Chapter 19: Arrival at I-Island
The next several days until the trip to I-Island were like a whirlwind to one Izuku Midoriya. Thought it was one he found himself enjoying more than not.
Starting from the moment Kendo managed to pry his other two female friends off of him, Izuku went to work ensuring that Toga could come along with them. This involved heading over to the Nezu's office to pick up a special form, fill it out, and then submit it to the principal. By completing this form, he entered into an agreement stating that he would take responsibility for Toga during their stay off campus. While both the principal and school nurse believed that Himiko would listen to him and not do anything that might get them into trouble, there was always that chance that something could go wrong. As such, Nezu had to impart just how serious this was given Toga's situation. Should Toga cause any serious trouble, then his spot in the hero course would be in jeopardy. If she managed to escape off the island without him then the principal would have no choice but to expel him while also blacklisting him from entering another hero school. And those were the lightest punishments.
Once that had been settled, Izuku was treated with the time-honored tradition of becoming a human pack mule as the three girls wasted no time shopping for the trip. Their first stop: one of the fancier shops in the mall that sold dresses for more upscale events. The moment Izuku stepped into the store, he felt extremely out of place as he was bombarded with mannequins with slightly oversized bust lines wearing some of the shop's more premier lines. It might also have to do with the fact that he had never been into a store like this before in his life as his mother mainly went for simpler fashions in order to save money. Thankfully, he wasn't alone as Itsuka seemed visibly lost as she looked around at all the fashions.
"Seriously, they're asking for this much for this?" whisper/demanded Itsuka as she seemingly pulled out a gown from one of the hangers. It was a bright blue dress that looked like it would hug the body tighter than any hero costume out there. What's more, the front was nearly completely cut out. Face turning red, he noticed that there were stands of fabric that made various small X-shaped patterns across the front in order to keep it the wearer's body from spilling out. Hopefully, the gown would cover the private areas of the wearer…though judging by what he was seeing it would be just barely.
"Honestly," continued Itsuka with a huff, almost slamming the dress back where it belonged with a blush on her face as well. "I could buy two leather biker jackets for the price of this dress and still have some left over. And those probably use ten times more material than that thing!"
Izuku nodded, agreeing that the price was simply too much even for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this as well as it just not suiting her. While he believed that Itsuka was beautiful, her beauty didn't come from flaunting her body in such a manner. That she didn't need to resort to showing off that much skin in order to make a head turn. At least, that's how he felt.
After a short amount of browsing, the three girls managed to collect an armful of outfits to try on before heading over to the changing room. However not before Toga ordered Izuku to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the three rooms. What followed was something akin to a mini-fashion show with each of the girls exiting their changing room to ask Izuku to judge how the dresses looked on them. A job Izuku felt wholly unqualified for. What did he know about fashion? His original hero suit designs tried to imitate All Might and, as a few people not so kindly pointed out, made him look like he was wearing bunny ears. Him, the guy who had several 't-shirt' t-shirts. One of which he was wearing right now! He was going to be the one to tell them if they looked good or not?
"I kind of like this one the best," said Itsuka, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts as she exited the changing room. The dress was honestly very simple, yet Izuku felt his cheeks heat up when he saw her in it. Its color was turquoise, with only one thick strap that wrapped around her shoulder while the neckline stopped just before her breasts. As she moved, Izuku noticed that there was a cut along the sides to give her better movement as well as to show off her legs. Finally, a thick black belt that covered most of her waist seemed to tie the look together giving her a tough yet alluring appearance.
"Wow, that…that looks amazing on you," said Izuku, his eyes wide as he spoke honestly. Hearing that, Itsuka blushed slightly before heading back into her changing room before the next girl could come out. While she did try on a few outfits, Itsuka decided to go with the first dress in the end before taking a seat next to Izuku.
Pony was the first to exit her dressing room after Itsuka, a bounce to her step as she did so despite the fact that her choices were the most limited. This being due to some of her more animalistic features such as her tail as well as the limited number of dresses within this selection being in her size. While there were services for people in Pony's position, altering the dress would take more time than they had as well as being a bit pricey. Still, that was not enough to put a damper on Pony's mood as she twirled around for Izuku and later Itsuka. In the end, Pony went with a dark green, shoulder-off dress. The outfit looked like the material used to make it rougher and thicker than the others, yet Izuku still thought it looked really good on her. The green-haired teen also noted that once the dress went past her hips, it began to look like there were multiple layers and made it look like the dress was cut up into spikes with the longest one going past the knee.
"Best dress," said Pony, smiling after she returned to wearing her normal attire. "I had to quickly detach my horns with most of the others. That one, I don't need to worry about my horns cutting through the fabric as much. Plus it's still super cute." Izuku nodded, never really realizing before just how hard it was for someone like Pony to go out shopping before. Mainly because these days he normally saw her in her school uniform which was button-up. Though, now that he thought about it, whenever they went out to help her student her Japanese before school started Pony usually wore something with a wider neckline or shoulder off top. Same for these days whenever they went to a manga café.
