Dragonspawn (My Hero Academia SI)
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Chapter 60
Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
The handcuffs felt kind of flimsy around my wrists, like I could snap them open if I really tried. But I figured with the advent of Quirks the chain links might have been made of something sturdier than plain steel these days, and I wasn't in a hurry to test the theory either way.
They had given me the opportunity to clean up at least, after the paramedics had checked me over. So now I was just waiting for them to get their ducks in a row and confirm I had not, in fact, murdered three people with my bare hands and somehow hidden the body of the third.
Sigh.
I heard the door latch open, and a burly man in a suit entered, with a set of curved horns and four eyes, an extra pair right above the first. Following him was Detective Himura, looking pale and significantly more dishevelled than before, but mercifully alive. He may have been an ass, but it took a weight off my shoulders to know that he'd made it. Before the door closed behind the two of them I caught sight of the armed guard standing outside.
"Miss Tatsuma, I am Chief Shinoda, in charge of the Musutafu Police." The man addressed me, drawing my attention back to him. "First of all, let me get those off of you: we reviewed the recordings and they confirmed your account. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but we had to take extra measures, considering the circumstances."
I just sighed, but let him unlock the cuffs, massaging my wrists as they were freed.
"Yeah, crazy how none of those measures stopped Toga from simply waltzing in and stabbing people." I mumbled bitterly as I stood up from the chair I'd been sitting down in.
"There is no need for that." Shinoda replied sternly. "But it is true that we are, nonetheless, in your debt. It was your quick thinking and actions that saved Detective Himura's life, after our own security protocols failed to catch the villain."
"I suppose." I said, just feeling tired. I arched an eyebrow at Himura, who had remained quiet since entering the room, looking everywhere but at me. "Should you be up and walking around this soon?"
"I wear a vest under my jacket, it took most of the blow." He grunted, refusing to meet my gaze. "The knife didn't go in very deep, but I hit my head on the corner of the table as I went down. I was out of it for most of what happened."
I nodded, but didn't say anything. Let him sweat.
"And… I insisted on coming here. Because I owe you my apologies." He ground out, the admission clearly difficult for him. "We brought you here under suspicion, but when the push came to shove, you saved my life."
"You're welcome." I muttered after a long moment. "So, uh, what happened? Was Toga caught?"
"Unfortunately, no." Shinoda explained. "She managed to slip away under the guise of Detective Himura, concocting a story that you had attacked him. By the time we had found the real Himura and verified the truth, she was already gone."
"That's… just great." I said, massaging my temples. "And what about… Samada and Kaneko?"
"...They were pronounced dead on the scene." Shinoda shook his head. "Mr. Uehara was also found dead in his car three blocks from here by nearby patrol officers. I am sorry."
I looked down at my feet for a long while.
"So, what about the whole spy business? Am I free to go, or…?"
"We've come to the decision that-"
Shinoda began, but was interrupted by a commotion in the hallway outside, raised voices carrying through the thick door.
"Sir, you can't just barge in here-"
"Are you going to stop me, young man?"
"N-no, sir. I just-"
"Then I am going in."
The door creaked open as All-Might's near-skeletal figure entered, clad in a blue suit and a red tie. It was the first time I'd seen the man since Kamino, and if such a thing was possible he looked even worse. Deep lines of exhaustion and worry were carved across his face, dark bags under his eyes. But even so, there was a furious energy to his movements and fire in his gaze as he marched over to me, while Shinoda looked like a fish had jumped down his throat and Himura had gone pale as a bedsheet.
"Young Tatsuma!" All-Might said as he put a hand on my shoulder, looking me up and down. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I sighed. "I'm not hurt."
Even in his current state All-Might was one of the few people to stand taller than I did, and although his hunched posture cost him a good few inches I still had to crane my neck back a little to look him in the eyes.
Now I guess I know how everyone else feels around me.
"There is more to being alright than just being unhurt, Young Tatsuma."
"I'm fine." I replied, hoping my eyes communicated just how much I didn't want to unpack my feelings in front of the police. To my relief, All-Might nodded seriously, turning towards the two policemen.
"You." He growled, poking a bony finger at the larger man's chest. "Young Shinoda, what is the meaning of this?"
"All-Might, sir, we are dealing with a shapeshifting assassin. We had to keep her in custody until we could verify her story."
"No, that is not what I meant, though it is bad enough on its own. I am talking about why your detectives pulled one of my students, a fifteen-year old child, out of school to be interrogated like a criminal!" He thundered. "And you, Himura, I thought better of you."
"Our suspicions were reasonable." The Detective tried to defend himself. "She suddenly developed new abilities after coming into contact with a villain known for his ability to manipulate Quirks. A villain with a known propensity for using said ability to extract favours and create moles to work for him."
"It is not a new ability, merely regaining an old one. One that was discovered on I-Island, months before the Kamino Incident."
"And she did not reveal this to anyone until after Kamino? Why?" Himura countered. "You have to admit it all looked quite suspect."
"Did you not read my reports?" All-Might growled. "He was about to kill her."
"With all due respect sir, such things can be faked, framed to give her an alibi." The Detective continued to argue.
"Not this one. I was called in by Young Tatsuma's classmates, who stumbled on the hideout while searching for her. There was no chance All For One could have known I was coming, let alone at that specific moment in time." All-Might shook his head. "I know All For One, he would not have voluntarily left himself open to attack, even if it was to bait an opponent. His twisted pride would not allow himself to do so." He glanced back at me. "And I saw her. I saw her injuries, I saw the fear of death in her eyes. Nobody is that good of an actor. Nobody."
"All-Might, we-" Shinoda began, but All-Might forged on.
"And, if you thought I had been deceived, if you doubted my testimony and experience, you could have and should have brought me to be questioned and for the details to be checked over. Not a child who has already suffered far too much. But instead you latched on to your preconceived notions and discarded anything that didn't suit your narrative. This sort of shoddy policework is exactly the sort that erodes people's trust in the institutions meant to protect them. I expected better from the both of you, after the many years we've known each other."
"...What we were trying to say before you arrived, All-Might," Shinoda cleared his throat, "is that while we had our suspicions, we consider that our questions have been satisfactorily answered. In addition, a mole would have found it much easier to let Detective Himura perish, and so remove the one on her trail."
"Hmph. Rest assured this will not be the end of this. I will be speaking with the Commissioner-General regarding your conduct today." All-Might turned towards me, his expression softening. "Young Tatsuma, shall we go?"
I nodded wordlessly, not saying anything to either of the two policemen as I followed All-Might out of the room.
-----
"You never should have had to go through that. I am sorry." All-Might said as we walked out into the parking lot, pinching his nose. "I came as fast as I could once I received the word."
"It's fine." I said, shuffling my feet. "So, um, I'm… really sorry, but… do you remember what the first thing you ever said to me was?" I hesitated. "Or, uh, maybe-"
"Ah, I believe I admonished you for taking a defeatist mindset during the Heroes versus Villains scenario." To my surprise he rattled off the answer without hesitation. "To you specifically, that is. Addressing you as part of a group, that would have been when I apologized for surprising everyone by arriving through the window."
"You remember all that?"
"Well, you know how it is." He replied, seeming slightly embarrassed. "Teaching young heroes, seeing them grow and mature… there are few fonder memories that I have." He shook his head. "But why… ah. Ah."
"I know it's silly, after everything you said inside, but…" I trailed off, words choking my throat.
"No, no, it is alright. More than alright." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "The fear, the uncertainty… they are some of the longest-lasting effects a villain leaves behind. It is perfectly natural to feel that way."
I couldn't take it anymore, and wrapped All-Might into a crushing bear hug.
-----
It had begun to rain by the time we headed back to UA, droplets pitter-pattering against the roof of All-Might's car. I sat in the shotgun seat, knees pulled up into my chest, watching the streets pass by, lost in thought.
"All-Might?" I ventured after a long while.
"Yes, Young Tatsuma?"
"...Do you think I should have killed Toga?"
"Why do you ask that?" He asked, sounding concerned and alarmed.
