The entrance exam was still months away. Plenty of time to get stronger.
But I was getting greedy.
One partner was good. The essence from Nemuri had already transformed my body, taken me from fit to genuinely powerful. But my quirk rewarded multiple partners. Different essences. The more variety, the more balanced my growth.
I needed someone else.
The question was who.
I'd been keeping my eyes open. Watching the news. Studying pro heroes. Looking for someone who might be receptive to my particular brand of training.
Today, the universe answered.
It started with an explosion.
I was walking through the Tatooin Shopping District when I heard it. A massive boom that rattled the windows of nearby stores. Screams followed. People running. The unmistakable signs of a villain attack.
I should have kept my distance. I wasn't a hero yet. Getting involved would be stupid and potentially dangerous.
But I wanted to see.
I followed the crowd toward the commotion, keeping to the edges, staying out of the direct line of danger. Heroes would handle it. I just wanted to observe.
The scene was chaos.
A sludge villain. A massive blob of green-brown slime that had wrapped itself around a teenage boy with spiky blonde hair. The kid was struggling, small explosions bursting from his palms, but the sludge just absorbed each blast. His eyes were wild with panic, his mouth covered by the slime.
He was suffocating.
Pro heroes stood at the perimeter, but none of them were moving in. Death Arms, the muscular hero, looked frustrated. Backdraft was spraying water, but it wasn't doing anything. Kamui Woods had his branches extended but couldn't find an opening.
"Why aren't they helping him?" someone in the crowd asked.
"Their quirks aren't suited for this," another person answered. "They're waiting for someone who can handle it."
The kid was dying, and they were waiting.
Something twisted in my gut. Anger. Frustration. The same feeling I got whenever I saw people with power failing to use it.
I almost moved. Almost pushed through the crowd to do something, anything.
Then I saw him.
A skinny kid with green hair burst from the crowd. Tears streaming down his face. Running straight toward the villain with no plan, no quirk, nothing but desperation.
"KACCHAN!"
He threw his backpack at the villain's face. Started clawing at the slime with his bare hands. Completely suicidal. Completely stupid.
Completely heroic.
The heroes finally moved. But before they could reach the villain, something else happened.
A massive figure appeared from nowhere. Blonde hair. Huge muscles. A smile that seemed to light up the entire street.
All Might.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
One punch. The shockwave from his fist dispersed the sludge villain entirely, freeing the blonde kid, sending the slime splattering across the street. The crowd erupted in cheers.
I watched All Might gather up the villain's remains, clap the green-haired kid on the shoulder, and disappear as quickly as he'd arrived.
Symbol of Peace indeed.
But my attention had already shifted.
Because while everyone was focused on All Might, something else was happening at the other end of the street.
A thief. Some lowlife who'd used the chaos as cover to snatch purses. He was running, dodging through the distracted crowd, heading for an alley.
And then the ground shook.
A shadow fell over the street. I looked up.
And up.
And up.
A woman. A giant woman. Easily twenty meters tall, her body blocking out the sun. She was gorgeous even at that size. Blonde hair flowing behind her. A purple and cream costume that left very little to the imagination. Curves that were impressive at normal scale and absolutely jaw-dropping at giant size.
She stepped over the buildings like they were toys. Brought her foot down in front of the fleeing thief, blocking his escape.
"Going somewhere?" Her voice boomed across the street.
The thief tried to run the other direction. She simply reached down and plucked him off the ground between two fingers.
"Naughty boy," she said, bringing him up to her face. "Stealing while everyone's distracted? That's low."
She handed him off to a police officer who looked vaguely terrified to be so close to her giant form. Then she started to shrink.
Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five meters. Normal height.
The crowd had shifted their attention now. All Might was gone, but this was new. This was exciting.
"Who is she?"
"New hero?"
"She's hot!"
Media swarmed her immediately. Cameras flashing. Microphones thrust in her face. She smiled and posed, clearly enjoying the attention.
"Mt. Lady!" she announced, striking a pose with her ass toward the cameras. "The newest pro hero! Remember the name!"
I watched her work the crowd. Confident. Attention-seeking. Playing up her looks as much as her quirk.
But underneath the bravado, I caught something else. A flicker in her eyes when no one was looking at her face. Nervousness. Uncertainty. The look of someone who wasn't quite as confident as she pretended to be.
Interesting.
The media barrage continued for a solid twenty minutes. She answered questions, posed for photos, did everything a new hero should do on her debut. But I could see her energy flagging. The smile getting more forced. The poses becoming mechanical.
She was exhausted. And probably overwhelmed.
Eventually, the crowd started to thin. The media got their shots and moved on to the next story. The police finished cleaning up. Life returned to normal.
Mt. Lady found herself alone on a side street, leaning against a wall, finally letting the smile drop.
This was my chance.
I approached casually, hands in my pockets.
