Chapter Text
Izuku was again contemplating past events as he changed into his hero suit. There was not much to do but let his mind wander as his arms and legs went on auto-pilot.
Besides, the boy had plenty to digest after his recent venture into Ryuko's office. It didn't help that his brain was only functioning at half-mast due to the lack of sleep and energy... That and his new fixation on calendar girl Ryuko.
'Looking at her is so distracting now. It was bad enough, to begin with...'
Thankfully, with roughly half of what was bogging down his mental faculties in another room, Izuku could finally process his thoughts... somewhat.
The vacation filled him with as much excitement as it did trepidation.
He didn't know how they would pull it off without people deducing they were unusually close.
At least Eri would appease everyone who knew about the girl's situation, but the general public was another matter entirely. Then there was what they would do once they got to wherever the heck it was they were going.
Even though the beach was Izuku's suggestion, he'd never done something like this before.
'What exactly do I bring? I mean, obviously, swimming trunks and spare clothes or something. But is there anything else...? And are we just going to be at some beach resort for 3 days, or will we do other things?'
The young hero sighed audibly.
Right now, as much as Izuku was fond of making plans and finding solutions, his mental capacity was just not up for it. That and further thought would inevitably lead him to start thinking of something he was desperately trying to subdue.
'Will she wear the bikini...? NOOO! Stop it! Stupid teenage hormones!!'
The young man tried to focus on something else. Desiring to maintain what little innocence he had left and not become more like the grape gremlin of 1-A.
Something that seemed tamer yet still got his attention... and that was how intensely Ryuko was staring at his hand earlier.
The freckled boy looked down at his formerly scarred hand.'Was she only checking to see if Eri had caused me any problems? Or...?-'
Something then dawned on Izuku as his face turned a deep crimson.
'-She is still upset about what happened at the doorway when I knocked on her... NEVERMIND! I knew it! There is no way she could have been that ok with it! The mark probably gave some serious kickback or something as well! ARRGGH, I'M SO STUPID!!'
The embarrassed teenager frantically raked his hands through his hair.
'What am I supposed to do to make it up to her...!? I have to apologise...'
'Wait a minute. I can't just say, "I'm sorry." I promised to stop doing that so much!'
'But I have to apologise...'
'B-But I can't...'
'But I have to...'
'But I can't...'
The boy's mind flipped like a pancake over and over as his head fumed with smoke, short-circuiting between keeping a promise and following his principles.
The hero-in-training ended up taking longer than he should have to get changed. Though he wasn't the only one struggling with getting things done...
--
Ryuko gradually made her way down the hallway to the elevators, working herself into a frenzy over the vacation's logistics.
What was supposed to be a quick walk became a slow trek with arduous steps as the worried dragoness fretted over the future.
She didn't just need to figure out where to go, but she also had to figure out where it was safe. Ryuko couldn't very well stroll along the beachside with Izuku in the public eye with no explanation. That would raise far too many questions for her liking.
Then there's how she still felt lousy leaving Tarisu without her protection, even if it was only during bronze week and the other heroes in the city should be able to manage. A lot can happen in 3 days, and who's to say what villains will take advantage of her being gone.
Don't get her started on Tempest's suggestion for a confession during the trip.
While the seducing part was entirely improper, Ryuko will admit it's a proper setting to talk to him about this, better than a dark underground vault anyway. But still, this felt inappropriate to her. Even if Ryuko was asking for a relationship down the line when he was older, it felt like she was skirting the law and her morals.
Before the woman could continue her slow meltdown, the green figure in question stepped into her line of vision, causing her eyes to widen briefly.
"Izu- Deku... you're still up here?" She caught herself. Pushing back into boss mode to avoid slip-ups in a less private environment.
The boy panicked a bit. "Ah yeah, I ah... had some... minor issues. No big deal! I'll get down to the training room now." He pointed frantically in the direction of the elevator before practically running off.
Ryuko, still mentally catching up with everything, reached out her hand suddenly. "Wait!"
Izuku stopped and turned awkwardly. "Um... yeah? I-I mean, yes, ma'am!?"
Now it was Ryuko's turn to be awkward. "Ahh... well. There's no need to run... we could go together."
Izuku darted his eyes around as if doing everything to not look at her directly. "Ummm, well..."
It was like how he was when she first turned up UA for Eri all those weeks ago. She had noticed he was doing it in her office earlier, but it was exceptionally noticeable now.
To her bafflement, Ryuko couldn't understand why he was acting like this again. They spent several nights sitting and talking on a bed together, for goodness sake!
"Are you ok, Deku?"
"Y-yeah... um... Aren't you worried about people seeing us together too much?" The boy gestured in a vague direction behind him, implying the other interns.
To the ears of a novice, that would almost sound like Izuku was worried about her position. But Ryuko knew, from extensive experience in the vault, how the boy behaved when he tried to deflect.
This was an excuse. The pro understood that much. It was one of the few things Ryuko had learned about Izuku, aside from his Quirk and that he was a huge dork.
He wasn't really lying per se, just keeping to himself... like usual. The woman didn't know what he was holding from her this time. So, until she does, Ryuko rolled with it... like usual.
While it was frustrating to do this almost constantly, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by prying. Ryuko already had a pretty good idea of what kind of past Izuku must have had while growing up, and she didn't want to force open any old scars that he wasn't ready to reveal.
"While I am concerned, the last they heard from us was me asking you to meet me in my office. Us showing up at the same time wouldn't be that unusual."
For some reason, the greenette looked defeated. But the boy was masking it behind this jesting expression. "I see... that's a good point... I can't find any problem with that. Heh heh."
Taking a mental note of that response, Ryuko continued. "Glad you agree. We can't overthink this too much. Otherwise, we'll look suspicious anyway."
Pfft, Like you're one to talk...
The Sass-ter quipped.
Ryuko resisted the urge to furrow her eyebrows. "Anyway, Deku, we should get going. We can't keep the others waiting." She pressed on towards the elevators.
Izuku nodded as he followed after. "R-Right."
The walk down to the elevator was quiet. Almost unbearably, with how Izuku desperately stared at anything that wasn't her.
Ryuko tried to initiate a conversation once they finally reached the lift and pushed the button. "So... I've been thinking about the vacation. Honestly, I'm uncertain how we'll pull it off."
The boy stopped his frantic 'not staring.' "Uh, yeah. It'll be hard. That's for sure..."
The boss tried to get her intern more involved in the conversation. "I know you said you were pretty tired, but I don't suppose you had any ideas?"
The boy widened his eyes. "Um... well, maybe a good way to divert suspicion would be to invite other people along?"
The doors opened to the elevator as Ryuko hummed. "That's not a half-bad idea... but I'd rather not drag too many people along. I'd feel like I'd have to manage them all, and that likely defeats the purpose." She chuckled.
Izuku assumed his thinking stance as the pair stepped in, and the doors slid closed behind them. With Ryuko hitting the button for the basem*nt.
The boy mulled it over for a moment. "Hmm... seeing as this is a family sorta thing with Eri. How about my mum and yours?"
Ryuko almost shivered. The thought of dragging her rigid mother to this event where she may or may not be expressing romantic interest in a boy a decade younger than her and whom said mother currently despised filled her with dread.
