Setsuna swore she heard Kendo's neck crack from how fast her head turned to their bubbly friend. As Izuku approached, Nejire stood from the table and immediately stepped into Izuku's personal space as she leaned forward only a few inches from his face, which of course made the green haired young man sputter and blush. "Hey I'm Nejire! Nice to meet you Parsley, that's an odd name, not in a bad way but a fun way! Is it because of your hair? It looks super fluffy! Can I touch it later? If not that's fine, I don't want people touching my hair all the time. Sometimes, sure, but not all the time."
Izuku blinked, "...huh?" he squeaked out.
Setsuna grinned from her seat, "Oh this is as good as I thought it'd be." she said happily.
Itsuka overcame her…..whatever her reaction to her calling Izuku cute was, and coughed into her hand, "Er, Midroiya, this is Nejire Hado. She's a friend of ours, she's attending U.A. right now and came to celebrate. She's….curious." she said with an endearing note in her voice.
"Oh! Parsley's a nickname!" Nejire caught on.
The secret hero swallowed and nodded, "Y-Y-Yes! M-My name is Izuku Midoriya, n-n-nice to meet you!" he sputtered out nervously as he leaned back slightly.
Kendo looked to Nejire, "Nej, Midoriya here's a friend of mine. We met while I was training to get into U.A. He's trying to get into general studies." she informed her.
Her hands clapped together, "Oh wow really!? That's great!" she said enthusiastically, making Izuku blink, "I mean everyone always talks about how great the Hero course is, and it's really great don't get me wrong, but I don't know anyone from general studies!" she said as she bawled her hands in front of her. "I mean what does that really mean anyway? Support course makes stuff for pro heroes, and the marketing course does stuff for marketing. Though they're kinda too smart for me I think." she admitted.
She shook her head and without warning, took Izuku by the arms, which made him let out a 'eep!' of surprise and Itsuka's hand, which was reaching for the menu, clenched into a fist. However they were both surprised when she plopped Izuku right down next to Itsuka in the booth, their sides bumped together slightly which made Izuku seize up a little. She raised her hands up to catch him instinctually, pressing up against his chest to brace against his weight. Izuku's hand caught the table and stopped himself, but his head dipped forward which brought their faces within inches of each other.
Izuku let out a sound that sounded like a mouse being caught in a trap…..or maybe it was Kendo, she couldn't really tell.
Gently pushing against his chest, which good GOD forget his arms for a second. "N-Nejire!"
"What? It's the only seat left." she pointed out. Whatever Kendo had to say next stopped when she looked around and saw that the small booth they were in had one more seat left but it was reserved for Sero who was running a little late.
"I'll be right back, I gotta wash up before we get food. Yui do you remember what I like?" she asked. The stoic girl hummed, "Great! Be right back!" she said before rushing off to the restroom to go wash up, humming happily to herself as she left the table.
Itsuka figured that with her gone, she could easily ask Izuku to step out so she could swipe her spot…but then that would mean he would be sitting right next to Nejire…..bubbly, inquisitive, glomp happy with some respect for personal space but who was also known to invade it Nejire. And while she could see that being fun to watch Midroiya deal with? There was a part of her that refused to move her butt.
Izuku blinked a few more times, "I….she….what just happened?" he asked. He turned to Kendo inquiringly but when he noticed exactly how close they were he felt his cheeks warm up as he scooched over to give a respectable amount of space.
Setsuna snorted, "Nejire. She's a sweetheart but kind of an airhead. But she's a good friend Parsley." she assured.
Sera, who had been sitting and watching the whole thing unfold from sitting in Yui's lap, eyed the new boy curiously. Setsuna caught her sister's inquiring stare and nudged a thumb to her little sister. "And this is Sera, my little sis."
Izuku recognized her, it had been a few months since the whole Lizard incident, coincidentally it was what led him and Kendo to meeting, but he still remembered that whole day pretty clearly. "Oh, um, hi!" he greeted, with a friendly smile. The little girl quietly looked away, somewhat shyly waving back to him.
How am I more comfortable talking to little kids with a mask then face to face? Izuku sweatdropped before looking at the menu. He read over it quickly and found a sushi that he usually liked. Once he made a mental note of his order, he looked over to Setsuna, "So Togake, how was the test?" he asked, "I mean what exactly did you have to do?"
Set leaned back as she recalled the events of the day, "Actually it was pretty straight forward for the most part. We did a bunch of exercises that we'd usually do at school but we were allowed to use our quirks to accomplish them. But after that? We had some really basic hero stuff, like locating a hostage in an area and then escorting them to safety." she explained. "Another was that we needed to subdue a dummy who was a mock villain, then we had to find a way to put out a small fire on a car." She turned to the other green haired boy and blinked as he jolted down some notes on what she said.
"It seems like they were trying to gauge how you would use your quirks in typical emergency situations. Defeating a villain, rescuing someone, and dealing with a small accident. A lot of pros deal with things like that on a daily basis, so then I wonder what the actual hero course will entail? Probably scenarios that are much more complicated and in depth to better simulate-" he trailed off as he muttered more and more. Itsuka looked out the corner of her eye and smiled to herself at the mutter spree.
"Ok I'm back! Sorry, I needed to wash my face. It didn't feel dirty but I thought it might be." Nejire said as she returned and then saw Izuku writing in his notes. "...hey where was he keeping that notebook?" she asked.
It was always difficult returning from one of the Kingpin's meetings. To ensure that none of them could be followed, they had redundancies in place. Switching cars three times just so he could go home was a pain in the ass but it was better safe than sorry. Dangan didn't oppose the idea when the Tinkerer brought it up to them, and he understood the necessity of such things. But being dropped off three blocks from his home was a pain, thankfully the added security of a few former police officers helped ease his mind more. "How much longer until the drop off?" he asked the driver as he scrolled through his emails on his phone.
