Nope, I'm wrong and you're right. It's never mentioned in the actual story that I can find, but my wife reads this too and corrected me; There's a Media post that says she turns into a dragon, so apparently she does.
Yeah I was pretty sure she could, that was the whole reason her direct and extended family was so pissed of that she decided not to be a hero, as she was the only one of the current generation at the time that had the 'full package' so to speak and they wanted to keep their name/fame. That she didn't want to and didn't think she'd do a good job was irrelevant to them.
Really the big issue I have is that, given the current laws, she basically can do nothing with her quirk given that she isn't a hero which is an absolute shame given that she could do alot if she was permitted to do so, even if she kept it to something like community service like picking up trash (like that health hazard of a beach).
So Ryuo thinks she ran away from being a hero and is pissed about it.
Ryutsuki thinks she ran away from an arranged marriage, and also being a hero.
Did her father want her to be a hero, or did he just skip straight to 'breeding stock'?
Did Ryuo know about the marriage plan?
That could potentially put a spin on things if he was never in on it.
Ryuo (Ryutsuki's younger brother) got a specialized variant of Dragonoid that massively boosts his senses but has only minor physical enhancements, which is the root of his animosity with Ryutsuki as he feels resentful she got the way better Quirk despite wanting to have nothing to do with Pro-Heroes while he had to make do with what he had.
Ah yes. All the drama of feudal inheritance, but now with the 'better breed of person' eugenics authors with shitty opinions have been inserting into fantasy and superhero comics since the 20s and 30s.
That's not criticizing you, mind. That's clearly based off of the shit Endeavor did. If I'm wagging a finger at anyone other than the people who started the shitty trend, it's Kohei Horikoshi bringing up a nasty side effect of 'you can literally be born better than someone and you can do nothing about it' and intentionally side-stepping the broader moral implications halfway through. He hasn't even made the connection between such a system and All For One explicit, but I'm pretty sure it's what Horikoshi's implied. Which is that AFO built his criminal empire, his charisma, his cultish worship, on giving people the power to break the system of being 'born lesser'.
Which, to bring things back to the story itself, makes me wonder if Ryuo ever sought out AFO. Or if his own inferiority-complex-fueled pride would refuse to allow him that sort of aid.
Really the big issue I have is that, given the current laws, she basically can do nothing with her quirk given that she isn't a hero which is an absolute shame given that she could do alot if she was permitted to do so, even if she kept it to something like community service like picking up trash (like that health hazard of a beach).
Really the big issue I have is that, given the current laws, she basically can do nothing with her quirk given that she isn't a hero which is an absolute shame given that she could do alot if she was permitted to do so, even if she kept it to something like community service like picking up trash (like that health hazard of a beach).
You actually can get a special license to use your Quirk for a job even if you're not a Hero, which is mentioned several times in canon. The bigger issue is societal pressure forcing her towards Pro-Heroism. After all if she's an artist nobody even needs to know what her Quirk is, but if she's using it for a menial task there'd be tons of people wondering why she's not using it to fight villains instead. We see this with Hawks, where people start going "this kid has to become a Hero" after he saves those people.
"We were to be the next generation, the ones who would bring the Tatsuma family back to the forefront. But I wanted nothing to do with it. I'd been ready to become a Hero, but suddenly… I didn't need to. I could pursue my dreams instead, with a clear conscience. I could be an artist, like I'd always wanted. My father… did not take to my decision very well. He tried to force me to continue training. I was… uncooperative."
He hasn't even made the connection between such a system and All For One explicit, but I'm pretty sure it's what Horikoshi's implied. Which is that AFO built his criminal empire, his charisma, his cultish worship, on giving people the power to break the system of being 'born lesser'.
I mean I thought it was pretty explicit in the flashback scene where AFO gives that Quirkless dude the ability to generate drills from his body to let him beat up the superpowered gang who had robbed him the day before, in exchange for his loyalty.
Which, to bring things back to the story itself, makes me wonder if Ryuo ever sought out AFO. Or if his own inferiority-complex-fueled pride would refuse to allow him that sort of aid.
Ah yes. All the drama of feudal inheritance, but now with the 'better breed of person' eugenics authors with shitty opinions have been inserting into fantasy and superhero comics since the 20s and 30s.
That's not criticizing you, mind. That's clearly based off of the shit Endeavor did. If I'm wagging a finger at anyone other than the people who started the shitty trend, it's Kohei Horikoshi bringing up a nasty side effect of 'you can literally be born better than someone and you can do nothing about it' and intentionally side-stepping the broader moral implications halfway through. He hasn't even made the connection between such a system and All For One explicit, but I'm pretty sure it's what Horikoshi's implied. Which is that AFO built his criminal empire, his charisma, his cultish worship, on giving people the power to break the system of being 'born lesser'.
Which, to bring things back to the story itself, makes me wonder if Ryuo ever sought out AFO. Or if his own inferiority-complex-fueled pride would refuse to allow him that sort of aid.
-_- I really hope your joking because those idiots, and the other pack of idiots the MLA, are just making things worse. being able to use your quirk freely , publicly and/or commercially is not the same as a blank check to do what you want with it. Because there are some quirks that really should be restricted because even a minor use of them can go terribly wrong fast. Case in point I have a very hard time seeing any viable use of the Landmine quirk and Toga's quirk requires her to harm others, on top of identity theft. The thing is 99% of other quirks really don't have this problem, I have a difficult time seeing how extendo-eyes can be a danger to others.
And yes its basically stated from the start in MHA that peoples quirks make people unequal in potential and basically nothing can change that, but it also states that potential is basically nothing without the will to work hard, the drive to succeed, and the personality need for whatever goal being pursued, not to mention whatever goal they choose matching their quirk. Case in point Ryutsuki's has basically nothing to do with her goal to be an artist, and even if she did find a way to leverage it to that end she wouldn't be allowed to because of the law.
And yes its basically stated from the start in MHA that peoples quirks make people unequal in potential and basically nothing can change that, but it also states that potential is basically nothing without the will to work hard, the drive to succeed, and the personality need for whatever goal being pursued, not to mention whatever goal they choose matching their quirk.
Yes, but there's also the old 'money buys a head start and support' deal that goes into people like Shouto and Momo. Quirks just made the rich able to claim they're literally A Superior Human. Complete with discrimination against Mutant Quirks.
I mean I thought it was pretty explicit in the flashback scene where AFO gives that Quirkless dude the ability to generate drills from his body to let him beat up the superpowered gang who had robbed him the day before, in exchange for his loyalty
Ok, mea culpa for the poor wording on that. It's more... that scene was kinda the only thing we got supporting that conclusion. It's not really brought up in the 'present'. That hasn't continued into AFO setting things up for his successor. So how much of his career was that present for? How present is the sentiment of 'hey, isn't this whole born better thing kinda fashy and feudalistic?' in the present day? I am not sure that it is. MHA hasn't focused on those who fall between the cracks and get stepped on if they don't have Quirks. Izuku's kinda the sole look we have into that, and it's never presented as a broader picture.
Itsuka and Tokage groaned in disappointment as they saw Yui's Paper, beating out their Rocks.
"Well, fair is fair, I suggested this." Itsuka said, clapping Yui on the shoulder. "Congrats, I guess you'll be going with Ryuuzaki."
"Yeah." The shorter girl glanced up at me, and I nodded.
"I'm sorry I can't take all of you, I was only given one extra ticket to I-Island." I'd been mulling over the issue for a few days, before eventually deciding to just ask my friends to decide who should go between themselves.
"I wish I could've tried but the beginning of the summer break is the first time I'll be able to visit home since school started…" Pony sighed forlornly, kicking her hooved feet as she sat on the table. We were gathered in one of UA's outdoors recreational areas, mainly for my benefit as the library would have been uncomfortable.
"It's fine, I understand totally." Better than she'd ever know. "Since that's settled, should we get on with the original reason we came out here?"
"Yeah." Tokage said, shaking her head before walking over to the bench she'd left her school bag at and starting to pull out textbooks. "The final exams for the semester are only a few weeks away."
"I can't imagine they can be too hard, right?" Pony asked as she hopped off the table. "With all the Hero stuff we've been doing, there's no way they could expect us to also keep up academically with normal students?"
She trailed off as everybody found somewhere else to look at.
"This is UA." Yui noted quietly after a moment. "The most elite Hero School in Japan. We should assume nothing."
"When have they ever gone easy on us?" Itsuka agreed. "We should organize how we're going to do this. Pony, you're the top of the class in English, so you should take the lead on that."
"That's just because it's my native language." Pony shrugged. "Tatsuma's good with it too."
"She's good at every subject, though. We should save her for something else."
I tried to look elsewhere. It felt wrong, being praised for something I didn't properly earn. And unlike Pony I couldn't say anything.
"Not japanese, though." That had always been my bane: I was absolutely atrocious with languages. Yeah, I was fluent in japanese, it would have been impossible to not to be. But the expectations placed on native speakers were on another level beyond being able to handle day-to-day life.
"Everybody's gotta have something you're not good at."
"Mmm." I shrugged. "I can take World History and Physics."
"I'll handle Japanese History and Japanese." Yui shrugged. "I got pretty good at helping you with it throughout Elementary."
Itsuka nodded, before turning to Tokage. "Science or Math, which one do you want?"
"Science." Tokage shrugged noncommittally.
"That leaves me with Math." Itsuka replied, clapping her hands together. "We should start with Physics, since that's first on the exam schedule."
