Chapter 30: Lighting the Wick Part 2
"So what would you say is your, munch, biggest failing since you started your path to become a, munch, hero Yaoyorozu?"
Momo blinked, startled from her meal. Looking up, she found Fatgum watching her. The round hero was busy stuffing his face with his third whole pizza while she was busy cutting up her slice. She had been on patrol with the hero and his sidekick for the morning before he had told them it was time for brunch.
"Fatgum that's kind of rude," the soft spoken sidekick, a third year from U.A., Tamaki Amajiki said with a shake of his head. His voice was almost as shocking as the question Fatgum had asked. He very rarely spoke and went out of his way to avoid Momo. At first she was worried but Fatgum has reassured her he was just shy.
"No it's alright. It's a fair question." Putting her silverware down, Momo pondered the question asked of her. "I think..." she thought back to everything that she had been through since she came to U.A and settled on a single, if painful, answer, "My ability to execute an action quickly."
"Really?"
Momo nodded, "There have been a few instances where this failing has come to haunt me."
Fatgum chomped into another pizza while motioning Momo to continue.
"The first was the villain attack while my class was at the USJ."
Fatgum paused and lowered his food, "I read the report over that. Despicable that villains would attack you kids like that. But by all accounts, you kids handled yourselves just fine. You yourself took out a large group didn't you? Your classmate you got separated with, um…"
"Jirou."
"Yes! That's the one. Her statement pretty much said you saved her life. She had nothing but praise for you."
Momo found herself fidgeting in her seat, "She's very kind to say so. We've spent a lot of time together after that. She's become a very good and very dear friend... but I can't agree with her praise of me."
"Why?"
"I assume you read how I took out so many villains. Correct?"
Fatgum nodded, "You and Miss Jirou combined your Quirks to create a massive landslide. I'd say that was a very clever and quick course of action that saved your lives."
"And yet, it also put ours at an unnecessary risk. If I hadn't been able to create a shelter for us we could have just as easily been crushed to death. What's more, my decision also took us out of the fight. We were stuck in that shelter until the teachers and rescue crews pulled us out."
It was Tamaki that spoke up next, though he didn't look at Momo when he did, "You're thinking about if you might have helped protect that one kid that got hurt."
Momo lowered her head, "When I heard what had happened while we were trapped, when I saw them load Midoriya up… The timeline of events... it's probably true there was no way to reach the center of the USJ by the time everything happened. But it only became an impossibility once my plan took us out. In the end, I relied on luck. Nothing more."
Fatgum leaned back while Momo continued on, "After that... my fight with Tokoyami comes to mind."
"A fight you won, spectacularly may I add. You seemed to have zeroed in on a weakness and used it to your advantage."
"Yes, but only because I saw how his Quirk reacted to harsh light as a fluke. Up until then, I doubted he had any weaknesses at all. If I hadn't seen that, I doubt I would have won our match since I wouldn't have had a plan. Luck wins once again." Momo took a sip of her drink, "And then I ran into Todoroki. The only thing I could think to try was to hit him with my canon. I couldn't think of anything else and I had time to try too. I relied on luck too much to get where I was and it finally ran out."
Fatgum opened another box of pizza as he spoke, "It sounds like what you need is some old fashioned ground experience. Bluntly, you have an incredible Quirk and a mind that's as smart as a whip, but your plans lack experience to back them up. You have nothing to pull from and just go with the first thing that pops into your head. That can work and that can also lead to defeat. Fortunately experience is going to build naturally. It's good to be concerned but I don't think you need to be fretting about it too much. You only just started, if there was ever a time to learn, it's now."
Momo looked up at Fatgum, "You think it's something so simple?"
With a giant smile, Fatgum nodded, "Yup. Going forward we'll see if we can find you some work that you can use to get your boots wet. Nothing life threatening, but it'll be good to get some dirt under those manicured nails."
Momo bowed her head, "Thank you so much, Fatgum."
"Now now! None of that! We three use food to power our Quirks so I say we fatties should stick together!"
Momo's smile cracked, "f-fat?"
While Momo looked down at herself despondent, Fatgum blinked in utter confusion. Tamaki poked his side, "I don't think you're supposed to call a woman fat."
"...Oh? OH!"
Fatgum spent the next few minutes begging Momo for forgiveness.
"Please don't kill Young Midoriya." All Might asked as he finished moving the furniture in the room off to the side.
Gran Torino rolled his eyes as he waited in a chair, "Pfft, I'm just going to see what he can do."
