heart as she gave the world her most determined smile, already certain that this was going to be tomorrow’s headline. The public wanted to believe in brave, unstoppable heroes who would stare unflinching into the face of certain doom and emerged victorious. It was a tale as old as storytelling itself. And the press was going to sell it to them, helpfully distracting from the less glamorous questions of today.

As the cameras flashed in a dizzying staccato Tanya discreetly waved at the guy standing behind the curtain to wrap things up.

“I believe that will be all for today. Thank you for coming and if you have any further question please talk to our-“
She tuned the rest out as she left the stage in a dignified and collected manner. All in all, she would count this as a success.

~[#҈#]~​

Tanya stood with all the poise she could muster as the middle-aged woman walked around her with a measuring tape.

“So, you need your uniform adjusted, is it? I'm surprised; I thought your last growth spurt was behind you.”

Tanya clenched her jaw at that, but kept her tone even as she responded: “Actually, my physician thinks I'll grow another few centimetres yet."

“Oh? And is that the reason for your visit? The hems of your pants don't look too short...” the woman said with a teasing lilt which Tanya struggled not to rise to.

“... No, I need it let out in a few places.”

“Growing a bit tight , eh? And where exactly should I focus my attention?”

Tanya really hated this woman. She was an exceptionally skilled tailor and costume designer employed by the HPSC, but she was utterly unprofessional in her demeanour towards her clients, always filling the air with idle and mundane chatter which – if Tanya tried to ignore it – would lead to an 'accidental' prick of a needle. It amazed the young heroine to this day that her uniform, a vague colour-swapped replica of the military uniform she wore from her days serving the Empire, was made by this woman. Something so sleek and respectable hardly resonated with the plump and talkative nuisance who created it.

Taking a deep breath, Tanya answered as plainly as possible, as if merely observing the weather or ordering a black coffee: “Around the waist is a little tight, as well as the midriff... and buttocks.”

“Not the chest, though?” the woman asked, mirth clear in her voice.

Tanya grit out: “ No , not there.”

"Well, don't worry too much, dear. If the doctors say you'll grow a few centimetres more then perhaps another miracle will happen too."

"Can you just do your job already?" Tanya finally snapped, turning her head to glare at the smiling woman, who promptly released a hearty chuckle.

“Of course, of course... Though first, I’m just dying to know how you've managed to put on so much weight in only a few weeks. Just what have you been up to?”

She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I’ve hardly put on that much weight. Only a few kilograms and the reason is simple. Since I've taken up teaching at UA, I go on far fewer patrols, which means burning fewer calories and less proper meals replaced with energy bars."

That, the fact that Lunch Rush was far too good a chef to be working in a high school cafeteria and that she's taken Himiko out to eat various sweets far more frequently than she used to, but the seamstress didn't need to know that.

"Ah, yes, teaching, and how have you been enjoying that so far?" the woman asked as she at long last began to take measurements.
"Well enough," she shrugged, eyes forward, hoping it would be enough of an answer.

Of course it wasn't.

"Any favourites?"

"Choosing favourites would be grossly unprofessional. I treat all of my students equally."

“Come now, you can tell me. How about this, my niece is fifteen, why don't you help me set her up with a strapping young lad? She has a thing for heroes, you know.”

“As does the majority of teenage girls in the country.” Tanya said with a roll of her eyes. “And besides, I'm hardly the one to ask about that. I don't have time for romance.”

The seamstress’s hands stalled, and Tanya could tell that she was getting an incredulous look for some reason.

“You don't have time for romance?" the woman repeated.

“That's correct.” Tanya confirmed. “Haven’t you seen my interview? I'm far too busy with teaching and heroics.“

“Riiight... and how's Himiko doing? She’s still following you around like a lost puppy?”

How this woman could jump from topic to topic so randomly was beyond Tanya's understanding, but she still dutifully answered. Technically she wasn’t supposed to know anything about her whereabouts as far as the Commission was concerned, so she was extra careful to avoid saying anything that could indicate the opposite.

”She's doing well I hope, and she doesn't follow me everywhere . More often than not, she waited at the apartment for me."

“The way you say that makes it sound like she's living with you..." the woman noted.

“She doesn't.” Tanya corrected. “She's only been staying the night four or five days a week recently, and that's not including how often she's out doing the jobs the higher-ups assign to her. Really, she's barely there more than half the time."

The hands halted in their work once more, much to Tanya's annoyance, and the woman asked: “And you say you don't have time for romance?”

"Must I repeat myself? Yes, that's correct, now can you please finish the adjustments? I promised somebody we'd go out for ice cream later today, and I shan't be late."

"Aha... You know, it's kind of surprising you gained any volume at all when you put on weight. I'd more expect for you to simply grow in density instead."

Tanya chose to ignore the older woman's inane ramblings and instead enjoyed a moment of silence as she went back to measure her without talking. With some luck the silence would last and she was going to arrive early to pick up her kohai.

Himiko could be a very impatient girl at times.

~[#҈#]~​

Tanya left the salon of her tailor with a newly adjusted uniform and a slightly sour disposition. That woman was so infuriating with her nonsensical ways of inane questioning! Nonetheless, she was more than trained in brushing off those irrational feelings and smiling them away. After all, her day was going rather satisfactory so far. No need to ruin it with pointless sulking.

Her small apartment was situated on the ground floor of the new dormitory building, both to let her keep track of the students living there and to be able to access the basement inconspicuously. An unassuming maintenance door downstairs led directly to Nedzu’s secret labyrinth below the campus, for which she was immensely grateful. Being able to calculate the future by simply using raw logic was an enviable quirk.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her accomodations and stepped inside, making her way to her bedroom to set the bag with her uniform in the closet. The entire time, she made no sign of noticing Himiko, who was silently stalking up behind her.

With a little growl the younger girl pounced, only to careen headfirst into the closet as Tanya easily stepped aside, hands behind her back as she stared down at her upside down companion.

