Chapter 7: Calm After The Storm
"I... did not think this would happen." Johnny said, his voice strangely subdued as both Izuku and Nighteye headed towards the hospital where All Might is staying.
"None of us did, even if we should have predicted this will happen." Josekage said.
"We just believed that it was Midoriya Izuku's quirk who pulled all of our stands here. While we do think that is still the case, there may be something bigger going on here." Jotaro said. "Good grief."
"Good grief." Jolyne said at the same time as her father did, causing the rest of the Joestars to chuckle quietly at them both.
"I believe that we should go over our contingencies regarding our enemies again." Giorno said, and everyone else nodded.
"First, The World. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the only stands that won't be able to do anything with them are Stone Free, Crazy Diamond, and Hermit Purple. Tusk Act 4 can, but..." Jotaro said as Johnny sighed.
"Izuku has not mastered Tusk Act 4 yet. Our hope will be that Tusk Act 3 can still move through time due to it belonging in a separate dimension." Johnny said.
"Fortunately, we do know that my own Star Platinum, Gold Experience Requiem, and Soft and Wet Go Beyond can do something against it." Jotaro said. "That alone is important."
"I honestly have this strange wish that we get The World as an enemy because I want my payback." Johnny said with a menacing tone in his voice that slightly scared the Joestars.
"After that is our universe's Killer Queen. Without Bites the Dust, I'm sure almost all of our stands can do something about it." Josuke explained. "Bites the Dust can only exist with that arrow, which I don't think exists here. I think we only need to worry about Sheer Heart Attack."
"Soft and Wet's Plunder Bubbles can be used to steal temperature from an object, lowering it. That's what I managed to do against Jobin, after all." Josekage chimed in. "It can make sure that Izuku does not have the highest temperature in the area, preventing the secondary stand from targeting him first. It does run the risk of lowering his body temperature too low which can harm him."
"Besides that, many common animals like cats and dogs have higher body temperatures than humans, so Gold Experience can stall the secondary stand indefinitely." Giorno added.
"Next is King Crimson." he said grimly. "Frankly, I believe only either Gold Experience Requiem or Soft and Wet Go Beyond can try anything against it."
"Wait, really?" Josuke asked.
"From what he described, during his time erasure, he exists outside fate itself, but he cannot interact with his surroundings. It's very similar to Go Beyond, so I believe those bubbles can still affect him even during time erasure." Giorno explained.
"Hmm... Time stop can be used against it, I just have to stop time immediately after the end of erased time. I'll use the method you said Polnareff came up with to do it. The moment time skips, I stop time and King Crimson can't do anything against it." Jotaro said.
"While saying all of this, though, I do believe that we don't have to worry about King Crimson potentially manifesting in this world." Giorno said. "After all, I can still sense Diavolo trapped within Requiem. Both him and his stand are essentially sealed there."
"WAIT, WHAT?!" the rest of the Joestars exclaimed.
"He's still there?! Wait, you can still sense him? Even after we're inside this boy's body? Even after you've died?" Josekage asked.
"Yes. I agree with Jotaro-san that something bigger is happening here." Giorno nodded towards the man. "Despite us crossing over to another world, I can still sense something within my power. Therefore, we do not have to worry about King Crimson."
"That's a relief..." Jolyne said, then she sighed. "After that is Whitesnake."
"Without the Heaven plan, Whitesnake will never evolve into C-Moon then Made in Heaven. It will be easy enough to handle with our stands, since it needs physical contact for it to take our discs." Jotaro said.
"D4C... is something we hopefully don't need to be worried about." Johnny muttered. "However, without the existence of the Holy Corpse, he would not gain Love Train, so we're safe in that regard. Let's make sure to inform them about that possibility if he doesn't inherit President Valentine's memories."
"Wonder of U is the last one, then." Josekage said. "In all honesty, this one would be the most difficult one. Even the thought of pursuing it triggers the ability. If a random bloodthirsty serial killer gets it, he can kill multiple people without lifting a finger."
The thought of it sent a chill down every Joestar's spines, even Izuku who was listening in silently.
"Let us pray and hope that a virtuous person gets it at least. After all, Wonder of U can only work if you pursue it with an underlying intent to harm the user in some capacity or even just plain hostility." Josekage explained. "All we have to do then is figure out who has it, prevent any thought of even going after the user until we have my stand, then only try and destroy the stand. Make sure to target the stand as a priority, since it can survive even after its user dies."
"Stands that can do that are just unfair..." Joseph remarked.
"In any case, that is the end of this discussion for now. We can continue this later once we find more information on this." Jotaro said, and everyone nodded.
Meanwhile, Izuku simply filed away the contents of their discussion at the back of his mind, resolving to remember them all as he stared at Sir Nighteye driving the car with a curious look on his face.
"You say that you can fix All Might?" Recovery Girl asked skeptically as she stared at both Mirai and Izuku.
"Yes. Have you already been informed of Midoriya Izuku's quirk?" Nighteye asked, and Recovery Girl nodded.
"Yes, I have been. I still can't believe that such a convenient quirk exists, but here we are." she said, then turned towards Izuku. "You don't need any medical knowledge, do you?"
"N-No. All I need is for me to touch All Might, then I can restore him to full health." Izuku said.
Nighteye nodded, vouching for Izuku, causing the elderly hero to sigh.
"I don't like relying on young people for this, but I have no choice. Come with me." she said.
The three then entered the operating room, in which a lot of doctors and nurses were struggling to keep All Might stable. His injuries look horrible, to the point that Izuku almost vomited at the sight of it.
His entire right lumbar area had been gutted open, to the point that some of his intestines and guts were coming out. He was bleeding profusely, and some of his ribs are sticking out.
"Yikes... how is he alive?" Josuke said.
"I shudder to think what kind of fight they had for him to be injured this badly." Johnny remarked.
"Excuse us!" Recovery Girl shouted among the throng of medical personnel. All of them did as she was told and all parted to let them in. Recovery Girl nodded to Izuku, who approached All Might. Before anyone can ask or speak out against him, Izuku unleashed Crazy Diamond and immediately started healing him.
To the astonishment of everyone there, a golden aura enveloped him and All Might's body was restored before their very eyes. The doctors quickly removed the medical equipment inside of All Might's body in order to prevent them from interfering with the restoration process. In only a few seconds, All Might's body was fully healed, as if he had never been so injured so severely at all. It was shocking to the many medical professionals there who thought that it would have been impossible to heal All Might fully, and yet, here he was, healed and unblemished.
"This is..." One of the doctors tried to speak, but Mirai cleared his throat.
"This will not leave this room, understand?" he said. "This child's involvement and identity must be kept secret until he is ready."