"You also said you were just going to go wake him up."
"He's awake."
"Torino…"
"When did you get this soft? If the kid's so fragile that he can't handle a little spar with an old man like me, then we have bigger issues that need to get addressed."
The silent stare from All Might made Gran Torino sigh, "What?"
"It's not Young Midoriya I'm worried about."
"Huh?"
All Might scratched his head, "Lets just say there are people that might not be very happy if I bring Young Midoriya home from a hospital bed."
Gran Torino scoffed, "What? Are you afraid of the boy's mother or something?"
"I am terrified of her, yes."
Before Gran Torino had a chance to ask what that was about, the sound of Izuku entering the room shifted their attention. All Might crossed his arms as he gave Izuku a look over, "It looks like Young Hatsume did a good job on your new costume."
Izuku puffed up, "Yeah it's great. She was able to make everything I wanted."
All Might nodded. The new costume, while keeping to the spirit of the first had a more professional look. When his eyes looked over the white cape that now hung from Izuku's shoulders he felt an old feeling of nostalgia take over, "A cape huh?"
Izuku nodded as he grabbed the hem of the cape and lifted it up, "It was an idea I had just before internships. Do you not like it?"
Izuku had noted the subdued look on All Might's face. Even Gran Torino had the same look. All Might however waved off the concern, "Nothing like that Young Midoriya. It's a fine addition. It's just... seeing it reminded me of my old master."
"Oh?"
"She wore a white cape as well."
Izuku blinked, then looked down at the cape he held in his hand, "I suppose once I inherit One for All, I'll be doing more than just carrying on your legacy, won't I. I'll be carrying hers too."
All Might nodded, "Her's and everyone that came before."
Izuku never really gave that much thought. He knew that One for All was a Quirk that was passed from one person to another, but it was always 'All Might's' Quirk. But the reality was, it wasn't just his Quirk. This was a Quirk that belonged to eight other people. Eight others who worked to help make One for All what is was now. When Izuku thought of it like that, the idea of him carrying it next was daunting.
Gran Torino sighed and hopped off his chair, "We'll have plenty of time to talk about history later. Right now," with a sharp hiss of air Gran Torino rocketed right by Izuku and perched himself on top of the pile of furniture, "I want to see for myself what this little boy can do. Alright kid," Gran Torino took out a stop watch and held it up for Izuku to see, "I'm going to set this timer and before it goes off, I want you to hit me once. Use your fists or chuck a chair at me. Doesn't matter which. Got it?"
Izuku glanced around at all the furniture again, then nodded that he understood. All Might sighed before he took several big steps back to make sure he gave the two plenty of room. Once he was far enough out of the way, All Might flashed Izuku a thumbs up and tried to look calm and confident, "Good luck, Young Midoriya."
...Am I about to die? Why does All Might look so freaking scared?
Deciding that it might be a good idea to focus on the old man who had already kicked down his door this morning, Izuku's aura flashed on and he took up a fighting stance. Gran Torino blinked a few times at the twin banged silhouette Izuku's aura now created thanks to the crest attached to his forehead and groaned as he started the stop watch and tossed it over to All Might, "Kid, you're not even being subtle about being a fanboy. Are you?"
Izuku just grinned. Gran Torino's grip on the furniture tightened, "Alright kid, lets see what you g-!"
The pile of furniture Gran Torino had been on suddenly flashed green before it rocketed upward. The old hero grunted before he kicked off and sailed to the other side of the room. As he flew through the air, pieces of furniture shot towards him but by twisting and using his Jet Quirk, Gran Torino was able to dodge all of it before landing on top of a microwave and crushing it, "You always start dirty kid?" Gran Torino asked, but with a smirk.
Izuku pointed at Gran Torino, "You literally started today by attacking me while I was asleep."
Kicking off the broken microwave, Gran Torino bounced from wall to ceiling. As he moved around the room, Izuku struggled to keep up. He tried to keep the yellow blur in his sites so he could fire something at him to knock him out of the air, but at the speed he was moving that quickly became impossible.
He's not just as fast as Iida but he can change direction much quicker than - OW!
Izuku winced as Gran Torino zipped by and smacked him over the head. Hissing Izuku changed tactics, the floating furniture began to move. Twisting and turning in the air, filling the room with high speed shields that Izuku hoped would slow the hero down and give him a chance to counter attack. To Izuku's immense shock however, Gran Torino had no issue weaving his way through the floating clutter, and was even able to bound off some pieces too.
WACK!
