Chapter 22: How to write a beach episode that never has a beach in it
The state of the world is made up by an infinitely long series of incidents and choices, sure...
But sometimes those choices are made out of sight of the common man's eyes.
Unfurling across the world like a grand tapestry, fate-
*SCCCHHHLLLURRRP*
"Hey! I was in the middle of my introduction!"
"You and I both know it's just a parody of the first chapter, Shakespeare."
"Oh, screw you! Now we've run out of lines and the title card is here!"
"Hah, Get Good-"
~---THE TWILIGHT EXHIBITION---~A Knights of Twilight Sub StoryMONDAY
*FWOOSH*
Mezou was starting to become incredibly grateful that U.A seemingly had an almost impossibly large budget. He would be happy to disregard how that money was made if it meant he got to ride in a private cab, even if the small space was a little cramped.
As train sped towards Miura, Mezou looked his classmate, set to be his companion for the majority of the week.
Yui Kodai admittedly suffered from the same issue he did- politely called 'being a loner.' The quiet girl mostly stuck to Kyouka and Reiko, while he mostly found himself standing in the back of things, soaking in happenings.
Still, he would consider the two of them friends. (Well, everyone in class was friends by now, really. Collective trauma followed by collective determination would do that for you. Besides, Mezou found he didn't need to talk to people to get along with them. These ones… simply allowed him to be.)
Yui put down her book, smiling softly as was standard for her. She raised her hands, slowly beginning to sign.
[How much longer do you think this train ride will be?]
Mezou had learnt a little sign when he was younger. He had met a few Heteromorphs that didn't have vocal tracks, making the need for it rather apparent. He had picked up the skill again upon starting the year.
He nodded, manifesting a mouth on one of his arms before answering softly.
"Not too much longer now, at least. The next part is longer."
"Mmh…" [I think we may be going farther than anyone else. You said a relative will be there?]
Mezou nodded. "Correct. My cousin was pretty excited on the phone. On the same note, may I ask why you didn't choose to go with your sister?"
Yui blinked, before chuckling softly.
[
"Yuuuuuuiiiiiiii!"
"Yuuuuuuuu."
Yui sighed as her older sister threw herself onto her bed, sighing dramatically before pouting at her. "Oh, come on, can't you see I'm grieving?"
"No." As was standard, Yui kept her sentences far shorter than her sisters, but Yu never minded, so further depth was never necessary.
"Ugh, you're no fun. Why are you going out to bumass nowhere for your internship instead of going with your cool older sister?"
"Because you offer nothing.-" "Rude!" "-Didn't you want the purple haired kid anyway?"
"So that I could order him around, duh! Kid was being a creep on live television, so it was free hunting! But then U.A had to go and punish him and force him to attend 'correctional training'! Like come on! What am I going to do now?"
"Try harder."
"HEY!"
The Agency they were going to apparently had a dog. There was no way Yu was going to win, but she didn't need to know that.
]
[Her agency doesn't have anything to offer me.]
Mezou shrugged. "Reasonable."
Silence returned, then. Thankfully, it was a pleasant silence, with Mezou able to make the occasional comment on things, to which Yui was able to respond. It was nice.
*SKKKRRRTTTT*
Finally, their train came to a stop, and the pair wordlessly hopped out.
Walking into the salty air, Yui stretched while Mezou quickly opened his phone's navigator. A moment later, his eyes widened.
"We appear to be cutting this awfully close."
Yui poked her head towards Mezou's phone.
They only had about fifteen minutes before their next ride left.
Yui sighed, adjusting her bags, securing her clothes bag onto her onto her back and holding onto her other bag tightly. Mezou did the same, securing both of their Hero costume cases tightly in his arms and stringing his clothes bag onto his back.
Yui nodded, patting down her pants, before speaking just below a whisper. "Run?"
"Correct."
And off the pair went.
Yui took a heavy breath, leaning against the wall of the small room they had been given. To her left, Mezou was looking better, but he was still out of breath himself.
Standing up, the taller boy nodded. "Did we drop anything?"
Yui shook her head, causing Mezou to shrug. "Good…"
The pair were quiet for a moment before Yui heard a knock on their door.
Opening it, she found a tall man. They had shaggy copper hair and were dressed in simple casual clothes. He smiled, raising a hand. "Are you two alright? I saw you dashing through the port from here!"
Mezou nodded, placing his bags onto the bed as he stood up straight.
Their trip wouldn't be long enough for them to need to sleep, so the provided bed really only functioned as a good place to throw down their things.
"We're alright, thanks. Our schedule meant the gap between the train we took to get here arriving and this ride starting was tight. Neither of us have travelled much."
The man chuckled, opening his own bag to pull out a small thermos as he leaned against the door. "I definitely understand that! The first few times I made this trip I ended up cutting it awfully close, but nowadays I'm always here before the boat's even started!"
Ah, In the rush, she almost forgot.
She placed her bag down on the bed next to where Mezou had placed his, before stepping forward, looking through one of the windows of the large shipping boat they had hitched a ride on.
The boat was already beginning to speed up, the mainland quickly becoming a dot on the horizon.
"Woah…"
The man smiled. "This is your first time on the sea, I imagine?"
Mezou looked out the window himself, contemplative. "I've never left mainland Japan before."
"Well, even if you're technically still in the country, I'll say you've picked a great first travel destination."
Yui quickly gestured to Mezou in sign, figuring that he would be able to translate. [He has taken this trip before?]
It seemed unneeded, as the man nodded. "Yep. I work on the mainland, but I get to come home every couple of months. Oh, and don't worry about Sign. Most people you'll find around here will know it. When you're as tight knit as we are, you do get somewhat motivated to be nice to everyone."
Mezou smiled under his mask, sitting himself down on the small couch their room had, pointing to a chair. (It was… decidedly ramshackle, but that wasn't a big deal. It was cheap, and it wasn't like there were any other boats going to where they were going anyways. Besides, Cargo boats had gotten fast.)
The man gracefully accepted the offered seat, placing himself down with a small thud. "Well, what's making you two take the trip? Forgive me for assuming, but the two of you are both awfully young."
"Mmh." Yui nodded. [Internships are happening at our school.]
The man was silent for a moment, contemplative, before his eyes widened. "Ah! My kids mentioned that the local Hero agency was taking two interns! That would be the two of you?"
Mezou nodded. "Correct. Word travels fast, then."
"I suppose so, but it's not like it'll get much further out, considering the residents of my home aren't exactly... abundant. Ah, where are my manners? What do I call you two?"
Mezou shrugged. "I am Tentacole, and She is Rule. Shouji and Kodai also work, though."
"Unlike some people, I'd like to believe I have a decent amount of respect for Heroes, even if you're just in training, Tentacole-san. I'm Eisei Shimano. We've got a few hours to kill, so what can I tell you about my home?"
Yui smiled, placing herself on the couch next to Mezou, reaching for her book but leaving an ear open to the conversation. Mezou, meanwhile, looked to Shimano-san with a small smile. "Thank you, Shimano-san. What can you tell us about Nabu Island?"