They all understood and swore that they would keep all of this under sworn secrecy. The doctors did some final tests to see if All Might was indeed fully healed, and after that, told them to keep him in the hospital so that he can be kept under observation for a few days so that he can fully recover. With that, the two of them left for now, while Gran Torino had stayed behind to keep an eye on Toshinori.
As they walked out of the hospital, Izuku let out a wide yawn, and it just occurred to Mirai that Izuku may have been exhausted by the night's events.
"Midoriya, while I know you want to talk about what had happened earlier with me, you are exhausted. You need to rest. We will talk about everything tomorrow." Nighteye said, and Izuku merely nodded, feeling the exhaustion and sleepiness seep inside his body.
"I... will." he said weakly. The two of them then hurried towards the Might Tower. Both the Uraraka and Midoriya families were awake after hearing the fight with Tomura, and after a short summary, they all moved to a different room in the building that is much more secure this time, then they all went to sleep again.
Feeling satisfied over the result of today's events, Nighteye prepared himself for the cleanup.
"You fought a villain and you didn't invite me, Nerd?! The audacity!"
"Since when did you learn the word audacity, Bakugou?"
"Shut up, Shark Teeth!"
Izuku scratched his head and chuckled as he looked at his two bickering friends, missing them dearly even though it hasn't been a long time since he last saw them.
It's because a lot has happened since then.
In that morning, after Izuku had woken up, he asked Sir Nighteye whether he can contact his two friends in secret in order to give them a heads-up as to what happened to him, given that they know about All For One and deserves to know the truth about what had happened to him yesterday. Nighteye promised that he will tell them, but he cannot communicate with them just yet since there's a possibility that some of All For One's followers may trace it. He also advised him to stay here for now until they were sure that they are completely safe. At the very least, he'll be staying there for at least a month. Izuku agreed reluctantly, knowing that it was for his safety, and resolved to use that time to train his Hamon and Spin further. Meanwhile, three days after the battle, he proceeded to tell everyone else the truth about the Joestars and Stands.
*****
"This is... a lot to take in."
Nighteye rubbed his temples as All Might, who had been cleared and released from the hospital, look at the green-haired boy with fascination.
"It looks like you carry a burden similar to mine, Young Midoriya." he said.
"You're... not wrong, All Might." Izuku replied, feeling a less excited about seeing his idol than before, though of course he was still plenty pleased to talk to him.
"Both this Hamon and Spin are techniques that anyone can use, then?" Gran Torino asked and Izuku nodded.
"Yes. I'm already teaching three people the basics of it, though I'm still mastering it myself..." Izuku said.
"This Hamon sounds useful in conjunction with One For All! It would be a pleasure to learn it!" All Might exclaimed, causing Izuku to be flustered.
"W-Wait! I don't want to teach Hamon to you when I haven't even mastered it fully yet!" Izuku said. "And besides, it would be pretty embarrassing to teach All Might something, of all people..."
"It is fine by me! I need to get stronger, for the sake of keeping my spot as a Symbol of Peace!" he replied.
"I'm interested in Spin myself, but as the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Gran Torino said. "What about you, Mirai and Tsukauchi?"
"I'm a policeman, so I don't really intend to get into combat situations.
"Since I am not a combat-oriented hero, I'd rather not learn anything right now. Besides, I still have this new ability I need to learn." he said, summoning D4C by his side, causing Izuku to flinch at the sight of it. "I still cannot believe that this "stand" used to belong to a villain."
"Funny Valentine, the 23rd President of the United States from Johnny-san's universe. According to him, he had a plan to use what he called the Holy Corpse to prevent any misfortune from coming to his country, dooming the entire world in the process. He is excessively patriotic to his country if nothing else." Izuku explained. "D4C has the ability to gain access to other universes, pulling other objects and people from them. If two of the same person from different universes made contact with one another, they will annihilate each other. Only the user can have multiple copies of himself from different universes exist in close proximity from each other without harm. If he dies, he can transfer his consciousness and stand to another version himself. It was how he was able to escape death multiple times until he got destroyed by Tusk Act 4."
Nighteye felt slightly anxious at the prospects of his new power.
"I... see." he said, before adjusting his glasses and speaking again. "I would like to speak to you further about what kind of abilities I have now, but that would be for later. For now, I know you still have things you want to say."
"Yes. I do have a question. Do you know of any other stands like Sir Nighteye's that currently exist within the hero's side?" Izuku asked. They all turned to look at each other, before answering his question.
"Whitesnake and Wonder of U. Those are the names of the other stands that we encountered. " All Might said, causing the Joestars to simultaneously freeze up and sigh in relief.
"It is a relief that Wonder of U is on our side..." Josekage said.
"At least we don't have to worry about anyone trying to awaken Made in Heaven." Jotaro nodded at this information.
"I won't ask for their users for now." Izuku said, but then All Might perked up.
"Ah! I remember that David mentioned Young Melissa also having an ability of her own after being declared quirkless! I think it's called Diver Down?" he said.
"Anasui's stand?!" Jolyne exclaimed, but Izuku didn't pay it any mind for now.
"Is that all?" Izuku said, and they all nodded.
"Very well. Thank you for informing us of all of this, Midoriya Izuku. Rest assured that this information will not escape this room." Naomasa said, while everyone nodded in response.
"Midoriya-san! Can you please teach me both Hamon and Spin?!" Ochako, who was listening in with her parents as Izuku also felt that they deserved to know about the truth as well, asked Izuku to teach her, to which he nodded.
"Sure, that would be fine, Uraraka-san!"
"So you refused to teach me, but you accepted a girl's request?! Ahh, how good it is to be young..." All Might teased the two, causing them to blush profusely, while everyone else chuckled at the teasing.
All Might felt happy about all of this, believing that he has done his job well at keeping the youth smiling like this. However, he did feel concern about the one who attacked his base and fought Izuku. A potential apprentice for All For One is never a good thing, and he resolved to investigate that detail.
"Shigaraki Tomura, huh?" All Might whispered.
*****
"You're... a natural at Spin, Uraraka-san." Izuku commented as they were a week in to their training.
Ochako took to Spin like fish to water. It was insane to Izuku how fast she managed to learn Spin even compared to him and the ones he had taught. Meanwhile, she was honestly very slow at learning Hamon. It was like her proficiency with Hamon was sacrificed to allow for her talent for Spin. Johnny was very impressed at how fast the girl learned.
"Gyro would have loved having this girl as his student..." he said with a tinge of sadness on his face. The rest of the Joestars, especially Joseph, sent their sympathies to him.
"It just comes to me easily! It's amazing!" she smiled brightly while constantly spinning the steel ball given to her as practice.
"Despite you being good at it, you still need to practice on it, Uraraka-san!" Izuku reminded her, only for her to pout.
"Call me Ochako!" she said, which startled Izuku.
"W-What?"