The SUV he was in was seated for six but only held five, four of them were his bodyguards in the driver and passenger seats, and the remaining two on either side of him while he sat sandwiched between them, the extra seat giving him enough breathing room. "There's no traffic sir, shouldn't be more than ten minutes." the driver answered, the road ahead clear of any other cars as they drove down the one lane.
Just as Dangan was about to comment about how nice it was that there was a clear shot home, a small object collided with the windshield with enough force to cause cracks to spiderweb out from the impact! "What the hell!?" Dangan exclaimed as the driver hit the breaks and pulled over. The other three drew their concealed weapons from their holsters.
"Sir, stay inside." said the guard to his right before stepping out of the car. Dangan nodded despite the fear, he shook his head as he was left alone in the car, that was bulletproof glass that wouldn't crack from any normal force exerted on it. Meaning that it must have been a quirk, but that could just easily mean that some dumb kids were messing around with their quirks and damaged the car.
If that was the case he'd have the little bastard's in court and doing public service until they were out of college.
He watched as the men, with their weapons pointing down, circled the car. As one passed in front, Dangan's eyes trailed to the source of the cracks.
He blinked.
It…..it was a baseball. Just a normal looking baseball.
Dread filled him just as the head of the guard in front of the car jerked back and fell onto the hood, blood leaking out from the wound which a pen lodged in his forehead deep enough to pierce his brain had been thrown. "Oh god!" Dangan whispered as the remaining guards broke away for cover, the prosecutor raised his phone and dialed for the police as outside, a stone was thrown at a street post with enough accuracy to ricochet into the eye of another guard.
The guard dropped as Dangan lifted it to his ear, the third poked his head up to inspect their comrade only to have a shard of glass stuck into the side of his head.
The final one tried to run for it, only to drop as a knife sailed over the SUV and into the man's back…he was down. But not dead.
And that's when Dangan heard, "We're sorry, but the number you're trying to dial cannot be reached."
The sushi was great, Izuku was usually a Temaki enjoyer but Sero, who arrived a little later, had let him try some of his sashimi which he found to be really enjoyable. But for the most part Izuku had kept quiet, not really engaging with the others. It wasn't that he wasn't having fun but he just felt….out of place.
Nejire however was determined to pull him back in with her questions. Where did he go to school? How did he meet Kendo? What was his favorite color? Who was his favorite pro? Did he use film for his camera? Did he know anyone who actually used film? Does his mom have freckles like him?
She was a bit of a chatterbox but in a fun way.
After everyone got their fill of food, it was time for games, the arcade that the restaurant had held a number of Gayle's for the Togake party to enjoy. And none of which Izuku was really familiar with, however his time was being eaten up by the newly excited Sera.
"-and then I saw on the news, Spider-Man lifted the car up to help someone! Did you see that one?" The little girl asked him excitedly as Izuku rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Sera's interest in him had skyrocketed when he mentioned that he had taken some pictures of Spider-Man for the news.
"Er-yeah I think so. I didn't get any pictures of that one though." He said truthfully. He looked around the arcade area, there were other people other than their party of course. Sero was at one of the racing games, leaning back in the game's seat as the virtual car sped down the highway. Setsuna was stubbornly attempting to win at the claw game, and failing at it, while Yui and Nejire were competing at a nearby table which had a block stacking game.
Sera took his hand and pulled him over to the whack a villain game, "Here! Let's play!" She pleaded as she voiced up and down. Izuku smiled as he inserted the money into the machine to start it, handing Sera one of the mallets, and they started their game. Despite his lack of arcade skills, izuku could easily hit more of the pop up villains than Sera, even if he spider sense didn't give him a small advantage, but seeing how the little girl was trying hard he decided to give her enough of a lead that she would feel like she beat the pants off him.
As Izuku lost to wack-a-villain, Kendo was busy getting the pool table ready when she caught sight of the green haired young man humoring the little sister of her friend. It made her heart ache a little, Midoriya hadn't had an easy childhood but in spite of that he was more than willing to show the kindness he never got from others to the little girl he just met.
She looked down at the gathered pool balls with a soft smile. Izuku was really one of a kind.
…Wait…..did she just refer to him by his first name?!
That thought caused her to stop and look back at Izu-Midoriya! Midoriya…..and then blush quietly to herself. "Oh man pool! I haven't played a game with you guys in a while." Nejire said, causing her to jolt out of her fluster. "Me, Tamakai and Mirio will sometimes play a game together, but it's usually cards. Tamakai's too shy to play anything else."
"Er-yeah, I thought it'd be fun to pair up and play." Kendo suggested. She saw Set was still battling with the claw machine, which she had to be sure to get video of, Yui was walking over with the tower of blocks they had been stacking now nearly reorganized in the way they came. "How about teams?" She suggested.
Nejire clapped her hands together excitedly, "Oooh! Yeah! I can get behind that!" She reached over to Yui and pulled her into her side, "I call Yui!"
The stoic girl gave a pleasant hum, "Aw. No one ever picks me for games first."
"It's because you're too quiet, you gotta speak up girl!" Nejire replied.
"Hm."
"Could be better but A for effort!" The blue haired girl endorsed. She then turned to Midoriya and Sera. "Midoriya, hey! Do you know how to play pool?" She asked as the little girl collected the tickets that were deposited out of the game machine. He turned as Nejire flicked a finger between him and Itsuka, "You and Itsuka vs me and Yui!" She proposed.
Izuku blinked in surprise at the suggestion, he turned to Kendo unsurely, "I uhh…..never played before." He admitted shyly.
