Chapter 9
Reports and Recolations
Spider Journal Entry 50: It's almost been a month since I met the Fantastic Four, and I still can't believe I got to have the privilege. Or that I'm a part of their group chat! Or that I'm actually in a group chat! But knowing how smart Mr Richards is, he probably already knows who I am by hacking my phone or something. Or just through the suit.
Speaking of which, my new look has done wonders for my image, people aren't terrified of me when I show up now! And the jokes I tell really help ease the tension. Like yesterday when I stopped a speeding car right in front of someone, unfortunately a more noticeable costume means that I'm not really unnoticed anymore. There hasn't been any official word from the HPSC or the police regarding me, none that I've seen anyway.
Vulture's arrest is really what got me noticed…I feel a little bad about what he said, about him doing this for his family…..but that's no excuse. I looked up and calculated how much he would have stored away and it's somewhere in the billions of yen! I know that raising a family is hard but you don't need to be ultra rich to raise one.
And speaking of family…I'm worried that my mom might suspect something. I've been a little late to school recently and they called her yesterday about it, I just told mom that there's some heavy foot traffic on my way to school but…..I don't think she believed me. Lying to her is hard enough, but doing it while she knows, or at least suspects I'm doing it is even worse.
Izuku sighed before he closed his notebook, while he had been late on the odd day to school due to stopping crimes he would come across. It wasn't like he planned on it. And normally it wouldn't be a problem…..until they called his mom to ask about it, The one time my school actually showed that they have an interest in my education, and they ended up making this happen. Izuku lamented as he sat with his mom at the dining room table, her expression a mixture of concern and disappointment. It was almost enough to make his waterworks go off, which would then make her cry because if one of them started the other was soon to follow.
"Izuku honey, what is going on?" she asked rather bluntly, he winced slightly at the tone which made her expression soften a little. "I know that you've been going out more, and that you've been staying out later but why are you late to school?" she inquired directly. Izuku rubbed the back of his head guilty, of course his mom had noticed the change in his routine, she wasn't stupid.
"Mom I was just late to first period a few times because there was a big morning crowd a few days on my route to school, it's not a big deal." he assured her before looking away. "Besides, my grades are still good, I'm not skipping school or anything," he added.
His mother gave him a sharp look, "Watch the attitude." she replied as he winced.
"Sorry," he apologized. "But mom it's really no big deal." he assured her as he raised his hands defensively. Inko crossed her arms across her chest and stared down her son for a moment. Izuku was a good son, he never complained about his chores, or the rules she set for the house, he was also a good student that made her proud of how hard he worked.
And she also knew very damn well that the school he went to, despite its spotless reputation, looked the other way when her son was mistreated by his classmates. So when she had a message left on her phone where they asked her if she knew why her son was tardy for five days, she wasn't sure exactly how to respond. As he held her gaze, she reached across the table and took his hand in her's, "Honey I know that…..you've been changing recently. Ever since you decided to apply for General Studies. Even before then really." she said knowingly, making him blink in surprise. "And I know you're a good son honey, but I'm responsible for you and I worry. I just want to know you're not doing anything that might hurt you down the line." she explained.
Izuku's expression softened at his mother's concern, he looked down at her hand that held his, and clasped his other overtop of it. "I know mom…..and…..I've been struggling with….you said that U.A. would help me find out who I am but….well I've been looking for ways that I can help others now." he explained vaguely.
Inko's lips pursed together unsurely, "That's all well and good honey but you can't use that as an excuse to miss school." she replied.
Izuku looked down at the table between them, It's not like they even care. He thought bitterly. With all the good he could do as Spider-Man, high school just seemed more like an obstacle than anything. So what if he was a few minutes late for class? He had saved someone from a runaway car, stopped a mugging, and a break in attempt just to name a few. Besides since when does anyone at school care about the quirkless nobody? I'm surprised they even bothered to call. He thought.
Inko saw the irritation cross her son's face and frowned, "Izuku." she said, having not gotten an answer.
The green haired young man looked away, "It's not like they actually care about the quirkless kid." he said bitterly. His eyes widened as he realized what just slipped out of his mouth and turned to his mom with an apology ready for his tone but what he saw stopped him.
Inko felt like she had just been slapped, Izuku winced, "Mom-I-I'm sorry that, that just came out and-" he began before she raised a hand, her face becoming more relaxed but her eyes still wide at the suddenness of his comment.
"Izuku…what do you mean by that?" she asked, the tone of her voice holding a repressed anger that made Izuku visibly swallow. He had seen his mom irritated, offended, disappointed, disbelieving, and almost every other emotion he could think of….but he had never seen her mad before.
"I…..er…..well….." he fumbled.
"Honey. Has anyone at your school treated you differently because you're quirkless?" she asked directly. Izuku looked away ashamed, and that was all the confirmation that Inko needed, "Oh Izuku i-" she began as tears gathered in her eyes before an enraged look crossed her face. "-I need you to tell me what happened, who was involved, and when it took place." she told him in a serious tone as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes with her fingers.
Izuku was taken aback once more by her change in demeanor, on instinct he lifted his hands and waved them in front of himself, "Wha-No! Mom, it's fine." he assured her.
Well, I tried to assure her because it didn't work at all. The usually sweet woman was gone, in her place was a mother who looked ready to commit acts of violence for the sake of her son, "Izuku. Give me names."
Izuku pursed his lips together, "...do you remember back in middle school? I had some problems with some other students?" he asked her. Inko blinked in surprise at the abrupt change of topic but she remembered clearly, during gym class someone had used their quirk to break into his locker and, in bright pink paint, written 'Quirkless nobody' on the back of his school uniform.
Impossible to hide it, he came home with Inko seeing it and being livid. While she told him to get a bath while she cleaned his uniform, she also made a call to the school to meet with the principal. The next week the school had an entire assembly about why it was wrong to ostracize anyone just because they were different. While the sentiment was appreciated, it didn't take anyone much time to come to the conclusion that he had gone to the teachers and complained since he was the only quirkless student in the entire school.
"After that happened, no one bullied me because they didn't want to get in trouble. But they all just…..ignored me." He explained, his eyes looked downcast at the table between them. He knew that his mom had done what she did to try and keep him safe from other acts of bullying, and he was grateful for it. But the isolation? Being the sole outsider in school because of something beyond his control? He couldn't wait for High School, but even that wasn't as good as he thought it would be since it was just more of the same from before.
Inko's hands raised to her face, "I…..oh god Izuku why didn't you-" she began.
He raised his hands and waved them, "It's not your fault mom! I-I mean you did what you could, it's just…" his hands slowed to a stop, watching as his mom lowered her own to look at him with a distraught expression. "...I like school, I just…..sometimes I don't want to go." he excused lamely. It was a poor one he knew, but it was better than telling her the truth that he had been stopping crime as Spider-Man.
Inko pursed her lips together as her hands fell onto the table, "Izuku why didn't you tell me any of this?" she stressed as she shook her head in disbelief. Izuku winced at the hurt his mom's voice now carried, she took a deep breath to try and gather her thoughts.
But the clear one that came back was hurtful, her son didn't trust her, and that hurt her deeply more than she knew because she never expected something like that.
Izuku frowned in dismay at his mom's reaction, "I just…I didn't want to worry you." he excused lamely.