"When she attacked… I had the opportunity to... I had a gun. I could've taken her down. Maybe. But… I was scared. Scared I'd hit Detective Himura. My hands were shaking. But a small part of me was… scared to kill someone. I've thought about it before, but I've never… I've never actually…" I trailed off.
All-Might was silent for a moment, before tugging on the steering wheel to pull to a stop on the side of the road and turning to face me.
"Young Tatsuma. You were not responsible for handling what transpired."
"I guess." I mumbled. "But I'd like to know anyway."
"No." All-Might replied with conviction. "It is never wrong for a hero not to take a life."
"What about All For One?" I asked quietly. "Did you try to kill him?"
"...Yes. I did." He admitted after a moment.
"Then why…?"
"It can be right to take a life. But it is never wrong not to." He explained soberly. "Many heroes and policemen would tell you otherwise, if you asked them. And I do not hold that against them. But taking a life is a monumental thing. Putting an end to a living, breathing, thinking, dreaming person's entire existence, forever. Being unable to bring yourself to do so… I refuse to believe that to be weakness."
"But… what if they go on to kill someone?"
"Then that is on their head!" All-Might thundered, before his voice lowered again as he looked at me. "You are not responsible for the actions of a villain. They chose to do what they did."
"Not all of them." I muttered. "What about the ones that are just… sick? Or who never got the chance to choose?"
"You are not responsible for their circumstances either." He spoke softly. "No one can hold up responsibility for an entire society on their shoulders."
He looked out the window, leaning against the steering wheel.
"...Even I could not."
We fell into a long silence, broken only by the sound of the rain outside and the cars passing by. Just when All-Might seemed like he was about to pull back into the traffic, I opened my mouth.
"You know…" I ventured. "When Himura asked why I'd never told anyone about my inability to transform being a mental block…"
"You don't have to say it." He said kindly. "You don't need to explain yourself."
"But I want to." I said, taking a deep breath. "It's because I was ashamed. I felt like… if it was a physical block, it would have been out of my control. I couldn't do anything about it. But when Dr. Shield explained it to me, I felt ashamed of myself. I felt ashamed that it was me who couldn't face the world like everyone else did, me who forced everyone to accommodate me."
"And… that was why you asked me about how I could, back at I-Island." He said, horrified realization dawning on his face. "I told you about how those who could face danger in spite of their powerlessness were the truly brave. I did not… intend for it to come across as disparaging."
"I admit, I didn't take it in the spirit that it was given. I felt… inadequate. But the more I thought about it… you know Superman, the old comic book hero?"
"Young Tatsuma, remember who you are talking to." He said with some amusement "I lived in America for over a decade."
"Right." My face flushed with embarrassment. "So… I was reading about him, and one of the things that came up was the idea of… 'A man who is invincible cannot truly be brave.' And I guess at the back of my head that's how I used to think about you. But knowing the truth, that wasn't the case at all. You could be the most powerful man on the planet, but only for a little while at a time, and every time you used that power, a little bit of it went away. But you didn't try to cling to it, you used it every chance you could to help those in need, even if it meant accelerating your own path to being reduced to a powerless cripple. And at Kamino, you faced All For One to protect me. Even though you were running out of power, even though you knew it could be the end of your Hero career. And I think I finally got that… it wasn't about me. Once I'd realized that, it didn't feel disparaging, or make me feel inadequate. It felt… inspiring. And when I was at my lowest, it helped push me forward and gave me courage to let go of my dragon form."
I was starting to get embarrassed by my own rambling, scratching the back of my head awkwardly, but All-Might was listening to my words with rapt attention.
"I know you… probably get this a lot, but I just wanted to say thank you. You helped me through the hardest moment of my life. Your example inspired me to be a Hero."
All-Might was silent for a long time, the quiet interrupted only by the sound of my own heartbeat.
"I have heard such words before, that is true." His voice had an odd quality to it, tinted with emotion. "But I don't believe… I don't believe I've ever heard it ever said of my true form. That I managed to inspire someone not with my power, but my lack of it. You are… very welcome, Young Tatsuma. And thank you."
The rest of the journey home passed by in far warmer spirits, and soon enough we pulled up on the UA gates.
"There is only so much I can do in the state that I am, but please, if you ever need my help, you have only to ask."
"There is one thing." I said after a moment of consideration. "When I was face to face with Toga, for all my strength, I still felt clumsy and helpless. I… need to learn how to fight as a human."
They had given me the opportunity to clean up at least, after the paramedics had checked me over. So now I was just waiting for them to get their ducks in a row and confirm I had not, in fact, murdered three people with my bare hands and somehow hidden the body of the third.
Sigh.
I heard the door latch open, and a burly man in a suit entered, with a set of curved horns and four eyes, an extra pair right above the first. Following him was Detective Himura, looking pale and significantly more dishevelled than before, but mercifully alive. He may have been an ass, but it took a weight off my shoulders to know that he'd made it. Before the door closed behind the two of them I caught sight of the armed guard standing outside.
"Miss Tatsuma, I am Chief Shinoda, in charge of the Musutafu Police." The man addressed me, drawing my attention back to him. "First of all, let me get those off of you: we reviewed the recordings and they confirmed your account. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but we had to take extra measures, considering the circumstances."
I just sighed, but let him unlock the cuffs, massaging my wrists as they were freed.
"Yeah, crazy how none of those measures stopped Toga from simply waltzing in and stabbing people." I mumbled bitterly as I stood up from the chair I'd been sitting down in.
"There is no need for that." Shinoda replied sternly. "But it is true that we are, nonetheless, in your debt. It was your quick thinking and actions that saved Detective Himura's life, after our own security protocols failed to catch the villain."
"I suppose." I said, just feeling tired. I arched an eyebrow at Himura, who had remained quiet since entering the room, looking everywhere but at me. "Should you be up and walking around this soon?"
"I wear a vest under my jacket, it took most of the blow." He grunted, refusing to meet my gaze. "The knife didn't go in very deep, but I hit my head on the corner of the table as I went down. I was out of it for most of what happened."
I nodded, but didn't say anything. Let him sweat.
"And… I insisted on coming here. Because I owe you my apologies." He ground out, the admission clearly difficult for him. "We brought you here under suspicion, but when the push came to shove, you saved my life."
"You're welcome." I muttered after a long moment. "So, uh, what happened? Was Toga caught?"
"Unfortunately, no." Shinoda explained. "She managed to slip away under the guise of Detective Himura, concocting a story that you had attacked him. By the time we had found the real Himura and verified the truth, she was already gone."
"That's… just great." I said, massaging my temples. "And what about… Samada and Kaneko?"
"...They were pronounced dead on the scene." Shinoda shook his head. "Mr. Uehara was also found dead in his car three blocks from here by nearby patrol officers. I am sorry."
I looked down at my feet for a long while.
"So, what about the whole spy business? Am I free to go, or…?"
"We've come to the decision that-"
Shinoda began, but was interrupted by a commotion in the hallway outside, raised voices carrying through the thick door.
"Sir, you can't just barge in here-"
"Are you going to stop me, young man?"
"N-no, sir. I just-"
"Then I am going in."
The door creaked open as All-Might's near-skeletal figure entered, clad in a blue suit and a red tie. It was the first time I'd seen the man since Kamino, and if such a thing was possible he looked even worse. Deep lines of exhaustion and worry were carved across his face, dark bags under his eyes. But even so, there was a furious energy to his movements and fire in his gaze as he marched over to me, while Shinoda looked like a fish had jumped down his throat and Himura had gone pale as a bedsheet.
"Young Tatsuma!" All-Might said as he put a hand on my shoulder, looking me up and down. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I sighed. "I'm not hurt."
Even in his current state All-Might was one of the few people to stand taller than I did, and although his hunched posture cost him a good few inches I still had to crane my neck back a little to look him in the eyes.
Now I guess I know how everyone else feels around me.
"There is more to being alright than just being unhurt, Young Tatsuma."
"I'm fine." I replied, hoping my eyes communicated just how much I didn't want to unpack my feelings in front of the police. To my relief, All-Might nodded seriously, turning towards the two policemen.
"You." He growled, poking a bony finger at the larger man's chest. "Young Shinoda, what is the meaning of this?"