The redhead gave him a smile as gestured over to the green haired young man., "Well then it'll be fair. Yui's terrible at pool."
"It's true. I'm actually much better at bowling." She admitted.
Izuku frowned a little, Bakugo's words from earlier today coming to the forefront of his mind. "I-that's nice Hado I just don't want to be in the way of you guys having fun." He said, managing a nervous smile. That of course caused Nejire to tilt her head in confusion, and Itsuka to frown. "What?" He asked.
Itsuka did NOT like the way Izuku referred to himself there…or the fact that he didn't see what was wrong with it. She glanced over at Yui, who was looking back at her expectantly. She blinked at how well her friend apparently knew her, then with a sigh he turned to Nejire, "Actually how about you guys go after Sero and Setsuna first? Me and Izuku can play winners." she offered.
Nejire gasped, "Oh yeah! A little tournament! That's fun! Oh! Sera can be our referee!" she realized. "Wait, do pool tournaments need those? I think most do, but what would she judge? What is there to judge about pool? I think people can be too judgy…..wait what was I saying?" she asked, losing track of her train of thought.
Sera lifted her hands into the air grasping her tickets triumphantly, "I'm the judge!" she decided.
As Sera rushed over to Nejire to confirm the rules, Itsuka approached Izuku, "You ok?" she asked gently and in a whisper so only he could hear it.
He blinked in surprise, "What? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't know how to play and…..well you guys would probably have more fun playing someone who does right?" he asked with a small laugh. "Not like they're gonna stick around a quirkless nobody for long." Bakugo's words echoed in his brain, he felt his jaw clench as the intrusive thought entered his mind.
Itsuka noticed the tension in his face, he was a bad liar…..well when it came to bold face lies at least. She gave him a small smile, "You wanna get some air? Playing that punching game in a turtleneck wasn't the smartest idea." she said, fanning herself with a hand to emphasize. Izuku blinked in surprise but nodded readily, as the two went to step outside for a little air, Nejire watched them leave the arcade with curious eyes.
She turned back to Setsuna as she walked over with pool cues, "Hey Set, is there something going on with Kendo and Midroiya? I don't want to assume because I don't want to make it awkward, he seems kind of skittish and shy. Which is cute, like a puppy." she asked.
The sharp toothed girl groaned, "Thank you!" she praised, "Me and Yui thought the same thing!" she said with a shake of her head. "But yeah, we don't really know either. It could just be because Parsley is shy. Maybe Ken's just being a little overly affectionate or something, but I get some vibes from them." she admitted as she handed her friend the long stick.
Nejire's bubbly personality paused, her face becoming more focused, "I know that Kendo was…what happened with her last boyfriend really hurt her."
Setsuna pursed her lips together, "Yeah…..and it's why I don't tease her about it." she admitted. "Maybe it's something, and I don't think Parsley's a bad guy or anything. But I don't want to see my friend get stabbed in the back again." she said spitefully. Setsuna took a breath, "So I'm letting her figure it out…but I don't want to imply something where there's nothing and make it weird."
Nejire pouted and nodded, "Yeah me neither…..but I don't think it'd be weird if you asked." She smiled, "Ken's a big girl. She's not going to get mad at you for being curious, I mean I'm curious and she never yells at me." She said with a sad smile, recalling how back in high school a lot of her classmates thought she was annoying for how often she spoke. It was only after meeting her friends at U.A. that she opened up more.
In fact Midoriya reminded her a lot of how she used to be. And the way Kendo treated him made her suspect that there was something a little more there than friendship, like her, Mirio, and Tamaki. "Oh right I told them I'd send pictures!" She realized, suddenly remembering the promise to her boyfriends.
As Nejire went about snapping pics for her partners, Izuku and Kendo stepped out into the chilled night air. "Woof! Chilly out. Surprised you didn't bring a jacket." She said, rubbing her hands together. They walked out of the window's view from inside the restaurant with Itsuka facing the wall and Izuku looking out to the street behind her. Midoriya was thankful for his costume he wore under his clothes, the picotech did a great job of insulating his body heat.
He was curious if he would need to buy thermals to wear it during the winter, but that was a bridge to cross later. "I didn't really think about it." He sheepishly admitted, "I was honestly not sure if I had anything nice I could wear over this." he said, gesturing to himself.
Kendo looked over at him, but shook that aside and focused on why she asked him outside. "Midoriya are you ok?" She asked, he blinked at his blunt the question was, "I mean you seemed kind of…..distant this evening." she noticed. He rubbed the back of his head, and Kendo was quick to follow up, "I'm not saying it's bad! I get it but…" she felt her chest tighten a little as the guilty look in his eyes. "….I hate seeing you this way."
Izuku looked up into her navy blue eyes, they looked back into his eyes and he felt even dumber for how he was feeling. "It's dumb." He dismissed with a shake of his head, "I'm sorry Kendo I just…..I'm being stupid about something."
"Hey." She interrupted, her hand reaching out and clasping the one at his side to get his attention. "How about you tell me first and then we can decide if you're being dumb?" She asked with a smile.
Izuku sighed, "I just…..at school today…..someone was bothering me." He put it gently, Kendo's understanding expression quickly shifted to one of contained anger. "I let it slip that I was coming out tonight to hang out with you guys and…he asked me how long you guys would want me around…once you learned I was quirkless…"
Kendo inhaled a sharp breath through clenched teeth. She didn't know who was filling Izuku's head with this bullshit, but she was going to find him and kick their ass one day she swears it. But for now, she needed to put that out of Midoriya's head, "First off, fuck that lonely dickbag." she began, making him sputter, "And second, we invited you out because we like you Midoriya. We're not just going to ditch you out of nowhere."
