1: Compliance
(I am going to preface this with...I don't know anything about weddings. I say this despite having legitimately considered wedding planning as a career choice in the past (in middle school) + having written at least three weddings already. Every time, I tell myself I am finally going to do it. Finally going to research how weddings work. I instead hold my story hostage and vow to never write again as a way to get out of it. So, here I am again: an ignorant fool who knows nothing about weddings and romance yet offering exactly those two things.
I hope you enjoy.
*bows*)
.
*wedding music playing*
It was a cute garden wedding just outside an adorable old town. The instruments played, the weather perfect, the scent of blooming flowers and lit candles filled the air.
Shota had a tear in his eyes as he watched his fiance, who was being walked down the isle toward him. He shot a glare at Yamada for giving him a teasing look.
Tenko playfully nudged the blond with his elbow. The two of them, plus Nezu, were Eraserhead's men of honor. They got to stand up on the platform and worry if their flys were down in front of a whole crowd too.
The bride's, or Yuli's, hand was given from her dad's to Shota's. The bride and groom proceeded to stand facing one another one the platform, hand in hand.
Tenko's smile was so full of pride as he watched his first year teacher say his vows. Aizawa, though an expert at concealing his emotions, couldn't hope to hide the overwhelming joy and excitement that filled his heart. All these feelings which Yuli could feel through her fingertips. The tears in Tenko's eyes unfortunately made it so that he couldn't even see the kiss once the two were pronounced husband and wife. He wiped his face as the small but tight-knit crowd stood in feverish applause. Yamada wrapped an arm around the boy's back, other hand patting his shoulder.
It was such a beautiful day.
----------
Oh~? Well this was interesting~ Yuli somehow convinced Shota to dance with her in the party that followed. The two newly-weds swayed and kicked their feet around like amateurs. But she got him to laugh, and their joy was infectious. Why, it even brushed away the depression cloud Tenko'd been stuck under for over a month... He knew this blissful, alive feeling wouldn't last, so he didn't dare squander it. Even if he looked stupid, Tenko jammed out on the dance floor, trying out a hybrid style of dancing no one but Nezu could keep up with. Nezu of course joined in. As did most of the guests.
The music eventually dyed down, allowing the dancers to either slow dance or step out of the dance zone. Tenko was one of those who plopped into the nearest chair, sighing loudly. Gah, he was so sweaty and tired. Good thing he had the day off.
As his vision stilled and his heart stopped pounding so hard, Tenko's eyes settled on a long haired cat sitting on the garden wall. Its fur was a perfectly kept white, not a spot or speck dirtying the animal. And, though far away, the young man could see that its deep blue eyes were intelligent; focused.
His own personal form of Danger Sense went off. A knowing that warned this cat was in fact his old friend, (Y/n).
He remained calm. Even when Tenko was literally fighting against (Y/n) at full power, Danger Sense never went off. So that quirk was essentially useless when it came to her. For his physical safety wasn't at stake. But, rather, the bright atmosphere of this wonderful celebration was what could and would so easily crumble from her presence. So, without alerting another soul, Tenko stood, grabbed a small plate, put a small treat on it, and crossed the garden. He pressed forward, staring you in the eyes. For though his actions appeared to be inviting, his face told an entirely different story.
The closer he got, the more the message sank in. This wasn't the place to be. These weren't the people to hang with. That much was clear. You didn't belong in such a cheery environment. Was this wedding happening indirectly because of you? Does that mean you could be credited for their love?
...No.
The white cat took the message and hopped down the wall and out of sight, never to be seen there again.
Too bad the beauty of this day couldn't be shared.
---------------
"Hey, guys, I think we finally found something (Y/n)'s terrible at." Kai chuckled.
Chrono joined in. "I know, right. It's like she's giving us money. The charity is much appreciated."
@-@ "Please stop.. My head hurts enough already.." Their teasing wasn't helping any. Turns out you are not just bad at poker, but 'the worst poker player in the history of poker,' according to Kai.
Kai was watching a movie with you when it became painfully obvious how little you knew about the game. Since poker was tied into the plot itself, Kai kept receiving question after question about the game's function.
Eventually, he gave up watching the movie and pulled out some cards and chips, determined to teach you right there in the living room. To his own amusement, member after member of his team showed up and joined in until they had an official game going.. using real money.
Despite his best efforts put into teaching, the rules of the game just weren't sticking for you. You weren't even the only one there at the table whose first time it was playing, but the others at the very least were able to grasp the basic concepts of the game in time. You, however, were still asking why you could only hold two cards at a time. It appeared your brain was fried, or, perhaps somewhere else entirely.
You were clearly made to be the shy one thanks to everyone's teasing. Kai gave up trying to teach after you asked what a "big small" was the eighteenth time. You were but a mere muse to everyone else this evening. Losing money fast. And yet you stayed put, content with losing all this money and being made the fool...simply because you liked seeing everyone's smiles. Or, at least that was what Kai assumed. Your attention was less on the game itself and moreso on the faces of those around you.
"Wait guys wait guys wait guys wait. I think I got this now." You said right before playing your two cards. You had an air of confidence this time. Everyone was sure this was the moment you would make a 1-80 and make them all regret teasing you... You even leaned back on the couch and folded your hands behind your neck.
Kai leaned forward, along with everyone else. "Tss-" he cracked a smile, quick to hide it with his hand. Even though he was wearing a mask. His shoulders shook as he fought to contain the mere astonishment at your stupidity. Your dumba## made the same mistake it had last round.
As the others caught on, they started to laugh as well. A bit confused, you leaned in again, seeing your mistake only now. You heaved, face landing in your hand. You started to chuckle as well.
The others' laughter was a joyful mockery. So, Kai's stood out, being generally...alive. Even he didn't quite understand why he was in such a good mood, but he was, and it showed. But he couldn't stop himself at this point. All the squeaks and snorts. It wasn't loud, but.. it was happy. It was..genuine..joy. And perhaps that was what really made it so captivating and cute.
He caught you staring at him from across the table. The intensity in your eyes made him a tad nervous, mostly embarrassed. He hurried to cover it up; to conceal his emotions. But, you had already seen it.
---------------
Mr. Schlatt pointed to the scribbles on a whiteboard with his unnecessarily long ruler. He snapped his neck toward you and Hawks, who sat side by side in little chairs like you were back in school again. But.. you weren't. You were smack-dab in the middle of Ms. Zeya's office. "Alright, chat- kids- what-whatever! Today we'll be discussing the secret sauce to hero success in your generation! Hawks, if I see you put another stick of gum in your mouth, I f###ing swear--!" Hawks already had like seven sticks of gum in his mouth. Heck, you could count all the wrappers on the floor by his feet! You raised your hand. "Yes, (H/n)?"
You set your hand down, adjusting in the comedically small chair. "Um, Mr. Schlatt, what does Mexico have to do with us?"
"Ay! I was just getting to that!-- Hawks!! What did I say about the gum?!"
Hawks dropped the half unwrapped pack of gum and forced an innocent smile. Dang it, he thought he was being so sneaky with that one! "I'm sorry, sir!" His mouth full of gum so he could hardly speak. "Continue."
"Hh!" Mr. Schlatt stood straighter and closed his eyes. "Gladly. ...So! You guys know how in Mexico a hero's fame is closely tied to telenovela traditions and celebrity culture, right?" You both nodded, thought about it, then shook your heads. Schlatt dragged a hand down his face. "Hhhh, of course you dimwits don't know... To make this short! Basically, their tradition is to set two celebrities up and act like they're dating even though they really aren't! It's how actors and heroes alike collaborate and get things done down there. Countries like Korea, China, and yes even Japan have a similar albeit less severe cases of this." You raised your hand again. "Yes?"