"All-Might, sir, we are dealing with a shapeshifting assassin. We had to keep her in custody until we could verify her story."
"No, that is not what I meant, though it is bad enough on its own. I am talking about why your detectives pulled one of my students, a fifteen-year old child, out of school to be interrogated like a criminal!" He thundered. "And you, Himura, I thought better of you."
"Our suspicions were reasonable." The Detective tried to defend himself. "She suddenly developed new abilities after coming into contact with a villain known for his ability to manipulate Quirks. A villain with a known propensity for using said ability to extract favours and create moles to work for him."
"It is not a new ability, merely regaining an old one. One that was discovered on I-Island, months before the Kamino Incident."
"And she did not reveal this to anyone until after Kamino? Why?" Himura countered. "You have to admit it all looked quite suspect."
"Did you not read my reports?" All-Might growled. "He was about to kill her."
"With all due respect sir, such things can be faked, framed to give her an alibi." The Detective continued to argue.
"Not this one. I was called in by Young Tatsuma's classmates, who stumbled on the hideout while searching for her. There was no chance All For One could have known I was coming, let alone at that specific moment in time." All-Might shook his head. "I know All For One, he would not have voluntarily left himself open to attack, even if it was to bait an opponent. His twisted pride would not allow himself to do so." He glanced back at me. "And I saw her. I saw her injuries, I saw the fear of death in her eyes. Nobody is that good of an actor. Nobody."
"All-Might, we-" Shinoda began, but All-Might forged on.
"And, if you thought I had been deceived, if you doubted my testimony and experience, you could have and should have brought me to be questioned and for the details to be checked over. Not a child who has already suffered far too much. But instead you latched on to your preconceived notions and discarded anything that didn't suit your narrative. This sort of shoddy policework is exactly the sort that erodes people's trust in the institutions meant to protect them. I expected better from the both of you, after the many years we've known each other."
"...What we were trying to say before you arrived, All-Might," Shinoda cleared his throat, "is that while we had our suspicions, we consider that our questions have been satisfactorily answered. In addition, a mole would have found it much easier to let Detective Himura perish, and so remove the one on her trail."
"Hmph. Rest assured this will not be the end of this. I will be speaking with the Commissioner-General regarding your conduct today." All-Might turned towards me, his expression softening. "Young Tatsuma, shall we go?"
I nodded wordlessly, not saying anything to either of the two policemen as I followed All-Might out of the room.
-----
"You never should have had to go through that. I am sorry." All-Might said as we walked out into the parking lot, pinching his nose. "I came as fast as I could once I received the word."
"It's fine." I said, shuffling my feet. "So, um, I'm… really sorry, but… do you remember what the first thing you ever said to me was?" I hesitated. "Or, uh, maybe-"
"Ah, I believe I admonished you for taking a defeatist mindset during the Heroes versus Villains scenario." To my surprise he rattled off the answer without hesitation. "To you specifically, that is. Addressing you as part of a group, that would have been when I apologized for surprising everyone by arriving through the window."
"You remember all that?"
"Well, you know how it is." He replied, seeming slightly embarrassed. "Teaching young heroes, seeing them grow and mature… there are few fonder memories that I have." He shook his head. "But why… ah. Ah."
"I know it's silly, after everything you said inside, but…" I trailed off, words choking my throat.
"No, no, it is alright. More than alright." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "The fear, the uncertainty… they are some of the longest-lasting effects a villain leaves behind. It is perfectly natural to feel that way."
I couldn't take it anymore, and wrapped All-Might into a crushing bear hug.
-----
It had begun to rain by the time we headed back to UA, droplets pitter-pattering against the roof of All-Might's car. I sat in the shotgun seat, knees pulled up into my chest, watching the streets pass by, lost in thought.
"All-Might?" I ventured after a long while.
"Yes, Young Tatsuma?"
"...Do you think I should have killed Toga?"
"Why do you ask that?" He asked, sounding concerned and alarmed.
"When she attacked… I had the opportunity to... I had a gun. I could've taken her down. Maybe. But… I was scared. Scared I'd hit Detective Himura. My hands were shaking. But a small part of me was… scared to kill someone. I've thought about it before, but I've never… I've never actually…" I trailed off.
All-Might was silent for a moment, before tugging on the steering wheel to pull to a stop on the side of the road and turning to face me.
"Young Tatsuma. You were not responsible for handling what transpired."
"I guess." I mumbled. "But I'd like to know anyway."
"No." All-Might replied with conviction. "It is never wrong for a hero not to take a life."
"What about All For One?" I asked quietly. "Did you try to kill him?"
"...Yes. I did." He admitted after a moment.
"Then why…?"
"It can be right to take a life. But it is never wrong not to." He explained soberly. "Many heroes and policemen would tell you otherwise, if you asked them. And I do not hold that against them. But taking a life is a monumental thing. Putting an end to a living, breathing, thinking, dreaming person's entire existence, forever. Being unable to bring yourself to do so… I refuse to believe that to be weakness."
"But… what if they go on to kill someone?"
"Then that is on their head!" All-Might thundered, before his voice lowered again as he looked at me. "You are not responsible for the actions of a villain. They chose to do what they did."
"Not all of them." I muttered. "What about the ones that are just… sick? Or who never got the chance to choose?"
"You are not responsible for their circumstances either." He spoke softly. "No one can hold up responsibility for an entire society on their shoulders."
He looked out the window, leaning against the steering wheel.
"...Even I could not."
We fell into a long silence, broken only by the sound of the rain outside and the cars passing by. Just when All-Might seemed like he was about to pull back into the traffic, I opened my mouth.
"You know…" I ventured. "When Himura asked why I'd never told anyone about my inability to transform being a mental block…"
"You don't have to say it." He said kindly. "You don't need to explain yourself."
"But I want to." I said, taking a deep breath. "It's because I was ashamed. I felt like… if it was a physical block, it would have been out of my control. I couldn't do anything about it. But when Dr. Shield explained it to me, I felt ashamed of myself. I felt ashamed that it was me who couldn't face the world like everyone else did, me who forced everyone to accommodate me."
"And… that was why you asked me about how I could, back at I-Island." He said, horrified realization dawning on his face. "I told you about how those who could face danger in spite of their powerlessness were the truly brave. I did not… intend for it to come across as disparaging."
"I admit, I didn't take it in the spirit that it was given. I felt… inadequate. But the more I thought about it… you know Superman, the old comic book hero?"
"Young Tatsuma, remember who you are talking to." He said with some amusement "I lived in America for over a decade."
"Right." My face flushed with embarrassment. "So… I was reading about him, and one of the things that came up was the idea of… 'A man who is invincible cannot truly be brave.' And I guess at the back of my head that's how I used to think about you. But knowing the truth, that wasn't the case at all. You could be the most powerful man on the planet, but only for a little while at a time, and every time you used that power, a little bit of it went away. But you didn't try to cling to it, you used it every chance you could to help those in need, even if it meant accelerating your own path to being reduced to a powerless cripple. And at Kamino, you faced All For One to protect me. Even though you were running out of power, even though you knew it could be the end of your Hero career. And I think I finally got that… it wasn't about me. Once I'd realized that, it didn't feel disparaging, or make me feel inadequate. It felt… inspiring. And when I was at my lowest, it helped push me forward and gave me courage to let go of my dragon form."
I was starting to get embarrassed by my own rambling, scratching the back of my head awkwardly, but All-Might was listening to my words with rapt attention.
"I know you… probably get this a lot, but I just wanted to say thank you. You helped me through the hardest moment of my life. Your example inspired me to be a Hero."
All-Might was silent for a long time, the quiet interrupted only by the sound of my own heartbeat.
"I have heard such words before, that is true." His voice had an odd quality to it, tinted with emotion. "But I don't believe… I don't believe I've ever heard it ever said of my true form. That I managed to inspire someone not with my power, but my lack of it. You are… very welcome, Young Tatsuma. And thank you."
The rest of the journey home passed by in far warmer spirits, and soon enough we pulled up on the UA gates.