"You're my son, it's my responsibility to worry about you." she replied. She took a deep breath and let the quiet between them hang in the air for a few seconds before speaking, "Izuku, I…..I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you're going through this honey, but you can't just miss school because of it." she said sadly.
"I know." he replied understandingly, "And I promise I'll be better, I won't miss school anymore."
Inko shook her head, "Honey, I couldn't care less about the school." she told him, making him stop, "I care that you kept this from me because you didn't trust me." she said, the hurt in her voice clear but not waverley like she was on the verge of tears, even though he could see water gathering in the corner of her eyes. She focused her gaze on him with an almost pleading expression, "Izuku, I don't…I'm not asking you to tell me everything, but please don't keep things like this from me." she asked him.
Izuku felt like a knife was planted in his heart and was now being twisted, "I….I won't mom….I promise." he said, feeling hollow as he made a promise that was just as empty.
Inko took another breath to calm herself, wiping her tears away she asked, "Is there…..anything else?" she probed gently.
Izuku felt his stomach drop at his next words, "No mom…nothing."
"Pllllleeeeaasse?" Setsuna begged with her hands clasped in front of her with her eyes as big and puppy-like as she could manage.
"No." Itsuka replied with a smirk as they continued walking, her friend groaned dramatically as her head fell back. "I told you, I got training to do. Not to mention a diet now so I cannot stuff my face with Pizza with you guys this Friday night." she said, looking over her shoulder at Yui, whose blank expression didn't say much but the way her lip slightly lowered made the ginger haired girl frown as both her friends were giving her a guilt trip.
Setsuna turned so she was walking alongside her before throwing her arm around her friend's shoulder, "Come on Ken! We haven't hung out together in weeks! And it's not every night Sera gets to spend the night at a friend's house while my parents are out of town. We'll have the whole place to ourselves!" she tempted. Itsuka sighed to herself, it wasn't that she didn't want to hang out with her friends, and truth be told taking a night off from training wasn't too much to ask for. But with so much to do, taking a break just seemed like….well, a waste of time.
"If Pizza is the problem we can get something else." Yui provided.
Setsua's head detached from her neck, which probably looked like something out of a horror movie to those who didn't know her quirk, and zoomed over to Yui's face. "Shut your mouth." she said as she glared at her friend's emotionless face. The quiet girl simply raised her hand and poked Set in the forehead before pushing her away.
Itsuka watched the exchange and shook her head as they turned down the street, she had finished her routine jog when she spotted her friends coming out of a clothing store. With her training done for the evening, she had opted to join them on their walk back home with Setsuna needing to pick her sister up from daycare. "Pizza is never a problem as long as I eat it responsibility." Itsuka assured her friends with a smile before it dropped slightly, "And…..I'm sorry we haven't hung out together guys. I've been training but that's no excuse." she admitted.
Setsuna's head floated back to her neck and reattached itself seamlessly before giving her friend a toothy grin, "Nah you're fine girl. I get it, I'm still studying for that recommendation exam for U.A. so I'm one to talk." she admitted with a shrug before pointing at Yui. "The one one of us who should be upset is Yui, and she's just furious over the whole thing."
Yui nodded, "Indeed. Can't you tell how much of a wreck I am without my friends?" she asked blankly with a small smile. Kendo grinned and wrapped an arm around their shoulders, "We can hang out soon Ken. We understand." she assured her friend.
"Thanks guys. And we will, I promise. We'll have a night out and hang out." she assured them as they approached the daycare center where Setsuna's younger sister attended. Entering the building's lobby, the three girls saw a number of students were still waiting for their family to pick them up under the watchful eye of the caretakers. Setsuna's eyes scanned the crowd of children and locked onto the familiar dark green hair her sister had.
Sera wasn't exactly the spitting image of Setsuna but the family resemblance was strong, unlike the sharpened teeth Setsuna had, Sera's quirk had the side effect of giving her snake-like eyes. Those eyes were currently locked onto another girl whose older sister was watching over them with a fond expression, "Yo Tsyu! How's it going?" Setsuna greeted as she approached. The other girl's sister, Tsuyu Asui, was around Setsuna's age, she was a tad shorter but that could be due to her slightly hunched over posture more than anything, and had long green haired that went down to her waist and tied off in a bow at the end.
Her overall appearance actually resembled a frog due to her quirk, her hands were slightly large, her mouth was slightly wider, her eyes a little more ovular, but overall she looked to be a normal looking young woman. Her little sister, Satsuki, also had frog-like features but with her dark green hair tied back in two pigtails, who was talking to Sera excitedly.
"Hello Setsuna, Kero, good to see you again." Tsuyu warmly greeted with a small croak.
Setsuna smiled at her before raising her hand back and gesturing to her friends, "You too, these are my friends Itsuka, and Yui. We're here to grab Sera. Hope she wasn't boring you to death." she said, loud enough for her sister to hear. Sera turned to her, Setsuna giving her a teasing grin, and puffed her cheeks out at her before spotting Yui and Itsuka.
Her young eyes widened with delight, "Big sis Itsuka! Yui!" she said, running over and running into the pair who dropped down onto a knee to give her a hug. Itsuka smiled with a small part of her feeling guilty pleasure of being called 'big sis'. Being the younger child in a family of four had her be the one everyone tended to look down on in the hierarchy, so having a little one look up to her was a fun change of pace.
Tsuyu's sister walked over to her side as her older sister smiled, "Nice to meet you. Sera was just telling us about your trip to the zoo this weekend." she explained.
Sera broke away from her sister's friends in excitement, "Oh yeah! Set's gonna take me to the zoo this weekend! You two gotta come! Please, please, please, please, it'll be so lame if you're not there. Going with just Set sucks." she said, causing her older sister to turn her head completely around and balk at her.
Itsuka looked up at her and smirked at her look of betrayal, looking down at Sera however, while she had intended to let the girl down gently due to her training, seeing Sera look up at her with hope in her eyes made her resolve falter. "I…..um….might have plans Sera." she said, the switch up was immediate as Sera's bright expression dimmed. "B-B-But I'll come over and hang out with you soon! I pinky promise!" she said, quickly raising her hand and enlarging it so her pinky was extra big, making Sera giggle as they shook on it.
As Sera went back over to Setsuna, Itsuka's head dropped, feeling eyes on her she turned to see Yui staring at her. "...not a word Kodai."
"You're whipped by a six year old. Don't hate me for being brave enough to say it."
"-which was wiped out by a storm off the coast of Tsushima. However, while the invasion of the main island was destroyed, a smaller contingent of Mongolians made it to the island of Ikei, which was taken over. But not before Sōzaburō made it to Hanka Bay to report the invasion which allowed them to prepare a defense that would finish off the remaining invaders." the teacher explained as he wrote out a sequence of events on the board in a timeline. His class dutifully wrote down the notes, one of the students being Izuku Midroiya who had made an effort to be at school early every day for the past week after his talk with his mother.
It wasn't hard to do, but he still felt guilty about lying to her, his mom felt like he didn't trust her….and the fact was that he couldn't…
Not that he believed she would turn him over to the police if she learned that he was Spider-Man, if anything she would be more upset with him for putting himself in danger like he had been doing. But that wasn't the worst of it, the worst was that she would know that he had been blatantly lying to her, to her face, for over two months now, and that number would just keep going up the longer this went on.
