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🧬 Melissa's Lab – I-Island Academy
The lab smelled faintly of clean metal and warm ozone. On one wall, dozens of certificates and ribbons hung proudly—Top of Her Class in Engineering Design, Innovation Award: Hero Support Equipment, All Might Foundation Scholar. Each gleamed under the overhead lighting like testaments to sheer will.
Izuku Midoriya couldn't help but stare.
"Wow… You've done a lot, Melissa," he said in awe, glancing around the room filled with prototype parts, half-assembled gadgets, and holograms of schematics dancing in mid-air.
Melissa blushed slightly, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh, uh… Thanks, but honestly, my grades were slipping for a bit. I had to work hard to keep up."
Izuku's eyes widened in concern. "Really? You seem so on top of everything."
Melissa smiled—bright, genuine, and strong. "That's because I realized I didn't need to be a hero like the ones on the front lines. I just need to support them—like my dad... and my mom."
Izuku blinked. "Wait, your mom?"
Melissa nodded. "Yeah. My dad has a Quirk, a small one for optical analysis, but my mom? She was Quirkless. Just like me. She was the one who always said that being a hero isn't about powers—it's about what you do with what you have."
Izuku's face softened. He remembered those words. Not hers, but his own mom's. Different in form, but the same in heart.
Melissa turned to a table covered with a sheet. "Speaking of which… I have something for you."
She dramatically pulled off the cloth to reveal a sleek, metallic gauntlet—its red surface gleamed like burnished armour, segmented along the knuckles and forearm for flexibility.
"This," she said with pride, "is my Full Gauntlet. I designed it to endure the recoil of massive impact-based Quirks. I… I saw how you fought during the Villain Attack challenge. You push yourself too hard. Your arm… It's full of scars, and I could tell from how you moved. So I want you to have this."
Izuku's mouth fell open. "Y-you made this?"
"Yeah. Based on some old specs my dad had when he was helping Uncle Might in his early days. This gauntlet can absorb and disperse the force of an All Might-level Smash... three times before failing. It'll let you use your full power—100%—three times without wrecking yourself."
She gently fitted it over his right forearm. With a quiet hiss of compressed air and soft whirring gears, it locked into place.
Izuku held his arm out, amazed at the smoothness, the weight... the stability. "This is... incredible. Thank you, Melissa."
Melissa gave him a hopeful smile. "Just promise me one thing. When you become the hero you're meant to be... be the kind of hero who protects others, okay?"
Izuku nodded firmly. "I will. I promise."
His phone buzzed. Realizing the time, he gasped. "Oh no! I still need to get ready for the reception! Thank you again!" he said, bowing quickly before rushing off.
Melissa laughed as the door slid shut behind him. "Guess I'd better find something to wear, too…"
...
🎭 Elsewhere on I-Island – Hero Museum Changing Area
Kurokami Tenshin was many things—Class 1-A's President, a martial artist, a walking disaster magnet—but a fashion model was not one of them.
And yet.
There he stood.
Dressed in a sailor outfit, complete with crisp white cap, blue collar, gold-trimmed sleeves, and shorts that were a size too small. His expression was... blank. A peace sign held limply in one hand.
📸 Click!
"Oooooh, this one's adorable," Jirou muttered behind the camera, adjusting the lighting with her phone.
"Can I wear my actual clothes now?" Kuro asked in a flat, resigned tone.
"Nope," Yaoyorozu said primly, adjusting the fall of the cap. "We still have seven outfits left. Majority vote—you're stuck here."
Kuro deadpanned. "I refused the vote."
"And were instantly outvoted three-to-one," Jirou replied without a hint of sympathy.
Kuro sighed internally. I knew I shouldn't have trusted a democracy made of teenagers.
Behind them, Ochaco Uraraka held her phone, scrolling through the dozens of saved pictures with a grin. Still, she glanced up at Kuro's face.
There it was again.
That flicker.
Gone in an instant, replaced by his usual cheeky smile, but... she saw it. The tired blink, the little sag in his shoulders.
"Hey, Kuro... You good?" she asked, voice quieter now.
"Hm? Of course! I'm fabulous! The peak of fashion! This'll be the outfit I wear when I save the world. In... shorts." He spun around dramatically, tripping slightly over a pair of tiny boots.
Ochaco laughed, but the concern didn't leave her eyes.
"Alright, next outfit!" Yaoyorozu declared, pulling out what looked like a frilly magical boy tuxedo, complete with glittering bowtie.[1]
"...Why does that one sparkle?" Kuro asked with dread.
"Because it screams confidence," Jirou replied.
Kuro floated a few inches off the ground, arms limp. "Screaming is about right."
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[Auther: Hey, guys! So...I've got a bunch of Kuro pics, considering most people probably still want him to grow up and don't worry, he is and will, I'm just being canon with his growth.
Any questions? I'm free to answer...
]
[1] "Wanna see Kuro as a magical boy? And yes, I mean Sailor Moon style."