"Hell of a debut," I said.
She looked up, startled. Her guard immediately went back up, the media smile sliding into place.
"Thanks! Always happy to meet a fan. Want an autograph? I don't have any cards yet, but..."
"I'm not a fan. I mean, not yet. I just saw what you did."
"Oh." The smile faltered slightly. "Well, it was just a purse snatcher. Not exactly exciting villain work."
"You stopped him. That's what matters."
She studied me for a moment. Really looked at me. I let her.
I knew what she saw. A young man, clearly fit, clearly confident. Someone who wasn't staring at her chest or her ass like most of the men in the crowd had been.
"You're not looking at my body," she said.
"Should I be?"
"Everyone else was."
"I'm not everyone else."
A surprised laugh escaped her. Genuine, not the practiced giggle she'd been giving the media.
"Okay, that's a new line." She pushed off the wall, some of her energy returning. "So if you're not here to ogle me or get an autograph, what do you want?"
"To buy you a drink. You look like you could use one."
"It's two in the afternoon."
"Coffee, then. Or tea. Or whatever you want." I shrugged. "You just had your debut. Probably your first real action as a pro. That's got to be stressful. Figured you might want to decompress with someone who isn't trying to get something from you."
Her eyes narrowed. "And you're not trying to get something from me?"
"I'm trying to get coffee. Maybe conversation. That's it."
It wasn't entirely true, of course. I wanted much more than coffee. But she didn't need to know that yet.
She considered me for a long moment. I could see her weighing the options. Strange guy approaching her after her debut. Could be a creep. Could be a reporter in disguise. Could be trouble.
But I kept my body language open. Non-threatening. Interested but not desperate.
Finally, she smiled. A real smile this time.
"You know what? Sure. Why not." She fell into step beside me. "There's a cafe around the corner that I've been wanting to try. I'm Yu, by the way. Yu Takeyama."
"Kai Hayashi."
"Nice to meet you, Kai." She glanced at me sideways. "Fair warning, I'm probably going to complain about the media for at least an hour."
"I can handle it."
"And I might eat my weight in pastries. Gigantification burns a lot of calories."
"I'll make sure they don't run out."
She laughed again, and something in her posture relaxed.
"Okay, Kai Hayashi. You might be alright."
We walked to the cafe together. She talked. I listened.
She told me about her hero journey. The years of training. The struggle to get noticed. The pressure to stand out in a world full of flashy quirks. She'd chosen the sexy angle because it worked, because it got attention, but sometimes she wondered if anyone saw her as more than a pretty face and a giant body.
"The other heroes on scene today," she said, stirring her third coffee. "They didn't even acknowledge me. I helped catch a criminal, and they acted like I wasn't even there. All because I'm new. All because I'm not in their little club yet."
"That's frustrating."
"It's bullshit is what it is." She stabbed a piece of cake with her fork. "I worked just as hard as any of them. Passed the same exams. Earned my license. But because I'm pretty and I play it up, they don't take me seriously."
"Do you need them to take you seriously?"
She paused mid-bite. "What do you mean?"
"You're a pro hero. You have your license. You can do the work regardless of what they think." I leaned forward. "Their opinion doesn't change what you're capable of. Only you can do that."
She stared at me for a moment. Then she set down her fork.
"That's... actually a really good point."
"I have them occasionally."
"Modest too." She smiled, and there was something warmer in it now. "So what about you, Kai? What's your deal? You're clearly not a civilian. You move like someone who trains."
"I'm applying to U.A. in a few months. Hero course."
"Oh?" Her eyebrows rose. "Got a quirk?"
"Enhancement type. Strength, speed, that kind of thing."
"Useful. Versatile." She nodded approvingly. "You'll probably do well. The entrance exam loves combat quirks."
"That's the plan."
"Well, if you ever need advice from an actual pro hero..." She pulled out her phone. "Give me your number. I can share some tips. Mentor the next generation and all that."
I gave her my number. She texted me immediately so I'd have hers.
This is Yu. Don't be a stranger.
I smiled at my phone.
"I won't be."
We talked for another hour. Then two. The cafe staff started giving us looks as the afternoon crowd thinned and the evening rush began.
Finally, she glanced at the time and winced.
"Shit, I have to go. Agency paperwork. The glamorous side of hero work." She stood, stretching. Her costume creaked slightly with the movement. "This was nice, Kai. Really nice. I don't usually..." She hesitated. "I don't usually connect with people this easily."
"Me neither."
"Liar." She grinned. "You're way too smooth to be socially awkward."
"Maybe I just like talking to you."
"Flatterer." But she was blushing slightly. "Anyway. Text me. We should do this again."
"Definitely."
She left with a wave. I watched her go, appreciating the view.
Mt. Lady. Yu Takeyama. Pro hero. Giant woman. And if I played my cards right...
My second partner.