Chapter 14: Interlude - A Trip to I-Island
All Might's Residence, Early Morning
"You know…" Akira started with a yawn, his eyes drooping as he spoke. "I forget that being the world's greatest hero has monetary perks sometimes." Currently, he and Izuku were standing in their mentor's backyard. "Especially with how Yagi-Sensei acts and dresses; you'd never guess that he's actually one of the richest men on the planet."
And it was a lot.
Giant house gated off with state-of-the-art security – why All Might of all people would need it remains a mystery – an incredibly spacious backyard, a man-made waterfall that washed into an Olympic sized swimming pool, bamboo and jungle area, and to finish it off, a private plane, runway included.
"I hear you." Izuku nodded, watching as All Might's private jet came out of a secret entrance in the ground. "Ah, there it is. Secret cave underneath the giant house." The greenette tried to look over into the crevice between the ground and All Might's secret cave before it closed up but missed it. "Dang. Oh well, I'm sure-"
"Hahaha! I am here! Coming out of my private jet!" All Might cut off anything else wanting to be said as he bellowed out his signature catchphrase. "Good morning, my dear boys!" He jumped off the plane – managing a few front flips while in the air – before landing in front of the two teens with a bow. "Are you both ready for the trip?"
Yup, a trip.
This 'trip' was a week-long vacation with All Might before they joined the rest of their class at the training camp that they – luckily – would all be attending. Now, where would the two hero hopefuls be taken?
I-Island.
The world's first and only artificial moving island inhabited by the most reputable and honourable scientists conducting research on quirks and their betterment. It also happens to be the home of the best research academy on the planet; I-Island Academy. Any young scientist looking for the best pathway into their dream job would find it there.
However, Izuku and Akira were invited to attend the real reason for I-Isand's infamy; the I-Expo. An annual city-wide event that showcases the scientist's progress in quirk technology and overall advancement in the form of the world's biggest and most complex theme park.
Now, being the winner of the Sports Festival, Izuku had gotten two tickets to this event alongside his other rewards; this would have gotten him and Akira onto the island just fine. Though, after being invited by All Might, he decided to give those tickets away to someone he thought needed it.
Flashback, U.A, After School
"The fuck are these, Izuku?" Bakugou asked, looking at the tickets Izuku had just handed him as though they were poisonous.
The greenette in question just raised an eyebrow. "Tickets, Katsuki, to the I-Expo." He explained, a small smile on his face. "Free ride in and out of the island, V.I.P access to the entire Expo, and an invitation to David Shield's party for you and anyone you'd want to take." His eyes travelled to the red-haired golden retriever behind the two of them.
Now, the blonde definitely wanted these tickets, God knows he needed the vacation. "I hold pity in my hands." However, Bakugou also had two different types of pride, and the one he disliked was currently in control. "I didn't win these, you did…" Letting his quirk activate, the explosive teen turned the tickets to ashes before dropping them. "I refuse them." And finally walking off.
"Wow, who saw that coming?" Leaving Izuku to take out the real tickets from his back pocket and hand them over to Kirishima. "I told you he wouldn't be able to accept them."
The red-haired teen in question dejectedly accepted the tickets with a sigh. "I know, I know… Thanks for the tickets, Midori-bro." He turned to look at Bakugou walk off before beginning to walk off himself. "I'll see you at the island."
"Kirishima." However, before the redhead could walk off, Izuku placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, stopping him in place. "You're doing a better job than you think, I haven't heard Katsuki call me by anything other than 'nerd' for years now." He gave a couple of pats to his friend's shoulder before turning to walk off as well. "You're doing good."
And with his leave, Kirishima let himself smile. "Thanks, Midoriya."
Present
"I still can't believe you gave the tickets to Katsuki of all people." Akira said, shaking his head as they loaded their bags into the jet's storage compartment. "Personally, I would've given them to Ochako's parents, they seem like they need a vacation."
Izuku sighed and threw his bags right in beside Akira's. "Katsuki needs something like this as well, the Sports Festival, his internship; he needs something to help him calm down and a nice trip with Kirishima was the best option."
Nodding, Akira let the issue go. "Alright then, I guess I can agree with that." Before walking onto the plane with a yawn. "I'll see you at the island."
"Yeah, see you at the island." Turning around, Izuku began to walk along the runway for his own flight. 'Let's see… Headphones, check… Visor, check… Mask, check, hm… Yeah, that's basically everything I needed to-'
"Excuse me?" Oh, that's what Izuku forgot about. "Now, Young Midoriya, I know you can be distracted at times, but the plane is right here." All Might was honestly torn between seeing if he should find an optometrist or a psychiatrist for his student. 'Maybe both…'
"Ah, right!" Bowing quickly, Izuku sheepishly smiled at his mentor. "Sorry, Yagi-Sensei, I guess I forgot to tell you." Gesturing to his own outfit, which was more or less an aviator suit, the greenette started floating. "I'm taking the Bird Nest Entry; I was just here to drop off my bags with Akira."
All Might raised an eyebrow at that. "You already have your own ticket and a place to stay at the island?" His expression didn't change at the nod he received. "How; I-Island isn't exactly the cheapest resort."
