Chapter 26: Internships and Hero Names
Izuku scrolled through his phone worriedly as he and Himiko took the train to school. His bandaged fingers tapped lightly as he read. With all of the commotion during the Sports Festival, he hadn't thought to look through hero news articles, but now that he had time, he was finding dozens of articles about the hero killer, Stain.
Hero Killer Strikes Again
Late last night, Turbo Hero: Ingenium, Tensei Iida, was viscously attacked. The victim was found in a back alley in Hosu City; he was found severely wounded with multiple lacerations on his arms, legs, and torso.
The hero was rushed to the hospital as soon as the crime scene was discovered, and as of this report, the patient's condition is unknown. Still, with what information is available, it is known that he is currently in stable condition.
For more information, continue to pg. 7
"—riya! Hey, you're Izuku Midoriya, right?!"
Izuku's spine went ramrod straight, and he looked over his shoulder at a man who was grinning from ear to ear.
"U-Um, y-yes?"
"Whoa! I can't believe it—you fought so hard during the Sports Festival!" The man blanched when Izuku fully turned, and he caught sight of Izuku's arm still in a sling. "You really ought to take better care of yourself."
Himiko, listening to the man, leaned over Izuku's shoulder and grinned toothily at the stranger. "I know, right? He does crap like that so often! I think he finds it fun or something."
A crowd slowly started to form around them, and before long, both Izuku and Himiko were being stormed by people wanting to talk or have them sign things. A few commented on the fights, how much smaller he was than they thought he'd be, and even a few old women said he and Himiko made a cute couple.
Izuku was taken aback by all the attention, but Himiko seemed to take to it like a fish to water. She signed things, took pictures with girls who approached her, and even turned down a few guys who asked her out.
She had been very rude to those poor guys. Izuku had felt slightly annoyed when they'd asked, but that quickly went away when she threatened to stab them if they kept bothering her.
"You should stop threatening to stab people. One of these days, someone is going to take you seriously and report you to the police," Izuku sighed as they walked out of the station and toward U.A.
The sky had started to turn gray when they'd entered the train, but now that they had arrived, it was raining quite a bit more than Izuku had been expecting. Thankfully, his mom had thought to pack his umbrella, and now he and Himiko were sharing as they walked up the hill.
"They should take me seriously! If people haven't gotten it through their thick skulls by now that I'm dating you, then they need a good stabbing to help it sink in!" Himiko flailed her school bag and glared very cutely, "Seriously! I even kissed you during the Sports Festival! How much more obvious could it get?"
Izuku's cheeks felt very hot, and he tried desperately not to trip over himself at the memory, "I still think that was a little much."
Himiko grinned at him and tapped the writing on his cast, "It keeps the hussies away."
"That again? What hussies? There are no hussies! Before you, I don't think a single girl ever paid me any attention, so why would they now?"
Himiko stopped dead in her tracks, grabbed Izuku by the shoulders, spun him around to face her, and stared very seriously into his eyes. Her gaze was stern and unwavering, making him gulp very nervously.
She was so serious he was honestly pretty taken aback. Himiko was rarely so quiet, and moments of her being so focused aside from training or fighting were few and far between.
Izuku gulped.
"That's because they've never been in the sack with you."
Izuku tripped over his own foot and slammed face-first into the ground, "w-what t-t-the hell!? D-Don't say t-t-that out loud!"
She burst out laughing, "Y-you should see your f-face! Oh my god! I haven't heard you stutter so much in ages!"
Izuku tried to cover his face with his hands but only managed to smack himself in the face with the umbrella.
Himiko laughed even harder.
The walk to class 1-A was made very excruciating. Himiko had made it her mission to tease and make fun of him the entire time.
The classroom was lively with chatter.
"I had all these people talking to me on the way here!" Mina rocked her entire desk back and forth as she buzzed with energy.
"Same here," Hagakure bounced animatedly, or at least Izuku assumed she did by how her clothes moved, "So many stares… it was embarrassing!"
Sero's shoulders were hunched, and he looked very put out, "a bunch of grade schoolers told me I made a good effort."
Kaminari leaned back in his seat, "one little event, and suddenly, the world's got its eye on us. That's U.A. for ya."
The bell for classes to begin rang, and to Izuku's great shock, Mr. Aizawa walked through the classroom door with all of his bandages removed.
Asui looked worried for the man, "it's good to see your bandages off, Mr. Aizawa, but are you sure you're fully recovered?"
Mr. Aizawa scratched absently underneath his left eye, "the old lady's treatment was excessive. But never mind that. Today, we've got Hero Informatics Class, and a special one at that."
Izuku wondered what sort of important class it could be. Maybe it would review the trends in the hero charts based on public opinion.
"Today, you'll be coming up with your Hero Aliases.
The class burst into shouts.
"Awesome!"
"It's time to shine!"
"I've got the perfect name in mind!"
"This is gonna be so awesome!"
Mr. Aizawa's hair stood on end, his eyes glowed an ominous red, and he grabbed his capture scarf as if he was about to attack.
The entire room went silent, and everyone sat back in their seats.
"But first… concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day. It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience. So you could say it's a way for them to show interest in your futures. But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate. And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."
Izuku thought Hagakure raised her hand, "So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come?!"