As Pony sat beside him, Izuku's mind continued to ponder this question. He began to imagine himself sitting with Pony at the café they enjoyed the most as it had well-maintained manga novels dating all the way back well before the dawn of quirks. Sitting there, much like he was now, he looked over at Pony to see that there was a cut in her blouse that the American girl hadn't noticed. One running right along her breast, small enough that most people wouldn't notice unless you were close enough. Or perhaps it started out smaller but then began to expand for as soon as he noticed it Izuku could have sworn that said cut got just a little bigger allowing him to see her bra. Eyes widening, the cut grew just a bit more to reveal-
Albion's screams of 'NO!' broke the teen out of his thoughts. In fact, both the mental and physical versions of Izuku slapped themselves hard. An act that surprised both girls, making them just a little in their seats from the sudden action. Somehow Izuku managed to laugh it off while mentally chastising himself for even thinking like that.
Himiko took the longest out of the three of them as it seemed like she wanted to try on everything within the store that was both in her size as well as everything that seemed a size too small for her. Each exit from the changing room was done with a flourish, the door opening to reveal the blood lover standing there in a pose. Sometimes it was just her standing so that he got a good look at her side profile, turning her head slightly in his direction to give him a suggestive wink before sauntering out of the room. Other times her hands were behind her head, chest pushed out as far as she could. Then there were the poses that made his heart stop, face flushing as he looked away. The times he had his other female friends with him, he couldn't help but notice that their faces were bright red too. So at the very least, it wasn't just him. In the end, Toga bought a red dress whose single strap went around her neck. The dress seemed to cling to her chest while leaving her shoulders, arms, and sides completely exposed. Izuku's heart had nearly leapt out of his chest when he discovered that Toga's entire back was also exposed with the material only returning maybe an inch above her butt! It also exposed the fact that she was currently without a bra! Ah, at least the dress didn't expose anything else as it went all the way to her feet.
Once the dresses had been paid for and boxed up, Izuku carried them from store to store as the girls continued to acquire more items for the trips. It soon became clear that Toga needed the most, having only a few casual outfits of her own along with her school uniforms to her name as her parents had tossed out most of her possessions after she had been arrested. Thankfully, her grandfather had sent her a credit card to use once U.A. would allow her out. Though the fact that the card had a red pentagram on it made Izuku worry a little. Meanwhile, Pony wanted to buy a few things for the trip, mainly some new mangas to read during the flight, as she wanted to save the majority of her money for the expo. As for Kendo, she didn't really need anything as she had already gone over her stuff since Izuku first asked her out. The only thing she really needed was the dress. Still, the orange-haired girl tried a few things on here and there for fun.
For the most part, it was pretty standard stuff. That is until they reached a store specializing in swimwear. If Izuku had been blushing like mad when he saw the girls in their dresses, his face had gone atomic as they began to try on various swimsuits and asking Izuku for his opinion. Somehow, all three girls exited the dressing rooms at the same time wearing similar bikinis. The sight of which caused the poor boy's brain to almost crash like his laptop had done shortly after installing a speech-to-text app into it. Toga was wearing a black bikini, showing off her lithe frame and her perky chest. Pony was wearing a white one, but had the images of apples positioned in the absolute worst places! Kendo's bikini had a simple blue-and-white striped theme to it. This time Toga and Pony went with their first picks though they did spend a bit more time trying on the various other swimsuits that caught their fancy. Itsuka, on the other hand, decided to go with something else. In the end, she went with a two-piece suit that covered a bit more of her upper body that was a shade of blue along with a matching hip cloth.
Then came the last store of the night: lingerie. Izuku thanked God (an act that caused Albion to chuckle slightly for some reason) that the girls didn't ask for his opinion. In fact, they said that he didn't even need to go into the store if he didn't want to. That he could go himself a snack if he wanted since they might be there for a while. Though the fact that Toga had just smirked at him without saying anything didn't seem to sit well with him.
With their shopping concluded, Izuku was able to concentrate fully on school for the remainder of the week. When they arrived at U.A. the next day, they quickly discovered that things were not looking good for 1-A. The first piece of news came during homeroom when Vlad King informed the class about Mineta's behavior the previous day, both during the course of the exercise the previous day as well as for him crawling through the vents in order to spy on the girls changing. Hearing this caused no small amount of rage to boil within the Divine Divider, though if he was thinking straight he would have been more surprised that it had less to do with the fact that a hero student was acting this way than the fact that he tried to look at Itsuka, Toga, and Pony without their permission. Thankfully, Aizawa only put up the smallest of fights when protecting Mineta as he would become the second 1-A student to receive a suspension before the finals. While it would only be for the remainder of the week, it also meant that he would be getting a zero for the rest of the exercise along with any additional homework he received from the rest of his classes. While this was a huge setback for anyone within the hero program, that wasn't the end of it as the school was changing the hero who he would be interning with. Instead of spending a week with Mt. Lady, Vlad King revealed with great amusement that he would be instead interning with Mr. Muscleman. A bald, male hero who liked to walk around wearing only a Speedo as well as a constantly oiled body. A man who was also reported as being a friend of Midnight's as the two frequented clubs that appealed to a certain taste they both shared.
As for the rest of 1-A, there was an air of misery that surrounded them that anyone from the school could plainly see. Including Mei! Somehow, the entire school had heard about how the mighty class that had survived a massive villain attack had been brought to a new low and rumors were being spread like wildfire. One of them was that Aizawa was in hot water, that Pro-Hero Endeavor had visited the tired-looking man to yell at him for not teaching his son properly. Another said that the Hero Safety Commission had also been informed of how badly the exercise had gone and were demanding answers from the man. Izuku didn't know how much of these stories he actually believed, but what he did know was that he had heard the man yelling at his students.