Once more, Izuku smiled sheepishly at the large blonde and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Well… I ended up selling all the merch I had of you and got… A lot of money from the collection I'd built up." This trip wasn't really making a dent in his funds.
A fact that All Might was seemingly alright with. "I see." However… "But why sell away the hero merch of myself; I'd like to think I have the best merch collection on the planet." The man's chest slowly puffed itself up as he said this.
"Eh, don't really need them anymore." Before instantly deflating at Izuku's words. "I got a pretty accurate life-sized figure right in front of me." He said with a laugh. "It even speaks."
All Might, however, did not share the laugh and instead walked back inside his jet. "Alright then, Young Midoriya, we shall see you at the island!" And with his boisterous claim, the jet's doors shut. "Young Hikaru, let us away!"
Inside the plane, Akira immediately threw himself on the nearest chair – and sweet lord it was basically a bed – before letting himself fall asleep. "Wake me up when we get there."
Outside the plane, Izuku was already running down the runway, keeping pace with the jet as its engines roared. And just as the jet shot off into sky, the greenette followed, basking in the wind and the freedom found in the sky.
I-Island, A Couple Hours Later
At some point during the trip, Izuku had decided to forego flying and just let himself lie down on the wing of All Might's jet. Now, though, with the island in clear sight, the greenette instantly got an influx of energy and burst towards the Bird's Nest.
"Passport and Flyer's License, please." A large, burly, tan-skinned man lined with tattoos acted as security and held his hand out to Izuku as soon as he landed. "ID as well." He was definitely here to intimidate the people that used this entrance to fly in illegally and it was definitely working. "Never can be too careful nowada-" However, his stoic expression left him as soon as he actually looked at Izuku. "Oh my God, you're Izuku Midoriya!"
Obviously taken aback by the complete flip in attitude, the greenette flinched and took an involuntary step back. "Uh… Yes, that's me?" His words came out more as a question than a confirming statement.
"I'm such a big fan!" Though, that apparently didn't matter to the man. "I must give you my thanks! I'm from Fukuoka City; you saved my daughters from that slime villain!"
'Oh… Them!' Smiling, Izuku nodded at the man and stuck out his hand. "It was no problem at all, sir." And didn't flinch when the man forgot to hold his strength back when shaking it, he could take it.
Looking at the interested looks of the flyers behind Izuku, the large man quickly ushered the greenette through security. "Please, please, come right on through."
An action Izuku tried to object to. "Wait, what about-"
However, the security guard wasn't having it. "This security wing is mostly for civilians and punks that try fly through without tickets or permits; heroes and the like are more than welcome through."
An Hour Later
And that was how he ended up skipping the usual hour-long security process for guests.
"She was walking around with a loaded shotgun!" Which was both a blessing and a curse. "Ready to fire me a hot one!" On the one hand, Izuku had skipped the hassle of security; on the other, he had spent the better part of an hour listening to very old music just waiting for his best friend and mentor. "It went bang! Bang! Bang straight through my heart!"
At least the music was good.
However, the greenette suddenly found himself hoisted upwards in the air and onto someone's shoulder. "Enjoying the sights, Young Midoriya?" Who turned out to be his mentor, now decked out in his golden age hero outfit.
"Yo, sorry we took so long." And Akira was on the man's other shoulder. "Security could barely keep it in once they saw Yagi-Sensei, one of them even passed out."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Izuku nodded his head at that before having his attention caught by an attendant walking up to them. "Wait… Oh no."
Both the greenette's best friend and mentor looked at him strangely when he sighed but let it go before turning to the attendant. "Welcome to I-Expo, young ones." She was mostly looking at Izuku and Akira, not yet seeing whose shoulders they were sitting on. "And you as well, sir-" That was quickly rectified. "ALL MIGHT?!"
….
'Shit.'
Akira and All Might suddenly understood Izuku's sigh of resignation and copied it once they saw a sea of heads turn towards them and lock in on All Might.
'Here we go.'
A crowd was quick to form around the symbol of peace and the blonde man quickly secured his wards on his shoulders properly. Many just came up close to touch his muscles and bask in his presence, others were taking pictures and selfies, and the rest were shouting their thanks and praises.
"All Might, you saved my daughter when she was just three! I love you!"
"Yeah, you saved my life as well! I can't thank you enough!"
"Can I kiss you?"
Eventually, after many thanks and questions like this – some in other languages – an unhealthy amount of photos, and three pen's ink worth of autographing, the crowd dispersed to continue their day with content smiles on their faces.
"Well, that was quite a warm welcome, wasn't it, boys?" All Might asked sheepishly, grabbing his two students and putting them safely on the ground. "Though it did take up much of our time, we may end up late now."
Akira tilted his head. "Late for what?"
"Are we supposed to be going to an event?" Meanwhile, Izuku decided he didn't want to touch the ground and was levitating on his back while looking at his mentor in confusion. "Should we have packed our hero costumes?"