Izuku nodded slightly, "I know it's just…" he glanced at the window that showed the inside of the restaurant. "….I hate how he can still get to me." He admitted. "I know you, you're a good person Kendo, you wouldn't just…..never speak to me unless I did something terrible to you." He knew. "But…..here I am again feeling like…I'm all alone…..even in a room full of people."
Kendo felt her heart sink at those words. It was something that despite her desire to help wasn't something she alone could fix with a simple conversation. "…I'm sorry Midoriya that…..that sucks." She shook her head, "I know that doesn't really help but…" he looked at her, "…..I'm here for you….i know that's not a lot….but I am."
The smile he had was gentle, genuine, "Maybe that's…..maybe that's all I need?" He shrugged.
She smiled back at him assuring…but as what he said registered to both of them, they each felt their heart rates skyrocket. And then both of them realized that she was holding his hand still…
He looked up at her as his Spider Sense rang in his skull and a pair of headlines shined around Itsuka like a halo.
CAR!
His arms lunged forward, catching Itsuka completely off guard before she was pulled away from the road, spinning her around just as the car swiveled to avoid them! Clipping the sidewalk it died down the road with Izuku watching after it. "Are you ok?!" He turned back to her.
Kendo let out something that sounded like a breath but it came out shaky, her hands reached up to his arms and cling to them like a lifeline. Izuku felt anger boil inside at how shaken Itsuka now was, he let go of her and ran after the car! "Wha-Izuku!?"
"I'm gonna get the license plate number! I'll be back!" He called out before turning down an alley. When he broke her line of sight, his hands reached for his shirt and pulled it open, revealing the front of his costume hidden beneath his clothes. "After I knock the road rage out of this guy." he growled out, balling up his shirt and leaping up to the wall which he ran up without issue.
Reaching the roof, he webbed his clothes into a sack and threw it over to the back of a neon sign before pulling his mask down and leaping off after the car. Casting a web below he dropped through the air and swung after the car, catching sight of it making a quick turn at an intersection.
Rounding the corner, he flicked his wrist and sent a line to the back of the car, as it stuck to the rear of the vehicle he pulled himself onto the roof. Sticking to the surface, he leaned over the front and looked into the SUV's driver seat. "Hey! I know you!" Spider-Man blurted out upon seeing the driver being none other than Dangan. Who was looking at him with alarm, "Man you'd think someone whose a prosecutor wouldn't be speeding….or going down a one way street, so how about you pull over and-" he began before the front tire of the SUV was shredded by a shard of glass.
The car pitched and turned towards the guard rail, the next thing Spider-Man knew they were airborne! Crap I gotta get this right! The vigilante thought as he maneuvered himself so his feet aimed towards the ground while his hands supported the frame of the car. When his feet hit the ground, the weight of the impact caused them to dig in through the concrete, but Spider-Man stayed standing, holding the weight of the car in his hands easily but making sure that he kept his balance before setting it down onto its wheels.
Inside, Dangan blinked before shakily reaching for the door and then falling out onto the road. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god!" he repeated as Spider-Man approached him, he looked up at him and lunged forward, "Help me! Please! He's coming for me!" the man pleaded desperately.
Spider-Man balked at the reaction, "Wha-who's coming after you?" he asked.
"That would be me." Spider-Man turned his head in the direction the car had been going, he had been so focused on Dangan that he didn't even bother to look where they were going. Sitting on a mailbox a few yards away was a man in a black military style costume, he had a pair of white military boots with matching knee pads, around his waist a belt with multiple pouches that were also white, as well as a pair of strap-on gloves that also were white. But the part that got him was the mask, it was also military style and matching black like the rest of his costume. However the glowing white eyes that were trained on him were barely noticed as the white outlined bullseye on his forehead got the vigilante's attention.
"Ah, yes, clearly it's you. I mean the guy dressed in tactical gear and pouches is obviously the bad guy here." He quipped, stepping directly between him and the prosecutor. He pointed back with his thumb, "But as far as I know, Mr 'Throw Spider-Man in jail and toss the key' here is on the Kingpin's side." he said, making Dangan choke behind him. He looked up at his supposed savior with shock and a new sense of fear, "So why are you after him?"
The man reached into a pouch and pulled out a playing card before shuffling it through his fingers, "That's not really for me to say. But like you said, he's been nothing but a pain in your ass since day one. So how about you do us both a favor, and step aside so I can get my job done?" he propositioned as he slid off his perch.
Spider-man's eyes narrowed, "Sorry, I have this whole thing about saving everyone I can. So I can't let you do that-" he began before his sixth sense buzzed. His head moved to the side just as the card the man was holding flew right at his neck! The thin projectile continued past him and sliced into the side of a street lamp a few feet behind him.
The assassin tilted his head, "Oh….your going to be fun."
They both moved fast, Bullseye reached into his belt for more projectiles while Spider-Man reached back with one hand to grab Dangan and shot a web out overhead. Bullseye flung the projectiles he grabbed, a ballpoint pen and a pocket knife. However they weren't aimed directly at his targets, instead the knife was flung so it spun handle over blade towards the car while the pen sailed towards the ground at full force.
The pen ricocheted off their targets for Dangan, and the other off ground. only for him to be pulled off his feet with Spider-Man hoisting him up into the air with him. Bullseye turned on his heel and ran after them, quickly taking out a bottle and flinging it after the wall crawler as he shot out another web to swing from.
The cap intercepted the new web before it could reach its target, causing the pair to fall short!
"Crap!" Spider-Man exclaimed before throwing Dangan up towards the rooftop he was aiming for, the man yelling as the vigilante stuck to the wall. He heard a thud as the man landed, "Well I didn't really expect my night out to take this turn." he said before his Spider Sense warned him to flip over and avoid a sizable rock aimed at the small of his head.