"You aren't going to make us date each other, are you?" Hawks' head swiftly turned to you, his cheeks a bright pink. You appeared to be more concerned/annoyed than anything.
"Yes AND no!" Oh brother. "You see, by combining various PR strategies from around the world, I developed the perfect plan for you two."
"...Which is?"
"Well, hm.. How do I put this? You're basically pretending to be secretly dating. You guys already stirred this one up with those photos leaked of the two of you hanging out as high schoolers. So, it's the best direction we can go in logically without angering followers or making the people question your pre-existing narratives."
"Wait." Hawks' mouth was full of gum, but he spoke anyway. Though, everything he said was muffled. "Why do we specifically have to pretend to be SECRETLY dating?"
"Oh! Heheh, that one's actually really simple." He rotated the white board around to reveal the other side of the whiteboard, which is also a whiteboard with some scribbles on it. But this time it's a complicated mess of stick figures, circles, and a plethora of arrows pointing to said circles. (He's so good at his job, chat.) "That would be because of the primary age demographic you two are targeting: teens and young adults... See it this way. Young people are horny, yeah? And horny people like to look at pretty people, right?" His captive audience nodded along suspiciously. "Now, things get a bit tricky since we are reaching for both a male and female audience here.
How women work is they can and usually do happily project themselves onto a person receiving attention from their favorite character or celebrity. Since girls typically have low self esteem, they'll instead wish and pray for another, hotter, celebrity or character of their choosing to be in a relationship with the one they love so they can live vicariously through that person.
Men, however, have a much harder time fantasizing like that. They instead want to imagine they themselves actually have a chance with whoever they obsess over. There's even a special kind of aggression young men can develop upon learning their celebrity crush got a partner. It happens to women too, though historically, the moment a female celebrity announces her engagement, a majority of her male audience will drop off in droves. Where that doesn't happen to a male celebrity's female audience as often.
So, the easiest way to draw in the perfect amount of drama -- just enough to keep the press and ladies happy -- would be by dropping hints that you two COULD be in relationship. But, not so many hints that the young men drop out either. Ya see what I'm doing~? It's the perfect storm!"
You and Hawks side eyed each other a couple times. At first, your eyes held clear distrust and arrogance. However, as you thought about it, this way-out-there plan started to actually make sense.
This whole thing really WAS like a strategy game, every other hero out there being your competition. And, as things are currently, the best way to get the money, support, and influence you need is by being the most popular. Popularity IS power here. And by now, both you and Hawks knew that fact well.
...
Hawks half raised his hand, so calm compared to before, it was astonishing. "I don't have a problem with that." Putting you under the spotlight.
"Uhm..." You stared down at the floor and scratched the back of your head. "Uh..." You had a lot more on the line here than Hawks did.
For now, though, you hated sitting here while people waited for your answer. "Sure. Doesn't sound like a bad idea." Surely it'd be an easy thing to worm your way out of should you later decide against it. Keigo was a generous guy. He'd call quits the moment you shared your discomfort, right?
---------------
Machia crouched in front one of the doors in the underground tunnels, just staring at it nervously. He'd been here like this a couple hours now, wondering when or if he'd ever be allowed in. "What is it, Machia?" Your stiff footsteps picked up pace. Hands deep in your plain black hoodie pockets, your eyes fixed on the large man with the faintest hint of concern. So deep down here and so late at night, you must be on the look for something.. or someone.
Machia turned his head and grumbled. "Little Master's partner told me I can't enter."
Your feet scraped to a halt as you stood beside him, also peeing at the door. "That's his silly little experiment room..." You growled, biting the inside of your lip. "He doesn't have anyone to experiment on." Machia was suddenly shoved aside to make room for you. Your body slipped into the door at once.
Ah... He was experimenting on himself... That explains all the blood.
Kai was laying in the patient's chair at the far end of the room. His breaths were shallow and struggling. Blood was dripping from his terribly bruised arm onto the floor. On the portable table where the one light hardly shown, a few bags of fresh blood lay. Kai opened his eyes in time to watch as you rigidly crossed the room, hands held behind your back as you peered down on him with furrowed brows. Whatever he had been trying in here, Eri's quirk clearly wasn't enough. The horn on his forehead had been reduced to a meager bump.
He'd closed his eyes to focus on his breathing when a terrible pain shot through his skull from you flicking his forehead. "Idiot.." Your hand landed on his head, using what little energy you had of your own rewind quirk to restore the man to health. Or at least to the point of not dying. Couldn't risk using it all now in case of an emergency. Kai groaned and rubbed his forehead with his shaky arm. "That's for hurting my fiancé."
"I am your fiancé." He hissed through his teeth.
"Exactly." Your large form had left him, standing in the shadow as you flicked one of the bags of blood laying on the table. "All that for a little blood, huh?"
Kai huffed, attempting to sit up. "C'n you put th't in th' fridge..?"
"Why didn't you wait a little longer for our plan?" Your eyes landed on him, the faint blue sparkle shining down on him, piercing the dark.
"Don't...have time.. M' already behind schedule." His arms struggled to hold his own torso up in the chair. Gh, he felt so weak..
"Don't have time for what exactly?" You placed your hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. His arms gave out, and he laid down. He looked all sorts of directions, trying to ignore the situation he'd trapped himself in.
"We... Need more blood f'r the market... Legalizing the drug's our only shot now... N' Humarise refused t' give any'a our stuff back... Or did'y forget that?"
You hummed softly, sitting in a little chair beside his. "Mh, no I remember... But I thought we had a deal you wouldn't overwork yourself like this. That you would come to me for help."
"You're working sun-up t' sun-down as 'e hero..." His brows furrowed, scrutinizing your shadowy figure. A dry sort of laugh left your throat.
"Fair enough." You stood up. "Now don't fight me, okay? I need to take you someplace cleaner."
. . .
"...I'm genuinely angry at you. You're always the one calling me stupid and immature. Yet here you are doing something like this." He sat on the toilet lid, shirt off, leaning his head on the counter left of him as you used a warm rag to clean off all the blood.
"Yeahh... Dn't.. have any excus's... Yu' said you'd be done with my quirk by now. S' how long's it s'pposed to take?"
"..." You were zoned out, focusing on cleaning off the blood that'd somehow dirtied his shoulder. Kai grew agitated. Every time the question came up, you were always hesitant to answer. "...Your quirk is a lot more complicated than I ever thought."
"You've been saying that for weeks.." He rolled his eyes.
"It's true, though! Even compared to some other complex quirks I've used, they pale to the extensive knowledge required to even use your quirk right."
"(Y/n)... u're not telling me something n' I know it."
The warm rag left his skin. You stepped to the right, taking a long, drawn-out moment of silence to rinse the cloth. He knew you were too nervous to use his quirk on him to quickly clean off the blood, or better yet to put the blood back in his body. He knew that much at least. But, you don't need to master a quirk in order to merge it with another.
...
You lowered your head, ashamed to admit it. "...I may have stopped merging it with Sight halfway through..."
Kai lifted his head up off the counter. "Gh... Knew it. Wedding, remember?? At least have it done by then."