"No, no, no; nothing like that." Shaking his head at his protégé's antics, All Might threw out a hologram. "This invitation was sent to me by someone I haven't seen in a long time; it's a reason for me to visit a person I hold very dearly." He seemed to briefly lose himself in his mind before closing down the hologram. "Would you like to join?"
The two teens looked at each other before shrugging and nodding. "Alright, we'll join." Akira said.
Izuku had a question though. "So, if this is an old friend, does he know about…" The greenette looked around to make sure no one would be able to listen. "One For All?"
"Ah…" His question, apparently, seemed to hit a sore spot on the large man. "I… No, this one doesn't have any knowledge on that; too much risk in telling them."
Nodding, the two teens zipped their own lips before reaching over to the other's and locking them shut. "Your secret is safe with-"
"Uncle Might!"
A sweet voice suddenly cut the two teens off and they both tilted their heads in confusion. 'Uncle Might?' Turning to the source of the noise, the two found themselves staring at what they swore was a young, female version of All Might. "Woah."
She was a teenager probably a few years older than them; an American for sure but, judging by the way she looked and how she called out earlier, she was partly Japanese as well. Long blonde hair flowing beautifully alongside her face was complimented by her light skin and aqua blue eyes which were covered by a pair of glasses. Her outfit was interesting as well; white jeans with a raspberry pink shirt finished off with an orange, plaid bowtie.
Though, that definitely wasn't the most interesting part about her, that went to the red pogo stick she was bouncing on.
"You actually came!" Ah, scratch that, she just jumped off it and right into All Might.
"Hahaha!" Not that the man was complaining. "It's good to see you again, sweetheart." The loving embrace he gave to the girl made him look like a father hugging his daughter.
'Holy crap; Todoroki was right.' And both Izuku and Akira were buying that train of thought.
"Ah, Young Hikaru, Midoriya, I got too caught up in the moment." Smiling sheepishly at the two, All Might put down the young girl and presented her to them. "This is my Niece, Melissa."
"Melissa Shield!" The blonde girl bellowed joyfully, bowing before the two with a smile. "It's nice to meet you!"
"…" Neither teen said anything for a moment, still looking between the two and trying to get over their resemblance, before shaking their head and bowing back. "Izuku Midoriya/Akira Hikaru."
Melissa got back up from her bow and surged around the two of them with fervour. "So, you're Uncle Might's students, right?" She asked, readjusting her glasses as she observed their bodies. "What are your quirks like?"
If either teen were taken aback from the blonde's forward actions, they didn't show it and let her be. "We're both emitters." Akira started, letting his quirk on and running golden veins throughout his body.
"Akira controls chi and I control…" Izuku continued before pausing in thought. "Actually, I'm not too sure; it's kind of just pure energy as far as I'm concerned."
"Are these supposed to be your hero costumes?" Right into the next question apparently. "I've seen heroes without fancy outfits before, but this…"
Izuku laughed at that. "No, no, no, our hero outfits are back home in Japan."
Akira nodded before pointedly staring at All Might. "Had we known that we were allowed to wear our outfits, we would've done so; happily."
The large man himself was just looking away while whistling his theme song. "Melissa, sweetheart, shouldn't we go and…" He then directed his attention to his Niece – daughter, surely – with an expectant expression.
"Oh, of course!" Luckily for the large man, Melissa got the memo. "Let's go and see Papa!" Before grabbing her pogo stick and… Letting it fold into her wrist as a bracelet. "His office his just around the corner from here; come on!"
As they walked off, Izuku and Akira kept watching their mentor and his Niece interact, unintentionally distracting themselves with connecting dots.
So distracted, in fact, that Izuku mistook the danger pings in his head as a migraine.
Observation Platform
A large, shadowed figure stood on the shaded observation platform, watching as people walked around the expo and gawked at the heroes. Behind him, eight other shadowed figures stood on either side of him before retreating into the darkness.
"We've snuck into the expo just as we said we would." The large figure had a phone to his ear and spoke. "Now when can we expect the goods to arrive?"
Another voice at the end of the voice chuckled, obviously distorted by a voice-change software. "Feisty, a good quality, but watch your tone." Before deciding to give their client the details. "The supplies will be dropped off at Gate 66 in six hours; good luck getting past the guards, my subordinates will be waiting for you."
"Hn." The man side eyed the phone with a scowl before nodding. "We'll be waiting for them." And hanging up the phone. "Prick."
I-Island Laboratory, Office Space
A short, chubby man with light blonde hair looked at the man in front of him with a tilted head. "I thought that the I-Island Academy was shut for the expo?" He asked.
"Yeah, they are." The man in question was a tall, light-skinned American with brown hair and a pair of glasses covering aqua eyes. "But you know how Melissa can get; she's off doing her own independent study somewhere."
"Well, I am my Father's Daughter after all." Melissa said as she stood in the doorway to the office, getting surprised looks from the two men there. "For better or for worse."
"Ah, Melissa, it's very nice to see you." The chubby man was the first to get over his surprise and waved happily at the young lady. "How had your day been?"
Melissa grinned at the question. "Absolutely incredible, Sam!" She exclaimed with finger guns before softening her smile. "Thanks for keeping an eye on Papa for me; I know he can be a handful sometimes."
