Chapter 7 Old Rival, New Friend
Taku Utenshu had been a cab driver for years and has seen several things in his years as a cab driver but nothing made him more nervous than his current passenger in the back of his cab. It was a girl in what he assumed was in middle school wearing a white bandana on her head covering her long dark hair, in hunting gear from the nineteenth century. In today's society that wouldn't be too weird maybe a reenactor or maybe a hero in training but what was really making him nervous was that she was cleaning a rifle right in the back of his cab.
'How in the world did this kid get a gun? What should I do? It looks like an old rifle used in hunting. I have heard of people who use old flintlock rifles for hunting so would this be grounds for me to call the cops or is it just an antique. Well here goes nothing.'
"So miss if you don't mind me asking where exactly you headed?"
"I'm heading to a mountain to do some hunting." she said without taking her eyes off of her rifle.
"Mountain? Uhh miss this address you gave me is nowhere near any mountain." said Taku. All he saw was nothing but fields along the highway they were currently driving on. A few trees here and there but no mountains.
"No, you are going the right way. I apologize if this is a little confusing. Usually I would run the whole way there as a form of training but i want to save my strength for the hunt." she said as she began examining her ammunition.
"Hunt? What exactly will you be hunting?"
"A dangerous prey. Maybe the most dangerous." she grinned as she looked out the window. "The turn is coming up by the way."
"Uhh right."
Soon the cab turned down a long dirt road that ended with a group of trees. "Thanks for the ride mister, here keep the change." Taku took the roll of cash which was easily double the amount the trip actually cost. He was about to protest the amount but she had already stepped away from the cab. He watched as she disappeared into the trees.
"Yeah I'm definitely gonna need to tell someone about this."
~o~
The girl continued to walk until she exited the group of trees where she saw the mountain ahead of her. She began to walk up the mountain as she tried to calm herself. 'Six months I've been waiting for this. I need to calm down. I've barely climbed the mountain, can't get to worked up before the hunt begins.'
She continued to walk up the mountain for awhile until she saw her destination in sight. 'Mister Yushiro's estate.'
She was about to enter when she heard something from behind her. On instinct she hid herself behind a tree as she peered around it. She saw a girl around her age with a blonde hair in a ponytail, in jogging attire. The blonde ran around the side path to the other side of the estate.
'Who's she, I don't remember a foreigner staying here?'
She followed her to the other side to see someone else she didn't know. "Come on Melissa you can do it. You're almost there." cheered a little girl in a pink hiyori. She had white hair and a small horn on her head.
Melissa breathing hard tried to make a strong finish as she made it back to the starting line. She pushed herself to stay running as she passed the lap robot at the end of the path.
"Bzzt Running track completed"
Melissa almost keeled over right then as she tried to catch her breath. "Thanks Eri." Taking the water bottle from her. A taking a long drink. "AHHH. How does Izuku do this? He makes this look so easy." she said clearly exhausted from her run. Even though she has progressed by leaps and bounds, it was still quite tough and through her out of her comfort zone, she was determined to keep going.
"He's been doing this for awhile but you were able to shatter your previous record."
"DAD!"
"Hey sweetie." said David Shield hugging his daughter. "How have you been?"
"Great dad but what are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you."
"Can't a father check up on his daughter."
"Well of course but you were here not too long ago."
"Melissa" smirkered Yushiro "It's been almost two months since he dropped you off here."
"What really? It hasn't felt that long."
"Time flies when you're busy."
This reminded her when she first met them.
~o~
(Two Months ago)
David and Melissa arrived and were led into the living room by Tomo. Where she saw Yushiro at a small table reading some papers.
"Ah David good to see you again."
David gave a small bow. "Yes. It's good to see you too. I am happy to hear that you reconsidered what we discussed early." he said as he took a seat.
Melissa followed her father's lead and took a seat. Getting more and more confused why her father treated a kid who looked no older than her with such respect. Was he a genius or something?
"And who might this be?"
"Oh my apologies, sir. This is my daughter Melissa."
"Hello," she said a little nervous.
"Greetings Ms. Shield."
She had already said Hello and was confused on what to say next. THis day was getting weirder and weider for her. First her dad takes her to Japan, then to a mountain that she could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago and now she is sitting across the table from a strange kid.
"Is something wrong miss?"
"Huh, oh no just wondering when Mr. Yushiro is gonna get here?" This made her on the receiving end of two very confused stares. 'Did I say something weird? Maybe I should break the ice.' "Sooooo, what's it like to be Mr. Yushiro's assistant?"
Yushiro then gave David a deadpan stare. David scratched his cheek a little out of embarrassment. "I may have forgotten to mention a few things to my daughter."
Yushiro let out a sigh. "I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Yushiro."
"What but dad said Yushiro was a world renowned doctor and scientist. You're my age."
"Melissa, I know it maybe hard to believe but mister Yushiro here is immortal."
Melissa's eyes nearly popped out in surprise. "Your immortal!"
"No. Well somewhat. I can die but it will take a lot to kill me. As for my background, my quirk is regeneration, because of that I have nearly two hundred years of medical and scientific knowledge and before you ask I'm two hundred and twenty three years old."
"TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE!" she yelled in shock. Before calming herself down. "No way. I'm sorry but there's no way. I've spent years studying the first cases of quirks and all scientists related to the research and I've never heard of you or your quirk."
"Hhmm I guess a demonstration is needed. Tomo board please."
Tomo then came through the door with a board and plastic trash bag. She set the trash bag down in front of him and the board on top, then put a knife on the board. Melissa was confused but her father connected the dots first. "Wait… you're not gonna do what i think you're gonna do are you?"
Before Melissa could ask what her father meant, Yushiro lifted the knife in the air and in one fluid motion severed his free hand. Mellissa yelled in horror as she saw his severed hand on the board, though her horror soon turned into shock and then into intrigue as she saw Yushiro's hand grow back in a matter of seconds. "You're like a starfish."
"Starfish? That's a new one."
"So you have been alive for hundreds of years and you're a scientist to boot." said Melissa "Then why are you here, why haven't I heard of you? Your quirk alone is groundbreaking research."
"Melissa!" said David raising his voice. "I'm sorry Mr. Yushiro. The reason I didn't tell my daughter much was because I know how personal it is for you."
"It's fine." said Yushiro cleaning up his old hand giving it to Tomo to be properly disposed of. "Though maybe it's time I return to society. You see Melissa things were different back all those years ago. I went into hiding for the safety of myself and for others around me and in hopes of helping the world from the background, in doing so I have acquired knowledge that most people don't have and said knowledge can help fix your problems."
"Problems? What problems?"
"To heal All might of course."
"Huh"
David too was also a little surprised but didn't really show it. "So you knew then."
"It wasn't that hard to figure out. He has been slowing down a lot and he only works about three hours a day now. Honestly if you would have just told me who it was for we could have figured something out a week ago."
"Wait wait wait. Hold up what's wrong with uncle All Might."
There was silence as David tried to think of what to tell his daughter about All Mights condition. This is when Yushiro decided it was best to be honest. "All might currently as a hole in his side. After a fight with a powerful villain he lost half of his stomach a bit of his spleen and most other internal organs were shredded." He said as he handed her All MIghts medical papers that David Sent him.
She quickly glanced at them. "Daddy" she said in a quiet voice.
David gave his daughter a quick hug. "Don't worry. With mister Yushiro's help will have All Might back on his feet, better than ever." comforting his daughter.
"No"
David and Melissa turned to Yushiro. "What"
"I said no"
"What but you said you would help him." Yelled David borderline hysterical. "We need him do you have any idea what would happen if we lost him. We need him back at full strength. I already have support gear for him. Please just heal him and make him better."
"Sure."
David brain froze not understanding where this was going at all. Melissa wasn't faring any better but she was less frozen then her father. "I don't get it?"
"I'm fully willing to help All Might, fix up his body but that is not what I'm saying no to."
"Then what?"
Yushiro grabbed his tablet and put it on the table showing David's quirk enhancing device. "I won't help if you want to tamper with his quirk." said Yushiro. Melissa looked over the tablet studying the device while David was about to protest but Yushiro beat him to it. "Let me guess 'he's the symbol of peace, the number one hero in the world.' and your gonna go on how we need him at full strength then let me ask you this simple question. What happens after he's dead?"