"Right…" I opened the electronic copy of the textbook on my wrist computer, scrolling through the text.
…
It might as well have been Hebrew for all I could make sense of it. I tried to wrack my head, but no insight or recollection came to the fore. I was drawing a complete blank.
A bit of panic crept onto my mind. Had I never gone through this material before? I flipped a page, to no avail. It was basic high school physics, about the refraction and diffraction of light. I remembered being quite good at it. But for the life of me I couldn't recall anything of the actual contents.
Which meant that I'd just… forgotten. Lost it to the fog of time. It had been… god, almost twenty years since then. And more than that, I'd gone through death. Many of my memories were hazy at the best of times. But school stuff had always come easily to me. I was supposed to be good at it. I could usually jostle up some recollection with a bit of effort. But now I was getting nothing.
"Uh, Tatsuma? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah." I shook my head. "I'm fine."
I was not fine.
-----
"Here it comes!"
The golden energy blast slammed into my chest like a cannonball, knocking the wind out of my lungs and lifting me into the air, my claws tearing chunks of soil from the ground.
I was falling.
I spun over my head and landed head-first with a tremendous crash, my face carving a new furrow into the frozen ground.
I blinked, confused, and the frost was gone, replaced by the familiar sight of the hard-packed dirt of UA's training fields. I yanked my horn out of the divot I'd made, biting my tongue.
"Are you alright there?" Hado asked as she floated down towards me. "That landing looked rough."
"I'm fine." I grunted. "You know, it defeats the point if you warn me in advance."
"It just doesn't feel right to suckerpunch someone." She shrugged her shoulders innocently, and I sighed. "Are you sure you want to continue? You seem to be getting frustrated. Breaks are important, you know!"
"I am not." I bit out. "Frustrated."
"Are you sure? The air around you is starting to heat up. I thought it only did that when you were angry?"
I ground my teeth. "Let's just-"
"So this is where you've been disappearing off to!" I heard Itsuka's voice coming from behind me, and craned my neck around to see her and Tokage approaching us from the edge of the training field.
"Hi!" Hado waved at them enthusiastically as they approached. "You're Kendo and Tokage, right? I'm Nejire Hado, we met when you were deciding your Hero Names!"
"Yeah, you're pretty hard to forget." Tokage said before turning towards me. "Getting last-minute training from the Third Years, huh?"
It was something that the old Tokage would have said. But she would have spat it at me like an accusation, dripping with venom and cold anger. Instead, her tone was friendly, even… teasing?
I think?
"She's the one who approached me."
"Yep! We upperclassmen are supposed to look out for you first years, so I thought I'd give a helping hand where I can!"
"So what kind of training are you doing? That looked pretty rough."
"Well." I said after a moment's pause. "Due to my size and durability, I'm not used to dealing with attacks strong enough to really affect me. So when Nejire approached me, I asked her help my acclimatize."
"So… she's just been shooting you in the face all evening while you brace?" Itsuka asked, a bit incredulously.
"Mmm."
"Doesn't look like it's going too well, is it?" Tokage asked, glancing towards the upturned and cratered training ground.
"Mmm."
"Don't mind Tatsuma." Tokage turned towards Nejire. "She's grumpy because we got the results for the written finals and she fell to ninth place in the class rankings."
"Oh?" Nejire tilted her head and turned towards me. "Well! As your Senpai I have a duty to help, whether in practical training or academics!"
I sat down just so I could cross my forelimbs indignantly. "I don't want to talk about it."
Tokage blinked, as if she'd only just now realized she'd crossed a boundary, and took a step backwards, raising her hands in an apologetic gesture.
"Sorry."
I just sighed. At least she was making an effort, but our friendship was still testy and strained.
"We're all just waiting for the practical exam tomorrow, everyone's pretty nervous about it."
"Oh, there's no need to. It's super simple, just another robot battle like the entrance exam. It's nothing to worry about."
"Huh. We were totally expecting something crazy. Well, thank you." Itsuka replied, before looking off in the distance. "I wonder if 1-A know about that?"
"Well. Either way, we need to get better." I muttered, turning my head towards Nejire. "Can we continue now?"
-----
The next day, it was time for the practical test. We were, once more, gathered in front of one of UA's fake cities in our Hero uniforms. There was a tingle of excitement in the air as we waited, nervous exchanges here and there but as the clock inexorably ticked towards midday conversation slowly ground to a halt, until there was only dead silence.
The moment it hit noon the doors were flung open, revealing a group of familiar figures.
"Let's get started!" Vlad King announced as the teachers arrived. I saw Present Mic, Eraserhead, Hounddog, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Midnight and others following him, and instantly felt something was off. Why so many teachers? I could even see All-Might at the back, trying not to dominate the scene with his presence. "Now, it is time for the practical part of the final exams for Class 1-B! 1-A will have theirs in the evening, but be warned! If you get caught trying giving them a heads-up that means an automatic failure! I trust that none of you are foolish enough to attempt to do so."
"So I'm guessing it's not going to be robots, then?" I asked.
"Correct!" Principal Nedzu yelled out from where he was perched on Vlad King's shoulder. "You probably got an advance warning from the upperclassmen, but this year we'll be doing things a little differently! Due to certain events in recent months, it is predicted that Hero-Villain battles will increase in frequency! It is therefore necessary to provide upcoming Heroes with additional hands-on experience regarding real situations that robots alone cannot provide!"
"And that means you'll be fighting us instead." Eraserhead mumbled from underneath his scarf. "You may consider us as villains for the purposes of the scenario."
"The rules are simple!" Vlad King said as he stepped forward, holding up a pair of metal handcuffs. "You will be divided into teams of two, each facing off against a teacher in one of UA's fake cities! You achieve victory by putting these around the wrists of the teacher! However! In the real world, if you are faced with an enemy you cannot defeat, retreating and calling for help is also an option! Therefore, you may also satisfy the victory conditions by escaping through the gate on the opposite end of the city! If either of these has not been met by the time thirty minutes have passed, you will fail the exam and be placed on the remedial course during the Summer Training Camp!"
"To give y'all a fighting chance, we'll be wearing weights that restrict our physical capabilities by fifty percent." Snipe said, showing off the metallic band around his wrist. "Wouldn't want it to be a complete slaughter."
"The teams will be as follows!" Nedzu announced. "Kodai and Komori vs Eraserhead! Tsunotori and Fukidashi against Thirteen! Tokage and Shishida vs Vlad King! Yoarashi and Tetsutetsu vs All-Might! Shiozaki and Kendo vs Ectoplasm! Tsuburaba and Kaibara vs Midnight! Bondo and Yanagi vs Present Mic! Honenuki and Awase vs Power Loader! Kuroiro and Rin vs Hounddog! And finally… Tatsuma and Monoma vs Yours Truly!"
-----
"What do you think the Principal's got in store for us? I wasn't expecting him to be joining in."
I turned my head to look at my teammate as we waited for the gates to open.
Monoma was… someone I wasn't quite sure how to feel about. My interactions with him had only ever been perfectly courteous. His conduct on our first day had been exemplary. He'd backed me up during the lockdown and stood with me against Fujiwara. For all that I should respect him and hold him in high regard.
Yet I could not ignore his conduct towards 1-A either. At every turn, he'd acted hostile towards them with little justification, always taking things way too far. More than that, he had constantly undermined the efforts of Itsuka and I to build up cross-class camaraderie, no matter how many times he'd been told to stop.
He was the kind of guy that was perfectly fine to work with as long as you were both on the same page, but as soon as you differed he'd smile, nod, agree, and then do his own thing anyway. Could I trust him to watch my back in battle?
I wasn't sure.
"I don't know." I answered his question truthfully. "Obviously he's not going to fight us himself, so maybe he'll pilot a mech or something?"
"Like a piloted version of the zero-pointers?" He mused, a hand on his chin. "Then I think we have nothing to fear, given how quickly you dealt with those things before."
"Mmm." I grunted noncommittally. "I doubt it'll be easy. UA never is."
"Indeed!" Nedzu's voice rang out from what had to be hidden speakers. "Prepare yourselves, young heroes, because your practical exam begins… now!"
The gates slammed open, but instead of the cityscape I'd been expecting, they revealed a simplistic concrete tunnel the width of a two-lane road, bending to the right after perhaps a hundred meters.
"What is this?"
"Oh? You thought an intelligence-type villain wouldn't set up the battlefield according to his liking?" Nedzu tittered. "Better get moving soon, there's only… twenty-nine minutes and forty-one seconds left!"
"Dammit." I muttered. "Hop on. I'll carry you, it's faster."
"Right." Monoma nodded as I lowered myself for him to get on my back, feeling a slight tingle as he touched my scales. "I copied Whirlwind, Big Hands and Size before we started but my time limit ran out while we waited, so I'll have to rely on Horned Dragon."
"Definitely intentional on Nedzu's part." I grunted as I accelerated into a loping run, rapidly gaining speed. I rounded the corner at full speed, the wall groaning and cracking as I kicked against it to change direction.
Beyond the corner the corridor split into two, and I could see each side split again, curving into all directions.
"It's a damn maze. Hold on tight."
"Ah ah ah ah." Nedzu's voice rang out from another direction. "This is an exam for two, remember?"
I could see small slits opening in the walls before us, and before I could react, flames began spraying from hidden nozzles, creating a wall of fire.
"Monoma!" I shouted. I tried to dig in my claws to the floor, but I knew that it was too late. already.