The short man, Sam, simply chuckled at the jab and waved it off. "The only problem David here has is remembering to eat something."
"Hey!" David, however, did not take the jab as well. "I'm not that bad; I still remember… To… Eat?" The deadpan looks he received from the two blondes made him doubt himself before he shook his head and changed the subject. "What are you doing here, sweetie?"
For a small moment, Melissa thought of doing just one more jab at her Father. "Well…" Before ultimately deciding against it. "I thought that, with your big celebration for your research, I should bring over a special guest." And stepping out of the doorway.
"HAHAHA!" Revealing All Might in all his glory.
"No way…" A myriad of emotions flew across David's face before it decided to settle on shock.
All Might, however, didn't let it bother him and continued to strike as many poses as he could. "YES! I AM HERE! SHAKING WITH INCREDIBLE EMTION FOR OUR HEARTFELT REUNION!"
"Tosh-" David shook his head as he got over his shock and smiled. "All Might! It's really you!"
"Indeed!" The large blonde in question was quick to rush forward after seeing his friend's smile and picked the man up in a hug. "I took a week off to come and see you!" Before spinning him around.
An action that made Melissa giggle. "Well, are you surprised, Papa?"
"Pleasantly!" And David holler.
"We've both got our little girl to thank for this reunion." All Might said with a chuckle as he put his friend down. "God, how long has it been?"
"Come on, man, don't make me say it aloud; I feel old enough already." David replied, eliciting another round of laughs from the two.
"Haha." And Izuku and Akira as well, by the sounds of it.
"Oh?" Looking behind All Might, David raised his eyebrow at the two young men standing at the door. "All Might, did you finally decide to become a Dad?"
The blonde turned around in confusion before laughing as he saw his two students. "Ah, yes, I forgot to introduce them." Quickly grabbing them, All Might placed the two before his friend. "Midoriya, Hikaru, meet one of my oldest friends, David-"
"Shield." Izuku and Akira finished, knowing smiles on their faces.
The former stopped floating and properly stood on the ground before bowing. "We know who he is, Sensei."
"And it's an honour to meet you, sir." Next to him, Akira also bowed.
"Sensei, huh?" Switching out of English and into his Japanese, David raised an eyebrow at his old friend. "So, you became a teacher and these are your students?"
All Might nodded as he decided to stop holding back on his favouritism. "Indeed, two of my best."
David suddenly looked perplexed and tilted his head before turning to his Daughter. "Melissa, sweetheart, would mind showing Midoriya and Hikaru a tour of the expo?" He asked with a smile.
"Of course!" One that his daughter matched tenfold as she grabbed Izuku and Akira by their wrists. "Come on, you two! I'll show you the best this place has to offer!" Before speeding off, leaving a dust cloud behind her.
"You, too, Sam." However, David just chuckled at that before turning to his lab assistant. "Go ahead and have some fun; I need to catch up with this lump of muscles."
Sam nodded before grabbing his briefcase and jacket. "Of course, of course." He smiled as he walked off. "I'll see you two at the celebration dinner tonight; don't party too hard!"
And as soon as David confirmed that there was no one else was in the room, he deactivated the building's security before turning to his friend. "Alright, spill it; I haven't heard or seen a single restrained cough from the moment you got here."
"Hahaha! I knew you'd be able to catch on to that." All Might simply gave his friend the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster before letting One For All die down in his body. "Let's just say…" And entering his deflated form. "I got better."
"What the shit?!" A form that made David's eyes go wide. "You look almost the same you were during your Young Age… Plus a few wrinkles." The man's jab at the end was followed with soft laughter from both himself and All Might. "How did this happen? I thought your injury was inoperable?"
"It was." All Might started. "But I was blessed to find Young Midoriya and Young Hikaru."
David looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. "Which one of them was it?"
"Young Hikaru." The large blonde flexed his muscles as he spoke, very clearly proud of them. "He possesses one of the most impressive and potent healing quirks on the planet; both he and Young Midoriya shared part of their lifeforce energy to repair my organs, and I've been having the time of my life ever since!"
To say David was shocked would be an understatement; however, he had tests he wanted to run. "Come on, let's get you down to the lab; I need some stats."
I-Island Expo Streets
As Melissa led her two guests around the island, she didn't hold back her excitement while showing off her home's many attractions and heroes. "So, overall, this place is definitely in the top five most technologically advanced cities on the planet!"
"I'll say." Izuku responded as he floated behind her with stars in his eyes. "It's like everything here is either automated or teched out." Before smiling widely at the many heroes around the expo. "There's also a lot more heroes here than I thought there would be for such a small island."
In front of him, Akira gawked at one of the heroes passing by. "Holy crap, you guys got the Monster Hero: Godzillo?" The movies that hero starred in were some of the black-haired teen's favourite. "And the Gorilla Hero: Kongo!" Their on-screen rivalry but off-screen friendship and partnership was honestly inspiring when one heard their full story.