"Umm... I guess that's not too bad an idea. My mother might be a bit of an issue there, though.-"
She tried to laugh it off as an odd thought occurred to her.
"-Wait, why did you say my mother and not both my parents?"
Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Well, you don't mention your dad much. And when you do... I just kinda figured I shouldn't bring him up."
Ryuko co*cked a brow at that.'I guess he's learned things too...'
"You're not quite wrong, but... It's not really just about him..."
"How so?"
Ryuko warred with herself for a moment. She wanted to tell him, and she should, lest Izuku accidentally steps on a landmine with her mother. But she wasn't sure how much she should tell.
The woman decided to keep it simple. "My parents are divorced."
Izuku's jaw dropped open. "OH! I-I didn't know. I shouldn't have-"
She raised her hand for him to settle. "It's fine... It happened years ago. It's just... a bit of a sore subject still... for all of us."
The green intern sagged. "I see...-"
Silence settled between them once again as the boy tried to find words.
"-I won't bring it up again then. Unless you want to, of course."
Ryuko smiled a bit. "I appreciate it.-"
She tried to return to the rails they diverted from while an idea formed.
"-But anyway, inviting your mother would help... but travelling together is still an issue. We'll probably have to-"
Izuku lit up, seeing where she was heading. "Get there separately? Me with my mum and you with Eri?"
Ryuko grinned. "Exactly. We'll make something up about meeting there by coincidence or something... Though how many people will actually believe that is debatable. I suppose we'll adjust the plan as we move forward."
Izuku nodded encouragingly. "Sounds like a plan! Now we only need to know where to go."
Ryuko smirked. "You can leave that to me. That part is far easier to figure out."
With a semblance of a plan now in place, the dragoness was far more confident in setting this up. Brainstorming where to go now will be no issue.
In fact, now that Ryuko was thinking about it clearly and seeing as she wanted to keep this as private as possible, she didn't necessarily have to tell the public where she was going. Ryuko only needed to say she wouldn't be in town for a few days for a vacation, then wear a disguise of some kind as she traveled... Although it's still a good idea to bring along some extra people if someone does recognise her with Izuku.
The boy then cleared his throat as if something had come to mind. "I'm sure you can handle it... but... maybe it's not right for me to say this. But maybe you should try to invite your parents anyway...?-"
Ryuko raised both eyebrows, staring silently at the boy, trying to gauge him.
"-I mean... It just seems like the right thing to do. And maybe your parents will... never mind, that's not for me to say."
Ryuko could guess what he was going to say. But as Izuku seemed to intuit, the situation was not something a beach vacation could resolve... as much as she would've liked it to.
"I'll offer it to them. I wouldn't hold your breath, Izuku. But thanks for the suggestion...-"
As the boy looked glad that he hadn't overstepped his bounds, a thought came to her.
"-What about your father?"
She knew the boy's father was overseas, so the man probably couldn't make it anyway. She also understood it was a sore spot for Izuku, but she wanted to see if she could help somehow, especially since he had tried to do the same. However, she was also taking the opportunity to merely learn more about her marked mate, if nothing else.
Izuku stammered. "M-Mine? Um, well, he's still in America... I don't think he'll make it. He usually only comes back during Christmas or similar big family holidays." He said awkwardly.
It wasn't much, and there wasn't anything she could do to fix it. But at least Ryuko learned where his father was this time and when he typically returns. It was a heck more than she usually got out of the teen.
"I see. I figured as much."
Gradually, a slightly more comfortable stillness fell this time, and the elevator was still making its way down. But now, there wasn't much to talk about. Although, Izuku looked like he still had something to say...
"Um... You're still bothered about before, aren't you?"
Ryuko was a little confused. "About what?"
The boy twiddled his fingers, colour growing on his features. "The mark gave you problems earlier, right? When I... you know... touched you. That's why you were staring at my hands, right?"
Ryuko's face immediately dyed a deep red.'Why does he have to be perceptive about things like this!?!'
Surprising, no one. Tempest was laughing her ass off while grilling Ryuko.
Don't feel too bad, Ryuko! Being curious about male anatomy is 'perfectly normal' for a woman half your age.
'SHUT IT!! Urgh... This is all that penis doctor's fault! I could've lived without knowing these things!'
Well, I, for one, am glad for our new dick trivia.
The mental lizard cackled as Ryuko sighed mentally.
She didn't mean to look. The thought merely occurred to her, and she just... glanced, or at least she thought she did. She didn't mean to stare that hard.
'I was just... just... I don't know!'
That's what they all say...
Izuku continued as Ryuko failed to speak. "I know you said to drop it earlier, but part of our agreement was that I would help with the mark if I could. You don't have to deal with it alone when I'm largely responsible for it happening... Is there anything I can do?"
Ryuko wanted to evaporate. It was bad enough that she was experiencing perversions toward a minor. Now the said minor had the wrong idea and thought she needed help... Worse still, that wasn't inaccurate.
'God, I do need a holiday...'
"I-It's fine, Izuku. I can manage. The worst of it has already passed..."
She lied, and she hated it. But she couldn't very well say, 'I was curious about what you're packing downstairs.' to a boy his age. Even thinking about that made Ryuko disgusted with herself.
'Blame the mark... Blame it all on the mark.' She chanted to herself.
Whatever floats ya boat, Ryuko...
It was a cheap tactic... deep down, the woman knew she had more control than she previously believed. Tempest knew it too. But it was an emotional crutch Ryuko needed right now.
The boy in question nodded resolutely. "If you say so, I'll be more careful from now on... It must be very uncomfortable for girls to get touched like that from nowhere. Even without something like the mark doing things, feeling objectified and all that." He rubbed his neck, ashamed.
Ryuko studied him for a moment, feeling a bit guilty herself. "It's not great being... knocked onlike that out of nowhere, true. But don't beat yourself up over it. You didn't 'objectify' me. That was just an accident. I've experienced far worse from being objectified, trust me."
The woman expected several reactions from him. Dejection, pity, or even some continued remorse. What she got instead was the hint of a glare, anger subdued.
"How so?" He almost growled.
Ryuko, stunned slightly by the response, had to collect herself before continuing. "Well... It partly comes with being a pro and putting yourself out there. There's no real way to avoid it. Especially if you're a woman... No offense, but some guys can be pigs."
Izuku had a frown, thinking of a certain purple boy. "Yeah... I know."
She shrugged. "I've learned to expect it somewhat at this point. Though I do have regrets from the early days..."
The boy was now curious. "What kind of regrets? ...If you don't mind telling me, that is."
Ryuko hummed, thinking over how much to tell her greenest intern. "Let's say I had an agent before Jinzo... That agent put me in a difficult position where I had to... exhibit myself. So I fired them, wishing I'd never hired them in the first place. That kind of regret. Something I wish never happened." She said pointedly.
Izuku immediately turned pale. His mind went back to Kaminari's words about the calendar.
"Apparently, Ryukyu appeared because an agent of hers screwed up with a contract or something..."
Guilt flooded into the boy's veins and muscles. With everything happening and how excited he was about the picture, he didn't stop to think too deeply about how its existence made Ryuko feel.
Sure, Kaminari had said Ryukyu tore a calendar to pieces in a store, but the green teen had decided that sounded like an exaggerated rumour.