"But then it won't be you anymore. Your quirk... It'll be something else entirely... You couldn't hope to ever understand the process that is merging two quirks. It's a scary thing, knowing there is no going back and tha-that this is the only copy of your quirk we have. I mean--if you die that's it! Even keeping your quirk would be useless... It wouldn't be the same..." Squeezed all the water out of the rag, then set it in the sink to instead rub your face.
...
"Hnh, so quirks are that closely tied to the afterlife, huh?"
"Sort of.. It's more like I get to keep a tiny fraction of a person's soul..." Tilting your head, you noted a few blood splotches on the man's pants. You moved closer, knelt down and reached your hand out slowly, gently pinching the pant cloth and watched as said blood fell from his clothing. Kai's nose twitched. He scooted his head back slightly so your hair wouldn't be in his unmasked face.
Having watched the whole thing, the man sighed. "Well, I g't it s'mwhat. Sometimes there're things that, even with my quirk, can't be undone... And you don't wanna feel responsible for ruining me."
"T'h.. no, not particularly..." You rose onto your feet and applied more warm water to the rag. Kai pinched a corner of your shirt to grab your attention.
"Why don't y' go ahead and trust your past self? You said it was a cool idea. That it'd make me stronger. And I agreed.. So j's stop second guessing yourself." He stared up at you, such an extreme angle it was quite the funny sight.
"Hhhh... If you say so... I.. I'll go ahead and finish it for ya." You spoke dryly, still appearing to be debating inside.
"Thanks..." Despite that look, he trusted you. As much as he had to. His everything was in your hands now.
Once he was staring down at his lap again, you felt free enough to stare down at the man's head with a genuinely sad and hesitant look. "Hhmm... Will miss your quirk fighting off the ones trying to torment me in my sleep, though..."
"T'h. No way it's doing that." He considered chuckling, but his head ached too much for that.
"Awh, you saying you haven't noticed how much better sleep I've been getting~?" You grinned. Your voice was so low and soft this evening. Ever since finding him, it was so calm despite the circumstances.
"That's because you're not in school anymore.." Kai rolled his eyes. He wondered how you really felt inside, or if you were feeling anything at all.
"Mmhh, working full-time as a hero now kind of takes place of it."
"But at least now you're not jumping from activity to activity all the time like before."
"You're SO right. Heheh.." Your smile was so fake. You caught a glance of it in the mirror; hated the view.
Your posture was a bit stiffer as you dove into deep thought, your touch firmer as you cleaned off the last of the blood staining the man's skin. He watched you, his interest growing as he wondered about what you could be thinking. What all was going on in that head of yours? Judging by how lost in thought you'd become, it had to be a fairly serious issue.
You'd just finished up and was cleaning off the rag one last time when you finally noticed Kai staring at you, his Chin resting on the bathroom counter. Your right brow lifted. "Still need help?"
"Sorry." He looked down. "I was zoning out. J's get me a new shirt... I'll shower tomorrow."
"Oh so now all of a sudden you're okay with going to sleep like that?" You tilted your head.
"It's..just a little mess." He was clearly tired. The main reason he was able to shrug off not being perfectly clean. And that was okay. Preferable, even. His therapist would be proud.
It was a quiet evening. And now that things had settled down, it was perhaps too peaceful to stay awake any longer. Your presence was proven to have a certain calming effect. Kai couldn't deny it. Or maybe it had just been a long day. You appeared pretty tired as well.
At his request, you left the bathroom, grabbed a shirt, and brought it back right away. "Need some more water?"
"Nah.. I'm good." His joints were stiff, making putting on the shirt a little awkward, but he managed. You left while he was putting the shirt on and returned with a glass of water, which he downing in seconds. "I can't tell if you're acting more like a mom or a wife." He rasped, chuckling. You seemed to humor the thought as well. Instead of getting flustered like usual, you rolled your eyes, crossed your arms, and leaned against the door.
"I was thinking a nurse." You shrugged.
"Let's go with wife, since we'll be married this Fall. And I don't want to think of you as my mom."
"Fair!" You rocked your head back and laughed, so joyless it was painfully obvious.
"What's wrong?"
The perfectly reasonable question still managed to catch you off guard. "Dehheh w-wewmhm." You rubbed the back of your neck and head with both hands, eyes darting in all directions. "I- I- I--oh what the heck." You dropped onto your knees in front of him, realized your mistake, and quickly picked one up so you were on only one knee. You reached your hand into a small portal. "I love how we both had the worst timing for this!" You pulled a small felt box from the portal and shoved it into his hands. "Don't make a big deal out of it! Just treat it like any other gift!" You held your hands up in a defensive manner.
"I--huh?" Took a moment for the tired one to even realize what he was holding. He opened the small box, revealing an obsidian ring with white lines weaving around the metal to form the image of a mighty dragon. He blinked and stared, both pulling the box further away and reeling it in close to better examine the thing. "An engagement ring...? Only men are supposed to propo-"
"-I just saw it at the store earlier today and thought of you!.. That, and, um, as you already know, I tend to have a hard time following traditions..."
"Hmh... That, you do." He seemed to appreciate the gift, all things considered. Even though he was plenty tired, he still had the energy to appreciate the craftsmanship. "It's beautiful."
You chuckled, eyes strictly on the gift. Appeared you appreciated the look of it just as much. "Here. Let me make sure it fits right." He offered his left hand as you grabbed the ring. Kai watched you cautiously slide the ring onto his finger, using his Overhaul quirk to ensure the metal fit perfectly. It was very delicate work. The man was impressed you accomplished such a feat on your first try. Thankfully, you didn't mess anything up. "...Whew.." You sighed in relief.
Kai's vision flashed, eyes fogging up as a sting jolted through his heart.
Kai somewhat flopped onto you. Not even a hug. More like handing the role of keeping him off the floor over to you. You successfully stabilized the man, surprised with how okay he was having his unmasked face on your shoulder. He wasn't in physical pain. Shaky breaths hissed through his teeth... Oh.. He was being emotional.
Your own heart felt so distant from such a raw show of affection. You forgot how to feel, but you didn't forget how to react. You wrapped your arms around Kai and rubbed his back gently, offering what support you could. Had no idea why he was on the verge of tears all of a sudden. Was it his past? Whatever led him to experimenting on himself? Or was it the gift? You had no clue, honestly. It was genuinely like your mind had been shut off to matters of the heart. You could remember feeling certain ways in the past. And you could remember what certain facial expressions and phrases meant. But. Those gut feelings just weren't there. All memory of emotion was faded and distant. Severed from yourself. It was a little scary, actually... Hopefully, it wouldn't last.
"I don't think your timing was bad 't all..." He whispered, helping to fill in the puzzle you were clearly missing pieces to.
You hugged the man a little tighter, chin resting on his shoulder while you stared blankly at the wall behind him. He inhaled big and exhaled slow, calming down already. That was good... But his little shivery self would take a lot longer to move on its own.
Without much thinking, you carried Kai over to his room and sat him down on his bed. As he crawled under the covers, you turned into a cat and hopped onto the bed beside him. Far enough away as to not be within his reach. He was too tired to care.
...
The lights were out and the door closed. Your cat eyes allowed you to see a lot more in the dark, so your Sight quirk wasn't needed. It still gave you headaches sometimes, so you preferred to use it as little as possible while off work.
The same thoughts pounded in your head as you laid on your side watching the other sleep. He was laying on his side facing you too, both arms limply in front of him so you could see the ring still on his finger. Oops. Forgot to take that off.