"Yeah, the expo pulls as many heroes as it can for the tourists." Melissa explained. "But, aside from the expo week, we don't actually have any local heroes." At her guests' confused expression, she pointed at a group of security bots walking around. "The only other times we bring heroes in aside from the expo are for when we show them their support gear; other than that, the security bots guard the island."
The security bots in question were large, hulking, metallic warriors that were as big as All Might, yet still designed in a way that made them comforting. Though, it was give or take if they instilled relief or fear in the ones they protected, especially with their fists being the size of most people's heads.
"Well, you definitely pulled in a good roster of heroes; international as well." Izuku said with a whistle as he saw two sword wielding heroes put on a mock battle for a group of tourists. 'Ooh, that's right, the blacksmith said Tokoyami and I's sword orders would be done by the end of next week; something about special steel he needs to find in a-'
"Oh! You have to check this place out!" Melissa's exclamation pulled the greenette out of his thoughts as the blonde actually pulled the two along with surprising strength for someone of her size. "It's the absolute best!" Running through the entrance of a large building, the girl only stopped once she was roughly in the middle of the establishment. "Welcome to the I-Island Support Gear Museum; also known as the I-Island Support Pavilion!"
A mostly blue-themed room filled to the brim with the latest support gear that was custom tailored to the heroes the scientists worked for. Their latest vehicles, their latest support weapons, even their latest immersive security system for support heroes.
"Daaaaammnn." Izuku and Akira were still reeling over the possibilities of the last one as they looked at the entire island through a virtual reality helmet.
"Imagine having this technology accessible to hero dispatchers or support heroes who work in the security sector!" Akira exclaimed, taking the helmet off his head and inspecting it. "All you'd need to do is have it connect to a city's existing camera system and you're golden!"
Meanwhile, Izuku just stared at the helmet like it was a work of magic. 'Technology has and always will confuse me.' Before spotting something in the corner of his eye and floating off.
And, unaware of the greenette floating off, Akira and Melissa continued their talking. "Yeah, the technology here is really great." The former started, putting the helmets away. "Most of this stuff is actually made from projects that Papa patented! Isn't it great?" She sighed with a smile as she looked around at all the inventions and gear. "I can't wait to see how all of this helps save people on the news."
'Wow, very admirable.' The sincerity and tone with which the girl spoke resonated with Akira and he gave her a genuine, soft smile. "You look up to your Dad a lot, don't you?"
Melissa's calm attitude shifted into excitement and she nodded wildly. "Of course I do! What he does is so great; I'm going to grow up to be just like him!" She closed her eyes with an excited smile and felt an ocean of ideas rage inside her head. "I'm gonna help heroes save people by giving them the best support gear I'm capable of making!"
Akira chuckled at the attitude change but cut it short as he felt as chill run down his spine. 'Huh? What the hell is-' Before turning around and coming face-to-face with his girlfriend.
"Hi, Akira!" And judging the micro-movements on her face that the teen had come to know, the brown-haired girl was seething with rage and hurt. "You sure look like you're having fun!"
"Ochako, hey! You're here?" Akira's eyes travelled slightly behind her and he was even more surprised to find Momo and Jirou. "Yaoyorozu, Jirou, you're both here as well? And in costume?"
"Indeed, we are attending this event as guests." Momo said offhandedly as she fiddled with a missile in her hand. "How has your day been?"
Next to her, Jirou simply gave him a smirk and shook her head. While that could be taken as disappointed head nod, it also looked like the girl was trying to stop herself from laughing.
Akira took it as the former. 'Wait…' So, after mulling that over, examining their body language, and rethinking the interaction he just had with Melissa, the black-haired teen quickly deduced what this looked like. "No, no, no; hold on just a minute." And immediately went defensive. "I-I know that… This looks like something, but-"
"Really, doesn't it?" Ochako shouted, making Akira flinch back in genuine fear and worry. "Because it kind of looks like you-"
"Hahahaha!" A loud laugh from above the group suddenly echoed in the museum and they all looked up to find its source. "Stars, you should've seen the look on your face." And found Izuku doubled over while suspending floating above them.
"Izuku?" Akira's fear from before replaced itself with confusion and he tilted his head at his friend. "The hell are you doing up there?"
"Well…" The greenette quickly flew down to their level – but still kept himself off of it – and floated next to Jirou. "I saw the girls walk in here a bit ago and I thought it'd be funny to have Uraraka find you like… That."
"Haha!" At that, Jirou let out her own laugh before quickly covering up. "And to do that he asked me to bring Ochako over here while she and Yaomomo were distracted." She smirked as she and Izuku bumped fists and made them explode. "Definitely worth it to see the look on your face, Hikaru."
"…" Akira suddenly decided that he needed to sit down and so turned to Melissa. "Where can we get a good drink?"
The blonde thought it over before pulling out a map. "Ooh, here! This shop is a part of a chain that has some of the best tea in the world, founded by one of China's first fire heroes!"
While tea definitely wasn't what Akira was talking about, he'd take it. "Sweet, let's go."
Iroh's Tea
By the time the group arrive to the café, any bad blood Ochako may have had building towards Melissa had completely disappeared and they bonded quickly. She also apologised profusely to Akira while chewing out Izuku and Jirou.