Right before I stumbled into the flames there was a brilliant flash of light and a massive weight suddenly appeared on my back. We tripped and slid through the fiery curtain, until finally coming to a halt.
Monoma's human form had been replaced by a brilliant yellow dragon a bit smaller and considerably slimmer than me, picking himself off the ground awkwardly. Even though he'd borrowed my Quirk several times before, it was immediately obvious that he was still unsure of his movements, struggling to adjust to going from a bipedal primate to a huge, quadrupedal reptile with wings and a tail.
"It's clear that the Principal is going to use area traps to make sure I can't just carry you, which means that you'll have to stay as a dragon."
Forcing us to move at his speed, not mine. Damn.
I glanced around us, and then up.
"Maybe…"
I channelled my frustration and vented it in a bright stream of flame through my mouth, blasting a hole in the ceiling. I then jumped up and began climbing, my claws digging into the partially molten metal.
Poking my head out I could see the roof of the maze, a vast expanse of steel and concrete that covered the entirety of the fake city. But before I could fully climb out I heard a robotic voice coming from right in front of me.
"I'd say that I'm sorry, meatbag, but I'm programmed not to lie."
Is that a fucking rocket launcher?
The warhead hit me squarely in the face with a thunderous boom, snapping my head backwards and knocking me back into the hole I'd made. I landed back on the floor of the tunnel accompanied by a hefty crash, surrounded by droplets of molten steel and concrete.
"Dammit. The roof is guarded too."
"We could try fighting our way through?"
"The whole place is swarming with robots, and I saw what looked like anti-aircraft turrets." I shook my head. "It would take too long."
"You could make a break for it if you were unburdened by my presence." Monoma noted.
"We're supposed to treat this like a real situation. What kind of Hero would leave his comrade behind?" I replied. "Besides, the Principal said this is an exam for two. He's set this whole thing up from the beginning so I can't see him not accounting for that approach as well. For better or worse, we're in this together."
Monoma nodded. "I must admit, I wouldn't be satisfied simply running away. I want to reach the heart of this labyrinth and capture the villain behind its creation."
"We'll do what's needed to win." I replied, before pointing a claw forward. "It wasn't a total loss, though. I saw the gate, so I know what direction we need to be moving towards."
"Could we simply break our way through there?" Monoma asked, smashing a huge scaled fist against the wall I was pointing at. There was a loud hissing noise as some sort of liquid erupted from the wall, and I caught a glimpse of ruptured pipes as Monoma yanked his fist back, cradling it with his other forelimb.
"Cold!"
"It's coolant." I sniffed the air, retreating away from the breached wall. Already, frost was starting to coat the area. "If we tried to smash our way through with brute force we'd be coated with that stuff. Not enough to take us down in one go, but exhaust and wear us down. It appears we are going to have to assume the Principal is always two steps ahead of us. We'll need to play his game and try to beat it, or at least wait for an opportunity to present itself."
"It seems that way. But this is still an exam. Just like the other teachers have to wear weights, we can assume he wasn't allowed to build an impossible to beat trap."
"Then we have no time to waste. Let's go."
-----
"That was well done."
Yui Kodai watched Eraserhead wipe off Komori's mushrooms from his goggles as the three of them walked towards the exit.
"You got the spores on me while I subdued you, didn't you?"
The timid girl nodded. "I waited for you to go after Kodai before growing them so she could capture you while you were blinded."
"If you'd gone after me first, I gave Komori some shrunken rocks I could regrow if she threw them." Yui added.
"A decent plan, though it would have failed if you'd been separated." Eraserhead chided them. "You can't guarantee it'll work out."
"It was the best that we had."
"And it worked." He said as he pulled the door to the Waiting Tent. "This time."
"Ah, Aizawa. Your group was the first to pass." Recovery Girl noted as she hopped down from her stool. "Are you sure you aren't having issues with your eyes anymore? You're usually quite merciless."
"It's fine. They just caught me off guard." He waved her off. Recovery Girl huffed but continued towards Komonori and Yui, giving them a thorough inspection.
"It seems like the two of you got off light, as far as these things go." She finally concluded. "You're free to go or stay here to follow the proceedings." She gestured towards the wall of screens showing a live feed from each battleground. "But no more strenuous activity for the rest of the day! We don't want you spraining anything."
Yui nodded, scanning the monitors one by one. The one on the upper right corner immediately grabbed her attention, as she saw a pair of dragons advancing up a tunnel weathering a barrage of fire from a turret hanging from the ceiling until the white one belched forth a fireball that turned it into slag. The yellow dragon was visibly struggling to keep up with the other, breathing heavily as he stumbled after her.
"That's odd." She commented after a while. "Everyone else is fighting a teacher, but Tatsuma and Monoma are in a maze."
"Each practical exam is tailorrf to the individuals." Eraserhead replied whilst administering eye drops. "Why do you think you were assigned to me?"
"...We're too reliant on our Quirks. You put us into a situation where we had to fend for ourselves long enough to come up with a plan."
"Correct." He nodded. "Your physical abilities were the lowest in the class, so we pitted you against me in order to force you to use them. We assigned each team based on their weaknesses, not their strengths. For another example, we put the two most reckless students against "an unbeatable enemy"."
Yui followed Eraserhead's gaze up to the monitor showing a fake city being ravaged by what looked like two clashing hurricanes. Cars and trees were being tossed to and fro, but it soon became clear that one was significantly outclassed, and as the cyclone was overpowered and pushed back Yui could see Yoarashi at it's heart, looking shocked and dismayed. The camera zoomed out slightly, and she saw Tetsutetsu on all fours, his hands punched into the asphalt for leverage. In a flash, All-Might was suddenly there in front of him, sending him flying with a swift knee to the chest. The iron-skinned boy skidded to a halt a good hundred meters away, but simply picked himself up again and charged at the Number One Hero.
"They were the ones who wanted to try to leave the shelter…" Komori mumbled.
"Indeed. So if I was a test of your physical abilities, All-Might is a test of their common sense. Their determination will only work against them here. So what challenge do you think the Principal represents for Tatsuma and Monoma?"
"...For Monoma, it's a matter of skill. Adapting to a hard-to-use Quirk. Not just that, he needs to let his partner take the charge and lead the way while he focuses on his technical performance. For Tatsuma…" Yui paused. "It's just that. Taking the charge and leading the way, without second-guessing herself. The maze and the obstacles are probably designed to be harsh but perfectly beatable if you don't hesitate and keep a cool head?"
"Correct. Tatsuma is the strongest fighter out of your class, so it's only logical to manufacture a scenario where that tests her judgement and ability to stay calm under pressure moreso than combat skills."
-----
CLICK.
I listened carefully for the echoes, forming a mental map in my head. With enough raw volume I could just barely get a return through the walls of the tunnel: not very far, but it allowed me
"Left!" I called out.
"I-" Monoma huffed. "I think we've- we've passed this intersection twice already."
I paused in my stride, causing him to almost walk into my back. He halted at the last moment, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily whilst I studied the T-intersection before us.
It did look a lot like the ones before. But was that a deliberate trick on Nedzu's part? I was fairly confident that we weren't going in a circle.
"Look, there's scratches on the floor." Monoma forced out in between trying to catch his breath. "We're definitely. Going in circles."
"Scratches are easy to fake." I retorted. "We haven't made enough consecutive left turns in the same direction to go in a circle."
"The tunnels could be curving slightly, or the turns sharper or wider than they seem at first."
"Well, I would have smelled it if we were going over the same area twice."
"Smells can be concealed."
"You think he has cleaner bots going behind us but just forgot about the scratches?"
"Well then, intrepid heroes, you better choose quickly, because you have ten minutes remaining!" Nedzu exclaimed. "How does it feel, being rats in a maze? Ohhohohoo!"
"He's enjoying this." I growled.
What the hell do I do?If we've been going in circles, we need to go right. But by my accounting we need to go left again.
"Tick tock tick tock, time is running out! Better hope you make the right choice~"
If I make a hasty decision it means a higher chance of being wrong and costing us time, but every second I spend deliberating is one that we aren't moving and I could still be wrong in the end. But standing here thinking about how much I should think is also taking up time. Already I've wasted several seconds.
"Maybe…" I began, before cutting myself off.
No, you're doing it again. Second-guessing yourself. Hesitating, failing to commit to a decision.
This is just a stupid exam. You've looked the Hero Killer in the eye. Compared to that this is nothing.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment.
…
"We go left."
"But what about-" Monoma began, but I cut him off before he could get started.
"We are going left." I stated unequivocally. "I've been keeping track, and I trust my judgement."
"But I-"
"Which of us is actually accustomed to the senses of this Quirk?"
"...You." Monoma admitted begrudgingly.
"Then we go left." I said as I stepped forward. "But just in case…"
As I accelerated into a run again I swiped my claw at the metal wall, shredding it like a shower curtain and peeling back huge sheets of steel.
"Even if he has bots going around to try and confuse us that's not something they'll be able to conceal." I yelled over my shoulder. "Let's go!"
-----
"I see you've managed to make quite a good time, young Heroes! You still have five minutes remaining! But can you brave the final obstacle between yourselves and freedom?"
The final door out of the maze went flying off its hinges as I shoulder-checked it, sunlight pouring in. I frowned as I blinked in the glare, feeling that something was off.
That wasn't coming from the speaker system-
I saw the metallic fist coming for my face the moment before it made contact with my face, sending me stumbling backwards into Monoma. It tried to strike at me again while I was off-balance, but I reacted quickly and grabbed it by the wrist, digging my claws into it as I squeezed so hard the metal bent and warped. There was a sharp tug and the fist came free entirely, and I threw it aside to finally get a good look at the enemy.
