MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"We said it would be in the next few days, but it looks like the USJ Incident is going to happen tomorrow." Tatsuo said while sitting at the kitchen table with Alfonzo after the latter returned from his patrol. "At least, as far as I remember, it happened after the U.A. main gate was breeched by the media in the anime. But it's been a long time since I saw the beginning of the series."
"Me, too." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head gently. "On top of that, I don't remember there being any mention of a timeframe, either. So, we're just going off of guess work, at this point."
"True." Tatsuo replied. "Anyway, I guess that means you'll have to go see Nezu tomorrow morning, right? But what are you gonna tell him? I mean, you'll need a reason to be there, right? You're not U.A. staff, after all."
"I have an idea about that." Alfonzo replied. "But first, I need to know, did you sense Shigaraki today?"
"Well, I'm not actually sure if it was him. "I mean, I have pretty good spatial awareness. And when you combine that with my ability to sense [Energy], I usually know what's going on around me. But I've never felt his [Energy] before. So... yeah... But because he was the only one walking away from the gate while everyone else was rushing in and the gate was turned into dust, I'm certain it was him."
"That's good enough for me." Alfonzo said with a smile. "And you never got to tell anyone about it, right? Any teachers, I mean."
"Nope." Tatsuo answered quickly. "After lunch, we spent all afternoon in self-study. Never saw another teacher after leaving the cafeteria."
"Good." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Then, that's all I need. That should be more than enough to get a meeting with Nezu tomorrow morning."
"I'll leave it to you, then." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "Let's just hope---"
"Stop!" Alfonzo said while holding up his right hand. "Don't you dare raise that flag. I have to deal with enough of that when going on quests with Lici. I don't wanna have to deal with it here, too."
With that, the rest of the evening passed peacefully, and the next morning came. Then, Tatsuo and Alfonzo then both got ready for their days. However, instead of heading out separately, they left together with Alfonzo giving Tatsuo a lift to school using his [Quirk].
"Look! Is that Static?" A female U.A. student asked as Tatsuo and Alfonzo landed outside of U.A.'s main gate.
"Huh? Where?" A boy asked while his head swiveled to each side.
"OMG! It really is!" Another girl squealed. "He's the No. 3 Hero on the Hero Billboard!"
"But who is that with him?" Another boy asked curiously. "He's wearing our uniform."
"How do you not recognize the Prince of U.A.?" A third girl asked, her tone heavy with disdain. "Have you been living under a rock? Filthy pleb."
That girl was not the only one who looked at the second boy disdainfully, as many of the girls present at the gate did the same. Meanwhile, the boy who asked who Tatsuo was reddened in both embarrassment and irritation. However, he was smart enough to know when he was outmatched. So, instead of arguing with the girls, he shot a glare at Tatsuo before turning to leave for the main building.
"What did I do?" Tatsuo asked while rolling his eyes.
"Prince of U.A., huh?" Alfonzo asked with a teasing smile on his face. "You never mentioned that~. To think, my little cousin is so popular. Oh, Lici and Violet are gonna love hearing about this."
"Yeah, probably not." Tatsuo replied casually. "They've both seen me before, remember? They'd probably be more surprised if I wasn't so popular. I'm sexy as hell, after all."
With such narcissistic words and the smug expression that accompanied them, Alfonzo could not do anything but stare at Tatsuo blankly for a moment.
"Wow... I was expecting you to finish that sentence with that's why you would be forgiven for anything you do." Alfonzo muttered while shaking his head. "Anyway, go on to class. I'll go see the principal."
"Do you even know the way?" Tatsuo asked curiously.
"No clue." Alfonzo replied while shrugging casually. "But I think I can find the way on my own."
"I'll take you there." Tatsuo replied as he stepped through the gates.
Shortly after stepping onto the campus, Tatsuo stopped and waited for Alfonzo to catch up. Meanwhile, Alfonzo folded the disc he used to fly with his [Quirk] and put it away in his trench coat before catching up to Tatsuo. Then once the two were standing shoulder to shoulder, Tatsuo placed his hand on Alfonzo's shoulder before he [Blinked] the two of them to just outside of Nezu's office.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Ah! Soramoto-Kun, Mr. Marcus, please come in." Nezu's high-pitched voice said from the other side of the door in response to Tatsuo's knocking.
"It really doesn't surprise me that the gate was being monitored." Alfonzo muttered as Tatsuo opened the door.
Tatsuo only shrugged as he stepped into the office with Alfonzo following close behind.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Nezu asked from his chair while holding a cup of tea between his little paws. "Ah! Where are my manners? Please have a seat. Would you like a drink?"