"There is only so much I can do in the state that I am, but please, if you ever need my help, you have only to ask."
"There is one thing." I said after a moment of consideration. "When I was face to face with Toga, for all my strength, I still felt clumsy and helpless. I… need to learn how to fight as a human."
Last edited:
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
She does need to learn to fight as a human, yes. But she also has an option that would be the envy of many of here. She can learn to fight while switching to forms. Imagine running in to do a flying kick and slamming into the enemy as her dragon form. Being able to dodge by switching to human, slipping into a place her change could not reach. Diving out of a plane/helicopter, switch to dragon in time to do a low altitude flare, just touch a ledge of the building with her tail and switch to human form where her tail tip is.
- Location
- Elsewhere
F.I.N.E.
Freaked Out, insecure, neurotic, emotional.
Sounds fine to me!
"I should know. Being a Hero is all about snap judgements, preconceived notions and shoddy detective work!"
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Considering the bear hug probably made Yagi projectile vomit blood half a block, I think she's got half the training down.
- Location
- MALAYAN MOUNTAIN
Really enjoying Zaki's adventures. It's nice that it focuses on 1-B since most SI focus on 1-A and when you are reading the 50th fic with the same characters it gets dull.
I really really enjoyed Zaki's experience of first adapting to being a Dragon and then trying to adapt to being Human again. Brings a lot of interesting situations and opportunities for world-building. Now that Zaki can turn back to being a human really wonder where the story would go since she has already overcome (or more likely, cope with) the trauma that prevents her from turning back into a Human. Can never get around to imagining her scale in buildings though except for the Training Camp arc.
Looking forward to how you handle Toga and Zaki! (Also congrats on getting into Law School!)
I really really enjoyed Zaki's experience of first adapting to being a Dragon and then trying to adapt to being Human again. Brings a lot of interesting situations and opportunities for world-building. Now that Zaki can turn back to being a human really wonder where the story would go since she has already overcome (or more likely, cope with) the trauma that prevents her from turning back into a Human. Can never get around to imagining her scale in buildings though except for the Training Camp arc.
Looking forward to how you handle Toga and Zaki! (Also congrats on getting into Law School!)
Chapter 61
Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
The room I found myself in was one of UA's many training gyms, a thick padded mat covering the floor. Wall-mounted racks held a myriad of different equipment: punching bags, padded swords, staffs and other weapons, dummies, and more.
All-Might greeted me with a raised hand as I entered, dressed in a blue shirt and grey pants, only this time they were properly tailored to his reduced frame.
"Ah, good to see you again, Young Tatsuma. Are you ready for your first lesson?"
"Yeah." I said, rolling my shoulders. I had opted for the UA gym uniform despite the fact that this wasn't an official class activity, just because it was nice being able to wear it. "Where do we begin?"
"That's the spirit!" He flashed me his trademark thumbs-up, even if the effect was a little lessened by how skeletal his hand was. "Since you are already familiar with the more theoretical aspects of combat, I thought we could skip the basics and see where you are at. So to start us off, I want you to attack me."
"Uh, like right now?" I scratched the back of my head, eyeing the former Pro-Hero, who now looked more like a starvation victim. "Are you sure…?
"I assure you, I will be fine." All-Might waved off my concern. "I might not have my old strength, but my reflexes are as keen as ever!"
"Well, if you say so…" I paused for a moment, before cocking back a fist and throwing a punch at All-Might.
Despite his assurances his eyes widened in alarm as he saw my fist coming for him, but narrowly stepped aside, sending me stumbling past him. To my credit I didn't totally embarrass myself by falling over, but the tips of my ears burned as I recovered my footing and turned back towards All-Might.
"Ah…" He looked a little rattled, but quickly composed himself. "Thank you, I believe that is enough for me to work with. Can you tell what you did wrong there?"
"I overcommitted into the swing, and couldn't pull it back when you dodged."
"True, but the greater mistake was made in choosing your method of attack. Why a punch?"
"Well, uh…" I trailed off, taken back by the question. "Isn't that what you do?"
"You are certainly correct that most of my famous Smashes are based on boxing moves. However!" He said, raising a finger. "That is because I usually face multiple or especially dangerous enemies that must be neutralized as quickly as possible. But a true Hero must always know what he's doing if he's raising his fists for a fight, and it takes a lot of precision and skill to take someone down with a punch without hurting them. I have found that, when you have the advantage of strength, the safest and easiest way to restrain a singular opponent is this."
All-Might reached over to take my right arm, guiding it to grab him by the front of his shirt, and then the left to grab him by the wrist. "A faster and more skilled opponent can run rings around you in a fistfight, but raw strength counts for a lot more in a grapple. Now, try to restrain me as I attempt to break free."
He struggled to twist out of my grip, but it didn't take much effort to hold him in place. It vaguely felt like trying to restrain a little kid. Unsure what to do, I ended up just lifting All-Might bodily into the air, leaving him squirming in my grip.
"As you can see, for all my years of experience with hand to hand there's very little I can do from this position." He said a little sheepishly. He nodded down at me, and I put him down on the floor again. "That is not to say that such things are meaningless, but no amount of skill will let you outwrestle someone five or ten times stronger than you are. So it is in your interests to convert the fight into a grapple."
"Maximize my advantage and leverage it to win, huh?"
"Hm?"
"That's something Ryuko always used to tell me when we were training." I explained. "She told me that when you get into a fight, the best way to win is to figure out what you're better at than your opponent, and then how you use those advantages to win. For example my dragon form is heavier than hers, so to beat her I needed to bodycheck her and push her around."
"Ah! That is good advice!" He flashed me another thumbs-up. "Now, there are two parts to this training, how to grab someone, and what to do once you have. In the interests of safety, we will be starting with the second part."
All-Might walked over to the wall-mounted rack, grabbing a faceless training dummy similar to the ones we'd used for rescue training at USJ, dressed in a grey tunic. He nearly dropped it to the floor, grunting with the effort of trying to lift the dummy until I stepped up beside him and lifted it for him.
"Ah, thank you. Would you hold it up for me? Now let's see…" He fiddled with a panel at the dummy's back while I held it upright, until suddenly it went rigid, standing on its own two legs. "Right, that did it! This is one of UA's training dummy robots, designed and built by the Support Department. It won't fight back, but it's programmed to try to self-correct back to the neutral position, simulating the feeling of resistance trying to restrain a real person. It also has a network of sensors that will warn you if you are handling it too roughly, and would have caused an injury."
I stepped back leaving the dummy to stand by itself.
"Now, there's three main areas you have to pay attention to, in order of priority. The first are the head and the neck, the vulnerable zones. You have to be careful not to apply too much force or pressure here, or you risk hurting your target more than you need to." He said, running a hand along the dummy's shoulders. "The second are the legs and pelvis. Legs are a human's strongest limbs, and if you control them you control their movements. You want to restrain them to prevent them from escaping your hold."
"And to prevent them from kicking you, I assume."
"That, too, but legs are awkward to use as weapons. Speaking of which, third come the hands, which most opponents will use to try to hurt you, so you have to restrain them to protect yourself." He explained. "Jabbing fingers into eyes, pulling hair, blows to the head or groin and stomach area, those are the sorts of things desperate people resort to given the chance."
I winced. It's fine. Human means more vulnerable than dragon. I accept this.
"Now, that grip I showed you earlier is an ideal starting point. Your left hand restrains their right, as most people are right-handed and will default to using it to attack. Your right grabs the front of their shirt or shoulder, so you can control the movements of their upper torso."
I stepped up to the dummy, following his instructions.
"Put your right hand a little higher." He corrected my stance. "It will give you better leverage, rather than working against the center of their balance."
"Alright. So where to go from here?"
"With your strength, that lifting move you did there can be quite useful for rendering your opponent vulnerable. Their feet are off the ground so they're not going anywhere, they're disorientated, and it leaves them open to further moves. But it's not sustainable as a hold because it leaves your opponent free to attack you with their legs and free hand. Just because they can't escape doesn't mean they can't hurt you."
"So I need to get them on the ground." I mused.