Hopefully, the gift would... make up for the deception going forward. You didn't have the heart to ask for his permission to act as Hawks' secret girlfriend. You already knew he'd hate the idea. But, it was the best move to make right now to gain more popularity and power...
Power... You couldn't even bring yourself to question what you really wanted. How YOU felt about all this.
All your mind could manage at the moment was to check things off a list and reach for that ever-growing need for power and control. Whatever sliver of it this life would allow.
SOMETHING that would make you feel whole.
Reflecting on your own thoughts, you knew something was wrong here.
Why was your heart suddenly so self-centered? Where had your emotions gone? Would they ever return to normal, or would you have to fake control over them for the rest of your life? Did this then mean you were one step closer to becoming just like your father??
Kai's steady breaths were the one thing to pull you from your thoughts. This spell of yours phased in and out, but just like your paranoia, his breaths were ever-present. Hm. Maybe that was why you had decided to stay here in the first place. Laying alone in your own silent room would have surely driven you mad.
You suddenly remembered WAAAYY back to when you were only four or five. Second life. Your dad would say the same things about your mom snoring beside him. About how it stilled his thoughts and kept him sane. So, was this then how he lived? How he felt? Were you getting a taste of what it was really like being him?
Gh... Here you were thinking about your dad again... Like an obsession...
You wanted to go back... While your lack of emotions made it so you could neither feel positively nor negatively toward this experience, something about it was deeply uncomfortable.
...You, still a cat, dragged yourself closer to the man using your claws and nuzzled your face into his hand. It wasn't much, but the warmth made you feel a little less.....
alone....
You didn't end up getting much sleep that night, but at least you finally decided once and for all to finish your own little experiment and give him the result of it.
He'd be fine. He wouldn't get himself killed. He wouldn't try to kill you. You had to remind yourself of that. Again and again.
If there was anyone in this world who could not only survive, but stomach living their life alongside you, it was him.
.
.
.
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Sorry that was so long. 💀
I'm tired in case you couldn't tell.
I've been trying and failing to sleep the past four hours and I have to go to work in only like four more hours. 🪦
I'm trying my best to make these characters and their complicated dynamics feel realistic, I promise. 🙏
Update: it's been months since then lol
I wrote the wedding scene and Schlatt scene after ^
I basically wrote the bloody scene first, then added the light hearted stuff in later.
Oops I accidentally married my Russian friend off to Aizawa. 🤣 (I thought the name sounded familiar. Wasn't sure where from though until I wrote it)
======================
---------------
"What took you so long?" Ms. Zeya's brows furrowed as she watched you near the table. You sat down at the old cafe, large body easily dwarfing the cold, metal chair you leaned back and draped yourself over.
"Oh. You know, usual hero stuff. Nothing much. Just my JOB." You were in casual attire now.
The woman rolled her eyes, sipping on her steaming hot tea. "You get more time off than me." She glanced down to read the newspaper in her hand, her legs crossed.
"Neh-nememene-eh~"
"Shut up."
"Alright. What's up with this place then? What does it have to do with that clue?" Looking around, this humble cafe wasn't all that special. It was in a weird part of some small town in the middle of nowhere. Took you forever to fly here! The white paint outside was chipping, furniture old and rusting.
"This, (Y/n), is where my dad used to take me every year on my birthday... The note said to return to tradition. Well, today's my birthday, so.."
You stared at her for a moment, not sure how to feel. After looking around a bit more, "Lame time of the year to have a birthday."
"Mh, thank you. Very kind of my mother to go into labor when there were no major holidays and the world was peaceful." Completely ignoring your stupid attempt to insult her. You growled, realizing how petty you were being.
"Hello, would you like to take your order now~?" A kind middle aged man with an oval face, round glasses, and bushy moustache approached the table with a cloth draped over his arm. He had such a kind and wholesome smile as well. You immediately shipped him with Zeya, wishing some of his kindness could rub off on her.
"Um, yes," Ms. Zeya leaned forward, pointing at the menu. "I'd like a, um.. a fruit crepe with a chocolate drizzle- oh, and the lemon sponge cake you used to serve for people's birthdays."
"I'm..sorry, but we don't have that on the menu anymore... We haven't made the lemon sponge cake in a good ten or so years, actually." The man chuckled softly.
Ms. Zeya chuckled dryly, peering up at him. "My apologies, but I was told to order what I always did.." She pulled down her sunglasses. "The name's Zeyale Kanro... I was hoping you'd recognize me."
The man's eyes widened as a shiver tore through him. You kept your own sunglasses on, only peeking at the server through the corner of your eyes. He didn't care to look at you. He nodded stiffly. "OH, Zeyale, um, yes! Y-yes ma'am. We have everything in the kitchen waiting for you. A- already paid for! P-please wait a moment." As the man scurried away, a smile cracked apart your lips.
"Well this is fun~"
Ms. Zeya rubbed her temples irritably. "Ugh... Just like when I was a teenager."
"Huh?"
"Dad!" She groaned. "Always leaving little hints here and there to remind me just how little control I actually had over my life." She dragged a hand down her face, elbow resting on the arm of the chair.
"Oh. Yeah, he was sort of like that with me too. Heh." The two of you were fluently talking in English now, by the way, having smoothly transitioned to a language the passerbys would be less likely to understand.
"Ghhh..."
"Why such a control freak with you though?"
"I- gh- ran away at sixteen to join UA..." She growled. Resting her chin on her fist, "I just couldn't take being around him anymore, ya know? He let me go, but, he still kept tabs all throughout my teen and young adult life... The moment he stopped, I knew some new kid of his had entered the picture."
Resting your chin on your palm, you nodded along. "Ahh.. So, about when I was born."
"Tch. Yeah." Her gaze stuck on some potted plant by the cafe's entrance, "...I'm honestly surprised Chloe returned to that monster...after everything he did to her..."
...
You hummed in agreement. "Yeahhh... I mean- thirty-seven kids?! Sheesh!" You felt the need to add humor to the situation through laughter. If for no other reason to fend off the traumatic memories.
"Hmh. And that's just the ones who were deemed worthy of birthing." Ms. Zeya took another sip of her tea, glaring to the side at that same plant as before. You joined her in glaring at the poor fern. At least the two of you could agree your father was f#cked up in the head. "I've already had Mr. Schlatt schedule your first three TV interviews. You will be interviewing separately from Hawks. Then, slowly, as your popularity grows, you two will start appearing on screen more often together. Then, we'll throw Iceman in as an individual hero, gage his ability to draw a crowd and what kind of audience he grows, and determine whether he's worth adding to the team or not. I already have an employee on the hunt for other members who might be a good fit. There's a promising student, Mount Lady, who may work.. but judging by her marketing strategy at the moment, she might not be the best face to represent the HPSC after all.."
"Do you ever talk about anything but work?"
"Pardon?"
Setting your orange juice down, "Other than work and AFO, what do you talk about? What do you DO exactly??"
Ms. Zeya stared at you for a moment. After realizing you were being legit, she cleared her throat and looked down at the table, actually thinking about it now. "Well, um... I have a plant named Peter. He...likes to sit on the window sill of my kitchen, and every now and then he blooms pretty pink flowers."
You tilted your head downward, pulled your shades down and rose your eyebrows to their highest degree. "...Oh rEalLy~? Franklyn the flower, huh?"
Sitting stiffly, the woman held her hands together on the table. "It's, um, Peter."
"Yeah sure whatever. Get a life."
"He-heyy!" Genuinely offended.