Izuku hissed as Gran Torino shot by and smacked him across the head as he did, "Come on kid! How are you going to let an old man like me!"
WACK!
"Keep running circles around you!"
WACK!
"And beat you like a drum!"
Izuku stopped moving everything around and yanked everything towards him, putting a wall between himself and the yellow blur just before the old hero slammed into the makeshift wall he put up. The moment Gran Torino made contact, Izuku shoved outward and launched Gran Torino back. The latter tumbled through the air before he smirked and launched himself forward through the air. Hitting the wall again, he twisted himself upright and rocketed to the ceiling then over Izuku. Izuku twisted his hands around, trying to keep his barrier between himself and Gran Torino but he was too slow. By the time he had moved everything, Gran Torino shot by him, grabbed a strap to his harness and slammed Izuku to the ground and placed his foot on Izuku's head.
"I think that's my win, kid."
"Ow," Izuku groaned into the floor.
"You might be making the right moves, but your reaction time is horrible. Also is throwing things lying around the only trick you got?"
Izuku twisted his head to the side, so that he could get a half decent look at the hero. The smirk on his face was annoying, "It's not over yet."
Gran Torino's smirk got wider, "Oh? Is that right, glow worm?"
Focusing on a pouch on his belt and letting his new cape hide what he was doing, Izuku used his Quirk to pull out a small net, "Yeah, the timer hasn't gone off yet!"
Yanking his cape to the side, Izuku threw the net over Gran Torino. The hero however shot back and jumped up to the ceiling making the net miss. Before Izuku could make the net chase after him, Gran Torino slammed back down and landed right on Izuku's back, "ACK!"
Izuku coughed and groaned, his green glow gone, '"Ow."
"Nice try kid, but you're way too slow to try and pull a stunt like that on me."
With Izuku still flat on the ground, Gran Torino kicked up his legs and took a seat on Izuku's back, "At the very least you don't fight exactly like your idol. You're able to use your head and do some thinking ahead."
"Hey!"
Gran Torino went on, completely ignoring All Might, "And when you do decide to fight head on like you did in the Sports Festival you have the good sense to keep that aura of yours turned on."
"Y-yeah. I figured if I kept turning it on and off people would know I was using my Quirk on something. At least this way I keep them guessing."
Gran Torino stroked his beard, "Hmmm. Well you're saying all the right things. Still haven't backed them up yet."
Izuku glared up, face set and determined, "I'm good to keep going."
"Ha! You don't lack spirit at least." Hopping off and walking back until he was on the other side of the room, Gran Torino spread his arms out, "Whenever you're ready kid. The clock's still ticking."
Izuku shot to his feet and tensed, "Hmph." With a sharp breath his green aura flashed back to life. Staring down Gran Torino, Izuku quickly cast his eyes around the room and at all the scattered furniture. He noted he wasn't the only one doing this either. Gran Torino was also making sure he knew where everything was.
He must be expecting me to try and hit him with something again… Alright, then let's change things up!
Izuku launched himself forward, scrambling as he closed the distance. Gran Torino rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Really? You want to try thi-urk!"
Gran Torino was cut off when his body glowed green and his arms were squeezed to his sides and his legs were slammed together, leaving him a short unmoving pillar. Gran Torino let off a few bursts of air, as he tried to propel himself up and break free of Izuku's hold but he was held firm.
Still running forward and fighting to keep his hold, Izuku yanked his left hand back pulling Gran Torino towards him while at the same time he twisted at the waist so that his momentum carried to his cocked back and right arm, "SMASH!"
FWOOSH!
The jets in Gran Torino's feet hissed loudly as a rocket of air launched him up into the air and ripped him free of Izuku's hold. Izuku gasped as his punch hit nothing but air. He had assumed he knew how strong the hero's Quirk was. That it was just strong enough to help him bounce around at high speed. But this time he used so much power that Izuku immediately thought back to Tenya's Recipro Burst or when Katsuki used his explosions to fly. Trying to hold someone that could put that much power into their movements was just not possible for him.
At least it didn't hurt when he broke free. So the crest is working at least.
Looking up, Izuku gulped when he saw the newly created crater in the ceiling that Gran Torino had made when he escaped. Izuku saw the crater but not Gran Torino himself.
Crud he already moved away!
Before Izuku could start scanning the room, Gran Torino ricocheted into the back of his knees and kicked Izuku's legs out from under him before bouncing away.