"You know, I think I can get behind the vantage point, if nothing else."
Beyond the door was a small area between the end of the maze and the outer walls of the Fake City, and I could see the gate a few hundred meters away. But standing between me and it was a huge humanoid robot, perhaps twice my size overall.
No, not a robot. Where it's head should have been was a cockpit with a glass window, showing a familiar white-furred rat… -mouse-dog-bear whatever he was, looking down on me with obvious glee.
"You are piloting a mech."
"Indeed! I don't usually fancy myself much of a fighter, but sometimes it does good to get out there and relieve some stress, wouldn't you agree?"
I grunted noncommittally.
The mech was obviously based on the same robotics tech used for the villain bots. There was a weapon of some sort mounted on the shoulder, but I'd already disabled one of it's arms so it shouldn't-
Then, the remainder of the ruined hand suddenly shifted and popped off at the elbow, clattering to the ground as the mech held the stump high in the air. There was a whistling sound as a dark shape approached at high speed, slowing down enough as it landed on the mech's elbow joint that I could see it was a spare hand, attaching itself in one smooth motion. The fingers twitched and then curled into a fist.
"Good as new. Now, shall we?"
Well then.
I surged forward, aiming a headbutt at the mech's shoulder joint, but Nedzu leveled the back-mounted cannon at me, spraying a stream of liquid at me. I knew what it was before it even hit me, as a wave of cold blew over me, chilling me to the bone.
I drew a deep breath and launched a stream of fire in response, meeting the coolant in an explosion that rocked me backwards, but the torrent seemed endless, washing over the hasty flame breath.
Frost was building on my scales as the coolant slammed into me, and instantly I could feel myself starting to cool down, my limbs feeling heavy. I beat my wings and jumped backwards, trying to put some more distance between us as I kept up the fire, alleviating the pressure slightly, but Nedzu stepped forward, keeping the sprayer pointed at me.
I only had a few more seconds. But I didn't need to, since Monoma had caught on to what I wanted.
There was a flash of light behind Nedzu, and a yellow dragon suddenly wrapped around the shoulders of the mech, twisting the coolant sprayer backwards and ripping it off.
"Ah."
I surged forward again, slamming my horn into the mech's chest, toppling it on it's back with a mighty crash.
"That cannon's a strong counter to my Quirk, but there's just one flaw. You can only point it towards one direction." I said, breathing heavily. "I'm guessing I would have run into that issue if I'd tried to go at it alone."
"An astute observation!" Nedzu noted cheerfully even as I ripped the cockpit open with my claws. "Perhaps you could still have prevailed, but I think it would have been quite a challenge! But then you would have had to abandon your partner to do so."
Monoma turned human again and jumped inside, putting handcuffs on the Principal. The moment they clicked in place an announcement rang out from the speaker system.
"All teams have passed! The practical exams are concluded!"
Next Chapter we get to I-Island and we can get this Arc rolling.
To be fair, his quirk is called 'High Spec', which boosts his intellect and the like dramatically. he's also known to be very eccentric.
So really, it'd be more of a surprise if he wasn't.
"To give y'all a fighting chance, we'll be wearing weights that restrict our physical capabilities by fifty percent." Snipe said, showing off the metallic band around his wrist. "Wouldn't want it to be a complete slaughter."
"Due to these power limiters I'm crippled to just 50% of my true power... Unfortunately for you thats 5 times more than I'll need." - All Might if he was a villain probably.
I channelled my frustration and vented it in a bright stream of flame through my mouth, blasting a hole in the ceiling. I then jumped up and began climbing, my claws digging into the partially molten metal.
Poking my head out I could see the roof of the maze, a vast expanse of steel and concrete that covered the entirety of the fake city. But before I could fully climb out I heard a robotic voice coming from right in front of me.
"I'd say that I'm sorry, meatbag, but I'm programmed not to lie."
Is that a fucking rocket launcher?
The warhead hit me squarely in the face with a thunderous boom, snapping my head backwards and knocking me back into the hole I'd made. I landed back on the floor of the tunnel accompanied by a hefty crash, surrounded by droplets of molten steel and concrete.
"Dammit. The roof is guarded too."
"We could try fighting our way through?"
"The whole place is swarming with robots, and I saw what looked like anti-aircraft turrets." I shook my head. "It would take too long."
If this was a real scenario, I would've gone that way on principle (no pun intended). Never allow a Thinker to funnel you into their prepared ground. Choose the battles where you are strong (in this case, with brute strength).
(For that matter, I would've strongly considered making a hole through the city wall and getting out that way, just in case they allow it.)
Still, it being a test means playing the Thinker's game is less of a big deal. And, considering his position as academy principal, it's probably better for you, here, not to be seen as a maverick. But in the field, with actual villains, flipping the chessboard would be the preferred approach.
"It's coolant." I sniffed the air, retreating away from the breached wall. Already, frost was starting to coat the area. "If we tried to smash our way through with brute force we'd be coated with that stuff. Not enough to take us down in one go, but exhaust and wear us down. It appears we are going to have to assume the Principal is always two steps ahead of us. We'll need to play his game and try to beat it, or at least wait for an opportunity to present itself."
Hmm, there could be a way around this, exploiting the changes in thermodynamic efficiency. Not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds cool.
Have Monoma crash through all the walls. Presumably it wouldn't be energy-efficient to have Tatsuma heat him up afterwards. However, if he transforms back into a human, the amount of energy required to heat up a cold human (perhaps by doing something as straightforward as huddling for her body heat) is comparatively minuscule.
So, smash, transform back, heat up; rinse and repeat.
"I-" Monoma huffed. "I think we've- we've passed this intersection twice already."
I paused in my stride, causing him to almost walk into my back. He halted at the last moment, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily whilst I studied the T-intersection before us.
It did look a lot like the ones before. But was that a deliberate trick on Nedzu's part? I was fairly confident that we weren't going in a circle.
"Look, there's scratches on the floor." Monoma forced out in between trying to catch his breath. "We're definitely. Going in circles."
"Scratches are easy to fake." I retorted. "We haven't made enough consecutive left turns in the same direction to go in a circle."
"The tunnels could be curving slightly, or the turns sharper or wider than they seem at first."
"Well, I would have smelled it if we were going over the same area twice."
"Smells can be concealed."
"You think he has cleaner bots going behind us but just forgot about the scratches?"
"Well then, intrepid heroes, you better choose quickly, because you have ten minutes remaining!" Nedzu exclaimed. "How does it feel, being rats in a maze? Ohhohohoo!"
I saw the metallic fist coming for my face the moment before it made contact with my face, sending me stumbling backwards into Monoma. It tried to strike at me again while I was off-balance, but I reacted quickly and grabbed it by the wrist, digging my claws into it as I squeezed so hard the metal bent and warped. There was a sharp tug and the fist came free entirely, and I threw it aside to finally get a good look at the enemy.
"You know, I think I can get behind the vantage point, if nothing else."
Beyond the door was a small area between the end of the maze and the outer walls of the Fake City, and I could see the gate a few hundred meters away. But standing between me and it was a huge humanoid robot, perhaps twice my size overall.
No, not a robot. Where it's head should have been was a cockpit with a glass window, showing a familiar white-furred rat… -mouse-dog-bear whatever he was, looking down on me with obvious glee.
"You are piloting a mech."
"Indeed! I don't usually fancy myself much of a fighter, but sometimes it does good to get out there and relieve some stress, wouldn't you agree?"
I grunted noncommittally.
The mech was obviously based on the same robotics tech used for the villain bots. There was a weapon of some sort mounted on the shoulder, but I'd already disabled one of it's arms so it shouldn't-
Then, the remainder of the ruined hand suddenly shifted and popped off at the elbow, clattering to the ground as the mech held the stump high in the air. There was a whistling sound as a dark shape approached at high speed, slowing down enough as it landed on the mech's elbow joint that I could see it was a spare hand, attaching itself in one smooth motion. The fingers twitched and then curled into a fist.
Endeavor: "Have you learned nothing from your week as my intern, potential replacement surrogate daughter sparring patsy for my wayward son? You must strike at the villain swiftly and without mercy, taking advantage of any weakness before they rout! Certainly not allow them seven paragraphs to establish something as pointless as... *shudder* dialogue."
If this was a real scenario, I would've gone that way on principle (no pun intended). Never allow a Thinker to funnel you into their prepared ground. Choose the battles where you are strong (in this case, with brute strength).
(For that matter, I would've strongly considered making a hole through the city wall and getting out that way, just in case they allow it.)
Still, it being a test means playing the Thinker's game is less of a big deal. And, considering his position as academy principal, it's probably better for you, here, not to be seen as a maverick. But in the field, with actual villains, flipping the chessboard would be the preferred approach.
Yeah if this was a real scenario it would be a different story.
But as Ryuuzaki and Monoma deduce, just like everyone else has to wear physical weights Nedzu is constrained by the scenario, the test has to be hard but within their ability to pass.
Hmm, there could be a way around this, exploiting the changes in thermodynamic efficiency. Not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds cool.
Have Monoma crash through all the walls. Presumably it wouldn't be energy-efficient to have Tatsuma heat him up afterwards. However, if he transforms back into a human, the amount of energy required to heat up a cold human (perhaps by doing something as straightforward as huddling for her body heat) is comparatively minuscule.