Their conversation had gone on for some time, but Shimano-san had eventually returned to his room. Mezou and Yui had gotten to eat lunch, and had used the floor in their room to get a little bit of exercise in. The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon as they arrived, leaving the sky a rich orange.
Grabbing their bags, the pair walked out alongside the few other people who were making the trip, moving to the front of boat, while the crew prepared to move the actual products the boat was shipping. Mezou made out crates ranging from cleaning supplies to exotic food items, although a very large portion of the ship was hidden for "privacy reasons". Whatever that meant. The workers were taking their time, most of them simply lounging, since they had a full week to unpack before setting back out for the mainland at the end of the week, thankfully matching when Mezou and Yui would need to ride it home.
Stepping off the steps, they bore witness to the place they'd be staying at for the rest of the week.
Nabu island stood proudly, open ocean surrounding it on all sides.
It had remained scarcely populated for most of human existence, but it gained its current populace during the quirk wars, many retreating to it during the time of chaos. According to the maps they had looked at, the only real tourist attractions were the island's warm beaches and one Mount Shiroyama and its associate ruins.
Said ruins were located on a connected island and all together didn't really have much oomph to them, keeping the tourist population low, meaning most of the island's money was acquired through work abroad, online work, and farming.
likewise, a majority of the island was decidedly rural, with a dense area of population centred around the island's sole port, flowing out into farmland for various crops that took advantage of the islands consistent weather, mainly grain.
In its sum total, it was the very definition of idyllic.
Shimano-san took a deep breath of salty air. "Ah. It's good to be home. You don't realize how much you miss reasonably tall buildings until you get to a place like this, huh?"
Looking ahead, Mezou spotted a small crowd of residents coming to witness the new arrivals. Shimano-san quickly scanned through the crowd before spotting two small children trying to crawl out of the hands of some variation of guardian. "Ah. That would be my little ones. Good luck, you two!"
"Mmh!" "Thank you, Shimano-san."
With that, the man quickly speedwalked over to the children, with Mezou and Yui slacking behind, looking around. Various members of the gathered crowd gave them a look, but Mezou was grateful that the number of those looks that were scornful was rather low.
"Ooooooi! They're with me!"
Mezou turned as a figure slipped their way through the crowd emerged.
They stood a little shorter than Mezou, although they were built wide, albeit somewhat portly, even if they had they physical muscle to make up for it. While they lacked Mezou's angular face, instead being rather round, they matched him through their extra-long arms alongside the occasional streak of silver in their mostly curly brown hair, matching their tanned skin.
They eventually made their way through to them on the docks, smiling widely. "And the prodigal son arrives. It's good to see you, Mezou… or should I call you Tentacole, hah?"
Instead of the Hero costume Mezou's mentor was probably supposed to be wearing, his older cousin was wearing slacks, sandals, and a bright orange dress shirt, dotted with flowers.
As the man stood with an aloof grin, Mezou couldn't help but smile underneath his mask. He didn't get to see family all too often, what with his mother's side all but non-existent and his other two cousins taking their own Hero work incredibly seriously, so he took any chance he could get. "Hello, Yaoki-san. It is good to see you as well."
(Both his own father and his aunt had been shocked when all of their children had all individually decided to be Heroes… but after people like them had been scorned for so long… what were they going to do? Stop them from trying to make a world that was better than the one they had before?)
The man huffed, crossing his arms such that they met far below his belly button, although his smile never left. "I've been downgraded from Nanashi now, have I? Gotta treat your older cousin with respect or something?"
He turned to face Yui, who had stood to the side. "And you'd be Rule. I'm glad you both accepted our offers. It would have been harder to get U.A to pay for your boat ride if it was just one of you."
Yui nodded, quickly signing. [Thank you. Who are you?]
Yaoki shrugged. "Ah. I suppose I'm not in costume…"
A moment later, one of the man's arms began to vibrate, before it a second arm appeared at the elbow. Then a third, and a fourth, until he had enough arms to make it hard to see the one that was there first. He quickly used those limbs to grab a hold of their bags, holding them up with ease.
"Pretty nifty, huh? My friends call me 'the annoying one', but you can call me Cottus."
YAOKI NANASHI - HERO NAME: THE STRONG-ARM HERO, COTTUS – QUIRK: BRANCH ARM! Present Mic is back, baby, and he's here to tell you stuff about our new friends from beyond the veil! Yaoki matches his cousin in terms of Armament by being able to manifest multiple limbs in any position on his long arms using his body fat, growing out like branches! These arms can hold about as much as a normal one, but the carry and force capacity is magnified by the number of arms used! Beware, though, because overuse tires Cottus out right quick. At least he shares his regeneration ability with Tentacole!
"You probably know my brothers a little better for their work over at Tartarus… but since we're of the clock, just call me Yaoki, alright?"
Yui looked at the man, silent, before bowing.
[I am in your care.]
Yaoki snorted, but not rudely. "By definition, you're in Hikari's care, not mine, but don't worry about that." He turned around, gesturing with his currently standard arm. "Alright then. Now come along. I want to get back to the agency before dinner!"
Mezou watched as he walked ahead, before he nodded to his friend and began to follow him, Yui on his tail.
The streets of Nabu Island's central area reminded Mezou of the old television shows he had seen, with wide streets and friendly people dotting them. The architecture was a far cry from modern, with the lack of building materials leading the buildings to match the suburban building style that had become prevalent right before the dawn of quirks.
As his mentor finished off another short but friendly chat with a citizen, he raised a question he had been curious about for most of the slow walk towards where they would be staying. "Your Hero Agency has only been on Nabu for a brief period, no?"
Yaoki nodded, groaning. "About four months ago. That's our Agency's thing. When we all came together a few months after I started Hero-ing, everyone figured that we were all pretty light on physical needs, and we all leaned Twilight, so there wasn't a need for us to stay rooted down, so we kept moving. A couple years later, the old man who used to Hero here retired, so when the big guys upstairs sent out a request for someone to take his place… the captains agreed to move. Again. Which sucked, but…"
He gestured up and down with his free arm. "There was a big attack, around January, back where we were active before we moved here. If All Might hadn't been able to leap his way over there... a lot of us would probably have kicked the bucket. Gave us a big spook, you know? This place is a little boring, but we sorta needed it. Besides... It's basically vacation. We do odd jobs for the people here, Illucient maintains our stock portfolio… and we train. That's about it. It's boring, but… someone has to do it. That's why you're here, no?"
Mezou nodded. "I wanted to gain experience in doing Hero work in more rural areas, and I felt that you would be able to help me train my quirk."
"Heh. Damn right I will. And Hikari will treat you well, Kodai, even if she's a bit of a hardass."
Yui nodded. She had told Mezou she had come here for training, mostly, as well as to take advantage of the fact her quirk worked better when you weren't surrounded by four walls.
The walk continued on for a little longer before they came to a stop.
