"He's here?" Tsutsumi muttered, his tone a mix of amusement, seeing All Might on I-Island of all places.
From the inner pocket of his coat, he pulled out a sleek pair of tinted glasses and slid them on.
"Enhance vision."
At his quiet command, a faint digital hum resonated through the lenses as the HUD flickered to life. The glass adjusted its focus automatically, zooming in on the scene ahead, and among the sea of excited fans, Tsutsumi spotted a familiar green-haired boy struggling to keep his balance.
"Midoriya?" He squinted, tilting his head slightly. "The fuck's he doing here?"
Tsutsumi frowned, confused; he already knew that Midoriya didn't come from money, not the kind that could afford a vacation to a high-tech paradise, unless he won some kind of prize that let him travel here for vacation, or some special invitation.
Time passed. The excitement died down, and the crowds dispersed into the bright streets of the artificial city. Somewhere in a quieter corner, All Might stood tall, still smiling despite the many bright red lipstick marks that decorated his face. Midoriya stood beside him, looking like he had just run a marathon.
All Might wiped his face with a handkerchief, still chatting warmly with the boy.
Tsutsumi, now perched lazily on a tree branch nearby, adjusted his glasses again. The lenses refocused, the audio enhancer quietly activating.
"I'm going to meet an old friend," All Might said, his booming voice softening. "Why don't you come along, young Midoriya?"
Midoriya nodded eagerly, looking like he was on the verge of fainting from excitement.
But Tsutsumi caught something else, a subtle shift in tone, a whisper meant to go unheard, but doing it in the open wasn't exactly very secretive.
"I haven't told him about One For All, or that I've passed the Quirk on to you."
Tsutsumi froze for a brief second, his brows furrowing.
"One For All... All Might passed his Quirk to Midoriya..." Tsutsumi murmurs, finally understanding why Midoriya resembles All Might's illegitimate child.
It was because he inherited All Might's Quirk.
The reason Midoriya is so desperate to prove himself...
It was because he believed that, being All Might's successor, he too should be like his hero.
"No wonder he can't grow into his own person..." Tsutsumi murmured in disappointment. Shutting off the glasses' display and pocketing them, before jumping off the tree and leaving without the two ever noticing him.
Midoriya is trapped in the shadow of his own hero, trying to imitate him, to become another All Might. A puppet trying to be someone else.
After finally piecing the puzzle together, Tsutsumi understood why Midoriya had always been so secretive about his Quirk, and why he carried that strange, almost self-destructive obsession with proving himself to be a hero like All Might.
Now that he knew the truth, Tsutsumi found his curiosity fading into disinterest. Whatever secret they were protecting wasn't worth his attention anymore.
Quirks were already strange enough. They appeared out of nowhere, evolved without logic, and grew wilder with every generation. A transferable Quirk was just another bizarre phenomenon in a world already filled with them.
Even his own Quirk, if it could still be called one, was something far beyond normal human comprehension. A power that granted him the identity of the Destroyer of Worlds.
As he continued walking, the sound of roaring engines and cheering spectators caught his attention. His gaze followed the noise until he arrived at a small stadium surrounded by energy and excitement.
Inside, Bakugo Katsuki was tearing through the air, his palms detonating with sharp bursts of light as he blasted from one end of the field to another. The metal robots around him stood no chance, each one exploding in succession.
"This is amazing! He cleared the course in eight seconds! He's in first place!" the female announcer shouted with electric enthusiasm, her voice echoing through the speakers.
Tsutsumi leaned on the railing, amused.
As Bakugo landed, the blonde's sharp eyes immediately caught sight of him. Without hesitation, he used an explosion to propel himself forward, crossing the distance in a blink.
"Tsutsumi!"
The blast erupted, yet it never reached its target. The explosion dispersed mid-air, redirected by a glimmering surface that shimmered between them.
"Yo, Bakugo." Tsutsumi greeted him with that same infuriatingly calm smirk.