It wasn't until they saw their sister class in the lunchroom that 1-B discovered just what else was going on. Most of 1-A sat in silence, poking at their food with their utensils without sparing the rest of the school a glance. A few of their members, such as Todoroki and Bakugo, had distanced themselves from the rest in order to eat their meals in isolation.
"I'm going to see if they're doing ok," announced Kendo.
"I'll go with," began Izuku, but stopped himself when he noticed Itsuka holding up a hand.
"Look, I know your heart is in the right place," she began, keeping her voice low. "But they don't know you as well as we all do. A few of them might get the wrong idea, thinking that you are just heading over there to gloat or something. I mean, they know you were the one who thought of that plan to make their day a living hell."
As much as Izuku didn't like it, he could see that Itsuka had a point. He was probably one of the last people the 1-A students wanted to see right now. Heck, there was even a chance that if he went over there, Bakugo might attack him again. If he did that and got suspended or even expelled, then there was a good chance that 1-A would blame him saying that he was only there to antagonize them. The only other person in 1-B who would receive the same amount of hate would be Toga. Meanwhile, Kendo had stayed away from them to guard the bomb meaning the levels of hostility directed towards her would be low.
So, in the end, Izuku nodded before sitting down. As he began eating his lunch, he watched as Itsuka walked over to the 1-A students. Specifically Yaoyorozu. The two chatted for a bit before Kendo bid the creation quirk user goodbye and returned to her seat.
"Well, it could be worse," announced Kendo with a bit of a sigh as she sat down. "Good news is that they aren't blaming you Izuku for what happened yesterday. Don't get me wrong, they are sore about what you put them through, but they aren't blaming you for what happened. Heck, they're not blaming any of us. Just salty."
"That is good to hear Lady Kendo," said Shishida, smiling a little. "A good sign for the future."
"Yeah, well, that's where the good news somewhat ends," continued Kendo as she began poking her food with her fork. "There's a lot of finger-pointing going on in 1-A. Yaoyorozu blames herself for a lot of what happened, though thankfully most of the class is reassuring her that it's not true. The only real exception is Todoroki, though he seems to be blaming several people in the class. Yaoyorozu for thinking he was Toga and the rest of the people in the site for not listening to him. So he's been extra icy to them."
"Really, that's rich coming from the guy who couldn't be bothered to go back for his ally," commented Toga. While Pony nodded sagely in agreement, Izuku couldn't help but shoot a glance at Todoroki. At that moment, their eyes met and Midoriya could feel the anger rolling off the son of the number two hero. At the same time, Izuku felt that ugly feeling he felt during their encounter bubbling up inside of him once again. All he could think about was how many people out there would kill to have a quirk like his, yet the dual-haired teen just wastes it for seemingly no reason at all. And while he was grateful for everything Divine Dividing gave him, even leading him to his current friends, Midoriya couldn't help but feel irritated at this other teen.
"As for everyone else, they're blaming Monoma and Bakugo," continued Kendo, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. "Neither of them were really team players. Monoma for trying to steal the spotlight and not checking in with everyone. Ashido seems to be the maddest at him within the class, stating that had this been real there was a chance his team as well as the people sent looking for him could have died in that fire. Everyone else, well, they're angry at Bakugo for how far he took things. Jiro's pissed that they're not expelling him for how he acted during the exercise, though that might be on the horizon. Apparently, Aizawa didn't keep it a secret that Bakugo will have to see Hound Dog for an evaluation after the internships are over."
"What kind of an evaluation?" asked Pony.
"Who knows," said Kendo with a shrug. "It could be anywhere between seeing if he needs constant anger management therapy or assessing if he has the right mentality to be a hero. Yaoyorozu didn't bring it up and I never asked."
"I hope he doesn't get expelled," said Awase from the other end of the table. This surprised everyone, including Shiozaki who was sitting right next to him. Once he saw everyone's focus was on him, the teen smirked. "How else would I be able to pay him back for those punches he gave me? Just imagine it: me welding him to the ground in the first round of the Sports Festival so that the entire world gets to see him through another hissy fit. It would be God Da-"
Smack! In an instance, a blushing Shiozaki recalled her vines as she continued to eat.
After lunch was over, the heroes of 1-B changed into their hero costumes before heading to the same meeting room that 1-A had been in just two days prior. One by one, the students walked into the room to plan the next day's exercise, none of them taking this lightly or thinking that they had this in the bag. While they had learned a great deal from 1-A's mistakes, they were aware that because of this they would be graded more harshly. Moreover, the training area, scenario, and even the hero judges would all be different. Tomorrow, they would be heading into the suburban training area. According to the files they had been given, several of the local middle school students had tested positive for quirk-enhancement drugs such as Trigger. The police had requested the aid of the heroes since there was evidence to support the idea that this was a large-scale operation.
That night, several of the documents they had requested had found their way into Izuku's and Itsuka's email box. One of which was any complaints made to the police about strange smells or loud noises coming from their neighbors. There were multiple reports going back several months, but after looking through them the two class reps found what they were looking for. According to one complaint, it sounded like their neighbor was doing some late-night construction. The report also noted the person who answered the door was answered by a man who kept injecting French into his sentences, claiming to be new in the area and was not used to the time zone. So, yeah, they found where 1-A was hiding.