"And here we are!"
Mezou found himself in front of a large two-story building. It appeared to be a repurposed office building of some kind, and it was clearly well used. Three signs sat on the cobbled wall in front of the building, with the two prior ones framed as the building's former functions, with a faint line through the text marking their defunct status.
Nabu Shipping logistics
South State Agency
GULCH HERO AGENCY!
The most recent sign shone a sparkling gold, with a variety of different signatures embossed underneath, ranging from immaculate in quality to resembling chicken scratch.
Yaoki huffed. "Well, here we are. Welcome to Gulch Hero Agency-"
*SMASH*
"DAMNIT!" "OH, COME ON!" "WOOF!"
Yaoki sighed, weary but not angry in a way Mezou found horribly relatable. "Well, peace was nice while it lasted. Let's go see what fight's happening now…"
"Now, what did we learn?"
Mezou watched as one of the present pros got chewed out, much to the chagrin of everyone else present. The man wore an outfit similar to Yaoki, dressed for warmer weather, a tan just about visible on his darker skin.
"Don't try and carry three boxes at the same time…"
The man didn't look guilty in the slightest, clearly having heard the tirade before. In the back, the other present Hero, a tall woman, sighed.
The figure responsible for disciplining the belligerent pro sighed. They floated slightly above the ground, glowing a faint blue, and Mezou could see right through them, but even then, he could tell they were exasperated. "We'll deal with this mess problem later. Now..."
The present group turned to face Mezou and Yui. They were silent for a moment before they burst out in a cacophony of noise.
"Shoot, I forgot about that." "Excellent, I was worried Nashi was going to get side-tracked!" "Woof!"
"ACHEM!"
The group quieted down as the spectral figure, a leader, apparently, sighed wearily. "One at a time. Welcome back, Cottus. Now… it's good to meet the two of you."
The figure seemed to dissipate into fog as a door slid open into the main room, A man who's appearance matched the figure emerging. They looked beleaguered, Eyebags below dark green eyes. Their greying hair was messy, clearly unbrushed, and their perhaps once well pressed dress shirt was long since creased.
"Apologies for the lack of cleanliness here. Admittedly, not too many people actually come into our agency, and we've been moving stuff around in order to prepare your quarters."
Yaoki leaned over, faking a whisper. "It's also tax season, so he's crrraaaannnkkky."
The older looking man sighed; whispers of profanity just about heard by Mezou's sensitive ears. "My Co-workers aside… it is good to meet you two. I'm Terashi Kabeya, although your emails would have called me Illucient."
Kabeya's eyes glowed, and the spectral figure returned, standing next to him. Both leaned forward, each offering a hand to one of the two of them.
KABEYA TERASHI - HERO NAME: THE SPECTRAL HERO: ILLUCIENT – QUIRK: SPECTRAL DOUBLE! Terashi is awfully good at multitasking, mostly since he can be in two places at once! His double is immune to physical harm and can pretty much go wherever since walls and floors are no issue! With a little effort, the double can touch things, but it's hard to keep up! The double and normal body share thoughts, but Terashi's built for it, to the point were having two of every sense at once all but comes naturally!
Mezou accepted the handshake before bowing. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. Thank you for accepting us."
Kabeya nodded. "Alright. Now that the proper formal introduction is done…"
A moment later, he slouched and turned back to where he came, sighing. "Alright, my introduction is done, you all go wild. I've got more work to do. Call me for dinner!"
With that, the man shut the door behind him, leaving Mezou to simply blink in confusion.
The man that had previously been chewed out laughed, pushing aside his black hair, tied into dreadlocks. "Don't worry about him. He's way less of an ass when he's not on the clock. Managing our finances is a nightmare, so it leaves him pissy."
"Language."
"As if they won't have heard worse before this week is out." Mezou observed that the bickering seemed to be a pattern, but ignored it. The man continued.
"Anyways, Let's go in a circle! I'm Kento Shirahama, but you can call me Swordpow!"
Mezou kept his cool. Yui did not, snorting as the first noise she had made since they entered the building. Shirahama sighed, but the smile didn't leave his face. "Yeah, yeah, I know it sucks. But I picked it when I was like, twelve, and you learn to stick with these things! Next!"
The tall (and she was tall. She was even a little taller than Mezou, but they were stick thin. Combine Yaoki and her and you were left with an average sized person.) woman stood up, bowing. "It's good to meet you two. I'm Hikari Konatsu. I'll be looking after you, Rule."
Yui bowed. [Thank you for sending me an offer, Shakespeare, Ma'am.]
Konatsu nodded, sending a glare towards her co-worker. "I'm glad we'll finally have some respectful people around here."
Yaoki scoffed, crossing his arms. "Hey! I'm perfectly respectful!"
"I've known you since high school, Nanashi, and we both know that's a bold-faced lie".
"Kissass."
"Anyways... I'll be the one training your quirks. That'll be most of what you do, anyhow. We don't get much work here."
*SLAM*
"AND IT SUCKS!"
All eyes turned to the front entrance, where a bulky man had walked in, physically Clanking with their metal body. They were carrying groceries.
Yaoki sighed. "And how long were you waiting out there?"
The Metal-Man smirked, placing the bags on the counter before crossing his arms. "About fifteen minutes, which is perfectly reasonable when you want a dramatic entrance!"
He stepped forward, before he pulled off his right arm with his left with little to no effort, pointing it at Mezou and Yui. "I'm Kousuke Katsuya, but you willcall me Tinman! I'll be running your physical exercises!"
KATSUYA KOUSUKE - HERO NAME: THE ASSEMBLED HERO: TINMAN – QUIRK: SCRAP BODY! So long as his head and chest don't get too banged up, this robo-esque man can get up from just about anything! His arms and legs are assembled out various metals that he touches with any he already controls, and he can attach fresh metal to his head and chest whenever the current skin gets too banged up! What's under all that armour? Who knows?!
Mezou noticed all three Heroes in the room, and the dog, shudder, which definitely told him something, but he had been through Aizawa-sensei's drills. He was prepared.
Yaoki glared at his superior (at least it seemed that way. All of the agency documents were signed by both Illucient and Tinman, so it made sense. Besides… the man, as far as his internet searches could reveal, was old.) "And here I thought you'd be more peaceful this week…"
Reattaching his arm, Katsuya smirked, his metal face contorting to match. "We may be Twilight Heroes, but there's nothing wrong with presence! Besides, I toned down my entrance to account for the little 'uns, so you can shut it!"
"Why, I-"
While the adults once again began to bicker, Mezou and Yui looked to each other.
[This is beginning to be a pattern.]
Mezou shrugged at that. "According to Izuku, Gulch Agency also has one of the highest cooperation ratios in the country. I suppose this is just how they get along."
"Mmh…"
"Woof!"
The two looked down to find that the dog, a rather large, but at least friendly looking, Great Dane, who had elsewise sat to the side, had finally approached them. Mezou leaned down, giving him a light scratch on the head while checking the collar.