This stopped David in his tracks. He was already coming up with his arguments in his head to Yushiro's response. Though nothing he had was good. "He's my best friend. He has helped so many people. I just can't imagine the world without my friend." he somberly said.
"It's a sad fact of life but one day he will be gone and when that happens the world needs to be ready. That's what I'm trying to prepare for. That's why we should be looking towards the next generation. I'm still willing to help him heal his body that alone should double the time he has for hero work."
"Really?"
"Yes I promise. I will help him if he accepts. Though I would like to talk to him first."
"Thankyou" he said with a bow that Melissa followed.
"Just promise me no more of this quirk enhancement business. I've seen it done before and it didn't end well." David reluctantly nodded. "Now who is your other patient. Did you bring them with you?"
This perked David up. He had waited for this. "Yes the other patient is my daughter Melissa."
"HHHHUUuuhh. Daddy I'm fine. I'm not sick or anything. The doctors back at I island gave me a clean bill of health." she said a little shocked.
"Yushiro you said over the phone that there weren't any quirkless people anymore but the doctors said my daughter is quirkless can you prove them wrong, please."
"Okay" he said but inwardly he was cursing himself for not thinking this was a possibility. The quirkless factor wasn't for All Might but for Melissa.
Melissa quirkly gathered all the information in her head on what this was about. "What are you saying I could have a quirk?"
"Of course you do." said Yushiro not missing a beat. 'I'm this far time to dive deeper into the rabbit hole.' he thought as he stood up. "Please stand up." She did so. "David, remind me what was your quirk again?"
David showed him his hands and his fingers bending in odd directions. "Bending fingers."
"Okay we'll start there. Melissa please show me your hands and arms." 'Good something I can work with.' he thought as he began to examine her hands. "Melissa what form of physical activity do you do."
"Umm not much the most I do is a bit of lifting when I carry junk or use one of my inventions." With that information Yushiro began moving her right arm while also measuring her pulse. "Um if this is a medical check up shouldn't we do this in a doctor's office or something?" getting a little embarrassed.
"We do have a medical office here but going there now would be pointless. I already got a good idea of your quirk."
"WHAT THAT QUICKLY." yelled both Shields in shock.
"We're home" yelled Izuku getting their attention. The three then hear a small padding noise in the hall. They then open the hall door to see Izuku and a very excited Eri talking to Tomo.
"It was so fun. We ran the mountain, then to the fields and then and then we ran back to the peak of the mountain and ran on some fluffy clouds." said the excited child. "Piggy back rides are so much fun."
Yushiro walked up to them. "Perfect timing. Izuku I would like you to meet-
"David Shield" said Izuku somehow materializing his notebook. "Your All mIghts first sidekick." he as he disappeared only for Yushiro to catch him by the collar of his Hiyori.
"You can fanboy over him later. Right now I need you to prepare the running course outside." he said letting the fanboy go. "Tomo, I need you to outfit Melissa here with some workout clothes and a heart beat monitor."
"Yes Master."
"Oh and if you wouldn't mind on your way drop these files off in my office. You can just put them on my desk next to the wisteria plant."
For a split second Tomo's face was stunned before she bows. "Yes sir." Before taking Melissa to get changed. As the others made their way outside to the training grounds. No noticed Tomo's reaction but Izuku, who made a mental note to ask his sensei later.
It didn't take long for Tomo and Melissa to come outside now sporting running top and shorts and her hair in a ponytail. "Okay so what do you want me to do now?" asked Melissa.
"I want you to play tag with Izuku."
All of them stood there as if they were stone. "Huh?"
"Tag thats a game right?" asked Eri "Can I play?"
"Not this time Eri." smirked Yushiro as he patted her head. "This game is for Izuku and Melissa, and Izuku I don't want you going easy at all, Melissa this will be the toughest workout yet. SO without further ado begin."
Melissa was shocked by the suddenness of the situation and didn't move until Izuku poked her in the head. "Hey." she complained as she tried to quickly grab him only for him to jump several meters away within a second. Without hesitation she chased after him. She tried several times to get close to him but could never reach him.
This went on for several minutes with Melissa doing nothing but tiring herself out. David was getting worried, Izuku began to see some change in Melissa, same with Tomo who expected it along with Yushiro who was ready to move to the stage and Eri who was wondering what's for dinner.
"Tomo, begin stage the next stage." said Yushiro
"Okay." she said as a small weight disk appears in one hand and small coin in the other hand. She raised the coin the air as it began to glow. As the coin glowed the ground beneath Melissa began to move. In the span of second a small mountain raised below Melissa. She had no chance to react as she fell down the new mountain. The most she could hear were her father's cries, but something inside her knew what to do. She used her legs and jumped off the side of the mountain and did a double backflip before making a ten point landing.
"How did I? Eeep" she said as Izuku crashed in front of her as he tried to catch her.
Yushiro took the weight from Tomo. "Melissa think fast." as he threw the weight right at her. Without even thinking she caught it with ease. That alone left her stunned but when she opened her hands she was left speechless. She had somehow bent the disk. For a moment she thought the disk was fake but she had been working with metals for too long and could tell it was very real.
Her father ran to her to make sure she was okay. "Melissa are you okay."
"Yeah dad I'm fine. Look what I did." showing the disk.
"How?" he said looking at the disk before turning to Yushiro yelling. "How did you know she was going to be okay, what if she fell."
"May I see the weight" he asked and Melissa silently gave him the weight before dropping right where Melissa would have fallen. Only for it to bounce like a bouncy ball. "Come now, she wasn't in any danger. Whenever we do something like this I have Tomo change the ground so if anyone falls they won't get hurt."
David was going to continue but was interrupted by Melissa. "How did you know I had a physical quirk or even a quirk in general?"
"One I've been studying quirks for hundreds of years and come to the conclusion that everyone below the age of fifty or at the least thirty must have a quirk. Two when i was examining your hands and arms, they felt more like the hands of a gymnast then one of an inventor also your ligaments didn't feel normal or i should say now the average that other people have. And before I get to the third I would like everyone here to check their heart."
A bit confused everyone slowly but there hands on their chest. Except for Melissa without thinking she put her hand on her wrist checking her pulse. "Huh what? You want us to check our heart beats right. The best way is to check our pulse right?"
Yushiro slowly took her hands. "Melissa. I hate to tell you this but you can't feel your heart."
"Huh what are you talking about." she said a little worried.
"I can feel your pulse right now through your hands. Can you feel the beating of your own heart in your chest right now." She couldn't, she stood there silent for a moment trying to feel it without using her hands but she couldn't. "You just ran more than you ever had before in your life. Even though you're catching your breath right now your heart should be beating hard enough for you to feel it, you can't."
She slowly shook her head. "No but why?"
Yushiro let go of her hands as he put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "The third reason was when I met Izuku he was told he was quirkless, but I knew he wasn't because I had to operate on his lungs I knew that couldn't be true. That added with my calculations of quirk progression and the fact that quirk to to quirkless ratio has plateaued. It led me to a theory and discovery of what I believe to be a new gene in all of us that make us unable to feel the part of our body that our quirk effects. In Izuku's case it was his lungs in your case it was your heart."
"So the reason I didn't know I had a quirk was because I couldn't feel my heart. How come I didn't notice it before?"
"How can anyone notice it? When you get medical check ups doctors use a stethoscope to hear your heartbeat. When a teacher wants to show the class they show you your pulse because your heart beats too quietly when you're not doing any physical activity. Your quirk seems to activate depending on your heart rate and blood pressure which while hard is hard but not impossible to control but even then you can't feel it. So unless someone had a quirk that could tell them or was physically checking for it, no one would know, not even you."
"But my toe joint."
"Oh don't even get me started on that stupid joint exam." said Yushiro with annoyance. "Several people with quirks have several joints in their toes. Honestly it's the laziest way for a doctor to tell whether or not if someone has a quirk. It doesn't even work and we have two people right here as proof of that. If it was up to me every doctor who uses that test would have their medical license stripped from them."
While Yushiro was fuming about current medical practices. The shield's were celebrating. David was so happy Melissa could have sworn he broke her back, but at the moment she was too happy to care. "I got a quirk. I have a quirk." She kept crying into her father's chest.