Gasping in shock, Izuku fell backwards. On instinct he reached out to the closest thing near him and yanked it over to him. With a oof, Izuku fell into the cushioned seat of a couch. He didn't allow himself time to recover though. He knew that the timer had to be getting close being done. A yellow blur off to his side warned him the Gran Torino was coming his way, so he launched the couch and himself up into the air with Gran Torino sailing right underneath. Righting himself yanked up several large and flat pieces of furniture and leapt off the couch. Hopping from platform to platform as he tried to chase after Gran Torino.
"HA! At least you're not leaving yourself as a stationary target now!"
Izuku was in mid jump when Gran Torino slammed into the table he was going to land on, splintering it and leaving nothing between Izuku and the floor. With the latter now hurtling down to the ground and defenseless, Gran Torino bounced off the floor and into a wall. Lining himself up to give Iuzku a good kick in the chest, "Better grit those teeth kid!"
Izuku tensed, knowing what was coming. With nothing to stop him he was a sitting duck in the air. He couldn't dodge or maneuver and anything he could drag over wouldn't reach him in time. He was a sitting duck, and even if he landed on the ground there was no way he'd have time to move out of the way.
He was stuck with no way out.
In theory.
I hope I don't pants myself like last time!
Izuku focused his Quirk on himself. Focusing first on his boots and the space just past them, he pictured landing on an invisible platform and brought his fall to a sudden stop. It wasn't perfect. His balance was all over the place and holding himself up even for this brief moment while not being under the effect of Ochako's Quirk as he had been at the Sports Festival was weird and disorientating. But the brief moment was enough, as he immediately shifted his focus on his harness, and the reinforced sections of his costume and pulled himself to the side, getting out of the way just as Gran Torino zipped by.
All Might's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Whoa!"
"Clever kid!" Gran Torino clicked his tongue as he passed by, not expecting that at all.
Landing on a floating chair, Izuku grabbed as much furniture as he could and threw it all after Gran Torino, trying to capitalize on the moment.
If I can get to him before he bounces off the wall, I'll have a chance!
RING!
RING!
RING!
Gran Torino hit the wall just as a wave of furniture was about to come crashing down on him but the ringing of the stopwatch brought both to a stop. Izuku sighed and brought everything back down to the ground and collapsed into the chair he had been standing on, "Darn it. I wasn't able to land a single hit."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Izuku blinked and looked up as Grab Torino walked up to him, "You kept adapting your strategies as the fight went on and were even able to create an opening for yourself in that last instant. It's been awhile since I was taken off guard. Not bad."
"Young Midoriya, that move at the end. When did you come up with that idea? The Sports Festival?"
Izuku shook his head, "That wasn't like when I was flying. Uraraka removed our gravity so I was able to hold us both completely without any outside forces giving me issues. Without that I have to grab a person's clothing. I'm getting pretty good at that."
"I'll say," Torino mumbled to himself. Remembering how he had to put in some effort to escape.
"I tried doing the same thing to myself once before, during the first day of school but it didn't... go very well."
All Might recalled the disaster at the long jump and nodded sympathetically. Izuku continued on, "But I never stopped thinking about the technique and after the Sports Festival I started thinking about it even more. So when I was updating my costume I had Hatsume reinforce some parts so that if I tried, I had areas that I could hold better."
All Might glanced over at Gran Torino, a smile on his face, "Not bad for a kid I'd say."
Gran Torino just rolled his eyes, "The day's still young... but it's off to a good start."
Izuku blinked, "Wait? Did I just pass a test or something?"
"HA! Kid I just said you were off to a good start. If you think I'm done with you then you got another thing coming. I got you for the whole day and you better believe I'm going to use every second of it."
Izuku gulped, How did I get stuck with the hardest internship!?
Ochako sneezed as she lay face down on the floor, Miruko grinding her heel into the back of Ochako's neck.
Hitoshi sneezed as he stared at Ms. Joke's 'training equipment' he was supposed to use. A ventriloquist dummy.
Tenya and Himiko both sneezed as they tried not to let Manual see them glare daggers at each other.
"SHOOOOOUUUUUUTOOOOOOOOO!"
Shouto sneezed as his father tried to get his attention in the meeting with his sidekicks.
Katsuki sneezed as Best Jeanist worked a comb through his hair and poured on an ungodly amount of hair gel.
Yup I drew the short straw for sure, Izuku sighed.
It was the middle of the day and the street was busy with people strolling around. Normally in the quiet part of the city people never had to worry about crowd traffic. No one ever had a reason to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.
That was until today.