"You damn bastard, getting stronger again…" Bakugo grunted, his hand pressed against a smooth metal shield that had materialized out of nowhere. The surface absorbed his explosion and redirected the kinetic force backward, forcing him to nearly fall back
The metallic plates then fragmented, flowing like liquid mercury before reforming into the sleeve of Tsutsumi's left arm.
"Why are you here?" Bakugo asks as he jumps over the railing and lands back on the side.
Tsutsumi shrugged. "Winner of the Sports Festival," he replied offhandedly, resting an elbow on the railing as he turned his gaze toward the arena.
Down below, Todoroki had stepped onto the field. Kneeling down, he pressed his palm to the ground. A wave of ice erupted outward, engulfing the entire artificial mountain in seconds.
"W-Wow! S-Seven seconds! He's jumped to the top!" the announcer squealed.
"Tch. Showoff," Bakugo muttered.
"Takes one to know one," Tsutsumi replied dryly.
Todoroki finally looked up and noticed the two standing by the railing. "Tsutsumi, you're here too?"
"Yo, Todoroki."
As soon as the words finished leaving his mouth, a stream of flame blasted toward him. Tsutsumi's right sleeve broke apart this time, forming into a sleek silver shield that reflected the fire harmlessly downward.
"Looks like you've gotten even stronger," Todoroki commented as he used a burst of ice and fire to propel himself up to join them.
Before Tsutsumi could respond, an excited voice rang out.
"Amazing!"
They turned to see a blonde girl approaching, round glasses, brown jeans, a red-and-white shirt. She stopped a few feet away, her curious eyes fixed on the now-dissolving metal shield as it reassembled into Tsutsumi's sleeve once more.
Behind her came the rest of the familiar faces, Jiro, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Kendo, Ida, and finally, Midoriya.
Bakugo's expression darkened instantly at the sight of the green-haired boy. He glared but said nothing.
"Why are all you extras here?" he demanded.
Tsutsumi gave Midoriya a flat, disappointed look before translating calmly, "He means, 'Why are all of you here?'"
"Oi!" Bakugo barked.
"Better translation," Todoroki added without missing a beat, not even looking at Midoriya. "Hello. Why are you guys here?"
"OI! You bastards!" Bakugo shouted again, his voice echoing over the stadium.
"Tch, you three are basically saying the same thing, just more politely each time," Jiro muttered, arms crossed.
The trio ignored her.
"Todoroki-kun, I didn't expect to see you here… and with Bakugo, of all people," Yaoyorozu said, her tone polite but clearly amused.
"We're friends," Todoroki replied.
"No, we're not!" Bakugo snapped.
"So of course I'd invite my friends to hang out," Todoroki continued, completely unbothered.
Before Bakugo could explode again, the blonde girl spoke up nervously, after being ignored. "U-Um… I'm Melissa Shield. Nice to meet you."
She extended a hand toward Tsutsumi, who simply looked at it, nodded, and started to turn away, only to yelp as Jiro jabbed her earphone jack into his neck.
"Oi! Don't just leave a girl hanging like that. She's one of our friends!" Jiro scolded.
There are only a few things Tsutsumi can't do in life. The first is taking good pictures. The second is refusing and arguing back against Jiro when she is right.
"Tsutsumi Ryoko, U.A. first year. Code name, Decade," he said finally, shaking Melissa's hand. "Nice to meet you."
Her eyes brightened. "You're Midoriya's classmate, right? You even have a cool hero name, too!"
"It's a code name, Shield. I'm not a hero," Tsutsumi corrected her, his voice calm but firm.
"I see… Please call me Melissa, then. 'Shield' is what people call my father." She smiled and began circling him with curious fascination, her eyes tracing his coat.
"What kind of Quirk do you have?"
"Nothing special. Just a simple belt," he replied smoothly.
Melissa squinted, clearly not buying it. "Really? Because this coat, did you make it yourself, or did you use your Quirk? It feels like metal, but it's lightweight and flexible. How did you even do this?"
"Thousands of microscopic grasshopper drones," Tsutsumi said nonchalantly. "They move and respond directly to my command."