"That's right. With your opponent's legs off the floor they can't really stop you from throwing them on the ground." He paused for a moment, before adding on. "By 'throw' I don't mean that literally, not unless you know what you're doing. You want to hold on to them, make sure not to crack their head against the floor, and so that you can pin them in place."
"So… like this?" Step in close, twist, lift, throw.
I slammed the dummy into the mat, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. A memory came unbidden to me, one that I'd long since forgotten. The feeling of the mat beneath my feet, the stance, the movements… had I practiced it in another life?
"Yes, that's it exactly!" All-Might smiled, oblivious to my shock. "Are you sure this is your first time doing this? That was textbook."
"I… probably saw someone use it before." I offered weakly. I must have practiced martial arts at least to some degree, before… before I'd died. And then I'd forgotten about it. "Maybe at the Sports Festival?"
"Quite possible! In any case, you'll want to flip your opponent on their stomach, holding their hands behind their back. Apply weight to their legs and pelvis, and there is very little they can do from there." He explained. "Now, let us reset and repeat."
From there on, we went through multiple repetitions, before moving into incremental variations of positions and approaches. What to do if your opponent does something different, or under certain circumstances. Then we moved on to the basics of defending myself, how to block incoming attacks.
After several hours, there was a hesitant but sharp knock on the gym door.
"Come in!" All-Might called out, clearly expecting the new arrival.
The door clicked open to admit Midoriya, clad in his own gym uniform like mine. He raised his hand in polite greeting as he approached.
"Hello, All-Might, Tatsuma."
"Ah, good, you are here." All-Might nodded. "Young Tatsuma and I were going through proper grappling forms, but any proper training must involve putting the theory to practice. This will be an opportunity for you as well, Young Midoriya, to hone your hand to hand skills."
Midoriya nodded immediately, but I had my doubts.
"Wouldn't… it be better to spar against someone my own size? More fair?"
"Young Tatsuma, how tall are you?" All-Might asked.
"Uh… just shy of two meters."
"And what is the average height in Japan?"
"...I don't know?"
"It is one hundred and sixty-five centimeters. So you have about thirty-five centimeters of height on the average opponent you'll have to fight, and probably double the weight. You train for the situation you expect to face, and that means fighting people smaller than you are."
"But there still are people my size. My dad, you, Vlad King, Bondo, Shoji from 1-A, Endeavour, Gang Orca… what am I supposed to do if I end up fighting someone like that?"
"Then you should seek to retreat and avoid confrontation until you can use your Quirk and transform." All-Might said bluntly. "The fact of the matter is, the main focus of your training will still have to be your dragon form, and combined with three years of disuse, you will always be at a disadvantage fighting in your human form."
"It's about prioritization, right?" Midoriya piped up, only to shirk back as the both of us turned toward him. "Uhm- If you fight one out of a hundred battles in your human form, and one out of a hundred of those against someone of equal size… you can't center your training around the outliers.
"I guess that makes sense." I mumbled. "Alright then, how do we do this?"
"Like I said, there are two parts to this. Now you know what to do when you get your hands on your opponent, so we must move on to how to get your hands on them." All-Might said. "The terms are simple. Young Tatsuma, you win by restraining Young Midoriya, while he wins if you fall to the mat."
That seemed… substantially easier for him. But then again I guess I did just point out myself the inherent unfairness of fighting someone twice your size.
"Any other rules?" I asked, scratching the back of my head nervously.
"No Quirks, no blows to the head or below the belt, and no leaving the mat. Other than that…" All-Might said as he stepped back and off the mat. "Well, exercise common sense."
"Right, so…" Midoriya turned towards me, dropping to a low combat stance and bringing up his hands. "Good luck!"
"Uh, same to you." I fumbled, my thoughts racing. Midoriya had significantly more hand to hand combat experience than I did, so I needed to be careful. But I couldn't just play passive either.
I lunged forward, trying to grab a hold of him, but Midoriya ducked below my hand and barreled into my legs. My balance, already off-center due to the forward movement, teetered past the point of no return, and with a mighty thump I hit the mat, Midoriya deftly rolling out from beneath me.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I pulled back up on my feet, dusting myself off. "Alright, that was a wash. Let's go again."
Right. Bend your knees and widen your stance. That's what Hound Dog had taught me. I should use my superior reach and-
I had to hastily ward off a punch from Midoriya, who'd taken the opportunity to attack while I was busy thinking. It didn't actually hurt as I blocked the blow with my forearm, but it certainly shook me.
I tried to retaliate with an attempt to grab him, but Midoriya was out of my reach again by the time I had gathered my wits. He grabbed my arm before I could snatch it away and pulled on it, causing me to overbalance and plant my face on the mat.
"I think… you're thinking too much." Midoriya mused. "When you're fighting as a dragon, you have to plan three steps ahead because you can't react quickly, right? But fighting as a human is more dynamic, more reactive. You don't have the same inertia behind you, and have to make split-second decisions to change tracks depending on the situation."
"Yeah well." I grunted as I pulled myself back up. "Easier said than done."
"It will come with time." All-Might said. "Time and repetition."
This time I waited to let Midoriya make the first move, ready to catch him as he came at me. I managed to get my hands on him, but before I could lift him into the air he lashed out with his foot, catching mine just as I was stepping on it, sweeping it from underneath me and causing us both to go down in a heap.
I sighed. This was going to be a long day.
-----
"This… is not going to work."
I suppressed a sigh as Midnight laid the folder titled 'Support Department Request Form' back on the table. I was sitting on the floor of the meeting room, my tail curled around my feet.
"Why not? What's wrong with it?"
In response, she tilted the folder back towards me, pulling out the reference images and descriptions I'd put in.
"Bulletproof vest. Armoured jacket and pants. Fully enclosed ballistic helmet. Combat boots. The problem is that hero costumes are supposed to have flair to them, and tell the world of your unique identity as a Hero." The older woman explained as she tapped the forms in turn. "This? This looks like something out of the covert art of an American first-person shooter."
"So? It's practical." I defended my creation. "My dragon form has plenty of flair and identity to it, I don't need any of it from my human form costume."
"On the contrary, that's exactly why you need it." She glanced up at me. "To counteract the fact that your dragon form is terrifying."
I blinked, taken aback.
"Look, I don't want to be a jerk about this, I know you're a sweet kid, but we have to talk about your image to the public. And let's just say it has some issues. I'm sure I don't need to show you any of the images circulating the internet, but they're some pretty brutal stuff. You nearly beat down that Shinso kid from Gen Ed, you gave Shishida a trashing, nearly barbecued Tokoyami, you tore apart a Nomu on primetime television and you ate Stain's arm." She counted off each incident with a finger, before raising her hand to forestall my arguments. "Now I know that last one was an accident and there were extenuating circumstances to the other ones too, I'm not here to insinuate anything. But I'm here to talk honestly and realistically about what the public sees in you. And a lot of them have trouble remembering there's a fifteen year old girl beneath the gigantic fire-breathing doom reptile."
"So you want to show her to them." I grunted unhappily.
"Your human form is pretty intimidating already except for the baby face, between all the muscle and height. Slap an enclosed helmet and full-coverage body armour on top of that and it's going to be a PR nightmare."
"Iida wears full on plate armour, helmet and all, and he doesn't seem to have any issues." I pointed out a little petulantly.
"And he doesn't have anything he needs to counteract." Midnight retorted. "Plus he's fully committed to the knight in shining armour theme, manners and all."
"So what exactly do you suggest? I am not wearing spandex." I snorted.
"First of all, it's not spandex, it's nanofiber. We don't send people out there without any protection. Second, I've had this exact conversation several times already this year, just like I do every year." She sighed, taking off her glasses and massaging the bridge of her nose. "Yes, we get it, the costumes look a little goofy at times. But that's part of the point, to put people at ease. I'm sure you remember from history classes what it was like when Pro-Heroes first emerged."
I grunted in the affirmative.
"Society was dominated by Warlords who used their Quirks to oppress the population." She carried on. "The flashy costumes were a deliberate choice to reassure people that they weren't just trading one flavour of thug for another, and the same rationale applies today. We are not soldiers, we aren't even police, we're Pro-Heroes. If you're worried about protection we can get you an open face helmet with a visor, but you can't look like a special forces operative."