"Tetsudou – Pro Hero Hound"
"Eh?"
The adults finished their argument with a huff, looking to the two of them. Yaoki grinned. "Looks like you've met the last member of our team."
"The dog is… a pro Hero?"
"Ah-huh. Quirked and everything."
Tetsudou was clearly proud of that fact, as her face morphed into the closest equivalent of a smirk a dog could make. Katsuya walked up, giving him a light scratch. "Our girl here is about as smart as a four-year-old. She signed her own paperwork and everything!"
"Is acting like a standard dog not… beneath her?"
Both Tetsudou and Katsuya shook their heads. "She's always had the choice, sure, but she likes being a dog, so that's what she does. Playing fetch with her is tough though, but you'll see that later!"
Mezou nodded. When presented with the choice, Mezou supposed some wouldn't complain about a simple life, and enhanced intelligence may not acquaint to a loss of instincts.
Shirahama smirked, clapping. "Alright, that's introductions done! It's getting late, and I'm sure your trip was tiring, but there's one more thing to do before we send you off to sleep…"
Mezou gulped. Were they going to be working already?
"Dinner!"
Ah. That made more sense.
"Yes, Yes, bow to my greatness, everyone!"
"You let the ice-cream melt by standing outside."
"Not important!"
As it turned out, Dinner was a very communal affair, with responsibility shifting between each member of the group daily (with exception of the Tetsudou, who was a dog, and Shirahama, who would probably poison them, supposedly). Katsuya had taken the responsibility today, cooking a rather tasty curry.
The meal was mostly silent, with the adults all clearly hungry considering how quickly they ate their portions. Eventually, though, eating started to slow down and talking started to pick up.
Kabeya, now showered and looking far less dishevelled, Raised a fork towards the two interns. "We watched the sports festival when it happened. Why'd the two of you bow out?"
Mezou nodded, his mask just below his face. (It made him… anxious. But at the same time, no one here was lacking in scars, considering their role as protectors. He would be alright, but it would be going right back on the moment his food was eaten.) "The others had more to prove than I did. I knew I would have the internship opportunities I wanted, so I ensured they could do what they wanted as well."
The older Hero simply nodded. "Reasonable. Kodai?"
The girl simply shrugged. "Flat Arena… no point."
That got a laugh out of the table. Konatsu groaned. "Ugh. That reminds me of my first licencing exam. Nothing to use my quirk on! The same time next year they let people wear their Hero costumes in the licencing exams, which was probably my fault…"
"Hah. I remember that." "You failed too, you ass." "Only because you would have been insufferable if I didn't!"
Banter began at the table once more, and Mezou smiled. The atmosphere was calmer now that the Heroes had eaten and settled down, and everything felt friendly overall.
(Secretly, despite an initial goal of underground Heroics… maybe something like this would be nice.)
Kabeya continued. "Well… I'd say the two of you did pretty well. If it helps, I was interested in sending out internship offers to your class even before the revelation of you and Cottus' relation. Hence your presence here, Rule."
Yui nodded, sending out a simple sign. [Thank you.]
He shrugged. "We're making more money off of you then it costs to look after you. If anything, we should be thanking you."
Katsuya recoiled. "Wait, really!? What are we doing with the money!?"
"Putting it aside to buy a car when we go back to being in an agency on the mainland, considering someone crashed our last one."
"Aw, Dagnabbit..."
TUESDAY
"Time to take a breather… Gotta love early morning patrols."
The group had stopped at one of the area's tallest buildings (One of the area's few apartments. It wasn't even all that tall). Yui took the brief stop of movement to stretch, adjusting her new costume.
Both her and Mezou had gotten adaptions to their costumes to account for where they were going. Neither were skin-tight anymore, at least. Mezou's top had been replaced with a reinforced dress shirt, worn alongside a thin jacket that matched the pattern of his standard costume, and a clean sun hat. Yui's outfit was a similar style. She had kept her belt, hat, and gauntlets, but she had ditched the skirt, replacing it with a more practical pair of pants and a shirt and jacket combination that was similar to her previous costume. It was certainly more manoeuvrable, at least.
(The third year the pair had gone to when they realised, they needed outfits better fitting for warmer weather had been… enthusiastic, but they had worked fast. The less said about the eyelashes, the better, though.)
Konatsu, currently in her costume (A relatively simple costume, really. The flowing crimson robes, purposefully airy as to combat the warm weather, inspired by her namesake, did clash with the bulky combat boots and gloves, but it worked, somehow.) and thus acting as Pro Hero Shakespeare, looked around, surveying the area. "Like usual, nothing. More boats in the harbour, though. We should ask Illucient to add it to Hound and Swordpow's rounds."
Cottus nodded from his own perch, looking over what few fields weren't blocked by trees. He wore his costume this time, chain armour and sleek helmet mirroring the pictures Yui had seen of his brothers who guarded Tartarus, although it was built for warmer climates. "Got it. Hold on, there's a cig in one of these pockets…"
As expected, Nabu didn't receive much… action on a day-to-day basis. People went about their mornings, chatted to friends, and either worked at home or in one of the various workspaces, or, in the case of the roughly two hundred students, went to Nabu island's only high, primary, and preschool. Although…
Yui nudged Mezou, pointing towards the small school, were a whole lot more adults seemed to be moving about than children.
Mezou seemed to get the message, turning to their mentors. "There seems to be something going on at the school."
At that, both present Pros immediately froze.
Cottus sent a look at his ally. "They weren't told?"
Shakespeare flinched. "I thought it'd be in the introduction emails!"
"Damn… well, I guess we'll have to tell you now. Do either of you follow art much?"
Mezou shook his head at the same time Yui did, leading Cottus to flinch. "Damn…"
Shakespeare nodded. "Well, you'll probably at least recognise the E.C.E, at least."
Mezou nodded. "I've heard of it in passing, I believe. The Eurasian Cultural Exhibition?"
"Correct. Big Tie event, bunch of snobbish rich people are going to be there."
"It rotates between different places each year, and this year…."
[Here?]
"Yep. It's random. I think. Considering pretty much nothing ever happens here… the government offered up the school grounds to be converted."
"I see. And we…"
"Will have to guard it. It's under wraps enough that it should be boring, though."
"Hey, money's money, you know."
Yui smiled. It would be something to tell everyone about, and she wouldn't look the opportunity to have a little bit of fun in the mouth. [Will we be there?]
"I mean, if you want? Nothing else is going on then. I'll take a guess you don't have any fancy clothing… I know there's a tailor we can contact. She's a bit snooty but she'll love the chance to make something again now that she's retired…"
Yui tuned out the conversation, returning her eye to the school. Across it, a myriad of small dots lined the grounds, carrying boxes, moving carts, or overseeing decorations.
An art show, huh…
The patrol had gone on like that. With so few people, it wasn't like crime would happen at all, let alone in the open, but…
"Assurance of safety is the first step of nullifying criminal action!"
Mezou listened to Shakespeare prattle as he made his way through the forest, manifesting as many ears as he could.