Mr. Aizawa turned, "Yes, now here're the complete draft pick numbers.
The board behind Mr. Aizawa lit up, and on the screen were the top students with the most offers.
Class A Draft Pick Totals
1. Todoroki: 4,129
2. Himiko: 3,325
3. Izuku: 450
4. Bakugo: 439
5. Iida: 301
6. Mina: 254
7. Uraraka: 20
8. Sero: 14
Everyone seemed to think the same thing because Kaminari asked, "Why is the guy who made first place number three?"
Himiko laughed, "Cause he kept busting himself up, and I bet getting into a bunch of fistfights with Kacchan~ didn't help."
Kacchan seemed ready to explode, both figuratively and literally. Still, it seemed Himiko calling him by his childhood nickname was the straw that broke the camel's back, "Who gives a shit about those pussies anyway!? I'm gonna be the number one hero with or without those fucking extras acknowledging me! And if you call me that again, you blonde skank, I'll rip your god damn head off and punt it so far y—"
Mr. Aizawa seemed to have decided that wrapping Kacchan up with his capture scarf was the right course of action, "with that settled, whether you were picked or not, you will all have a chance to work alongside the pros. It's true that you all have already experienced more than most, but… seeing the pros in action and taking part yourselves will still be worthwhile training."
Sato smiled, "that's where our hero names come in!"
Uraraka pumped her fist, "This is really getting fun!"
Mr. Aizawa stared at the class tiredly, "They're only tentative, but you still want to pick something appropriate."
"Or else you'll know true hell!" Ms. Midnight strode in, and the ever-skintight bodysuit she wore was just as out of place as always, "the name you pick now may be what the world ends up calling you. That's happened to plenty of pros out there."
Mr. Aizawa reached under his desk for his puffy bright yellow sleeping bag, "That's true enough, and Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick. I'm no good at that kind of stuff. What future do you see for yourself? The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image because names are capable of reflecting one's true character. Mr. Aizawa bundled himself up in his sleeping bag, "like with 'All Might'."
'A name, huh? I've thought about this a million times.' Izuku smiled to himself, remembering the days he would take just filling notebooks with ideas for his hero names, 'but it's different now that this could be with me for the rest of my life. It's almost embarrassing how many names I had that were just based on All Might's name. Mighty, All Man, All Might Jr., Super Might, Mighty Boy, Mighty Man, and a whole host of other names that are way too embarrassing.'
Aoyama was the first to put his sign up, "Here I go! Shining Hero: I cannot stop twinkling!"
"What the heck!? It's an entire sentence," Ashido yelled.
Surprisingly enough, Midnight didn't seem opposed to it, "it'll be easier to say if you take out the 'I' and contract 'cannot' into 'can't.'"
Ashido stood up with her board, "okay, I'm next! I'm Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!"
Midnight, for some reason, cringed, "Like that giant monster in the old Alien movies that had acid for blood?! No, pick something cuter."
Ashido seemed very upset at her name being turned down.
Himiko called out to the girl with a toothy grin, "Hey, don't give up. I liked that name! In fact," she turned her board to the class and flashed her fangs, "I'm Blood Sucking Hero: Carmilla!"
Midnight seemed to deflate, "another monster movie name?! Are you sure you don't want to pick something else?"
Himiko tapped her whiteboard on her desk, "Nah, I like this name."
Ashido smacked her board on her desk, "I'm keeping mine, too!"
They both grinned at each other and high-fived. Midnight just sighed and acquiesced.
Asui put her hand in the air, "Can I go next? Rainy Season Hero: Froppy. I've had this thought out since elementary school."
Midnight squealed, "It's so cute! It makes you sound like you'd be easy to get to know! The rest of you take note. This is a perfectly lovable name!"
Next was Kirishima, "This is me! Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!"
"Red Riot? Could that be an homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot?" Midnight wondered allowed.
Kirishima blushed, scratching the back of his head, "Right! I know he's from back in the day, but Crimson's the kind of hero I wanna be."
Midnight smiled and gave Kirishima a thumbs up, "Just keep in mind that bearing the name of your personal hero comes with a lot of pressure."
'I had all sorts of names based on All Might's, but now that I've got his power, I know just how big the gap between us is. But that doesn't mean I can't honor him somehow; I just don't think I'm worthy of using his name or even a variant. So what could I choose?'
After talking with Ashido, Himiko returned to her desk behind him. "Are you still stuck on the name you want?"
"Yeah, I think I have an idea. It's just… I don't know if I'll be able to live up to the name I have in mind."
"Izu," Himiko took his hand in hers and smiled softly. The clouds parted outside the window beside her, and as the sun peaked out from behind the clouds, her eyes were cast into glowing yellow brilliance, "you're more than worthy enough to live up to any name. You're already my hero, remember?"
Izuku couldn't help but let a goofy grin spread across his face, "right, thank you, Himi-chan."
"You two are getting me so hot and bothered with your lovey-dovey attitudes!" Midnight giggled lecherously to herself and squirmed strangely.
Mr. Aizawa glared at her from his sleeping bag on the ground, "Stop that."
Himiko winced and leaned closer to whisper in Izuku's ear, "Why is every teacher here some kind of weirdo?"
Izuku leaned over, "You have to be kind of weird to want to become a hero, honestly."