"You saved my life twice now, then you're now helping me become a hero... I can't just keep taking and taking from you like this! I want to repay you, so I want to be friends with you! Please, call me Ochako!" she said. "You deserve it!"
"I-I..." Izuku was a bit flustered, but just nodded in response.
"Yes!" she shouted in joy. "And I'll call you Izuku!"
This exchange feels a little familiar, Izuku thought.
And so, the two became closer than before.
*****
"You... want to give One For All to me?" Izuku asked, and All Might nodded.
"You are more than worthy of it, young man." he replied. "You have already shown me your impressive resolve and heroism. All that I need is your approval and I will give it to you when the time is right."
Izuku felt conflicted, and so consulted Joestars. Their answer was summed up by Giorno.
"Whatever you decide, we will be there for you, Izuku." he said.
Izuku, looking at the people that have helped him so far, then at his idol, gave his answer.
"While I'm honored that you want to give this power to me... I want to at least be a hero with the power I have right now. You can give One For All to someone who needs it more. However, if you don't find anyone, I will gladly take it." Izuku said, and All Might nodded again.
"Very well. I will keep that in mind, Young Midoriya. However, whether you are my successor or not, I'm happy to have met you, and I would like to continue this fruitful relationship with you."
Izuku started to tear up.
"T-Thank you... All Might..."
*****
Izuku could only smile fondly of the memories of the past month. Today, he was finally allowed to contact and call both Katsuki and Setsuna, and they were understandably happy to see him and worried about him.
"Hahahahaha... stop bullying Kacchan, Secchan. And Kacchan, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to beat the villain I fought!"
"HUH?! Watch me, Izuku! I'm going to kick that villain's ass faster than you can ever get!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Boys..."
"Anyway, have you, Secchan, and Tokoyami-san continued with the lessons while I'm gone?"
"Of course we have! Who do you think we are?!"
"Don't underestimate us, Izu-kun! Anyway, how's Uraraka-san?"
"She's doing fine. She said that she really wants to meet the two of you in person, but said she'll wait until we both go back to school for that."
"I'm happy that she managed to recover considering what happened..."
"Don't worry, Secchan. She'll be fine."
"You two are getting sappy again..."
Before the two could even get flustered, they heard something from Ochako's room.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
It was Ochako screaming.
Instantly, Izuku bolted into her room, not even knocking like how he usually would, and her parents rights followed right behind him.
"Soft & Wet!"
He summoned his stand to prepare for any attack, then looked at the scene.
It was Ochako, sitting on the floor unharmed, looking up at something while glowing a silvery aura.
The "something" she was staring at was a humanoid figure, whose skin resembles that of the night sky and dressed in a pink cocktail dress, with an almost featureless face save for two glowing white eyes. The humanoid figure was hugging a miniature version of the moon, who was around the size of the humanoid figure. It was floating above Ochako harmlessly.
The Joestars concluded one thing.
"Did she just... awaken her own stand?" Jotaro asked in a rare showing of astonishment.
"I wonder what happened to her..." Setsuna asked out loud in concern, though she was walking on her own. "Izu-kun told me that she was fine, but... I can't help but be concerned..."
Setsuna felt bad for Ochako, having been played around with a villain as cruel and as powerful as All For One is. Even though they wanted to be heroes, it was too unfair to be toyed with by a figure like that. She felt grateful that Izuku managed to catch it before she had actually been too badly hurt or even died by that villain's hands.
"I wish I can help people like that as well..." Setsuna muttered out loud.
"Is-that-so-?"
A voice, seemingly coming out of nowhere, spoke to Setsuna.
"Wha-?! Who is that?"
"Someone-who-will-help-you-."
"What do you mean?"
"A-girl-is-in-distress-."
"Wait, where?!"
Setsuna, despite being suspicious of the voice speaking to her, decided to listen to it for now to help this supposed girl.
"Turn-right-in-the-next-turn-,-then-go-straight-for-20-meters-until-you-find-an-alleyway-.-There's-a-girl-in-distress-there-."
Setsuna slowly followed the girl's directions, though she detached her eye first to see up ahead in case this was a trap of some sort. There was none, and when her eye turned towards the alleyway described by the voice, there was a blonde girl there crying while having cuts on her arm.
"No!"
The green-haired girl went towards the other girl, who was sobbing in her arm.
"Are you alright...?!" Setsuna asked.
"Please... help... me... I... drank blood... My parents... and big sister... hurt me..." she said. "Then... I d-drank a bird's... blood, then... it exploded...!"
"I'll help you!" Setsuna immediately said, lifting the girl up as she also noticed a pink humanoid entity floating protectively above the girl. She then walked her out of there, not noticing another pink humanoid taking the place of her shadow imprinted on the wall.
I'll be a hero like Izu-kun!
"I can't believe I awakened to a stand of my own like that, Izuku."
Ochako smiled as she once again stared up at the stand that she newly-awakened this morning.
"As Jotaro-san said, "Fate is really unexpected."" Izuku said.
"I'm glad this become my stand, though! It's so cool!" she gushed at it.
"It's a manifestation of your fighting spirit, Ochako. Of course you'll like it." he replied.
They did some early testing on the stand, and it seems to have the ability to place miniature moons around Ochako. These moons can attract or repel any object towards or against it. She can manifest around three moons at a time, and she can manifest them in a 50 meter radius around the user. The heavier the object's weight is, the harder it is to be attracted or repelled. However, with Ochako's quirk, she can negate that limitation of her stand to an extent, since her quirk has its own weight limit.
"Haha, you're right, Izuku!" she said.
"Anyway, what will you name it?" Izuku asked.
Ochako was about to speak, then they properly heard the background music that All Might had put on for the apartment.
Keep your electric eye on me, babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
"My parents love this song..." Ochako said, then her eyes lit up, and smiled at Izuku.
"I know my stand's name now."
She stared up again at her stand, the personification of her fighting spirit.
"Moonage Daydream."
Chapter 8: Great Days (Part 1)
"Where... am I?"
Toga Himiko opened her eyes groggily as she felt herself refreshed for the first time in a while. Everything was still hazy to her, her parents punishing her as always, her big sister tormenting her, her being kicked out of her home like usual. It was a brutal, never-ending cycle.
But now, something was different. Drastically so.
First, there was that bird that exploded. She didn't know what happened there. All she knew was that a ghostly hand appeared right out of her own hand, touched the bird, then it exploded like a bomb. It looked like it was silent for some reason, though, as her family did not hear the explosion at all.
Then, after she was kicked out of her house and she wandered the streets again, someone had actually saved her. A girl she didn't recognize.
That's what had led to all of this. To her waking up on a bed and looking up at a ceiling she didn't recognize.
"What's... going on...?"
Just as she began to move on the bed, she heard the door to the room opened and the girl who saved her earlier entered the room. Her expression brightened upon seeing her.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Himiko looked at the girl confused, as if she's trying to figure out what's going on.