“Nice try...” she complimented cheekily. “Though I heard the hinges of the bathroom door squeak. I removed the oil there yesterday.”

Himiko pouted rather adorably from her position on the floor before easily going over into a handstand and flipping back onto her feet.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I have to work on my stealth 'cause I'm getting rusty..." she whined, holding her arms out. “Now can I glomp you or not?”

Tanya chuckled and fondly shook her head.

“Fine, commence the glomping, but do be quick about it, will you? It's getting late, and-“

“Yay! ” squealed her friend as she lunged forward to wrap Tanya in a hug, lifting the smaller girl off her feet so that she could rub her cheek against her senpai’s.

Bearing the treatment like a limp doll, eventually Tanya cleared her throat. Her friend had gone through much in the past weeks, but there was a limit to how much she could ignore their professional relationship.

“Are we finished? Remember, we're supposed to be heading to the park and getting ice cream from that cart.”

“Oh yeah, ice cream!” Himiko chirped as she suddenly let go of Tanya. Luckily she landed with all the grace of a professional hero and reflexively straightened out her clothing.

“I’m going to get cherry sorbet this time!”

“Of course you will, now go get your blood so you won't be recognized, and let's go.”

“Yes, Senpai!”

With that cheerful declaration, Himiko skipped out of the room to prepare as Tanya went to a drawer and grabbed a face mask, sunglasses and a wig. If she didn't wear them, then Himiko would have to put makeup on top of the disguise so as to not risk the poor owner of the real face getting targeted for being close to Argent. Although she was confident in Nedzu’s ability to procure blood from people that would not be recognized, possibly from foreigners or other faces that the HPSC couldn’t easily check. Nonetheless, the more questions she avoided, the better.

Twenty-five minutes later they met up at an unsuspicious location outside UA and began walking towards the nearest park. Himiko was strangely worried that they would get separated or something, as she always insisted on holding hands while out and about, their fingers laced to ensure a strong grip. It was Tanya's job to put her kohai’s mind at ease, so she didn't fight it, even when the younger girl swung their held hands in an exaggerated fashion as if to draw their fellow pedestrians' attention to the fact.

‘How childish...’

Eventually, the two made it to their destination and quickly located the target of their little mission:

A small purple ice cream cart which boasted to sell some exotic flavours.

It had been her friend’s idea to get their frozen desserts here so they could eat it as they walked the leaf-shaded trails through the park. In Tanya’s opinion, it was a pretty enticing chance to pretend to be living an ordinary, peaceful life. Himiko was unexpectedly thoughtful like that sometimes.
Meanwhile the girl in question was bouncing on the balls of her feet as they waited in line, humming a pleasant song that Tanya enjoyed with closed eyes.

“So, what three scoops are you going to get this time?” Himiko asked suddenly. “Triple chocolate again?”
Tanya opened her eyes just in time to see the line move forward, and answered as they took a step: “Perhaps coffee, chocolate, and... dulce de leche.”

Himiko giggled, poking Tanya in the side.

“You're such a little piggy, you know that, Senpai?”

She went to respond, but her mind drifted back to the tailor earlier that day – and her newly let out uniform – and her lips formed a thin line.

“Perhaps only one scoop will do, instead.”

Himiko's smile dropped instantly and she looked worried.

“You know I was just kidding, right?… I’d never actually think of you as a pig.”

“It's fine, you merely reminded me that I have been putting on weight lately and that I should cut back on the sweets...” Tanya tried to placate her, mumbling after the fact: “I’d rather not have to see that woman again anytime soon."

Her expression suddenly grave, Himiko leaned in to whisper: “Did someone call you fat, Tanya? Is that it? Who was it, and I swear I'll take care of them.”

As entertaining as it was to imagine her subordinate berating that woman about proper conduct with clients, she shook her head and merely said:

“It’s completely alright, Himiko. I just don't want to have to get my uniform adjusted again. Besides, it's merely a fact that I have gotten a little fatter in certain areas, and I should seek to rectify that.”

“No! Your body is perfect! ” Himiko insisted, getting some eyes to glance their way and Tanya's cheek to redden slightly. “No one should make you think otherwise! You're the most beautiful girl in the world, Senpai!”

"Thank you for that, but can you keep it down?" Tanya whispered, looking around to see a few people giggling at them. They probably thought that they were some romantic couple on a date right now!

“Fine...” Himiko conceded with a huff, glaring at the onlookers and making them quickly move on. Leaning down to whisper directly in Tanya’s ear she however added: “But it's the truth. You're adorable and cute, always, Tanya... As a matter of fact, I think you look even better after filling out some.”

Glad that the face mask hid her radiant blush, Tanya merely grunted as it was finally their turn to order.

Himiko chose the cherry sorbet, while Tanya got a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and, with a fleeting glance towards her friend, added an extra scoop of nougat too.

~[#҈#]~​

“Mmmmm... How interesting... So you are certain about the cutting ability of her shields?”

“Absolutely. I’ve never seen a cleaner cut than on young Shigaraki’s fingers.”

“Mmmmmmm... You may leave me alone, doctor.”

“Of course, master.”

Through his electromagnetic vision he could see the old man closing the steel door behind him. The suffocating silence was only interrupted by the rhythmic sounds of his life support equipment, pumping various fluids in and out of him and measuring every conceivable variable of his condition.

“How surprising... How... wasted .” All for One thoughtfully mused to himself.

To think that such a useful quirk was squandered on a hero. Of course he had known of her abilities as he kept informed on all the top heroes, but the entire extent of her quirk was unknown to him until not too long ago. That was as tantalizing as it was frustrating. Argent must have been extraordinarily restrained to never publicly injure anyone with her impossibly sharp energy fields which only further reinforced his opinion of her. Such skill was perhaps even more desirable than her magnificent quirk, because it was the one thing he could not take from her.