Himiko sat down, her chin resting on her palm. "Fair point."
A few students came up with names as the class dragged on.
(You can skip these if you want they're all the same)
Jiro's was the Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack.
Shoji's was Tentacle Hero: Tentacole.
Sero's was Taping Hero: Cellophane.
Ojiro's was Martial Arts Hero: Tailman
Sato's was Sweets Hero: Sugarman
Kaminari's was The Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt.
Hagakure's was Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl.
Next was Yaoyorozu's and she chose Everything Hero: Creati.
Izuku was excited when Todoroki made his way to the front. After all, Izuku considered him to be the strongest person in the class. They hadn't talked since their fight, but Izuku hoped it had helped the boy, even if it was only a tiny bit.
His board had only his first name on it, and he wore a forlorn and conflicted expression.
Izuku felt sad for some reason.
Tokoyami was the Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi
Koda was the Petting Hero: Anima
"King Explosion Murder!"
Izuku didn't have to look to know it was Kacchan who had come up with that name, and he didn't need to expect it when Midnight told him it was an absolute no and that he would need to revise it.
Uraraka went up to the front and showed her board, "It's a little bit of a pun using my last name, but I'm the Zero Gravity Hero: Uravity."
Midnight clapped, "Very nice! This went smoother than expected! All that's left is Bakugo's revision, Iida, and Midoriya."
Izuku looked over at Iida, worried, 'I hope he's okay. That article I read earlier was about his brother, wasn't it?'
Iida slowly made his way to the front, but when he placed his board on the podium, all that was written was his name.
Midnight sighed, "You too, huh?"
Izuku felt another pang in his chest, 'didn't you want to inherit your brother's hero name? I need to talk to him later, and maybe Todoroki too.'
"Alright, so now we're just waiting for you two: Izuku, Bakugo," Midnight crossed her arms.
'Alright, I don't know how confident I am, but here goes nothing!'
Izuku scribbled down the name he had with his shaky bandaged hand, made his way up to the front, and showed the class his name.
"Huh? Why that?" Asui frowned, putting a finger to her chin.
"Are you sure that's what you're going with?" Midnight smiled mysteriously.
Himiko smiled, and Izuku looked out at everyone, "Yes, this is my hero name!"
On his board, written in shaky, uneven script, was the Strength in Unity Hero: One for All.
Himiko giggled when Izuku sat back down in his seat, "You are such a dork. You used One for All and then used the meaning of the phrase from The Three Musketeers as the first part."
Izuku blushed, already regretting his choice, "I know you find it funny, but do you have to tease me about it?!"
"Lord Explosion Murder!"
"No, rejected!"
Himiko slapped her palm against her desk and laughed all the harder.
Izuku, Himiko, and All Might stood in an empty hallway after the school day had ended. All Might had pulled them aside to discuss Izuku's internship.
'Maybe All Might wants to have me patrol with him personally!'
"I know you have more than a few offers already, but I was going to recommend one." All Might smiled. His muscular form took up a large portion of the hallway, and from the way he was standing, he basically blocked off the entrance to the hall.
"I'd love to intern with you, All Might!" Izuku beamed up at the man, excited to have this kind of opportunity open to him.
All Might waved his hand, "No, no, no. I didn't mean me."
Or not.
Izuku sank to the floor, tears spilling from his eyes in floods, "Right, I'm sorry, All Might! I was too big-headed to think I could intern with you!"
All Might seemed very put out, and he started to sweat even harder when Himiko started glaring at him while brandishing a knife.
"N-No! I didn't mean it that way at all, Young Midoriya! I'm limited to the number of hours I can dedicate to hero work, so any internship with me would be spent here at school most of the time rather than out on patrol like with other heroes. And besides, the person who has requested you knows all about One for All, and he was a former U.A. teacher for a year at least anyway. He was my homeroom teacher as well; his name is Gran Torino. The reason he reached out must be because he saw you using One for All."
"He reached out because of One for All?" Izuku remembered something, "wait! You said his name was Gran Torino, right? Wasn't that the name of your master friend?"
All Might nodded, "I'm surprised. You have a good memory. I only mentioned Gran Torino once, and that was right after the Sports Festival. He retired so long ago that I hadn't considered sending you to him. That and…"
All Might trailed off, his voice quivering strangely, and then Izuku noticed something; All Might was trembling.
"I-I didn't want to s-send you to that man! His methods are q-quite draconian, but if he came out of retirement and used his old name from way back when to draft you, then he must think my teaching isn't adequate." All Might's legs shook violently. He slapped them frantically to try and get the shaking to subside, "a-anyway… training you is fundamentally my duty. Still, he went through all this trouble, so I guess I can let him take a crack at it."
'How terrifying is this guy?!'
"Uh," Himiko leaned forward curiously, "I get why Izu is here, but why did you have me come too?"
All Might quivered in fear, "That's the thing. He also put in a request for you, and I h-have absolutely no idea why." He perked up instantly, though, "Ah, and before I forget, don't forget to pick up your costumes. Young Midoriya, yours has been repaired, and Young Toga, your costume and support equipment have been completed. Although, I must say your support items looked quite terrifying."
Izuku looked at Himiko, "What support items did you request?"