Now hearing it from the woman herself, Izuku felt ashamed.
"That... sounds awful."
Ryuko huffed a laugh and looked away from him. "You don't need to feel that bad. It's not like you're responsible for any of it.-"
The boy barely hid a wince.
"-What happened back then wasn't my proudest moment, but I'm still here and one of the top heroes in the country. That's what matters." She said with a hint of pride.
The boy tried to set his shame aside for the moment. "Yeah, that's a good way of looking at it."
*Ding*
The doors slid open, revealing the large training room once more. The pair of elevator heroes composed themselves back into their public roles. Bracing for what felt like a long session ahead...
--
The common-room of the Heights Alliance dorms had grown increasingly quiet lately. With so many members of 1-A doing internships, it almost felt lonely for those who hadn't started yet.
Mina was one such student. But that wasn't her most significant issue right now...
Surrounding her were the other girls of 1-A, minus Asui and Uraraka, sat around a table, away from the boys. They were caught between class periods with nothing to do, and the pinkette was coming down with a severe potential gossip outbreak.
For weeks, Mina desperately wanted to talk about Midori and Ryukyu and their weird relationship due to Eri. How could she not? It was prime gossip material! The stuff that scandalous legends are made of.
But 2 things were preventing her...
One was her primal fear of Ryukyu. Ever since the pro came in that day to speak to the class... The deathly stare in her gaze left Mina feeling like her soul was being sucked out of her.
Ashido couldn't speak for her classmates, but she wanted no part in pissing that woman off. But considering rumours haven't circulated about UA yet, it would seem she wasn't the only one... That or the rest of the class respected privacy or something.
The other problem was a bit more personal and complicated. Ocha's feelings for Midori. All the girls knew since the gravity girl was hardly subtle about how she felt.
As much as Mina loved to gossip, she didn't want to speculate about romantic involvement between the green boy and the top 10 hero right in front of the girl, being like, 'Hey, do you think the guy you like has a secret thing for Ryukyu and stuff!?' That seemed like a dick thing to do.
Because of this, no discussion on the matter ever occurred between the girls. The pinkette had hoped someone else might bring it up for her to avoid getting blamed, but it never happened. Mina was the ringleader in these conversations, so it would never happen without her pressing the matter.
Momo was too much of a goody-two-shoes, even though Ashido adored that about her.
Jirou didn't care.
Asui was too close to Uraraka to be comfortable discussing it.
And although Hagakure liked to gossip too, arguably more than the pinkette herself, she preferred to do it online with big message boards and communities. Mina liked that too, but the extroverted pinky longed for direct conversations.
Besides, if Mina spilled this stuff online and it was traced back to her, Ryukyu would definitely-maybe kill her. So her classmates, who were in the know already, were the only ones she could talk to about this.
With no outlet, Mina's urge to gossip continued to build. Combine that with the fact that Uraraka wasn't here right now, and the repressed social acid spewer could take no more...
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" She gripped her head with both hands as she erupted from her chair.
The 3 girls turned to her, looking very baffled.
Yao-Momo spoke first. "Is something wrong, Mina?"
Jirou pulled out some earbuds from her ears in mild annoyance. "What now?"
"Problem, girlfriend?" Asked the talking dress shirt lounging on a chair.
Ashido slammed her hands on the table between them all. The mop-topped socialite then looked up at them intently, her voice a whisper. "Do you girls think Ryukyu and Midori have a thing for each other? That they're secretly dating or something!?"
Jirou and Momo frowned. Tooru... well, it was hard to tell with her.
"You and gossip, I swear..." The music hero sighed like she had done this a million times before.
The pink break-dancer pointed frustratedly. "You will not shut me down! I've been keeping this under wraps FOREVER!! What if raising Eri together opened them up to each other or something!? What if they're dating right now, using a patrol as an excuse!?" She gasped.
The vice-prez gestured frantically between the two, trying to prevent an altercation. "Alright, let's keep calm. Now, Mina... You've obviously been stewing on this for a while. But-"
Ashido pointed both her index fingers at her face and leaned forward. "I NEED THIS TO LIVE!!"
Momo's brow wrinkled slightly, but she pressed onward despite the interruption. "But, I feel those scenarios are unlikely and exaggerated. Ryukyu is a proud hero dedicated to justice... To have such a relationship with an underage student would be... very unheroic and unlike her. I'd also feel awful for Ochako." She pressed a hand to her chest.
Jirou added her own tidbit, flicking a pen she used to write down a new tune she'd been working on. "Plus, let's not forget Ryukyu herself said she wanted to stay single for her career."
The pinkette threw up her hands. "What if that's just a ruse!? Don't you see the drama potential here!?"
Yao-Momo once again gestured for her pink friend to calm down. "While your curiosity is understandable, Mina... Real life is not like the teen dramas you watch."
Ashido pouted. "But... but-"
Jirou sighed again. "But what? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to investigate them or something?"
The socialite girl pondered the idea, picturing herself dawning a disguise with a trench coat over the top. Cameras encompassing her entire body, ready to take snapshots at a moment's notice...
But then she remembered that doing this would entail not getting caught by Ryukyu... Then the appeal immediately died. Not unlike her imaginary self at the hands of an angry dragon.
"Nope, nope. Super nope."
"Then what?" Jirou said with exasperation, eager to get back to her songwriting.
Ashido fidgeted a bit. "I... well... I just wanted to discuss this, is all. Is that so bad? Like, I can't be the only one who thinks that whole situation is wack, right?"
Momo nodded understandingly. "I understand where you are coming from, Mina. Really, I do. It is a very peculiar situation between Ryukyu and Midoriya... But I trust and respect them enough that I don't see them doing something illicit like that. Ryukyu is a member of the top 10, and Midoriya has proven to be one of the most respectable heroes I know, despite not even being a pro."
Jirou gave a clear-cut nod of support. "Gotta agree. The bean-sprout has turned into more of a bean-stalk lately. I think he's grown more than any of us, honestly... But also, I'm not sure Midoriya is even Ryukyu's type... I've always felt like she prefers women." She shrugged.
Mina pouted again. "Well, you're both boring...-"
She then turned to look for a kindred soul.
"-Tooru! You get me, right!?"
The formerly unnoticed girl was currently drinking from a juice box. Making loud suction noses on the straw. Eventually, she put the carton down.
"Well... as far as shipping Ryukyu and Midoriya is concerned, it's not my thing. I think everyone here knows what I'm into."
While her face could not be seen, you could practically hear her grinning.
Jirou paled in response. "Can we please not bring up your weird-ass stories."
Momo blushed uncomfortably. "I concur with that notion..."
All the girls knew about Hagakure's fiction. Even Tsuyu and Uraraka. It was a secret they were all sworn into when the invisible author first revealed its existence to them.
Most felt that writing an R-rated story about the boys was not ok, especially Momo and Ochako. But they had all promised not to reveal anything by that point, and as Hagakure had said, 'What they don't know can't hurt them.'
You might be thinking that the gravity girl would've taken more issue with the story, given the nature of its protagonist. But truth be told, she couldn't quibble since Hagakure revealed the fic long before Ochako had realised her feelings. Also, the invisible writer had made it very clear she wasn't romantically interested in the boys she was writing about... Even if it didn't make any sense to them.