And the worst part was that he did this to himself.
He chose to keep her in the dark for the sake of her not worrying about him, but that was before he decided to become a vigilante. Now though, he had made his bed and now had to lie in it…no pun intended.
Looking down at his notes, he double checked to make sure they were right before turning the page. I don't want to be put in that position again…..I hate lying to mom's face. But I can't just tell her I'm going out and doing hero work without a license….or that I suddenly have Spider powers. He thought to himself as the teacher continued the lecture about the second mongolian invasion which turned out to be only slightly more successful than the first attempt.
The bell rang and the students began packing up for the day, minutes later Izuku was walking down the hall to class when he felt someone bump into him, "Move it Deku." Bakugo growled out as he shoved past him, walking at a brisk pace \in front of him. However he walked past the front entrance of the school and instead headed towards the admin office on the first floor. Blinking in surprise, Izuku idly wondered what might cause Bakugo to be summoned there before shaking his head, he had more important things to worry about than Bakugo.
…..man even just thinking that was weird.
As Izuku left the school, Bakugo entered the principal's office. The blonde bomber's usual, cocksure demeanor was tempered out of the understanding that he had been summoned here to discuss his future. Considering there was only one future for him, attending U.A., he knew that this would be nothing but a waste of time.
The man behind the desk was a middle aged man, his head was mostly bald with the remains of his gray hair on the sides of his head. A pair of glasses hung around his ears which he adjusted as he looked up to the sound of the door opening, "Ah, Katsuki, thank you for coming. Please, take a seat." he said, gesturing to the pair of chairs in front of the desk. Bakugo sat down in one, leaning back nonchalantly with his arms crossed over his chest. "How was your day? Good I hope?" he asked.
Baklugo held back a scoff, "It was fine. Why did you want to see me?" he bluntly asked.
The principal blinked in surprise at the direct tone, "Er-well, your homeroom teacher brought to my attention that you're aiming to apply to U.A. for college. And the hero course no less." he explained, vicariously excited for the student's prospects. Bakugo hummed in agreement, "Now your academic records are great, there's no issue there, in fact we reached out to U.A. and it turns out that you might be able to apply to be a recommended student."
Bakugo's posture changed, unfolding his arms he leaned forward in his seat, "What?" he asked.
"Recommended students, you see U.A., well most colleges actually, have a program where they have a specialized test for certain applicants. U.A. has recommended students for the hero course, meaning that you would be able to bypass the entrance exam if we were to endorse you." he explained with an excited tone that was more towards himself than Bakugo. What he left out was the fact that schools who provided recommended students would become more and more reputable with each one they put forth. Bakugo didn't even need to succeed in getting the spot, but him accepting it would be a great boon for his school.
Anyone would be excited at the prospect…but Bakugo wasn't anyone.
He was Bakugo fucking Katsuki, who was sitting in the principal's office gritting his teeth silently as he listened as to how the school would use his success to ride his coatails on his way to being number one. "Thanks but no thanks." he replied, keeping the venom in his voice to a minimum.
The principal's somewhat pleased expression suddenly resembled a fish gasping for air, "I-you….what?" he asked as Bakugo stood up.
"I said I'm good." he repeated as his red eyes stared at his principal, "I'm aiming for U.A. but I'm not some loser weakling. I'm strong enough to get in no problem, so there's no reason for me to change how I'm getting in." he said before turning around and walking out the door he entered from, much to the principal's bafflement. He wasn't ordered here and it was officially after school hours, so there was nothing keeping him there.
"Thanks so much for helping me grab some groceries honey, are you sure that's not too heavy?" Inko asked her son as they made their way home from the nearby grocery store. She messaged Izuku after school that she planned a trip to the nearby store and wanted some help carrying them home with her, and her son had been all too willing to help. However when they discovered a store-wide deal was going on, she decided to take advantage…..which was how her son now had a dozen grocery bags hanging from both his arms.
Izuku didn't mind one bit though, his spider strength made this feel like carrying styrofoam. "It's alright mom, besides all that gym time is paying off." he said with a smile as he hoisted his arms up effortlessly. Even if he didn't have the enhanced strength of a spider, his physical body probably could carry these with no problem. Inko smiled as they turned a corner, only to stop when they saw it was barricaded off by police tape, "What happened?" Izuku asked himself out loud.
Further down the road he could see a wrecked car that had run into a fire hydrant but if he squinted, he saw that there looked to be damage all over the car itself. And among the gathered crowd he saw reporters being blocked off by police, meaning something notable had happened.
Inko hummed worriedly, "I hope no one was hurt." she said compassionately.
"Excuse me, you two." The mother and son jolted at the voice behind them, turning around and they were greeted by a woman in a dark blue business suit and white dress shirt. She had brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail, her bangs on the side of her face framing it as she looked down at her notepad, her eyes quickly breezing over it before darting up to look at them. "I'm with Mufasu News and….I….." she trailed off as she looked at Izuku's mother, who was also staring at her in disbelief.
Izuku looked between the Mirodiya matriarch and the strange woman before she spoke up.
"Inko?"
"Hodo?"
The two women asked one another in disbelief before both of them grew wide smiles, Inko and the woman, known now as Hodo rushed together and threw their arms around each other in a familiar embrace, "Inko!"
"Hodo!" Inko cried back in greeting as the two embraced.
Izuku blinked in confusion, seemingly forgotten by his own mother.
Inko drew back and looked at the young woman who was beaming at her, "Hodo it's been so long!"
"You too! I didn't know you still lived out here! I thought you moved away?" she asked as she took the mother's hands on her own and held them.
Inko shrugged, "I thought about it for a while, but I was looking around for so long and they were so expensive compared to what I was paying?"
Hodo nodded with an understanding look, "Yeah, tell me about it. I live over in Sharda ward and I had to get a roommate to live there." she said, Inko and her sharing a laugh at the information before her smile softened. "It's really good to see you Inko." she said, lifting a hand and setting it on her shoulder. Midoriya smiled, clasping her own hand over it and nodding.
"It has." she agreed.
….what is happening? Izuku asked himself.
Inko's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, Hodo! This is my son, Izuku!" she said, suddenly remembering her son existed and was right there. She turned to Izuku and smiled, "Honey this is Hodo Aya, she's a reporter that worked with your dad." She greeted excitedly.
As soon as Hodo turned to Izuku, if her eyes were wide before it was nothing to the look she had when she saw Hisashi's son. She blinked a few times, making Izuku shuffle in palace before bowing to her, "I-It's nice to meet you ma'am." he greeted politely, her expression didn't change until he lifted his head up to look at her.
Hodo blinked, "Sorry, sorry it's just….wow you look just like Hisashi…..except for the green hair." she added sheepishly. She was about to raise her hand to shake his but stopped when she saw all the groceries that he was carrying, "Also your dad couldn't lift anything over a hundred pounds to save his life." she added wryly. Inko sighed as she nodded in agreement, recalling how she had to help him drag their furniture around the apartment when they moved in together.
Inko turned to her and smiled, "Are you working right now?" she asked.
Hodo looked down at her notepad and sighed before shaking her head, "Not anymore, think I got all I needed." she said, an ounce of disappointment in her voice.
