The "anyways" here was opposed to "having passed the test to get into UA"? Like, instead of getting one of the regular spots, he gets a personal-apprentice spot? Like chibi-usa got from Recovery Girl. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
But as we see in the sidestory, those circumstances are different. Recovery Girl kept an eye on Bunny Girl-Sensei for a while before UA, and decided getting herself a successor like All Might before she retired was a good idea.
[X] Work (Work at the café for the week. Gives +1 funds and a random encounter. Currently: 1 funds)
[X] Dragon's party: Shirohime wants to celebrate your future as heroes. She is paying, surprisingly. Eijiro and her new friend Mina will be there too.
[X] Manly spirit in a manly body: Eijiro has a special training for you. A training devised to get your body at the same level of your spirit. Cramming a month of training in a week always works in shonen, right?
[X] The mountain den: The twins invited you to their home. The legendary Shadow Step Dojo. The last true shinobi dojo in Japan.
"You are the slowest person I've known." She says, walking backward in front of you. Something that would be impossible for you and your lack of coordination.
"I'm not THAT slow" You reply slightly annoyed. You are still tired from work, today there were more clients than usual.
"I'm serious. Remember that kid we met at school? The slug one? Slower than that." Shirohime kept talking with a smile on her face, clearly just messing with you. She kept walking backward to see your reaction to her teasing. She only received flat looks from you.
"I know you are excited but not all of us have the same stamina you do. Some of us mortals sometimes get tired… Instead of messing with me pay attention to where you are going." You say slowly, deliberately, waiting for the perfect timing to say the last part.
"I pay att- AH!" She yelped when her back collided with a lampost that was a bit weirdly positioned. You could have told her, but she was being a brat. You smile and keep walking past her as she rubs the back of her head in pain.
"Come on, if you stop we will miss the train." You don't even turn around to see her face. You can FEEL the glare. It instantly makes your tiredness disappear and puts you in a better mood.
⁂
The train ride to the city center was slow and really mundane. Shirohime told you about how her aunt gave her money to celebrate with her friends. She, of course, invited you, Mina and Eijiro. You found nothing weird with that until you started thinking more about it.
Why only us? Why Mina and Eijiro? She only met them last week. What about her other friends? YOUR friends, the ones you two had in school? The ones you lost…
The realization hit you like a ton of bricks. This last year you spent at home, she did her best to make you get out of your shell. She spent day after day with you trying everything… But never once talked about your other friends. You knew they weren't as important for her as you, but… Did she also leave them behind like you did? Maybe this wasn't just the start of your new life with new friends… But also hers.
You felt something on your shoulder. Shirohime had her eyes closed with her head leaning into you. Your powers told you how tired she felt. You couldn't grasp the details but you knew her well enough. She probably spent most of her free time studying or training… She looked so… peaceful. She wasn't sleeping, just resting her head against you, her spaded tail swinging from side to side like a dog's. Her usual bright smile was gone, now a neutral expression on her place. That was good, you would be worried if your friend only smiled all the time. When she was like this, the strong girl that always dragged you along seemed almost vulnerable.
Then she hugged your arm against her body, pressing her head more and making her horn poke your cheek, turning a cute thing into something annoying.
"Let me go…" You said with a sigh.
"No, wake me up when we arrive." She replied like the brat she was. Her smile returned to her face, but it was a natural one, a beautiful one.
You moved your head to rest your cheek against her head, between her horns. A more comfortable position… You would spoil her for once and let her hug your arm until you arrive.
⁂
"So… Is he your boyfriend?" The energetic girl asked, her hands behind her back in an innocent way.
"Of course not, he is the future centerpiece of my dragon's hoard. It's not the same." Your childhood friend replied without missing a beat. She wasn't even reacting to the boyfriend part! You were the one blushing at that comment and it shouldn't be like that!
"Do I have a say on this?" You asked knowing the answer already.
"No, no you don't." Shirohime replied calmly. You feel like this little exchange happens surprisingly often.