"Mom said that you looked like a mess earlier, so she dressed you up and cleaned you while you were unconscious, we're sorry about that." she said.
"Cleaned... me up? Where am I?" she repeated her silent question earlier.
"You're in my house! You looked awful earlier, so I wanted to help you!" The girl answered. "My name's Tokage Setsuna, by the way! What about you?"
"Toga... Himiko." she said her name, before looking at her hands and rubbing her abdomen, feeling strangely full despite knowing that she hadn't consumed enough blood to satiate her. "Why... do I not feel hungry?"
"Oh, you're talking about the blood? You were desperately trying to drink some blood earlier, so I gave you some of my own." Setsuna remarked casually, causing Himiko's awareness, which had been very hazy up until this point, to become fully sharp.
"You... gave me your blood?!" she asked, sitting up in shock while Setsuna scratched her head sheepishly.
"Haha... well, you were begging so hard for it, so I just had to oblige. Don't worry, though! You did no harm to me at all!" Setsuna said before splitting up her arm into two, leaving the forearm levitating on the air while her upper arm remained attached to her body. Himiko looked at her arm with fascination.
"That's your quirk?" she asked.
"Yep! I can split my body parts into multiple pieces, fifteen is the maximum if I recall correctly, and I can manipulate them all individually! All I had to do is split off a part of my belly and let you drink all the blood on it. I can regenerate them anyway, so it's fine if it gets drained of blood!" she explained. Himiko felt a twinge of envy at seeing someone with a normal quirk compared to hers, but considering that this girl helped her, her gratefulness far outweighed her jealousy of the green-haired girl.
"Anyway, what's your quirk, Toga-san?" Setsuna asked. "And why did you look like that earlier?"
Knowing that there's no point in hiding it since she knew about the blood sucking part, she told her what her quirk is. Or rather, showed it to her by transforming into an identical copy of Setsuna.
"When I drink someone's blood, I turn into them, though I don't really have their quirk." she said. "My parents thought I was a monster because of it, and my big sister always bullies me. They... kicked me out of the house again, and that's why I was there."
Setsuna was a bit stunned at seeing it at first, but then she smiled brightly. She also made sure to hide her wince at hearing about what he family did to her.
"Ooh! That's a neat quirk! Your family are idiots for thinking you're a monster!" she said, causing to Himiko to be surprised again by her nonchalance. "I'm sure Izu-kun would have a lot of questions about your quirk!"
"Izu-kun?" Himiko repeated, and Setsuna nodded eagerly.
"Yep! He's a friend of mine, and he's always so curious about other people's quirks! Anyway, I have to ask you something, Toga-san." she said. "Can you show me your Stand?"
"My... Stand?"
"Yeah! You told me about the hand that made the bird explode, right? Show it to me!" she said eagerly, surprising Himiko once again. However, there was a problem with what Setsuna is asking.
"I... don't know how to summon it. I don't even know what a Stand is." she said.
"It's a manifestation of your will and fighting spirit, different to a quirk! Just think about it, then will it to existence!" Setsuna said, though by the way she said it, she probably didn't understand it too well, either.
Himiko then nodded, closed her eyes, and did as she was instructed, as vague of an instruction as it was. She thought about that ghostly hand earlier, then felt deep within herself. With all of her willpower, she summoned that thing inside of her, then opened her eyes.
"Oh! There it is!" she pointed at something behind her. Himiko then turned to where she was pointing and was shocked to see it as well.
A pink humanoid entity with cat ears and eyes, as well as what looked to be leather gloves and clothing.
"Hmm... I may need to call Izu-kun about this later, since I can't contact him right now. Maybe next week? Anyway, since that's the case, why don't you stay with us for now? After all, we'll be able to take care of you unlike your family!" she said, causing Himiko to be stunned again.
"Take... care of me?"
"Yep! You can drink as much of my blood as you'd like, and we'll help you with both your quirk and your stand! There's nothing you need to worry about anymore! You won't be called a monster anymore!" Setsuna declared.
Himiko couldn't help but tear up at what Setsuna had said.
"Why... Why do you want to help me?" Himiko asked, and Setsuna smiled even brighter.
"Because that's what a hero does!" she answered, causing the tears on Himiko's eyes to flow freely.
Toga Himiko, for the first time in her life, felt genuine happiness.
"So you didn't know how and why you awakened, Ochako?"
Ochako nodded blankly, while still processing the sight in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing at all.
"Y-Yeah... My memory of that time was just... blank. One second I was relaxing in my room, then next thing I knew, my Stand was already there." she replied, still staring at Izuku with undisguised puzzlement. Noticing this, Izuku decided to ask about it.
"Why are you staring at me like that, Ochako? Is it...?" Izuku looked at himself, and she nodded.
"Why are you a girl?"
She said as she stared at Izuku, who was noticeably female instead of male. His hair was longer and his features were noticeably softer.
"Ah, this is the result of me getting Stone Free as my current stand. My body is affected by the changing of stands, so when I get Stone Free, my body turns into that of a girl's since Stone Free's user is a girl!" Izuku explained.
"I... see." Ochako can only nod in response to Izuku's explanation. Despite his clear explanation, it's still taking a while for Ochako to process what's going on in front of her.
"Anyway, do you really not know how you awakened your Stand?" Izuku asked again, and Ochako shook her head in denial.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't remember..." she answered, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"It looks like we hit a dead-end, then." Josekage said.
We can't force Ochako to remember. We need to focus on practicing her Stand right now.
The Joestars all agreed with Izuku's thoughts, so he moved on to telling Ochako that they needed to train. Ochako readily agreed, and they both headed towards the training facility inside of Might Tower that Toshinori readily provided them.
"So, we know Moonage Daydream's ability now. You can conjure up moons that can attract or repel objects. We don't know all of the specifics, though, so let's test it now."
"How are you going to test it?" Ochako asked, and Izuku took a fighting stance.
"We fight." Izuku said simply, much to the surprise of the girl.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes. This training facility is specifically designed for close combat. There are objects scattered here like debris and rock pillars that we can use for our own purposes, and there are alarms nearby in case of injury. Don't worry, I've already asked for permission." Izuku said.
While Ochako is still slightly worried, she decided to go along with Izuku's request for now and took a fighting stance on her own.
On paper, her Stand is stronger than mine right now, but a battle like this usually isn't decided by the stronger ability, unless that ability is truly powerful.
With that, Izuku began looking around the environment for anything that can help him in this spar.
The spar then began, and in an instant, Ochako conjured up a moon above Izuku, then used repulsion to try and pin him down to the ground.
The force that the moon is exerting is quite heavy, but not enough to completely restrain me. Either she's holding back, or the weight deficit of her Stand is much worse than we thought, though it could be something that could be fixed overtime.