Under the shadow of an inconspicuous empty office building a huge crowd had gathered. Some whispering in awe or openly cheering. Their attention was drawn to a small group of three individuals. One an unassuming man in a business suit. Another, a student, several recognized from tv only a few days before and the last and main focus of the crowd's attention - a hero who waved back at the crowd happily as the three entered the building and walked down a hallway.
"So is that kind of reaction normal to you?" Asked the student.
The hero shrugged, "Sorta. At least when I'm on the ground. Up in the air it's harder for the crowds to gather around me like that."
"It would have been better if we had taken a car. We could have avoided all the hassle getting here." Grumbled the business man.
"People need to see their heroes on the streets."
The man sighed while the hero shook his head, "You're the one that insisted he had to be here. I could have easily taken care of this."
The man gave the hero a pointed look, "You've been taking care of this for over a week and haven't gotten anywhere."
The hero laughed, "What can I say. She's a character."
"Who needs to come to heel."
The hero's smile frosted, though he kept it up, "Riiiight. Good luck with that. Word of advice don't let her hear you say that….Actually don't let any other hero, especially ones on the billboard, hear you talk like that."
The man stopped walking and looked at the hero, "Present company excluded correct?"
The student looked between the two men. A little surprised to be seeing this kind of friction between professionals. Both men then seemed to remember they did have an audience and went back to their normal selves.
"So she's here now? You're sure?" The man asked.
The hero nodded, "Last time we talked she said this was where she was."
"And here I thought you said she was very adamant you stay away."
"That was only for our first hundred calls. I turned on the charm last time and got her to tell me."
"Uh huh."
"...Maybe I also had someone trace her call when we last talked."
The man sighed, "Even if this was where she was then, with how much she moves around, how do we know if she's here no-!"
CRASH!
The wall behind the three exploded in drywall dust and cheap plaster as something rocketed through and slammed into the wall of the other side of the hallway. The three stared blankly as Ochako threw off the drywall chunks on top of her, picked herself up and launched herself through the hole she had just made, "GET BACK HERE YOU BUNNY BITCH!"
A couple seconds later, not even enough time for the three to even ask what had happened, and after a few nasty sounding thuds, Ochako came crashing through the same wall again but in a different spot and taking more of the wall with her this time. Chucking off the huge slab, she proceeded to once again launch herself through the hole, "ARHHH!"
More hollow thuds and wacks followed and with the new holes, the three could hear voices.
"Faster! Madder! You want me, you better go for my throat! Get hurt, hurt them back! Get knocked down! GET BACK UP!"
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
CRASH!
The damaged wall exploded as Ochako went through it a third time. This time however she didn't hit the wall on the other side of the hallway as her flight was stopped while she was still in the air. It took Ochako's rattled brain a few seconds to realize that the impact wasn't coming and a few more seconds to realize she was floating in the air. Numbly, Ochako tapped her fingers together but stayed airborne. As the battle haze started to lift she finally noticed that there were several large red feathers holding her up.
Poking one and confirming Miruko hadn't broken her brain because yes, those were indeed real feathers, Ochako then looked over and realized she was not alone in the ruined remains of the hallway. First was a man she did not recognize. He looked simple enough in his plain black suit and held a black briefcase in his hand. He looked absolutely flabbergasted at what he was seeing. The next man she would know anywhere, thanks in part because her best friend was a walking talking hero encyclopedia. Hawks, the currently third ranked hero in the nation, was standing in the middle of the hall and looking completely amused. When Ochako looked over at the third and final person her train of thought was cut off when his shadow rose over her and looked down, "I knew it! You are a closet psychopath!"
"Dark Shadow!" Fumikage called out in alarm, "Don't say things like that!"
"Why? It was Midoriya that beat you up. Not her. We can totally take her. Boy I can't wait till we tell the rest of the class that she's got a mouth like Bakugou's."
Ochako blinked before she reached up and snagged Dark Shadow's beak, her eyes turning to slits as her combative aura started leaking out, "What was that? You're 'not going to say a word?' That's what you said, right?"
"Eep!"
Before Ochako could carry out the untimely act of seeing if Peter Pan was right and a shadow could be ripped from a person, she was halted as Miruko stuck her head through the ruined wall and looked inside the hall, "Where'd you go? Are you dead? I didn't kill you, did…" She trailed off when she saw the group, "Fuck you! Get out of my building!"
Hawks, ignoring that last bit, waved at Miruko with a smile, "Yo, Miruko. How's it been? I see you got yourself an intern too. Gotta say, didn't see that one coming. You never struck me as the teaching type."