The next day, when the exercise began, things went fairly smoothly. Bakugo, being the type of person he was, didn't waste a second to charge towards the heroes in an attempt to meet them head-on. All while screaming his head off in rage…until he flew face-first into a solid air wall that quickly became a cage! Once trapped, Bakugo was then captured and locked up. With that taken care of, the group made their way to the building they believed was where the villains were hiding only to have massive walls of ice surrounding it. This pretty much solidified where the villains were hiding. Thinking quickly, Itsuka split the group into two: one team would make sure the villains kept their attention on the ice wall while the others would try and sneak in via the sewers. This proved to be a lucky move as it seemed that all the noise that the 'neighbors' had been hearing was the villains tunneling into the sewers to make an additional lab space as well as a getaway. With the drugs found, a signal flare was shot into the air and the exercise came to an end.
This time, both classes got far less criticism. While the heroes who were judging this didn't want to help 1-A become better villains, they stated that they should have done their construction during the day when fewer people were at home. Also, if they had gotten permits, they could have better explained away their efforts as remodeling. Bakugo and Todoroki also got more personal criticism. Bakugo for flying off the handle like that, thinking he could take on twenty-one heroes and potentially giving away their location. It was a dumb, impulsive move…but at the same time, they reluctantly agreed that if Bakugo was also doing drugs it might have messed with his sense of judgment. So they went a little easier on him, saying that it was probably him staying in character. The ashen blonde teen said nothing to contradict this statement, just looking away with a huff. As for Todoroki, he didn't get off so light. His actions gave away their location before the heroes actually got on sight, meaning there was a chance they could have captured the heroes or tricked the heroes. On top of that, he destroyed several of the other houses in the area. If anyone had been home at the time, then Todoroki would have blood on his hands.
As for 1-B, the biggest mistake they made was being obvious that they were on their way. Coming in with guns blazing was a good way to tip the villains off that they had been discovered, giving said evildoers time to prepare. It would have been better to lay low and try and catch them off guard. They were also somewhat responsible for the ice wall, failing to prevent the damages from occurring. While people would eventually understand it was the fault of the villains, the people would wonder if there was anything the heroes could have done to prevent this. Still, overall, the heroes did well.
Soon after that, Izuku and the others left for I-Island. Flying first class, Izuku took an aisle seat while Kendo was given the spot next to the window. In the middle of the plane next to Izuku was Toga while Pony sat next to her using the empty seat to place the mangas she had brought.
Every time Izuku took notice at that single lone seat, a small pit formed in his stomach as he wasn't able to find anyone who could come with them. He had tried some of his other male friends starting with Shinso. The brainwashing teen, however, could not make it as the school wanted to talk to him about the possibility of being transferred to the hero program this weekend. Given how much the teen wanted this, he wasn't going to throw the possibility away even for a possible once in a lifetime trip. After that, Izuku had planned on asking Tetsutetsu. But before he could, he overheard the steel quirk user talking about helping Hatsume with something this weekend. Hearing that, Izuku made the quick decision not to put his friend on the spot. Especially after what they had talked about.
Unfortunately, he had brought his plight up with his mother who asked him about his worst possible option.
"Have you thought about asking Katsuki?" asked the plump Midoriya matriarch as she prepared dinner. "It might help smooth things over after the Sports Festival." In all honestly, Izuku believed, with Albion agreeing completely with him, that if he had asked Bakugo to go the ashen blonde would just start screaming over the phone before blowing up the device on his end. Thankfully, none of that happened as Inko took it upon herself to ask the other teen's mother about it. Apparently, he couldn't go and no further information was provided.
Well, other than Mrs. Bakugo not wanting to have her son causing a scene in front of heroes around the world or having to pay for anything he blew up in a fit of rage.
Yeah, Izuku couldn't blame her.
So the seat went unclaimed save for the books that Pony brought with her.
After two hours, the plane landed at its destination: I-Island. And it was a sight to behold. Large walls of thick steel and other metals created a circular barrier around the manmade island, containing some of the world's greatest defenses that not even U.A. had access to. Izuku felt himself vibrating as he used all his strength to keep from needing out. For about five seconds.
"According to all the articles I've read, it's impossible to get past," said Izuku as he and Kendo looked out the window as they passed by the wall. "It contains sensors so precious that they can detect the slightest irregularity in the water. So even if someone had a quirk that could let them merge with the ocean, they would know and have you captured before you knew it! On top of that, they have nearly a hundred ways to take down any unauthorized presence in their air space. Their supercomputers can track even the fastest heroes in the world and predict where they are going to go in order to shoot them down. Even warping quirks, which are incredibly rare, can't get past these defenses. According to what I've read, the last person who tried warping in was deposited in a cell that instantly put up a field that generates the same effect as Mr. Aizawa's quirk! The only way any outsider ever gets in is through official channels after proper screening."
"I can believe it," grumbled Toga, leaning in her seat to rub her butt. "I was not found of the cavity search."
"Well you are…you know," supplied Pony with a slight smile.
Himiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like the metal detector, the pat down, jerk with a scanning quirk weren't enough to know I was completely unarmed," she complained.
A few minutes later, the plane came to a quick stop which was then followed by the passengers unboarding. As soon as they stepped out of the plane, Izuku and company found themselves on a moving walkway towards the main part of the island. There, they went through another metal detector before their faces were scanned along with their I.D.'s. At first, Izuku wondered why they were doing this but that question was quickly answered then his luggage appeared next to him from a hole that just appeared on the floor!