Hagakure would feel worse about Ochako. But in the wannabe author's mind, she was doing the girl a favour by providing her with a saucy story led by her crush.
Mina tried to get her see-through friend to focus. "I'm not asking you to ship them! I'm asking if you think it's possible that they could be a thing."
Tooru hummed a long moment. "I mean, to me, Midoriya is just good shipping material... So~ I guess it's possible?"
Mina shot up her hands in victory. "YES! FINALLY!!"
Jirou squinted. "The hell is 'good shipping material' supposed to mean?"
The floating arms of the dress shirt folded over themselves. "I mean... like. I feel like I could almost put Midoriya in a relationship with almost anyone, and it would probably work out... given some adjustments."
Jirou squinted harder. "Adjustments like making him a quote, 'Freckled Chad.' as you put it? I gotta be honest. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were way into Midoriya."
The dress shirt shrugged. "Hey, I'm allowed to take some creative license, Ok. Besides, I've said before that I'm not interested. Midoriya is just a great malleable canvas I can work with to turn him into almost anything I need him to be in my story."
The rock hero now looked a little concerned. "So what? The green mop head is just a writing tool to you? That's it?"
The shirt now crumpled, tilting to the side to think. "Kinda, I guess. As I like to put it, Midoriya makes great bread for a sandwich. Almost any character or plotline can be used as filling with him wrapping it all together."
Jirou pinched her brow. As much as she didn't want to get into Tooru's creepy story, she also wanted answers. "Couldn't you just make up a character?"
"I could~, but then I'd have to think up a personality, appearance, and other details. It's just better to use someone I know, you know? Plus, it's more exciting this way." The writer laughed.
Momo, despite better judgment, finally decided to throw her hat into this conversation. "I only read a few chapters, but I feel you took things too far. Truthfully, it's been difficult looking at Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki in the eyes recently. I can't see them behaving the way you portray them... and it just feels... wholly inappropriate." She blushed hard.
Jirou paled further, looking at the dismaying vice president as if she was having war flashbacks. "You also stopped at Bakugo bending over, didn't you?"
The raven-haired girl's face became like magma. "Please don't remind me..."
Tooru chuckled, speaking as though she possessed expertise. "Ahh yes, that scene... I think I still have yet to top that one. Sorry if it seems OOC to you, but it's a small compromise to get to the juicy bits quicker. I justify it later, though. That's what's important. Plus, it's thrilling to imagine them acting that way, isn't it?"
The rocker patted the vice president reassuringly with one hand while face-palming with the other. "You do realise that if Bakugo ever finds out about this. He's going to kill you, right?"
The invisible author just hummed. "Yes... but he has to find out first. And you all swore an oath of silence." She continued to sip her juice.
Jirou and Momo just sighed heavily, staring at the table.
Now, somewhat satisfied that someone agreed with her about the impromptu hero parents, Ashido was engrossed in this new conversation. It would seem all she wanted was to be validated.
Mina suddenly interjected. "By the way, is there a new chapter out yet!?"
The floating juice box nodded knowingly at the pink girl.
The pinkette gave a sly grin. "Does it get nice and steamy?"
Tooru set down the box again. "Girl... You know what I'm about."
Again, she spoke with such obvious glee that one could picture the wicked grin on her face.
Mina returned the invisible grin with a sinful one of her own. "Aww yeah."
Yao-Momo blushed further as she covered her face with both hands. "Must you two discuss this here?" She whimpered.
Mina waved reassuringly. "Don't worry, we won't cover details here...-"
Mina then turned back to the floating clothes.
"-But did you post on FanFic.net again or...?"
You could practically hear Tooru roll her eyes. "Yes, I also posted on Ao3, as you asked. The whole story is there now."
Ashido fist-pumped. "Yes! It's so much better there. Fanfic.net is so lame-looking. And the tagging system sucks."
The author girl sighed. "It's not that bad... but yeah, Ao3 does have a way better tagging system. I guess I'll get used to it and get more readers."
"Told ya. Plus, it's not Wattpad." The acid girl turned to face seemingly nothing.
Tooru folded her see-through arms. "Yeah, at least it's not Wattpad." The shirt turned to look in the same direction as the pink girl.
Jirou stared at the pair. "What are you two looking at? And The hell is Wattpad?"
The two girls turned back to the purplette, answering at the same time, almost mechanically. ""Nothing.""
They looked at each other almost as if pondering whether to say 'jinx' before Hagakure continued.
"Wattpad is a site where people post stories, Jirou."
"And it's a bad site?"
"Well... no. The site itself is better to look at than either Ao3 or Fanfic.net. It's just... there are so many garbage stories. Like it takes forever to find a fic that's written well."
"And that's the site's fault?"
The see-through author shrugged awkwardly. "Well... no, I guess not... It just draws the most attention. So many bad authors post there."
Momo interjected with her ever-helpful nature. "So if you posted on this Wattpad, wouldn't you be improving the problem you're discussing by putting what you consider good content there?"
Ashido widened her eyes like an LSD raccoon. "Damn... Yaomomo has a point!"
The sleeves of the floating shirt folded, seemingly in thought. "Hmmm... I might have to reconsider this..."
Momo's eyes then shrank as she leaned toward Jirou to whisper. "Did I just encourage her to spread the story...?"
The rocker blinked a few times in horror. "...I think you did."
*Momo-chan, get ready for school!* *Momo-chan, get ready for school!*
Sounded out a cutesy robotic voice.
Mina turned to face the noise. "What the heck?"
Momo, regaining composure immediately, pulled out her phone. "Looks like it is time to head to our next class... thank goodness." She sighed with relief.
Jirou smirked. "Nice alarm."
The human printer then blushed while clutching her phone to herself. "Wh-What? Is something wrong with it?"
All the girls, save their vice-prez, chuckled. But Jirou eventually spoke up. "Nothing at all. It's just very you."
The girls got up from their seats while Momo still felt a little embarrassed, making their way to their next class...
--
"Alright, Nejire. We'll start with you. How much energy can you output now before exhausting yourself?" Ryuko turned to her most seasoned intern.
The blue hero placed a finger on her cheek in thought. "Ummmm, about twice what it used to be. Fighting that Rikiya guy with the spirit-draining Quirk kinda helped a lot."
"That's good, but there is always room for improvement. I've taught you all the fundamentals I can at this point. So I'm afraid all I can suggest is to practise and refine what you've already learned."
Nejire thumbed at the flight obstacle course in the training room. "So~ Just keep flying through the rings as fast as possible with my Quirk while blasting targets?"
Ryuko nodded. "That should suffice for now."
The blue girl stretched and took off into the air. Flying through rings that gradually adjusted positions while firing her waves at targets that sprung from the ground and walls like a shooting gallery in rapid succession.
The other 3 interns stared in awe at the impressive display of skill before the boss reacquired their attention.
"Froppy, How is your camouflage coming along?"
Tsu stuck out her tongue, searching for the words. "It's going ok. But people still seem to notice me a lot..."
The dragoon hero cupped her chin. "I have noticed that the green of your suit still stands out quite a bit in an urban environment. Sure, it turns semi-transparent along with you... but the bright colour is still very noticeable. It's not doing you any favours there."
Froppy hummed a sad ribbity hum. "I'm not sure what I can do about that, though... I really wanna keep the green for my hero theme."