You met with Shirohime's friend near one of the city's malls. One of the bigger ones that had a restaurant your friend REALLY wanted to visit. Mina was a weird girl, but the good kind of weird. She started to act like an old friend as soon as you met her, not worrying about the usual politeness expected when meeting new people. You now understand why they got along so well… They are pretty similar, maybe too much. You tremble thinking about what could happen with TWO Shirohimes.
The thought of both of them with their head laying on your shoulders and hugging your arms sneaks up on you for a second but you quickly dismiss it returning to the real world.
The girl in front of you talking to Shirohime was… Pink. Really, really pink. It's common to see all kinds of mutations but straight-up color change without something else major wasn't the usual. She had horns like your friend. Smaller and more twisted. You wanted to only take a glance at her appearance but her eyes… Something about those eyes made you stare more than you should. You really liked them…
You quickly looked away once you noticed she was staring at you too in silence. An awkward silence between you three. She blushed slightly and was going to say something before being interrupted by a voice you already knew.
"Sorry for being late! I missed the first train here!" Your savior said behind you, approaching. Thanks to Eijiro you managed to avoid an awkward situation.
"You are late! How can you be so slow?" Mina asked in mock anger, hands on her hips. It seems like Eijiro wasn't good at getting subtle clues because he took it seriously.
"It's only been twenty minutes! I already said I'm sorry." He replied trying to defend himself. Mina, of course, was going to capitalize on the situation to mess with him.
"No excuses. If you are sorry then you will try to get me a plush at the arcade once we're done with lunch." She said with a smile while Shirohime nodded approvingly. Before Eijiro could answer, your friend grabbed Mina by the hand and started to drag her in the restaurant's direction, telling you two to follow.
"I don't understand girls sometimes." Eijiro muttered to himself. You patted him on the shoulder feeling the same way. It seems like the poor boy has his own Shiro. At least they are not going to gang up on you.
⁂
Lunch was… Exactly what you expected. An all-you-can-eat buffet specialized in different kinds of meats. Of course, meat wasn't the only thing they had but… Between Shirohime and Eijiro, your table quickly started to pile up meat dishes.
You and Mina opted to eat in more moderation and variety, but still a lot. The dishes were filling and delicious, enough to silence most conversations in favor of eating. The owners didn't bat an eye as Shirohime kept eating and eating. Quirk users with voracious appetites probably were common in these kinds of places.
You and Mina were the first ones to stop eating, of course. Too much food for a normal human being. Eijiro managed to eat more, but still in normal parameters. Shirohime was starting to make the owners feel a bit nervous. Luckily for everyone involved she also had a limit. As she reached it, she started to eat less and talk more.
"It was as big as a building and walked around crushing everything in its path." Shirohime said trying to put a storyteller's voice. "But we were not afraid! People started to run away but the thing was too fast, so someone had to stop it!" She said just before Mina took over the story of how they did in the test.
"Yeah! I quickly had the idea of using my acid to make the thing slip. There was a lot of debris around, so it wasn't easy to find a good spot to make slippery, but when I did… The robot slipped and lowered its guard!" She said with a smile and movements of her hands.
Shirohime kept going telling the story that you already heard a couple of times but with colorful additions by Mina. Eijiro seemed really into it but you were too full of food to care.
"You tell it every time we met." You say to Shirohime who justs crosses her arms over her chest.
"Well, we defeated a giant robot. It's not like I will stop talking about it after a week or something!" She answered making a good point.
"I guess. But I also broke the robot, so we are on the same level." You said with a smile, surprising Mina who probably didn't hear about that.
"Pff… Well, you probably used my power so it basically counts as a win for me too." She said rolling her eyes, making you stop and think about it for a second… You didn't use her power at all against the big one.
"Actually…" You mused. "I didn't use that power at all against the big one. I only used my sister's power and then the others dealt the killing blow…" You smile at the memory of everyone working together like that. Shirohime is about to say something but Mina interrupts.
"Wait. What do you mean by using her power?" She asks curiously, Eijiro looking at you too trying to understand.