As Izuku was thinking this, he sneakily used Stone Free to produce a string secretly from the back of his hand. He shot it downwards at first so it wouldn't be too affected by the force of repulsion bearing down on him, then manipulated it to go on Ochako's direction. Izuku distracted her by trying to move towards her, which successfully kept her focus on him and not on the string coming at her from the ground. He then noticed a particular detail about her Stand ability.
The farther you are from the moons, the less affected you would be by their push or pull. The moons also have a range of their own, which means...
As he took a step forward, the weight bearing down on him seemed to decrease by a little bit, further confirming his theory.
For now though, all I have to do is tie her up and pull...!
Once the string reached her feet, he tied it around her ankle, then yanked at it with considerable force.
Ochako, having not noticed it, was caught off-guard by the action. She yelped loudly as she dropped onto the ground and was pulled towards Izuku. Izuku also noticed that the force pressing down on him was gone, giving him another crucial detail.
She has to focus in order to maintain the moons? Is this unique to her, or is this something that Stand users contend with when they newly acquire their abilities.
"We can't really say, since most of us had a good handle on our abilities early on. Maybe Josuke?" Jolyne said
"I did struggle with keeping it active for a while when I was a child, and my restorations were incomplete some of the time, but I managed to master it later on." Josuke explained. "That could be the case here, so all she needs to do is practice and practice until she manages to maintain her ability without needing to focus too much."
I see.
Izuku then pulled Ochako near him at his feet and proceeded to summon Stone Free.
"ORA!"
Ochako barely dodged the punch as she moved her head to the right. She then tried to touch him with her quirk, but Izuku backed away immediately to make sure she couldn't touch him. This did provide her with enough space to get away from Izuku and manifest another moon behind Izuku. This time, it used an attractive force instead of a repulsive one, and it made Izuku stop in his tracks by being pulled towards the moon. However, this did give Izuku an idea.
Let's see if Ochako is affected by her own Stand ability.
With that, Izuku manipulated the string so it ties up her wrist instead, and once again pulled her towards him. However, instead of flinging her near him again like last time, he instead twisted around and put her in front of the moon, making it so that she's nearer to it than she is. Fortunately for Ochako, the gravitational effect of the moon did not affect her. However, this was just fine for him.
So she isn't affected. That's okay, I accounted for this. I got her right where I want her to!
She felt relieved at not being pulled in by her own Stand, but then saw Izuku winding up a punch, and realized what Izuku was going for.
His punch is going to be stronger because of the attractive force the moon is inserting on him!
"Sorry, Ochako!" Izuku apologized before unleashing Stone Free again and landing a devastating punch at Ochako, who managed to barely block it. She still winced at feeling the force of the strike, heightened by the attractive force inserted into him, then she was sent flying backwards towards her own moon. Izuku noticed that the moon didn't budge an inch despite the mass hitting against it, which made him figure out another aspect of her ability.
The moons can't be moved. They just stay in place. Considering she can only manifest around three at a time, that means she has to make one disappear and reappear on another place if she wants to change their locations. I don't know if that's convenient or not.
She then made her moon disappear, but it was too late, as she was pulled once again towards Izuku and was swiftly subdued.
She had lost the match.
"Aww, I lost so quickly!" Ochako groaned as she sat back down at their couch. She winced at the injuries incurred to her, but didn't complain beyond that. Izuku then sat down on the other couch in front of her smiling serenely yet apologetically.
"I'm sorry I had to hurt you so badly, Ochako." he said. "However, I couldn't afford to hold back too much in a sparring match with you."
"It's fine. It's my fault for underestimating you since my Stand seemed to be stronger than yours."
"That's not something you should be doing!" Izuku said. "Stand battles are rarely decided by who's stronger. They're only mostly decided by who's smarter. You barely have any experience with your Stand, while I have people with experience whispering advice in my head ever since I was four. Unfortunately, you never stood a chance."
"Hahaha... I guess so." she said. "I just got too excited, I guess. I need a break."
She then stood up and headed towards the bookshelf in the room, which was filled to the brim with a variety of books. Out of all of them, she pulled out a manga volume and returned back from her couch.
"It was left on a cliffhanger the last time I read, so I really wanted to continue reading it." she said. Once she began to read it, she raised the book cover for Izuku to see, and one of the Joestars inside of his head recognized the manga vividly.
"Pink Dark Boy?" Josuke said. Izuku then looked at the manga author's name, and now three of them gasped in shock.
"Kishibe... Rohan?" Jotaro muttered out in disbelief, while Josuke silently stared wide-eyed at the book.
"How the hell is that guy in this universe?" Josuke said out loud after a long moment of silence. "That shouldn't be possible."
"You know him?" Giorno asked, and Josuke, Jotaro, and Joseph all nodded.
"He's a Stand user in our Morioh. Heaven's Door." Jotaro explained succinctly. "Izuku, take a look at what the protagonist looks like. There's something we want to confirm."
Confused, but knowing that something significant was happening, Izuku stood up from his seat and went over towards the girl.
"Ochako, can I take a look at the manga for a second?" he asked. Ochako looked bewildered, but didn't say anything as she handed it over to Izuku. The green-haired boy simply took a look at the protagonist, and the shock that both Jotaro and Josuke felt was immense. Izuku handed back the manga back to her, then went back to his seat while both Joestars were absolutely reeling from the information they just found out.
"The protagonist looked exactly like the one from our universe's Pink Dark Boy, which is the exact replica of his Stand. This Kishibe Rohan has Heaven's Door." Josuke concluded.
"Maybe it's just something that this Rohan came up with on his own?" Jolyne theorized, but both men shook their heads.
"That would be a crazy coincidence if it was true, and I refuse to believe that such a coincidence can exist. No, this Kishibe Rohan has Heaven's Door, and that... has a lot of implications." Josuke said.
"The simplest and most likely explanation is that Heaven's Door went to this universe and selected the Kishibe Rohan of this universe as its user. It makes sense given what happened with D4C, Wonder of U, Whitesnake, and Diver Down." Jotaro said.
"I am seriously confused by all of these Stands appearing from our universes to this one. What's causing it?" Josekage asked, but none of the Joestars had an answer.
"We don't know. However, we have an important task, right now. We need to compile all of the Stands we know, list their abilities, then show it to All Might so that they can be better prepared if villains start getting these abilities." Giorno said, and everyone agreed to it.
"What about those like Uraraka?" Jolyne asked.
"Considering how unpredictable that can get, we can simply warn them to be careful. However, this list will definitely lighten their burden in dealing with any rogue Stand user." Giorno answered.
Just as they were discussing this plan, Izuku began to think about something that had been slightly bothering him since recently.
Ochako's quirk and Stand are completely different things. One is a biological mutation and the other is a supernatural manifestation of one's will. That means that a person in this universe can have both a Stand and a quirk.