"Then why don't you come have dinner with us? We can catch up!" Inko suggested excitedly. Hodo opened her mouth, ready to politely decline, but glancing over at Izuku, the spitting image of Hisashi? She felt her resolve weaken. She nodded in agreement and accompanied the family of two back to their apartment.
Having Hodo over turned out to be a wonderful experience, Izuku knew that his mom had a few friends like Mitsuki Bakugo, but he had never seen her so candid and relaxed as she was around Hodo. The reporter woman recalling them with story after story, most of them featuring her, his dad, and some dumb bet that they made with each other. "-so then as soon as I asked the question, what did she do? She pretends that her phone rings and she goes to take a call." she told over the pork bowl cutlet Inko had prepared.
Inko snorted and covered her mouth while Izuku smiled good naturedly, "So he got three hundred yen that day." Inko guessed.
Hodo smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah he did…so what about you Inko? What's different, besides a miniature Hiashi." she said, gesturing to izuku whose face blushed at the comparison.
Inko reached over and patted his shoulder, "This one gives me all the excitement I need in my life, believe me." she said before looking at her son fondly. "He's working hard at school and wants to go to U.A. next year." she explained with pride.
Hodo's eyes widened and looked over at Izuku, "Really?" she asked.
Izuku rubbed the back of his head and nodded, "Y-Yeah. I don't…have a quirk, so I'm applying for the General Studies course." he explained. He expected Hodo's face to be sympathetic, but she instead looked genuinely interested, so he continued. "I wanted to be a hero for the longest time but…..without a quirk that's not really feasible. So I want to help people in some other way." he explained.
Hodo smiled, "So you're into heroes then?" she gauged.
Izuku's eyes lit up with excitement, "Oh I love heroes! I could talk about them for hours really." he said before realizing how excited he had gotten and blushed with embarrassment.
Hodo smiled, Izuku's passion for heroes reminded her of Hasashi's for the news, or more accurately the prospect of a good story he was chasing. Glancing over at Inko. The woman recognized that look and raised a brow at her questionably. "So any thoughts on what you want to do?" she probed. "If being a hero is out then there's a lot you can do to help others instead."
Izuku rubbed his head, "I was thinking of maybe working with hero agencies' offices? Maybe become a recruiter for aspiring heroes." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Truth be told there were a number of positions he could probably apply to once he reached the provided degree he needed. "But until then…..well I'm not really sure, I really just want to do something that matters." he said with a shrug.
"Have you ever thought of the news?" Hodo ventured.
Inko and Izuku both turned to her with a surprised expression, Hodo slyly smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "I mean we may not punch villains but we do help people by keeping them informed about what's going on in the world." she said mirthfully. Seeing Izuku reminded her of Hasashi in so many ways, what jumped to mind when he thought of ways to help others.
But the thought of his dad, how he used the news to uncover what was wrong and bring it into the light? There was the essence of heroism in there, helping others who needed it, when nobody would listen. "I…..didn't really think of that." he admitted sheepishly.
Inko smiled at the idea, "I think that would be wonderful! You always take such great notes honey, I bet you'd make an amazing reporter!" she gushed enthusiastically.
Hodo held up a hand and waved it, "Woah hold up a second I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself here. You're going to want experience before you can think of that." she cautioned. A flash crossed her expression and she smiled, "Izuku, have you ever used a camera before?" she asked.
"...like on my phone?" Izuku asked.
Hodo internally winced at the reminder of not only how kids were being brought up today, but also apparently how old she was getting. "No. I mean like a camera camera." she explained, holding up her hands and mimicking a square shape and using her finger to hit an imaginary button to take pictures. Izuku shook his head, making her drop her's. "Well it's easy to learn. Point and shoot. But my point is, my news station is always looking for professional photographs, and well…Hasashi started out as a freelancer…." she trailed off.
Inko nodded in fond memory, "That's true. I remember he hated some of the things they stuck him with, writing about fashion shows or TV reviews." she said before nodding to herself. "Although that's how I found the Cooking with Lunch Rush series, those were some good dishes." she idly added.
Izuku blinked, "Wait…..Ms. Hodo, are you offering me a job?" he asked in disbelief.
She raised a hand, "One, don't call me Ms. ever again. I'm not an old lady like your mom." Inko raised her hand to make a gesture but stopped herself upon remembering her son was at the table and stopped herself, instead sticking her tongue out at her friend. "And secondly, not exactly. Freelance work isn't a regular 9-5 job, it's based on your own work ethic. It's also per task basis so I can't promise that we'll always have something for you." she cautioned.
Izuku frowned, this wasn't exactly the best sales pitch.
Hodo however smiled almost devilishly, "But you'll get to help me uncover some stories that everyone else is ignoring." she tempted. Inko's expression for the first time turned serious, which Hodo quickly caught, "Not that you'll be in any danger! I'm the one who puts my name on the paper and the story along with it." she assured.
"Good." Inko breathed out in relief.
Izuku leaned forward, "Actually, that reminds me, do you know what happened at that site where we met you?" he asked curiously.
Hodo's grin returned, "I was wondering when one of you would ask." she said excitedly as she leaned over the table. "Ok so get this, the guy who owns that car is a landlord. Earlier this week, one of the buildings he was leasing was closed down due to building code violations. He said that the building was abandoned for a while so there weren't any tenants." she explained.
"However I asked around, and people saw activity of people living in the building for months before it was closed down." she explained, causing her two listeners to blink in surprise at the information. "I asked around some more, that building had water, power, and heating. But all the tenants were people with Heteromorph type quirks." she explained. Izuku blinked in surprise as she continued, "The place was bought by the new landlord after the last one sold it off, it was built specifically with mutant type quirk users in mind. So bigger doors, rooms, the whole deal. But anyway, the new owner buys it, but he doesn't list anyone living there. But the people who I interviewed who lived there said they had to pay double what the average apartment was because it was specialized for Hetromorphs."
Izuku's eyes widened, "He was rent skimming them." he said in realization.
Hodo pointed at him, "Exactly. We ran the story the other day, but police are still investigating. And suddenly the landlord gets attacked in his car today by someone." she explained. "There's no witnesses, but the car was knocked off the road by someone physically."
Inko raised her hand to her mouth, "Goodness."
Hodo nodded as she leaned back in the chair, "Right, the guy is fine, but he's not talking to the police. Refused their protective service, even when they offered a pro looking after him. He hired some bodyguards instead." she explained. She turned to Izuku, "And a picture of this big bad landlord surrounded by bodyguards is what my boss wants for this story." she explained.
Izuku nodded, but then realized she was looking directly at him. "Wait-you want, you want me to get it?" he asked.
Hodo grinned cheekily, "Well our usual photobug is out of town doing a job for us and while it doesn't need a picture, well those are worth a thousand words." she added. Izuku looked over to his mom, Inko pursed her lips together and looked back at him. A part time job wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, and it would be easy to work with when he went to college….not to mention it would more than likely give him an excuse to be Spider-Man.
He nodded, Inko looked taken aback but quickly smiled before turning to Hodo, "Alright then. You roped another Midoriya into the news business. Happy?" she asked.
"Ecstatic." Hodo replied with a grin. She turned to Izuku, "But I'm serious, don't use your phone for this, get a camera." she told him.
After a few more tidbits of information Hodo decided to pass on to him, like her contact information, and finishing the dinner, Izuku collected the dishes and went about cleaning them while Inko walked Hodo to the door. "It was great seeing you again." she said to the reporter who turned after stepping out onto the balcony.