Even normally, tracking down a missing kitten would be easier said than done, but…
"There are an abnormal number of bugs in this forest. I'm struggling to hear anything."
Cottus nodded. "Something must have aggravated them… locals say the bugs get like this whenever a batch of teens tromps through the forest. Something about a chain reaction…"
Shakespeare extracted a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I suppose that means…"
Pulling out a pen, she quickly began to write, before putting the page in front of her.
"By the straining of his ears, Tentacole found himself able to hear past the forest's many bugs and noises, filtering even the very wind itself in order to hear the feline of mystery…"
Mezou calmed down, opening his ears again. A moment later, he felt the noise surrounding him quiet to a dull hum…
"Mew!"
"There!"
KONATSU HIKARI - HERO NAME: THE PROSE HERO: SHAKESPEARE – QUIRK: PROSE! This Bizarre quirk has the power to bring words into reality! I'd call it strange, but I already have two nickels for that sort of thing, so why not make it three? Reading out words on paper, the user can bend the world around them to a not at all weak degree; nothing physics defying, and the range is awfully limited, but it's still a super useful support power up! Newtons laws apply here, so nothing can be created or destroyed, only twisted! Changes are drawn from Konatsu's stamina, so it's awfully sacrificial!
Mezou dashed forward, tracking where he heard the noise, until he finally made his way to a small grove. Instead of finding a cat, however…
"I knew I should have been less specific with the filters…"
A tall man stood, gently petting the cat. He was wearing a pristine black suit, the bottoms dusted with green from exposure to the elements. A long white cloak had been tied around his waist. Most strikingly, though-
The man stood up to look at them, picking up the kitten as he did it. "Ah. Pro Heroes."
He breathed heavily, a large prosthetic mask covering his mouth and half of his face, augmenting the noise. "I believe you are looking for this young creature, yes?"
Shakespeare took charge, walking forward and taking the kitten from the man's hands. "Thank you, sir. How did you find him?
The man moved a finger to his covered ear. "A part of my quirk is a sensitivity to noises and the ability to distinguish them. I was on a walk while away from my work, and I worried for such a young animal's safety in the woods, so I came to investigate. It appears I needn't be so worried."
Shakespeare nodded, quickly sending a message to the cat's owner to tell them they had found it. "Nonetheless, thank you for your attempted help, sir. You are…"
The man chuckled slightly, nodded. "Ah. I suppose it is a Hero's duty to report these things. I am Yugami Daisentou. It is a pleasure, sirs and madams."
Cottus' eyes widened. "Ah. You're the host of the Exhibition, no?"
Daisentou nodded. "That I am. A break from the set up was welcome. You will all be there, yes?"
Shakespeare nodded. "Yes. Gulch Agency has been hired as Extra security."
"Excellent." The man looked to Mezou specifically. "You are quite an interesting group. I look forward to seeing you there."
(Due to the nature of their quirks, Mezou often found himself paired up with Kyouka. The two of them often traded secrets of espionage, and even if her skills far outpaced his, he had learnt a thing or two from her. Namely, how the noises one makes can show how truthful you were being. Your heartrate, your breathing, even the fidgeting of your fingers. Truthfully, he could only hear the first one, even with as many ears as he had at the moment. But…)
Liar. The question, was, of course... in which statement?
The man turned around, moving back in the direction of the town. "Have a good evening, Heroes."
When the man was gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Cottus groaned. "Artsy people. They always give me the heebie-jeebies. I could tell the guy didn't like us."
"Yeah. But he seemed nice enough. Let's get this kitten back home so we can go have lunch!"
"Mmh."
Mezou nodded. Perhaps he wasn't as fond of Heroes as he claimed to be. He shook off the worry. There was no point in getting upset over a disgruntled person.
As the group of Heroes and Heroes in training began to leave the forest, Mezou retracted his many ears, taking a deep breath.
He shrugged. He really needed to wind down a little.
"Wait a second, I'M AN ARTSY PERSON! HEY!"
"Hah. Took you long enough!"
Chapter 23: In which the weather crew forsees a coming storm
TUESDAY (AFTERNOON)
Nabu island, despite it's nigh microscopic population (at least from the perspective of people used to the city, like the two of them), had its fair share of businesses.
Almost all of them were packed into a commercial building and its surrounding area. An Arcade, a boutique, a flower shop, one weirdly successfully hobbyist aeroplane store, and, of course, four restaurants. None of them could seat more than ten, but they made tasty food the population couldn't really make themselves, and that was what mattered.
So, of course, their guardian for the afternoon, Katsuya-san, immediately took their two interns to the sloppiest and unhealthiest one, a small joint by the name of BURGERCITY.
The name was... tacky, but Mezou wouldn't question it.
("The fact that it's my favourite of the four notwithstanding!")
Mezou supposed that if Katsuya was going to look after them, the man was at least going to get food out of it.
The man leaned back as the two teens sipped their milkshakes, having ordered their food already. He was wearing a puffy coat over his arms, thankfully preventing their metal nature from damaging the puffy, American diner style chairs they sat in.
"Ah. Nothing like a nice treat after a busy day, huh?"
Mezou nodded. They had been busy, after all. The man wasn't kidding when he said they'd be testing them physically. Their patrol around the farming areas of the island has been a whole lot less of a walk and a whole lot more of a run.
"I would say so. There are limited things to do around here, after all."
Katsuya chuffed, sipping his own drink of plain water through a straw, the metal sheets making up his face contorting into a smile. "Pretty much! Eat food, talk while standing around, and if you're my co-workers, play video games!"
Mezou raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware the signal here was fast enough for that kind of thing."
"You'd be surprised how many of the people on this island are huge into games, ya know! I've seen their fight nights. Houses get packed. Hell knows we wouldn't of come here if the internet speed wasn't reasonable!"
Yui nodded, face set. Right, she had quite the passion for the hobby, if he remembered correctly, only beaten out by Yanagi.
(As a matter of privacy, and as far as Mezou could tell, anxiety, very few of them had ever actually gotten to see inside of Reiko's room in U.A's dormitory building. But from what Mezou had seen, the one time he walked her there after a school day… organised chaos, and a whole lot of game systems. it was a recent acquisition, as far as he could tell. Someone on the U.A staff had been supplying them to her. He had a sneaking suspicion that their homeroom teacher was to blame, but he wasn't going to voice it.)
Noticing Yui's excitement (in comparison to her standard expression, at least. She still looked just above neutral), Katsuya smirked. "It's been years since I've played the things myself, though. I think it was last when I was still in em!"
Mezou's eyes widened at that. "You were? …Aren't you a Twilight Hero?"
The old Hero simply grinned, revealing sharp metal teeth. "Heh, I always love to drop that surprise on people! I'm only a Twilighter nowadays! You kids ever hear about Scrap Heap?"
Mezou was silent for a moment, but Yui picked up the slack. [I remember. Green Hair mentioned it. Pro Hero. Spotlight, Rank Twenty-Five at the time. Retired... fifteen years ago?]