Right now, my quirk allows me to use the Stands of the Joestars. However, that is my quirk, and not my Stand, despite it allowing me to wield Stands. This is a detail that I couldn't overlook, because the question about this is simple.
...Will I be able to get a Stand of my own?
"So this is all of the Stands you know?" Sasaki Mirai asked as Izuku handed him the list of the Stand users and their abilities.
"Yes. All of them, all that I was informed about, anyway. " Izuku said. The hero scanned over the list of the various stands written there. Some were powerful, some terrifying, others just plain weird. Regardless, He made sure keep all of them in mind in case they fall into the wrong hands.
As he read them, he couldn't help but be fascinated by the diversity of Stands that the Joestars encountered over the years from both friend and foe. The more he read through the list, the more he questioned the absurdity of these abilities.
"I... have some questions." Mirai said. "Can I please ask questions to the Joestars?"
"Yes, they can."
"Very well. Now, I want to ask how some of these Stands were defeated." Nighteye asked. "Starting with this."
"Cream? According to Jotaro-san, Polnareff-san defeated him by tricking him into getting out of his Stand and exposing him to sunlight since he was turned into a vampire by DIO. Since he cannot see while inside of his ability, tricking him into getting out of his Stand then knocking him out instantly is the best choice."
"What about this one?"
"Highway Star? Find the user. Ingenium should be faster than this Stand's top speed, so he should be fine, though he still needs to be careful."
"Cheap Trick?"
"Kishibe-san sent him to hell. He won't be coming back."
The hero raised his eyebrows at that, but Izuku shrugged, having just relayed what Josuke said to him.
"This one, then."
"Grateful Dead should be relatively weak to ice or cold quirk users. Beach Boy is the real problem, so make sure to avoid his fishing rod no matter what."
"This... one... What is this Stand?"
"Babyface? Make sure that the heroes don't leave any DNA for him to track down with. If they can't do that, make sure find the user and destroy it before it fully grows."
"What about this one?"
"Do not kill Notorious B.I.G.'s user no matter what. Detain him when possible."
"Heavy Weather?"
"Don't look at the rainbows or you'll turn into a snail."
"...What?"
Sir Nighteye was now scratching his head at the sheer absurdity of the sentence, but moved on.
"That one."
"Planet Waves can be easily dealt with if you have a quirk that can withstand damage, like All Might, or someone that can burn up the meteors like Endeavor."
"This one."
"...Just make up a fictional character that can defeat all of the others."
"What about this one?"
"It was... frankly complicated how Gyro-san defeated Mandom, but it mostly came down to making sure that you account for the six second rewind when fighting whoever is the user of Mandom."
"Chocolate Disco?"
"Make sure to trick the user's sight to prevent them from teleporting objects properly."
"20th Century Boy?"
"Since the Stand makes the user immobile, make sure to restrain the user in a way that will force them to constantly use his Stand to protect themselves."
"Doobie... Wah?"
"Find the user and knock them out."
"Blue Hawaii?"
"Same thing. Find the user. Anyone with flight abilities could be useful against this."
"That's all of it for now. I'll just ask more later." Sir Nighteye said, before shaking his head. "These remote-controlled Stands may be toughest ones to beat, barring The World and Killer Queen."
"This is why we wrote this for the heroes, Sir Nighteye, so they can be prepared if these Stands ever cross over to this universe." Izuku informed them. "I would also like to ask All Might for permission to use one of his training facilities in the future, as well as for him to provide me with a horse."
"Why?"
Izuku's expression turned deadly serious.
"Once I have it again, it's time for me to finally master Tusk Act 4."
"What's... going on?!"
Setsuna looked incredibly alarmed as she stared at the sight in front of her.
A man was standing over Himiko's collapsed body.
"Heaven's Door!"
The man summoned his Stand and turned Himiko's face into a book. Setsuna was about to do something to protect her, but the man raised his hand.
"I don't intend to harm either of you. I simply have a proposition to make to Toga Himiko." he said.
"What do you want with her?!" Setsuna shouted. The man ignored her and simply read Himiko's book. Nodding to himself, as if he confirmed something, then he closed the book and the girl woke up.
"W-What...?"
The man stood up and faced the both of them
"My name is Kishibe Rohan, and I intend to foster you, Toga Himiko."
The two girls looked at each other in bewilderment.
"H-HUH?!"
Chapter 9: Great Days (Part 2)
"You know, Setsuna-chan, I've always been wondering whether this is all just a dream."
Himiko blurted out as both her and Setsuna were walking slowly in a park near the Tokage home.They had just been hanging out together, walking around the neighborhood, and now they are about to head back home.
"This isn't a dream, Himiko-san. This is reality." the green-haired girl reassured her.
"I know, but this is all so great! I've never felt so happy before! I don't know if I deserve to be this happy! Maybe this is all just a dream, then I'll wake up in that room again, in that house again." she replied.
The reply broke Setsuna's heart.
"I wish there's more we can do to help you..." she said. "I wish I can just contact Izu-kun right now..."
"I've heard you mention him a few times now, who is Izu-kun?" Himiko asked.
"My dearest friend, and the person who will become the greatest hero ever!" Setsuna declared proudly.
"He sounds amazing! But where is he now?" she asked, and Setsuna's face fell slightly at this.
"He saved someone from a villain, and now he's in the custody of a hero so he can be protected." she explained. "Unfortunately, none of us can contact him right now, but that's fine! I know he'll be alright. I'm sure that even now, he's working hard to prepare becoming a hero!"
"I see. I'm rooting for him, then!" she said, but then her face fell into contemplation.
"Hey, Setsuna-chan, what do you know about these Stands?" she asked, and Setsuna responded with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know much either. All I know is what Izu-kun told me about them." she said. "All I know is that they're manifestations of fighting spirit that grant you an ability, not unlike a quirk. In fact, despite having one myself, I still don't know that much about them."
"Wait, you have one?!" Himiko asked in surprise.
"Yeah, it's what allowed me to save you, in fact! Look, she's my shadow right now." Setsuna said, pointing at her shadow. Himiko looked at it, and she was startled to see not Setsuna's silhouette, but instead a pinkish feminine humanoid entity whose skin was covered by what looked like maps.
"W-Wha–?!"
"Paisley Park. A Stand that gives its user the ability to help the user keep herself or others safe through the use of online maps. It's great!" Setsuna said as she crouched down and patted the Stand. "I don't know why this Stand chose me, but I'll gladly use her for the good of others and myself!"
Himiko then looked down at her hand, and summoned the arm of her Stand. In truth, she never expected to gain a power like this, especially one so deadly, but with it, she resolves to help people as best as she can, just like Setsuna.
With both of their resolves hardening, they both headed home together looking forwards to their future.
That is, until a man named Kishibe Rohan appeared, and put them in a strange situation.