Throwing your arms out on either side of you, you stifled a laugh. "I- I- I'm serious! Your life sounds really f#cking boring!"
Zeya leaned forward, jabbing her pointer finger at you. "You will NOT talk to me like that, young ma'am!"
"Tsh." Leaning back. "Oh so now I'm in trouble for being a little tease~ ...So how about this? What's your favorite game? Favorite food? How about favorite color~?"
Ms. Zeya fell back into her chair, hand dragging down her face again. "Ugh, you insolent child... I make work my life because I enjoy it. It's the thing that gives me meaning and purpose, plus I am helping people... As for my favorite game," She held up her fingers as if to count, staring intensely at you. "It's poker. Favorite food is spinach kiche, and my favorite color~" She leaned closer, elbow on the table as she poked her own eye, removing the dark red contact lense, revealing a simple brown iris underneath. "Is f#ckng RED." She then returned the contact to her eye.
You crossed your arms over your chest and huffed. "Everything you just said: lame as f#ck."
"Oh my gosh...."
"You think I'm lying??"
"I can't with you..."
"I'm just speaking the truth.!"
"Your desserts, la-ladies~" Kind but also clearly nervous, the man from earlier handed you your plates of dessert, each placed on a napkin. You were the first to notice there was something written on the napkins. You let the older lady thank him while you unfolded your napkin to better read the note.
Once you saw what it was, you fell back into your chair and groaned loudly. "OOOGHHH!.. It's a MATH EQUATION...buhh."
Ms. Zeya rolled her eyes and took the napkin from you. "I'll handle this part. You eat your crepe and shut up."
"Is this what he would always eat?" Your sudden shift in tone caught the woman off guard. She glanced across the table at you, her body stiff as she pulled a pen out of her purse.
All of a sudden, your tall frame sitting across from her at the table, fork out and ready to dig into the simple treat. It was..yeah, eerily reminiscent of your father. You knew you'd stricken a cord by the way she stared at you. You shifted your gaze down to the crepe, starting to eat without saying anymore.
"...Yeah... It was..."
"Mh, not bad. If I wasn't so depressed I bet it'd even taste delicious!" You chuckled with your remark, taking another greedy bite. Ms. Zeya just stared at you. It started to get a little awkward.
The woman focused her attention on the two math equations on the napkins using a basic pen, then combined the numbers using another simple equation. Once she had finished, she stood up. "We're done here."
Your mouth full, "Omf, coowl... Wat is it?"
"They're coordinates. I'll have to return to headquarters to find the exact location." She turned around, starting to walk away already. You stood after swallowing the last bite of crepe. "Wait--but you didn't even have your birthday cake!" You grabbed the plate, offering it to her.
She spun on her heels, offering you and your slice of cake a disgusted look. "You seriously think I want that garbage?!" Completely breaking her professional persona, which startled you. For a moment there, she looked like any other human.
Your arm trembled, bringing the plate lower. Your eyes followed it. "...No. I guess not..."
"..." Ms. Zeya spun back around, high heels clicking on the pavement as she left. You felt sort of bad now. You already knew from personal experience why she wouldn't want such a gift. In fact, from personal experience you could justify almost all of her problems. ...Yet here you were being a d#ck to her on her birthday...
"Hha.. happy birthday, Ms. Zeya.." You spoke softly, not even sure if she'd hear you.
"Thanks." The woman left in a matter of seconds, disappearing into the strange layout of weaving, cracking roads. She left you wondering if maybe you should have been a little kinder to her...
Meh, nah.
You ate the cake.
---------------
Children giggled in the patch of grass ahead of you. You, an old lady, sat under the shade of a park bench feeding the local pigeons bits of bread. Your wrinkled grin grew from watching the children play with their new toys. It was such a hot day, but the almost-joy sensation in your chest made up for the physical discomfort.
"Hm?.. Oh. Finally found you." Kai dropped onto the bench beside you. He tugged at his mask and shirt, using the cloth of both to cool his chest and face. Once he'd cooled down some, he finally spoke. "Why are you here? And in that form?"
You pointed at the children, who were somehow still running on such a day as this. "I donated toys to the children... I gave the struggling orphanage a generous donation, handpicked better staff, and connected them to a better school..."
Laying his arms over the back of the bench, Kai chuckled. "Huh, another one? What is that? Six now?"
Still talking like a sweet old lady, "Yes... I think all problems start at the beginning of our lives.. So, naturally, helping as many children as possible should be our priority, no?"
"That...makes sense, I suppose." The moment his eyes turned to you, they widened in surprise. "What's wrong?"
Staring at the children, your wrinkly eyes were wet with tears. So fixated on their joyous play, it looked like you were in a trance. "...I'm going to need to hire someone to do all this for me... I can't stand the sight of children anymore."
"..." Kai adjusted slightly. "What makes you say that?"
You turned your head slowly, disappointment clear in your features. "It started as simple curiosity... I wanted to know what kinds of quirks to expect from the next generation... As I dug through their files, I excused myself by claiming I simply wanted to see if there was a way I could guide kids with specific quirks down a better path... I stole three quirks last night..." You stared down at your shaky palm, other hand grasping your wrist firmly. "At this rate, I won't be able to control myself at all..."
"There has to be some way to fix this." Kai grabbed your hand, leaning closer to ensure you'd look him in the eyes. You were met with such sincerity. It wasn't the scolding you knew you'd receive from any hero, but rather an attempt to genuinely understand you. You and your.. concerning ways.
There was a darker part of you that wanted him to accept you fully. A side of you that yearned for him to feed into your selfish desires; encourage you; tell you what you were doing was completely natural and even good. That you couldn't help it, so may as well embrace it. You knew he wouldn't go there, though. No, not when his own quirk was on the line.
"...What were the quirks you stole?"
"You...really want to know?"
He squeezed your hand a little tighter, staring deep into your eyes, as if to interrogate you. "Yes, please."
"They-- ...A grip quirk, a hearing quirk, and...something to boost stamina."
"None of those sound all too serious. So, why did you take them specifically?"
"I...reasoned it within myself that the little boy wouldn't need a grip quirk, made an excuse that the girl in a wheelchair wouldn't need a stamina quirk. And the hearing one... I don't even remember how I got that one..."
"So," his grip on your hand loosening, stare not quite so intense, "to me, it sounds like you care more about what the quirk is than what it does."
"Huh? Which is?" You tilted your head.
"You said so yourself quirks are like little pieces of soul to you.... meaning this sudden loss of control you're struggling with is probably you just feeling lonely. From an outsider's perspective looking in, it makes more sense than you simply 'turning evil.' . So, maybe the best thing to do would be to socialize more, make some new friends," elbowing you, "and maybe even follow the advice you gave me years ago and go see a d#mn therapist."
You chuckled dryly, shoving him back. But then you rubbed your chin and gave his words some actual thought. "...I didn't think of it that way before.... But.. I've been lonelier than this before and I never felt quite this bad."
That's when Kai shrugged. "Could be a number of overlapping issues. Again, see a d#mn therapist." The hand that'd been previously holding yours roughly ruffled your hair. You laughed and pushed him away, promising you'd at the very least consider it. He was satisfied with that and left you alone.
"You know, you're a lot different than you used to be.." You marveled.
Elbows resting on his knees, "Which me are you comparing the current me to?" You blinked at him in confusion for a moment, so he clarified. "The child me or the depressed me?"