Oh, he certainly could copy some of her knowledge, but it would never be the same. Being the owner of hundreds of different quirks left him with few opportunities to train all of them, not to mention polish them to perfection like Argent had. And now her abilities had evolved even further when his disciple pushed her so clumsily to the breaking point...

Yes, he would watch her with great interest. If the Hero Commission wanted to play dirty by inserting spies into his operation then why shouldn’t he do the same? One way or another he would find out more about this excellent resource before he harvested her.

It was time to call in some old favours.

 

Chapter 24

‘Let’s play a game’ their teacher had said.

‘It was going to be fun’ Mina had laughed.

‘How bad could it really be?’ Hagakure had cautiously reasoned after Momo reminded them of the past.

It turned out that, bring the traumatised civilians to safety while being hunted by a flying sniper, was a lot less pleasant in reality.

Really, Ochako should have expected nothing less from this school. Anyone who worked here appeared to be either moderately insane or just plain sadistic. Although she understood on an intellectual level that this was probably an effective teaching method, her lizard brain did not respond well to getting nailed in the head by bullets that looked like they could kill if used incorrectly.

“Uraraka out! Don’t forget to look ahead! Back to the starting position!” yelled their diminutive blond torturer from the rooftop across the street while she was still busy rubbing her aching chest.

Idly Ochako picked up the plastic ball that had sent her sprawling on the asphalt and once again wondered how the hell their teacher had learned to shoot a gun so well. That didn’t even have anything to do with her quirk! This was such bullshit.

Yes, she said it…

Still, she stood up without complaint and hobbled back to the starting line. If this was how she could grow stronger, braver, better, then she would take it! She was not going to get saved again! Instead one day she was the one who was going to save everybody!

Well, she wouldn’t mind getting saved by Deku... but that was a thought for later, she blushingly thought.

Somewhere in the concrete jungle behind her, she faintly heard another shout:
“Kaminari out! What were you thinking? When I allowed you to attack me, I meant without huge collateral damage! This technique could have seriously hurt anyone in the building! I am not the only one touching that metal! Nonetheless, good creative thinking. I want to see more of that in the future! Just think about the consequences more often. Back to the starting position!”

Honestly she was kind of glad for the progress that the ditzy electro quirk user made in the last few weeks. He still fried his higher cognitive functions on occasion, but he was overall a lot more mindful of his power output as a result of his training with Snipe. Despite not being allowed to bring his weird mini railgun to the exercise – because nobody trusted him enough with the thing yet to not accidentally shoot someone – he had done well so far.

Her invisible friend Hagakure was unsurprisingly in the lead as she could simply check every street before carrying the doll that represented a civilian over to the next hideout. If Ochako remembered the callouts correctly then her easily hideable classmate had already saved four disaster victims!

She needed to do better! There was no way she was not going to get at least in the top five!

“Attention class! You have fifteen minutes left! Thirty three civilians remain unsecured!” droned Argent’s announcement from the speakers around the training facility.

Something in that sentence gave Ochako pause, but she couldn’t put her finger on why it was so strange. There was an underlying message here, she was sure of it...

As she looked at the waiting crowd of white mannequins sitting at the starting area, it struck her. A child-sized puppet seemed to clutch what could be seen as its mother, either due to random chance or careful positioning. Of course these were mere objects, but they represented living, breathing humans and had to be treated as such. Ultimately this game was designed to demonstrate necessary skills for their actual hero careers!

This was just like the entrance exam! Everyone had been too focused on defeating the robots back then to notice the hidden rescue point system. In a way, this test was the opposite of that, because now everybody was only attempting rescue without much fighting and most importantly without working together!

Teamwork was a core tenant of hero work, wasn’t it?

And the rules never said that they couldn’t help each other...

So why shouldn’t they do it?

If she treated this situation like she would in reality, then every single person that got left behind was a tragedy; a stain on her conscience that she could never forgive herself. By letting these people ‘die’, the whole class would lose!

Frantically Ochako looked around for any other participants that could share her plan with. Spotting three of her classmates who were catching their breath or picking up more mannequins, she gathered her resolve and hastily approached them.

‘What would Deku do?’ she asked herself.

The answer was obvious:

Find a way their individual strengths synergized together!

~[#҈#]~​

Tanya walked with purposeful slowness across the flat roof, averting her eyes from the darkened side-streets to give her students some modicum of opportunity. Destroying all their hopes instantly might be weirdly entertaining and filter out the truly great among them, but her goal was to give every one of these children the chance to prove themselves. This wasn’t war and despite their demanding training she was never cruel to them.
At least she hoped so.

Maybe she was slightly overestimating them.

“Mineta, stop crying! You are not wounded! Mineta!”

As the small crumpled form of the boy didn’t stop shaking and writhing on the floor, she sighed and floated to the ground. Hopefully his pain tolerance was just really low and he wasn’t actually injured. She had been careful to adjust the air pressure in her gun to only hurt moderately, but perhaps she had gotten unlucky and messed up her aim last second.

“Mineta? Can you hear me? If you can’t say me what’s wrong I will-“

“Argh!” screamed the purple-haired child and threw himself at her.

Instinctively she wanted to push him away, but her concern for his wellbeing stayed her hand. Too late did she notice the characteristic fuzzy balls in his grip.

Silence reigned over the training ground.

“I- I did it!” Mineta cheered, unaware of her icy glare. Smiling, he looked up and immediately froze as he met her contemptuous gaze.

“What I said to Kaminari applies to you as well, Mineta. I value your creativity, but if you just stopped a moment to think about the unbelievable level of idiocy you just committed then we wouldn’t be here.”

“Uh-uhm...” he stuttered, unable to move under the pressure of Tanya’s irritation.

Four of his quirk-produced sticky balls were glueing her feet to the pavement, but with a casual flicker of her power two golden energy barriers cut
into the street around them and simply lifted the whole chunk thirty centimetres into the air.