Miruko glared at Hawks before turning back to Ochako, "Get off your ass, and let's get back to work."
Nodding, Ochako tried to roll off the feathers but gasped when they lifted her up and brought her over to the group. Hawks put a hand on her shoulder, "Come on. It looks like you've been putting the poor kid through the wringer. Let her have a break and we can talk. We can take this chance to show the kids how professional heroes talk to each other. It'll be a great teaching moment."
The business man coughed into his hand and Hawks added as an afterthought, "Also, show her how important it is for active heroes and the Hero Commission to have open dialog with each other too."
Ochako blinked in surprise and looked over at the man, "The Hero Public Safety Commission?"
The man nodded, "That's correct. It's good to see students such as yourself are familiar with us." Ochako didn't mention that she only knew about the name and that they were a thing that existed. Any other knowledge she might know was very vague and probably not very flattering. They were 'the bureaucracy behind the heroes' is what she had heard. The man then turned his attention back towards Miruko, "Hawks is right. If you have decided to take up the responsibility of acting as this young girl's tutor, then you should do so in all aspects of heroism. Not just combat."
"..." Miruko said nothing at first before rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Neither of you are going to leave until we talk, are you?"
"Nope," Hawks said while flashing her a cocky grin, "So what say we get down to business."
The exasperated sigh Miruko let out reminded Ochako of a teenager that was being forced to do some chores. Seeing the hero have to deal with it after getting her world stomped on for the past few hours brought a smile to Ochako's lips. A smile that was immediately noticed by the hero, "Don't you go looking all happy. You better believe I'm gonna take all this shit I'm about to deal with out on you."
Oh... well fuck.
Pulling out a chair, Ochako took a seat next to Fumikage while Hawks, Miruko and the businessman took a seat at the only table they could find, or the only one Miruko could bother to pick up, that wasn't totally destroyed. The man had suggested that the two find another room to wait, but Miruko threw the whole 'teaching moment' back into his face.
"Didn't you say something about how important it is for active heroes and the Hero Commission to have open dialog with each other, and that the kids should see it?"
Before the man could argue, Hawks chimed in, "If everything goes like you want, the kids will be involved anyway when they come with us. I'm not leaving Tokoyami behind and I doubt Miruko is going to leave her kid either."
Seeing that there was no point fighting him, the man got down to business and put his briefcase on the table and popped open the locks, "I'm going to assume that you already know what we are here to talk about, correct?"
"Stain." Was Miruko's immediate answer.
Ochako went rigid at that name, "The hero killer!?"
What could they be talking about that has to deal with that monster?
The man nodded, "That's correct. Now, I think you'll agree that it would be better for everyone if this villain was caught and brought to justice. Which is why the commission is organizing a manhunt right now in Hosu City. We have several top heroes combing the streets and guarding all train stations and ways out of the city. We know he has to still be in the city and now it's only a matter of time until we apprehend him."
"Yup, you sure got a bunch of people stumbling over each other trying to find this guy. Good for you. You've even got Endeavor to show up to walk the streets right?" The lack of enthusiasm from Miruko was a little startling for Ochako.
"Yup, he's going to be in the city tomorrow. He's been prepping his agency for when they take the field," Hawks replied.
The man nodded, "Yes, we are fortunate to have so many heroes working together to bring this villain down-"
"Aaaand here's the but," Miruko cut in.
"...But we don't have many heroes who have Quirks that specialize in tracking and manhunts."
With an annoyed flick of her wrist, Miruko pointed at Hawks who chuckled, "I'm flattered, but while I'm good, covering a whole city is a tall order. Even for one as great as me. But if I had a partner. Say someone with a Quirk that gave her really good hearing..."
"And there it is." Miruko groaned.
"Miruko," The man said matter of factly, "Your Rabbit Quirk does more than just give you strong legs. It's well documented that your ears and nose make you an expert in tracking."
"Yup I am. Which is why I plan on being in Hosu City to find that piece of shit."
The man shook his head, "That is not acceptable. Your talents will be better used working with Hawks to search the city."
"...I believe I've made my opinion on hero teams abundantly clear. Heroes that have to team up are weak, and I'm not weak. And I already gave Hawks my answer the last time we talked."
The man slapped his hand down on the table, "Need I remind you who you work for!? This team up is not up for debate. You will do as you are ordered and-!"
CRASH!