"There we go! Glad someone remembers my old title!"
That was enough to spark recognition in Mezou. "That Hero was famous for disappearing off the face of the map when he retired. But… he didn't look like… you."
Scrap Heap had been… a whole lot more human than the man who sat in front of them now.
Katsuya chuckled, spinning his makeshift arms around with a small, disgruntled smile. "Well, kids… Hero work isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and it's only gotten easier as years have gone by. Fleshnomancer… nah, that's a little too much for you now. Search that name when you're in your third year, and no sooner, alright?"
They both nodded. They had seen things, sure, but neither of them were going to voluntarily expose themselves to more, and judging by the normally cheerful man's face...
"Well, needless to say, I was lucky I could use my quirk to all but rebuild myself. So I cut my losses, officially retired my old Hero name, and pulled out the old twilight licence and founded Gulch agency with an old contact! Pretty sufficient backstory if I do say so myself, Heh!"
[You can do that?]
He nodded. "It's a bit of an open secret, though. No where is it ever explicitly stated that you can't, but no one'll tell you, since it's… shall we call it 'a legal grey zone?' Yeah, that works."
The man fished his Hero licence out of a pocket of his dress shirt.
As he had seen in the examples their teacher had shown in class, the Twilight Hero licence was relatively simple. It listed Katsuya's legal information, the date the licence was registered (A little over ten years ago, almost nearing it's expiration date), his Hero title, and his designation (TWILIGHT HERO-ACTION TYPE).
"I took the test to grab the thing for the first time as a precaution while I was still spotlight, and I get it refreshed whenever it expires. A lot of Heroes will do the same to have identities for when they do Hero work outside of their home city, secretive tasks, or when they do, Achem, 'con-tro-ver-sial' work. That last one is a load of malarkey, but the other two were valid. When I retired, my other licence didn't, so I just… never told the public!"
"Hm…"
"Ah, but that's enough boring stuff!"
Katsuya grinned, looking past them to a cheerful teen, who sauntered over, carrying their food.
"Here we go, Hero and Baby Heroes! Eat up!"
"Thanks, kid! Send my thanks to the chef!"
The teen flashed a thumbs up as he disappeared again, and Mezou got an opportunity to look down at his food.
He had picked the healthiest sounding option on the menu, and it still resulted in the largest burger he had pretty much ever seen, with Yui's being almost the same size. Katsuya-san's, meanwhile…
There was enough grease in that meal to fuel a car.
The man didn't seem to care, instead, quickly eating a few chips. "Now, how about I tell you some fun stories about your mentors, huh? I just so happened to mentor them in their own first year, you know!"
As he began his tirade, something to do with a car, Mezou pondered the previous statement.
"Hero work isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and it's only gotten easier as years have gone by…"
Hm…
~---TWILIGHT EXHIBITION: ISLAND LIFE---~
(EVENING)
*thud* *thud* *thud*
The dull noise of the knife colliding with the cutting board was relaxing as Yui slowly cut the pile of carrots into the smaller parts needed for their dinner.
"You kids know how to cook? Damn!"
Yui shrugged as she looked to the man who had sauntered into the room. Shirahama stood a fair distance away from the food, dressed in his Hero outfit (Supposedly, his standard Hero uniform resembled a 'gallant knight' in his own words, but hot weather had encouraged him to downsize, instead wearing something resembling a squire in chainmail.) and ready for patrol. It turned out that the thing about him poisoning people was not, in fact, an overdramatization. A side effect of his quirk caused him to literally leak mercury out of his hands. His body normally reabsorbed said mercury (which he was thankfully immune to), especially with gloves custom built for the purpose, but he certainly wasn't going to risk poisoning anyone by going anywhere near food while it was being cooked.
Signing with a single hand was hard, but doable. [Dad and Big Sister cannot cook. At all.]
(Heh. Big Sister.)
Mezou poked his head out from where he was preparing the large amount of needed chicken. "I was alone at home a lot while father worked. I'm on my own in my apartment as well."
Being able to stay with her sister was a blessing, she supposed. Maybe she should have Mezou come over for dinner more… Tooru was on her own too… hm…
The Hero scratched his neck, embarrassed. "Both of those are valid, I suppose. I'll be sure to enjoy my food extra when I get back!"
"Woof!" Ah, and there was Tetsudou, here to get his companion.
"Oh, fine, fine! Before I go, through…"
The Hero leaned forward, a sly grin on his face, gesturing with his elbow. "You mentioned Mt. Lady was your sissssteeerrr…?"
Yui shook her head. [Competition is tight. Not worth crossing Wood Man and Sleep Lady.]
"Aw, Dangit!"
Instead of embarrassing himself further, the man at least had the dignity to leave quickly. Yui shook her head with a soft smile.
Mezou looked up. "what's the matter?" When Yui simply shook her head, Mezou nodded. "Right. We're out of salt."
Yui shrugged. [Ask neighbours?]
Mezou took off his apron. "Good thing we haven't put anything in the oven yet. I'll be back."
With that, her friend quickly left the room, leaving Yui to the quiet, where she smiled, flicking open her phone.
The Main Class 1-T chat was mostly quiet, everyone likely beleaguered by their day. Scrolling through the various sub-rooms created by members whenever they needed to talk to less people (and usually later colonised for other uses), she found one active.
GIRL CHAT (AND ALSO KAIBARA FOR PICS)
Partytime.png: Please help, I cannot feel my legs
PHOTOMAN: You and me both. F
Of the Opera: F
TadpoleWrangler: F
Mekodai: F.
Partytime.png: YUI YOURE NOT DEAD!
PHOTOMAN: SHES BACK!
Mekodai: Sorry?
TadpoleWrangler: Yui, it is typically considered polite to tell your classmates that your internship location is, in fact, on an island territory about as far away from everyone else as you can get without leaving the country.
PHOTOMAN: we had to find out through Mezou! Though MEZOU!
Mekodai: I see. Sorry.
Mekodai: I have cool pictures?
PHOTOMAN: Fine but you are on thin ice young lady
Partytime.png: THIN ICE!
Hah. Easy to bribe every time.
Mezou reappeared, holding a small salt shaker. "Is something the matter?"
Yui shook her head, smiling as she sent some of the pictures she had taken, with Tooru quick to pester her for more pictures of Tetsudou, Which would be extremely funny, considering the dog could probably text back if she wanted to.
[All is well.]
WEDNESDAY (MORNING)
"Deep breath in…"
The room was silent as the two of them sat on mats, facing each other.
Cottus wore his Hero costume, while Mezou wore his standard training outfit of a tracksuit and pants.
"Alright, breathe out. Our goal is to make unnatural movements come naturally, so we need to be in control of our normal instinctual movements. It's a pain, but it worked for me, so I'm hoping lightning'll strike twice."
Mezou nodded, sitting cross legged with his eyes closed. He had his standard six arms sitting at his sides.