Himiko put an absent finger on her chin and thought, "Let's see, a few reinforced custom syringes, reinforced blood collecting vials, medical grade Peripheral intravenous catheters, and a bunch of throwing knives."
"Okay, I get the syringes and blood vials," Izuku frowned, "but why do you need more throwing knives? You have like an arsenal of throwing knives on you at all times, and why the catheters?"
"Honestly, it's about the quality," Himiko showed Izuku one of her throwing knives, and now that he looked at it, he could see it wasn't exactly in the best of condition. Although it was finely sharpened, the age and obvious usage were apparent by the hairline cracks and dents along its surface. "Most of my knives are like this. It's hard getting good knives when you're a runaway, ya know? You get what you can get when you don't have any other options. And the catheter isn't the kind you're thinking of; this one is used to inject and extract fluids from veins, but in this case, it's just extracting."
Izuku nodded, "That makes sense, but aside from that, what do you think, Himi-chan? I'm going to do my internship with Gran Torino, but you've got way more offers, so you don't have to go with me."
Himiko grinned, and in her eye was a look Izuku hadn't seen in a while. It was pure evil, plain and simple, "hey, Izu, you'll probably be staying at Gran Torino's place during your internship, right?"
Izuku didn't like that evil grin one bit, but he looked to All Might for confirmation.
"Yes, more than likely, Gran Torino would prefer you stay close so he can… train you at a moment's notice." All of All Might's body shivered at the word 'train.'
Izuku gulped and looked back at Himiko as she grabbed him by the shoulders, "Hey, Izu, those internships start next week, right?"
"Y-Yeah, why?"
"I promised you three weeks of hellish training, so you better not expect to get any breaks from it, even when Gran Torino is training you." Himiko looked over at All Might, and he seemed ready to jump out of his skin at her gaze, "I'll be going too, All Might."
"O-Of course, Young Toga. I'll let Gran Torino know right away."
All Might made a speedy exit, leaving Izuku alone with a very sadistic girl.
'Please don't leave me, ALL MIIIIIIIIIGHT!'
All Might ran as quickly as his legs could carry him. A single tear fell from his eye, 'I'm so sorry, Young Midoriya.'
Izuku panted, and his breaths came out in wheezing gasps. All of class 1-A was assembled at the train station closest to the school. The weekend had come and gone and now it was time for their internships.
"Yo, Midoriya. Are you alright, man?" Kirishima patted Izuku's back worriedly. "You're looking kind of worn out."
"I-I'm—"
Himiko skipped forward happily, "Oh, he's fine! He's just exhausted because I made him train over the weekend, and before we got here."
Kirishima grinned nervously, "uh, are you sure that's alright? He looks kinda… half dead."
Himiko smiled pleasantly and tilted her head, "half dead? I could've sworn he looked completely dead when we got here. Izu~!"
Izuku went rigid, "Y-yes!"
"Since you're so lively now, while we're on the train to our internship office, I want you to do as many exercises as possible. Push-ups, pull-ups, squats, jumping jacks, anything you can think of. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Kirishima winced, "Man, is she your girlfriend or your drill instructor?"
"Both," both Izuku and Himiko answered.
Mr. Aizawa didn't comment on the behavior but instead looked around at everyone. "You've all got your costumes, right? Wearing them in public is strictly prohibited, but don't drop them." Everyone held up their cases, and Mr. Aizawa nodded, "All of you, be on your best behavior. Now go!"
Izuku looked over at Iida. He hadn't had the time Thursday after choosing a hero name to talk with Iida; they'd been busy Friday, too. They didn't come to school over the weekend, so now was his only time to talk with the boy.
"Iida!" He turned, and Izuku saw a shadow over Iida's face. It was dark, roiling, and all-consuming– it unsettled Izuku, "I heard what happened to your brother. I just want to say I'm your friend, and if it ever gets to be too much and you need to talk… just say something, okay?"
Iida smiled, and it was the hollowest thing Izuku had seen, "of course."
Izuku worried over Iida's demeanor during the entire four-hour bullet train ride, even through his nonstop exercises. They were just about to arrive at the station in Yamanashi.
"You're worried about Mr. Glasses, right?" Himiko stared out at the city as buildings zipped by.
Izuku did a set of squats as people on the train stared, "Yeah, I am."
She collected her carrying case and gestured for Izuku to stop his exercises, "we're only a few stations away from Hosu in Tokyo, where he's interning. We're going to Yamanashi Prefecture, that's just a two-hour ride to Hosu. I know it sounds like a long time, but it's better than being on the other side of Japan if something happens."
Izuku nodded, collecting his costume case as the train slowly started to pull into the station. The train's breaks hissed, and the doors slid open.
Himiko took Izuku's free hand, and the pair made their way off the train, through the train station ticket reader, and down the street toward Gran Torino's.
"I've never heard of Gran Torino, but if he was All Might's teacher, then he's gotta be one awesome guy!" Izuku turned his head from his phone. The GPS was saying the office should be on their right. Izuku looked up with great anticipation, but then, all at once, his excitement went down the drain.
The building looked abandoned; a construction fence and concrete barricades ringed the perimeter of the building, the exterior walls were cracked and covered in ivy, some of the windows were either missing or boarded up, and to top it off, the surrounding buildings rose dozens of floors higher than the three-floor building.