Ryuko grinned. "Froppy, the solution is simple. There are many smart hero-suits out there these days. Ask your support gear designer to incorporate a colour-changing function when you camouflage. An addition like that should be pretty straightforward."
The frog girl nodded happily. "Alright, I'll do that."
"In the meantime, you can practise fighting the training bots. Remember to use your whole body. You still tend to focus too much on using one body part at a time when you attack."
"Will Do! *ribbit*." With a salute, Froppy leaped off into battle. Turning on the machines and fending off robots Like she was in the midst of a faux judgement day situation.
The pro then turned to her remaining interns. Uravity and Deku, standing next to each other... Ryuko released a brief yet sharp sigh.
'I am in control...'
"Is everything ok, Ryukyu?" Asked the gravity girl with a frown.
The dragoness waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, I'm fine. Uravity, I imagine progress on enduring your Quirk is still slow?"
The young girl nodded. "I'm better than how I started, but yeah... not getting far fast."
"Then we'll resort to more extreme methods. Take all the weights you can manage from the storage area in the back. And use your Quirk to lift as many as possible while joining Froppy in fighting the bots. Doing both should get you better at enduring your Quirk while developing what Gun-Head and I have taught you. Push yourself if need be... but don't hurt yourself."
"Um, Right..." Uraraka nodded before making her way to the storage room.
Finally, after shaking some stiffness from her tone, Ryuko rested her gaze on Izuku. He stood, arms at his side and with his back as straight as possible, still not quite looking at her.
Tempest chuckled.
You know what? I could put a level on his spine right now, and the bubble would probably be right in the middle.
'Very funny...' The host rolled her eyes.
"Now, Deku.-"
"Yes, Ma'am!" The boy answered suddenly. As Ryuko smirked.
"-Firstly, relax. Second, I understand you do almost all your combat training alone, correct?"
Izuku gave his posture a much-needed chill pill as he responded. "Well, in my spare time, yeah. During our hero class, we cover combat and practise against each other. For example, I've sparred with Kirishima to help with his Quirk and mine. But mostly, I practise on my own with a... kinda image training. It's better that way because... you know."
Ryuko shook her head woefully. She understood the necessity of keeping One-For-All a secret, but this couldn't go on. She didn't quite get why he didn't train with that Bakugo boy if that was the case. But she could figure that out later.
"Well, that ends today. You're not going to develop properly by yourself like that. That form of training only reinforces mistakes and bad habits unless you're already very experienced."
She felt the emphasis on 'very' was significant here. The boy had seen a lot of fights with all the chaos of the villain attacks, sure. But that was hardly years of fighting experience. Those situations were spontaneous and gave him little opportunity to learn outside of 'villains will attack at any given opportunity.'
The hero-in-training's eyes slightly widened as he glanced over to where Asui was fighting the training bots, and Uraraka was slowly making her way over with large weights in the air behind her.
"Are you going to watch me fight and advise me?"
The pro tilted her head from side to side. "I could... but I think your case needs to be more hands-on, especially since this is my first time training you. So, we're going to spar."
Ryuko had lamented how she hadn't trained him yet. Sure, a lot happened when Izuku first arrived, and her life was basically concentrated chaos for a while. But the fact that it has taken this long to give an intern their formal training is just shameful.
The boy's eyes attempted to become dinner plates in size. "Wh-Wha- We're going to fight!?"
Ryuko chuckled. "It's not like our lives will be on the line, Deku. This is merely the most efficient way for me to gauge what you can do and help you improve."
The young hero nodded timidly. "Alright... so do we move to a spot?" He looked around.
"No, here should be fine. Take a stance, Deku." She then dropped into a stance of her own.
Her right foot slid forward as she crouched lower, turning her left side to face him before placing her left arm set to guard her front as her right was held closer to her face.
Her gaze then sharpened as she stared at Izuku.
The boy flustered a bit. "Um, uh. Ok!?" He then dropped into a similar stance, his hands balled into fists.
The pro assessed her intern.'Not a bad form... at least he has that down. But he's probably still exhausted. I should take it slow... But not too slow.'
The brain sister hummed.
So~, I should stay quiet and not be distracting?
'If you could for a change.' Ryuko half pleaded.
I promise to only interrupt if I think it would be hilarious.
The host sighed mentally but smiled a bit.'Figures...'
Some thoughts then occurred to the pro. "Before we properly start... What exactly have you been taught in terms of fighting, Deku?"
The boy glanced around cautiously, ensuring the others were out of earshot. "Well, All-Might briefly taught me a sort of street brawling fighting style for a day or two, and Iida let me take notes on how he fights with kicks and such for me to study... I've also learned a bit from watching others fight and researching martial arts online, but that's more or less it."
The woman's jaw hung open slightly as her stance faltered similarly. "So... All-Might just taught you some rough basics. Then you essentially figured out the rest yourself with very little help...? So you're basically self-taught?"
"I... I guess if you wanna look at it that way?" The boy shrugged a bit.
Ryuko didn't know what she was more dumb-founded by. How much the symbol of peace sucked as a mentor. Or how Izuku managed to win against so many villains.
But she did know that the loud slap inside her subconscious was, no doubt, Tempest, face-palming.
She resumed her stance, stowing the thoughts away. "Alright then, you go first. Activate your Quirk and show me what you've got! And don't hold back!"
In the back of Izuku's mind, he knew she meant 'don't pull any punches' and not 'use all of One-For-All's full power.' But it was still weird to hear someone say that for a change... Also, he was very uneasy about hurting Ryuko.
Attacking the woman he was crushing on felt so~ wrong to Izuku, even if it was just a sparring match.
And maybe it was paranoia talking, but this situation felt oddly like favouritism. Ryuko was directly training him but not the others. Considering she'd been putting so much effort into maintaining a distance between them in front of other people... this felt counter-productive. Izuku wanted to say something, but at the same time, he wanted to trust that his boss knew what she was doing.
They had put so much effort into controlling the mark. She wouldn't simply give in to its desires and place him on a pedestal... would she?
Before Izuku could worry further, Ryuko went into full boss mode on him, shooting a critical look. "We don't have all day, Deku. Let's go!"
Izuku straightened up. 'Maybe I'm worrying over nothing...'
Deku took a steadying breath and tried to psyche himself up. 'This is just training! Don't overthink it!'
" ALRIGHT, HERE I COME!!"
The green hero charged up to the highest percentage he could maintain. 30%.
It burned slightly from the heat coursing through his veins, and his muscles were stiffer, but he would give this his all.
The boy looked at Ryuko standing several metres away from him and dipped down for a charge... until he was interrupted.
Ryuko broke her stance again and raised a hand. "Hold on! How much power are you using right now?"
Izuku was still leaning awkwardly forward, lightning encompassing his form as he looked confused and robbed. "Um, I, uh, thirty-percent?"
The pro studied the intern. "You look a little stiff. Can you even move like that?"
The boy got a bit defensive. "I mean... Mostly-"
"Lower it!" Ryuko called back like a stern teacher.
The boy couldn't believe his ears. "Huh!?"
The woman folded her arms, her tone lecturing in the way people would expect from the dragoon hero. "Lower it until you're comfortable. This isn't about training your Quirk specifically. This is about building your fundamental fighting ability."