Rather than exiting the walkway to find themselves in a terminal, the U.A. students instead discovered that they were in a large outdoor plaza! There, several limos and taxis were waiting to pick up certain VIP's with the drivers holding up signs to indicate who they were there for. As Izuku looked from sign to sign, some of the lettering looking more alien than anything he had ever seen before, a bit began to form in his stomach. He didn't see anything with their names on it. Not even a sign with the school's logo on it. Itsuka and Pony noticed this as well, slight worry taking over their features as they stepped closer to each other and Izuku for support. Toga, meanwhile, just continued to look around with a grin on her face. Only she wasn't looking at the drivers but beyond.
"I sense a new arrival approaching," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. What that meant, no one in their party knew.
For the next fifteen or so minutes, the four of them stood there hoping that once the chaos had ended their ride would show itself. But as the last car left leaving them standing alone with the sun beginning to set, Izuku began to worry. Was their ride just running late or had it been his responsibility to arrange transportation to their hotel and no one bothered to tell him? Should he call up Nezu to inquire about this? Or would it just be faster to call up a cab and wait? But, if he did that, then a lot of his spending money for the trip would be wasted. Yet Izuku didn't really see any other choices in the matter. It was possible to walk given the fact that people on I-Island were allowed to use their quirks freely, but that would be a poor start to their vacation.
"I'm calling," began Izuku as he pulled out his phone only to then pause as he noticed a bright red pickup truck pulling in front of them. The vehicle looked sleek, with well-rounded edges while its color was so shiny that one could assume that it had just been polished. But what really stood out about it was the fact that it didn't have any wheels. It just hovered there for several moments before gently setting itself down.
With the engine fully off, the door to the hover truck opened to reveal a girl who looked close to their age. The first thing they all noticed was that she was a little taller than the rest of them, with long wavy blond hair and blue eyes hidden behind glasses. Her face was a little rounded, but that only seemed to serve to give her a softer appearance. She wore a red blouse with white sleeves that didn't do much to distract from the fact that her figure was the closest Yaoyorozu's. Below that she wore khaki pants that went down to her knees with red socks that covered the rest of her legs. Smiling, she waved at them excitedly.
"You must be Izuku Midoriya!" the girl exclaimed as she ran over to them, a bright smile on her face. The moment she was right in front of Izuku, she took the boy's hands into her own. "This is such an honor. I've wanted to meet you since I saw you in the Sports Festival. I must have rewatched all your matches a dozen times." As she continued to hold him, the other girls in the group had various reactions. Pony just looked on confused while Himiko placed her hands on her sides before nodding in a sage-like manner. As for Itsuka, she had on a forced smile as gently separated her clearly blushing green-haired friend away from her.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked Kendo.
At that, the girl blinked before lightly hitting the side of her head with her wrist. "Oh sorry about that," she said. "I was so excited that I forgot my manners. My name is Melissa Shield."
"Shield?" asked Izuku, his eyes growing wide. "You wouldn't happen to be related to David Shield, the same man who was All Might's sidekick when he was in the States? The same man who has made all of All Might's costumes as well as some of the top support gear in the world for various heroes?"
"Yes, he's my papa," answered Melissa with a smile, causing Izuku's hands to ball up into excited fists while stars appeared in his eyes.
"That's so cool!" he exclaimed before a sudden realization hit him. The daughter of a living legend, almost as great as All Might, was standing before him. Smiling at him! But…why? Was it just because she was a fan? If that was true then how did she know they would still be here instead of on their way to the hotel?
And he wasn't the only one thinking these questions. "Excuse me," began Pony, drawing everyone's attention. "But it sounds like you're a pretty important person. So why are you here meeting with us?"
Melissa seemed to take no offense to the question as she just smiled at her. "Because I have volunteered to be the attendant to Mr. Midoriya as well as the rest of his guests," she said, placing a hand on her chest as she said this. She then looked downward. "To be honest, I wasn't supposed to have this job. Usually, the winners of the U.A. Sports Festival are given a professional handler to oversee them. However, in order to ensure that you got the extra tickets and ensuring that you would come, some concessions had to be made. Like canceling the limousine and finding an attendant who would be willing to work for free. Naturally, I volunteered for the role."
Izuku blinked, but before he could say anything Itsuka beat him to the punch. "Wait, you're the reason that we got all the extra tickets? Why?" asked the Big Fist girl.
If it were possible, Melissa's expression brightened up even more. "Because there's something I need to tell him. And show him," she said. She then turned to look at Itsuka and, before the orange-haired girl knew what was happening, Melissa had captured her hands with her own. "I was wondering who Midoriya was going to be bringing along, but I had no idea it would be you Kendo! I saw your match against that angry bomber boy. You were amazing! The way you sent those speedy punches right into that guy's face without a speed enhancement quirk just blew me away! How did you manage to do it?"
"Oh," began Itsuka, blushing slightly at the praise. "Well, ah, it's kind of like any other training. You know, training. Basically, I had to pluck out chestnuts from a roaring fire without my hands getting burnt. Then, once I managed it with my smaller hands, I began working on it when they were enlarged."