Luckily, the tea was able to calm down everyone pretty quickly.
"That was a dick move." Alright, maybe not Akira. "You're lucky that this tea is really good, otherwise I'd have slapped you into a wall by now."
Izuku levelled his brother with a flat look and put his glass down on the table. "You can consider that payback for what you pulled on Mina and I after our final exams."
'Shit, right.' The black-haired teen had to give the greenette that. "Alright, fine. We're even, for now-"
"Is anyone after a refill?" A familiar voice reached their ears and the two teens looked to see another one of their classmates. "It'll be on the house."
"Kaminari?" The boys said in surprise, tilting their head at the blonde. "What are you doing here?"
Kaminari just smiled at them as he refilled their drinks with a bow. "Well, I wanted to check out the expo but didn't have any way of getting here since I'm kinda broke." He finished filling their cups and took a sip himself. "But this place was looking for extra help and so I applied and it's been great; I'm getting paid to be here instead of paying and I get to check out the expo whenever I go on break!" His eyes landed on Melissa and he whistled. "Not to mention the ladies; where did you find the perfect depiction of American and Japanese culture over there?"
Izuku chuckled at the description and shook his head. "Careful there, Kaminari, that's All Might's Niece."
Akira nodded before squinting his eyes at her. "Yeah, I'm convinced she's his Daughter though; too much bloody resemblance, not to mention she's definitely part Japanese."
'Right, not even gonna ask or try; that's a death sentence waiting to happen.' Kaminari nodded his head in acceptance and sighed. "Well, blonde on blonde doesn't usually go well anyway." He said with a shrug. "Besides, if I'm being honest, I think I might have a real chance with-"
"Kaminari!" Another familiar voice cut in and grabbed everyone's attention. "Standing around instead of working? You can't be slacking off!" And, turning to the source, they found Iida. "Where is your work ethic?" Running full speed towards them in his hero costume.
"Oh, Iida!" Izuku exclaimed, wincing as the blue-haired teen crashed into Kaminari and sent him to the floor. "Uh, you're attending the I-Expo as well?"
Iida picked up his blonde classmate from the floor before turning to Izuku. "Of course I am, Midoriya." He said as though it was obvious and readjusting his glasses. "I come from a family of heroes partnered with this island; it should be natural to assume I would receive an invitation to this event."
"Ah, I see I was right then!" Only Momo seemed to be able to relate. "My Father was also sent invitations both for his partnership with many of the island's scientists and his stocks in the expo."
Jirou nodded. "Yaomomo's old man also got extra tickets as well and let her choose two others to accompany her." She threw her arm around Ochako and they both grinned. "And we ended up winning the tickets between us and the others."
Ochako sheepishly laughed. "And thank goodness as well, God knows I wouldn't have been able to get tickets by myself." Before waving her hands in front of her. "It all worked out though, Mina's sharing an apartment with someone here and whoever she's staying with let Tsu and Toru tag along."
"Indeed!" Momo exclaimed, joining the two and making it a group hug. "While they aren't allowed in this section of the island, we shall all be able to promenade with each other tomorrow!"
"Oh, crap, right." The ending of Ochako's statement reminded Izuku of something and he checked his phone. "I got an apartment here and Mina and I are supposed to be hanging out later today; almost slipped my mind." He felt smirks pointed at him and saw everyone giving him knowing looks. "Oh, grow up-"
However, before he could even start to blush or be embarrassed, a large explosion caught their attention.
"What was that?"
I-Expo Mountain Course, Observation Stands
Finally arriving at the source of the explosion, the group of Yuuei students – plus Melissa – found themselves before a large obstacle course. A faux mountain with six robot villains placed on different parts of the mountain; based on the looks of it, it was a timed, speed event.
The attention of the group, though, was fixed on the course's current contestant.
"Coming in at exactly a half minute, our latest contestant has earnt himself seventh place!" An announcer called out dramatically, spinning as she shouted. "But he's definitely got first place in a few of your hearts as I can see!"
And, standing at the top of course, stood the pinnacle of man. "Kirishima!"
"Now, please welcome our next challenger!" However, the announcer was quick to move on from the redhead to keep her show going.
This time, the Yuuei students found themselves staring at a familiar head of spiky blonde hair. "Baku-"
"Go!"
Surging forward and ignoring the calls of his name, Bakugou focused himself on the course and quickly dismantled the first robot with a single explosion before using another one to redirect himself mid-air. He repeated the action for the other four robots with practiced ease before blitzing to the last one with even more speed.
And, of course, he finished it off in the Bakugou way. "DIE!"
Making all of his present classmates smile. 'Yup, that's definitely Bakugou.'
"An amazing time! A quick ten seconds; this is our first place contender!"
Bakugou smiled at that and accepted the hug he got from Kirishima as he got down from the top of the mountain. 'Man, did I need this-'
"Oh, look at that! It's Midori-bro!" Though, the blonde's smile was quick to disappear at the red-haired teen's statement. "A bunch of the others as well!"