So, smash, transform back, heat up; rinse and repeat.
Hmm, yeah, that's a fair point. Though it still comes back to endurance in the end.
Monoma doesn't have anywhere near Ryuuzaki's stamina, so it's questionable if he would be able to smash through the entire maze. Remember, he was running out of breath just keeping up with her. And repeated transformation is also taxing.
But it's a moot point since Ryuuzaki's not used to considering her Quirk from the angle of being able to transform, and so wouldn't think of that plan.
Endeavor: "Have you learned nothing from your week as my intern, potential replacement surrogate daughter sparring patsy for my wayward son? You must strike at the villain swiftly and without mercy, taking advantage of any weakness before they rout! Certainly not allow them seven paragraphs to establish something as pointless as... *shudder* dialogue."
I've been busy with life, but while I work on Chapter 38 I thought I'd consolidate my headcanons/worldbuilding regarding Quirks and such, some of which has been brought up within the story itself but others I wasn't able to find a good place to insert naturally.
-----
Essay submitted by Ryuuzaki Tatsuma during written finals on the topic "Quirk Types and Classifications".
There exist two common methods of categorizing Quirks. The more prevalent one is to sort them into different types by effect, while the other is to classify them by origin.
The three officially recognized types are, in order of rarity, Transformation, Mutation and Emitter. Transformation-type Quirks refer to those that temporarily change the user's body in some fashion, while Mutant-type Quirks are distinguished by making permanent changes instead, and Emitter covers anything that does not involve changes to one's body.
Due to their outward appearance people with Mutant-type Quirks have faced a greater degree of discrimination, particularly during the post-Emergence era, and were at the forefront of the civil rights movements of early 2100s. These movements culminated in legal reforms to criminalize discrimination by Quirk, including an exemption for those with Mutant-type Quirks from laws forbidding Quirks in public spaces, as long as they weren't being used to perform superhuman feats. These laws were further expanded in 2168 due to the famous Villain Factory incident to allow people with non-Mutant Quirks to apply for the exception to also be extended to them, should their Quirks be unable to be turned off.
A second wave of civil rights movements occurred in 2150s and early 2160s centered around expanding these protections to not just forbid discrimination but actively provide social assistance to those disadvantaged by Quirks, such as housing and specialized diets. Small reforms were made, most prominently a government housing program for those who could not live in standard accommodations, but the program was found to be inflexible and split families. The movements failed to present a united front and fell apart, with several radicalizing into outright terror groups.
In addition to the main three, while not officially used by the Quirk Registry there are two more types known in common parlance especially amongst medical and law enforcement professionals as "Silent" and "Passive" Quirks.
Silent Quirks refer to abilities that only activate in response to certain circumstances or triggers, and until these conditions are met the users may go for long periods of time or even their entire lives thinking themselves to be Quirkless. Passive Quirks, also known as "Latent Quirks" or "Passive Mutations" refer to a phenomenon where the children of people with Mutant-type Quirks may exhibit physical traits resembling their parents' such as horns, claws, teeth, tails, increased size and musculature, and more, even if their own Quirks are not Mutant-type. Though typically considerably weaker than actual Mutant-type Quirks, proliferation of Passive Quirks among the populace is believed by some to be responsible for the rise in average athleticism amongst the non-Mutant population. They are also not legally recognized as Quirks.
The Quirk classification system is primarily used by the Quirk Registry to track Quirk lineages, to help in understanding and identifying new Quirks.
The most common classification is "Inherited Merger", a Quirk that is the amalgamated hybrid of both parents' Quirks.
The second-most common is known as "Inherited", a Quirk that is identical to that of one parent. This class is most frequently encountered in children where one parent is Quirkless.
The third is "Evolution", a Quirk that notably diverges from one parent's Quirk but does not exhibit any distinct characteristics from the other.
Fourth is "Mutation", a Quirk that does not bear resemblance to that of either parent, or manifested in a child born to two Quirkless parents. Though once the most common and indeed the only class of Quirk, in modern times Mutation is extremely rare.
Last is the classification of "Quirkless", having no Quirk at all. Though twenty-percent of the population is Quirkless, it is disproportionately found in older generations, and in younger age cohorts the proportion can be as low as one percent or even less. This classification can also be further subdivided into Quirkless born to at least one Quirkless parent, and the rarest of all, a Quirkless person born to parents who both have Quirks. Though not officially recognized by the Quirk Registry there have been attempts by advocacy groups to make the division official to recognize the discrimination faced by the latter.
Finally, some scientists have theorized the existence of a sixth class, a Quirk not received at conception but instead transferred artificially, but aside from isolated, oblique references in surviving historical documents from the post-Emergence era there has never been any scientific evidence that Quirks can be transferred from one person to another, and so the theory is dismissed by most academics.
there has never been any scientific evidence that Quirks can be transferred from one person to another, and so the theory is dismissed by most academics.
I don't think it's necessarily multiple Quirks that turn the Nomu into monsters per se, it's what makes them braindead and then the Doctor's bioengineering turns them into monsters. I mean Mutant-type Quirks would obviously affect their body but piling on Emitters into someone wouldn't turn them into a Nomu.
It also seems to be a sliding scale depending on the resilience of the recipient and random chance as to what happens when you shove multiple Quirks into someone who doesn't have a Quirk that allows them to have multiple Quirks. Typically they become braindead but sometimes it merges with their existing Quirk, and we've also seen that some people are just able to handle multiple Quirks.
I don't think it's necessarily multiple Quirks that turn the Nomu into monsters per se, it's what makes them braindead and then the Doctor's bioengineering turns them into monsters. I mean Mutant-type Quirks would obviously affect their body but piling on Emitters into someone wouldn't turn them into a Nomu.
It also seems to be a sliding scale depending on the resilience of the recipient and random chance as to what happens when you shove multiple Quirks into someone who doesn't have a Quirk that allows them to have multiple Quirks. Typically they become braindead but sometimes it merges with their existing Quirk, and we've also seen that some people are just able to handle multiple Quirks.
Yeah, Quirks are mutable and different people have different tolerances for how much power aka 'Quirk Factor' their bodies can handle. Furthermore, not everyone reacts the same way to exceeding their tolerance; the teleporter Nomu for example is fully intelligent and developed an entirely new Quirk from the merger of his original and the new Quirks that AFO added to him, he also has no memory of his past life, oh, and the original was dead. AFO acquired the guy's corpse and somehow turned it into a Nomu.
So yeah, there's a lot of leeway with how it goes, the 'body can't handle it so the quirks consume them' is just the most common, 'default' course. IIRC AFO's body was actually nearing breakdown before he passed his power on to Tomura, because it turned out that even AFO had limits. That's why Tomura had to do the whole stint inside the science tube of science; it was to adapt his body to the power of AFO and its collection of stolen Quirks, without which it would have been too much for Tomura to handle and he would have Nomu'd.
IIRC AFO's body was actually nearing breakdown before he passed his power on to Tomura, because it turned out that even AFO had limits. That's why Tomura had to do the whole stint inside the science tube of science; it was to adapt his body to the power of AFO and its collection of stolen Quirks, without which it would have been too much for Tomura to handle and he would have Nomu'd.
Not quite, the reason his body was ruined was because All-Might punched his face off (though it is mentioned that eventually he too would be overburdened by too many Quirks).
That's the whole reason he needed Shigaraki to be his successor and didn't just take the treatment himself. He didn't have the Regeneration Quirk at the time of the fight and by the time he found it, it could only restore him to his current state so he needs someone else to take on All For One and the role of the "Symbol of Terror".
Thus the whole parallel between him and Shiggy as well as All-Might and Deku, the paragons of heroism and villainy crippled by their fateful battle, each seeking to raise their chosen successor to carry on their will. Possibly very, very literally in the former case.
The cargo hold of the transport plane was far from the luxuries of a commercial passenger airliner, but we made do. Yui reached over to execute my move on the virtual chessboard displayed on the tablet sitting on the floor between us, before sitting back to study the board with a look of concentration.
I just sighed, sagging in my harness. I was strapped in tight to the floor and walls of the cargo hold so that I could barely move my head, unless I wanted to rip them out. The crew had been quite emphatic in explaining how a four-ton dragon moving around could unbalance the plane and cause serious danger, which I understood and all, it just didn't make it any more comfortable.
Just then, the intercom overhead finally crackled to life.
"This is your Captain speaking. We are beginning descent in five minutes, all passengers, please make sure you are strapped in and remain still during the landing until given the go-ahead."
"About time." I grumbled, as Yui turned off the tablet and began walking back to her place, a military-style seat bolted to the side of the wall. She could've gotten a seat on a commercial airline but elected to come with me.
"Ah well, I guess we'll never know the end result."
"Three or four moves to mate." She retorted blankly. "Five at most, if you start playing a lot better."
"Such a shame, it'll stay as a mystery forever haunting our subconsciousness."
"I saved the match, we can continue at the hotel."
"I'm sorry, the turbulence is making it hard to hear anything you're saying."
Half an hour later I walked down the ramp of the cargo plan, finally free of the restraint harness. I creaked my neck to each side, before shaking off each limb in turn and unfurling my wings a few times. Thankfully I had no need for luggage, because let me tell you carrying stuff as a quadruped is awkward.
Yui dragged her modest suitcase on wheels as we approached the looming terminal the crew had instructed us towards. The airport was of sleek, futuristic design, all curving lines and blue, white, black and silver. The gate clicked open, easily double my height, and as we stepped inside a blue light ran over us as our pictures and names appeared on a holographic display.