"D-Do we really have the right address?!"Izuku panicked, frantically entering and re-entering the address, only to find it kept saying they had arrived. Izuku looked to Himiko for help, but she had already left his side to approach the building, "H-Himiko!"
Before he could stop her, she stepped inside the building and disappeared. Izuku hurried after her, worried that she might have stepped into a building that could fall apart at any minute.
The inside of the building was pitch black, but surprisingly, it was much more well-preserved than the exterior. The furniture looked almost brand new, the bookshelf in the back was neatly organized, and the floor….
Izuku's blood ran cold.
There, in the middle of the entryway, was a small man on the ground. His intestines spilled out, and his blood pooled sickeningly around him.
Despite the morbid sight, Himiko crouched over him, her finger poking curiously at his side, and her head was tilted in curiosity.
"Himiko! Oh my god, he's dead!"
The man's head shot up, "I'M ALIVE!" Himiko didn't even flinch. She just continued to poke his side. The man looked at Izuku and then Himiko, "Who're you?"
Chapter 27
Izuku clutched his chest. His heart was hammering a million miles, and he tried desperately not to have a heart attack, "h-hello, sir. I'm Izuku Midoriya, and this is—"
The old man got to his feet and brushed off the costume that had gotten dirty," to slip and fall while carrying ketchup-covered sausage links… how clumsy of me." He slowly looked at Izuku and then Himiko, "Who're you?"
Himiko laughed, and Izuku just bemoaned his luck, 'Oh my god, I think he's senile!'
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya, sir! I've come from U.A.!"
He stared blankly. "What?"
"I said, I'm Izuku Midoriya!"
"Who're you?"
'He was All Might's teacher, so I knew he'd be old… but really?!'
Gran Torino, the man All Might was terrified of, plopped down into the mass of ketchup and sausage links, "I'd like to eat lunch."
Izuku sighed, left his case beside the aging hero, and waved back at Himiko, "Hey, Himiko. Could you watch him? I'm going to call All Might real quick."
Izuku turned away but heard the latch on his costume case snap open, "Fire off an attack! Show me how you use One for All."
The old man's gaze suddenly sharpened. "I'd like to know to what degree you can control it."
"W-Wait! You want me t—"
"You've got a nice costume here. Put 'er on and come at me!" He looked at Izuku, his gaze sharp and his face serious, "who are you again?"
Izuku slammed a hand into his forehead and went for the door, "Okay, that's it. I'm calling All Might."
Something behind and above him made a thumping noise, then to his right, and suddenly, Gran Torino was perched above the door, staring down at Izuku with a sinister grin, "I'll tell you only one more time! You better come at me, you neophyte!"
Gran Torino's fingers were embedded in the wall above the door, and the place his feet had landed was cracked, "the way you used One for All at the Sports Festival wasn't bad, but you're too rigid. I thought All Might would make a terrible teacher; it seems I gave him too little credit. That being said, you're still not using One for All like it's yours."
Izuku frowned, "what do you mean?"
Gran Torino observed him, was satisfied that Izuku wouldn't walk out of the door, and jumped down, "Don't get me wrong, you're leagues better than I thought you'd be with All Might as your teacher, but you've got no creativity. You fight head-on, when that isn't the best option, you just keep doing it. You had some ingenuity when fighting, you even put up a decent fight against the Todoroki boy, but that's not even considering that shit show with the blond kid. When push came to shove, you just destroyed your body in the heat of the moment, sacrificing an arm, and when you fought again, you used the exact same arm, and it ended up useless the rest of that fight. That was more like what I'd expect from a student of All Might. It makes me wonder if you've had some other kind of training."
Himiko stepped forward, drawing the man's attention, "Hi! Yeah, that'd be because of me! I'm Izu's other teacher."
Gran Torino studied her with a critical gaze, "Ah, so you've been learning from this psycho, huh?"
Himiko's smile didn't waver, but Izuku stepped forward angrily, "Don't call Himiko that! She's been helping me since I started training to be a hero! Himiko is—"
"She's a nutcase, plain and simple. Don't think I was fooled like everyone else, after her match with that glasses kid, she fully intended on ripping his throat out with her teeth. If you hadn't noticed something was wrong she would've murdered him."
Izuku couldn't deny what he was saying, and if Izuku hadn't been observing the fight, it could have ended horribly.
But…
"It wasn't entirely Himiko's fault. After how hurt I was after defending her during U.S.J., she refused to take blood from me, and her quirk makes her reliant on a frequent supply," Izuku scowled down at his palm. "Ultimately if I had been stronger, she never would've needed to worry about taking it from me, and she never would've been driven so far to the edge."
Himiko came over, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Izu, it isn't your fault. You tried helping me before the Sports Festival, but I kept putting it off. Gran Torino isn't wrong. I could've killed Mr. Glasses, and I ended up hurting you after you stopped me."
Her fingers slipped under the collar of his shirt, and they traced along the bite on his shoulder, Izuku shuddered.
"Ugh, you're both so insufferably in love," Gran Torino got between them and whacked Izuku on the shin, making him yelp," but I suppose if you're both willing to reflect on your mistakes, then I guess I could try training the both of you."
"Huh?" Himiko looked just as surprised as Izuku. Wait, you want to train me, too?"