Following Nezu's invitation, both Tatsuo and Alfonzo took seats on the couches lined up in front of Nezu's desk. Though, they both declined the offer for a drink.
"I wanted to talk about yesterday's incident." Alfonzo said as he rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his chin with his hands while turning to look at Nezu in his eyes.
In response, Nezu returned Alfonzo's look. And when he did not see any blame in the young man's eyes, he glanced at Tatsuo, who looked as if he would rather be anywhere else but here at the moment. Then, he returned his gaze to Alfonzo once again.
"*Sigh* Yes, I would like to apologize." Nezu said, his usual, jovial tone replaced with something much more sincere. "That was an oversight on my part. It would seem U.A.'s security was not as fool-proof as I thought. But I can assure you that we are doing everything to make sure things like this never happen again."
"I think you've misunderstood, Principal Nezu." Alfonzo said, his tone remaining even. "I'm here to talk about something that Tatsuo told me because he was unable to contact any of his teachers after the event."
That unexpected response caused Nezu to pause for a moment. He then glanced at Tatsuo once again before returning his gaze to Alfonzo.
"And that would be?" Nezu asked while tilting his head cutely.
"Tatsuo noticed something during the incident yesterday." Alfonzo said while gesturing towards Tatsuo. He then continued after Nezu glanced at Tatsuo and returned his gaze. "You may not know this... But Tatsuo has the ability to monitor everything in the region of space he can manipulate through his [Quirk]. Though, he can't see every little detail."
That caused Nezu's little eyes to widen.
"And he said he noticed one of the people who had been gathered at the gate touched it before the gate disintegrated." Alfonzo continued. "And when the crowd of reporters rushed inside, that person slowly walked away."
This time, Nezu's eyes narrowed as his mind, more powerful than a super-computer thanks to his [Quirk], [High Specs], began to work at high speed.
"I see." Nezu said after several moments of consideration. "Then, our conjectures were indeed correct. This was an attack from a villain... No, a warning. Meaning, there will probably be a real attack coming in the near future."
"I came to the same conclusion." Alfonzo replied in a solemn tone. "And that's the reason I'm here."
Nezu's attention was once again drawn back to Alfonzo after hearing that.
"Tatsuo is my responsibility." Alfonzo said with quiet determination in his tone. "And I have no intention of letting anything happen to him. So, I want to be allowed to stay near him for a while until we can determine that things are safe."
"Seriously, Alfonzo?" Tatsuo asked, feigning annoyance at Alfonzo's overprotective attitude. "I'm not weak. I can---"
"Shut it, Cuzz." Alfonzo ordered without even looking in Tatsuo's direction. "You're all that's left of Aunt Pat. And I know she'd never forgive me if I let anything happen to you."
Meanwhile, Nezu paid close attention to Alfonzo's expression and tone. And when he noticed that this high-ranking Hero had no intention of taking no for an answer, he could only exhale a sigh. Then, he started to consider if there was a way to fulfill Alfonzo's request.
'Musutafu is the city he is stationed in.' Nezu thought to himself while ignoring the bickering between Tatsuo and Alfonzo. 'So, having him nearby shouldn't be a problem. At the same time, there's always a chance that All Might could use up his allotted time and be unavailable for some reason. Plus, All Might isn't the best in terms of teaching, either. So, letting him be a teaching assistant from time to time would not be so bad, either... Not to mention, after digging into both of their pasts, I have no suspicions about their backgrounds. Perhaps... This could be quite the boon for U.A.'
"That could be arranged." Nezu said, his expression turning from contemplative to his usual jovial smile. "But you'll have to agree to something. Otherwise, I would have no way to justify your continued presence on U.A.'s campus."
"For some reason, I have a feeling I know what you're about to say." Alfonzo muttered while smiling wryly.
"Please, no." Tatsuo muttered at the same time. "For everything holy, school is supposed to be when I'm free from his childish jokes. I swear, if I have to hear his stupid 'that's what she said' jokes at school, I'm gonna do my damn best to break his jaw so he can't talk for a while."
Hearing the cousins' muttering, Nezu's smile widened. He enjoyed seeing humans struggle, after all.
"I'll need you to sign on as a substitute teacher, Mr. Marcus..." Nezu said, taking the conversation in the exact direction both Alfonzo and Tatsuo were expecting. "No, I suppose a teaching assistant would be a better title. Mostly, you would only help during the Foundational Heroics Class. As I'm sure you are aware, All Might isn't the best when it comes to teaching students."
"I've noticed." Alfonzo said while deadpanning. "He couldn't even teach Midoriya about his [Quirk]. The same [Quirk] that he had been using for the last forty years, or so."