"Authorized biometric signatures detected." A pleasant, artificial voice spoke as the second set of doors opened, admitting us to the airport proper. "Welcome, Ryuuzaki Tatsuma, Yui Kodai. Please enjoy your stay at I-Island. We're currently having the pre-opening of the I-Expo, which will begin proper tomorrow."
People were milling here and there as we walked through, and while I was still drawing attention it was less than usual. Small, almost trash-can shaped robots standing on four wheeled legs patrolled the crowds, and I could spot more security cameras than I could keep count.
"They take security seriously." Yui noted.
"Yeah, this whole place was built to be a place where the greatest scientists in the world could research Quirks without the threat of villains. And there's representatives from Support Item companies and Pro-Heroes all around the world here for I-Expo, so it only makes sense they'd be especially on their guard."
"Sounds like you've been doing your research."
"Well, yeah, I'm going to be going on stage in front of all of those people." I said, trying not to show my nervousness in my body language, but Yui just gave me a knowing look. "I... wanted to know what I was getting into."
"Did it help?"
"No, not really."
As we exited the airport we arrived at the main plaza of I-Island. The entire artificial island was surrounded by high walls and guard towers, but within it looked like a mixture between a theme park and a university campus. High-tech futuristic buildings interspersed with bright, colourful attractions like a gigantic harp, a fake mountain as well as a water fountain in front of the entrance where the spray formed into letters, spelling out "Welcome".
One of the uniformed staff milling about noticed my hulking form towering over the crowds and flagged us down, making a brisk pace towards us. She greeted us with a disarming smile, and a friendly wave of her hand.
"Tatsuma and Kodai? We were told to expect you." She told us. "Welcome to I-Island, on behalf of our staff! Is there anything we can help you with?"
I opened my mouth, paused for a moment, and then replied in English. "We were going to go see our hotel arrangements and then talk to Doctor Mizutani about the Expo."
"Very good! Please follow me!" She turned on her heel. "Here on I-Island, we don't follow the same laws as Japan. You are free to use your Quirk, but don't take that as a license to go wild! We have twenty-four hour surveillance across the island, and those endangering people or property will be dealt with swiftly." She explained, before her expression softened. "Nonetheless, there are several attractions where you can compete with your Quirks! As Hero Students, you might find them worth checking out."
She took us across the plaza, and I couldn't help but let my eyes wander around the place. Various holographic and physical signs advertised exhibits in the upcoming I-Expo, mostly support item showcases but also talk panels, interviews, meet-and-greets. I saw dozens of Pro-Heroes coming and going, some writing autographs while others just mingled.
Amongst them was a massive shape, a huge dinosaur-like man wearing an extravagant white and red cape.
"That's Monster Hero: Godzillo." Our guide mentioned, following my gaze. "He used to be a big name in Japan but he moved to USA after a few incidents involving collateral damage."
"Godzillo?" I couldn't help the slight snicker that escaped my throat, which I immediately regretted as I saw the humongous Pro-Hero lumbering towards us.
Let's hope he doesn't have super-hearing.
For all that I found his name choice silly, I couldn't deny it's aptness. He really did look like his namesake, a huge grayish reptile standing on two legs, with dorsal spikes running along his spine and a dinosaurian head with a mouth filled with sharp teeth. He towered over the crowds, maybe a little bit bigger than myself overall but way taller due to his bipedal posture.
"Ryuju, wasn't it?" He asked, nodding towards me. "I heard about your encounter with the Hero Killer, and saw the footage on the news. I was impressed."
"Ah, thank you." I shuffled my feet awkwardly, not sure what more to say.
"It's a disgrace, what some of those people were accusing you of, for just doing what needed to be done and saving those people." He shook his head. "Anyway, if you're ever in California and looking for work, give my agency a call. We could use somebody like you, and believe me, size isn't an issue!"
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."
"A polite one, aren't ya?" He laughed with a booming rumble. "What's a youngster like you doing here on I-Island?"
"Oh, I'm just here to help with a presentation about a product to help… people like me."
"I thought students weren't allowed to do sponsorships back in Japan? There's many things I miss about the place but all those damn regulations sure aren't one of them!"
"It's not a sponsorship. I'm not getting paid."
"Look, you're clearly getting taken advantage of." He shook his massive head. "You should-"
"I made an informed decision. I don't need the money and it's for a good cause."
"Kid, with an attitude like that you're not going to make it in the real world."
"If that's the way you want to look at the world then that's your decision. But don't condescend at me for mine." I took a deep breath. "Thank you, sir, but we need to get going. Please, ma'am, lead the way."
I stepped away, and our guide hastened to get ahead of me again, taking the lead as we left the Pro-Hero behind, who gave us a look before lumbering off.
"You've gotten more confident." Yui told me as she stepped up alongside me.
"What?"
"Just a few months ago, would you have talked back? Or would you have meekly accepted his words?"
"...I don't know."
The rest of the journey passed in silence as we booked into the hotel and deposited Yui's belongings in her room. She had a regular single-bed room while Ryuko had booked one of the specialized suites on the bottom floor for me. Apparently the whole hotel building was modular, and with enough advance warning they could configure a room to the physical specifications of the client, even if they were a four-ton dragon the size of an elephant.
"So where to, now?" Yui asked as we exited the hotel.
"I asked the guide for directions before we left. Mizutani's exhibit should be this way."
It was one of the smaller exhibition buildings, a bit out of the way and partially concealed by a larger, newer-looking one. There was a sign on the door saying that it was closed until the I-Expo opened in full tomorrow, but as we approached the light on the door lock clicked green and a harried-looking assistant poked his head out.
"Oh, good, you're here." He breathed out in relief as he rapidly ushered us in before closing the door behind us. "You're expected."
The building was oval-shaped with an open central area lined with the individual exhibits, with a door to a more private backroom behind each one. I swept my eyes across the neatly prepared exhibits, display items and info placards set up and ready to go for tomorrow. Then, I reached the one at the far end of the hall and felt my stomach drop.
There were piles of boxes lying around half-unloaded, bits of package wrapping strewn on the floor, a table laden with a mess of info pamphlets and computers. And the worst thing was, I recognized the blue-haired man carrying a perilously high stack of boxes, as the worker who'd let us in rushed forward to keep the pile from toppling over.
"Ah, thank you!" Doctor Katsuro Mizutani spoke to the man with a smile, before he raised his gaze to us and his expression bloomed. "Ah! Excellent!"
He strode forward to grab my claw and shook it vigorously, which I returned robotically, still feeling a little numb as I kept glancing at the utter chaos behind him.
"And this is Miss Kodai, I presume?" He said obliviously, turning towards Yui and offering her his hand.
"Indeed. As for you, I believe no introductions are necessary." She replied in an icy tone, before casting a glance up at me. "It seems that we arrived at a bad time. If it pleases you, we can come again later."
"Oh, this?" Mizutani glanced down. "This is nothing, we're just finishing up." He said as he slid one of the empty cardboard boxes behind the table with his foot, giving me a cheerful grin.
Then one of the piles of boxes collapsed behind him, emptying out various bits and pieces across the floor.
"I see." Yui said coldly.
"Well… here we are." I finally shook myself back to my senses. "When… do you want me here tomorrow? And what should I expect?"
"The exhibit itself opens to the public tomorrow at 11:00 but we don't really need you for that, we can manage by ourselves."
"Mmhm." Yui looked unconvinced.
"It's the investor meeting I really need your help with. Uh, come by at 16:00, the thing itself starts at 17:00 but some of them will probably be there early to mingle. Don't worry about the presentation, you just need to wear the prototype and answer some questions. I'll take the lead."
"But what kind of questions will they be?"
"Oh, you know, standard stuff."
"You don't know yet, do you?" Yui asked in an accusatory tone.
"It's fine, just go with the flow and follow my lead and it'll work out."
-----
"Having regrets?" Yui asked casually as we walked along the path away from the exhibit, my mood dark.
"I have some misgivings, yes." I shook my head. "But I'm going to go through with it."
"You know you don't owe him anything?" Yui asked quietly. "You could call your sister at any time and get new tickets from her."
"Even if I did want to back out at this stage, I wouldn't just leave him high and dry. Which I don't."
"Just wanted to make sure." She said, before pausing turning around to see that I had stopped to sniff the ground.
"What is it?"
I sniffed around again, tilting my head in curiosity.
"Todoroki is here."
"1-A's Todoroki?" Yui raised an eyebrow. "What is he doing here?"
"Let's go find out."
Following the scent like a bloodhound I led us a few hundred meters away to a quieter area in the middle of one of the small parks dotting the island. And there I saw a familiar split-haired teen sitting on one of the benches in casual attire, minding his own business. He looked startled to see us at first, but composed himself in a split-second and raised a hand in greeting.
"Tatsuma." Shoto Todoroki inclined his head, before turning to Yui. "Kodai, right?"
"Correct. I've been given to understand you two are acquainted."
"We both interned under Endeavour."
"Her friends are my friends." She said, sticking out a hand for him to shake.
"So, what brings you to I-Island?" I asked him, tilting my head to the side.
"I'm here to represent my father at the I-Expo." He replied blankly.
"...Really." I raised my metaphorical eyebrow.
"He's getting released from the hospital any day now." He explained, and suddenly I understood perfectly.
"Say no more." I shook my head. "So, what are you doing here, specifically?"