"That's so amazing!" cried Melissa. "Really makes me wish I had studied martial arts." She then turned to the horned girl in their party. "I also remember you too! I'm so happy an American going to one of the best hero schools in the world! Not only that, but the way you used that tape guy's quirk against him was so cool!" As Pony blushed at the praise, Melissa turned her attention to Toga. "And the shapeshifter is here as well?!? The way you were leaping around in that pit made my heart nearly skip a beat! I was afraid you would fall at any moment!"
"Wasn't too hard," replied Himiko before giving the girl a wink while a sly smile crossed her face. It looked like she wanted to say more, but for some reason, she held her tongue. At least for the moment.
After the introductions were finished, Izuku and the other U.A. students helped Melissa put their luggage into the truck before getting in. Thankfully, there was enough room inside with Itsuka, Izuku, and Pony sitting in the back with Toga taking the passenger side next to Melissa. As they began to drive, the bespectacled girl began to explain why she was so late. Apparently, she was a student at the local academy here on the island and was finishing up one of her personal projects. Basically running a system's check to make sure everything was working while an AI system was being downloaded. What's more, she wanted Izuku and company to be the first to see it!
"I plan on showing it to my papa and Uncle Might tomorrow after the dinner," she said while pulling up to a futuristic-looking warehouse. The building was only one story tall, looking like it was made from heavily reinforced steel with some parts even sticking out further as if to doubly reinforce it at specific locations. As for the side, the one they were heading towards was leaning at an acute angle with the vertex pointing towards them. A sliding door moved upwards automatically for them as the vehicle approached.
After parking the hover truck, everyone exited the vehicle while Melissa excitedly told them to just hang around for a moment while she got everything ready. For several minutes they waited, no one more excited to see what Melissa had to show them than Izuku. The girls let him mumble to himself as he went over all the possible theories on what they were about to see.
The sound of a jet engine caught their collective attention, turning to see a sight for the ages. Melissa had changed out of her normal clothing and was now wearing a skin-tight body suit that showed off every single curve. The main color was a metallic red with white running along her sides starting from the armpits and going down to the soles of her feet. All four teens also noticed a V-shaped boob window in her suit that was no thicker than a small coin. More of the red material ran up her neck, covering her ears while a yellow visor protected her eyes.
But that was not the shocking thing for that honor went to what she was riding! The machine looked like it was the entire length of the truck and nearly as tall though she rode it as if it were a surfboard or a skateboard. The front of it had a black nose similar to many jets, but the rest of it was made out of red-painted metal with hints of white and gold. From where Izuku stood, he could see two sets of red, almost oval-shaped objects on the jet. The first set was smaller, with golden claws coming out of their fronts along with laser cannons on top. The back set was thicker, with blue flames from the jet engine coming out from between two slabs of black metal that created a V-shape. Right behind where Melissa stood were two white wings and on the very back was another jet engine.
"Separate!" commanded Melissa. At once, Izuku and the others witnessed something else that was amazing. A part of the underbelly of the jet detached from the main body, hovering behind for a moment as its folded wings extended. This second jet was much slimmer, its front looking very much like a dragon's head with glowing blue eyes and a mouth filled with jagged fangs. On its head were also three golden frills.
"Armor mode!" commanded Melissa as she jumped into the air, off the platform. What happened next took only a few seconds, but somehow Izuku and the others saw everything. Parts of the main jet began to detach from each other to become a variety of various pieces. The first set of oval blocks that Izuku had taken notice of slit into a total of four pieces, the ones containing the golden claws becoming her shoulder pads while the other parts containing the lasers became red metal gauntlets that covered her arm from just below the elbow down. As for the larger ovals that had contained the jet engines, they hollowed out allowing Melissa's feet to slide into them. Somehow they then shrank or compressed enough so that they only went up to her knees while being slender enough to not impede her movement. The rest of the platform seemed to liquidate, wrapping around her body so that the front was now covered in a golden metallic covering while the white wings attached to her back. Finally, the second jet transformed into a cannon as long as Melissa was tall! Yet, as she landed, the blonde scientist held it like it weighed nothing.
"So," said Melissa, excitement radiating in her voice as she looked at the four U.A. students. "What do you think?"
"That's like," began Itsuka, before words seemed to fail her.
"It's like something out of the old Power Ranger shows from the pre-quirk era!" exclaimed Pony. "Though they were based on old Japanese…it doesn't matter! That looks awesome!"
"Love the transformation," said Toga. "But what can it do?"
Melissa's smile somehow grew three sizes. "Glad you asked," she said, beginning what felt like a presentation she had memorized in her head. "In its flight form, which you all saw first, its top speed is mock three. The base form of my suit will allow me to cling to it so I don't need to worry about slipping off and it has a few additional features to protect me from the G-forces. On top of that, there are at least a half dozen safety protocols in place should I ever get knocked off. When they separate, the main jet is slowed down some but the fighter jet will become more maneuverable and can help me search an area. See, when they do that, I get an additional window on my visor so I'll see everything that my dragon jet sees! I can also use the main jet to haul things away or transport them to a destination of my choosing. Perfect for rescue operations. However, I can only move two people of average weight max."