Gran Torino grinned dangerously, "I've got you here. I might as well, and besides, it's been ages since I've been able to beat up more than one brat at a time. Now stop gawking and put your costumes on."
Izuku's beta costume was much sturdier than his original, but that was to be expected. After all, his mom had sewn the original, and Himiko had supplied motorcycle pads for armor; it hadn't exactly been high-tech.
The arm and leg armor was less hard plastic and more a lightweight but hard black metal; the armor on his arms covered just his forearms, but the leg armor protected a bit more, primarily his shins and knees. His gloves were fingerless, and the same black metal was protecting the back of his hands. The chest armor covered from just under his collarbone down to mid-torso so that he would have a full range of motion. And the mask had been converted into a cowl that hung down his back with a metal face guard.
The support company that modified the costume seemed to have decided they liked the color and pattern, because the armor was black with dark green lines, while the suit fabric looked to be a carbon fiber colored a deep forest green with black lines. Of course, Izuku wore his regular bright red sneakers instead of having some designed for the costume.
Gran Torino whistled, "Gotta say, those are some pretty snazzy costumes. Though yours looks a lot more villainous, crazy girl."
After Izuku had made sure his costume was on correctly, he approached Himiko and got a closer look at hers.
Himiko's costume was strange. It looked like a dress made of a blood-red velvety material, but when Izuku looked closer to test the quality, he found it surprisingly thick.
'I bet this could stop at least a knife swipe.'
Looking closer, Izuku noticed that Himiko had four black bands ringing her arms and legs that looked like they were made of lace. She wore one on each arm around the bicep and one around the thigh on each leg. Tucked inside each were at least five or more small but clearly high-quality throwing knives.
On Himiko's delicate hands were a pair of black elbow-length gloves. The tip of each of her fingers had pitch-black metallic nails, so finely sharp they might as well be syringes. When Izuku inspected the inside of the gloves, he could see each nail connected to an internal hose, whose function was obvious—but only to him. They were meant to siphon blood, and now that Izuku traced the hoses, he saw they snaked up the glove, along Himiko's arm, down her torso, with each individual hose depositing into vials ringing her waist, fastened into nearly indistinguishable, sewn-in holsters.
Himiko fidgeted, half hiding her wide blushing grin behind her hands, "You're such a pervert, Izu!"
"W-What?! N-No! I wasn't— I mean, I didn't—"
She giggled again, slapping him on the back, her sharp-clawed fingers digging into his back, "I'm just messing with you!"
'Of course she was.'
A clawed hand snaked along his ribs and another down his stomach as she purred in his ear, "You don't look half bad in that costume of yours either."
"H-H-Himiko! Stop! G-Gran Torino is still here!"
The pair looked over to the man.
He stood hunched over, supported by a cane, his entire frame shaking like a frail old man. "Who're you two?"
Both of them looked at him, unsure if he was messing with them or just senile.
Suddenly, the old man's cane was standing by itself, and Izuku was slammed into the ground from above by a small but insanely fast object. Then Himiko narrowly blocked a foot to the face as Gran Torino shot toward her, "I'm getting impatient! You two had better start shaping up, or this won't be any fun at all."
Himiko swiped at him with her claws, but in another second, he was shooting away and up into the ceiling, where he bounced back down at Izuki, who still hadn't recovered.
Izuku rolled to the side, barely avoiding a kick to the head, "You're a bit slow on the uptake, kid. Your girlfriend's got the right idea. She's at least blocked and attempted an attack, but you've barely managed a single dodge. Honestly, I'm disappointed! All Might chose such a wimpy guy to be the ninth wielder; what a fool!"
Gran Torino shot away, bouncing off one of the walls, then the ceiling, another wall, and attacked Himiko from behind. She wasn't caught off guard this time, and her claws came even closer to cutting the old hero.
Somehow, he managed to dodge and redirect himself toward Izuku.
Eight percent of One for All flooded him, and Izuku tensed the muscles in his forearms. He sprang feet first at Gran Torino.
"That same move you used on the blond kid? Please, give me more credit than that!"
Gran Torino twisted, avoiding the kick to the jaw, but that hadn't been Izuku's intention in the first place.
'All his bouncing around gave me an idea.'
Izuku shot feet first at the wall. As his feet made contact, Izuku had a split second to find Gran Torinos' trajectory, and he shot right for him.
"Oh? So you fancy yourself a copycat, huh?" Gran Torino pivoted, lunged from his position on the wall, and slammed a foot into Izuku's face, "Too bad you aren't used to these kinds of maneuvers, ya damn brat! Now stay down, and think about what you learned."
Gran Torino shot away from him and toward Himiko.
'Think about what I learned? I just… used One for All for maneuverability in a tight space and copied Gran Torino's movements. Is it that easy? Just use it in ways other than just for a strength boost? Is it that easy?' Izuku sighed, 'Who am I kidding? I'm the dense idiot who had to have his girlfriend teach him I could attack with my legs and not just my fists.'
"And you," Izuku looked over, and when he did, he nearly had a heart attack. Gran Torino was at least three times faster than when he'd been focusing on Izuku, but somehow, Himiko was keeping up, "Your reflexes are good, and you've got a good grasp on spatial awareness, but you treat every fight like a game. Honestly, you don't have much I can teach you."