"Oh." You still had to process the question. "Hmm, um. I- I didn't actually think-- ..depressed you I guess?"
"Hmhm, thought so..." Sighing, Kai stared ahead, taking in the peaceful sights of the park. "Yeah, I guess I have changed quite a bit... Doesn't really feel like it most the time, but..." He closed his eyes, pulling the mask away from his nose to take in a long, deep breath. Once he set it back into place, he opened his eyes again. "Guess I have."
You rubbed his back. "I'm glad." You continued to rub his back, thoughts severing from the present as you were reminded of your new role as a hero. More specifically, the deception aspect.
"...What? What is it?" He sensed something was wrong through your fingertips.
You drew your hand away. "For publicity. I. Um. I.. I have to act, pretend, hint that I might be in a relationship with...another hero."
"Wwhhhhhy..?" He reasonably turned his head to look at you with concern and distrust. Perhaps even a hint of anger.
"I-it's a publicity stunt! Something about drawing in more fans by pretending to be in a secret relationship!" You rose your hands and faked a smile.
Kai rubbed his face. "Ghhh, and this is why heroes are so rotten to begin with... It's with Hawks, isn't it?"
"WHAT-?"
"-Knew it."
"Okay, fine, yeah it is!" You huffed, hands fidgeting with each other. It was clear you'd given up on the old lady act by now. "I- I was going to decline, but-but everything was moving so fast- a-and I already made my first hint on the first TV interview the other day--!" Embarrassed, you hid your face. "...I'm so so so so so so so so sorry. I- I- I don't mean to betray you; I'll tell them right away I'm not going to play along anymore..."
"...Hhhh. Teh." Kai rubbed your back this time. "No, it's alright."
"HUH?!"
"It's just an acting job, right? You're not actually cheating on me with Hawks, are you?.." He was strangely calm... STRANGELY calm.
You leaned close, an inch from his face, squinting into his eyes. "...Are you on drugs?"
"Ghet out of my face." He pushed you away. "No, I'm not high. I'm just thinking logically. And if you were an actress tasked with kissing another man for your job, well I'm not the kind of guy to get all butt-hurt over that. Not like I see you under a romantic light to begin with. I trust you won't take things too far--but DON'T kiss Hawks." Waving his finger at you suddenly while glaring at you, "I will personally beat his a## if you kiss him."
With widened eyes, you leaned back and laughed nervously. "I- I won't, I swear! Not even if they offer to drop all my debts and leave me alone for good!"
"And that's a promise?"
"Yeah, sure, man!"
"Then I'm alright with it." Kai sat back. A weight fell off your chest in that moment. You smiled genuinely for the first time in a WHILE.
"Oh my gosh thank you!!" Still an old lady, you tackled Kai in a hug. Now that you had his permission, this whole fake dating thing didn't seem so bad after all. He was right. It WAS just a bit of acting, wasn't it?
"Gh-now-now get off of me, old hag!"
"Hmh! And just for that, I'm going to hug you a little longer~"
"a-a-a-a-a-" Error 404. Kai has stopped working.
---------------
"Ay, (Y/n)! Come down and have lunch with me, why don'cha!" Hawks held a bento box in each hand, flying between two buildings. You stood atop one of them, on your usual patrol over the area. You smirked down at the other hero, then cupped your hands around your mouth.
"You sure?! People might think we're dating!" This drew a laugh from the distant fellow. You hopped off the ledge and skidded down the side of the building, landing in the alleyway. Hawks sat down on the lid of a trash bin beside you, tossing a box of food to you carelessly. You caught it, of course, and leaned your back against the wall to open and eat from the cutely wrapped thing.
Hawks was already eating, his mouth half full. "So I found this show you might like. A psychological thriller-type thing similar to the movie you showed me."
"Mh?" Your mouth was too full to speak. You gestured with your chopsticks for him to continue.
"And yeah, it's basically a reverse murder mystery. Everyone's tryna figure out how this one guy's still alive."
"Is it quirk related?"
"Nah, set in the early 2000s right before quirks became a thing."
"Ahhh, color me intrigued~"
Hawks started to laugh, stopping suddenly to cough and prevent from choking. You wheezed beside him.
Your mouth half full, "I found this older show too. It-khhm. It's about a family trapped in space trying to survive the weird alien planet they crash landed on."
"-Oh, you mean Lost In Space?"
"Awhh! You already watched it?!"
Hawks covered his mouth and laughed. "Yeah, I loved that show as a kid! The chicken guy was my favorite!"
You gasped. "Mine too! And the evil doctor! Ohh, she was so scary sometimes!"
"Right?!"
The two of you talked about that show until your lunch break was nearly over.
"Hey, what kind of show do you think you'd make if you could?" Hawks asked. He slid off the trash can and used one of his feathers to open the lid so he could drop the box in, only keeping the cloth it was wrapped in. You took this opportunity to throw your own trash in.
"Hmmm... I dunno. Maybe a horror movie." Rubbing your chin.
"Bold choice." The blond chuckled, already walking away to exit the alley. You rolled your eyes.
"Tch. Oh yeah, what kind of movie would you make, pretty boy~?"
He turned to look over his shoulder. "A romance, of course~" Speaking as though it were obvious. "And I'd cast myself as the main lead~"
Hands deep in your pockets, you had to stand there and process for a moment. You chuckled and rolled your eyes, sauntering after him. "Wow, bro's got a bigger ego than I thought~"
"And you know who I'd cast as the love interest?" At the edge of the alley, Hawks stopped and smirked at you. You stopped beside him. Judging by the guy's playful grin and that almost seductive look in his eyes, you knew he was teasin'.
You rolled your eyes again and chose to play dumb. "No, who?"
"Whoever pays the most to fill that role of course~" He caught you off guard with that one, intently studying your reaction.
Your eyes drifted to the sky as you sighed, a soft smile at play. "Hhh, so you're seriously just going to auction off a role like that? Psh. Who'd even show up to watch that?? You'd probably get some spoiled brat who's terrible behind the scenes and doesn't get along with you at all." You crossed your arms.
Hawks elbowed your arm and spoke the next part quietly. "Between you and me, we both know you're hiding the fortune of a lifetime behind closed doors.." Leaving you to ponder what he meant by that and whether or not it was a threat, the winged hero flapped his wings, taking flight. He shifted his gaze back just enough to wink at you. "I know in a pinch my sugar mommy'll take care of me~"
You rolled your eyes, growling. "Oh good lord... That was five years ago."
Giggling like a naughty little goober, the winged hero took off into the sky, "Seeya later tonight~" leaving you to raise your fist to the sky like some vengeful villain.
"Oh I'm gunna make that feathery b#stard pay..somehow. I dunno. Maybe I won't... Eh, I don't really care."
...
"Wait did Hawks just calls (H/n) his 'sugar mommy'?" 👀 Oh no.
---------------
Oh WOW were the lights intense! You could feel the warmth on your skin the moment you stepped out from behind a curtain. Good thing your mask was tight over your eyes.
You stepped onto the stage confidently, waving to the cheering crowd in front of you. This was it. The on-stage appearance Schlatt setup two months ago. Man was time going fast! Felt like just yesterday he gave you the game-plan. A plan which you stuck to since. It really isn't all that hard. Just be friendly with the guy who's already your friend!
Mirroring you, Hawks flew in from the other side of the room. He went above and beyond by soaring a quick circle over the audience. Once his feet landed on the stage beside you, he'd put on his ultra-chill persona. You too changed your posture slightly to stand taller, acting like the stricter one of the pair. But not by much, of course.