"So, what exactly is Tusk Act 4, Young Midoriya?"
The next day, Izuku, along with All Might, Ochako, and Sir Nighteye, walked towards the training room that Toshinori had provided for them.
"It would be better to explain in the training room." Izuku said. "I unfortunately don't have Tusk right now, but there's something I need to learn first before I can even attempt to master Tusk Act 4."
"Something else?" Ochako asked.
"You'll see."
With that, they walked for a few minutes until they reached the training room. It was a lot more spacious than the one Izuku and Ochako fought in yesterday, and it gave the appearance of a wide grasslands with a few trees and boulders dotted within. However, the most notable things about the entire room were the horses.
"You said that you needed horses, Midoriya." Mirai said, and Izuku nodded.
"Yes, I need to practice horse riding if I am to even unlock Tusk Act 4." Izuku answered, much to the puzzlement of everyone there.
"You need to ride a horse to unlock Tusk Act 4?" All Might asked.
"Unlocking Tusk Act 4 requires me to be able to activate the Golden Rotation." Izuku said. "It is basically the most perfect form of Spin, capable of wielding the power of infinity. It is so powerful that it can even breach through other dimensions."
They all nodded, as Izuku had explained this to them before.
"What does having a horse have anything to do with that?" Ochako asked.
"If you want to achieve this perfect rotation, you must first circulate this throughout your entire body. However, humans cannot naturally do such a thing. They have to practice doing it before they could. However, horses can do them naturally." Izuku said. "When they gallop, parts of their body rotates in such a way as to replicate the Spin. And so, to achieve golden rotation, the rider must learn to perfectly synchronize with the horse, thus achieving the peak of the Spin."
"Does... that mean that you have to use a horse every time you use Tusk Act 4?" Ochako asked, and Izuku shook his head.
"Not exactly." he said. "When I first unlock it, I have to use a horse, but as I said, with enough practice, I can use Tusk Act 4 with my own body by practicing synchronizing the rotations within my own body to the Spin."
"How does that work?" Mirai asked curiously.
"When a person runs, some part of their body, like their legs, their feet, and their arms rotate. If one wants to achieve the Golden Rotation, a person must perfectly rotate those parts in such a way as to adhere to the golden ratio."
"That sounds hard." Ochako pointed out.
"It is. That's why a person can't do it naturally without practice. However, you have to get a feel for it first, which is why you must do it on a horse first. That's why I need to practice horse riding first." Izuku said, just as he approached one of the smaller horses that are appropriate for his size, then nodded.
"I see. If that's the case, then feel free to practice as much as you can, then." Nighteye said, and Izuku bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you. I will make sure to not let you down."
A horse riding teacher then came in to teach Izuku the basics, then proceeded to master the skill of horse riding.
This was actually how Izuku spent the next few days. Learning and mastering how to ride a horse with the help of both the horse riding teacher and Johnny, who said useful pointers to Izuku about his horse riding.
Fortunately for Izuku, he turned out to be a natural at horse riding, allowing him to learn to do it in the span of a few days. While he was still far from mastering the skill enough for him to activate the Golden Rotation, it was still enough progress for him, especially since it had only been a few days.
On the days that he did have Tusk as a Stand, he tried getting a feel for how Tusk Act 4 works while riding his horse.
It feels so... disorganized. I feel the Spin, but it's so chaotic and messed up that I can't even attempt it.
"The fact that you can feel it is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, you're far from mastering it." Johnny said.
I know, but it feels frustrating.
"At least you didn't have to learn on the spot when your very life was in danger, Izuku. You have time. A lot of time. I know you can bring Tusk to farther heights. I have faith in you." Johnny said. Izuku smiled gently.
Thank you, Johnny-san.
And with that, for about two weeks, Izuku threw himself into learning Tusk Act 4.
"So that's what Diver Down is, Uncle Might? A Stand?"
"Yes, Young Melissa! Or at least, that's what Young Midoriya explained to me."
"This sounds so fantastical, Toshinori."
"Believe me, all of this is true."
A week into Izuku's training, All Might had contacted his closest friend, David Shield, as well as his daughter, Melissa, in order to inform them not only of All For One's defeat, the truth about One For All and All For One, as well as the information regarding Stands, due to Melissa's situation with Diver Down. While David and Melissa managed to believe the One For All story well enough, the story about the Stands were harder for them to stomach.
Fortunately, with the help of evidence provided by All Might, they accepted the truth, but there was still a sense of disbelief within them.
"Regardless of whether this story is true or not, the emergence of these Stands is sure to shake up our society."
"Uncle Might, is there any trace of where these Stands came from?"
"Frankly, none of us have any idea. We know that D4C and Wonder of U offered themselves to their user, while Whitesnake spontaneously appeared. With Moonage Daydream, Young Uraraka still has no idea how it got there, and Young Midoriya said that this Stand did not exist in the two universes where Stands came from, meaning it specifically belonged to her, and not something that passed on."
"I see. Diver Down offered itself to Melissa as well, and due to how useful it would be for the creation of support items, she agreed."
"It really has been helpful, Uncle Might!"
"I'm glad it became a boon to you, Young Melissa."
"However, this doesn't mean that everyone that receives these Stands will be heroic, Toshinori. We still need to prepare for them."
"Indeed. Young Midoriya gave Mirai a list of Stands that existed back in their original universes!"
All Might then wasted no time in sending a copy of the list to David through an e-mail, and the former sidekick scanned the contents to get an idea as to what these Stand abilities could be. He was startled by what he saw.
"Toshi, this is..."
"I know. Some of these abilities are quite unsettling."
If All Might was being honest, he would probably struggle in vanquishing some of these Stand users on his own, even with his immense strength. Reading through them, Toshinori keenly understood what Izuku meant when he said that the way these Stand users fought were more a battle of wits than anything else. While he was not an idiot by any means, his main method of battling will not be effective against many of these Stands. They truly need to be prepared.
"Toshi, should we create a squad of Stand users to deal with threats like these?"
David's question made All Might pause in contemplation. According to Izuku, quirk users can deal with Stand users just fine in this universe, but in a world where most people have quirks, any Stand users that appear would mean that the heroes will be contending with someone with two abilities instead of just one. With some of these abilities being incredibly powerful, it would cause a lot of trouble if villain Stand users emerged. Having a designated squad of Stand users to deal with these threats would be helpful, but there is one big issue with this.
"Dave, we don't even know how we can locate and recruit these Stand users. The only Stand users I know are either just kids or are already busy with their own duties. I can think of only one person that would be perfect to be recruited for this, and that's it."
"Toshi, have you been informed of any way that we can locate Stand users?"
"No. Young Midoriya did inform me that Stand users naturally gravitate to one another, but that is frustratingly vague. We cannot rely on such a method."