"Can't we do both?"
The pro shook her head. "Tell me, Deku. Of all the fights you've won by yourself, how many did you win without relying on overwhelming your opponent with your Quirk's raw power?"
Izuku stared dumbly for a moment...
His mind drifted away, back to the zero-pointer, then fast-forwarded to Dozer.
Amongst all his opponents, the ones he defeated on his own were always because he pushed beyond.
He had never won with actual skill. If not for One-For-All's insane power making up the difference, combined with his willingness to hurt himself or that one time Eri helped, he would have lost every time.
The only time he came close to winning with skill was with Gentle-Criminal. But that was more because the man fought like a trickster than a direct fighter, using his Quirk in deceptive ways to make his opponents slip up. So Izuku was forced to think outside the box.
But once La Brava's Quirk got involved, that all went out the window. The fight turned into a brawl between two power-enhancing Quirks, and Izuku's just happened to be better.
Even the situation with Dozer was resolved because he pushed harder with black-whip than his body liked at the time. Though technically, that fight wasn't him on his own.
"I guess... none." Dejected the boy.
Ryuko sighed. She had a feeling based on what he said about being effectively self-taught.
It was necessary to help him grow. But making him realise his shortcomings this way made the pro feel bad.
"This is the point I'm trying to make. I'm asking you to lower your power for the moment, so you can't rely on it as much here. You should improve as much as your Quirk does. Otherwise, when you face a villain that your full power can't put down by itself... You won't survive."
Izuku understood the connotation behind that... She was thinking of All-For-One or at least villains close to his level.
The boy dropped One-For-All down to 20%. Not an insignificant amount. But he could move freely, and there wasn't any pain. Even in his arms now.
Apparently, Izuku's boosted healing trick at night was really taking effect.
Ryuko could tell the boy looked less tense and nodded approvingly. "I guess it's my turn then."
"Your turn?" Izuku fretted, half expecting an attack.
What happened instead was that the dragoon hero began to transform.
White scales grew and covered her neck, arms, and legs. Her face was also covered slightly on the sides.
Slowly, she grew in stature, rising to roughly 2 metres tall and then some, as a tail sprouted from behind her.
Lastly, her hands were covered entirely in scales, her nails growing into claws.
Izuku was waiting for the transformation to continue, to see the wings and muzzle form. But then he realised it had stopped.
Very quickly, the boy pieced together what this was.
He muttered in awe. "The pseudo-dragon form..."
Not many people saw Ryukyu in this state because she mostly used it indoors when her full size was too big.
It was effectively a mid-point between Ryuko's human and the dragon form. But from what Izuku heard, while not possessing as much raw power in her complete dragon state, this gave her enhanced speed and strength while adding durability.
Sure, without the wings, she couldn't fly. But this form was all about staying agile on the ground. Large wings protruding from her back would only get in the way in enclosed spaces.
Though he did wonder how the tail was utilised...
Ryuko smirked. "Glad you know what this is. So you know not to hold back, right?"
Izuku was trying super hard not to fanboy. He knew he needed to focus.'Come on, this is for training. You can write about this in the notebook later!!'
"Y-Yeah, I know!" He exclaimed, half attempting to psyche himself up again and half trying to ignore the other parts of her body that also seemed to have grown in size.
'Don't stare at them... Don't stare at them.'
The boy dipped down once more. Trying to switch off his brain while getting ready to strike.
Izuku shot forward, green lightning streaking across the ground behind him as he leaped into the air, going for a dive kick right at Ryuko.
As fast as the boy was, the dragoness reacted quickly, tilting to the side and letting the kick sail past her before grabbing onto Izuku's ankle with practised ease. She then spun to toss him aside to the ground.
Deku hit the floor on his side and rolled. He used the momentum to flip himself upright and back onto his feet before charging in for another attack.
'She's experienced all right... I have to keep the pressure on. Remember what happened with Gran-Torino, don't hesitate!'
Izuku leaped again, twisting in the air as he did so.
"ST LOUIS-SMASH!!"
He swept his leg at Ryuko's side, only for the woman to duck under it, the shockwave of the kick blowing her hair in the wind.
Taking advantage of the boy being suspended in the air, she grabbed him by the arm, tossing him behind her where he once again hit the ground, though he managed a 3-point landing.
Ryuko turned to look at him, clearly making a critical assessment. "Alright. First piece of advice. Don't leap into the air so much. It leaves you open if your attack misses. Secondly, don't just keep going for full-frontal assaults. Mix it up. Use feints and other tricks. The last thing you want is for your opponent to find you predictable...-"
She tapped a claw on her chin for a moment.
"-Speaking of which, super moves are a big part of a hero's image and popularity, but don't announce your attack before you do it. Say it when it lands first, or at least just before that.-"
The boy nodded while standing up, trying to take in the advice. Honestly, it was a little intimidating to interact with her right now.
In Ryuko's pseudo form, Izuku now had to look up to make eye contact, making him feel a little small.
However, the real issue stemmed from the fact that, from the young man's angle, it was difficult not to notice... other aspects, what with Ryuko towering over him like this.
'They really are bigger... NO! FOCUS!'
"-I know you're trying not to overthink your moves. That's good. You don't want to leave yourself open while thinking about what to do next. But still, try to use your head. It's one of your strongest assets, Deku." She smiled.
Izuku blushed a bit. "Um, thanks... I'll do that."
Ryuko had more things she wanted to criticise, like coming up with an original naming scheme for super moves instead of ripping off All-Might so Izuku could develop his own unique image.
Successor heroes existed, the ones who based themselves on another hero. That red-haired kid in 1-A seemed to be one of those for Crimson-Riot.
Being this type of hero had its advantages in the short run, gaining popularity quickly by essentially piggybacking off someone else. But in the long run, many of these heroes suffered from trying to escape their predecessor's shadows.
But that could come later when she helps him build his hero image. That was also something that needed a bit of work, in her opinion.
Ryuko resumed her fighting stance. "Good. Again!" She instructed.
The boy charged her again, seemingly going for yet another frontal assault. She was disappointed briefly until a black tendril shot out from his left arm, arcing around to strike her side as Izuku himself pulled his other arm back for a punch.
Ryuko grinned to herself.'Much better... still room for improvement, though.'
Despite the boy's improved strategy, the dragoon hero reached out with a clawed hand and caught the tendril like it was nothing.
Izuku's eyes widened at that, but he still pushed forward, trying to follow through with his punch... only for that to be intercepted in the rock-hard scales of Ryuko's other palm.
Effectively locked in place by Ryuko's grip and in awe of how a punch with 20% combined with his momentum seemed to do little to nothing to the dragon hero, the boy could only stare as the heroic mentor tried to give him a push.
"Is that all, Deku?"
Spurred on by those words, Izuku went for one more attack. Taking advantage of Ryuko's grip on him for balance, he jumped, delivering another powerful kick backed by the weight of his body.
Izuku's options were limited, but so were Ryuko's with her hands occupied, and the boy intended to exploit that to the fullest.
However, the intern forgot that the dragoon hero had another appendage to work with... With a heavy slap like he was hit with a bullwhip, Izuku's leg was swept aside, smacked by Ryuko's tail.