This guy is dangerous, not only can he use anything as a projector weapon but he's able to be so precise that- The teen thought as Bullseye ran towards the building from below, scooping a few cents of yen that had been left atop a paper dispenser and flung them through the air, the small projectiles curving through the air towards the side of the wall crawler.
Leaping up towards the roof, izuku hissed as one of them embedded itself into his shoulder. Pulling himself up onto the roof, he looked over and saw the coin in his shoulder and used his opposite hand to pull it out. -that. He can do stuff like that. Well it doesn't seem like he can control them, so maybe his quirk is being able to see something he's holding's trajectory? He theorized, looking over to Dangan as he scrambled across the rooftop, Izuku felt something rush right past his back, looking up he saw another knife arcing towards Dangan! So he's absolutely deadly at long range. He realized, shooting a web to the prosecutor and yanking him back as the knife came down where his head was a second ago.
Catching the man, he looked at him, "I don't suppose the thought has crossed your mind to call for some help? Like the police?" he asked."
Dangan tried to pull himself free from the vigilante but the grip on his shoulder didn't budge, "I'm trying! But I can't get a signal!"
Spider-Man's lenses narrowed at the man and the grip on his shoulder tightened, "Really? Wow imagine that, you need someone to help you but for some reason you can't ask for it? Why does that sound familiar?" he replied venomously before grabbing the ban but the scuff of his shirt. "Don't get me wrong, if that guy wasn't trying to kill you right now I'd throw you into the nearest police station for almost hitting those two people on the sidewalk. In fact I still plan to, but I'm going to make sure you're safe first." he spat out.
Before Dangan could respond however, Spider-Man's sixth sense rang out and he pulled the man to the side as another playing card aimed at the man's neck flew through the empty air. Looking over he saw Bullseye finish climbing over the ledge where the fire escape was and charge at him.
Without warning, Spider-Man leapt off the building and tucked the screaming prosecutor under his arm, shooting a webline to swing from as another knife shot towards them, this one nicking Spider-Man's chest as he leaned back and cut his pectoral. Damn! He swore, I want to take him down but keeping Dangan alive takes priority. He thought before another playing card sliced through the webbing, causing them both to fall!
His arm reached out to a flagpole and swung them off it, running along the wall with the man under his arm still.
It was frustrating, on the one hand he couldn't go on the offensive and attack without putting Dangan at risk because that meant him getting close while putting Dangan at a distance…but if he could attack from afar….
I've been working this trick out for the last few months, guess it's time to see if they work! Izuku thought, spinning around in midair with his arm. First he shot a webline directly at his attacker, he leapt off the roof to avoid it. Spider-Man aimed his wrist, and with practiced precision, pressed his fingers to his palm twice in quick succession.
A quick shot of webbing the size of a small ball shot out at a high speed directly at Bullseye's target on his forehead.
Izuku came up with the idea for 'web bullets' a while ago. With the amount of force his webbing shot out with, they could hit someone with a decent amount of force, but the way his webbing was weaved most of that force was dispersed when it splattered over the target.
So then what would happen if the strand of webbing he used was condensed into something the size of a ball? It took weeks for him to get the right balance between force and density of webbing, and even then he had to make sure when the bullet hit its target it didn't crush their skull.
He was basically shooting a golf-ball sized ball of webbing that was stronger than steel at someone with the force of a potato gun, he needed to be sure of how much force the web bullet had shooting out otherwise…..well it'd be living up the 'bullet' part of its name.
So Izuku practiced, making sure they had just enough force to cause something like a blow to the head.
…..so when Bullseye's forehead exploded, Izuku felt like he made the worst mistake he could.
And then he was confused….because Bulleye's entire body came apart soon after in a brown….sludge like substance.
Spider-Man landed on the street post below and watched as the remains of the assassin, which were chunks of what looked like clay, splattered on the ground. "...I….did…wha…am I on drugs right now?" he asked in utter bewilderment
His spider sense warned him but he was too distracted by what just happened to react before a number of nails lodged into his back, "GAH!" he yelled as he dropped Dangan and fell to his hands and knees. He winced as he looked over his shoulder, seeing a few sticking out of his back.
"Congratulations. You took care of me." Bullseye said as he walked down the street.
"Now you just need to deal with myself." Another voice said, Izuku turned his head to see an identical Bullseye stepping out of the alley that led to the fire escape with a knife in hand.
"And I." a third, identical voice said from down the street, strolling up with a deck of playing cards he was flipping between his hands.
So that was his quirk. He wasn't just super accurate but he could make duplicates of himself…..crap. A small part of Izuku was aware that he could probably make a break for it, but that would also condemn Dangan to death…a prosecutor who was in the Kingpin's pocket…..someone who probably did deserve what he had coming after all the lives that he helped ruined, all the people he had hurt due to his own greed. Dangan would die….but Izuku would live….
The vigilante stood up, and raised his fists, standing in front of the Dangan, "Wow so your quadruplets who all decided to become scumbag assassins. Your mother must be so proud." he snarked.
The one with the cards pulled a hand back, Spider-Man aimed his shooter at the hand and sprayed, the webbing caught his hand, sticking his projectile to his hand as he threw while the one with the knife charged in and the one from the alley dug into his pouch for for a billiard and chuckled it at Dangan.
The prosecutor didn't have enough time to react to the ball heading for his head, but the red gloved hand that snapped in front of his face to catch it did. Spider-Man launched the ball back into the clone of Bullseye at full force, if these were just copies of the real one he didn't need to pull his punches. As the one's hand exploded into goo from the ball and trying to catch it, the one with the knife slashed at him, Spider-man raised his forearm to block out of reflex, the knife sliced across his skin making the teen hiss before countering with a punch that knocked the head off the clone.