Good thing your forehead was covered, because your brows were sweating already. With so many people and cameras aimed on you, what was there not to be nervous about? What if you buttoned your suit wrong? What if your flag was down? What if you got a wedgie mid show??
The host of the show, a man with black and white striped hair, approached the two of you with a smile. He shook both of your hands, welcoming you, Hawks, AND his audience to his show: Behind The Curtain: a comedy centered talkshow made with the intention to humanize the country's top or up-in-coming heroes, celebrities, and other public figures. Craziest thing is you used to watch this exact same show as a kid, watching the host's hair grey throughout your life. So, at least you knew almost instinctually how this would play-out.
Kamden Tsetsuka, the host, sat at a chair tilted to half face the couch you and Hawks sat on. For whatever reason, the winged hero insisted you sit closer to the host; likely to tease, since he knew you watched Behind The Curtain more than he did.
The show went smoothly. Imagining this from the perspective of your past self watching the show calmed you down. Remembering how you used to excitedly watch to learn more about the heroes of the time. Having to hide the fact that you understood the lude or crude humor that'd always make Chloe cringe. It was so strange being on this side of the screen, now the person making other people laugh.
As it usually went down, the host asked a few basic questions of his own before moving onto the audience's written, sometimes very out-of-pocket questions. Everyone in the live audience was able to submit a question via text, which were then printed and cut into small slips of paper. The questions were then filtered through to ensure only those suited for the guest remained. In All Might's case, for example, any and all questions asking about the size of his c#ck were removed. But since both you and Hawks targeted an older age demographic, mainly for the sake of trending among those of voting age, who knows what kinds of off-the-wall questions you'd get! These questions were then put in an old hat and picked at random on stage by the host himself to be read aloud.
There was, of course, always the option to opt out of answering a question...but that would just make you look like a pussy. As in pussy-cat, of course.
Host Kamden asked generally about both of your history so far going into becoming heroes, why you decided to partner-up, and asked you specifically about how your prosthetic eyes worked. You basically explained how your Sight quirk works but attributed it all to science. Kamden made a joke about the possibility of being able to see under people's clothes. Heh, of course. You knew he would. But you assured both him and the audience that the technology didn't allow you to see past clothing... Didn't want to hint your ability to look into people's pockets or even stomachs to see what was inside if you so chose. You'd already caught so many smugglers, Ms. Zeyale was starting to catch on to this ability of yours...
Where things really got interesting, of course, were the questions the audience sent in. Most were for Hawks. Makes sense. The past three years of your life have been broadcasted publicly via UA and people stalking (Y/n)2, so the winged hero is more the mystery to everyone. And boy did he relish in it.
Interesting thing was he didn't care for the attention as much as the creative array of questions asked. Things like what his favorite videogames were, or if he played any at all. He didn't. He was asked who his favorite hero was: Endeavor. He was asked how fast he can fly at top speed: over 200mph while nose diving, apparently. He was asked how his parents, if he has any, feel about him becoming a hero: "classified." And he was even asked what brand of shampoo he uses: huh, the same one you use. -Ohh yeahh, wait. He was the one who recommended it to you two years ago. Forgot that detail... He enjoyed these questions for one simple reason: it helped remind him he had a personality, a character, a will of his own outside of heroic performances. And for someone raised to do one thing and one thing only, you understood why that was so important to him; why he was enjoying this so much, despite some of the questions being.. uncomfortably personal. Good thing Hawks didn't feel pressured to answer any silly questions like that.
He knew better than to give what the exact measurements of his waist were, a moment people would later rewind to and take note of just how defensive of him you became when such a thing was asked. It wasn't even a scripted thing to do or say to suggest you might be secretly a couple, yet it was later taken that way and used as one of the main examples in people's theories.
Then there were your questions. People knew not to ask such uncomfortable things to a lady, even if for the sake of humor, so unfortunately your questions were a whole lot blander. You made up for it by answering in such an uncanny way it was a question whether you were telling the truth at all. Favorite color? "Tis one of the many unanswered questions of the universe~ None shall know for certain whether it is blue or green~"
But there was that one question. "Is (H/n) transgender?" The room got a little bit uncomfortable after it was asked. A fairly common question among people on the internet who couldn't stomach the thought of a woman being genuinely tall. You out of everyone were probably the least offended.
You snickered, ending the awkward silence. "No, but I don't see why being such would be that big of a deal... While a controversial issue for sure, I mean, at the end of the day, how I present has nothing to do with my worth as a person or my ability to work as a hero." Had to add that little bit on the end for two reasons. 1, you knew the theories would never end, so may as well soften the stigma so the theory itself was completely harmless. And 2, you had a specific person in mind when you spoke those words~
You handled that question so calmly, the rest of the show went smoothly and some even thanked you after it was over. While a fun event, you were tired and more than ready to return home.
---------------
You didn't teleport this time. Taking the metro system on your way back, you had a chance conversing with fans who recognized you. Made things a whole lot easier for your little stalker to follow you home.
At the front gates of the Hassaikai base, you stopped mid step. "Alright. We're alone. You can show yourself."
A lone figure froze-up in the distance. "H-how did you know I was even here?!"
"That's not important. Mind coming here?" You turned around, watching the form atop one of the nearby buildings shift. Reluctantly, the relatively large figure stood and hopped down the wall of the building. They dragged their feet closer, long brown hair obstructing their face. "Your name?"
"M-magne.."
"And why are you here?"
Magne clutched her arm, fearful of what you would do. She knew but a fraction of what you were capable of, and that alone terrified her. "I came... to kill you... --But wait!" Throwing her hands up in front of herself. "I- I've had a change of heart, I promise!! After watching you on TV, I realized you are not only a decent person, but an ally!.. And no amount of money could convince me to kill someone like you!"
You smirked, glad the blindfold was still over your gleeful eyes. After all... Who did this person think was stupid enough to put a bounty on Death Angel? Everybody in the underworld knew there were untouchable entities among them. Those being Death Angel, Punching Bag, and (H/n). Few knew these three were actually one...
You approached calmly. "I'm impressed by how loyal you are to your cause... You are yourself trans?"
"Y-yes."
"And you know I am both Death Angel and (H/n)?"
"I won't tell anyone!! I promise!"
You gently placed your hand on Magne's shoulder, keeping in mind that this was a murderer you were talking to. "Mmm, I may need more than a promise. So, how about this?" You pet the tall woman's hair. "I have a quirk that can turn you into a biological woman. Still won't be able to get pregnant, but, close enough. In exchange for transitioning you fully, you won't kill unless I give the order. You won't commit violent crimes, or any crimes at all, unless it is by my word. And if you go telling my secrets, I'll change you back..."
Magne swallowed hard. "..You would really do that for me??" You nodded, hand sliding off of her head.
"Of course..."
Magne bowed. "I- I would be honored. Please! I will work for you if you can really do such a thing!" That had you smiling.
It's always good to make new friends.
With the help of Kai's quirk, a new member to your team was added. Magne would be especially useful as a secret agent. Her new task was to bring you information from the place even your father's forces hadn't reached: the Meta Liberation Army.
You hoped to collab with them sometime soon. That, or completely destroy them.
It didn't really matter at the end of the day.
---------------
The upgraded quirk was clearly having an affect on Kai... He hated it. Dragging his feet around groaning like a zombie, complaining about the constant headache. He was tired of staying in his room, but, every time he entered a new room, his quirk went on the fritz and made him hate life even more! It had already been two full days and still he was acting like a girl on her period.