"What?" Bakugou followed his friend's gaze to the stands and sighed as he indeed saw his classmates. 'God damnit.' Then immediately let off an explosion that perfectly threw him onto the rails in front of them. "Izuku."
The greenette smiled at the blonde. "Katsuki."
Said blonde frowned before furrowing his eyebrows. "I thought that you were giving us your tickets because you didn't want to come here."
Izuku shook his head, smile still present. "Nope! Just thought that you could use something nice."
While he did, Bakugou wasn't going to admit it. "Alright then…" So instead, he decided to try and listen to his therapist's – Kirishima's – advice for when he was getting mad; deep breaths and small talk. "Any of you wanna try out the course?"
"Huh?" Which, obviously, confused most of the group.
"Sure, why not." Akira answered though, a smirk on his face. "I'll go ahead and break your record for you." Before jumping down to the arena below.
"Not what I asked, curly-haired bastard!" And while he did, Bakugou flipped him off. "Eijiro, come on, get up here already!"
Starting Point, One Minute Later
Finishing his stretches and taking off both his jumper and shoes, Akira was now dressed in his baggy golden pants and a tight, black compression shirt. 'Here we go…' The tight shirt showed off both his impressive figure and the glowing of his heart as he activated his quirk and let his power run through the veins in his body.
"Alright, we've got a brand-new challenger for you folks!" The announcer called, showing off Akira. "And, get this, also from Yuuei's hero course! We're really getting treated by them today!" Pressing a button, the course activated and the timer readied itself. "GO!"
Akira was on the first robot as the announcer was still shouting 'go,' and he obliterated both the robot and a small part of the mountain it was held up on. It didn't take much longer for the other five robots to fall and he finished the course with a flashy bicycle kick.
And as he finished, he was met with applause from both the audience and his friends.
"Insane! A run time of nine-and-a-half seconds; it's our new first place!"
Observation Stands
As soon as Akira jumped back up to the stands, Ochako tackled him with a hug. "That was awesome Akira!" She exclaimed as she clung onto his back. "You were all, 'whip!' and 'bam!'"
The black-haired teen laughed at that and looked back to nuzzle her forehead. "Thank you, Ochi."
Bakugou looked like he was about to start something but Kirishima quickly smacked him upside the head before he could even get the chance. 'Whatever, I'll just go again and build up my sweat beforehand so that I can-'
"Incredible! With nine seconds flat, we've got ourselves a new first place!" The announcer cut into the blonde's thoughts and made the rest of the group look over the edge to see the contender that beat out Bakugou.
And in doing so, they saw the course covered in ice. "No way!" And they all knew only one person with an ice-quirk strong enough to do that in under ten seconds. "Todoroki?!"
Their exclamation was enough to get Shoto's attention and he looked at them with surprise. 'Midoriya and the others?' Though, he was quick to get over it and quickly made his way up to them. "Hello, everyone."
"Todoroki, it's nice to see you!" Momo was the first to greet him, waving with a smile. "Am I correct in guessing that your Father gave you an invitation to attend the expo?"
"Yeah." The heterochromatic teen nodded, annoyed at the fact. "He and Mum are on a date in the residential area while I'm here acting as his representative." However, his expression changed once his eyes landed on Melissa. "Who's she?"
Izuku covered Akira's mouth. "She's All Might's Niece." The greenette did his best to stress the last part.
"Get your hand off my mouth." But it was in vain as Akira removed his friend's hand from his mouth and leaned into Shoto's ear. "She says she's David Shield's daughter, but I'm convinced that you were right and that All Might has a secret love child; it's gotta be her."
Shoto's eyes widened at that and he nodded in appreciation while whispering back. "Thank you for the scoop; I'll be sure to update the theory boards when we get home." Before then turning to the others. "So, have any of you tried the obstacle course aside from Hikaru?"
And, deciding to pretend like they all didn't hear Shoto's whisper, the majority of the group collectively shook their heads. "Akira, Katsuki, and Kirishima are the only ones that have gone on the course." Izuku said.
Akira nodded at that. "Yeah, the rest of 'em aren't up to it."
Shoto turned to Izuku. "It's not terribly difficult but it's kind of fun." He said with a shrug. "It's like a rollercoaster for our quirks."
"Pfft, haha!" The heterochromatic teen's explanation got a laugh out of the greenette and he shrugged. "Alright then, I guess I might as well." Before turning to Momo with a question. "Yaomomo, could you possibly make me a sword?"
Luckily for him, the onyx-haired girl grinned with excitement. "What kind?"
Starting Point, One Minute Later
Izuku finally stopped floating and let his bare feet touch the ground as he readied himself for the course. 'Breathe…' Just like Akira, he had removed his jumper and shoes, leaving him only in a baggy pair of dark, forest green pants and a tight, black compression shirt. 'Time to see if the training Tokoyami and I have been doing has paid off at all.' And, held tightly in his grasp, was the simple katana he had Momo make for him.
"Another challenger! And this one's the famous Forest Fury of Fukuoka!" The announcer exclaimed, getting the audience to applaud and a select few of them to rise in anticipation. "Will he flop or rise to the top? Let's find out!"