"Yes. Yes you do. Now you can finally follow your dreams."
"Thanks dad. I promise I'll become a hero. One the greatest in the world."
"I'll help you every step of the way. I'll call the gym back at I island and we can get you started and maybe All Might can help you get into U.A."
"No." said Yushiro interrupting the touching scene. Getting everyone's attention.
"Oh for the love of." said David getting really sick and tired of him saying 'no'. "What is it this time?"
"Let me rephrase that. No that doesn't sit right with me. You see the reason I didn't let Izuku go back home right was one he was in no condition to go back, two I'm still considered a global government secret which doesn't really apply to you but , three we don't know the extent of her quirk that directly affects her heart. Like Izuku his abilities affect his lungs which in both cases can be a real medical issue. Not enough to stop them from becoming heroes if they train with them. So with your permission I would like her to stay here so I can keep an eye on her. To make sure nothing bad happens and I can guarantee with my training I can have her ready for the U.A. exam in five months. And if it bothers you so much you can stay here as well. We got plenty of room with state of the art equipment to keep up with your work if you want."
The Father and daughter looked at each other not really sure what to do. "We may have to think about it." Yushiro nodded in understanding.
"Well while you think about it how about we go inside for some dinner." said Tomo "Some of us haven't had anything to eat in awhile." as two mightly growls come from Izuku and Eri's stomachs.
They all laughed as they went back inside to eat. Over the course of the meal Melissa convinced her dad to let her stay so that she could train and become the hero she always wanted to be. While the other residents of the house had a conversation of their own.
"So you just messed with her heart." said Izuku wrapping his head around what had happened. Tomo simply nodded. "So when sensei asked you to put the files next to the wisteria plant that was code to somehow alter someone's heart."
"No we keep a spare phone next to the wisteria plant that I texted instructions to will you guys weren't looking." said Yushiro. "As for the whole mess with her heart bit, I'm sure you can guess that one."
"Tomo's quirk right." they both nodded. "Okay I get that part but what about the whole 'quirkless people don't exist' thing that you said."
"Some of that is true. Doctors do need to look deeper for peoples quirks and I already have a few ideas how to fix that in the meantime we need to start getting our lies straight cause all of this has shown me is that sooner or later we all are going to have to start walking in the light."
"So we're not going to tell them anything."
"Some half truths here and there but for the most part no. I was willing to tell you and Eri everything because my old friends brought you to me. To be honest I'm sure you already figured out I haven't exactly told you everything just yet."
"Yeah I kinda guessed."
"Knowledge is a powerful thing we need to be careful on how much we let others know about it. So I'm open to suggestions."
~o~
(Present)
"Incredible, Melissa." said David " In two months your stats have already exceeded those of candidates to U.A. who had years of training. Honestly I didn't think you could grow this much in such a short amount of time."
Melissa glowing with pride and blushing a little bit out of embarrassment. "Awe jezz dad thanks but the credit goes to sensei Yushiro. If it wasn't for him I don't think I could get this strong."
"Well I won't deny my hundred years of experience did help teaching you." said Yushiro drinking his tea as he, David , Melissa, Tomo and Eri were drinking tea on the porch. "But the years of teaching have taught me that students grow as fast as they are willing to learn. You're definitely determined to learn that for sure."
Unbeknownst to most of them a girl with a rifle was watching them. Waiting for her prey to show.
"Hey guys." yelled Izuku getting back from a delivery. "I'm home."
"Izuku onii-chan" yelled Eri
"Izuku we're over here." yelled Melissa . "We're having tea."
"OH hey Mr. Shield." said Izuku running to his friends. "How are you, here to vis-" As he was about to get the porch, he ran face first into an invisible wall.
"IZUKU" said both Melissa and Eri. As they and David stood up to check on him. Only to find the wall separating them from Izuku. As Izuku was getting up, before anyone could question what was going on, he heard something. A click.
"Boooom"
As an explosion hit the invisible wall covering the outside with smoke.
"Nice call on the invisible wall, Tomo" said Yushiro drinking his tea calmly.
"Thank you sir."
"What's going on?" the three screamed while wondering why they were so calm.
"Don't worry she won't hurt us."
"She?"
Outside the wall the smoke was clearing revealing Izuku coughing slowly getting up from the surprise attack. "Wait that attack. I know that attack."
"Well well well." said a voice. They turn to see a girl with a rifle over shoulder standing on a rock. "Long time no see Izuku Midoriya, or should I call you DEMON SLAYER."
"YAE RYOSHI"
Yae grinned "It's time for round two, IZUKU."
Chapter 8 Round two, or three?
"Wait what are you doing." asked a frantic Izuku trying to get a grip on the situation.
"What does it look like?" said Yae jumping down from the rock. "I came here for a rematch." raising her rifle at Izuku. "So come on then let's do this."
While Yae was threatening Izuku. Eri Melissa and David were getting a little worried about the whole situation. Seeing this Yushiro decided he should step in. "Tomo bring the wall down for a second." Tomo complied and followed her master out towards the two. "Yae, it's good to see you again."
"Hey old man how's it going."
"Not too bad but I'd wish your surprise visit didn't scare our guest over there." pointing to the others. "Was the sneak attack really necessary?"
"Hey he started it." she said pointing at Izuku.
"What?" before he remembered how their first fight started. "That was an accident. I didn't mean to crash into you."
"Bull you jumped right in and went for the kill."
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did."
As they began arguing back and forth. Melissa tapped Tomo on the shoulder. "What are they talking about and who exactly is she?"
Yushiro answered. "She's the daughter of my former bodyguard. They come by every now and then. Though six months ago the two agreed to have a friendly spar after Izuku got done with a delivery I asked of him."
"Okay so what happened?"
Tomo chuckled a little. "As per usual Izuku got into a fight with a villian and was running late. So when he rushed back he kinda forgot to look where he was going and crashed right into Yae."
"She didn't take it well and began firing at him the second she stood up." said Yushiro. "Though in the end Izuku won and she lost. That's when she vowed she would return to defeat him someday and it looks like today is that day." Yushiro watched the two squabble a bit before stopping the farce. "Okay that enough stop both of you."
Izuku and Yae immediately stopped arguing. While Yushiro was thinking how he wanted this to go. "Sir, do you want me to delay dinner?"
"Wait" said Yae "I want my rematch."
"Yae the rematch can wait." Said Izuku getting a little annoyed. "I'll go help setup dinner."
Izuku was about to go inside and help Tomo only to be stopped by Yushiro. "A dinner and a show that sounds like a lovely idea."
"SENSEI"
"Yes." cheered Yae. "Oh before I forget." she pulled out a letter handing it to Yushiro. "My dad wanted me to give this to you. Better give it to you now before we get started."
"Hold it." said Yushiro putting the letter inside his kimono. "Tomo setup dinner on the southern side overlooking the mountain. You two can fight on the lower side where we can watch. Its flater with fewer trees to get in your way and you will begin fighting at the sound of the gong. Agreed."
"Agreed."
Izuku sighed a little. "Agreed."
~o~
It didn't take long for Tomo to set up dinner. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the fight to get started. Melissa and Eri were slightly worried. Tomo and Yushiro weren't worried at all though Yushiro did make sure if that things got too out of hand that Tomo would put an end to it.
David though was curious. "So Mister Yushiro how good is Yae in a fight?"
"Well last time I saw her she was already at a pro hero level. Though last time her and Izuku fought it was clearly one sided with Izuku beating her without really trying."
"So do you think he's going to win?"
"Without a doubt." said Tomo putting the food down. "Izuku has been fighting real villains. I hate to say it but Yae doesn't really stand a chance. This should be over quickly."
"I'm not so sure." said Yushiro looking at the two ready to fight. 'Yae is different now. What happened to her.' he thought as both fighters got ready down below. "Looks like both of them are ready to fight might as well get this started." as he walked to the edge of the hill. "Are you two ready?"
"Yes, sensei." said Izuku hand on his sword.
"You know it, old man." said Yae loading her rifle.
"Alright then on the sound of the gong you may begin. The fight will end if either one of you is knocked out or is unable to continue or surrender." as he walked back towards the gong.
"Hey Yae. No hard feelings when this is over." said Izuku ready to get this over quickly.
"Just you wait. I'll show you what I can do." trying to keep her emotions in check.