"You too Inko…and I'm sorry for losing touch." She apologized regretfully.
Inko smiled and shook her head, "It's fine. You worked with Hisashi and when he died….." she trailed off, an old sadness touching her eyes as she looked down and wrung her hands together. "...Hodo be honest, why did you offer Izuku that job?" she asked.
The reporter blinked before she gained an forlorn expression, looking past Inko into the kitchen she could barely see the back of Izuku. "To be honest…..I was just being selfish." she admitted. Inko tilted her head at her friend's words, "When I saw him…god Inko I almost called him Hisashi before I stopped myself." she said with a sad shake of her head. "He took me under his wing and before I knew it he was….." she closed her eyes and let out a breath. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to drag up old wounds."
She felt a hand on her shoulder, she opened her eyes to see Inko staring into her's with a sad…..but also a contentness in her face. "It's not an old wound, it's a good memory." she corrected. Hodo smiled, "And I know that you meant a lot to Hisashi too, you were the first person he took under his wing. And he was worried about doing right by you." she said.
Hodo scoffed, "I wish I was. Most of my stories are just Pro Hero gossip, it pays the bills but I just…..I want something better. I want to do something that'd make him proud." she admitted.
Inko smiled, "Well what's stopping you?"
"Besides bills and job security?" she asked. Hodo chuckled, "Eh. I complain but I like what I do, stories like this are important. And I always try and take them when I can." she added. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and saw the time, "Look, I need to get going, my train leaves in a few minutes but I promise we'll keep in touch." she said. Inko smiled and nodded, bidding her old friend farewell before closing the door.
Kendo was genuinely surprised that All Might was supportive of her taking an extra day off to relax. "Consistent conditioning may be the key to your training but that's not worth anything if you're too exhausted mentally to push yourself." he had told her. Which was something she was glad to hear as it meant that she was able to uphold her promise to Yui and set, which meant joining Set on a trip to the zoo with Sera.
While maybe not the most exciting destination for a group of teenage girls, Sera was thrilled nonetheless, "Look Set! Look!" She said, pointing down at the group of flamingos in the enclosure. "Pink birds! They're so pretty!"
Itsuka chuckled as Yui patted the little girl's head, Set grinned as she kneeled down beside her. "Yeah they are…hey aren't they friendly with alligators?" She asked.
Itsuka turned to her friend and gave her a bewildered look. "What?"
"Alligators. Isn't there some bird they let peck at them or something?" She asked.
Yui shook her head, "You're thinking of something smaller. There are birds that alligators will open their mouths for and let them pick the remains from their teeth." She explained.
Sera looked repulsed by that information, "Ew!"
Itsuka chuckled and shook her head as they left the exhibit and moved on to the next one, turning to her friends she smiled before wrapping an arm around Set's shoulder, "It's good to hang out with you guys again." she said, her friend giving her a grin while Yui made a hum of agreement, patting Itsuka's shoulder.
"Us too." The stoic girl replied, "Setsuna has gotten into far too many shenanigans for my taste." Yui added.
Setsuna grinned and shrugged, "I can't deny that. Shenanigans were found." she glibly added. "But Yui isn't so innocent either!" she accused.
"I never said such a thing." Yui replied proudly.
Itsuka rolled her eyes, "I missed you dorks." she said, giving both of them pats on the shoulders. As they approached another of the animal's habitats, this one was mountain themed with a few trees in the enclosure. At the center there was a large pool of water that seemed to be warm enough to have some steam coming off it. Sera trotted up to the plaque and read over it, or tried to as she couldn't pronounce the name, Ituska leaned over and saw it, "It's Macaque sweetie. They're monkeys." she said, making Sera gasp in excitement and turn to the habitat where the simians were in.
"Hey Ken, I think I see your ex in there." Setsuna joked.
Itsuka felt two emotions in that moment, one was a familiar old sting, but the other that overshadowed it was amusement. "Pfft! Which one?" she asked. Setsuna pointed down at the ground, following her gaze she saw one of the Macaques, the white hair and red faces making them stick out against the gray surroundings, and the one Setsuna was pointing to was currently running around with a piece of fruit in it's hand while another chased it.
Itsuka snorted as Sera giggled watching the chimp be chased around the enclosure, Itsuka turned to her older sister and in a low voice asked, "So how's the recommendation coming along?" she asked. Setsuna had been one of the lucky few Students who had been endorsed by their School for U.A.'s Recommended Student program. A fact that the green haired girl was both excited and somewhat intimidated by, everyone had been encouraging to her but she herself felt that her quirk may not be up to snuff for it.
But the shark-like grin she gave her friend showed her determination, "I've been working my tail off, right now I got my detachment speed down to less than a second. I'm working to see how fast I can move them through the air." she explained.
Yui nodded, "She's been disassembling and reassembling herself across her back yard for the last few weeks to get her coordination down as well." she added before a small smile tugged at her lips. "You should have seen when she got her arm and foot mixed up." she teased.
"Hey I meant to do that! Who expects to be punched by a foot?" Set asked. Her friends pushed their lips, wanting to dispute that logic but not being able to find a way to do so.
"...hey, you got this." Itsuka said with encouragement, Yui nodded and housed her hands up with her thumbs extended, giving a hum of equal support. Setsuna blinked, taken aback by the display slightly before her shoulders relaxed, the nerves she still had subsiding from the gesture of her friends.
"Thanks guys…..I mean it'd be nice to get in, but if not, hey there's always doing the entrance exam with you guys." she said, her eyes going over to Itsuka, "By the way, did your one friend who got into the hero course say anything about the recommended students?" she gave her a look and she raised her hands, "I'm not looking to cheat! Ms goody two shoes, I'm just wondering what to expect. Like if there's a written test or something."
Itsuka shook her head, "No, sorry, Nejire got in through the entrance exam. But I know that there's an academic test for that so I imagine there's one for the recommended students."
Setsuna groaned, "Oh joy, I need to study more. Man what part of hero work even involves algebra?" she complained.
Sera hummed, "Yeah math sucks." Set nodded and held her hand up to her sister, the little girl turning around and slapping her hand against her's in a high five.
Sera looked back at her sister, but then her eyes narrowed and pointed up at the sky, "Hey Set, what's that?" she asked as a shadow passed overhead. Setsuna looked up but barely saw a blue and red blue swing by overhead, but she did tilt her head when she saw some string-like substance drift through the air.
"Huh. Maybe something escaped the zoo?" she joked.
Nothing had escaped the zoo, a spider themed vigilante had decided to take a shortcut by swinging over it. Having found a camera among his dad's belongings, he had taken a few test photos to make sure that it still worked properly before messaging her about having procured a camera. She then gave him an address to an apartment building where the landlord lived at, and instructed him to head there around 2:30 to try and get a picture of him on his way home from work.
On the one hand it's useful to know when he's getting home to take the picture, but on the other I find it a little worrying that she knows his schedule that well. Izuku thought as he cast another web in front of him and pulled it back to yank himself over a gorilla enclosure and into the treeline of the park that the zoo resided in. Hooking another line on a tree he swung himself up into the air at a great height before coming back down and landing on a tree branch, his weight shaking the branch beneath him.