It had taken some experimentation on her part to find out what Being X did to her quirk, but it seemed that with some willpower her force fields cut turn ‘static’ for lack of a better term. They were distant and fuzzy in her awareness, but she also had not to expend any conscious effort to keep them up. Even travelling nearly a kilometre away from their location had not been able to dispel them so far. These golden barriers could exist without energy supply from her quirk apparently and paradoxically were much stronger for it.

From her casual test they behaved around twice as resistant to physical trauma as her standard silver fields. Their biggest downside however was that it took far longer for them to be created or modified. As such, flying with them would be somewhat unwieldy, preventing her from making sharp movements and sometimes painfully limiting her mobility. Nonetheless, moulding them to her will was a technique she was keen on training in the future. The permanent shields’ natural golden colour appeared to be the only constant that she could not change.

“Your tactic to delay me was completely ineffective and if this wasn’t a training exercise you would be dead. While I can appreciate you standing up for your colleagues and trying to immobilize a dangerous villain, suicidal bravery is not a virtue.”

And with these scathing words she shot him again from point blank range, just to hammer her point home. Of course she aimed at where his costume was thickest, but it still had to hurt.

“Back to the sta-“

Unimpressed she dodged the second attack as well as she was able to with her feet stuck to her floating platform. Asui’s inhumanly long tongue harmlessly passed by her face, but curled up in the last moment to wrap around Tanya’s left arm which she had stretched out to keep her equilibrium. If not for the reflection in a nearby window front, she would have missed it.

Not wanting to hurt her student, she resolved herself to merely pulling at the fleshy organ with regular strength. The froglike girl had obviously planned for this though as her powerful legs catapulted her towards Argent’s position, taking advantage of her off balance state.

Summoning a standard silver shield to stop the flying girl from kicking her skull in, Tanya was once again surprised by another student trying to nail her from a blind spot. Two large boulders were hurtling at her torso, temporarily suspended from gravity which was undoubtedly Uraraka’s work.
Secretly Tanya was quite pleased by the creative teamwork of A-1. To fool her twice in the span of a minute and defy her previous expectations by hunting for her directly was commendable. After smacking Bakugou out of the sky so spectacularly at the start of the lesson she had not anticipated such a brazen assault.

Shattering these giant projectiles was easy, but the fact that she needed to split her attention between two sides gave the whole thing some challenge. Compared to getting swarmed by hundreds of Keigo’s razor sharp feathers however it was nothing.
Asui attempted to fling herself around the barrier using her tongue only to crash into a third one that instantly winked out of existence to prevent the girl from cutting her flesh on its edge. Nevertheless her momentum got completely arrested and she unceremoniously fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

To her credit, she managed to roll with it and get to her feet quickly, doing the smart thing and backing off to a more sensible distance in order to collect her bearings and find a new strategy. Tanya approved.

Mineta cried out unintelligibly and threw himself off her platform, drawing the hero’s awareness to the point above her head that he had been fearfully staring at. Trusting her intuition, she put up two barriers in the general space over her. In the next moment she was very glad that she did.
The highest shield strained and shattered a mere second afterwards which left her to stare incredulously at the dumpster resting on top of her second energy field. Uraraka’s quirk could be extremely troublesome with the right applications for even a small object would flatten her if it got dropped from low orbit. Maybe it would also inconvenience All Might.

“Very good!” Tanya called out to where she thought the gravity manipulator was hiding. “Just be mindful that this trick could kill villains if you miscalculate the mass or altitude!”

No answer returned which was sensible. They were still training after all.

“You know what, Sensei? You have no chance of beating us, ribbit.”

Humouring Asui, she raised an eyebrow and pointedly checked over the drum of her air gun.

“And why is that?”

“Because we are too many, ribbit.”

“That hasn’t stopped me before.”

To illustrate her superiority in this engagement she raised her faux weapon and lazily aimed at the greenette, giving off a shot that sent the froggy girl hopping for cover. It was important to instil a distinct respect for firearms in these children before their arrogant overreliance on natural mutations got them killed.

“Ribbit. We will win, Miss Degurechaff!”

Mmmhh... Why was the normally stoic Asui so insistent on carrying on a useless conversation?

“Are you trying to distract me again?” Tanya asked amusedly.

“Yes, Miss Argent! So far it’s working, ribbit!”

“Very well.”

Of course foiling their plan now would be child’s play, but it was both her duty and her pleasure to see what her students came up with. Giving them the opportunity to work together and grow beyond their previous limitations was what this was all about after all. Denying them here would not meaningfully teach them anything besides the obvious: Announcing a secret made it not secret anymore.

However that did not mean that she would sit still and take it.

“And why are you wasting time then? Shouldn’t you attack me? Else I might just fly off...”

“We are waiting for reinforcements, ribbit. You told us to always have someone watching our backs, ribbit!” called Asui from behind a car she was using to hide.

“Right...”

To incite more urgency in her students she slowly willed her power to move her platform up, keeping an eye out for more of Uraraka’s projectiles in the meantime. That was how she spotted a green blur rocketing towards her, although the accompanying scream of “Austin Smash!” made missing it all but impossible.

While forming three layers of golden shields at the last second, strangely all Tanya could wonder was:
‘Isn’t that trademarked?’

Brutally, Midoriya’s fist crushed into her protections, demolishing two and finally stopping at the last one. Tanya grinned appreciatively. It was flattering that they came at her with everything they got, testing their super moves against her experience and not holding back in the slightest, just as it should be. Her class was treating this seriously, proving their dedication to the training.

In honour of their commitment she squashed her smirk and adopted her instructor voice once more:

“I hope you did not break your bones for that one!”

The boy stopped mid movement and uncertainly glanced over his arm.

“We’ll have to check it later.”

Promptly a small rock hit her back.

‘What a dirty trick.’

But she knew very well how winning sometimes took every advantage one could get. Life was never fair. Flipping the switch on her gun to full auto, she sprayed in Asui’s direction. Her goggles would ensure that she would not be majorly injured.