"...Fine, the helmet can go. It'd probably get stuffy anyway. But the vest is non-negotiable. I am not getting shot again."
Midnight winced. "That's a fair compromise. If you take away the helmet and some of the padding, make the jacket into a short-sleeved one, that could work. It would go a long way towards making you seem more casual and approachable."
"Alright, but I'm keeping the fingerless gloves."
"Any particular reason?" She raised an eyebrow.
I averted my eyes, my ears twitching. "...They look really, really cool."
-----
"All-Might's been giving you private lessons? Man, that's so unfair." Kuroiro griped over the dinner table. "How'd you manage that?"
I was curled on the floor of the main room of the 1-B dormitory while the others ate, using my tail as a pillow to rest my head.
"I asked." I replied bluntly. "Did you?"
"Well no, I mean come on, it's All-Might." He said, twirling his fork in his fingers. "He's got to be super busy… oh."
"Oh indeed." Itsuka said, placing her own tray on the table with a pointedly heavy sound. "You know, he's probably pretty happy to just have things to do. It can't be easy adjusting to retirement like that."
"If you want to ask him for lessons, just do it." Monoma added in. "You've all seen him in Heroics lessons, he's not intimidating at all to talk to."
"So, uh, Ryuuzaki, have you heard from the police since… the attack?" Pony asked quietly.
"No." I shook my head. "They said the issue was dropped, and it seems to have stayed that way."
"Man, what was up with that in the first place?" Yoarashi mused. "Thinking you of all people were a spy?"
I sighed. "I guess I can understand… sort of, where they came from. I didn't tell anyone about the reason I couldn't turn back. I just wish that they hadn't been such assholes about it, springing it on me like that."
"You didn't tell us either." Yui pointed out. "There was over a month between I-Island and… well. You know."
"Yeah…" I mumbled. "I just felt… ashamed about it. I'm over it now, it's just…"
"Is that why you were so tired when we went shopping for the training camp gear?" Pony asked with concern. "Because you were losing sleep over it?"
"...Yeah."
"Ryuuzaki… we don't want to pressure you into anything, but in the future, if there's something bothering you like that, we're here for you." Itsuka said. "You can talk to us."
"I guess…" I trailed off, before shaking my head. No, they deserved a better answer than that. "I'll… I'll try being more open about things."
"So anyway, how'd you know how to use an assault rifle?" Setsuna asked. "That's not the sort of thing you'd usually pick up."
"Eh, uh, you know, video games." I mumbled, turning my head away.
She looked like she was about to follow up on the question, but I was saved by the doorbell. A moment later one of UA's delivery drones rolled in, carrying a package in its tray-arm.
"Good evening, meatbags!" It announced cheerfully as it stopped in front of me. "I have a delivery from the Support Department to Ryuuzaki Tatsuma!"
"That was quick." I noted as I rose to my feet, carefully using my claws to lift the package.
"Yeah, well, apparently it wasn't a very complicated order. Not that I care!" The bot announced cheerfully, before reversing gears and whirring away back towards the door. "And with that, my job here is done!"
"Is that-"
"Yep!" I answered Pony with enthusiasm, turning to head towards my room. "Wait a minute, I am going to go change."
A moment later I returned to the common room, after a quick transformation and change of clothing.
"It looks so good!" Itsuka gushed excitedly, while everyone crowded around me. "You came up with it all by yourself?"
"Yeah."
I'd always had my vest for my dragon form, but it had always been something borne out of a necessity, just an adaptation of my school uniform. This, this was designed by me, for me. It felt mine. Short-sleeved blue jacket, gray cargo pants, white combat boots, bulletproof vest, and of course, a pair of black fingerless gloves.
"Wait a minute…" Yui mused, inspecting the small white dragon symbol on my vest. "I've seen that icon before, on your miniatures." She squinted up at me. "Did you ask the Support Department to copy it onto your costume?"
"...Maybe." I said, but I couldn't suppress the smile. "It's not like the company that invented it is around to claim copyright."
"You big nerd." Yui said, but there was no heat in it.
Setsuna reached up to playfully swat at my stomach, before shaking her stinging fist. "Oof. What's the vest filled with, your own scales?"
"Yep, several folded layers. According to ballistic testing it's practically impenetrable to handheld weapons, to the point that energy transfer is a much bigger threat than being pierced."
Not just that, I'd asked the Support Department to make it properly heavy and form-fitting, giving a feeling of weight and solidity to it, pressing down on me.
It almost felt like scales.
All-Might greeted me with a raised hand as I entered, dressed in a blue shirt and grey pants, only this time they were properly tailored to his reduced frame.
"Ah, good to see you again, Young Tatsuma. Are you ready for your first lesson?"
"Yeah." I said, rolling my shoulders. I had opted for the UA gym uniform despite the fact that this wasn't an official class activity, just because it was nice being able to wear it. "Where do we begin?"
"That's the spirit!" He flashed me his trademark thumbs-up, even if the effect was a little lessened by how skeletal his hand was. "Since you are already familiar with the more theoretical aspects of combat, I thought we could skip the basics and see where you are at. So to start us off, I want you to attack me."
"Uh, like right now?" I scratched the back of my head, eyeing the former Pro-Hero, who now looked more like a starvation victim. "Are you sure…?
"I assure you, I will be fine." All-Might waved off my concern. "I might not have my old strength, but my reflexes are as keen as ever!"
"Well, if you say so…" I paused for a moment, before cocking back a fist and throwing a punch at All-Might.
Despite his assurances his eyes widened in alarm as he saw my fist coming for him, but narrowly stepped aside, sending me stumbling past him. To my credit I didn't totally embarrass myself by falling over, but the tips of my ears burned as I recovered my footing and turned back towards All-Might.
"Ah…" He looked a little rattled, but quickly composed himself. "Thank you, I believe that is enough for me to work with. Can you tell what you did wrong there?"
"I overcommitted into the swing, and couldn't pull it back when you dodged."
"True, but the greater mistake was made in choosing your method of attack. Why a punch?"
"Well, uh…" I trailed off, taken back by the question. "Isn't that what you do?"
"You are certainly correct that most of my famous Smashes are based on boxing moves. However!" He said, raising a finger. "That is because I usually face multiple or especially dangerous enemies that must be neutralized as quickly as possible. But a true Hero must always know what he's doing if he's raising his fists for a fight, and it takes a lot of precision and skill to take someone down with a punch without hurting them. I have found that, when you have the advantage of strength, the safest and easiest way to restrain a singular opponent is this."
All-Might reached over to take my right arm, guiding it to grab him by the front of his shirt, and then the left to grab him by the wrist. "A faster and more skilled opponent can run rings around you in a fistfight, but raw strength counts for a lot more in a grapple. Now, try to restrain me as I attempt to break free."
He struggled to twist out of my grip, but it didn't take much effort to hold him in place. It vaguely felt like trying to restrain a little kid. Unsure what to do, I ended up just lifting All-Might bodily into the air, leaving him squirming in my grip.
"As you can see, for all my years of experience with hand to hand there's very little I can do from this position." He said a little sheepishly. He nodded down at me, and I put him down on the floor again. "That is not to say that such things are meaningless, but no amount of skill will let you outwrestle someone five or ten times stronger than you are. So it is in your interests to convert the fight into a grapple."
"Maximize my advantage and leverage it to win, huh?"
"Hm?"
"That's something Ryuko always used to tell me when we were training." I explained. "She told me that when you get into a fight, the best way to win is to figure out what you're better at than your opponent, and then how you use those advantages to win. For example my dragon form is heavier than hers, so to beat her I needed to bodycheck her and push her around."
"Ah! That is good advice!" He flashed me another thumbs-up. "Now, there are two parts to this training, how to grab someone, and what to do once you have. In the interests of safety, we will be starting with the second part."
All-Might walked over to the wall-mounted rack, grabbing a faceless training dummy similar to the ones we'd used for rescue training at USJ, dressed in a grey tunic. He nearly dropped it to the floor, grunting with the effort of trying to lift the dummy until I stepped up beside him and lifted it for him.