In front of him was the road that divided the park and across it the apartment building the landlord lived in. Around Izuku's shoulder was the camera he had secured, hanging from his shoulder by an old strap that had also come with it. Lifting it up, he turned on the camera and aimed it at the front doors, zooming in slightly on the doors as the autofocus calibrated the shot. Ok I should be hidden here in the tree, I'll snap some photos of him, get the SSD to my computer, and then send them to Hodo like she told me to. And hopefully I'll have a part time job from this…..well freelance. He thought to himself as he smiled beneath his mask.
While it wasn't the same as his vigilante work, this was oddly exciting for him, he could understand why his father had gotten interested in this type of work. As he took a few experimental shots, a car pulled up….well calling it a car might not work since it looked more like those american jeeps but all in black.
The car pulled up to the curb in front of the apartment building right over the sewer grate on the curve, four people stepped out, one from each door, and all of them wearing suits, they observed the area around and Izuku felt himself shifting back against the tree out of instinct.
Part of the reason he decided to come here in his costume was for anonymity, if they saw some teenager on the street with a camera they might guess what he was there for. But as Spider-Man he would be able to take a perch somewhere that wouldn't be seen and safely take pictures like he was doing now.
Plus the train was delayed so he had no choice but to do this.
After the immediate area was deemed secure, two of the men made their way to the door while the other two walked around to the side facing the building. Izuku couldn't see the landlord through the window but he could make out movement inside.
The man stepped out and Izuku winced when he saw him. While he hadn't been hurt by the last attack according to Hodo, he hadn't been unscathed. There were a dozen tiny cuts on his thin face, covered by just as many bandages. He too looked around but didn't seem too scared with his bodyguards around, Izuku took the picture just as he rose up between two of the guards on the sides of the car. Looking at the display on the camera, Izuku smiled to himself. "Huh, that looks good. I'll get a few more but I think that-"
CRASH!
The car that had been parked on the street was tossed up into the air and onto the busy road! Dropping the camera in his hands Izuku reached his hands out and shot out a wide net of webbing aimed at the ground beneath the jeep, as it connected, Izuku felt himself be pulled forward by the weight of the car caught on the webbing. It had been stopped before it smashed into another car that was driving by, thankfully that was all it took for everyone in a vehicle nearby to slam on the brakes and honk their horns.
Letting go of his web, Izuku looked back at where it had been and saw a large looming figure climb out of the sewer grate that had been torn apart as the figure burst out from the ground! "Oh god no! Not again!" the landlord called out as one of his bodyguards turned and reached for him before something swift slammed into his side and into the other guard as he pulled out a gun. The pair were sent flying into the side of a lamppost as the assailant turned their attention to the landlord who had fallen back to the ground.
Towering over him was a six foot tall Lizard man, his green reptilian skin glistening in the sun as his tail which he used to attack the bodyguards curled back behind him. The only signs that showed it had any sort of sense was the fact that ir wore a pair of purple pants that were torn at the knees, it's yellow slitted eyes bore down as it's extended jaw opened up with a row of large, razor sharp teeth filled it's maw, a equally long pink tongue sticking out as he let out a hiss, "Yyyyouuuu!" it growed as it raised a clawed hand at the landlord.
The two remaining boygards drew their guns, a pair of semi-automatic pistols, and aimed at the creature. The Lizard crouched and lunged over the landlord's head into one of them, slamming them against the wall and digging his claws into his arms! Before he could scream, he threw him into the other with enough force to send them flying through the glass behind him and into the lobby of the apartments. The lizard turned back to the landlord and he scrambled back towards the overturned car, just as Spider-Man landed on the top of it. "GYAH!" the landlord screamed at the sound of his landing.
Spider-Man raised a hand, "Listen if you don't like his parking job then just say so!" the hero quipped before raising his hands and spraying his webbing and encasing the Lizard in it. As the mutant type quirk user struggled against the bonds, Spider-Man looked down at the man, "Run! Get to safety and call the police!"
The landlord nodded, "Y-yes! Right! Thank you so much! I swear I'll-" he began to promise before the Lizard tore through the webbing with its own strength and charged at him. Spider-Man launches himself with his arms raised to brace against the Lizard, tackling him into the ground, "GHAA!" the landlord shouted before taking off around the car and across the street.
Spider-Man flipped off the Lizard man and onto the side of the building with his camera dangling off his shoulder, watching as the man ran for the entrance to the zoo. Alright he's getting away so I just need to keep this guy here. But he's strong enough to tear through my webbing! He thought as the Lizard rolled onto all fours and looked around for the man. "I'm going to assume that's the second car of that guy's that you've wrecked this week."
The Lizard turned to him, his brow furrowing in anger, "Heee betrayed ussss! Ripped usss from our homessss!" he spat out.
Izuku winced, "I know but you can't just hurt him, and I'm not gonna let you hurt him. So maybe just calm down and-" he began before the Lizard abruptly turned and jumped atop the overturned car and launched himself towards the zoo! Spider-Man shot a web out and swung after the large reptilian man who easily jumped over forty feet! "-or just run into the zoo! Yeah, great! Just what I need today!"
He lost sight of the lizard briefly in the treeline but seeing him pop up above them gave him his location. Swinging up high he heard people screaming and running below as the Lizard ran on all fours throughout the zoo's grounds. Raising a hand he aimed at the villain and shot out a webline that connected with his tail, falling through the air he came upon a lamp post and landed feet first against it, using it as a brace he pulled hard on the taught webbing.
The post beneath him shifted forward out of the ground but the Lizard's momentum halted and caused him to trip over himself, Spider-Man leapt off the lamppost and it fell and landed on the Lizard's back, smashing him into the pavement and cracking it, "Look, how about we take a deep breath and-" Izuku began before his Spider Sense rang in his skull before the tail swiped him in his head and locked him through the guard rail of the enclosure beside him.
Spider-Man hit the ground with a grunt of pain and what felt like a splitting headache, sitting up he rubbed the side of his head, "-talk this out….ow." he groaned before his Spider sense rang once more just as he heard a growl. Turning his head, his lenses widened as he saw a Tiger in a low stance, ready to pounce, and growling at him. Izuku swallowed audibly, "I'll just see myself out!" he said, quickly spinning a web and pulling himself up as the Tiger pounced at him, tucking his feet in the claws of the large cat barely missed him as he was pulled up and over the enclosure.
Landing on the railing, he saw the Lizard was gone but the sound of people screaming told him that the Lizard was still on the loose. Leaping into the air with his camera behind him he shot out a webline and swung in the direction where people were running from. Ahead of him, he saw the creature chasing the man who was running for his life through a chainlink tunnel that went through an avery, of which now had a hole in the side of it and some birds were escaping through.
Swinging up to the hole, he shot two weblines on the sides of it before yanking himself inside and shooting towards the Lizard while blindly firing webbing behind him to net that hole he came through. Slamming into the Lizard's back, the pair indented the tunnel a, "Ok i tried being nice but if you're just endangering people? I gotta put my fist down!" Spider-Man said before slamming his fist down into the Lizard's head, with the creature pinned to the roof the man broke out into a full sprint to escape, Lizard's tail once more swiped at the teen but his Spider Sense alerted him and he ducked before flipping forward and landing in a couch facing the Lizard as it stood on all fours. "You want him? You go through me."