Unwilling to take her eyes off the boy who could punch through her shields and then her ribcage if they both weren’t careful, Tanya thought about the immediate future with excitement. Relying on only strengthened, multilayered energy fields or golden ones would marginally slow her down which in turn was going to make her more vulnerable for however many students showed up.

Perhaps she herself would even have to take this fight seriously?

Wonderful.

~[#҈#]~​

As the timer ran out Toru was panting in exhaustion, an invisible smile stretching her lips.

They did it!

They got them all!

During Ochako’s distraction of their teacher, Sato had managed to carry most remaining dolls on a large piece of reinforced sheet metal that he somehow ripped from a roof. How he accomplished that – even while overdosing on sugar to fuel his quirk – remained a mystery to her. Hanta’s tape might have helped. That stunt likely cost them a few points for urban destruction, but the result was undeniably worth it.

When he inevitably collapsed under the strain of carrying what looked like half a house hundreds of meters, they collectively shared his cargo amongst themselves. Transporting the unwieldy, realistically weighed mannequins to the finish line was a hard job, especially for her who specialized in agility and stealth, but they did the seemingly impossible.

Thanks to a third of their class diverting Argent’s attention the rest could simply haul the ‘civilians’ undamaged through the open streets. Without having to hide and check every corner the trip to the safe zone was a lot faster than before.

Koda’s birds made reconnaissance relatively easy when the battle moved to a different part of the city and Jirou’s support item – directional microphones – saved their collective skins more than once. She could transmit warnings over long distances with them which were direly needed.

Bakgou apparently still needed to work some issues from the interrupted sports festival out, because he opened in a childish competition with Todoroki over who could pummel their teacher the best. Or at least try to… His explosions spread so much dust over the area that navigation could get genuinely tricky at times, worsened by the temperature fluctuations of his ‘rival’ in the air which created very weird winds.
In the end though, their teamwork ensured their success.

Toru was proud.

She was proud to be part of such an amazing team.

It hadn’t been easy, but she felt like with her friends in tow... she could do it. She wasn’t strong or smart or tough, yet if she could simply trust in others to not forget about her...

Then together they would be able to take on the world!

~[#҈#]~​

Nedzu closed the video feed and took another sip of his earl grey. Paying only half of his attention to the screen ,which was still more than enough, he first sent an email to Cementoss to repair the Urban Training Grounds Six again and then filed a couple legal forms which unfortunately tended to accumulate on his desk despite his best efforts. Being able to write algorithms that could relieve him already of most of that tedious bureaucracy was indeed a comfort the principal couldn’t imagine living without.

From time to time his eyes wandered over to the window, looking out over his beautiful school and envisioning how much grander it still could be.

With time, he reminded himself unnecessarily.

As long as All for One and the HPSC were breathing down his neck he needed to focus on the bigger threats. Nedzu was already spreading his resources thin by simultaneously trying to wrestle Japan’s politics away from destruction and hunting down the assets of the most notorious super-villain in history in addition to his usual worldwide operations to secure the fragile peace humanity was dependent on.

Although his work might accelerate soon if the two talented newcomers in his home became able to lend him their support. Despite the hard battle he fought behind the scenes of society, the principal held strictly to his own moral code, knowing full well that it was what differentiated him most from the beasts in human skin that he had sworn to fight. He never wanted to devolve into one such being, because he was unsure if the world would be able to stop him should he one day fully lose himself to the slippery decline of self-righteous corruption.

Naturally he had to bend these rules over the years quite a bit, but the wellbeing of children was always a top priority for the humanoid rodent. Subsequently, employing young Himiko’s aptitude as a spy was distasteful to him. Many of his plans would only be possible with a person on the inside cooperating and her shapeshifting was a perfect tool for that...

Was a person with a double digit kill count even a child anymore?

‘Yes’ Nedzu decided as he remembered how innocently she held hands with her mentor or delighted in observing cute animals. There was still a certain purity to her that even murder could not taint.

Degurechaff in comparison held quite the pragmatic outlook on life. Some would even call it cynical. Yet she was neither jaded nor nihilistic, from what he could tell. Simply unaware of where she saw her place in this cruel, magnificent world.

The principal glanced down at his empty cup and mirthfully questioned if the caffeine combined with a mild case of sleep deprivation was making him overly emotional.

Maybe he should check up on those two potential troublemakers...

A click of a button took Nedzu to an overview of every security feed on his premises. Toga Himiko appeared to be training still which was unsurprising and Degurechaff Tanya was just in the process of locking the door of her apartment behind her.

He would have ended his invasion into their private lives there if the small package Argent was carrying had not caught his eye. The formless, brown bundle stood out especially due to its non-descriptiveness.

It was a bit hard to make out from the angle of the camera, but he thought he saw her lips tighten as she stared down at the wrapped object in her hands.

A sign of uncertainty? Grim determination?

Peculiar...

Nodding determinedly she placed the package in her pocket and made her way over to the direction of the main building and indirectly him. When she took the stairs on the right his assumptions were proven correct:

She was definitely coming to his office.

Argent was most likely preparing to hand something of immense importance over to him. Probably information stored in digital form on a hard drive or a similar device. Tanya was paranoid enough to believe that he had bugged her phones – even though he did not need to drastically violate her privacy like that to know what was going on – so it would not be anything that could be straightforwardly inferred from reading their memory data.

Judging by the fact that she had not announced this meeting prior, it was most likely that the intel in question was going to be of a sensitive nature for her personally. Obviously she had been ringing with the decision making process to potentially further incriminate herself, but Nedzu was honestly happy that she trusted him enough to pull through with it in the end. Her life was not an easy one, yet her courage to do the right thing was admirable. God only knew that he was never going to fully reveal what those scientists had done to him in their sick experiments.

He would have to reward her for her efforts somehow...

But first...

A tiny amount of tomfoolery…

His paw reached for the button underneath his desk that automatically opened the doors exactly before she could knock herself.