"Then I guess you can focus on Izu. That's fine with m—"
Gran Torino planted his feet into a wall as he landed, but instead of shooting forward immediately, he seemed to brace himself. And then he was right in front of Himiko, slamming her face into the ground, "Aside from discipline, that is, but if I can beat it into that dense idiot All Might, then I'm sure I can get it through your thick skull."
Himiko stared up at the ceiling. Her costume was packed and neatly folded back in its carrying case. The spare room she was in was pretty barren, aside from a simple twin-size bed and a desk to work at.
The rest of the day had gone relatively poorly for her and Izu. The old fart had raked them both over the coals, and worst of all, even when they'd fought him together, the old guy had soundly beaten the crap out of them.
'This sucks!' Himiko punched her lumpy pillow, pretending it was that geezer's wrinkly face. Her hair, out of its usual messy bun style, splayed all along her pillow.
For long, suffering seconds, Himiko tried in vain to fall asleep, but all she could do was toss and turn.
Then she had a great idea.
'I'm gonna go sleep with Izu!'
She hummed to herself, throwing the flimsy sheets to the side. Her bare feet tapped lightly against the ground as she made her way out into the hall.
The building during the day wasn't anything special, but at night, it was downright creepy.
'Ugh, this old guy's got one creepy office/apartment.'
If she remembered right, that old fart told Izu his room was two doors down from hers across the hall.
Sure enough, as she pressed her ear to the door, she could hear the telltale scratch of a pen on paper. Izu was probably staying up late writing notes, analyzing what they could've done better, and coming up with combination attacks they could try out.
She smiled to herself and knocked softly on the door, "Izu," she whispered, "it's me! Let me in."
The sound of pen on paper disappeared, and she could faintly hear the soft tapping of his feet on the floor as he approached the door and opened it.
He looked haggard and worn out; his t-shirt was rumpled, and he had bags under his eyes.
"Whoa, you look terrible," Himiko giggled and sauntered inside to sit on his bed.
Izu made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a huff, "Well, we kinda got the floor mopped with us."
"And what do you think you're doing?" Izu looked down at her with a strange light in his eye.
Himiko immediately knew what that look meant. A large teasing grin spread across her face, "Izu~."
All fatigue seemed to leave his body as he stood at attention, "Y-yes!"
The dim light of the desk lamp barely illuminated them, but her eyes worked far better even in the dark, so she could see the blush that spread across his face. Every freckle stood out against bright red, and the thought of all the blood rushing behind his cheeks excited her.
"Come over here," Himiko beckoned him closer, her heart racing.
He stepped forward slowly. It looked like he wasn't sure if she was messing with him or actually wanting to do something.
Himiko rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the shirt.
"W-Whoa!"
Izu's frame engulfed her. He was so much bigger than she remembered, or maybe he'd just grown since the last time they'd done naughty stuff. It had been a while, after all.
Himiko pulled the collar of his shirt down and traced the bite mark on his shoulder with her tongue. The wound had been closed by Recovery Girl a week ago, but he shuddered all the same as her tongue lightly grazed the flesh.
She wanted desperately to sink her teeth in, and if the way he fidgeted was any indication, so did he. As her teeth met the soft flesh of his shoulder, she hesitated.
'Will he be okay? I won't hurt him, right?'
Izu's hand brushed lightly against her cheek; the rough calluses of his hands felt oddly good. "You don't have to stop. I'm okay."
Her heart fluttered strangely, and her face grew hot. Her teeth sank in, and the warm, sweet flood of his blood filled her mouth. She gulped greedily and hummed as his fingers combed slowly through her hair.
"I like your hair when it's down; it's pretty."
Himiko pulled her fangs from his shoulder and shot an arm's length away from him; for some reason, that had really flustered her. She fanned her face with her hands, "S-stupid Izu! Don't say weird things out of nowhere!"
He smiled gently at her, the blood on his shoulder spilling down and staining his shirt, "you're shy about the weirdest things."
"S-Shut up! Take that off!" Himiko tugged on the hem of his shirt, lifting the fabric over his head.
His bare torso wasn't a new sight to her, but he looked more muscular than she remembered. She ran a hand along his chest, down his stomach, and along the hem of his shorts.
"H-Himi-chan," he panted, his breath coming in quick sharp puffs.
Himiko reached behind his head with her free hand and pulled him into a kiss. She traced a tentative tongue along his lips and was delighted when he opened his mouth to her without hesitation. Her tongue twirled lazily around his, savoring the feeling and taste of his.
While they continued the kiss, Himiko let her hand drop from the back of his head down to his broad back, but she felt something. Something odd.
Himiko pulled away from the kiss, confusing Izu as she turned him around to get a better look.
There, on his back, was a long, rough scar she hadn't noticed before. It ran from his left shoulder blade down to just past the middle of his back toward his right hip.
Izu's hand brought hers back around so that he could kiss it, "that was from when Nomu was slamming me into the ground during U.S.J. Recovery Girl said the wound was too deep to be healed completely."
Himiko couldn't meet his eye. She had been too weak to help him back then, and if he had died, she would have had no one to blame but herself.
'Why can't my quirk be more useful? I hate this stupid quirk.'