And so he did, taking Spider-Man with him by tackling him through the glass and out the other side of the Avery, the webslinger raised his hands and shot weblines out to pull himself free of the grasp, slipping out of the Lizard's arms and into the air. Flailing his hands out he grabbed a lamppost and groaned in pain. "Ok, I brought that one on myself." he said, rubbing his chest with his free hand while the other pulled himself up onto the post.
Unlike the Shocker or Vulture, this villain's strength was at the very least comparable to what Izuku had. But he doesn't seem to be as agile as me. Maybe I can use that to my advantage. He thought as he used his webbing to cover the hole they made before jumping after Lizard once again. Swinging after him, he could see that the landlord had gotten some distance but the Lizard was closing in fast. Ok maybe if I distract the Lizard long enough he can get away and he'll stop chasing him through here before- he thought before the creature slammed into a hotdog stand and sent it flying towards a teenager and what looked like her younger sister. Before exactly that happens!
When the zoo had alerted them of a villain attack, she and her sister had been separated from Itsuka and Yui, but she didn't dare let her little sis out of her sight while here. She figured that as soon as they were safely out of the zoo, she would call her friends and meet up where they were. But then she saw some giant reptile barging through and knocked a food stand towards her and her baby sister.
Her body acted before her mind could register, "Sera!" Setsua exclaimed before grabbing her younger sister. Her upper body detached itself from her lower with her sister in her arms, however the wall they were beside curved and she collided with it a few feet away from her legs. Holding her sister close she turned so she would take the brunt of the impact.
But none came, "Hey, you ok?" a muffled voice said. The sisters opened their eyes and both turned to see a man in red and blue costume standing between them and the food cart, him holding it up in both hands easily, "Oh good, one second." he said before turning toward the Lizard and chucking the food cart at him, the metal cart smashed into the creature's side and sent him over the half wall and into the alligator exhibit that Set and Sera were at a moment ago.
"...well he'll be in good company." Spider-Man said with a shrug before turning to Setsuna, looking between her and her legs, he was lucky he saw them disconnect as he swung over, otherwise he'd be properly freaking out right now. "I'd ask if you can walk but…..you have no legs." he pointed out.
Setsuna snapped out of her haze as though the familiar sensation of her quirk, pulled her legs over, however despite the fact she could move her legs over to her, she couldn't find it in herself to connect her torso and legs. She cursed under her breath, when she was younger she had trouble with controlling her quirk when she got too excited or scared, and with the fear of her sister getting hurt still on her mind she felt herself unable to literally pull herself together.
Sera on the other hand….
"That was so cool!" she exclaimed in excitement as she balled her hands.
Spider-Man was taken aback, "Um….t-thanks?" he said before focusing on Setsuna's struggling expression. Kneeling down, he gently put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" he asked.
Setsuna shook her head, "No-I-I-I just-I can't- why won't my quirk-" she began as her breathing became more and more ragged. Spider-Man firmly put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at his lenses, "I-I can't!"
"It's ok-it's ok." he assured her. He heard a roar come from the Alligator enclosure that didn't sound exactly like an animal's. But he didn't care, this girl needed help, and that's what he did. "Look, you did great. You saved your-" he looked down at Sera.
"Sister."
"Thanks, you saved your sister from getting hurt. But you're still freaked out right?" he asked. Setsuna's breathing was still heavy but she nodded, "Yeah, I get it…..this is like my third time doing this and I'm kind of freaking out too." he admitted, his adrenaline was pumping and he could feel his heart still racing. Setsuna herself seemed taken aback by that, "But look, you can do this. Alright? Take a deep breath, with me alright?" he asked, taking a deep breath which Setsuna mirrored, before he let it out which she also did.
As she let the breath exit her body, she felt her torso and lower body re-attach. She looked down and let out a chuckle, "Oh thank god." she said in relief.
Spider-Man patted her shoulder, "Awesome, now take your sister and get to the exit, alright? Go!" he said, before standing up and running towards the Alligator enclosure as a clawed hand reached up. Spider-Man launched himself forward as the Lizard pulled himself up, kicking the creature in the chest and back into the habitat. Setsuna watched it happen before finding it in herself to stand up.
"Set!" The green haired girl turned her head to the unusual sound of Yui's yelling, and saw both her and Itsuka rushing over to her side with worried and relieved expressions.
Meanwhile with Spider-Man, he ducked underneath a clawed hand aimed at his head, "You let him get away!" the Lizard yelled in rage.
Spider-Man countered with an uppercut to the underside of the Lizard's jaw, "Wait was I supposed to watch him? I'm sorry I was a little distracted!" he exclaimed before kicking the Lizard in the torso, the creature stumbled back a step and as the vigilante leapt to continue the attack, his other clawed hand swiped up and slashed into the teen's chest! "GAH!" Izuku hissed between clenched teeth before the Lizard turned around entirely and used the momentum to swing his tail into the teen.
The wind was knocked out of Izuku's lungs as he flew up through the habitat wall and into the air, the Lizard leaping up to the wall as the teen fell and crashed into a bench. Sirens filled the air, and the Lizard hissed spitefully, his prey was gone and with cops, more heroes were probably en-route. His head turned around rapidly for an exit, then his eyes focused on a manhole cover, sprinting over to it, the Lizard reached down and tore the lid off the ground with ease as Spider-Man got up from the remains of the bench.
Turning his head, the Lizard saw him begin to get up, and like a frisbee, threw the lid of the manhole at the vigilante. His Spider Sense blared and he rolled onto his hands and sprung off the ground as the metal disc embedded into the cement. Izuku looked up to the Lizard's last location in time to see the tip of his tail disappear into the sewers, "Hey get back here!" he called out as he ran over and slid to a stop just at the hole and aimed his wrists down, shooting a pair of weblines down, he felt them hit something before going slack.
Damn! He must have moved out of the tunnel and they hit the water. Izuku reasoned, having experimented with how his webs reacted when hitting water. He was about to drop down into the tunnel until he realized something, it would be pitch dark in there, and with no light to navigate, and not to mention no idea where the Lizard was going he would just wind up lost down there! I can't go after him, I'll just be wandering around in the dark for hours…he got away. He thought with a frown.
Like the Lizard, he too heard the sirens, and like his counterpart, he took that as his cue to leave. Spinning a webline to the top of a nearby building, he pulled back on it before launching himself into the air. High above the zoo, he shot down another webline to swing away from the site, launching himself a fair distance into the park and out of the way of the police.
Landing on a tree branch, Izuku raised his hand to his chest and gently touched the cuts on his chest that sliced across the spider and torso of his costume. "Yeowch. At least the landlord got away, hopefully he goes to the cops so he'll be safe and sound." he said before his eyes widened, "Oh right! I completely forgot that's why I came here, can't believe getting pictures for the news led to…..to….." he trailed off as he reached up to his shoulder…..but found nothing there.
He felt all around himself, "Oh no, no no no!" he said as dreadful realization slowly dawned on him.
"I lost my camera in the fight!" he exclaimed.
The sewers were a lonely place.
They were dark, cramped, and humid. No one came down here unless they had to, like the Lizard.
The man, not the creature, but the man who saw in the darkness as clearly as he did the light of day, navigated the pipes, drains, and old buried world like the back of his hand. The subway carried him out of the range that the police and heroes would be searching, even if he was followed he doubted he would be tracked by anyone through the sewers and the access door that led to the line. Hopping a train was easy as long as he didn't drop too hard on the roof to alert the passengers, from there it was station hopping until he found himself in familiar territory.