“Welcome! What can I do for you today, my valued employee?”

Her tiny facial expression was positively hilarious to him.

“Good evening to you too, headmaster. I am fine, thank you for asking.”

‘Uses sarcasm to hide her nervousness.’

“Did you have fun during your lesson?”

“Whether I have fun or not is unimportant to the progress of my students. But it was nonetheless excellent training for the newly developed aspects of my quirk. I am still testing my limits.”

‘So she did have fun. A sign of her deepening connection with class 1-A.’

“Mmh. That’s good to hear. Quirk science is a fascinating field of study.”

It really was. Neither their origin nor actual functionally had been discovered despite centuries of dedicated research. The greatest puzzle in the history of intelligent life was a conundrum he could not wrap his head around.

“Quite. Anyways, I have come here for the purpose of cooperation.”

‘Wants to keep this conversation brief. Body language is stiff and formal. Likely habitual response to stress. Trained to suppress emotions from childhood?’

Nedzu felt a spark of pity flicker inside him, so he sent her his most relaxed smile.

“Ahhh... Do you have something for me then?”

“Yes... I have something you will certainly find interesting, Mister Principal. On patrol this morning I retrieved it from my old apartment and in the name of our... business agreement thought it prudent to share.”

‘Long hidden secret. Reluctant to give trump card away. Thinks that she will ultimately harm their relationship by withholding information. Feels pressured by him? Feels dependent on his good will.’

While that may be useful in the short term, any true partnership was built on trust not fear. Else resentment and anxiety would spiral out of control and lead to betrayal or division as many tyrants throughout history could attest to.

Blunt honesty was an underrated tool that seemed to be particularly effective on her in the past.

“Thank you, but please know that I am perfectly happy to wait for your help until whenever you are comfortable to provide it. No extremely time sensitive issue has popped up that would require your assistance. I believe you are a great person, Tanya. You don’t have to prove that to me.”

Her shining blue eyes flickered hesitantly over his office while Nedzu patiently kept his smile affixed to his furry face.

“I appreciate your concern, Nedzu.”

The wind from the open window blew Argent’s short blond hair around, temporarily obscuring her expression. As it settled however her gaze had softened remarkably and he noticed the tiniest twitch of her lips.

“You do like to mess with people, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question, but he cheerily nodded anyway.

If it weren’t for his sharp ears he wouldn’t have heard her grumbling:
“My life seems destined to be ruled by madmen.”

Only decades of experience prevented Nedzu from laughing out loud.

With deliberate slowness she produced the package from her pocket and slid it over the table.

“Password is ‘Salamander 95’. Have a good night, headmaster.”

“Good night!” he grinned back, pleased with her reaction.

What great fun!

 

Chapter 25

“Thank you for coming. I am glad that you could be released early from the hospital.” she smiled.

Tanya found great irony in the fact that she was still wearing bandages underneath her uniform. Hopefully the rest of 1-A wouldn’t also find their way to the hospital over the course of the remaining school year.

“Good morning, Miss Argent. Thank you for having me.” the boy on the chair across her answered stiffly.

“So Iida... I wanted to speak to you in private today. Do you know why?”

“I imagine this is about my deplorable behaviour during the internship week. If so I assume full responsibility and-”

Before he could launch into the tirade he had probably rehearsed to himself over and over on the way to her office Tanya interrupted him.

“Alright, alright. Not so hasty there. The principal told me that you already met with Mr. Tsuragamae, the chief of police, and you probably discussed that point with him, correct?”

Iida silently nodded, obviously put off balance.

“Good. You know what you did, I know what you did. There is no need to discuss it further at the moment. Technically I was responsible for you during the time you got hurt, even if only indirectly as Mr. Aizawa had not been reinstated at that time. That is why I want to apologize to you for not being there for you when you clearly needed help in your life.”

“No! No, that was completely my fault! You don’t have to apologize for anything.” he sputtered.

“Indeed… But I want to. I likely couldn’t have helped you much to find your way back to rationality so soon after your brother got injured and
following the attack on my life I was in a rather sorry state as well. Nonetheless, I should have known that humans prefer emotions over logic.”

What greater foolishness was there but war? A few empty words could wipe cities off the map; destroy what a dozen generations painstakingly built up and for what? If the Great War brought the world anything worthwhile then she had certainly missed it.

“It’s in our nature to act stupid at the worst of times. The sports festival distracted me so much that I lost sight of the lives of my students and I did not think of the consequences that could result from that. I let my own problems blind me when I should have at least asked you if you wanted to talk with me about your brother. And for that I am sorry.”

Being an ideal hero went beyond clocking in during patrol hour and generally uplifting the public spirit. It was a full time commitment to protect those under one’s care. Not an easy job, but then again, a worker who never attempted to surpass expectations was not a good investment in the first place.

The tall, bespectacled boy stared at her weirdly. No matter.

Leaning forward over her folded hands she asked him seriously: “With that out of the way, let me ask you a simple question: What kind of hero do you want to be?”

His confusion at her sudden shift in demeanour was surprisingly entertaining. Was this how Nedzu always felt?

“Someone who can carry the Iida name and legacy proudly. A true defender of justice.”

“That’s a good answer for PR, however is that really your true motivation? The approval of your family?”

At his incensed look she elaborated.

“It might seem obvious, but it is anything but. Just like any other job there are countless reasons for becoming a pro hero and all of them are equally valid. To the person saved it matters little if their saviour did it for money, fame or out of genuine empathy. Results are the only thing that is relevant for success, regardless of your or my own personal preferences. In that aspect Stain was wrong.”

At the mention of the criminal who nearly killed him Iida’s face scrunched up in disgust or perhaps phantom pain. Argent continued with her lesson unperturbed.

“From what little I know about him, he values resolve more than anything, yet how could society function if its protectors were only allowed to be the bravest and most caring, most amazing people in existence? I’d wager such a force would be far too small to accomplish anything of note. Even two or three All Might’s are not enough to be there for everyone.”