Getting into the stance he had been practising, Izuku held the katana – in its sheath – at his waist before crouching low to the ground and leaning forward. 'Breathe…' One For All answered his call and calmly flowed into his body, making his veins glow pink and a powerful glow take over him.
"Go!"
Click.
Even the Yuuei students found themselves hard pressed to follow the greenette's movements.
One second, he was on the starting platform, one later, and he was at the top of the mountain, sheathing the katana he held.
Click.
And once he did, the robots immediately fell; all sliced in half at different angles.
It took a moment for the announcer to regain her composure but she looked to the timer after doing so. "T-three seconds…" And gulped in amazement. "New first place."
The rest of the crowd was quick to get over their shock after that and stood up with a roar of applause.
And as they did such, Izuku looked at the katana he held with a smile. 'Nice.'
Observation Stands
The Yuuei students all had slacked jaws and surprised eyes as Izuku floated back around to the stands. "I think that means I win, correct?" He asked cheekily as he gave Momo the katana back.
"Yes, I believe so." The onyx-haired girl in question just absorbed the sword back into her body while nodding dumbly.
Next to her, Bakugou could've been confused for someone having a heart attack. 'Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.' And it was hard to tell if that assessment would be wrong or not.
"I keep forgetting that you're the fastest person in class." Meanwhile, Shoto just looked out at the course, more surprised with the lack of collateral damage. "That's mostly overshadowed by the fact that you can cause an earthquake by slapping the ground."
"HE CAN WHAT?!" Melissa, however, was not as calm. "Sweet Lord! How powerful are you guys?"
Jirou shrugged, unbothered. "We can all hold our own pretty well; Midoriya, Todoroki, Tokoyami, Bakugou, and Kaminari definitely have the most raw power out of all of us though."
"Indeed." Momo agreed with a nod. "Midoriya and Bakugou, however, have the most battle prowess in the class."
Melissa's shock quickly disappeared and was replaced with a huge smile. "You're all going to be such great pro heroes in the future!" She exclaimed, bouncing in place. "I really hope to make support gear for all of you and your classmates!"
At that, the Yuuei students all found themselves smiling back at her; even Bakugou had calmed himself down enough to manage that.
However, Izuku stopped smiling once he felt his phone go off in his pocket. 'Oh, it's Mina!'
Mina
Mina:
Hey Izuku!
I'm at the residential area!
U here yet?
Me:
Crap! I totally forgot!
I got caught up in an obstacle course with Akira and the others!
Mina:
Lol don't sweat it dude!
Me:
I'll be there in under a minute, I swear!
Shoving his phone back in his pocket and tying his jumper around his waist, Izuku started to fly off. "Sorry about this, everyone, but I've got to go see Mina; I hope you all enjoy the expo!"
As he flew off, his classmates smirked and gave him a knowing look. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Before collectively shouting that at him.
The sheer amount of embarrassment turned the greenette's face red and he shot off towards where his apartment was. So embarrassed, was he, that he didn't feel the ping of Danger Sense in his head at all.
Gate 66
A large man with long, slicked back, red hair threw the large security guard holding him back off himself and into a wall before rushing up and putting his hands on either side of him. "I'll admit this." His hands glowed blue and he pulled the metal walls inwards, trapping the man. "You're one tough son of a bitch; hell, you'd probably make it pretty far as a hero."
Behind him, his team laid groaning on the floor, holding broken appendages and bloody faces.
"I'm not that good." And that made the security guard smirk, even as he felt his consciousness fading. "You're just not as tough as you thought you were." His mind flashed back to when he let Izuku through into the island and his smirk grew wider. "The real heroes will take care of you."
Letting his own smirk adorn his face, the red-haired man pulled back his fist. "Sure they will." Before punching the man right in the face, knocking him out. "Fucking finally."
It took a few moments, but his subordinates eventually were able to get a hold of themselves and lift themselves off the ground. "Christ, that guy was insane." A man with a black buzzcut said as he nursed his broken arm.
"The fuck kind of security does this place have if he's just one guard?" Next to him, a tall, goat-faced man with green hair wiped away the blood from his face.
A loud buzzing sound cut off any more complaints and the red-haired man picked up his phone. "Hello?"
"I see that you've arrived at the gate." The voice on the phone started, getting an annoyed grunt from his employee. "If you can barely handle one guard, I am doubtful that you'd be able to trap All Might."
"All Might's here?" Around the red-haired man, his subordinates fell to the floor with a cry of disbelief. "All of you, shut up!" Before silencing themselves as he shouted at them. "Look, just open up the gate, get us your oh-so-wonderful supplies, and we'll handle the rest."
A chuckle resounded from the phone before the gate in front of them suddenly opened. "Very well, enjoy the state-of-the-art tech." But the chuckle disappeared quickly. "However, know this, should you fail to get me Shield's invention, pray that they have security guards such as the one that almost defeated you guarding your transport, for I will find you and bathe the ground with you and your team's blood."
With that, the mysterious broker on the other end of the phone hung up, leaving the red-haired man to tend to his team. "Prick."