Izu took her chin between his index finger and thumb and moved her head to look up at him, "I'm the one responsible for this scar, Himi-chan. I was the idiot who attacked Nomu when I knew just how strong it was."
Izu pulled her closer, and this time, he was the one who took charge during the kiss. His tongue traced hers, his hands gripped her waist, and he pulled her into his lap. He took her bottom lip and sucked on it, eliciting an involuntary moan from her.
"I-Izuuuuuu," Himiko groaned, grinding her hips against him and wrapping her legs around his waist.
He grinned cockily down at her, "I thought you said no fun for three weeks. It hasn't even been two yet."
She didn't know when Izu had gotten so assertive, but it definitely wasn't half bad. But…
Himiko pounced, pinning Izu's hands above his head. Of course, he could overpower her; after all, he was stronger than her now when it came to raw strength, but he seemed content to let her lead.
"I changed my mind," Himiko planted trails of hickies along his lower jaw, neck, and shoulders, leaving him a red and panting mess; all the while, she ground her hips against his hard length, "and that's for acting cocky."
She was acting tough, but she was just as hot and bothered as him, maybe even more so. Izu was practically a saint when it came to patience, but she had never been one to hold back, so Izu's punishment slowly made her crazy.
Himiko pulled her shirt over her head, exposing her breasts to the cool air of the room, and Izu's hands seemed to shoot up instantly to start kneading the soft flesh. His fingers sank into her supple breasts and massaged them, and the heat of his hands slowly started driving her wild.
"Izu~" Himiko growled, bringing her teeth down to sink into the mark on his shoulder; her mark. She tugged at his shorts, and his hands fumbled to remove hers.
"Himi-chan, I-I want to—"
"Me too," Himiko panted between kisses.
Their shorts were thrown to the side and quickly forgotten. Himiko slid along the length of his throbbing erection, the heat of his shaft exciting her. Izu's hands gripped her hips with trembling fingers; his face was completely red, and he looked like he was on the verge of just thrusting it in.
Himiko raised her hips and positioned him at her entrance. She slowly lowered herself on his shaft, letting the sensation fill her; more and more, his member pushed deeper and deeper until, finally, he was all the way inside.
"Ugh," Izu groaned, and his fingers trembled as she went to lift up, "h-hold on! It feels too good. If you move now, I'll—"
"It's fine, just cum," Himiko leaned down to whisper into his ear, "We aren't stopping at one anyway."
Himiko pulled his shaft out halfway, slammed down, making a very lewd slapping noise, and then she repeated two more times before Izu's hips started to thrust upward on their own.
"H-Himiko! I'm cumming!"
His hips pumped furiously, making her brain go fuzzy and her legs turn to jelly. Izu pushed forward, putting her on her back, lifting her legs so that they rested over his shoulders, and with one more hard thrust, he released. A molten heat flooded her insides, and the sensation sent stars into her vision.
Himiko panted. She hadn't cum, but the sensation had been intense, and if he had gone a few seconds longer, she definitely would ha—
Izu started to thrust again, his member hard and his muscles tensing as he steadied himself.
"I-Ishu?!" Himiko slurred his name as she was brought closer and closer to the edge.
"Y-You said we weren't stopping at just one, so I'm just listening to what you said," Izu slammed his length in and out slowly and agonizingly. "Besides, I'm just as pent up as you, and this is payback for all that training you made me do."
Himiko tried to muster up indignity at that, but all she managed to do was moan into Izu's shoulder as he put her legs down around his waist and pulled her up so he could thrust deeper inside. Sweat and the sweet smell of sex filled the air around them, and the way his muscles tensed as he held her up made her dizzy.
Himiko could feel her orgasm coming closer and closer with every thrust as Izu slammed into her. The steady rhythm and sound of their sweat-covered flesh colliding made her feel strange. Her head was spinning.
"I-Ishu!" She slurred his name again, feeling her orgasm coming, "I'm gonna c-cum!"
Izu pumped away; his breaths came quicker and quicker until, with one last grunt, he came again.
Himiko nearly screamed as stars exploded in her vision, but she narrowly managed to sink her teeth into the mark on his neck, muffling her cry. The amazing sensation of her orgasm was doubled in pleasure as she swallowed greedy mouthfuls of his blood down, and he lightly bit into her neck.
She shut her eyes as she enjoyed the moment.
"H-Himiko," Izu panted, pulling his teeth away, cradling the back of her head with his right hand while steadying them on the bed with his left, "I'm a little… tapped out."
Himiko's eyes fluttered open, and she slowly unraveled her legs from his waist. "I'm sorry. I got a little carried away."
Izu laughed, "Yeah, me too."
They both lay on his bed, not caring about the stains covering the sheets beneath them. Himiko rested her head on Izu's chest, enjoying the feeling of his fingers combing through her hair.
"I missed that," Himiko pulled herself up a bit so that she could lick the bite mark on his shoulder.
He winced slightly as she lapped up some of the excess blood but smiled when she settled back onto his chest, "Me too; I think the last time was all the way back before you had to start going to U.A."
Izu reached down and pulled the comforter across them, staving off the rapidly cooling air around them.
Himiko started to doze off; something nagged at her from the back of her mind, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what.
She yawned heavily and closed her eyes, 'whatever, it's probably not important.'