The hero nerd was in awe of what he saw, even with the stinging pain in his leg.
In one swift movement, the pro had released Izuku's right hand, shifting her waist so her tail could intercept the kick. Given their positions, it was incredible she pulled that off. Even though it was strange that she didn't simply block that with her hand, like the punch, if she could react that quickly.
It was then that Izuku remembered that Ryuko was one of the top hand-to-hand combat heroes in the country. With an extensive background in martial arts.
For a long time, that fact befuddled the heroic nerd. He figured she'd be more like Endeavour and specialise in ranged attacks with fire.
But once he knew her history with fire breathing, everything made sense. Physical attacks were all Ryuko had before all this. Developing that was her only means of getting stronger.
While it was difficult, with what little Izuku had seen, to compare her to someone like Mirio, Ryuko was one of the most formidable people he'd gone up against, no question.
Amid Izuku being stunned, Ryuko wasn't done. Slamming her now free hand into Izuku's chest as she shoved him down to the ground, firmly but gently pinning him.
She huffed. "Not bad... But you could use more tendrils and have them come at me from multiple angles. You must be more astonishing if you want to throw off your opponent and break their defenses."
Izuku groaned from his place on the ground. Physically, he wasn't in that much pain, likely due to One-For-All in part. However, his pride was another matter.
While impressed by Ryuko and willing to admit she was right, the boy was disappointed in himself. He thought he was improving. But here Izuku was, still miles away from where he felt he should be.
The young hero didn't expect to beat the dragoon hero, but he thought he'd do more than he did.
Though, to be fair, Izuku hadn't been on his A-game since this spar began. He was still tired, and he kept getting distracted for various reasons... Even so, it was demoralising in and of itself.
He was so upset that he didn't think too hard about Ryuko hovering over him, still pinning his chest to the floor. "I can't believe you stopped all my attacks like that..." He muttered.
Ryuko offered some encouragement. "You're still learning. Don't be too harsh on yourself... I guess my act was convincing?" She smirked.
The boy's face turned to surprise. "Act?"
Ryuko let go of the boy, looking at the hand that caught the punch. "That hurt quite a bit, honestly...-"
She waved her hand a bit as if trying to shake out the pain. She wasn't horribly injured, but it might leave a bruise later.
The pro was honestly amazed. Few people managed to hurt her through her scales like that... But then again, blocking blunt force damage wasn't their specialty, and this was due to a Quirk once possessed by All-Might.
"-I have to admit, if this is only a small fraction of what you're supposed to be capable of... I'm worried for all the villains out there." She chuckled.
Izuku suddenly fretted as he stood up, realising why she didn't catch the kick with her hand. "Are you ok!? I didn't break anything, did I!?"
She gestured reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I just wasn't fully prepared for that... Question though. Why do you think I acted like it didn't hurt?"
Izuku stammered at the sudden query, still covered in lightning from his Quirk. "Uh, I guess to throw me off?"
Ryuko nodded. "Exactly. Playing mind games with your opponent can help tip the scales in your favour. If you can get your opponent to believe you're invincible. Then you've practically won."
Izuku nodded, taking mental notes while figuring that 'scales' was probably not an intentional pun.'Wait, why don't I make physical notes?'
The young man pulled a pen and paper from behind him and furiously started writing. One-For-All was still coursing through his body and giving him his lightning aura, creating this strange contrast between himself and his actions.
It's like watching All-Might in his muscle form write poetry.
Ryuko, while not surprised at this point, still couldn't help but wonder.'I still don't get where he keeps those? Those pouches on his belt shouldn't be big enough to carry that many different notepads...'
When the boy finished his notes, he dropped back into a fighting stance. "Alright, I'm ready to go again."
The pro gave a somewhat sinister smirk, an idea popping into her head. "Great!-"
She then waved the tendril still held in her other hand, reminding Izuku.
"-Pop quiz. If a villain catches you like this, how will you get out? 5 seconds."
The boy tilted in confusion. "5 seconds?"
"You have to think fast, Deku. Villains won't even give you that long before they do something. 4 seconds." She then added her free hand, tightening the grip on the tendril.
Deku started to panic, fearing what was about to happen. "Uh... um..."
Ryuko inspected the dark appendage. "Just a guess, but I'm assuming you can't just detach this from your body? 3 seconds."
The boy murmured fast, pushing his mind into overdrive to think of something, but the suddenness made him draw a blank. "I don't think so..."
She shook her head almost mockingly. "How unfortunate. 2 seconds."
Unable to think of anything solid, Izuku just let his mouth run. "Um, how about... ask the nice pro hero to not do whatever she's about to do...?"
Ryuko was forced to acknowledge in these moments that she had more in common with Tempest than she would like to admit.
She clicked her tongue and smirked. "Wrong answer... 0."
Before the boy could protest that Ryuko skipped a second. The currently villainous heroine planted her feet firmly on the ground. The woman turned, beginning to spin in place while still gripping onto the tendril.
For Izuku's part, his feet left the ground, pulled into the air by the tendril affixed to his arm.
He was then tossed around. And around. And around. The boy's hair was starting to blow in his face as he continued to pick up speed.
He was freaking out, desperately trying to figure out what to do...
Until he realised... this wasn't that bad.
Izuku wasn't getting swung into anything and wasn't even spinning that fast. It was just fast enough to keep him aloft from the ground. In fact, it was a lot like when his mother used to spin him around by the arms when he was a small child.
He turned his head to look at Ryuko, who was smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile back, feeling a sense of delight he didn't often get to.
For a moment, the public appearances broke, giving way to something different and yet familiar.
"Is this what you think villains do?" He called out almost jokingly.
She chuckled a bit. "No, but I got you didn't I? Now, as fun as this is, my question still stands. How will you get out of this?" She asked as they both continued to spin in place, nearly forgetting the world around them.
He should've known Ryuko wouldn't hurt him that badly. But this was technically still training, and he had to pretend he was in the clutches of a dastardly villain right now... even if part of him didn't want this to end.
Izuku thought a new, calmer this time. Try as he might, though, the best he could come up with at this point was to try and retract the tendril despite Ryuko's grip.
Looking at her, smiling at him, nothing else came to mind.
Like it wasn't just the best option.
It was the only option.
He was a little worried about what the result would be. But he had to try... or at least that's what he told himself. "I'm not entirely sure... But I'm gonna try something."
Ryuko nodded with approval, not knowing what was about to happen.
Izuku reactivated black-whip, forcing it to retract. However, instead of the tendril pulling back to him...
The boy himself was being pulled to Ryuko.
It didn't help that Izuku unintentionally retracted with much more force than needed, effectively turning himself into a missile aimed right at the dragoon hero's midsection.
"OOOF!!"
Ryuko wheezed as Izuku's head slammed into her stomach. The softer scales of her belly did little to mitigate the damage.
She was caught off guard.
Between their spinning and holding onto Izuku, combined with being convinced that the intern would attempt literally anything else, Ryuko had no time to react.
The force of the impact sent them both hurdling. They flipped over each other in a roll that travelled several metres before stopping.
Izuku picked himself up with a groan, One-For-All switching off as he put a hand to his sore forehead. "Ow~... Ok, overestimated how much strength was needed there."