At that moment, as if by some silent command, two targets descended from the ceiling. "And in armor mode, well, let me show you what I can do," she continued. Melissa then pointed a first at one of the targets. Instantly the laser, whose cannon had been pointing upwards and along her arm up to this point, flipped so that it was now pointing towards the target. In a flash, a red beam of energy fired from it piercing the target cleanly in the center. Rather than doing the same with the other arm, Melissa raised the dragon cannon up and pointed it at the second target. Its jaw opened, allowing a steady stream of flames to fire out but not far enough to reach the target. That clearly didn't bother Melissa as the dragon's jaw opened wider, the blaster inside of its mouth now clearly visible as it began to hum with the promise of overwhelming power. In the blink of an eye, a beam of golden energy with red lightning dancing around it, shot through the air destroying the target before slamming into the wall. Sirens blared while an artificial voice warned of structure failure. Then, when the light faded, a hole could be found in the wall as the melt continued to drip down to the floor.
But that wasn't the end of it. As Melissa let go of her giant gun, which instantly began to hover next to her, the floor opened up in the center of the warehouse. Coming up into their line of sight was a huge block of stone that looked polished with the words 'ten tons' written boldly across it. Melissa said nothing, the engines on her legs coming to life as she shot across the room with her fist pulled back. When the blow connected, the entire rock shattered as it exploded from the force.
"Currently, this is what I can do with the safety features on manual," said Melissa as she turned around. "Once the AI system is fully integrated, it'll be able to scan the villains to help make the necessary calculations and make adjustments to my power output so I don't accidentally kill anyone. Right now its taking in the systems that will help me find and rescue people along with a scanner to help diagnose any health issue or injuries they might have."
"That's so incredible!" exclaimed Izuku. "Do you by chance have an intelligence-enhancing quirk that helped you make all of this?"
Melissa gave Izuku a sad smile before shaking her head. "No," she said. "To be honest, I don't have any quirk. I'm quirkless." Upon hearing that, all of the U.A. students' eyes widened in shock though none more so than Izuku's.
"When I was young, I wanted to grow up and become a hero with all of my heart," continued Melissa as she reached over and took hold of her dragon cannon. With sad eyes she stared at its head, lightly stroking it with her metal hand as she continued. "But when I turned four, I was told that it wasn't possible since I had an extra joint in my pinky toe. After that, I kept hoping that maybe the doctor was wrong and clinging to the chance that I might still get a quirk. Well, as you can tell, that never happened. Eventually, I decided to become a different type of hero. One who supports the heroes from backstage by making all their support gear like my papa. It was hard and at first I really wasn't good at any of the sciences, but eventually, I got better. I was content until I heard what Midoriya said in the Sports Festival."
Melissa then looked up at Izuku, her eyes now burning with determination. "You briefly spoke about how you thought you were quirkless," she continued. "And what you said after, about how you fought against an opponent who had a quirk while yours was done. The things you said, like how it was pointless and that you should just give up. I could hear it in your voice that you were used to hearing things like that. But, in the end, you still won. You still defeated someone whose strength overshadowed you. And what you said in the end, that we have all the tools we need so just figure it out, struck a cord in me. It was those words that brought back my old dream. Gave me hope again. And I knew that once I finished this suit, the first person I wanted to show it off to was my hero: Izuku Midoriya."
At that, Izuku's eyes widened as he felt tears threatening to spill. He had done something he had always dreamed about, but the meaning behind was just so much more powerful than he ever thought. He had not just saved someone, but he had inspired her in the same way that All Might had inspired him. Not just anyone, but a quirkless person as well.
Shame soon mixed in with the tears, his throat growing tight. Honestly, Melissa was far more impressive than he was. They had both started in the same way, born without quirks. Yet while he just sat there, hoping things would just magically get better, she was off doing things. She found a different way to be a great hero, even if it wasn't the way she originally wanted. Maybe if he had tried harder, and studied science like she had, then maybe he could have made his own gear to become a hero. Then perhaps fewer people would have laughed at him, mocked him for his dream.
You are aware that you are comparing one type of apple to another type , spoke Albion within Izuku's head, causing the teen to flinch.
Albion, I think the saying is comparing apples to oranges, began Izuku, only for the ancient dragon to cut him off.
Nay, the two of you are apples but with different flavors, insisted the dragon. You were both quirkless, that is true. However, she had all the resources and connections she needed in order to thrive on a different path. Those connections probably shielded her from some of the more extreme vile behavior that others in her position would have faced. As for you, well, could you have walked that same path as her? That somehow you could have gained the same level of intelligence from that run down elementary and middle school that you attended? On the small amount of money that your family was living on? Izuku, no one ever even tried to tell you that such a thing as becoming a support technician was possible. Trust me, I know.
Izuku wanted to argue with the dragon, yet the words refused to form in his mind. Mostly because Albion had a point. Ever since he discovered he was quirkless, people would laugh at him about his dream yet never offered any sort of alternative. Never once had his mother sat down with him to talk about other options he could have, saying he could get a job working with heroes instead of being one. Nor had any of his teachers. Then again, he had never taken an interest in becoming a support tech so it was unlikely that he would have looked into it. True, he knew the type of support equipment most heroes used yet the furthest he had ever dove into those machines was how they interacted with the hero's quirk. And while Izuku was becoming more confident with his metal skills, being a good strategist and understanding the uses of quirks were in a different ballpark from being smart enough to build something like what Melissa showed them. They just required a different set of skills that he had never thought to develop. Even if he did want to, it would have cost money. And while his family wasn't as strapped for cash as Albion's words might have implied, the Midoriya family wasn't exactly swimming in funds.