Your blood runs cold. A pressure in your stomach that has nothing to do with the food and pressure on the back of your head. They asked about your power. They don't know. They will think you are trying to be their friends to get their quirks. They will think you are some sort of monster and will leave you. They will…
You feel a hand grabbing yours. Soft and warm. Shirohime was sitting next to you in front of the other two, so she was able to hold your hand without them noticing. It was like an anchor to the real world that saved you from drifting away.
"I… Can use the quirks of my friends. When I make friends with someone and we form some sort of bond… Then I can start using their powers." You say, looking at the empty plate in front of you, focusing on anything that isn't your new two friends. You wanted to avoid this, not everyone thinks the same about your power. Some of them…
"Seriously?!" "That's so cool!" They both talked over each other, leaning into the table with big smiles. You blinked perplexed, getting a reaction you didn't expect. It's not like everyone reacts badly but… Somehow when it's about your power you expect the worst.
"What…? But aren't you creeped out by me using your powers or something?" You ask trying to give them reasons to hate you, reasons to- You suppress a yelp of pain when Shirohime pinches your hand under the table.
"Are you joking?" Eijiro asks. "You fight with the literal power of friendship! That's the manliest thing possible!" His huge smile directed at you calms your nerves.
"Yeah, it's cool!" Says Mina. "Can you show us? I want to see our powers." She is almost bouncing on her seat.
You sigh, all the pressure leaving your body. Shirohime releases your hand and you lift it so everyone can see it. You put your hand in the middle of the table and slowly it turns into something similar to what Eijiro does with his quirk. The skin starts to become rougher and cracked, like stone. The change is not as dramatic as when Eijiro does it but it's noticeable. Mina Oooh's and Eijiro looks to one of the forks on the table and then your arm. You quickly move your hand away before he gets any ideas about testing your limits. "It's not too strong because…" You want to say it's because you are not good friends yet but it feels wrong to say something like that. You stop for a moment, thinking about how to phrase it better. "… it's too early. I only had your quirk for a week and even if I train to my hardest it will never be as strong as the original. My quirk is more based on utility than raw power." You explain and he nods in understanding.
"I get it. You need more training then. Don't worry. I will make sure you can be as HARD as me in no time!" He loudly proclaims, making Mina and Shirohime giggle for some reason.
"Me, me!"Mina says next. "Use mine now!" Her eyes are shining like a little girl who goes to the circus for the first time. You are feeling like some sort of attraction to amuse your friends right now… But it's not a bad feeling at least. Sadly you have to give her the bad news. Again, something awkward and… difficult to say.
"Mina, this… It only works with bonds. It's a bit difficult and a bond can't form with only this. We should speak more or spend more time together or-" As you talk her smile banishes for a second before returning again. She stops you raising her hand.
"Stop. I know how to solve this… I, Mina Ashido, declare you, Daiki Shinso, my friend. From now on we have a bond of friendship!" She proclaims loudly too. You are starting to get looks from the people at the restaurant making you slightly embarrassed.
"That's not how this works Mina. You can't just say we are friends and-" As you talk you can feel something inside you that wasn't there ten seconds before. A bond. "Okay, it worked. It shouldn't but it worked."
As an answer mina does a victory sign with her fingers. Shirohime and Eijiro clap softly because their friend just defeated the universal concept of bonds and friendship.
With a sigh, you put your hand in the middle of the table again and focus on that bond. Your hand and arm slowly start to become shiny, covered in some sort of gel or slime. It's not much but enough to be seen at least. Eijiro moves his hand to touch it but Mina stops him.
"Let this to the professionals." She says with a smirk before touching your hand with one of her fingers, just the tip to test it as if it might hurt. When it doesn't, she puts her hand on top of yours humming to herself. "Interesting. Not acidic enough to hurt… It's actually more basic. Maybe a high nine… Less than soap for sure." You can feel something bubbling slightly for a moment were your hands touch. "Can you make this more acidic or basic?" She asks, confusing you. You kind of get she is talking about PH, but not about what you should do.
"I just got this, Mina. I don't even know what YOU are doing." You ask slightly confused. She seems a bit embarrassed and quickly takes her hand away.