"Ah, thank you. Would you hold it up for me? Now let's see…" He fiddled with a panel at the dummy's back while I held it upright, until suddenly it went rigid, standing on its own two legs. "Right, that did it! This is one of UA's training dummy robots, designed and built by the Support Department. It won't fight back, but it's programmed to try to self-correct back to the neutral position, simulating the feeling of resistance trying to restrain a real person. It also has a network of sensors that will warn you if you are handling it too roughly, and would have caused an injury."
I stepped back leaving the dummy to stand by itself.
"Now, there's three main areas you have to pay attention to, in order of priority. The first are the head and the neck, the vulnerable zones. You have to be careful not to apply too much force or pressure here, or you risk hurting your target more than you need to." He said, running a hand along the dummy's shoulders. "The second are the legs and pelvis. Legs are a human's strongest limbs, and if you control them you control their movements. You want to restrain them to prevent them from escaping your hold."
"And to prevent them from kicking you, I assume."
"That, too, but legs are awkward to use as weapons. Speaking of which, third come the hands, which most opponents will use to try to hurt you, so you have to restrain them to protect yourself." He explained. "Jabbing fingers into eyes, pulling hair, blows to the head or groin and stomach area, those are the sorts of things desperate people resort to given the chance."
I winced. It's fine. Human means more vulnerable than dragon. I accept this.
"Now, that grip I showed you earlier is an ideal starting point. Your left hand restrains their right, as most people are right-handed and will default to using it to attack. Your right grabs the front of their shirt or shoulder, so you can control the movements of their upper torso."
I stepped up to the dummy, following his instructions.
"Put your right hand a little higher." He corrected my stance. "It will give you better leverage, rather than working against the center of their balance."
"Alright. So where to go from here?"
"With your strength, that lifting move you did there can be quite useful for rendering your opponent vulnerable. Their feet are off the ground so they're not going anywhere, they're disorientated, and it leaves them open to further moves. But it's not sustainable as a hold because it leaves your opponent free to attack you with their legs and free hand. Just because they can't escape doesn't mean they can't hurt you."
"So I need to get them on the ground." I mused.
"That's right. With your opponent's legs off the floor they can't really stop you from throwing them on the ground." He paused for a moment, before adding on. "By 'throw' I don't mean that literally, not unless you know what you're doing. You want to hold on to them, make sure not to crack their head against the floor, and so that you can pin them in place."
"So… like this?" Step in close, twist, lift, throw.
I slammed the dummy into the mat, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. A memory came unbidden to me, one that I'd long since forgotten. The feeling of the mat beneath my feet, the stance, the movements… had I practiced it in another life?
"Yes, that's it exactly!" All-Might smiled, oblivious to my shock. "Are you sure this is your first time doing this? That was textbook."
"I… probably saw someone use it before." I offered weakly. I must have practiced martial arts at least to some degree, before… before I'd died. And then I'd forgotten about it. "Maybe at the Sports Festival?"
"Quite possible! In any case, you'll want to flip your opponent on their stomach, holding their hands behind their back. Apply weight to their legs and pelvis, and there is very little they can do from there." He explained. "Now, let us reset and repeat."
From there on, we went through multiple repetitions, before moving into incremental variations of positions and approaches. What to do if your opponent does something different, or under certain circumstances. Then we moved on to the basics of defending myself, how to block incoming attacks.
After several hours, there was a hesitant but sharp knock on the gym door.
"Come in!" All-Might called out, clearly expecting the new arrival.
The door clicked open to admit Midoriya, clad in his own gym uniform like mine. He raised his hand in polite greeting as he approached.
"Hello, All-Might, Tatsuma."
"Ah, good, you are here." All-Might nodded. "Young Tatsuma and I were going through proper grappling forms, but any proper training must involve putting the theory to practice. This will be an opportunity for you as well, Young Midoriya, to hone your hand to hand skills."
Midoriya nodded immediately, but I had my doubts.
"Wouldn't… it be better to spar against someone my own size? More fair?"
"Young Tatsuma, how tall are you?" All-Might asked.
"Uh… just shy of two meters."
"And what is the average height in Japan?"
"...I don't know?"
"It is one hundred and sixty-five centimeters. So you have about thirty-five centimeters of height on the average opponent you'll have to fight, and probably double the weight. You train for the situation you expect to face, and that means fighting people smaller than you are."
"But there still are people my size. My dad, you, Vlad King, Bondo, Shoji from 1-A, Endeavour, Gang Orca… what am I supposed to do if I end up fighting someone like that?"
"Then you should seek to retreat and avoid confrontation until you can use your Quirk and transform." All-Might said bluntly. "The fact of the matter is, the main focus of your training will still have to be your dragon form, and combined with three years of disuse, you will always be at a disadvantage fighting in your human form."
"It's about prioritization, right?" Midoriya piped up, only to shirk back as the both of us turned toward him. "Uhm- If you fight one out of a hundred battles in your human form, and one out of a hundred of those against someone of equal size… you can't center your training around the outliers.
"I guess that makes sense." I mumbled. "Alright then, how do we do this?"
"Like I said, there are two parts to this. Now you know what to do when you get your hands on your opponent, so we must move on to how to get your hands on them." All-Might said. "The terms are simple. Young Tatsuma, you win by restraining Young Midoriya, while he wins if you fall to the mat."
That seemed… substantially easier for him. But then again I guess I did just point out myself the inherent unfairness of fighting someone twice your size.
"Any other rules?" I asked, scratching the back of my head nervously.
"No Quirks, no blows to the head or below the belt, and no leaving the mat. Other than that…" All-Might said as he stepped back and off the mat. "Well, exercise common sense."
"Right, so…" Midoriya turned towards me, dropping to a low combat stance and bringing up his hands. "Good luck!"
"Uh, same to you." I fumbled, my thoughts racing. Midoriya had significantly more hand to hand combat experience than I did, so I needed to be careful. But I couldn't just play passive either.
I lunged forward, trying to grab a hold of him, but Midoriya ducked below my hand and barreled into my legs. My balance, already off-center due to the forward movement, teetered past the point of no return, and with a mighty thump I hit the mat, Midoriya deftly rolling out from beneath me.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I pulled back up on my feet, dusting myself off. "Alright, that was a wash. Let's go again."
Right. Bend your knees and widen your stance. That's what Hound Dog had taught me. I should use my superior reach and-
I had to hastily ward off a punch from Midoriya, who'd taken the opportunity to attack while I was busy thinking. It didn't actually hurt as I blocked the blow with my forearm, but it certainly shook me.
I tried to retaliate with an attempt to grab him, but Midoriya was out of my reach again by the time I had gathered my wits. He grabbed my arm before I could snatch it away and pulled on it, causing me to overbalance and plant my face on the mat.
"I think… you're thinking too much." Midoriya mused. "When you're fighting as a dragon, you have to plan three steps ahead because you can't react quickly, right? But fighting as a human is more dynamic, more reactive. You don't have the same inertia behind you, and have to make split-second decisions to change tracks depending on the situation."
"Yeah well." I grunted as I pulled myself back up. "Easier said than done."
"It will come with time." All-Might said. "Time and repetition."
This time I waited to let Midoriya make the first move, ready to catch him as he came at me. I managed to get my hands on him, but before I could lift him into the air he lashed out with his foot, catching mine just as I was stepping on it, sweeping it from underneath me and causing us both to go down in a heap.
I sighed. This was going to be a long day.
-----
"This… is not going to work."
I suppressed a sigh as Midnight laid the folder titled 'Support Department Request Form' back on the table. I was sitting on the floor of the meeting room, my tail curled around my feet.
"Why not? What's wrong with it?"
In response, she tilted the folder back towards me, pulling out the reference images and descriptions I'd put in.
"Bulletproof vest. Armoured jacket and pants. Fully enclosed ballistic helmet. Combat boots. The problem is that hero costumes are supposed to have flair to them, and tell the world of your unique identity as a Hero." The older woman explained as she tapped the forms in turn. "This? This looks like something out of the covert art of an American first-person shooter."