Yushiro was about to hit the gong when Eri asked if she could do it. Yushiro gave the mallet to the little girl who carefully gave the gong a good hit.
"GOoooong"
The second she heard the gong Yae fired six rapid shots at Izuku. Izuku carefully looked at them before deflecting them. 'Strange none of them looked like explosion rounds. That's what she opened with last time.' he thought as he dashed forward at Yae who launched another barrage at Izuku. Izuku quickly deflected and dodged them. He was about to use the breath of lightning to close the gap before a bullet grazed him from the side. He quickly turned to see more bullets coming at him. 'They're curving!' as he dodged again.
"She's curving the bullets." said Melissa as they saw Yae fire at different angles and for the bullets in mid air change directions and attack Izuku at different angles.
"Wow she has improved last time she wasn't able to curve the bullets that well." said Yushiro
"It's going to take more than that to beat Izuku." said Tomo
Izuku was having enough of this and made a dash at Yae once he saw an opening and as expected she aimed her rifle right at him and fired several shots. Izuku got ready to deflect the bullets though as his sword made contact with the bullets they turned into liquid metal before hardening around his blade. "WHAT" he yelled forcing to lower his blade as it began to way a lot more. 'She melted the bullets weighing down my blade. When could she do that?' He quickly put his thoughts away and tried to move only to look down and see his foot stuck to the ground with metal. "When did she?"
"Gotcha now." said Yae as she fired more rounds at him. This time the bullets had a distinctive red glow.
"Explosive round." gritted Izuku "Breath of flame" Izuku quickly used the flame to melt the metal on his blade and foot. Before using it to counter Yae's exploding bullets. Cause the area around him to be covered in smoke.
Yae knew he would come out running and had her rifle pointing at the smoke ready for him to come out. She waited for him to make a move. SHe waited and waited until the smoke finally cleared. 'What! Where is he?' She quickly scanned the area. 'He didn't dash out of the smoke from any direction and he doesn't have any ability to go underground so "Above." As Izuku came down fast as she brought her rifle up to intercept but Izuku was faster and with the tip of his sword deflected the barrel of her gun. Izuku was about to end the fight when suddenly she stepped forward and blocked Izuku's blade with her own.
"What the?" said Izuku as he looked at Yae's gun which she was using to clash and lock with Izuku's sword. It now had a blade on the bottom of the barrel that turned it into a gun blade.
"Didn't see that coming did ya?" said Yae with a cocky grin. "Well your not gonna see this either."
BANG
As Izuku felt the kick directly to his head. Izuku barely had time to see Yae's smoking foot hitting him in the face. 'Shit, I really did underestimate her.' thought Izuku as he disengaged and ran for cover.
The others above stared in shock as they saw Izuku run for cover. "Whao, how did she do that?" asked Melissa "Was that some sort of equipment? Like a gun on the bottom of her foot?"
"Like a witch?" asked Eri
"Not all witches have guns on their feet, Eri" said David "But if i had to guess it's her quirk isn't it?"
"Yes." said Yushiro not taking his eyes off the battlefield. "Her quirk Strange Metal."
Yae Ryoshi Quirk : Strange Metal. Yae can produce a strange metal substance from her body that she can control. She can make it bouncy like rubber, hard as steel or ignited it causing it to explode. She can even change its shape. The only problem is she can make a lot of it at one time or else she begins to hurt herself. So she can only make small objects like bullets or a large knife.
"Wait I thought she could only produce and control only a bit of her metal at a time?" asked Tomo "How was she able to make a large blade?"
"It most likely isn't a full blade." said Yushiro "Most likely she simply used the same amount she would a knife and restructured it so it could hold an attack or two from Izuku. It would probably break with too many hits."
Yushiro's guess was spot on as Yae examined her gun Blade. 'Damn, already chipping after a single attack. Looks like I can't fight him close range with this.' She thought as she melted the metal back to the bottom of her gun. "Well looks like it's time to turn things up a notch." She said as she reached behind her to the back of her jacket. "Hey Izuku you ready it's time to end the warm up." Izuku peered behind the tree to see Yae holding up several gun barrels in one hand. "Cause I'm all fired up."
Izuku was getting nervous now. "End the warm up?' what is she talking about and since when was she this strong? She wasn't this good a few months ago.' Similar thoughts were being had amongst the viewers. Though all went silent as a huge blast cut through the forest.
"BOOOOOM"
"What the." was all Izuku could yell as he felt a massive shock wave hit him. As if a cannonball whizzed by his head. As he got up he could see a smoldering trail of burnt trees. As he followed the trail he saw Yae holding her rifle that now looked like the barrel had exploded itself. 'Where did that power come from.' Thought Izuku as Yae took off the now destroyed barrel and put a new one on.
"What the hell was that?" asked Tomo now very scared for Izuku. "Did she switch guns?"
"No Tomo that was her quirk." said Yushiro. "Those barrels must be coated on the inside with strange metal, boosting the bullets power though the barrels can't contain the power and break with a single shot. Hence the other barrels she has."
The others had a few questions or concerns but another huge blast broke them out of their thoughts. 'Damn he's dodging it better than I was expecting. Maybe this wasn't the best idea to open up with this so soon? NO. Get those thoughts out of your head Yae.' She thought to herself. Trying to keep her head in the game. "I'm not the same person I was six months ago." she said as she loaded the third barrel. "I'll show them all what I can do."
Izuku dodge the second blast. Though he could tell the shock waves were doing enough damage to his internal organs. 'Okay I need to make a move now or else those shocks alone will do me in.' he thought as he made his decision and charged. "Breath of lightning." as Izuku flashed head on.
Yae hesitated for a second but fired a third blast right at Izuku. Izuku saw this coming and jumped right over the shot. Yae cursed as she ejected the now useless barrel and reached for another. Izuku was about to get but she did something no one expected and threw her barrelless rifle at him. Izuku used his free hand to deflect the gun and used his sword to try to end this but when he did she used a barrel to deflect his blade and hit him in the shoulder with another.
'She's using her gun barrels as escrima sticks.' thought Izuku as he began a close combat bout with Yae as they traded blows nether was giving an inch. Izuku began using the breath of insects to get a few cuts in while Yae began to mix in some of her blast kicks at Izuku. 'Okay enough is enough' as Izuku used the breath of Earth to send her back a few meters.
As Yae recovered she looked at the dents in her gun barrels. 'He was able to dent these. That's some power' as flowers began to appear from her hands and wrists. Yae instantly dropped her two gun barrels. The second she did they were sent flying away in opposite directions. Izuku was right in front of her. She quickly unzipped her jacket revealing a white tank top and rows of throwing knives on the inside of her jacket. She quickly threw several of them as they exploded in front of Izuku creating a smoke screen.
"No I'm not backing away." said Izuku as he made a b line in the direction of her discarded rifle. Knowing that would be where she would be headed. Yae tried to counter attack and threw several knives at him and in his path. Though with Izuku's speed it was tedious at best. He was able to make it to the rifle. "Okay Yae this is over surren-" Izuku was cut off as a bullet hit his hand causing him to almost lose his sword.
"Always have a back plan, Izuku." said Yae holding up a revolver in each hand. Izuku began to move as she began to fire. He tried to dodge when suddenly all the bullets she just fired began to ricochet on the rocks and trees. Izuku quickly tried to turn and avoid them all but was unable to. "Come on Izuku you can do better than that. What did a black cat cross your path?"
Izuku was in pain now each metal that covered him felt like he was getting slapped by All Might. The metal made it hard for him to move and the shock waves from early made it hard to breath but most importantly he was getting angry.
As Yae sent another volley of bullets Izuku used the Breath of wind to send several wind blades at Yae. Yae had no choice but to dodge the condensed wind and keep firing until. 'Click' Both guns ran out of ammo. Izuku in a flash of lightning closed the gap but stopped when he saw what Yae did next.
Yae quickly created more bullets in her cleavage and used her breasts to bounce them in the air as she spun around she caught/ reloaded her guns. It took Izuku and several others to process what just happened.
"Did… did she just use her boobs to reload her gun?" asked Melissa still not believing it.
"I never thought I would see something like that." said David "Have you ever seen-"
He stopped as he noticed Yushiro pinching the bridge of his nose and Tomo completely livid. "Out of everyone she uses that blonde bimbo's technique."