Her eyes sparkled. "That's amazing! Can you tell me more about-"
"Alright, alright, that's enough," Jiro cut in, stepping between them with a sigh. "We're here to have fun, not to let you two nerd out about science."
Tsutsumi just shrugged, while Melissa laughed awkwardly.
...
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the artificial glow of I-Island bathed the city in soft gold and blue hues. By 6 PM, the bustling research hub began to quiet down, its citizens preparing for the night ahead. The air carried a mix of excitement and formality, the evening of the grand I-Expo Reception Party had finally arrived.
Melissa handed them the invitations to the reception party.
The group decided to wear formal clothes to attend the party before meeting up at 6:30 PM in Lobby 7 of the central tower.
Melissa, meanwhile, decided to go look for Tsutsumi. She had been eager to speak with him again, maybe discuss his technology, or at least talk to him more about technology. But the moment she turned the corner, he was gone.
"Wha-? I swear he was right here a second ago…" she muttered, scanning the empty street.
...
Finally, the group all meet up at their agreed-upon meeting place. With the boys dressed in fancy suits and tuxedos, while the girls wore fancy dresses with their hair styled.
"You seriously didn't change? What were you doing this entire time?" Jiro asks, looking at Tsutsumi, who was still wearing his casual clothes.
"Decade, this is highly unprofessional of-"
Ida began, his hands chopping through the air in righteous disapproval.
Tsutsumi ignored him completely. He tapped the small, magenta device on his wrist.
Instantly, his casual clothes shifted into a fancy black suit with a magenta shirt underneath.
This instant shift caused everyone to pause on their track and stare at him.
"What with the look?" Tsutsumi asked flatly, glancing at their stunned faces. "Did Ida run off to hug another serial killer again?"
Ida: "..."
"Ryo…" Jiro exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Where did you even get that?"
"I made it," he replied, as if it were the most casual thing in the world.
"Bullshit!" she snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Last I checked, you weren't this tech-savvy!"
Tsutsumi tilted his head. "It's just a prototype. When I finish the first model, you'll be the first to try it."
Her cheeks reddened instantly. "W-Well, you better keep your word…" she muttered, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Lucky…" Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, and Kendo all said in unison, exchanging jealous glances.
To them, a device that could instantly switch outfits wasn't just convenient, it was revolutionary. The idea of waking up, showering, and choosing any outfit with a single tap was basically a dream come true.
Melissa, however, looked at Tsutsumi with pure astonishment. "That's incredible… A nanotech-based auto-morph system? And your models are even more advanced than what we currently have today."
Before she could finish her question, a sharp beeping sound blared through the building. The bright ambient lights flickered red.
The alarm went off, informing them that something explosive had been found on the island, and to keep everyone safe, a full island lockdown was ordered to ensure everyone's safety.
Everyone's heads snapped toward the sound. The wide glass windows sealed shut as thick metal panels descended over them. The once-luxurious lobby suddenly felt like a steel cage.
"What the?!" Kendo stepped toward the nearest door, only to find it completely sealed by reinforced plating.
Jiro checked her phone. "No signal."
"Same here." Hagakure looked down at her own device. "It's like the network's been cut off entirely."
"The elevators aren't responding either." Yaoyorozu added, pressing the call button to no effect.
Melissa frowned deeply, her scientific mind already analyzing the situation. "This… doesn't make sense. The security system wouldn't trigger a full lockdown just because of a bomb threat. It's designed to isolate the threat area, not the whole island."
Midoriya straightened up. "We need to get to the reception hall. All Might is there, he'll know what to do."
That single mention seemed to calm the group slightly. All Might was still their symbol of peace, invincible and unstoppable. If he were there, everything would be fine.
Tsutsumi could easily hack into the system using Ark's power, but doing so would most likely make him a public enemy number one, similar to when this ability is revealed back in the IS world.
So to avoid unnecessary trouble, Tsutsumi just went along with this plan for now. "Melissa, can you get us to the party somehow?"
Melissa nodded, already scanning the area. "There's a maintenance passage behind that door. If we use the emergency stairs, we can reach the upper floors without using the elevators."