Leaping off a train, the Lizard landed in front of an access hatch that led into the waterline, pulling the hatch up, he climbed through and made sure to pull his tail in behind him. Following the cramped tunnel, the Lizard exited through an old broken door that leaned against the doorway due to the broken hinges. Sliding it aside, the Lizard entered and slid it shut behind him. "There you are." Lizard's head turned to the voice, a human sized man stood guard in the rafters of the abandoned Hakubutsukan Station tunnel, the darkness hid him well but Lizard could make out his features easily in the dark, his body was covered in grown fur, with large red eyes and rodent like teeth.
"Haiseki, you're on guard?" he asked as the man dropped down from the rafters and approached him.
"I volunteered. After you left, Mari wanted to go after you but I told her that you'd be alright." he explained before seeing the welts on his friend's head. "And by the looks of things, that's mostly true." he added with a teasing tone. The Lizard let out a rumble from his throat that resembled a chortle as the pair walked down the old train tracks to the station proper. They continued in silence before Haiseki broke it, "We saw the news."
Lizard's head bowed in shame, his friend continued, "Toka what were you thinking?" he asked, his voice wavering between concern and reprimand.
The man, Toka shook his head, "I wasn't….I just…I thought things would be different here than the countryside." he admitted, reaching across his chest to his arm and rubbing it at the bicep where a slight scar was still visible around the arm. He had gotten it years ago, when the people from his town learned that there was a 'monster' living down the road.
One night they came for him, he was smaller then, he couldn't defend himself, they pinned him down and hit him with bats. Those didn't hurt as much…..but the saw they used on his arm did.
Haiseki frowned as they continued on, "They are…..mostly…though it helps the more humanoid you look." he said as they approached the light coming from the station proper.
The subway station had been abandoned decades ago, and while it once housed shops, kiosks, and trains, now it sheltered a private community. There was a ramp that led up from the tracks made of wood, expertly crafted from some of the trees whose roots extended down beneath the ground and pierced the concrete ceiling. The walls had been dug out further to accommodate for the heteromorphs who joined the commune over the years, with Toka and his family being some of the latest additions.
The old restaurant had been converted into a mess hall of a sort where some of the best food they could procure was prepared and served for a reasonable fee. The homes were made of brick and mortar, one of the inhabitatn's quirks allowed them to produce stones from their body over a period of time and another made a binding chemical that was just somewhat close to cement. It wasn't as strong but it was enough to give everyone at least a modicum of privacy.
Everyone here was a heteromorph, of varying shapes and sizes, Toka was probably among one of the larger people here, but was for sure one of the smartest. Of course that was now up for debate considering that his actions over the past week had no doubt made him wanted as a villain. "Incoming." Haiseki warned, Toka turned his head towards the main hall and swallowed when he saw his wife approaching.
Like him she was a heteromorph, however while she also had reptilian skin, she was much more human looking than he was. However the way her eyes were locked onto him and held barely contained anger, he might have well have been facing a kaiju. "Hi Mari!" Hasieki greeted her with a friendly wave. The woman, wearing a pair of slacks and a turtleneck. She had hair unlike her husband, a dark brown that was held by a headband that draped down over her head, she gave her husband a slight glare before turning to Hasieki.
"Hai, please let me have a word with my husband." she said curtly.
"And that's my cue. Nice knowing ya pal!" the rodent man said, patting Toka on the back before heading over to the mess hall.
Mari walked up to her husband, who had a good two feet on her, and glared up at him, "Are you kidding me?!" she hissed out. Toka's head bowed both in shame and to look down at her, "What on earth were you thinking?!" she asked as she poked him in his underbelly.
"I wasn't." he repeated.
"Clearly not." She huffed as she frowned up at him. However seeing the look of defeat he had, the sadness in his eyes, she felt her ire cool slightly. "...are you alright?" she asked, reaching up to the side of his mouth where a bruise was forming. His much larger hand gently took her's, and pressed the side of his head against it. Her thumb gently brushed along his extended mouth in a familiar comfort.
"I screwed up…..darling I screwed up so much." he admitted.
Mari sighed, "You did."
"I just…he threw us away. Like we weren't even people. Han was just starting to make friends, and was excited to go to school for the first time in….." he trailed off. "When I first came to the city I was overwhelmed by how different it was. How good it was compared to home…"
"And it was….for a while." Mari agreed somberly. She let out a long sigh and shook her head, "Look, we'll talk later. But right now you need to get to work, Izo's arm was broken trying to move some debris away for an extension and a pipe fell on it. I treated it as best I could but I think he might have nerve damage." she explained as she led him towards their clinic.
Toka nodded, "You're right. We should run some tests on his hand to see if the damage is that extensive." he suggested as they headed for their home that doubled as the doctor's office for the commune.
The sewers may be a lonely place. But the Grotto wasn't.
Izuku always answered his phone, it was a flaw that he had which led to him being the victim of many prank calls, telemarketers, and robo calls that asked him if he wanted fifteen percent off his life insurance. And if he wasn't able to answer he would call them back as soon as possible, it was the polite thing to do after all.
So not answering the three calls Hodo gave him made the teen feel all sorts of awful.
"You can't keep dragging this out honey." Inko said sympathetically as her son sat on the couch staring at his phone in dismay. Upon returning home with dejection coming off him like a stink off a skunk, she asked what happened and he explained that during his photo op, a commotion involving a villain caused him to drop his camera somewhere and he wouldn't be able to visit the scene until next week to search for it.
The police told him they would call if they found it, which he had been smart enough to print his address and phone number on the bottom of the camera in case something like this happened. But just because he planned for it didn't mean he expected it! "My first job ever….and I blew it." he said in an empty voice. "I'm doomed…..I'll never get steady employment…I'm going to be homeless." he said, his mind spiraling into the worst case scenario.
Inko ruffled his hair, "It's not the end of the world. Trust me Hodo will find this more hilarious than anything." she said knowingly. Recalling how she almost died laughing when Hasashi mixed up his notes with her grocery list and brought it to a meeting instead and began reading off some personal hygiene items before realizing what he was saying out loud.
"I'll be the laughing stock of journalism. They'll run a story on me in the evening news!" He bemoaned before dropping his head into his hands.
Inko looked down blankly at her son, she felt for her son, truly she did…..but she also knew that when he spiraled like this the best thing to do was to let him get it out of his system. "I'm going to make some tea, do you want any?"
"I'm a failure." Izuku replied.
"Tea it is." Inko decided.
As his mother left to get them both a cup of tea, there was a knock at the door, drawing Izuku out of his stupor. With how my luck is going today, that's probably Ms-er, Hado. Come to demand photos, only to be met with disappointment….oh well, better get it over with. He thought, mentally correcting himself as he rose from the couch and approached the door. He reached it as another knock rapt against the door, unlocking it he pulled it open.
"Yes hello how can I-" began before the last word got stuck in his throat.
Because standing in his doorway, smiling at him as she held up a familiar camera in her hands, was a beautiful girl with red hair tied off in a ponytail that hung off the side of her head.
"Um, hi." Itsuka Kendo smiled, "You wouldn't happen to be Izuku would you?"