"Let's start simple – keep breathing on purpose, there – raise your upper left limb."
Mezou raised the associate tentacle (most of his family hated the word, finding substitutes, but Mezou… he would embrace it. It was in his Hero name, after all.). Cottus nodded. "Good. Now… how does it feel to turn that into an eye or ear?"
Almost unconsciously, the stub shifted, an eye appearing. "Like flexing a muscle."
"Right. Then, compare that motion to an ear. Is it different?"
"…I don't know."
"Find that difference, then. After that… force that difference to be something else."
Easier said then done, but…
*FLUB*
Mezou opened his eyes at the same time his mentor did, looking to the stub. It was… certainly not anything recognisable. His mentor laughed. "Well, it worked, technically!"
"I suppose a lump of misshapen flesh is a sign of progress…"
Mezou closed his eyes, breathing in as the tentacle once more returned to normal. Take the process by which you manifest a hand, and-
"BOO!"
*SHLINK*
Shirahama, poking his head through the door to the small gym, smirked. "Oh Yeah baby, it worked!"
Mezou did his best not to immediately glare, instead looking to his tentacle, finding a sharp structure in place of the one fingered hand he was attempted to make.
He sighed, moving to get up, causing Shirahama to flinch. "Oh hell no, it worked!"
Whoops. Used the angry face, then.
A moment later, Shirahama had vanished, with crashing noises indicating he had done so with great speed. Yaoki, flow entirely nullified, simply groaned, pulling out a cigarette and digging around to find his lighter.
"Well, at least we know emotions can have an impact…"
Nevertheless, progress was progress. It would take time... but he was discovering more ways to use his quirk.
(He was looking forward to texting his friends in the evening. Izuku would be excited, as always)
The man stood up, stretching. "Well, I'm going to go cuss him out and grab breakfast. Do whatever exercises you'd like until Rule and Shakespeare get back."
As Mezou watched the man walk off to deal with his impish co-worker, he simply shrugged.
Training a quirk like his was certainly different than the experience most of his classmates were describing…
Maybe Mashirao and Togaru would relate.
"Huh. That's… a lot of knives."
Mr. Brave smiled as he looked to his trainee, who was showing off his current arsenal. "Pretty cool, neh? I've gotten really good at keeping my rate up!"
Mr. Brave smirked. "Not bad at all, Kid. What you need though… is more variety."
Kamakiri nodded as he retracted his knives. "Yeah… That's been Greenie's job this whole time. Never been the most original at using my quirk."
Mr. Brave's own Fiancé, (He had been very insistent on him getting Togaru when the two of them watched the sports festival. Something about a spark. He was already going to send an offer, anyhow, but well, it helped.), walked in, arms on his hips. "Hmm… Have you considered… knife shoes?"
"What?"
"Stick a bunch of knives out on your feet and kick people."
Mr Brave sighed. "Honey… I know you want to help while you're on leave, but-"
*SCHLINK*
He snapped around to Kamakiri, who had manifested a four large blades in a cross shape on his foot, kicking it back on forth.
"Knife shoes…"
Mr. Brave simply sighed, glaring at his fiancé, who shrugged.
"Hey, the kid likes it! Sue me!"
"HIYAH!"
*swish*
Uraraka sighed as Mashirao dodged both her questions and her attacks. "Come on, there's gotta be at least someone you're interested in, Ojiro-Kun!"
Mashirao shook his head. "When Gunhead-Sensei told us to incorporate attempts to trip someone up verbally, I don't think he meant this. I'm half convinced you're fishing for information at this point."
Uraraka responded by chuckling sheepishly as she and Mashirao circled around the fighting mat. "To be honest…"
"Oh. You are."
Uraraka at least had the dignity to look embarrassed. "Alright, yes! Midnight pays big bucks for student romances so she can win the bets the teachers have. I need those homework skips, Ojiro-Kun!"
A leap in for a grab. Parry with Tail. Suplex.
*THUNK*
Uraraka fell to the ground. "Aw, man…"
"You're certainly getting faster, Uraraka-San. I'm afraid I simply have more practice, but with enough time I'm sure predicting my moves will become easier."
Uraraka stood up, face glowing with determination. "Right!"
Mashirao smirked. Training in a new martial art always felt freeing, and Gunhead's focus on grappling synergised well with his tail.
"Tell you what. You win a round, and I'll point you towards someone who probably already has a board for these things."
Uraraka grinned. "For real? Skipping Art homework, here I come! Take that, Kirishima!"
Mashirao wouldn't pretend he knew who that was, but that was beside the point.
Once Uraraka inevitably beat him, he could successfully hoist the problem onto Tooru. Thus, win-win!
Mezou shook his head, pulling his thoughts away from pondering as Yaoki returned to the room, Shirahama in tow. "Alright. Since someone decided to enter the gym unscheduled, he gets to spar with us. Mezou, you up for a couple rounds?"
Mezou smiled, stretching. "Very well."
While the older man gulped, Mezou moved into a fighting position.
Weirdness aside, he was still growing by the day. After all…
He had people he wanted to protect, now.
(AFTERNOON)
"So the bad guys were about to win?"
Mezou nodded, his face as serious as he could make it. "Yes. Things were looking dire, and I cannot deny that it was very scary. But then…"
"What happened then, Mr Tentacole?"
Mezou smirked. "All Might Appeared."
"WOAH!" "All Might!?" "I knew it!"
Mezou smiled as the children sent out cheers of jubilation as he concluded his story.
Sure, the children were… certainly chipper, but Mezou knew it was good practice.
There were ten of them in total, with about half of them crawling around Mezou. Yui, meanwhile, was sitting calmly, the children surrounding her doing their best to copy her straight posture and not entirely succeeding.
They had come to the park today on request of a few of the parents in order to look after the children, which Mezou had been happy to do. He always had a soft spot for children, since they were never quick to judge.
"Can you tell us another story, Mr Tentacole?" "Pleeease?"
An older boy, around Mezou and Yui's age, who had volunteered to look after the younger children as well, stepped forward. "Alright, alright, everyone. I'm sure Tentacole would love to tell you some more, but remember what you were taught about personal space?"
One of the children nodded, face serious. "Be nice to people who don't wanna do things!"
The teen nodded. "Right! Now, let's give the two of them a little space for now, okay? How about we go to auntie Koukenou for some food, ok? If you eat or your veggies, maybe they'll have another cool story!"
"Okay!"
The children quickly separated themselves from Mezou and Yui, scrambling towards playsets and food tables. The teen, beleaguered, looked to Mezou. "Ah, peace for but a minute. Sorry they're so… well, enthusiastic."
Mezou shook his head at the same Yui did. "It is quite alright. We are training to be Heroes after all. Children are a part of that."
The teen nodded, stretching from their point a little distance away from them. "True enough. I could never imagine being a Hero, but the two of you are built for it."
Mezou smiled at that. He was… decidedly grateful for the support Nabu island had been offering them.
The group sat in silence for a while, watching over the children, who had spread out across the park.