"Tomo calm down she's not a Bimbo she's just an idiot that loves hot springs way too much."
"Who are you guys talking about." asked Eri
"We'll tell you later for now let's see what happens next."
They all looked down to see Yae making Izuku dance with her dual revolvers and with her unique reloading technique she wasn't running out of ammo anytime soon. Izuku had no choice but to use the breath of the serpent to get away.
"That's twice now she forced him to retreat." said Tomo with her anger replaced with concern.
"Yae skills with dual guns is remarkable." said Yushiro "I haven't seen such skill in years not since Two Hands sailed the seas." This only caused a few confused faces. "She was a pirate at the dawn of quirks who was an expert at duel wielding guns." Before they could say oh a huge pillar of fire cut through the air.
Izuku used the fire to melt the bits of metal still on him as he stared down Yae who was picking up her rifle. "Alright thats what I'm talking about." said Yae putting her last barrel on her gun. "The breath of the sun. Your strongest fighting style. I got something for that." as she held up a special round that was glowing blue. 'I'm at my limit physically and my quirk is pushing it. If I make anymore from my arms, feet, or chest I'm going to run the risk of tearing my skin. It's this or nothing.' thought Yae as she loaded the round.
'I'm running on fumes.' thought Izuku 'She's pushed me farther than anyone else. My body hurts and I can feel my lungs fill with blood. If I don't get her with this attack I'm gonna lose.'
"Master we need to stop this." said Tomo "Now"
"I think she's right." said David "This is going too far."
"I know and I think the mountain agrees." said Yushiro pointing behind Yae.
Crack
"Alright time to end this." as Yae raised her rifle.
Crunch
"I agree-Yae look out behind you" yelled Izuku
Break
"Really Izuku, that isn't going to-" said Yae as the top half of a tree hit the top of her head. Though to everyone's surprise half a tree wasn't enough to knock her down. "No this fight isn't over…" as she finally collapsed to the ground.
Izuku didn't know what to do but just stared at Yae's unconscious body. It just didn't seem real with how the fight was going. Izuku didn't move until Yushiro came up to him and lightly slapped his stomach causing him to vomit blood.
"IZUKU" said the others as they joined him.
"Don't worry he's just fine." said Yushiro as he went to check up on Yae.
"Izuku are you alright?" asked Melissa
Izuku could only shake his head. "But you won." said Eri hugging his leg.
"No he didn't." said Yushiro pulling on Yae jacket causing several bullets and knives to fall out. "She had several more tricks up her sleeves. They maybe weren't as powerful as what she was about to hit you with but she had way more in the gas tank than you and her lungs aren't filling up with blood." Izuku could only hang his head in shame. "Also during the close combat exchange she scored more hits in and she was able to hit you several times with her bullets." he said walking up to Izuku. "Though I guess we should have expected that after the superb performance she showed us but the one thing I expected you to do was not to freeze the second you saw her chest bounce."
Izuku's face instantly turned red from the memory. "Well how was I supposed to see that coming."
"It doesn't matter if you were expecting it or not. You shouldn't freeze just because you see a girl giggle a little." He said with a complete straight face.
Izuku was still a little embarrassed about that part but overall still hurt over his loss. "Is Yae going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine. For a normal person I would say they would be out for a day but for Yae Id say about three hours. After that you can continue where you left off or start round three, that's for you guys to decide, but for now. Tomo, take Yae to a spare room and prepare the bean tea for her and Izuku." Tomo nodded before bending down to Yae and in a flash both of them disappeared. "Come now Izuku, you still have dinner waiting for you."
He nodded as he made his way back to the house. "Will he be okay?" asked David staying behind with Yushiro.
"He'll be fine. This is his first loss since he received training from me. He's fought villain after villain and one each time. His confidence will be bruised along with what little ego he has. Though if I were honest I'd say this was a good thing because it's far better to get a loss from a friend than it is to receive one from an enemy."
"Hey." said Eri running up to the two men. "We'll leave you behind."
"We're coming, Eri"
"Hey I got a question. How did the Mountain know to stop the fight."
David laughed a little at the girl. "The mountain doesn't really think. It was just a coincidence." she then looked over to Yushiro to confirm this. Though his only response was a smug smirk. David got an irritated look. "If I ask the question your just going to give me a vague answer aren't you."
"Your learning."
~o~
They all went back inside and Tomo quickly brought Izuku some bean tea. Melissa then explained to her father that the Beans used in the tea were actually beans made from a quirk and have super healing properties. Though since the beans take a long time to grow, Yushiro discovered a way to make them last longer by turning it into tea which made a single bean last longer and heal several people. Though the surprising part was that it was made by a cat in a tower.
While that was happening Izuku quickly drank his tea and ate his dinner still a little down. Though he made sure to record every part of the fight down in his notebooks. It was actually a surprising sight as he was doing this in the living room for everyone to see. No matter how many times those who have seen it before have, it still was incredible on how well he could take notes.
Though Eri was happy Izuku wasn't taking the loss too hard, she still wanted to cheer him up. "Hey Tomo." she said pulling on Tomo's Kimono. "Can we have dessert?"
"Of course, Eri. What would you like?"
Eri quickly went to Izuku. "Izuku onii-chan, what do you want for dessert?"
"Oh umm, I'm not really sure, what do you want?"
Eri wanted him to say what he wanted. "Hhmm Milkshake. Do you want a milkshake?"
"A milkshake sounds great. Tomo?"
"I can definitely make you guys some milkshakes. Oh wait, our blender is still broken."
Melissa instantly tensed at the mention of the broken blender. Which didn't go unnoticed by her father. "What happened to the blender. Wait did you let Melissa into the kitchen?" he said as the words stabbed Melissa.
"Yep" said Yushiro "You could've warned us about that one." Melissa felt more stabbies.
"Sorry to be honest we have chiefs and robots cook for us back at I Island so we never really had to use our kitchen for cooking."
"Clearly. Though Eri, Izuku can take you and get you some milkshakes in the city."
"Really" said Eri hoping this would cheer up Izuku.
"Sensei?"
"Izuku I know your mind is elsewhere but a distraction maybe good for you to clear your head a little."
"Okay if you say so. Melissa you want to come with."
"Nah." she said recovering from the words. "I think I'm going to work on my project for a bit."
"Okay come on Eri." Said Izuku as he knelt down so Eri could hop on his back. When they made it to the entrance of the house they dashed down the mountain toward the city for a sweet treat.
~o~
"Hey boss the Demon Slayer kid just entered the city."
"Really where is he?"
"It looks like he just entered the mall."
"Alright stay on him while I gather the others. It's time to put that brat in his place."
Chapter 9 Milkshake and Mall Chaos
Yae laid there in the middle of the training hall bleeding from her arms and legs with hundreds if not thousands of bits of metal lying around her.
"YAE '' she was barely holding on to consciousness but she could hazeley make out her father's appearance.
"Oh hey dad." she said weakly but at the same time trying to sound like nothing was wrong.
"Yae what are you doing?" he said gently holding his daughter. "You used your quirk way too much. You're ripping the flesh right off your body."
"I have to get it back." she said, beginning to cry. "I'm so weak. My quirk is weak. I can't make a sword or hammer without my skin breaking. I thought when I was able to make complex bullets I could be strong like you. Strong enough to follow. To follow you. To beat bad guys and help you and mom, but I can't. He took it. I have to get it back. In a single day he took all my hard work and threw it away. I have to get stronger. I have to prove to myself I'm strong."
"Yae stop it. Your strong" he said trying to reassure his daughter.
"No, I have to be stronger. It's all I have. I will beat him. I…. will… beat…"
"IZUKU. Ow" said Yae waking up in a bed holding her head. "My head. What happened?" It took a moment for Yae to remember what happened. "THAT STUPID TREE. Wait a minute the branch knocked me out, not Izuku. HE RAN FROM OUR FIGHT." she said before grabbing her gear and rushing out of the room.
~o~
Melissa sat in the workshop looking at her weapon she was working on. When Melissa discovered her quirk she released that something like a gymnastic ribbon works surprisingly well for her and Yushiro thought it would be best if she learned a little bit of sword play so she has been working on a hybrid sword-whip that could collapse into the hilt. She was working on this and several other ribbon themed support items that would work well with her quirk. She had made some progress with some but finally put the finishing touches on the blade.