Thinking about it further, what would have happened if a younger Midoriya had tried that route? He had little doubt that his mother wouldn't want to break him a second time, but could she realistically help him? A shiver ran down his body, imagining his mother even more stressed out as she tried to find someone to loan them the money so that he could start learning how to make hero equipment. And if she couldn't, would that mean he would have to teach himself, learning how to fix desktop computers and the like?
I shall say this , said Albion as he broke Izuku out of his train of thought. The two of you are similar in the fact that you both needed someone to help kick you into improving in order to fulfill your dreams. For you, it was discovering my existence within yourself which led you to the Kendo Dojo to begin training your body. For Melissa, it was you using the words that Mr. Kendo taught you. Imagine what would have been her fate had she not heard your words.
At that, Izuku blinked before his body relaxed. Albion had a point. He had helped Melissa, acting like the hero he had always wanted to be. A thing that might not have happened had he not walked down this path. In fact, there would be a lot missing from his life. It was because he had stubbornly stuck to this dream that he was eventually able to meet the Kendos, learning how to fight and becoming fit enough to take down some of the robots in the entrance exam. Becoming skilled enough to fight Kirishima on equal terms when Divine Dividing was down. What's more, he was able to met Pony, learn more about Vlad King, befriend Shishida and Shinso, and even get to have a heart-to-heart with Toga. His life, for all the misery he had to endure for most of it, was now something he would never want to trade.
And he had a feeling it was going to get better!
-x-
"Alright, follow me," exclaimed Melissa as the group walked out of the elevator. It had been roughly an hour since Melissa showed them her suit and now they were in perhaps the fanciest hotel that Izuku had ever been in: the Gremory Plaza! When they had walked in, Izuku had felt like he was walking into the halls of the gods given the size and grandeur of the first floor. On either side of them were marble pillars that were as thick as Melissa's truck leading up to a mural on the ceiling that depicted an epic battle between God and his angles against a horde of devils as well as both sides fighting black winged angles. He could have sworn that this room was at least three or four stories tall, making him feel very insignificant.
After checking in, Midoriya found out that they would be staying on one of the topmost floors. Just below the VIP suites! When they went to the elevator, Midoriya had expected something high-tech. However, he was shocked to find that this was made of marble as well making him wonder how much it cost as well as wondering if this was really the best material for the job.
"Actually, this is the elevator reserved for special guests," Melissa had told them after Kendo gawked at it.
And now, finally, they were on their floor. After walking for a short bit, Melissa stopped in front of a door before pulling out a key card. After pressing the card against the read, a loud click could be heard before the door opened on its own. For a moment, a bright light blinded the heroes forcing them to cover their eyes. But when the light faded, each had a different reaction to what they saw inside. Melissa looked away, scratching the side of her cheek with embarrassment. Izuku's face had gone red while Itsuka's jaw dropped. Pony covered her face with her hands though not before everyone noticed a nosebleed. Toga just smirked devilishly.
Peering inside while ignoring Albion's cries of 'No!', Izuku saw a massive room that looked like a dozen people could easily move around in without an issue. Well, they could had there not been a massive, heart-shaped bed that took up the majority of the place! And…was that a hot tub in the ground next to said bed and the window?
"I, ah, guess the girls can sleep," began Izuku but stopped when Melissa coughed in her hand.
"Actually, this is your room. Your only room," said Melissa, doing her best to appear apologetic. "You were originally going to get two rooms that were less, er, like this but this was another concession that was made to get you the extra tickets. I'm sure you're all mature enough to handle it."
Slowly, the group moved into the room like zombies. All except Toga. Instead, the blood-drinking girl pulled out her phone.
"Hello, Shiozaki," she began once the person on the other end picked up. "I just wanted to say that you are right. There is a God." And with that, she skipped into the room.
-x-
Elsewhere, the door to a hidden lab opened revealing a tired yet manically energized Dr. Shield. The man strode in, ignoring everything around him including his assistant Sam, save one thing. That lone thing was their current project, a tank filled with an arctic blue liquid. Inside of it was a child, a boy no older than five. Attached to the boy's skin were several devices that monitored his health along with a breathing tube and a speedo that covered the child's modesty. At the bottom of the tank was a small silver basin.
"So, another failure?" asked Dr. Shield, his eyes still focused on the boy.
"I wouldn't say that," replied Sam. "This one is stable and is not showing any of the signs that the others went through. I believe that we have a better understanding on how the object works. With a few more tests, we should be able to achieve our desired results." Sam then turned to look at the 'good' doctor. "And how did it go on your end?"
"Poorly, the council would not budge," sighed Dr. Shield. "So, right now, we are at an impasse. We'll just have to make sure everything goes alright with plan B. Also, we'll need to step up our plans. Thankfully, the good people at Heroes Safety Commission have plenty of villains that no one cares about and would be locked away for the rest of their lives. At least this way, we can get some use out of them before they die and give their wrecked lives some degree of meaning."
"Agreed," said Sam. "Shall I begin work on the next one?"
"Yes," said Dr. Shield, finally taking his eyes off their subject. "But before you do, dispose of that will you." Sam nodded before pressing a button on his console. A moment later, the liquid began to spin within the tank as the child seemed to be ripped to shreds as though he were in a blender. When it ended, nothing, not even bones, was left as the tank slowly began to drain.