“Are you saying... that it doesn’t matter why we do this so long as we are successful?” he asked sceptically.

“No, but also yes. Look at it this way... We all can theoretically be ‘pro heroes’, but we can’t all be actual heroes like in the storybooks or the adverts.”

“B-but how can you even call yourself a hero if you are not even willing to try to be a real one! Uh, no offence, Miss Argent.”

“Exactly.”

She let heavy silence descend over the room as she fixed him intently with her gaze. This was his moment of self reflection. Strictly speaking, it was unnecessary for her to lay the groundwork for Hound Dog’s therapy today, but the studious and serious teen required a bit of help to get back on track. He had already heard harsh words from the chief of police and undoubtedly his parents therefore she tried a more ‘carrot like’ approach in contrast to their ‘stick’.

“It depends on what you believe in. To what standard do you hold others and to what yourself? It’s all on you.” Tanya finally spoke.
Breathing deeply, she let her eyes sweep over the mostly empty office to give him some space to relax.

“You are not suspended and aside from a weekly visit to the school counsellor you will not receive any additional punishment. Not like you should see these sessions as punishments anyway. Multiple of your classmates go to them as well. Alas, I want you to really think about what a true hero represents in your free time. Neither I nor Mr. Aizawa will grade you on that, but it is still an important task.”

“Understood, Miss Argent! I am going to do so with the utmost care! I am most thankful for your mercy. To be allowed into UA after my grievous failure is very generous of you! I will not disappoint you again!”

As she wasn’t class 1-A’s official homeroom teacher Tanya had no actual say over expulsions, but she did not correct him. A bit of fear in her students was important to properly motivate them.

“Remember, our failures shape us as much as our victories. I am no different in that regard. We all have something we aspire to become and something we eagerly leave behind and I believe that is what separates the good people from the bad ones. They try to get better. They don’t languish in their mistakes; they work on their problems and attempt to overcome them!”

Once again she was paraphrasing from an interview she had given earlier that year. Inspirational quotes were basically unprinted money, pushing clout and merchandise in droves when delivered just right to an audience desperate for hope. Nonetheless, despite their commercial use it wasn’t as if she did not believe what she said in principle. Tanya’s own change across multiple lives was undeniable.

“Of course, Miss Argent! I thank you for your uplifting words!”

Standing up from her cushy chair she glanced at her clock and opened the door for him.

“Come then, let me show you to your new room and then you can go to Recovery Girl and let her check up on you just in case. You can join the next English lesson afterwards.”

Maybe they all could learn from their past together.

~[#҈#]~​

Tsutsumi Kaina sat at the small desk in her cell, a luxury the administrators of Tartarus thought she should be infinitely grateful for. Why, they even allowed her a pen and papers, despite how the former could potentially be used as a weapon. Because she could definitely attempt a prison break with a flimsy, plastic, ballpoint pen, so it showed just how much they appreciated her good behaviour. She could be restrained in a straight jacket and a chair after all, not even allowed to move like so many other inmates.

What assholes.

She shook her head, refocusing on the task at hand. To her side sat a newspaper one of the guards had given her, the contents of which being what sparked her most recent attempt at what she had tried to do countless times before. Just thinking about what she had read and the panic that gripped her as she looked at those black and white photos, made a lump form in her throat.

Did it make her a terrible person because upon finding out that the girl had almost died, her fear went first to how she almost lost her chance to tell her? Of course it did. Degurechaff had fought for her life, nearly died, and all Kaina had worried about was her own guilty conscience. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed deep through her nose, then looked back down at the page, blank save for the recipient's name written in the corner.

She put the pen to paper once more and tried to think of how she should start…

‘Hey, I know we barely spoke when we were both still employed by the Commission, but I killed-‘

‘Liking the hero life? The Commission treating you well? Of course not, and it's my fault because-‘

‘It was quick, if that makes it better. Your dad didn't know what was coming, and your mom-‘

Kain clenched her jaw, the pen flexing under her grip as she remembered that day. The car driving down the deserted road, her vantage point from atop a hill so far away she could barely make out the headlights as they twisted and turned down the winding path until she turned on her scouter's night vision…

Then she could see their faces, the two immigrants who ran a front, claiming to be a repair shop while laundering money for lowlifes. The Commission had told her it was more than that, though. That when a low ranking hero had come to them to save money on repairs for his support equipment, that they purposely sabotaged the work and got the man killed. That they were also creating and maintaining equipment for villains to use and getting innocent people killed as a result.

All the things a young, naive heroine needed to be told to fill her with enough righteous fury to not ask questions until long after the deed was done. Like the fact that the hero in question had been stabbed in the back and bled out in a gutter without even getting a chance to fight back, his support equipment never coming into play. Or how those immigrants had never wanted to be made the tools of a criminal’s enterprise, their desire to create a better life for their daughter being used to lure them in, and how they had been trying to get out ever since.

She wouldn't have even bothered to discover any of this if not for the fact that she recognized the little blonde girl being ruthlessly trained by Commissions harshest minders as the spitting image of the woman she had seen through the windshield that night right before her face was obscured by spider web cracks and blood.

Unbidden, her mind wondered, in those seconds between her husband's death and the car driving headlong into sturdy oak tree, the gas floored by a leaden foot and ensuring the woman's demise in the high speed crash, if the mother had thought of her little girl and worried of what would become of her. Considering that it was their refusal to allow little Tanya to be trained in the first place that signed their death warrants, Kaina doubted the couple would find solace in the fact that their daughter was now one of the highest ranking heroes in Japan.

Kaina shook her head and tried to centre her scattered thoughts back to the letter, but upon looking down at her hands, all she could see was the blood dripping off of them. A gasp escaped her lips as the pen clattered to the floor, and she heard the faint beep of vital sensors as they picked up on her accelerated heart rate and breathing. Almost by instinct, Kaina began her long practised exercises, the skills of a sniper to slow their heart and breathing so as to steady their aim. It's all that kept the guards from coming to check in on her, and yet, even as her body's response calmed, the source of her stress remained.