"Gross, please tell me this stuff gets out of my costume easily, I don't want to stick it in the dryer for a few hours." the Vigilante said, turning to the one he webbed, only to watch as a half dozen more split off from him, formed from the same substance that the others were made from.
Spider-Man grimaced under his mask, he….he couldn't win against this! This guy could apparently made endless clones of himself
as he looked over his shoulder at the dirty public official. He couldn't just send him to something for safe keeping, it'd make him an easy target for the Bullseyes, and if he told him to run to safety he'd probably head right for the airport to save himself. He needed to be turned over to the pros, or at the very least the cops, but he needed to live that long to do it.
Maybe the Fantastic Four could drop by if I call them? If my phone was working. he lamented. If Dangan's phone was being blocked anyone else near him would be as well.
He raised his hands and aimed his wrist at the now dozen assassins charging at him, suddenly a spiral of golden energy collided with the group of clones from the sky.
"Hey, hey, hey! You're that spider vigilante! Have you seen a cute green haired boy around? Actually, you're probably busy fighting that meanie, and also it doesn't look like he's here. That's good! This was getting dangerous, anyway, I'm here to arrest you!" Nejire Hado said, wearing a blue and teal hero costume that hugged her figure as she flew overhead from the same spirals of energy twisting out from her feet.
…you know what I'll take it. Spider-Man thought as the last of the Bullseyes crumbled into their clay states.
"You're sure she'll be ok?" Sera asked her older sister with a small hint of worry in her voice as Setsuna continued counting the tickets she had won. When Itsuka ran back inside and told them that someone had nearly run her and Izuku over, Nejire was quick to check up on her, the second year of U.A. made sure she was ok before grabbing the briefcase she had come with and went off to apprehend the dangerous driver and also get Izuku while she was at it.
Their parents were about to call Inko, but Nejire assured them that she'd find him and didn't want to spoil the night, assuring the others that they'd be back sooner than they could recite the Peace Doctrine…which was a weird pull but not wrong.
"Nejire will be fine, she's interning with one of the top ten heroes for crying out loud sis. If anything I feel bad for the driver." she said with a smirk. "A hundred and two, you're about forty eight short of that plushie." She informed her sister who had lost track of how many tickets she had won and asked her for help. Sero, who had spun out in the driving game he had been playing, walked over. He glanced over at the pool table where Itsuka had been rolling the balls in the rack across the top….for the past ten minutes.
Sero knew he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box at times, but he could tell when a friend was worried. Looking at Setsuna, he also saw that she was looking at her friend with concern, and since he knew that they were best friends it was probably better for her to speak to Kendo. "Hey Sera, how about we try to get the rest of your tickets? I got ten from my lost racing, we just need thirty eight more."
The girl's eyes widened at the prospect and nodded excitedly, Setsuna smiled at him thankfully, mouthing him a 'thanks.' Before walking over Itsuka, she turned around and leaned back on the table beside her, "Hey, come here often?" She asked her friend in a sultry tone.
Itsuka looked over and blinked in surprise before snorting, "Not really." she replied, sliding her arms across her chest.
Setsuna nudged her with her elbow, "Look, Midoriya is probably fine. I mean he doesn't seem like the type of guy to go rushing into danger." she said with a shrug. However when Itsuka pursed her lips together and made an uncertain noise she understood why her friend might be concerned. "Oh….well Nejire's out there after him, he'll be fine." she assured.
Kendo sighed, she knew that Midroiya wasn't stupid enough to do something dangerous, what was he going to do, throw himself in front of a speeding car to get them to stop? In all honesty he was probably kneeling over catching his breath after trying to stop a car and was on his way back here. And when that happened she was definitely going to give him a hard time for thinking he could run down a car on foot, "Yeah, probably…thanks, and sorry about all this, this is your night. Didn't want me almost being hit by a jackass to ruin it."
Setsuna shrugged with a shark-like grin, "Eh it's fine." she dismissed. She looked over at the pool balls as Kendo finally took them out of the rack. She glanced over at Itsuka before taking a little breath, this had been eating at her for a while….and she HAD to ask. "So…..and don't bite my head off but….are you and Midoriya…" she trailed off.
Ituska turned to her with a confused look, "You know…..seeing each other?" she asked.
Kendo, whose weight had been more on the table, nearly slipped from her hand going down on the billiards, "W-What?!" she managed to get out, more out of surprise than anything else.
"It's just….you guys get along really well, and he's a nice guy. And you kinda dote on him." Setsuna provided with a snort while her friend regained her balance. Itsuka's mouth was doing a great impression of a goldfish, and thankfully she didn't seem offended or upset by the question. More shocked….which was more hilarious then anything for the green haired lizard girl.
Kendo shook her head as her cheeks flushed a healthy shade of red, "No, it's not-we're not like that. No. We're just friends!" she replied. She felt strangely called out, and she didn't know why, it wasn't like she was trying to hide something. There was nothing to hide…right?
Her gaze turned skeptic, "Also I don't dote on him, I just show concern for a friend. Like you, Yui, and Nejire." she added.
Setsuna made an iffy gesture, "Ehhhh you do for us, but him? It feels like you're doting. I mean you met up with him outside the dojo before meeting us-"
"And I was right to, you nearly scared the soul out of him." Itsuka replied.
"-and then you and him were weirdly flirty with sparing the same day." Setsuna added. Whatever reply Itsuka had died in her throat as she recalled exactly how that session had ended up with her having a sexy dream about Midroiya. And she admitted that….maybe all the physical contact with him had something to do with it…ok it probably did.