"Oh, right, sorry. I was testing the PH of whatever you make using some of my acid to neutralize it. Of course, you can't control it yet… Well, you can make some sort of slippery stuff at least. That probably has some uses." She looks at your hand with fascination. "But be careful, if you start to play with the PH remember that base doesn't mean safe and acid isn't always xenomorph tier."
She nods to herself after giving you that piece of advice. Probably something she learned by experience. You promise to have that in mind and then you all get ready to leave.
As you leave the restaurant, Shirohime drags you back to talk with you for a second, her face a bit concerned. "Are you okay, Daiki?" She asks with worry.
You nod and smile at her reassuringly. "Yes… Thank you for helping me like that. I almost go to a dark place there thinking about what they would think…" You wince in pain when she punches your arm.
"Don't do that again then. The old Daiki was never afraid of telling others his power. I don't want you to go back to not having friends again." She glares at you in a scolding manner, trying to look though… But you can feel her strong emotions bubbling up to the surface. She is worried about you, really worried.
Your smile still stands, maybe it turns a bit sad but only because you want your friend to only have happy thoughts in her mind. You pat her shoulder. "Hey, I already told you I was going to make friends again… And I'm doing it. Ii might be… Scared sometimes, but I'm not going to just give up… Now let's go before Mina wonders where we are." And with that, you grab her hand and start dragging her in the Arcade's direction, not leaving her a chance to say anything else.
⁂
You spent the rest of the afternoon at the arcade getting your collective asses kicked by Mina. Shirohime was good at videogames, better than you and definitely better than Eijiro… But Mina was just better.
She even decided to show off at DDR in a way that not even the more competitive members of your little group wanted to try to go against her. Somehow that situation turned into an impromptu dance class to the rhythm of Jpop and colorful animations.
To your surprise, Eijiro was the one to pick the lessons the fastest. Mina looked at you and struggled to say you might never be a dancer… Yeah, you are not good at it.
Overall that turned to be one of the most fun afternoons you had in… Well, in your life.
Sadly it was getting late. You spent too much on the arcade already and, even with Shirohime offering to pay for everything, you don't want to just spend all her money.
You all left and went for ice-cream to end the day. The sun was starting to lower over the horizon and the view from the mall's food court was amazing. They had an exterior section facing a direction with fewer buildings than the city center. Everything was bathed in orange light as the building's windows started to brighten up with artificial light. People walked back to their homes and a soft breeze almost lulls you to sleep.
You wish every day was as peaceful as this one.
Sitting on one of the benches with your friends you felt strangely comfortable. Mina and Shirohime to each side, quiet for once, you taking in the view in silence.
"Hey, guys…" Eijiro said in a serious but thoughtful tone. "It's starting to sink in… We are all going to the hero school. We will fight to protect people…" He said. His tone didn't let anyone know exactly what he thought. His emotions were calm with a slight hint of nervousness and a lot of hope.
"We will help others keep having peaceful days like this one." You said and the others nodded at your words. No one said anything, but this was a promise you all made. A promise to do your best and be the heroes the innocent need.
⁂
The walk home was a quiet one. The good kind of quiet.
Mina and Eijiro took a different train to their homes while you took one with Shirohime. She talked in a more sedated and calm way than on the way to the mall. She was still clinging to you on the train but this time it was just to be close and not just to tease you. You appreciated the closeness, it made you feel more safe, less alone. Like making sure that bond will stay strong by holding it close.
Once you arrived at the station, the sun was already gone. It was a moonless night but the street lamps illuminated your path home. The orange light reminded you of old times when you walked around with Shirohime by your side. They didn't change them to LED lamps in this part of town and something inside you hopes they never do. The orange light makes the empty streets feel just right.
Your friend keeps silent all the way until you reach her home. She insists on walking with you to yours and you don't fight it, calmly nodding and letting her follow you. It was close enough to her house so it didn't matter that much.
Once you arrived at your door, she smiled at you. A sweet smile and not a teasing one or a smirk, something not common in your friend.