The table between the three exploded and was sent rocketing upward. Creating a huge hole going up several floors. The man was left gaping in shock while Hawks whistled. Miruko, with her one leg still in the air, glared angrily at the man, "Let's make one thing crystal clear. I don't work for you. Your job is to make sure pros are following the rules. Which I do. That is the extent of your power. You know it, and I know it. So don't think I'm some fresh rookie you can bully into being your group's attack dog. Am I clear?"
The man didn't, or couldn't, say anything so Hawks took over, "Look I get that you have some pretty strong opinions on this subject, but I'd say this matter should be an exception. Don't you think?"
Before Miruko could give Hawks some choice words on the subject, Ochako stood up, "Miruko!"
Miruko's ears twitched and she turned to look over at Ochako. Hawks also cast his eyes her way while the man from the commission was still frozen in terror.
"Stain... he... hurt a friend of mine." Ochako's fists tightened as she spoke, "Iida... his older brother is Ingenium. He got attacked a few days ago. When I saw Iida afterwards, I could see how much pain he was in because of it. He didn't say anything but I could tell. He was hurting so much."
Miruko frowned, "You're friends with that guys brother huh? Sorry to hear that you're having to deal with some of the fallout."
"I'm not interested in your fucking sympathy!"
Fumikage jumped hearing Ochako curse while Miruko raised an eyebrow. Hawks watched Ochako closely, not sure where this was going but having a feeling that he shouldn't say anything.
"What I'm interested in, is why you're not doing your job!"
"Kid," Miruko warned but Ochako ignored her.
"You're a hero that has a Quirk that can help stop this monster and what, you're not going to use it because you like to work alone? That's total bullshit! If you and Hawks can get Stain caught quicker by working together, then there shouldn't be anything else coming out of your mouth but 'yes'! But you're not going to do it because you think it makes you weak?"
Ochako had started walking as she talked until she was now standing right infront of Miruko, "You're afraid of Stain. Aren't you."
Miruko was out of her chair in a flash, putting herself face to face with Ochako, "Care to repeat that?"
"You're a coward. You don't want to be anywhere near Hosu City so you're making up excuses to stay here."
The two glared at each other, both with eyes filled with rage. Hawks could see Miruko's muscles straining and was starting to worry she was getting ready to attack. He also didn't like how Ochako was mirroring her perfectly, with her own muscles pulled taut.
"Is that a fact?"
"Prove me wrong."
There was a long horrible pause as everyone waited to see what the two did. Finally Miruko's sneer twisted upward into a terrifying grin, "When'd you grow those balls kid?"
"They probably popped out after the twentieth time you kicked me in the gut."
Miruko laughed, "Fine. Hawks, when do you want to do this fucking shit?"
Hawks blinked but decided to not let this opening slip by, "Can you be at Hosu City tomorrow?"
"Yup."
"Then tomorrow."
"Fine. Now get the hell out of here and take this commission douche with you. Me and the runt are gonna make up for all the time wasted tomorrow."
"You're going to bring her along then?"
"You're taking your kid with you too right?"
"Yup."
"So I'm taking mine."
With the meeting over, Hawks was able to get the man from the commission snapped back to reality and had Fumikage help him leave the building with Ochako showing them the way out. This left Hawks and Miruko alone.
"So you get what you want from that whole show and dance?"
Miruko glanced over at Hawks and rolled her eyes when she saw him grinning, "Yeah yeah. It's all good. Thanks for bringing that Hero Commission guy with you. I guess I owe you one."
Hawks waved her off, "Not a problem. Guess your kid knows that she doesn't have to let the Commission push her around if she doesn't want them to. So that's a good lesson. But what about the other stuff?"
"What, me pretending to turn down your offer to work together to take down Stain?"
"Yeah. You're not worried she's going to think less of you for it?"
Miruko laughed, "Uraraka did exactly what I wanted her to do. And after I tell her what we just cooked up I doubt it'll be an issue."
"To be fair, it did take me a few tries to convince you to team up. You weren't lying when you said you don't have high opinions on heroes that team up."
"This is a special case. Plus you said you wanted me to join you. Not work with you. I don't work under anyone." Miruko said with a smirk.
With a wave, Hawks walked for the door, "Then I'll see you tomorrow. Just do me a favor and make sure the kid will be able to move then. Maybe don't kick her through any more walls."
"You train your kid your way, and I'll train mine my way."