"I… needed a break, I guess. The others could be pretty rowdy. I'm not… used to it."
"Others?"
"Midoriya, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Jiro and Kaminari."
"They're all here?"
"Midoriya received a pair of tickets for winning the Sports Festival, Yaoyorozu got three from her family and Iida came to represent his family as well." He counted off one by one. "So they made a whole trip out of it. They're currently in the cafeteria over there."
"You don't have to-" I spoke up as he made to stand, but he waved me off.
"It's fine. They're probably wondering where I disappeared off to, anyway."
He took us across the walkway to a large terrace cafe, tables and chairs arranged in clusters. And there, true to Todoroki's word, I saw a collection of familiar faces.
"Oh, there you are Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed with a smile, before turning towards the two of us. "And Tatsuma and Kodai? You were here as well all along? If we'd known we could've traveled together!"
"I could say the same of you all." I noted dryly as I glanced across the crowded table, getting enthusiastic waves from Midoriya, Uraraka and Iida as well as a more casual greeting from Jiro and Kaminari. The last person sitting there I did not recognize, however, a girl maybe a few years older than us, with long blonde hair, blue eyes and neat, square eyeglasses.
"Ah!" Midoriya said, snapping forward as he realized my hesitation. "Tatsuma, Kodai, this is Melissa Shield. Melissa, this is Ryuuzaki Tatsuma and Yui Kodai, our friends from our sister class at UA."
"Nice to meet you two!" She said with an earnest smile as she glanced up at me. "I remember reading about the Hero Killer incident in the news."
I floundered for a moment on what to say, and Yui stepped up. "Nice to meet you too. You wouldn't happen to be related to David Shield?"
"He is my father, how did you know that?"
"One of the world's greatest Quirk scientists and the man who designed All-Might's costume isn't exactly an obscure figure?"
"Ah, I suppose you're right."
"Speaking of All-Might, where is he?"
...
There was a dead silence at the table.
"What do you mean, Tatsuma?" Iida asked, seeming confused.
"I could smell him so I assumed he was here.
"Oh, well, I ran into him this morning while I was out." Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck. "That's probably it."
"You met All-Might here and said nothing?" Uraraka exclaimed with an astonished look.
"It was all just a very brief encounter, he's actually here to meet David Shield. He introduced me to Melissa here!"
The others seemed to accept the explanation as the conversation shifted back to Shield, but it didn't quite sit well with me. For All-Might's smell to stick to Midoriya he must have spent quite some time in close proximity with him. However, Midoriya was what could be described as my friend, and calling him a liar in front of everyone didn't seem right either.
We kept at it for a short while, just talking about things. As Todoroki had said they'd all found out they had tickets and decided to come as one group, though Midoriya continued to act weirdly.
"-and then we came across Todoroki." I finished my own explanation of how we got there.
"Wow, that's very generous of you to help him out like that." Uraraka noted.
"Definitely hero-like behaviour!" Iida agreed with a chopping motion. "As expected!"
"So should we come and watch the show?" Kaminari asked with a grin.
"Are you representing a major Support Item company?" I threw back.
"I suppose I could ask my parents if I could-" Yaoyorozu pondered.
"It was a joke!" I exclaimed a little more loudly than I'd intended, drawing all eyes on me. "I mean, uh, please, there's no need to do anything on my account. I'll be at a private meeting, but I suppose before or after that we can go visit the public exhibit if you guys want?"
"That would be lovely." Yaoyorozu nodded. "Did you have any plans for today?"
"Well, the guides recommended the combat attractions so…" I gestured towards the fake mountain a few hundred meters away across the plaza.
"Don't let us keep you!" Uraraka flashed a thumbs-up. "We can watch from up here."
"I'll join as well, I was watching it earlier." Todoroki said, raising from his seat. "Midoriya, would you like to come too? I think it'd be suitable for you."
"Alright!"
-----
The fake mountain was built into a lowered arena that dropped a good fifty meters down, but even then it towered probably another three hundred meters into the air. A waterfall was running down it's length, and fake targets shaped like robots were placed all along the path to the peak.
"It looks like we have three new competitors!" The commentator dressed in a cheerleader-like outfit announced into her mic. "The rules are simple! Take out the villains as fast as you can! Anything goes, as long as you don't endanger bystanders!"
I was already measuring up the targets. They were spaced too far apart for me to take out with one breath, but I'd lose a lot of time trying to get the one by one with my claws.
"I'll go first." Todoroki said calmly, stepping forward.
"Alright then! This young man is stepping up to be our next challenger! Villain Attack, one, two, three, go!"
Before the word had left her mouth ice was springing forth from Todoroki's foot, rapidly climbing up the mountain. It seemed like he'd noticed the same thing I had, but had instead opted to simply cover the entire thing in one enormous ice wave. Within a matter of seconds the whole track and every last robot was enveloped under a thick layer of ice, prompting the announcer to stumble back in shock!
"Whoa! What speed! Nine seconds, that's a new record!"
"That's amazing Todoroki!" Midoriya gushed.
"It's nothing " He shook his head. "Your turn, now."
"Alright!"
I studied Midoriya as he took his position and, as soon as the round began, leapt into action. He rocketed up on trails of green lightning and bounced back and forth like a dart, energy playing around his body. He took out each fake robot target with a single punch, scaling the mountain in a matter of seconds.
"Wow, another sublime performance, fourteen seconds! Second place!"
"Well done." I told him as he came down, which he responded with a smile.
"Show them what you've got!"
"For our last competitor of the day, we have a scaly treat for you! Can this draconic newcomer take us by surprise? We'll see! One, two, three, go!"
I immediately let loose a controlled blast of fire from my mouth as I rose to the air with a beat of my wings, sweeping it over the right side of the mountain. As I'd hoped the targets were ultimately very fragile, and only needed a brief brush of my flames to be destroyed, and within moments all of the right-most ones were either melted or collapsed. I went up in a near-straight line, swiping my claws and tail at any targets close by, while taking in another deep breath. Right as I reached the apex I breathed another stream of fire, this time to the left, taking out all of the ones that I'd missed on my ascent.
Unfortunately, it was still far too slow.
"Thirty-one seconds! Not bad, but not enough to contend for the top spot!"
"Eh, agility was never my strength anyway." I shrugged as I landed. "Give me one of those strongman games and we'll see what happens."
"There is one over there." Midoriya pointed to another attraction a bit away. "Do you want to go test it out?"
"I'll pass. It's not really suited for my Quirk anyway." Todoroki said as he accepted a huge stuffed bear from the announcer for his win. "I'll head back to the others, and tell them where you went."
It was a large square shaped red machine stylized like an arcade attraction and securely bolted onto the floor, with a rubber half-ball receiver bag sticking out of it. Mounted on the side was a scoreboard and instructions screen.
Impact-o-tron 5000! Test your strength and win prizes if you're at the scoreboard by the end of the I-Expo! The machine is built to last, so go wild and hit as hard as you can!
Midoriya stepped into position, squared his shoulders, and after a moment of hesitation, suddenly surged forward and delivered a devastating cross punch into the machine's receiver bag, his fist trailing green lightning. The bell rang with a deep clang and the meter began going upward, before coming to a halt in the yellow zone.
"Didn't even make it to the scoreboard." He scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. "I guess with all of the Pro-Heroes in the island here's plenty of super-strength Quirks."
My turn.
I stepped up to the machine where the markings indicated, taking a wide stance. Then with practiced ease I twisted my body, bringing my full force to bear as I swiped my tail at the machine, simultaneously swinging the entire appendage while also whipping it forward such that the tip was moving at a speed wholly uncharacteristic of something so large and heavy. It impacted the machine with the sound akin to a cannon going off, echoing across the plaza as the entire contraption rocked back on it's mounting while a few people had to hold on their hats as the shockwave propagated outwards. As the bell boomed the measurement scale shot up towards the top, before finally grinding to a halt near the maximum as a jingle played out and the words "New Record!" blinked on the display screen.
"Whoa, did you see that?!"
"That's Ryuju, the Hero Student who caught Stain. I guess I can see where that came from."
"That's stronger than most Pro-Heroes already."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Midoriya exclaimed with a look of genuine excitement. "Your tail slam is way stronger than my Full Cowling!"
"Way stronger than seven percent of your full strength." I pointed out, even as I slowly entered my name onto the scoreboard, careful not to scratch it with my claws. "I'm stronger now, but already you've gone up by two percent. What'll happen at one hundred?"
"Well, I mean, um-" Midoriya began stammering out a flustered apology, but I just waved him off.
"Pfft, it's not like I have a leg to stand on when it comes to other people having exceptional Quirks." I just gestured back at the machine. "And besides, what's the point of being jealous? They're not something any of us can affect." Midoriya made a choking noise and I turned my head towards him in concern, but he blinked up at me as if nothing had happened. I averted my gaze, confused, and went on. "And at any rate, I've only just begun to harness the potential of my flame breath, and it's not like I've stopped growing. By the time you get there, who knows where I'll be on my own journey?"
We made our way back to the others, where Yui was making polite small talk, but I could tell she was relieved at my return. Todoroki was also already there, and Yaoyorozu was holding the stuffed bear quite happily.
"We were watching the performance." Shield said to us as we got there. "UA really does train excellent heroes!"
"It's kind of unfair how strong the three of you are." Kaminari said, leaning back on his chair. "Leave some for the rest of us!"
I glanced at Yui, tilting my head, and she nodded.