Setsuna saw the way her friend had gotten quiet and gently added, "And then your birthday, where you glomped on him." she added.
That one Itsuka had a defense for, "It was Captain America's autograph!" she defended, "Look if you got me it? I'd probably do the same thing." she paused, "...actually yeah I'd hug you all day and not let go."
Setsuna raised her hands, "Alright that's fair." she conceited."But then, just now when Nejire was all up in his face you got a little jelly."
That snapped Itsuka out of it, "Wha-no! I was not jealous!" she denied.
Set clicked her tongue, "I mean from where me and Yui were sitting? You looked ready to throw hands at Nejire." she teased. Itsuka's hand grabbed her opposing arm, she was flustered and…..dammit it was hard to talk back when she considered the things that she hadn't told Set. Like how Izuku went out of his way to check up on her training, or how his words of encouragement uplifted her after Nighteye's dressing down….or the god damn lap pillow she gave him-what the fuck was she even thinking back then?!
But that….that wasn't all…..Izuku was maybe the most kind person she had ever met, he cared for everyone even more than he would himself. And how just earlier when he was feeling down on himself it actually hurt her to see him be so unsure of himself….and felt so alone. And it wasn't just that, it might seem like she just wanted him to not be alone but that wasn't it. It was more.
She didn't want him to be alone.
She wanted him to be happy.
She….wanted him to feel loved..
She….she…..she wanted to be the one who made him feel those things.
Oh….OH…OH!
Setsuna watched as her friend's face bubbled with contemplation, she was tempted to poke at it more but she also knew when to back off with her friend. "Look, if I misread it then I'm sorry. I just-"
Kendo shook her head, "No I…." she trailed off, also remembering how good she thought he looked tonight…or the way he talked about how lucky he felt to be in her life…..or how he told her about his frustrations with being quirkless, something he didn't tell anyone else. "...I….don't know." she admitted.
Setsuna's head turned so fast it might have snapped something, but she kept quiet to let her friend continue, "We've…we've had some….moments together…but…..I didn't really….." her head lowered as a hurt expression crossed her face, "Or maybe I did…..and I just didn't want to acknowledge it."
Setsuna was quiet, Itsuka was reflecting on herself, on how she looked at Midroiya….at Izuku, god she actually called after him using his first name earlier tonight! She should have realized sooner but…she didn't. Was it the training with All Might? Was that drawing all of her focus that she had neglected these growing feelings? Maybe…..but the more obvious answer was simple….but it made her mad. Her last relationship had a messy end, and it left her with no desire to seek out a new partner anytime afterwards, but that had been over a year ago now yet she hadn't realized she was falling for Midoriya?
Was she just….emotionally damaged?
The thought scared her but she shook her head, "I…..I don't know what to do."
Setsuna's hand on her shoulder was sobering, "You don't have to do anything." Set assured her, "Look you're not on a deadline, Parsley doesn't seem to know either so it's not like he's expecting it from you." she assured her friend, not wanting to pressure her into starting a relationship. Itsuka took a breath, she was right of course there wasn't any reason she had to do anything with these newly discovered feelings tonight, but now that she realized them…it was a lot to unpack. "And look….if you want to talk, I'm always here, and what's said between us, stays between us." Setsuna assured her friend, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Itsuka reached up and clasped the hand, smiling at Set, "Thanks."
"Anytime." she replied with a nod.
The two friends leaned against the pool table, Setsuna happy that her friend was at least aware of something was growing between her and Midoriya but she wasn't going to push her to pursue it…..but she wasn't going to sit by and let her friend not realize that there was an opportunity to be happy.
"...ok but for real after that training session, I thought for sure you guys were fucking." she added.
Kendo chopped the back of her friend's head in response, her face aflame with embarrassment.
This….this isn't my day…..week…..month, year. It's not a good time to be me. Izuku lamented as Nejire Hando leveled a hand at him, swirling with golden energy as he kept his hands raised over his head while Dangan picked himself up off the ground. Brushing the dirt and grime off his suit he approached the hovering Heroine.
"Thank you so much miss, this menace was trying to kidnap me!" He said, pointing a finger at Spider-Man. The masked teen's face wasn't shocked but his jaw still dropped at the indignance of the prosecutor calling him a menace. "Arrest him immediately!"
Nejire looked at Spider-Man, and then back to Dangan. "Nope."
"…"
"…"
"…..huh?" Both Spider-Man and Dangan asked.
"I'm not arresting him until I determine what's going on." She explained, pointing a finger at Dangan. "That villain was after you and Spider-Man was trying to protect you the whole time." She pointed out. "So the. Why would you want him arrested? I mean I know you'd that proctor guy from the news and all, but still the fact you tried to throw him under the bus like that is a red flag. And I learned that you don't ignore those, so it makes me think you're lying." She explained in depth.
Dangan shook his head in bewilderment, "Wha-I-listen here! I'll have your license if you don't-" he began before a web shot over and covered his mouth, "MMPPPHHH!" he muffled as he glared at the vigilante.
Spider-Man looked around, "I don't know where that came from." he fibbed before turning to Nejire. "And as for why…..it's kind of a long story but I can prove most of it." He said. Nejire's head tilted in curiosity before she lowered down to the ground. The glowing energy stopped swirling but she gave him a stern look.
"Alright but no lying! If you lie I'll knock you out!" She said, her cheeks puffing out dangerously despite the cute appearance.
Spider-Man nodded and proceeded to explain everything, how Dangan was working for the Kingpin as part of his inner circle, and that he was responsible for manipulating the system to obfuscate the law for the Kingpin's criminal empire.