Melissa tested it as the blade successfully retracted into the hilt. "Perfect." she said before screaming as the door was slammed open.
"IZUKU." screamed Yae as she entered the room. "Where's Izuku? Huh? Oh Your the foreign girl. Do you know where Izuku is?"
"Izuku's not here at the moment." said Melissa as she put her new weapon down. "He went into the city with Eri." as she grabbed her I 'Heart' I Island hoodie, but the letters where so faded the only thing you could make out was the large faded pink heart. "I'm Melissa by the way." she said holding out her hand.
"Yae Ryoshi." as they shook hands. "Eri? Who's Eri? Is she that little girl I saw?"
"Yep" Melissa put on her hoodie and grabbed her new toy, ready to show it to her father. "They went out for Milkshakes."
"They went out for Milkshakes." said Yae in a neutral tone. "THEY WENT OUT FOR MILKSHAKES AND LEFT US." Melissa visible jumped at Yae's sudden yell. "Come on." As Yae grabbed Melissa.
~o~
"So your friend's a little disappointed with the halt of the project." said Yushiro as he sipped his tea.
"Unfortunately yes. He had a lot of hopes for it." said David also enjoying his tea.
Before Yushiro could reply Yae burst into the room. "OLD MAN."
"Yae your up only after two hours. Impressive." Yae was about to say something before getting dizzy and Melissa having to steady her. "Before anything else how about you drink some of the healing tea we have. Tomo."
"Here." said Tomo holding the tea pot and a tea cup. "It's a little cold so if you want I can warm it up for you."
Yae ignored the cup and grabbed the pot from Tomo and began to drink directly from the pot. Before they knew it, she drank every last drop. "AAAhhh. Man even when this stuff is cold it still hits the spot."
"Wow. Yae you are just full of surprises."
Ignoring Tomo Yae continued "Hey Old Man. Can me and Melissa go after Izuku."
"As long as you two stay together and all four of you are back before Ten. I have no problems."
"Wait hold ups sensei, Dad." said Melissa surprised about this sudden change of plans.
She wanted her dad to say something but he was glowing with happiness. "My daughter is finally hanging out with people her age." Making it sound like she had no social life. Which she didn't but would never admit.
"DAD!"
"Alright let's go. Tomo make us a portal."
"Wait." said Melissa trying to get Yae's attention. "I'm still in sweats and haven't taken a shower or done my-"
"Don't worry about it." Said Yae grabbing the hood on her hoodie and pulling it over her head. "Just keep your hood on and no one will even know who you are."
Tomo pulled a key from her sleeve and put it into the air and as if opening a lock a portal appeared in the middle of the room. "This will take you right outside the mall Izuku and Eri are at. The mall is within your guys running distance but if you need a pick up don't hesitate to call."
Yae didn't think twice and grabbed Melissa by the arm against her protests and jumped through the portal.
"I'm a little surprised how quickly you accepted Melissa to go out." said Yushiro as the portal closed behind the girls.
"She's spent most of her time with scientist and hasn't had a chance to be a kid." said David "Besides how much trouble can four kids get into."
Yushiro and Tomo looked at each other before giving David a deadpan stare. "You might regret saying that."
~o~
"Calm down, you need to relax." said Ochaco Uraraka to herself. "The test is in three months just sit down and enjoy your milkshake." as she made her way to a table in the middle of the mall. Hoping her sweet snack would calm her down. She was getting more and more nervous about the UA test as the months went by it was starting to get to her. She did even realize she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's okay" said Izuku, holding two Milkshakes.
"Demon Slayer." Ochaco couldn't believe it. She just bumped into the person everyone is talking about. Japan's youngest vigilante in recent years. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting some milkshakes to satisfy this one's sweet tooth." he said giving one of the shakes to Eri who happily began to drink up her shake. He then reached down and picked up a cell phone on the ground. It was showing an article on 'things to expect during the UA entrance exam.' "Is this phone yours?"
"Yes that's mine. I'm sorry it must have fallen out when we bumped into each other."
"So planning on going to UA."
"Yeah." she said while pushing her fingers together. "It's going to be tough but I'm going to give it my best shot. Do.. Do you have any advice for an ametur like me?"
"Advice? Um well." 'What advice could I give? We're the same age and I'm not a professional yet. I'm not a pro yet. That's right I'm still learning. Maybe I have been rushing a little.' thought Izuku realizing he may have been taking his loss early a little hard. "I just need to learn from it."
"Uh Mr. Slayer are you okay."said Ochaco pulling Izuku out of his thoughts. "Sorry you kinda went silent for a minute."
"Oh I'm sorry I kinda got lost in thought there. Oh and I'm Izuku Midoryia, sorry about the late introduction."
"I'm Ochaco Uraraka."
"Well Ms. Uraraka the best advice I can give right now would be to keep calm and to stay on your toes. You won't do any good if you're a nervous wreck. So keep calm and be ready to move, you won't get anywhere if you freeze up in the middle of the exam."
"Okay I'll give it a shot." said Ochaco before something unexpected happened. He hugged her and for a moment her mind went blank before he pulled her out of the way as a chair came flying across the dining area. When Izuku let her go she saw several big men walking towards them.
"Demon Slayer we've been looking for you." said a man covered in metal. He had several goons flanking them. Some of them were still wearing prison jumpsuits.
"Aren't you that bank robber whose arm I broke." said Izuku looking at the growing crowd of criminals. "What a minute didn't I take several of you guys down."
"Yeah you did." said a man with spikes coming out of his arms. "A good friend gave us an early release so we can come down here and show you our appreciation."
The man covered in metal stepped forward. "So how about you sit there and let us-"
"HEY" said Yae coming and performing a flying kick to the man's face. Sending the man flying. "Hey we ain't done with our fight."
"What! What are you doing here." asked Izuku more surprised at Yae being here than the criminals. "You were knocked out. Shouldn't you be in bed or on your way home?"
"I came here looking for you." said Yae like it was the obvious thing to do. "How was I supposed to leave with an ending to a fight like that."
"You just kick a man." said Melissa catching up to her friends. "What the... You can't just kick a random person."
"Actually that was a criminal that's here for revenge." clarified Izuku "And what are you doing here?"
"I kinda got dragged here. WAIT these guys are criminals" Izuku nodded Melissa began to quietly panic. "I'm not ready for this." she said in a whisper.
"Wait a minute." said Yae getting everyone's attention. "All these guys here are criminals. Perfect." receiving odd looks from everyone, even the stunned criminals. "Time for round three, the person who takes out the most criminals wins."
"WHAT." yelled Melissa. "We're in the middle of a mall and there are already heroes nearby we can get in a lot of trouble."
"You can join in, if you want."
Melissa turned to Izuku for some semblance of common sense. "Well we do need to do something about them." Nope common sense has left the room. Izuku grabbed his sword. "Alright let's dance."
~o~
"Ding Dong" Went the door bell.
Inko opened the door revealing her friend Mitsuki. "Mitsuki, it's so good to see."
"Yo Inko, how've you been?"
"Been doing as good as I can be. Come in I've got some tea brewing for us." said Inko ushering Mitsuki into the living room. As Mitsuki walked into the living she saw the wall that was filling up with newspaper clippings of Izuku's exploits. Mitsuki was happy to see Inko doing better or as good as can be in this odd situation, she could tell her friend has been suffering with the disappearance and reappearance of her child. Mitsuki herself felt guilty knowing her own child was responsible for the separation.
"Here you go." said Inko giving a tea cup to Mitsuki. "So how's Katsuki been?"
"He's been doing alright. He's actually become quiet nowadays. If he isn't studying, he's training. A lot. He's even been training with that Kirishima kid."
"Really? I didn't think they knew each other."
"Yep about a month after that kid visited you, Katsuki tracked the kid down for an interrogation. After that the next thing I know the kid came by to train with Katsuki."
"That's good Katsuki is making a new friend." After Izuku's disappearance Katsuki had become a loner and not many people in his school would even talk to him. Inko's phone gave a quick beep. "Oh it's almost time for the news."
"Oh come now Inko. Izuku has gotten popular but he isn't going to show up every night on the news."