"Anyway, it was nice seeing you guys but I think we need to go unpack our stuff at the hotel."
"I believe some of us had things we wanted to do, so we'll be splitting up as well. Will you two be coming to the pre-opening party later today?
"We were planning to. Did you want to go together?"
"We could do that." Yui said.
Iida nodded, turning to address everyone. "Then we'll all meet at the elevator lobby in the main building at 19:00 sharp! Remember everyone, the dress code is formal!"
"Yeah, let me go change into my formal attire." I replied and turned around as if to leave, but instead spun in place to face the others again. "Ta-da!"
"Public indecency is not a joke." Yui said with a disapproving look.
"You're just jealous."
-----
Yagi Toshinori could hear the sigh all the way across the lab as the translucent door of the chamber hissed open, and he gently tugged off the sensor nodes attached to his bare, emaciated chest. With a bit of effort he pulled himself to a sitting position, having to use both hands to rise up from the reclining examination table.
Up ahead, David Shield's naked shock was visible, reflected on the wall-sized screen amongst various data points, measurements and graphs, most of which were blinking red or going downwards. Toshinori's eyes were drawn towards a chronological graph rising steadily over the years before peaking six years ago and turning to a sharp decline before evening out somewhat. Then, five months ago, there was another sudden drop followed by an even deeper incline.
"I just don't understand it." His oldest friend spoke with an expression of disbelief. "I knew it was bad, but… it doesn't make sense."
He gestured towards the screen, showing a side by side comparison of two 3D models. One was the man the world knew as Japan's Number One Hero, the Symbol of Peace, All-Might. Tall and standing with his head held high, his frame bulging with muscle that was only accentuated by the nearly skintight costume and his strong, square jaw curled into a confident smile that could brighten an entire room.
The other was what the neighbours in his modest apartment building would conjure in their minds when asked about "Yagi Toshinori". Equally as tall but hunched over as if the weight of his head alone was bending his spine, with rail-thin limbs of which the joints were the widest parts. Sunken eyes and angular facial features, with the oversized costume hanging over him like a shower curtain.
The same that was sitting on the examination table.
"Not only is your maximum output of your true form declining, so is the time that you can maintain it." Shield shook his head. "It's almost as if new Quirk Factor isn't being produced."
Toshinori reached down to bunch up the folds of his costume in his grip and gingerly pulled it up, showing his abdomen, ribs painfully visible underneath the skin. And there, on his left side, the skin turned reddish and scarred, culminating in a hideous gouge across his entire side.
"Five years ago… an enemy did this to me."
"I know. You've told me before. But a simple injury shouldn't be causing this.
"I had to go beyond. You know how it is."
Toshinori sighed, though not for the reason Shield would think.
He hated having to lie to his oldest friend.
"The attack on the school? I heard about the bioengineered villain, but the official channels have been tight-lipped about details."
"It was akin to a meat puppet stuffed with multiple Quirks. More something than someone."
"Multiple Quirks? You don't mean..."
Toshinori nodded. "My old enemies are on the move. His handprints are all over this "League of Villains". A month ago he struck again, at Endeavour and Gran Torino. First my students and my coworkers, then my mentor and the man who would become Number One if something were to happen to me."
"The Hero Killer incident as well?" Shield mused. "The League's involvement was overshadowed by the controversy."
"Yes. They had those creatures tailored to counter them. If it wasn't for those three interns… I do wish that I could thank them properly."
Young Tatsuma and Todoroki at least. But the less they knew, the safer they would be. Involving Young Midoriya already weighed heavily on his conscience.
It was much the same reason he could not share the truth with Shield. If All For One went after Melissa… it would be too much to bear.
Shield leaned back in his chair, staring wistfully at his fingers, which suddenly began to bend backwards.
"Sometimes… no, often, I wish I could be out there with you."
Toshinori struggled to his feet and walked over, putting a bony hand on his friend's shoulder.
"In a way, you always are, Dave." He told him. "The suit that you designed, the inventions you've produced, they've helped me and other Pro-Heroes countless times. Those who support us are no less valuable for their work, even if it is less glamorous."
"I just wish that I could do more." Shield looked down.
"We all do. Even me." Toshinori smiled. "That feeling is how you know you're a hero, even if you don't carry the title."
"..."
"But now, I believe I need to get ready for the reception party." Toshinori stepped back, and in a puff of smoke he stood tall, vibrant and healthy once more. "I'll see you later, Dave!"
"Alright." Shield nodded slowly, before raising his hand hesitantly. "...Toshi?"
"Hmm?" All-Might asked, turning around at the door. "What's up?"
"...It's nothing." Shield shook his head. "I'll see you at the party."
-----
Tink. Tink. Tink.
My claws made a sharp, repeating noise as I tapped them nervously against the floor whilst we waited by the elevators. The opening party was held on the floor above us, and I could hear tons of people already there, mingling and having fun.
"We're going to be late." I muttered. "Can you call them again?"
"I did it six times in the last five minutes already." Yui replied gently but firmly. "If they're not responding then they're not responding."
"But-"
"We should just go." Iida spoke in a huff, accompanied by several sharp hand-gestures. "If they cannot respect the agreed-upon meeting time then they shouldn't expect us to keep waiting on them!"
"No, we should give them a few more minutes!" Uraraka replied with a nervous wave of her hand. "Yaoyorozu and Jiro were having trouble with their outfits, but I'm sure they'll be here any moment now!"
"Yaomomo probably has too many dresses to choose from…" Kaminari practically drooled, lost in his own imagination.
"All-Might's getting called to the stage now." I said, my breath hitching. "The party's starting, even if we go in now we'll be late."
"It's alright, we can just slip in." Shield tried to be reassuring. "Nobody's going to notice us with Uncle Might on the stage."
"You all might be able to sneak in." I replied, fidgeting nervously. "I'm not so lucky."
Yui glanced up at me in concern, pausing for a moment, before turning her attention to Shield.
"Do you go to parties like this often, Shield?"
"Yeah, Dad's always getting nominated for this award or that for his work, and Uncle Might too when he was over in the US."
"I think you'd know a thing or two about that." Yui said as she elbowed me.
"What do you mean?" Shield asked curiously.
"My older sister is Ryukyu, the Number Ten Hero in Japan."
"Oh!" She snapped her fingers in realization. "Ryukyu! That's where I remember hearing the name "Tatsuma". She's a really cool hero!"
"Are Japanese heroes really that famous overseas?" Uraraka asked.
"Japan's hero community is on average more famous internationally than that of most countries." Midoriya began explaining excitedly. "All-Might is world-famous and so just by association he draws a lot of interest, as does the Sports Festival and strong merchandising sector through manga and anime."
"..."
"I think the question was posed to Shield." Yui noted dryly.
Midoriya went beet-red and began to stammer something, but Shield just smiled.
"It's fine, that's more or less it. Even then it's only really the more memorable of the top heroes, like Endeavour-" She nodded towards Todoroki, who shrugged off the attention stoically "-or indeed Ryukyu. Not to say that she isn't an incredible Hero in other respects as well, but, well… dragons are cool."
"Can't argue with that."
"So you grew up with All-Might visiting frequently?" Iida asked. "That must have been heartening."
"To be honest, he was always my uncle first and a superhero second, at least in my eyes. But when I got older I learned to appreciate just how much he'd done for the world. I wanted to help, too, in whatever way I could, so I decided to follow in my dad's footsteps and design support items for Pro-Heroes to use.
"Why not become a Pro-Hero yourself?"
"Oh, no, I gave up that dream long ago. I'm Quirkless, after all."
I saw Midoriya physically flinch at that remark, and even as the conversation drifted away from the topic it continued to bother me. There was something I wasn't getting here, some realization just out of reach that kept nagging at me, teasing me.
Then it all clicked.
Why he was so inexperienced with his quirk, why it was wrecking his body so hard.
Why he reacted so strongly to the topic of Quirklessness, and people not being able to earn a Quirk.
Why Kirishima had said he was a late bloomer with a Silent Quirk, even though super strength should have been obvious to discover.
Each piece would have been easily dismissed on their own, but when I started putting them together the whole thing fell into place, each part logically leading to the next.
Midoriya was once Quirkless. Then he'd been given a Quirk.
A Quirk that was practically identical to that of All-Might.
All-Might who was losing his power to the point that most of the time he looked like an emaciated husk.
All-Might who seemed to share a special relationship with Midoriya, meeting with him in secret, sharing hushed words during the Sports Festival awards.
"Holy fucking shit."
I blurted the words out before I'd even realized it, but judging by the sudden silence everyone else had caught my outburst.
"What do you mean, Tatsuma?" Uraraka asked, looking both scandalized by my language and worried.
"I just-"
That was when I heard the first gunshots coming from upstairs.
And so things kick off. Hopefully 39 should be a bit quicker to write, it's going to be shorter and more action-packed.
I was strapped in tight to the floor and walls of the cargo hold so that I could barely move my head, unless I wanted to rip them out. The crew had been quite emphatic in explaining how a four-ton dragon moving around could unbalance the plane and cause serious danger, which I understood and all, it just didn't make it any more comfortable.
"Yeah, let me go change into my formal attire." I replied and turned around as if to leave, but instead spun in place to face the others again. "Ta-da!"
Yagi Toshinori could hear the sigh all the way across the lab as the translucent door of the chamber hissed open, and he gently tugged off the sensor nodes attached to his bare, emancipated chest. With a bit of effort he pulled himself to a sitting position, having to use both hands to rise up from the reclining examination table.