The red on her hands; the blood of all her victims. For years, she lied to herself, convincing her frayed conscience that it was for the greater good. That they were criminals, terrorists, false heroes. That the Commission was right and that the people needed to believe in the veneer of peace and order her actions helped paint and maintain. Society would collapse if civilians knew just how fragile it all was.

Then she had seen that little girl with hollow, exhausted eyes, being subjected to training far beyond what any child her age should have had to endure, and it all crumbled away. The Hero Public Safety Commission was a criminal organization in all but name, and she had been their top hit woman, ending lives and tearing apart families just to protect the assets of those higher up.

Sometimes she wondered if – had she never taken that job over a decade ago and never killed the Degurechaffs – she would have kept on doing it? Endlessly trapped in a circle of violence?

She could justify most of what she had done under orders as the right action for the greater good, but not that. Never that… Maybe that sin merely accelerated what was inevitable. Maybe she'd have killed that bastard chairman regardless. She'd like to believe that she would have, but perhaps it was merely wishful thinking.

With a sigh, she let her hands fall to her side and out of view, staring at the page with a blank expression.
Scrawled with unreadable gibberish and half finished sentences scratched out, it was yet another attempt destined for the waste bin. Gritting her teeth, she set about tearing it to pieces before retreating to her cot.

Another failure to her name and proof of how much of a terrible coward she was. As much as she hated this damned prison, she couldn't deny that she belonged here. It was the perfect place for a villain like her.

~[#҈#]~​

Yes, this was the perfect spot, Himiko thought happily. It had been a bit hard to cram herself into the air duct, but her slender physique made it possible. She was sure to pay extra close attention to her figure on top of her usual full body training in order to please her senpai after all. Hopefully her love found slim, slightly muscular girls attractive...

Technically she was supposed to clean some dreary corridors, but honestly that was far too boring. The white mouse-thingy said it was more of a cover up anyway. Why would she waste time listening to that stupid janitor when she could watch her beloved during work instead?!

Himiko had specifically waited until the room was empty before positioning herself. In a disguise of course, because she wasn’t stupid. Tanya would be angry with her if by some miracle she got discovered and she needed to kill the bystanders. Not to mention that she also really didn’t want to fight the fluffy principal. His beady little eyes made the hair on her neck raise in an instinctive fear response. She did not know why, but there was more to him than met the eye.

At first only a few students trickled into the room until the rest seemed to push through the door all at once. They were annoying, but a few of them were also rather cute so it balanced out in her opinion. For example there was the blonde with large horns and extremely big, blue eyes. Or another one who looked like an adorable human mushroom!

Finally however, her love stepped into the room, instantly alleviating the anticipation of her wait. Seeing her senpai quiet down the classroom without a single spoken word was as exciting as it was expected. No one could be as awesome as Tanya!

“Hello, I am the stand-in for Mr. Kan today as he was unavailable.”

Yep! A full dose of laxatives in his coffee would do that to any man without a digestion quirk. Admittedly her plan had been a gamble, but it paid off!

“Please call me Miss Degurechaff or Miss Argent if you cannot pronounce that. I hope we will see each other more in the future. On the topic of today’s lesson your teacher has left me with this note that-“

Himiko droned out the pleasant sounds of her beloved’s voice in favour of angling her dulled viewing mirror so that she could see her on the podium. From the awkward angle of the ventilation shaft it was hard to see anything.

“- To understand this better please open your textbooks and go to the appropriate chapter.”

Damn, her senpai went out of view again to write something on the blackboard!

Okay maybe she hadn’t really thought this through. This was not an ideal situation. Perhaps she should have simply impersonated a student and observed from somewhere else but a dusty hole in the wall. She pouted in frustration.

As the lesson progressed Himiko got mollified by Tanya’s nearby presence to some extent, yet she couldn’t shake the underlying disappointment that she only got glimpses of her to see. Lying flat on her tummy in this claustrophobic environment was also rather uncomfortable.

Suddenly a cool gust of wind licked at her ankles and sent shivers down her lower back. Air started to blow through the vent, driving under her skirt and surprising her through the weird sensation it provided. Crossing her legs Himiko tried to let the breeze pass over her, but that distracted her from the obvious:

Carried by the air currents, tiny dust particles streamed through the ventilation tunnel and directly into her nose.

A tiny twitch quickly developed into a mild urge to sneeze and from there spiralled out of control into an overwhelming itch that seemed to drill into her skull! By stifling her mouth and nose with her hands she managed to suppress most of the sound, but the tiniest squeak escaped her nonetheless.

Did they hear her?

Panicked she checked the students faces for signs of trouble, finding all but one otherwise occupied. The only one looking into her direction was an entirely black-coloured boy whose grey irises moved away from her and up to the ceiling as soon as she focused on him.

Puh! She was in luck. Nobody had discovered her.

Nothing similarly exciting happened for a while aside from the extremely light-absorbing boy excusing himself to go to the toilet and walking dangerously close to her vent.

Himiko was just absentmindedly drawing hearts on her palm with a finger when abruptly her whole world went dark. Muffled sounds were the only sensation reaching her, for neither sight nor touch existed in this terrifying void. She struggled for the briefest moment before everything was bright again and she found herself on the floor of 1-B’s classroom, the shadow boy looming over her.

Reflexively she kicked him in his unprotected weak point – right between his legs – and sprung to her knees.

He slumped against the wall with a whimper and she found herself owlishly staring at a crowd of flabbergasted students and one very irritated senpai.

“Uh, hi? I...” Himiko was at a loss for words until a brilliant idea sprung up in her mind like a hungry goldfish out of a bowl.

Pointing at Tanya, she confidently declared: “I’m her assistant!”

 

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.

 

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?