Yui eventually frowned. Mezou matched the direction she was staring at, raising an eyebrow.
He saw a small boy, the same age as the other children, sitting on his own, playing with a small All Might figure. More notably, he certainly appeared abnormal, his body covered in a mucus that made him look rather slimy. He hadn't been sitting with the rest of the group at all during the day.
The teen looked to where they were, nodding. "Ah. Looks like Nensei-kun's come out. I was worried he wouldn't at all."
"Is he alright?"
They nodded. "Poor Kid's got enough social anxiety to send All Might into a flat spin. Quirk means he can't speak either. The kids do their best to include him, but… he likes to be alone. Doesn't mean we don't worry about him, though."
Mezou understood the feeling. "Would you like to attempt to fetch him while the other children are away? It may make him more comfortable."
They nodded, quickly walking over to the small boy. They crouched down, quickly chatting to the boy, who flinched back, but he eventually nodded.
The teen led the younger child over, before they came to a stop a slight distance away, the boy sitting on his knees, careful to not let any of his accessible body touch any grass.
The boy nervously waved, face apprehensive. Mezou looked to Yui, who nodded.
[Hello, Nensei-Kun.]
Yui substituted the boy's name for the signs Mezou believed represented water and skin, transitioning from holding three fingers up to pinching the skin on her wrist. Either way, the young boy instantly lit up, smiling before quickly signing himself. From the angle Mezou sat, he couldn't truly make out the specific signs, so he simply let it happen, watching. Whatever Yui discussed with the boy clearly left him enraptured, bar a few occasional looks at Mezou himself.
Finally, the conversation slowed, and Yui moved closer to him. Still looking to the boy, she smiled.
[Would you like to see something cool?]
The boy nodded, giggling, although it ended up sounding more like frothing water.
Yui slowly reached out, taking a hold of the boy's well used All Might figure. A moment later, the object glowed, before doubling in size, much to the boy's shock.
[It will only last for about an hour. Sorry.]
The child shook their head, standing up, heaving the now somewhat weighty figure with them, before waving and running off, seemingly having gained the confidence to attempt to talk to the other children, who had now convened with the remaining people in the park around the lunch tables, just about in view. They all immediately oohed and aahed at the big All Might figure, much to the slimy boy's happiness.
Yui looked to Mezou, smiling. Mezou returned the smile. "What did the two of you talk about?"
Yui shrugged. [Just some things about a few Heroes I know. You have a fan now, I think.]
Mezou chuckled. "I don't think we're meant to get those, but I suppose we shouldn't complain."
Yui nodded, and unlike usual, the smile was slow to return to a neutral face.
THURSDAY (MORNING)
*FWOOSH*
"Please kill me now, Illucient."
"Only if you kill me, but since that's unviable, we're stuck, so suck it up."
As the large cruise ship in front of them came to a stop, the four present each shifted, straightening themselves. Tinman (in his Hero outfit of deep red Kevlar over his metal body, making him look like a soldier) and Illucient (also in his Hero outfit, a dressed down, navy blue two piece suit, with the jacket wrapped around his waist) both stood forward, faces neutral, with Yui and Mezou behind them, acting as Rule and Tentacole.
Tinman got in one last scowl as the dockworkers quickly assembled a staircase down from the ship. "Welp, time to show you the part of Heroics that's never fun, you two."
"Celebrities."
Two figures stepped off of the ship while the many staff on the boat simply began clean-up. From the looks of it, said staff were unlikely to leave it until the boat made the return trip home.
Of the two figures, the one at the back was very clearly a bodyguard. They wore a cyan blue suit, standing out against a bright red tie. Alongside that, they wore a wide face mask that resembled Mezou's. They had a perfectly average body, and sunglasses concealed their eyes, leaving their only identifiable quality to be their shock white hair, tied into a ponytail.
The main figure was far more identifiable. They wore a pinstripe blazer over a green dress shirt (that must be warm. Maybe it was on of those fancy ones with temperature regulation built in?), matching the green tie. More noticeably, of course, was his face, which was easily recognisable to an average Japanese citizen.
The nose certainly looked longer in person, though.
As the man descended down the steps, Illucient bowed lightly, with the rest of them following suit.
"Yotsubashi-San. Welcome to Nabu island."
The CEO of Detnerat stepped down, smiling serenely. "Ah, I see a portion of the local Hero population has come to greet me! I assure you; it was unnecessary."
Tinman stood up and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. Due to your status, we are obligated to show you to your hotel, at minimum."
Yotsubashi chuckled. "Oh my. I suppose that much is true. Well, introductions should be in order. While I see you know me well, this is my personal guard, Geten. Although I like to call him my 'second in command'!"
No one bar Yotsubashi laughed at the joke, but Geten nodded. "Good day. While we don't doubt our safety, it would be unwise for a CEO to be out alone."
Illucient nodded. "Of course."
The CEO smiled serenely (and awfully fake, but she wasn't going to say anything about that, of course). "Now, may I have your names as well?"
Illucient nodded. "I am pro Hero Illucient. This is one of my teammates, and this is one of my Agency Partners, Tinman." While Tinman nodded, Illucient pointed towards Yui and Mezou. "And these are our two interns, Tentacole and Rule."
Yotsubashi's eyes flashed with recognition. "Ah, I felt I recognised the two of you! Your class's united participation within the U.A sports festival was simply stunning!"
Mezou answered for both of them, nodding. "Thank you, sir."
The man took the ensuing silence as a sign to begin walking, Geten carrying the pair's bags. "Now, I'm afraid I don't know my way around here. You may lead the way!"
Illucient, thankfully, took charge. "Of course, Yotsubashi-San. Now would it be so rude of me to ask about…"
"Ugh. I hate people like that guy."
Yui nodded, taking a bite of her ice cream, as she slowly made her way back to the Agency with Kabeya, Mezou and Tinman having gone on patrol.
[fake.]
Yotsubashi hadn't shut up once during the entire trip, prattling about the island, Detnerat, the four of them (he was very interested in Mezou. It was kind of creepy), and everything other than himself. More notably, of course…
Almost every word reeked of disinterest.
Kabeya nodded, scowling, which formed an interesting image with the man's own ice cream. The dress suit that was his Hero outfit, even in its unclean state, certainly helped said imagery.
"It's never nice to deal with them, but you learn to get used to them after a long enough time."
"Mmh."
When they finally arrived at the agency, Yui having finished off her treat, they were met with sounds of groaning.
"Uuuuuugh!"
Kabeya opened the door, sighing. "What's the problem now?"
Shirahama had his head firmly on the counter, so his voice was muffled. "Someone has to go greet Endeavour in an hour!"
Silence permeated the room as Yaoki and Konatsu poked their heads into the main room.
Yui took the initiative.
"Not it."
"NOT IT!" "Noooope." "Did it already, tough luck."
All eyes turned to the one person who hadn't said a word, who's eyes were wide.
Shirahama once again slammed his head into the table.
"Oh, COME ON!"