You really wanted to help the guy somehow, but there wasn't anything he'd let you do. He even went out of his way to demand Hari cook for him. I mean. Fair. He was the better chef. But gah dang it your man be acting like he's in labor sometimes and it's really picking at some primal "ouch" sensors in your brain!
----------
Ah yes... Waking up in literal Hell. How fantastic. Gahh...
Kai really had to applaud you for going to the mall with him that one day when you'd first received your Sight quirk. He had no idea how excruciating the experience was until now. He couldn't exactly turn it off like you could, though. At least not fully, which was a real bummer... At least he got the hang of toggling on everyone's clothes instead of whatever trippy organ show he was privy to the first day and a half.
Now, though his head still hurt like crazy, he could actually see a fairly clear image even when his eyes were closed. He could now focus his Sight quirk on certain objects or look in certain directions. And, with just a little bit of focus, could view the objects around him on a molecular level. His sight quirk let him "touch" these molecules. And, with his birth quirk, could move these molecules around a bit.
He was so fixated on moving the glass around inside the vase on the table by the couch he'd passed out on, he didn't even notice you hugging him until you shifted in your sleep. He froze, all his senses waking fully to set on what you were doing here. He passed out on the couch earlier, but YOU?! He denied the comfort your presence provided, growling and shoving you and your grabby-ahh hands off of him at once.
Thump!
You fell on the floor and sat up instantly after. "Ow! What the!?"
Kai didn't want to have this conversation about personal space again. He sat up, on the couch, rubbing his head irritably. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't f###ing touch me."
"What?! I wasn't! Why am I on the floor!?" You looked around frantically, questioning why you were in the living room all of a sudden.
"Yeah yeah, deflect all you want.."
"Wh-what do you mean!? I don't remember how I ended up here! Last I remember, I was doing some paperwork!" 😭
Kai rolled his eyes. He fought between arguing further or straight-up leaving. He chose to leave, standing on uneven footing and walking away like a drunken sailor.
"Okay fine! I- I remember now some of last night.." You pouted, still sitting on the floor. "I never remember my missions now, but I'd just gotten back from one of them... And I just felt so empty... I heard your pained groaning in your sleep and.. couldn't help but try to comfort you..." Though his eyes weren't quite as stern as they were before, he still stared down at you with condescending. You rubbed the back of your head awkwardly. "I hoped that...maybe after all we've been through, you wouldn't mind."
"..." He appeared stuck. Broken. No idea how to respond. "...I do mind." He left thereafter, his message clear.
---------------
Later that very day, tragedy struck.
You were called to highschool grounds about something regarding Himiko. Not (Y/n)2. Specifically, you.
There were a couple police cars and an ambulance parked in front of the school, their flashing lights making up for the sun's giving light. A surprisingly few amount of people were outside, with most of the students having been sent home. As you approached the entrance, a teen on a stretcher was carted out of the building past you. You stopped, eyes set to linger on the form a while longer as he was carried to the ambulance. With a somewhat somber expression, you twisted your head back to the doors and entered the school.
Your shoes squeaked on the smooth ground, the echoing halls having a strangely nostalgic feel to them. You followed the sparse trail officers wrapping their investigations up until you found yourself right outside the principle's office. All the people you cared to see were already outside the door waiting for you.
Himiko sat in a chair by the door with an officer on either side of her. Her wrists were bound and a fabric muzzle tied over her mouth. As you approached, you had to remember you were playing the role of (Y/n)2, meaning you had to act like you had little to no authority here... A near-impossible feat.
You ignored the officers, dropping to one knee in front of Himiko and grabbing her blood stained hands. The girl looked up with teary eyes that made your heart break. Your thumbs rubbed her hands.
"What do you plan to do with her, officers?" You looked up at one of the two for answers. Himiko gasped faintly as she felt the indents in your palms through the gloves. Immediately, she knew it was the REAL you. Her demeanor changed instantly from a sad, hopeless little puppy to one full of hope.
"Though a minor, she is being charged with assault."
"What happened?" You asked.
"She was...kissing another student, and it turned violent." You huffed under your breath.
"Are you aware it's a side affect over her quirk?? She's a teenager still with little control over her quirk!" Holding Himiko's hands tighter, your voice grew more stern.
"We are aware, yes. And we are taking that into account. That's why she's being charged with assault. Not attempted murder..." The officer clarified. You wanted to swear. This wasn't good enough! No- Toga was supposed to be FIXED. She was supposed to be BETTER. How?... What did you do wrong this time?
"...Is there..really no way she can be cleared?"
The officer rolled his eyes. "We're already being as nice as we possibly CAN be." Sounded like he was getting annoyed. You kept quiet for a moment.
Then, when the time felt right, "Do you mind if I speak to my sister alone? Can we go outside or something?"
...
The officers stopped to look at each other. They agreed. "Fine. But it has to be on school grounds."
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You walked solemnly alongside Himiko, who had been in muzzled but still cuffed. The officers stood under the shade of the school watching. You rubbed the girl's back, guiding her to walk with you around the track.
"So.. what happened?"
The girl was afraid to answer. She stared down at her wrists. Her still bloody hands. Tears dropped onto her arms. "...He said it was okay if I could have a little blood..." She whined. "I only meant to have a tiny bit, I promise!"
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay. I believe you..." Rubbing her back.
Himiko sniffled and wiped her tears into her sleeve. "..I tried everything you taught me, but I STILL hurt him. I- I hate this! I hate this quirk! I hate that I couldn't STOP myself! I hate ME!"
You became a little more stern, pulling Himi's shoulder to turn her around. "Woah, woah.. calm down! We all make mistakes like that. We all lose control and give into our base desires. It's completely normal... It's just.. a bigger problem for us.. because we have the power to actually do some damage when we mess up..."
"Yeah-h.." Himiko hiccupped. "I want- I wa-want.. I want... I want to love everything about myself. But. But how can I do that if I hurt the people I love too??"
You sighed, then dropped to one knee, so even when her gaze was stuck on the ground, still furiously wiping tears onto her long bloodied sleeves, she could see your warm, yet somehow also cold and distant gaze.
"...This is my fault..." You reached up, helping to wipe some of those tears away. "I was ultimately the one in charge of you. I was the person you needed most. But...I was busy. I handed you off to other people instead and hoped that'd do the trick... I'm so.. SO sorry I neglected you..." Himiko's jaw shivered as she stared you in the eyes. She was so filled with emotion; which you couldn't quite replicate. While still deep and understanding, something about your eyes was off. Even when making full eye contact. Even while 100% here in the present...part of your soul was gone. While not distracted or thinking of other things, it almost felt like it. You couldn't empathize as deeply as you were once able to. That part of you, that hopeful shimmer in your eyes...was gone. Himiko knew from this fact alone that she wasn't the one you should be worried about.
But there was no point in bringing it up. For perhaps it was too late for you.
Standing up, "I'm sorry, but I'm out of ideas." You placed your hand on Himiko's forehead and a faint golden glow flowed from her into your hand. Your back blocking the officers from seeing. Himiko gasped as she realized what was going on! Inactively, she grabbed your wrist, but.. the more she thought about it, the more her grip loosened.
Her arms dropped, letting you take the last of her quirk. "...I understand..."
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On a brighter note, less than a full week after that, the young Izuku Midoriya...opened his eyes for the first time in months.
Quirkless he was no more...