Inko tuned on the news. "Demon Slayer and two unidentified teenage girls are currently taking on a horde of villians at the Lone Pine Mall. We take you now to the scene." What the TV showed could only really be described as chaos. "Thank you, Daikaku. Things here are going crazy. A girl with a rifle is riding on a bull villain while firing what could be described as a liquid metal that is sticking these men to the wall. A hooded girl is sumersalting and tossing men twice her size and using some sort of ribbon sword to counter those with firearms. Look she just did a double front flip on that guy. Wait are those three over there floating? " "Crash" "Look it's Demon Slayer and did he just summon a water dragon." As the TV showed Izuku slamming a huge water dragon into a group of villains.
"Well looks like I was wrong." said Mitsuki watching the madness unfold.
"Yep. My little hero is out there saving the world." said Inko on the verge of tears. "I can't wait for him to come home." She might have been crying if the TV didn't recapture her attention.
"Hold it all of you right now." said the metal criminal who was now sporting a huge black eye and currently holding a gun to a little girl in a pink hiyori drinking a milkshake. The odd thing was the girl wasn't really paying him any attention. She was totally relaxed even with a firearm pointed directly at her. As if this was nothing more than a stranger saying hello to her.
"Crap its the first one I kicked," said the rifle girl. "I thought I put him out." pointer her gun right at him and looked ready to fire before Izuku and hooded girl began waving their arms and making the throat slashing movement as if warning him of something.
"Nobody move or" the man then swapped the girls Milkshake. Spilling the contents all over the ground. "This girl gets it."
That's when the little girl screamed. "MY MILKSHAKE"
~o~
'Dear Master Yushiro
'I'm sorry for not coming around more but my work beckons me. You have done so much for my family. I hate to ask you of this but I need your help. It's Yae. My beautiful daughter has grown up so quickly it's made me realize I may have failed in my duties as a parent. You were right, my work has brought me to every corner of the world and even though it has put food on the table it hasn't provided a stable home for my family. You warned me of this and it is only now to see how right you are. My daughter has been robbed of her childhood and her view had become narrowed. She has spent her life following me and my jobs of hunting elusive criminals. She has only been shown the strength of pros and law enforcements a like causing her to believe she has to be strong and I fear it will bring her down a troubled path. It truly showed after her defeat at the hands of young Midoryia, it also showed what I believe she needs. She needs to be around children her age. She needs to see what life is like from a normal perspective or as normal as a hero society can get. I've suggested hero school before but she quickly rebuffed the idea. Though I believe a hero school would be best for her. Give her the right balance of a normal life and an adventurous one, with peers that she can connect with. So please if you can find a way to convince her to give it a try. I think she will find what she is missing. Please help my daughter.
Your humble servant and friend Matazo Ryoshi'
Yuhsiro was staring at the letter when David came back from the restroom. "Is that the letter Yae gave you."
"Yep." said Yushiro giving the letter to David deeming it safe for him to read. "Her father believes he failed his daughter. I think you can relate to that."
David quickly read the letter. "From the looks of it his jobs makes him travel a lot, yes?" Yushiro nodded. "I definitely can relate to something like that. With my job at I Island and Melissa's incredible intelligence, I felt like she wasn't given the chance to be a child or even experience a life with another her age in a stable environment." It was common for scientists to come and go on I island so it was hard for Melissa to keep any friends. "Mstazo Ryoshi? That name sounds familiar."
"I'm not surprised. Matazo is a bounty hunter of sorts. He's the guy they call in to hunt down dangerous and elusive criminals but what he is best known for is capturing animals that have quirks and people who try to use them. Like those kids who were riding giant armored spiders in south america, or the reindeer near super train causing people to hallucinate, or I know the one you probably heard about the giant red dog in the states."
"Oh I remember that one. A dog turned giant overnight and ran after a truck full of doggie treats."
"That's the one."
"Didn't they make a tv show about the dog?"
"'The Giant Good Boy'. Eri's watched a few episodes. Honestly if it wasn't for that show that dog would have eaten them out of house and home."
"So Matazo was the one who was able to catch the dog and handle the situation."
"I met Matazo when we were dealing with a highly intelligent gorilla. After words we dealt with various other creatures and over the years he's exploits have become bigger and bigger and Yae has seen a lot of them. The biggest thing she wants to do is follow her father's footsteps. With how much they've moved and how little social interaction she's had, strength and the ability to take down the biggest beast there is, is all that matters in her eyes. Even though Matazo didn't hit her or abuse her, he has unintentionally taken much from her and given her a big shadow to live under."
"I can relate to that. When Melissa was told she was quirkless, she tried relentlessly to become the greatest support inventor there ever was. Though I could tell her heart was never fully into it and everytime I made something her heart sank a little more. All she knew were the science of I Island and the heroes that visited it. Honestly sometimes I wondered if I should have let her live with some relatives or All Might. Maybe then she could find something."
"Don't treat yourself so harshly. I've seen worse and you're trying the best you can and you want to do better." That put a smile on David's face. "Same with Matazo, he just wants what's best for Yae and I think he might be right but she's boar headed and convincing her might be a challenge. Scratch that it will be a challenge." said Yushiro imagining how that conversation will go.
David thought it would be best to change the subject. "Do you think Eri will be fine growing up here?"
Ysuhiro was caught off guard by the question. "To be honest I don't know. She's more than welcome to stay here after we are done with fixing her quirk but if she wants to go somewhere else I wouldn't mind making the arrangements."
"Really? You're not worried something would happen to her if she leaves. What if someone attacks her?"
"She's more than capable of protecting herself if she gets in a fight."
"Does she have control of her quirk?"
"No. Though through her treatment an interesting side effect happened. When we started to fix her body and focused her quirk inward, her body began to condense her muscles in a way."
"What do you mean.?"
"You know how when muscles fibers tear and grow back stronger then what they were before." David nodded. "Her quirk began to act strange when we began to operate. Her body began to rewind forward in a way. Her muscles, bones and certain parts of her body that were destroyed by Overhaul began to return and heal or combine if you will with her body like the muscles of someone who was working out. The muscles and bone fibers broke and healed stronger than before causing her muscles to gain the density equivalent to the amount of times Overhaul killed her. I believe it was her quirk's way of adapting to working on the inside of her body."
"Wait are you saying her quirk combined with your operations cause her body to heal and strengthen to the amount of times she was tortured?" Yushiro's smirked said it all. "But that means she could have the muscle density of All Might."
"Not All might levels of strength but you would definitely mistaken her for having a strength quirk. That's why I pity the idiot that tries to pick a fight with her. Overhaul may have just created his own worst enemy."
Tomo instantly appeared in the room causing both men to jump a little. "Sorry sir, but you have to see this." She turned on the TV showing a lot of chaos at the mall and several familiar faces at the center.
David's jaw fell as he watched the TV. "So what was that about how much trouble could four kids get into."
~o~
"You"
'SLAM'
"KILLED"
'SLAM'
"MY"
'SLAM'
"MILKSHAKE" screamed Eri as she tossed around the metal bank robber around like a rag doll. Beside the pain the only other thing going through the man's mind was 'I should have just become a plumber like mom wanted.' Before throwing the man into a wall. The man was alive but regretting so much.
"Holy crap." said Yae grinning ear to ear at the display. "Where were you keeping her? She's awesome."
"Eri-chan are you okay." asked Melissa comforting the girl. Who was tired and still sad over her fallen milkshake.
"Don't worry Eri." said Izuku putting his sword away. "We can get you a milkshake next time." he patted her head.
"Alright looks like we took care of all of them." said Yae joining the rest of them. "Wait who was keeping score?"
"Really Yae?" said Izuku looking at his friend. "You know keeping score and all that isn't what hero work is all about." Yae only raised her eyebrow. "Yae look around not only did we stop the bad guys we made sure no one got hurt." as Izuku said this a crowd began to gather around clapping and cheering for them.
"Yeah way to go Demon Slayer." "Did you see those girls they kicked ass." "The little one is so cute." "Can I get an autograph and your number." "Chicks with guns can't get better than that."
Yae was visible blushing at the attention. She couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in her chest. She couldn't help but enjoy the attention, she's never been the center of attention before not like this.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE. YOUR ALL UNDER ARREST." said a booming voice ruining the moment. They all turn to see the number 2 Hero Endeavor. They could all feel the tension in the air as Endeavor slowly walked towards them with a serious look in his eyes. "You kids have caused enough trouble for one day and your days of being a vigilante has ended."