The boy then heard an equally pained groan from under him. "I... was not expecting that... I don't know whether to be impressed or baffled. Why didn't you attack me with more tendrils or fire off an air blast at me?" She co*cked her brow.
The boy's mouth hung open, feeling the urge to hit himself. "...Why didn't I do that?"
Before he could fully comprehend his ridiculous decision, Izuku couldn't help but notice the position they were both currently in. Heat rushed to his face.
Ryuko lay splayed beneath him.
His face was less than an inch away from her chest.
The young man just mumbled dumbly. "Uhhhhhhhhh~."
Ryuko then also seemed to clue in on their situation as her face quickly matched his in colour.
The woman could already feel Tempest rearing up to make some snarky remark. To make matters worse, they could hear footsteps clamouring toward them.
"Are you two all right!?!" Cried out Nejire.
"That looked painful! *ribbit*." Added Froppy.
"Is anything broken?" Asked Uravity as the trio finally reached the pair on the ground.
They all looked slightly tired from training, and Izuku stared at them like a deer in headlights. "Uhhhhhhhhh."
OOOOOOh~ my.
Remarked the mental lizard in a mock surreptitious tone as Ryuko's eyes darted at the trio of girls.
All the female interns started to colour, taking in the scene. Nejire covered her mouth while Froppy's jaw hung open slightly.
Uravity looked... disappointed?
The pro knew she had to say something before things got worse. She had to be strict in this situation, even if she didn't want to be.
Reigning herself into her hero persona, Ryuko turned to Izuku sternly. "Deku, would you please get off me."
Izuku immediately shot up to his feet, raising his hands like he was being held at gunpoint. "YES, MA'AM!!"
The pro sat up and continued her damage control. "We're fine. Things only got out of hand while I was training Deku."
While she was hiding it, Ryuko's heart beat a mile a minute. Fear was overriding anything the mark was doing. She was paranoid about what they might be reading from her expression.
Then there was the guilt of effectively telling off Izuku... while he was responsible for this situation, she didn't want to chew him out over it.
She'd have to make it up to him later.
Froppy sighed with relief. "That's good to hear. I thought Midoriya needed to go to the infirmary again... *ribbit*."
Izuku was about to argue with that. "I... That's fair." But then he agreed.
Uraraka walked up to the greenette, looking him over. "Are you sure you're ok?"
Ryuko had to hold back the urge to narrow her eyes as Izuku chuckled forcefully. "I'm fine, really. This is hardly my first time."
The gravity girl gave a somewhat crooked smile. "Yeah... you seem to find yourself in this particularsituation a lot..."
Despite herself, the draconic heroine reacted to that. "What is that supposed to mean?" She co*cked a brow at Izuku.
Nejire spoke innocently, also turning to the green hero. "Yeah, what is that supposed to mean?"
Tempest was eating this all up.
Apparently, he has rom-com protagonist powers... and they're only getting stronger~.
Izuku sweated as he was trapped in the probing gazes of the women around him. "Uhhhh... You know what!? I'm suddenly really thirsty! I'll just run over to the kitchen quickly. I'll be right back!!" He then sped off, almost leaving a shockwave behind him.
As the boy ran away, Ryuko couldn't help but look at him questioningly. But soon, she noticed something in the corner of her vision.
Uravity was eyeing her. Confusedly at best, suspiciously at worst.
There were a lot of responses Ryuko could've given...
She could've ignored her.
She could've explained calmly.
But the response she gave surprised even herself.
"Is there a problem, Uravity?"
There was an edge laced into her words. Something almost venomous.
The gravity girl looked away, holding her arm. "No... It's nothing."
The other two girls glanced at Ryuko with worried eyes, even with Froppy's expressionless features.
Tempest swooped in quickly.
Woah there, Ryuko. Calm down. Chill~.
Ryuko sighed, chanting to herself once more.'I am in control... I am in control...'
She huffed. "I apologise, Uravity... that came out harsher than I intended."
The girl nodded stiffly. "It's ok..."
Things were a bit awkward after that...
The girls eventually went back to training one by one, all of them giving her a bit of a wide berth. Ryuko could only hope that they thought she was only upset because Izuku was on top of her earlier.
Yeah, he was...
Chuckled the Sass-tile.
The host's cheeks again crimsoned as her brows furrowed.'I knew that was coming...'
Putting her obligatory rant on ethics and morality with her mental sister on hold for the moment. Ryuko's thoughts returned to Izuku.
When the boy returned from the kitchen, she would have to ensure he was ok... And maybe learn about what Uravity was referring to before...
--
"Why are we still waiting!?!"
"Because I'm not going to repeat the same mistakes we made before."
The room was dark and run-down. Almost a hovel. A gathering place for those that didn't belong in public society.
Shigaraki had his arms folded in front of the complaining blonde vampire pouting at him.
Toga exclaimed. "What mistakes? The mistake of doing it at all!?"
The white-haired villain sighed. "When we attacked Endeavour, he had help from Hawks and Miruko. When we attacked All-Might, he had help from the UA teachers... We must isolate Ryukyu from other heroes as much as possible."
Now Toga sighed. "So what? We're just gonna wait until she's by herself?"
The young villain boss shook his head. "Of course not. That could take forever... But everything we've come up with to draw her away so far will take time. If we only cause chaos somewhere, that won't just draw Ryukyu. It'll draw other heroes as well."
Spinner then spoke up. "Then why don't we go for her at her agency?"
Again, Shigaraki shook disapprovingly. "Not isolated enough. Tarisu has many other heroes. It's a major city."
Compress threw in his hat figuratively. "I've been looking into our option of exploiting Ryukyu's IHA status. Drawing her to another country and perhaps bombing the transport she'll travel in... but we don't have the resources to pull something in another country to that level, plus the IHA probably wouldn't just send Ryukyu anyway.-"
He gestured with his cane.
"-Twice and Dabi are still looking into things on their end. But it looks like this isn't going to be simple. Ryukyu doesn't go to isolated places by herself. She's always working."
Toga continued to grumble. "This sucks... How come you're not more pissed about this, Hydris!?"
The violet-eyed villain grinned sarcastically from the wall she was leaning against. "I've already been waiting a long time... I can wait a little longer. That said...-"
The dragon villain's head began splitting into 3 sections, with eyes and mouths forming at the sides. Slowly and grotesquely transforming to eventually make her look like some draconic interpretation of the multi-faced demon Asura.
3 voices then spoke simultaneously, echoing over each other to form a distorted and bone-chilling cacophony. As the twisted creature turned to face Shigaraki.
"""-I was promised that I'd get a real fight with Ryukyu, not some lame-ass terrorist attack. I hope you haven't forgotten that."""
To his credit, Shigaraki responded calmly to the deformed villain. "I haven't. Just be patient. The bombing that Compress mentioned was just an example."
Hydris settled, returning to her more human state. She smirked. "Glad to hear it. There's so much I want to express to her..."
Shigaraki eyed her.
He knew that the hydra had her own agenda. She wasn't truly part of the team. If things go south... she may have to be dealt with.
But for now, she was an ally. An indispensable tool that could still fight Ryukyu if she took to the skies.
He grinned to himself, the hand that was his mask covering a sick smile.'I can't wait until we start tearing down the pillars of Japan's hero society. Then it will only be a matter of time until we can safely rescue Sensei...'