"Exactly." Nezu said cheerfully. "So, your assistance would be greatly appreciated."
"Well, I have a few questions before I accept that offer." Alfonzo said, his tone turning serious. "For example, what kind of pay are we talking about?"
Alfonzo rang off a few more questions after that. And Nezu answered them seamlessly. However, when Alfonzo asked his final question, Nezu was actually brought up short.
"How often does Mirko come here?" Alfonzo asked, his tone even more serious than before.
"Pardon?" Nezu asked in a confused tone.
"How often does Mirko come here?" Alfonzo asked again. "And how well will the fact that I work here be kept from her?"
"*Pfft* Heh... Haha... Ahahahahaha!" Tatsuo tried his best to hold in his laughter. However, that turned out to be a futile effort.
Meanwhile, Nezu was left completely confused by Alfonzo's question. Although it would not take him long to figure out why Alfonzo asked about Mirko, he had never paid much attention to their relationship. However, before he could come up with an answer for Alfonzo, Nezu happened to glance at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Ah! It sure has gotten late." Nezu said while shaking his head to clear away the confusion for a moment. "Soramoto-Kun, I believe it is time for you to get to class. Otherwise, you will be late. And although I'm sure Aizawa-Kun will give you a pass because you were here with me. It would look better if the class rep was on time, would it not?"
"*Cough* *Cough*" Tatsuo, who was still laughing at the top of his lungs at Alfonzo's misfortune, could not help coughing when his role as class rep was brought up. A moment later, after getting his breathing under control, he turned to look at Nezu with a pleading expression on his face. "Is there any way I can abdicate from that position?"
"Nope~!" Nezu replied energetically. "So, I expect you to take your role seriously and do your best. Then, go beyond, Soramoto-Kun! PLUS ULTRA!"
"Ugh!" Tatsuo groaned in frustration as he hung his head.
In the next instant, Tatsuo [Blinked] away, reappearing in front of Class 1-A's door a moment later, leaving Alfonzo and Nezu to finish hashing out their terms of the agreement.
"Whoa!"
*Clatter!*
"Huh?" Tatsuo intoned after hearing the surprised exclamation coming from behind him. "I made sure there was no one at the door before I [Blinked]. So, how did someone get here so fast? No, wait... That wasn't even that close."
With that, Tatsuo turned to see who he just surprised with his [Blink]. As it turned out, someone had just been rounding a nearby corner when Tatsuo appeared out of nowhere. And this person was a girl with salmon pink-colored dreadlocks and greenish-yellow eyes with pupils shaped like reticles. However, by the time Tatsuo turned to look in her direction, the girl in question no longer looked surprised. Instead, she was dashing towards him, completely unconcerned with the bag she dropped, or the books that fell out of the bag, when she was startled.
"Hey! Was that teleportation?" The girl asked as she invaded Tatsuo's personal space. "I've never seen it in person. Ooh! I really wanna study you so I can make babies!"
'Ah... It's Hatsume...' Tatsuo thought to himself while smiling wryly. 'Yeah, she's probably gonna be on me all the time. I can see it in her eyes. She wants to make support equipment that can bend space now that she's seen my [Quirk] for herself.'
"Sorry, maybe next time." Tatsuo said calmly while stepping away from the girl's outstretched hands as she tried to touch his torso. "It's almost time for class to start, and I don't wanna be late."
With that, Tatsuo turned around and pulled Class 1-A's door open.
"Wait! Don't go~~~!" The girl shouted, sounding as if her lover was about to leave her. "I just wanna make some babies for you~~~~!"
*Bang!*
As soon as Tatsuo heard the girl shout, his expression fell. Then, he stepped inside the classroom before slamming the door shut behind him.
"*Sigh* That girl has a few screws lose." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "Huh? It's way too quiet in here."
Raising his head, Tatsuo scanned the room. When he did, he saw that all the other students were staring at him. Even worse, Sakura was leaking a dark aura, clearly unhappy about what she just heard the girl shot.
Also, Tatsuo noticed that Akatsuki looked like she was about to suffocate from holding in her laughter at his misfortune.
*Scrape!*
Yet, before Tatsuo had a chance to explain what just happened, the door slid open behind him. However, instead of the pink-haired girl, Shota was the one standing in the doorway. On top of that, the pink-haired girl was nowhere to be seen, probably having left when Shota showed up.
"Why are you just standing there?" Shota asked with an eyebrow raised. "The bell is about to ring. Get to your seat."
*Ding!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Ding!*
Then, as if it had been waiting for Shota to say that, the bell signaling the beginning of homeroom rang.
"*Sigh* Yes, Aizawa-Sensei." Tatsuo said in a tired tone as he slowly walked to his desk.