Himiko had to admit, this change of pace was rather refreshing. Normally when she had her eye on someone, when she was tracking them and learning everything she needed to know to imitate them she had to make sure she was never noticed. It was a skill she had refined until she could all but disappear in the blink of an eye. Even in the middle of a group of people. Today though, instead of trying to be unseen, she was going out of her way to make sure her target, a certain thick skulled academic named Tenya, knew she was watching him at all times. Making sure she was always there, maybe never in direct line of sight but always just at the corner of his eye. Always under foot to the point that they had almost tripped several times because he wasn't careful.
To top it all off, she was able to do this and not only get away with it because Tenya couldn't afford to make a scene in front of Manual, but because she was so good at doing all this and not be noticed by Manual at all. She really was the baddest bitch when it came to this shit. If she said so herself.
It was too bad she was having to deal with said thick skull academic while she flexed all over the place. It totally ruined her mood.
Noticing Tenya start to look towards the alleyways as they walked down the street, Himiko 'accidently' let one of her clawed gauntlets brush against Tenya's side. Scrapping the metal of his costume and ripping his attention back to the road. Not before he glared angrily at her, his helmet not hiding his displeasure at all.
"Sorry you two have to do more patrolling today. It's not the most stimulating time. I'm still looking for some good jobs we can take that you two can take part in."
Tenya turned away from Himiko to address Manual, "It's alright. This kind of experience is...good for us."
Manual glanced back at the two before continuing on, "Now that I'm thinking about it, this is a good opportunity for a lesson."
That got both of their attention, "Lesson, sir?"
"Oh joy," Himiko mumbled under her breath.
"Do you know what a hero license actually allows heroes to do?"
Himiko rolled off the first thing that popped out of her head, "Beat up villains and lock them up and get paid to do it."
"Wrong."
"Wha?"
"You see Toga, what a hero can do is not so broad. The public puts a great deal of faith in us and the system we work in. With the advancement of Quirk regulation the public trusts us to make sure we only use our Quirk to the extent we are allowed. We may intervene in crises and work to detain villains, but arrests are something that we lack the authority to do. That power still lies with the police alone. The same goes for punishment. That alone lies in the judiciary. We are not a villain's judge and jury."
"But we are their executioners," Himiko countered. "I can name heroes that have killed villains. One of them is the big number two himself."
Manual frowned, "True there have been instances that deaths have happened, but a hero can not go into a situation looking to take a life. We can defend ourselves but past that, we would stop being heroes and turn into nothing more than vigilanties. To step into that role would be a great betrayal of trust… Do you understand what I am saying Iida?"
Tenya jerked to a stop while Himiko raised an eyebrow, Wait a second? That almost sounded like he…
"Heroes can not act on personal grudges." Manual finished while looking right at Tenya.
Holy fuck! Holy fuck he knows Tenya's game.
One sneaky glance and Himiko could tell Tenya was nothappy about being found out. He was tense and his fists were gripped so tight, she thought for sure he was going to pop all his knuckles out of their sockets. At the very least, this should make her job a little easier. If Manual was also keeping an eye on Tenya, then there was no way he was going to be able to sneak off.
All her problems were solved. At least the ones dealing with Tenya. She still had to go another fours days dealing with all this boring hero crap.
When Manual turned away and started leading them off, Himiko leaned over and whispered, "Guess that's you screwed, huh?"
"Shut up Toga."
Himiko raised an eye at that, "Careful there. I'm doing this for your own good you know. Don't go and piss me off more than you have."
"..."
Himiko sighed, "Look, your plan is pretty thoroughly screwed so just drop it. Besides You're only guessing that you'll find him here. For all you or any of the heroes here know, Mr. Stain could have already skipped town."
"...No. He's still here."
It was the certainty in Tenya's voice that made Himiko lose a step. Looking at him closely, Himiko frowned, "How could you possibly know that?"
"After my brother's attack, I looked into Stain to see if there were any patterns. In all the places he's been he's always had at least four victims. My brother fits the same description as two others that were attacked in this city. I don't know if it's a jinx, a personal goal, or something else for Stain, but counting my brother's fall, it sums up to three incidents here. So the odds of Stain still being in Hosu City are incredibly high."
Himiko didn't show any emotions externally, but inside she was cursing up a storm, Fucking fucking fuck! Of course you use that fucking head of yours for something like this.
"So no, I'm not going to simply give up. Not when I still have a chance."
The hate in Tenya's voice made Himiko start to reevaluate her options. It was becoming more of a possibility that she was just going to have to slice apart Tenya's hamstring or achilles tendons to keep him from getting killed. Not a pleasant option, but one she was now forced to consider.