"So? It's practical." I defended my creation. "My dragon form has plenty of flair and identity to it, I don't need any of it from my human form costume."
"On the contrary, that's exactly why you need it." She glanced up at me. "To counteract the fact that your dragon form is terrifying."
I blinked, taken aback.
"Look, I don't want to be a jerk about this, I know you're a sweet kid, but we have to talk about your image to the public. And let's just say it has some issues. I'm sure I don't need to show you any of the images circulating the internet, but they're some pretty brutal stuff. You nearly beat down that Shinso kid from Gen Ed, you gave Shishida a trashing, nearly barbecued Tokoyami, you tore apart a Nomu on primetime television and you ate Stain's arm." She counted off each incident with a finger, before raising her hand to forestall my arguments. "Now I know that last one was an accident and there were extenuating circumstances to the other ones too, I'm not here to insinuate anything. But I'm here to talk honestly and realistically about what the public sees in you. And a lot of them have trouble remembering there's a fifteen year old girl beneath the gigantic fire-breathing doom reptile."
"So you want to show her to them." I grunted unhappily.
"Your human form is pretty intimidating already except for the baby face, between all the muscle and height. Slap an enclosed helmet and full-coverage body armour on top of that and it's going to be a PR nightmare."
"Iida wears full on plate armour, helmet and all, and he doesn't seem to have any issues." I pointed out a little petulantly.
"And he doesn't have anything he needs to counteract." Midnight retorted. "Plus he's fully committed to the knight in shining armour theme, manners and all."
"So what exactly do you suggest? I am not wearing spandex." I snorted.
"First of all, it's not spandex, it's nanofiber. We don't send people out there without any protection. Second, I've had this exact conversation several times already this year, just like I do every year." She sighed, taking off her glasses and massaging the bridge of her nose. "Yes, we get it, the costumes look a little goofy at times. But that's part of the point, to put people at ease. I'm sure you remember from history classes what it was like when Pro-Heroes first emerged."
I grunted in the affirmative.
"Society was dominated by Warlords who used their Quirks to oppress the population." She carried on. "The flashy costumes were a deliberate choice to reassure people that they weren't just trading one flavour of thug for another, and the same rationale applies today. We are not soldiers, we aren't even police, we're Pro-Heroes. If you're worried about protection we can get you an open face helmet with a visor, but you can't look like a special forces operative."
"...Fine, the helmet can go. It'd probably get stuffy anyway. But the vest is non-negotiable. I am not getting shot again."
Midnight winced. "That's a fair compromise. If you take away the helmet and some of the padding, make the jacket into a short-sleeved one, that could work. It would go a long way towards making you seem more casual and approachable."
"Alright, but I'm keeping the fingerless gloves."
"Any particular reason?" She raised an eyebrow.
I averted my eyes, my ears twitching. "...They look really, really cool."
-----
"All-Might's been giving you private lessons? Man, that's so unfair." Kuroiro griped over the dinner table. "How'd you manage that?"
I was curled on the floor of the main room of the 1-B dormitory while the others ate, using my tail as a pillow to rest my head.
"I asked." I replied bluntly. "Did you?"
"Well no, I mean come on, it's All-Might." He said, twirling his fork in his fingers. "He's got to be super busy… oh."
"Oh indeed." Itsuka said, placing her own tray on the table with a pointedly heavy sound. "You know, he's probably pretty happy to just have things to do. It can't be easy adjusting to retirement like that."
"If you want to ask him for lessons, just do it." Monoma added in. "You've all seen him in Heroics lessons, he's not intimidating at all to talk to."
"So, uh, Ryuuzaki, have you heard from the police since… the attack?" Pony asked quietly.
"No." I shook my head. "They said the issue was dropped, and it seems to have stayed that way."
"Man, what was up with that in the first place?" Yoarashi mused. "Thinking you of all people were a spy?"
I sighed. "I guess I can understand… sort of, where they came from. I didn't tell anyone about the reason I couldn't turn back. I just wish that they hadn't been such assholes about it, springing it on me like that."
"You didn't tell us either." Yui pointed out. "There was over a month between I-Island and… well. You know."
"Yeah…" I mumbled. "I just felt… ashamed about it. I'm over it now, it's just…"
"Is that why you were so tired when we went shopping for the training camp gear?" Pony asked with concern. "Because you were losing sleep over it?"
"...Yeah."
"Ryuuzaki… we don't want to pressure you into anything, but in the future, if there's something bothering you like that, we're here for you." Itsuka said. "You can talk to us."
"I guess…" I trailed off, before shaking my head. No, they deserved a better answer than that. "I'll… I'll try being more open about things."
"So anyway, how'd you know how to use an assault rifle?" Setsuna asked. "That's not the sort of thing you'd usually pick up."
"Eh, uh, you know, video games." I mumbled, turning my head away.
She looked like she was about to follow up on the question, but I was saved by the doorbell. A moment later one of UA's delivery drones rolled in, carrying a package in its tray-arm.
"Good evening, meatbags!" It announced cheerfully as it stopped in front of me. "I have a delivery from the Support Department to Ryuuzaki Tatsuma!"
"That was quick." I noted as I rose to my feet, carefully using my claws to lift the package.
"Yeah, well, apparently it wasn't a very complicated order. Not that I care!" The bot announced cheerfully, before reversing gears and whirring away back towards the door. "And with that, my job here is done!"
"Is that-"
"Yep!" I answered Pony with enthusiasm, turning to head towards my room. "Wait a minute, I am going to go change."
A moment later I returned to the common room, after a quick transformation and change of clothing.
"It looks so good!" Itsuka gushed excitedly, while everyone crowded around me. "You came up with it all by yourself?"
"Yeah."
I'd always had my vest for my dragon form, but it had always been something borne out of a necessity, just an adaptation of my school uniform. This, this was designed by me, for me. It felt mine. Short-sleeved blue jacket, gray cargo pants, white combat boots, bulletproof vest, and of course, a pair of black fingerless gloves.
"Wait a minute…" Yui mused, inspecting the small white dragon symbol on my vest. "I've seen that icon before, on your miniatures." She squinted up at me. "Did you ask the Support Department to copy it onto your costume?"
"...Maybe." I said, but I couldn't suppress the smile. "It's not like the company that invented it is around to claim copyright."
"You big nerd." Yui said, but there was no heat in it.
Setsuna reached up to playfully swat at my stomach, before shaking her stinging fist. "Oof. What's the vest filled with, your own scales?"
"Yep, several folded layers. According to ballistic testing it's practically impenetrable to handheld weapons, to the point that energy transfer is a much bigger threat than being pierced."
Not just that, I'd asked the Support Department to make it properly heavy and form-fitting, giving a feeling of weight and solidity to it, pressing down on me.
It almost felt like scales.
Classes are going to start in a few weeks and I have a move ahead of me so my update rate might not be the greatest for the coming months, plus I've got a couple of other writing projects going on, but I'll see what I can do.
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Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
- Location
- Australia
I love this bit of characterisation. She might be okay being in her human form now but she still has some of those comforts and anxieties.
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Black Dragons, Woo! Eat it Games Workshop!
Good chapter, much like.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
She is In-Vested in the look.
Fighting in human form with no quirks is like tying one hand behind her back and wearing blinders. If she wants to grapple, switch to Dragon and bring both wings around in a 'hug' that puts the villain nose to nose with here prompting the quote "IT'S VERY DARK IN HERE, ISN'T IT?"
(okay, maybe not exact, but the line DEATH in Discworld uses when the Mage tries to hide in the next town, in a locked room, inside a chest)
Fighting in human form with no quirks is like tying one hand behind her back and wearing blinders. If she wants to grapple, switch to Dragon and bring both wings around in a 'hug' that puts the villain nose to nose with here prompting the quote "IT'S VERY DARK IN HERE, ISN'T IT?"
(okay, maybe not exact, but the line DEATH in Discworld uses when the Mage tries to hide in the next town, in a locked room, inside a chest)
Blackout
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- Who knows?
True, but as showcased in Chapters 5 and 59, she can't transform if she can't concentrate or doesn't have room to materialize her dragon form.