Both men sighed in frustration at the dilemma presented before them. As Toshinori glanced at the list once more, he came into a decision.
"I'll ask Nezu to provide me with a list of heroes that can be trusted with this information. After that, we will inform them of this development. David, can you please try to contact Cathleen and some trusted officials in the WHA as well?"
"I guess we can only do this much for now. I'll do it, Toshi."
"Good."
David is right. This will surely be a turning point in our history. We can only hope that us heroes will be able to adapt to this change, one way or another.
"So, what did you mean by fostering me, Mr. Kishibe?"
Himiko asked as she drunk the tea that Setsuna's parents had offered them.
Going back in time to the day when the two girls encountered Kishibe Rohan, the three of them headed home as Rohan offered to explain what he had meant to the girl. While Setsuna's parents were incredibly suspicious of him at first, but they soon cleared it easily and settled into an uneasy peace. Soon enough, Himiko asked the question she had been very curious about.
"Exactly as it meant. While you would not be changing your surname to mine, I will become your guardian, and will be taking care of your needs and will provide you with as much freedom as you want, for so long as it isn't a hassle to me." Rohan said.
"But... what's the catch?" Himiko asked, and Setsuna couldn't help but look at her reproachfully. While it was very likely that there is a catch to this offer, Setsuna knew that Himiko shouldn't be asking a question like that so bluntly.
"Ah, before I tell you about that, let me explain what my ability is first." Rohan then silently summoned his Stand. "Heaven's Door. This ability allows me to turn people into a book. Written in this book will be all of the knowledge and memories that the person has. Toga Himiko, I have known about you and your situation for quite some time now, so I decided to take advantage of it."
"What does that mean?" Setsuna's father asked.
"I assume that you are aware of who I am?" Rohan asked, and the four of them nodded their heads. Kishibe Rohan is a very famous and prolific manga artist and writer, so he is very well-known in Japan at this point. "Very well. I am planning on creating a manga where the protagonist is an abuse victim. Therefore, I would like to use my ability on Toga Himiko in order to view her memories and experiences so I can get inspiration for this manga. Since I need to have access to her on a regular basis this way, I decided on fostering her."
Naturally, everyone was shocked and outraged by this reasoning.
"You're going to invade her privacy just for that?!" Setsuna's mother shouted with anger. However, Rohan was unfazed.
"Authenticity is very important, you see." he replied plainly.
He's... very passionate.
"Once you're done with writing this manga, what will happen to me?" Himiko asked, and Rohan couldn't help but look offended.
"Excuse me, but I am not so cruel as to dispose of anyone like that once they've lost their use to me. I will continue to take guardianship of you until you come of age, it's that simple." Rohan answered.
"You say that you're going to turn me into a book and view my memories. What would that be like?"
"You will be unconscious throughout the entire process. It's like being asleep." Rohan answered.
"Will you let me hang out with Setsuna-chan and her friends?"
"As I had said before, I will be allowing you as much freedom as you want for as long as it wouldn't be a hassle to me." he answered.
"Do you think that you will be allowed to foster her?" It was Setsuna's father who asked a question this time, and Rohan merely smirked.
"With how they've been treating her, do you really believe that they'll be allowed custody of her for long?" Rohan responded back with a question of his own. One that made a lot of sense to the family. "Don't worry, I have already informed the proper authorities of everything. Truthfully, approaching Toga Himiko was one of the last steps in the process. I have already gotten in touch with the proper authorities about this, and are just waiting for your approval on the arrangement."
The Tokages were surprised, but thought about it for some time, and nodded as it made sense in hindsight that the mangaka had already made his preparations long before he had approached Himiko with the offer.
There was still one thing Himiko was concerned about.
"What about my sister?" Himiko asked.
"Hm. As far as I know, since Toga Himeno was not abused by her parents like you, so she would stay with them." Rohan answered again, and this time, Himiko visibly sighed in relief.
"Kishibe-san, I would like to request something from you." Himiko said. "If I do agree to being fostered by you, I would like you to please keep my big sister away from me no matter what."
Rohan raised his eyebrows, but decided not to ask for now. The rest of the Tokage family looked at Himiko with concern, but she shook her head, asking not to pry further, so they didn't
"I promise that I will. I don't think it would be difficult." Rohan said with practiced ease. "Well then, any other questions?"
Himiko looked down on the ground, contemplating the option in front of her. While she was unsettled by the manga writer, she knew that this will be an opportunity for her to let go of her past and move forward to a brighter future unhindered. Before she made her decision, though, she had one more question to ask him.
"Will you let me become a hero?" she asked.
"Do what you want."
That was all that Himiko needed to hear from him. She stood up, and bowed at the person who will become her guardian.
"I accept, Kishibe Rohan. I will be in your care from now on." she said.
Toga Himiko's life had now reached its turning point.
"So the bloodsucker had been adopted by a manga writer of all people?" Katsuki asked as he, Fumikage, and Setsuna walked to school a week after Kishibe Rohan had taken guardianship of Toga Himiko.
"It's not adoption, Katsuki, it's fostering!" Setsuna corrected him. "But yes, Mr. Rohan is now Himiko-san's guardian."
"It's practically the same thing, Shark Teeth! She just still has her actual surname instead of the mangaka's surname!"
"It's different!"
"Let us hope that Toga Himiko can move forward with the path she desires to take." Fumikage said, earning a nod from Setsuna.
"Yeah! Let's hope for the best!" she said, then turned towards the side where another friend of theirs should be, but was currently missing.
"I miss Izu-kun..." she said.
"I do miss our dear friend as well." Fumikage said.
"Well, I don't! I'm sure he's just fine, practicing to be a hero like he should be!" Katsuki shouted, but Setsuna just smirked at him.
"Don't be shy, Katsuki! I know you miss Izu-kun as well!"
"Shut up! I said I don't!"
Before their conversation can continue, they heard some screaming from nearby. Worried about what it could be, the three ran towards where it was, hoping to call the heroes there if someone was in massive trouble.
Fortunately, it wasn't so serious, but unfortunately, what they find is still distressing.
It was a girl from another school being harassed by other students, all of them being their age.
"Let's crush them!" Katsuki shouted, wanting to protect the girl like a hero would, but both Setsuna and Fumikage stopped him.
"Wait, Katsuki! Let's not be reckless!" Setsuna said, grabbing the boy by the shoulder.
Before he could react, another voice spoke up from nearby.
"Worry not, everyone! I will protect that girl with my life!"
It was a purple-haired boy around their age, wearing a school uniform and ran towards the scene with a dramatic flair. Everyone stared at him with bewilderment.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the bullies asked.
"Prepare to be vanquished, villains! I am Shinsou Hitoshi! Charmer extraordinaire, and..."
With a flourish of his hands, a ghostly armored figure holding a rapier appeared from behind him.
"...knight-in-shining-armor!"