"It's been a fun day, Daiki… Thank you for coming with me." She said looking at your eyes, her red irises shining under the orange light, her brown skin shining. Her spaded tail moving from side to side.
"Of course." You replied. "You are my best friend and we had to celebrate! The fact that you were paying also helped." You joked, making her laugh slightly.
"Yeah, I guess. Don't know why I almost expected you to have other plans with someone else…" She looks away. Doubt, shame, guilt. You put a hand on her shoulder. Surprise, relief.
"Shiro, you are my best friend and I wouldn't be here without you. I would still be in my room, refusing to go outside." You smile at her but your words only seem to bring her more guilt for some reason. Her gaze moves away from you for a moment before suppressing those emotions.
"I guess you are right. You kind of need me." She smirks and approaches you, giving you a soft kiss on the cheek and whispering. "Thank you." You blink, stunned for a moment. The phantom sensation of her lips on your cheek and her breath on your ear lingering for a moment while you try to recover. Before you can say anything in response she is already walking away. "See you soon, Daiki! Remember to train this week or you will be the weakest prettyboy in class!"
And then she was gone, leaving you alone in front of your home.
That phantom sensation refusing to leave, forcing you to smile for some reason.
[New Quest][Relationship] The dragon's secret: Discover why Shirohime feels guilty.
Reward: Help your friend.
"Shiro, you are my best friend and I wouldn't be here without you. I would still be in my room, refusing to go outside." You smile at her but your words only seem to bring her more guilt for some reason. Her gaze moves away from you for a moment before suppressing those emotions.
Don't forget, she's been alienated by a lot of her peers too.
She's probably feeling a bit guilty for latching onto Daiki. Even though she's the one who's helping him most, it's obvious that they're kind of codependent at this point.
She might feel like that's a weakness on her part.
Yeah, that's probably the root of why Daiki's the only one she talks to. He's one of a handful of people who've been around her when she goes dinosaur crazy and still like her.
In the same way Daiki feels like people will think he's a parasite or a thief, she could have an anxiety about how she's perceived (as animalistic, or something close to it).
Hopefully we can give the old, "You seemed like you needed space, I've been in the same place before," answer. Because it's true, and it hasn't been that long since we've last seen him.
It'd just be better to nip this in the bud, before it grows roots. That boy's got a big chip on his shoulder just waiting for extra weight to get added.
Hopefully we can give the old, "You seemed like you needed space, I've been in the same place before," answer. Because it's true, and it hasn't been that long since we've last seen him.
It'd just be better to nip this in the bud, before it grows roots. That boy's got a big chip on his shoulder just waiting for extra weight to get added.
You are good for now with the Hitoshi think. He is more worried about other stuff at the moment. You will see him at school, so don't worry too much about that... But spending a day with him from time to time doesn't hurt.
I think she did something not very best-friendly, and feels bad. She started feeling guilt when she said she expected us to be doing things with someone else. Maybe she's been spying on us? We're an empath, so it's probably recent. Can't imagine it's an old guilt that we've just never spotted.
I wonder how the class roster are gonna look like in this thing? I mean, we have a lot of OCs that passed, so either we're replacing Class 1-B with OCs, or a lot of people are getting bumped. I suppose it is possible Yuuei is expanding, and there'll be a class 1-C.
This bit of speculation started with me thinking about the social landscape of whatever class we get into, which is a thing to consider with a protagonist like Daiki. Like, Shirohime seems all set to take over the Baku-squad (I don't believe she'll get along with Bakugou himself very well, due to being a dragon). Though any speculation on who we can have Daiki befriend likely needs to wait until we know what class he's in.
I think, for the first step, it's easier to do what she did? Like, deciding you genuinely would like to be somebody's friend, and being earnestly willing to do what it takes to be just such a friend, is a bond. Perhaps not a bond of friendship, per se, but a bond of loyalty and good will.
"I get it. You need more training then. Don't worry. I will make sure you can be as HARD as me in no time!" He loudly proclaims, making Mina and Shirohime giggle for some reason.