Or as Nejire summed it up, "So this public prosecutor is actually a bad guy, and his boss is an even badder bad guy who's in charge of a bunch of bad guys that no one knows about because another bad guy is making cell phones to block police calls to people who need it while being robbed by lesser bad guys?"
Spider-Man nodded, "I…..yeah that pretty much covers it actually." He said. Nejire reached for her phone and treated it out, trying to call Ryukyu only to have no signal appear. Then she tried the police, and the same happened. She looked over to Dangan, who had stopped trying to pull the webbing off his mouth and seemed to be reconciling his current predicament. "I think they blocked his phone." Spider-Man explained, "I mean that's also probably how that assassin guy found him to begin with.
Nejire stepped over and held out her hand to Dangan, the prosecutor, with no other alternative, reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Handing it to her she felt how warm it was despite not being used and that it had no signal. She had thankfully called Ryukyu before flying off in search of the car so she would be on her way…..all that was left was what to do about Spider-Man.
Nejire stepped forward into the vigilante's face, and once more Izuku felt his face warm up as she invaded his personal bubble. "Ok I'm kind of conflicted here, I'm not gonna lie. On the one hand you're a vigilante and you're breaking the law. But on the other hand without that we wouldn't know about this guy and his boss's shenanigans." She pointed out.
Spider-Man swallowed, "I-I-I agree!" He squeaked out.
"I bet if you turn yourself in they'll go easy on you! Plus you're bleeding a lot and probably need medical attention. Actually I'm surprised you're still standing! Are you super tough? I don't think spiders are tough like cockroaches or beetles, but then again who knows? I don't like spiders that much, they're a little scary. You're not though! Your mask is nice! I like the eyes!" She continued, Izuku looking around for some way to avoid that happening at all costs.
Nejire just took out a professional assassin with barely a seat broken, and even if he was at a 100%, which he really wasn't with his back on fire from the nails and his arm burning from the knife wound. But….he couldn't do anything! If he tried to run she'd just blast him, knock him out cold, and then just unmask him. If he tried fighting he'd probably lose, and the same thing!
….maybe if he sucker punched her but that didn't feel right at all.
Which left one option that wouldn't work, "I….um….Hey look it's All Might!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger aimed behind her.
And in a moment, as though the universe decided to give him a break, Nejire gasped and turned around to where he pointed.
I'LL TAKE IT! Izuju thought before shooting a webline back and launching himself up the building. Nejire turned back at the sound and frowned after him.
"Hey! That's not nice, meanie!" She called out after him.
Aw nuts! She was really looking forward to asking him questions too! But she couldn't let Dangan be alone; he could take off! She stomped her foot on the ground and turned to Dangan. "Ooooohhhh! He's lucky I need to wait for Ryukyu to get here and interrogate you!"
Not even a block away, Ozuku dropped into an alley, breathing heavily as he looked up, expecting the U.A. Second year to be hot on his heels…only to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw nothing.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"I can't believe that actually worked."
It took him an hour to safely maneuver back to get his clothes, but once he had them he decided to head home to deal with his injuries rather than try to explain why he was bleeding everywhere to Setsuna and the others. He had sent a text message to Itsuka that, while he had been perusing the car, he had tripped and fell into a puddle beside a dumpster, and not wanting to drag that smell back to a restaurant, decided to go home and shower instead.
Which he was going to…..after he was done patching himself up.
His mother was thankfully asleep by now, but it meant he had to be as quiet as he could be when getting the first aid kit out of the bathroom and bringing it to his bedroom. There he shed the top portion of his costume onto his bed, and armed with tweezers, set about extracting the nails in his back.
Each one stung to remove, he counted six in total and only after using his phone to check his back a few times did he see that there didn't seem to be any pieces stuck in the wounds. He then applied a copious amount of disinfectant to his back, which stung harshly and made him grit his teeth before wrapping gauze around his back and torso.
The cut on his arm was another story, the knife had gone deep and was bleeding harshly which he had used webbing to make a tourniquet for it on the way home.
Izuku knew that he healed fast but he wasn't sure if a cut like that would heal overnight. So to be safe, he pulled out a thread and needle. His mom had shown him how to do this when he was younger, he had gotten a bad cut from a broken plate that fell on his shoulder and his mom decided to teach him how to treat it if he ever needed to do it on his own.
So he knew this was going to suck.
Lining the needle up with the cut, his fingers trembled slightly before he took a deep, calming breath. Exhaling through his nose, his hand shaking improved, and he slowly pushed the needle through his skin. He gritted his teeth as the needle went through the cut to the other side of the skin, once it stuck out he grabbed it and pulled it along with the thread through.
He had to repeat that process three more times before he was satisfied. Pulling the string tight, he wrapped it in bandages before dropping the now bloody needle onto the kit. Closing the kit up, he lowered it to the ground and slid it under his bed to hide.
Today had been…well there was no two ways about it, it sucked.
Between Bakugo's bullying, his own avoidance of his friends, getting knocked around by an assassin while defending a scumbag, nearly getting caught by Nejire, and then having to do first aid on himself? It had been a very, VERY long day. Laying down on his bed, gently as he could so not to agitate the wounds on his back, he slipped under his bedsheets.
Reaching for his phone, he considered texting an apology to Kendo but he couldn't find it with himself to do so. He saw a news alert pop up on his phone from Shoowasha publishing…..but he was too tired to read it. Instead he dropped his phone on the nightstand, turned off the light, and closed his eyes.
What he wouldn't see until tomorrow afternoon, because of course he forgot to plug his phone in, was the headline.
Prosecutor Dangan Arrested by Pro Hero Ryukyu!
In other news, pro hero Daredevil apprehends infamous Assassin Bullseye in Hell's Gate.