'Crap' thought Izuku, Yae was ready for a fight while Melissa was trying not to freak out. Hoping to not get arrested.
"YOUR FACE IS ON FIRE." yelled Eri breaking the tension.
"Pfft" Izuku had to stop himself from laughing as he heard some people in the crowd chuckle. "Eri-chan, that's just his quirk and its part of his costume."
"Wait that fire's real?" asked Yae "Wait how do you see? Doesn't the haze mess with your vision?"
The curiosity was able to calm Melissa's nerves. "Actually his quirk should give him some resistance but doesn't that aggitant your eyes or do you have some sort of contact lens?"
These questions only served to annoy Endeavor. "Enough, you're all under arrest and you'll have your questions answered down at the police station."
"Can't, we got a curfew." siad Yae "Wait why do we have a curfew, again?"
"We have to get Eri home before her bedtime." informed Izuku
"What I'm not even tired yet." Eri said through a yawn.
Izuku chuckled. "I think we've had enough excitement for one day." as he kneeled down to let Eri on his back. "Come on we should head back."
"Hold it." Endeavor's fire flared. "I've already repeated myself enough none of you are going anywhere."
Yae grinned "Really Flame Face." she pulled her jacket up slightly causing a few metal orbs to drop from the second they hit the ground the area became flooded with light. Endeavor tried to quickly rush and grab at least one of them but the second his vision was clear he was surrounded in mist. "See ya next time Flame Face." yelled the girl's voice. Leaving Endeavor angry and having to deal with the clean up and vowing to catch them next time.
~o~
"WE ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE." yelled Melissa freaking out as they ran back to the mountain. "MY DAD IS GOING TO KILL ME!" If she wasn't freaking out she would have realized that she is finally breaking her running record and was currently running over 60mils per hour. "How are we going to get to UA now?"
"Relax Melissa" said Izuku as he ran beside her. "Sensei said he had plans to help me and I'm sure he can help."
"Yeah what are you crying about. This was fun." said Yae
"Fun, we could have ruined our chances to get UA." said Mellissa with tears rolling down her eyes as the fear of her dreams shattering.
"UA that's the hero school right? Hey why do you guys want to be heroes?"
They both slowed down for a second as they looked at Yae and Melissa needed a moment to gather her thoughts before Izuku spoke. "I've always wanted to be a hero. I used to watch a video of All Might saving people and for the longest time and most likely till the day I die, I think that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. I want to help people and save people with a smile on my face just like him. I will be the number one hero and I will save as many people as I can and I'll do with everything that Sensei Yushiro has taught me so I can be pillar of hope for everyone even other pillars."
"Other pillars."
"Of course. If All Might can do so much as the symbol of hope and Pillar of peace imagine what more could do. I want to find others so we can all old up this world together." Melissa and Yae couldn't help but look at Izuku with a bit of admiration. Both of them have been around the world and to have the desire to help all of it seemed impossible but there was no doubt in his voice. He would do it. "But to answer your question I want to help people plan and simple."
Yae had one response. "Cool."
~o~
"Hey old man." said Yae running into the living room finding Yushiro reading some papers.
"Yae." said Yushiro "Heard you an eventful night. Is Izuku putting Eri to bed?"
"No. We ran into Tomo and she wants Eri to take a bath, and Melissa is apologizing to her dad for some reason."
"I can hear them from here." When they weren't talking they could clearly hear Melissa frantically apologizing to her father. "She's still worried that her overbearing father may send her back to I Island." 'Okay now how to convince Yae to go to school. She's boar headed and likes to fight. I should try to use that.' "Yae I have something to talk to you about."
"Hey can you send me to UA?"
"... … Huh?
"I want to go to UA. I want to show people what a real hero looks like and it will give me a chance to beat strong opponents like Izuku. So can you do it?"
"Uhh yeah sure I can do that for you."
"Alright." she said pumping her fists into the air. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh forget about it, for now lets call your father and tell him you want to go to UA." said Yushiro a bit happy how easy this was. 'Lets just hope now she can get along with other students and doesn't kill them.'
Yae grinned. "I can't wait to add more trophies to my wall."
Yushiro felt the sweatdrop on his head. 'This is going to need some work.'
~o~
"Hey wake up."
"Huh what happened." asked Ragdoll rubber her eyes.
"You fell asleep at the computer again. You know there are better places to fall asleep than at the computer." said Pixiebob. "What were you even looking at anyway? What are you serious? You're still looking into those urban myths about that missing mountain. You were supposed to put in the report about the hikers we saved."
Ragdoll hung her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I'll do it right away."
"Don't bother. You can do it later. We have a guy downstairs."
"Another rescue mission?"
"No this is something different, so come on we got a guy downstairs. How can you be so interested in those fake stories anyway."
"How do you know that it's fake? Who knows there could be a missing mountain that has been lost for hundreds of years."
"Ragdoll we have had satellite GPS for hundreds of years okay. All the mountains around the world have been discovered. Your mountain doesn't exist now come on it's time for some real work." said Pixiebob. Ragdoll pouted but followed her.
Both Pixie Bob and Ragdoll made their way down stairs to see Mandalay, Tiger and a cab driver looking at the TV. "That's the 's the girl I'm was telling you about."
Both of them looked on the TV to see the news cast about a horde of villains attacking Demon Slayer at the mall. Said target was assisted by two teenage girls. The TV then showed the three easily taking on the group of villains and single handedly doing it with ease.
"Hey, I'm sorry did we miss something." asked Pixiebob
"Mr. Utenshu." said Mandalay. "Would you mind starting from the beginning so our friends here could get the whole story."
"Yes of course," said the man. "My Name is Taku Utenshu, I'm a cab Driver. Early this day that girl on the TV the one with the rifle asked me to take her to an address in the middle of nowhere. It was really weird all that was out there was fields but the odd part and the reason I'm here was what happened on the way there. During the entire drive she was cleaning her rifle and checking her ammunition. When she first brought it out I thought I was gonna get robbed but she just sat there and calmly kept cleaning her gun. When I finally got up the courage to ask what she was doing, she said that she was going to hunt someone in the mountains but we were nowhere near any mountain. When I brought up the fact she actually said she would usually just run to the mountain on foot, but she wanted to save her strength for the hunt. Shortly after that I dropped her off on a dirt road near some tree but the closest mountain was miles away. I told my boss about it over the radio but he said the girl was just some crazy we should just forget about. So I brought out a map and from the direction I saw her walk in, the mountains around here are her destination so I came to see you guys cause you guys know these mountains better than anyone."
The heroes waited patiently for him to finish each forming their own thoughts and opinions on the situation. "Clearly though she isn't on any mountain." Said Tiger as he was looking at the TV. "Did she mention anything else? Target? Conditions? Anything that we could use."
"No, to be honest I was too scared to ask." said Taku. "I never had anyone openly clean a gun in the back of my cab before."
"Well she is definitely not a regular girl," said Ragdoll. "Trained and looks like she's ready for a hunt." even though her quirk couldn't work through screens she has picked up on a few analytical tricks over the years.
"Yeah but not much of a fashion sense." said Pixiebob "That jacket looks kinda tacky and it makes her look like she should be on top of a mountain somewhere. She is not a city girl."
This prompted Mandalay to roll her eyes at her friend. "Fashion sense aside this raises a lot of questions and I'm sure we aren't the only ones asking. Hey your cab has a video camera that recorded the whole ride right. Do you mind if we have a copy of it?"
"Of course go for it." said the driver. "The company is more than happy to assist heroes anyway we can, it's just a bit of paperwork. Oh and I'm going to need a spare thumb drive to put the footage on."
"Alright then, Tiger get the paperwork ready. This has officially become part of an investigation, Pixie go get us a thumb drive and Ragdoll." Mandalay took a deep breath. "I didn't want to get involved with this but call up Night eye and tell him we got something for him."
"Okay." said Ragdoll as each of them went to get there task done.
"Ragdoll." called Mandalay. Causing her to stop after the others had left. "Also tell him to save us some seats. We're going to that meeting."
"Woohoo. Team up time."