Velvet Steel Elegy (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure/My Hero Academia Fusion)
- Thread starter Iceblocks
- Start date
- Crossover
Internship Week Part 3 [UPDATE 50!]
[X] Johan is already attacking.
++++++Steel.
Momo wastes an instant to consider if she should call out a warning, but by the time she opens her mouth it is over. Johan attacked the moment Edge Shot stopped speaking, 「Holy Diver」 blurring forward-
"Enough."
Half a second of sonic booms, and then the 'match' is over. Edge Shot, barely bleeding from a small cut on his cheek, has his eyes alternating between Johan and 「Holy Diver's」 fist. A ribbon extends from his right shoulder and into 「Holy Diver's」 other hand. Johan's eyes never leave Edge Shot, as if he doesn't trust the match to really be over.
To someone without 「Technologic's」 senses, like the ninja-themed sidekicks livening up the rafters with their shocked whispers, Johan and 「Holy Diver」were rushing at Edge Shot before the three of them suddenly punched each other. To Momo the sequence of events is clear: Johan sent 「Holy Diver」 forward to punch Edge Shot in the face, but the Pro Hero folded his head so that the blow only scratched his cheek. Edge Shot counterattacked by folding his right arm into a ribbon, but the attack was caught by 「Holy Diver's」 left hand. And then Edge Shot called the match.
Edge Shot casually returns to a normal stance, and after a tense moment Johan and 「Holy Diver」 follow suit. Momo allows herself a grimace when she sees the blood covering the tip of 「Holy Diver's」 left hand. She can see the logic in it, driving a clawed thumb into the ribbon created from Edge Shot's body to lock his right arm in place, but it isn't what she imagines she would have done in his place.
"Good instincts." Edge Shot says finally after a minute that seemed like an eternity. "I barely felt any killing intent from you."
He takes a step back and rubs the small wound on his hand. "Your Stand is strong, but what is your approach when fighting without it?"`
"If my 「Holy Diver」 is unavailable, then I am already dead." Johan answers with a pout, sounding almost petulant over being asked. "I am 「Holy Diver's Weak Point」, so I mostly focus on hiding behind it or something else."
"And if you must fight, what then?" Edge Shot presses calmly. "Your teachers at UA have done you a great disservice if they never made you fight without Quirks or Stands."
"Nothing fancy." Johan fidgets while wearing that complicated expression he has whenever a teacher that isn't Aizawa gives him pointers. "I just use some tricks my uncles taught me to cause the other person enough pain that they stop fighting back. I am also fast and flexible thanks to my Quirk."
He wiggles his cat ears to emphasize his point before he continues. "I do not get a chance to use what I know very often. 「Holy Diver」has been enough to take care of everything up until now."
Edge Shot considers this for a second, but then he shakes his head. "This requires another assessment."
"Yay…" Mutters Johan. The catboy's eyes widen when Edge Shot turns away to approach Momo. "Hm?"
Sensing his confusion, the Ninja Hero looks over his shoulder to explain. "Moon Shadow will be your opponent in this, Johansen-san. I will assess Yaoyorozu-san's abilities in the meantime."
One of the figures in the rafters vanishes and reappears in Edge Shot's shadow. It is another ninja, dressed in a blue and black Hero Costume.
The figure, almost assuredly this 'Moon Shadow', stands up to face Johan. Johan responds by walking over to a wall and putting his costume case and backpack against it, quickly followed by the jacket of his uniform.
Momo, feeling Edge Shot's attention on her, hurries to get ready.
***
Edge Shot's assessment of Momo takes longer, almost a full minute. Mostly because Momo is a very different opponent than Johan, but also because they are being assessed differently: What Edge Shot was looking for in Johan Momo can only guess at (and she has some that she feels confident about), but for Momo he is testing her skill with her Quirk and using the tools it creates.
「Technologic's」power helps, of course.
"Using your Stand to cover you, keeping the enemy at a distance while you use your Quirk is a good foundation." The Pro Hero hums evenly after they are done. "But do not become complacent. Your own skills will give you an incalculable advantage if you properly hone them."
Momo nods. "Did anything else stand out to you?" Learning from an experienced professional is a fundamental part of any internship!
"Indeed." Edge Shot confirms without hesitation. "But I will leave that for after your Quirk-only assessment." He lifts his uninjured hand and makes some sort of signal, and on cue a second figure detaches itself from the shadows above to appear in Edge Shot's.
The ninja is a mirror of the first, but with red instead of blue.
"Sun Shadow will assess you while I speak to Johansen-san and Moon Shadow about their match." Edge Shot declares as he walks back to where the blue ninja is toying with a frustrated-looking Johan.
"Take care."
***
After a swift and painful defeat Momo and Johan are handed water bottles and ice packs by their examiners before Edge Shot calls down a third ninja from the rafters. This one is dressed almost identically to the others, but she looks older, and the cloth of her costume is green instead of blue or red.
"Sun Shadow, Moon Shadow and I will be leaving for our afternoon patrol now." Edge Shot explains as he gestures to the third ninja. "This is Star Shadow, my second. She will give you a tour of the agency and show you to your rooms."
The three indicated ninja vanish the moment he is finished speaking, leaving Momo and Johan alone with Star Shadow.
"This way." Declares the older woman before she turns and walks away. Momo and Johan look at each other, shrug, and then send out their Stands to collect their things before they follow after her.
Star Shadow shows them the cafeteria, an exercise room (separate from the dojo hall for some reason), a small infirmary, a rec room, the restrooms and showers, and finally their rooms.
"You are not sharing one, for reasons that should be obvious." Star Shadow chides. The only outwards sign that Johan reacts to the comment is that he rolls his eyes, but Momo feels an odd twinge at it before she focuses herself.
None of that. Focus.
Star Shadow checks her watch. "There is still some time until dinner, so put your things away. You are free to explore the agency until they get back, but keep yourselves out of locked rooms." She says before she leaves them to their devices.
Momo sighs when the Pro Hero is gone. The room thing -and the curfew that likely accompanies it- was expected and appreciated, even if one is more so than the other. At least they can still text each other.
*
Once Momo has put her things on the bed she leaves her comfortable, if rather bare, room. Star Shadow said that dinner was at five O'clock, so that leaves a few hours before Edge Shot and the other two return.
A few hours that have to be filled with something. She could-
[] Find Johan and explore together.
++++Velvet.
+++Steel.
[] Explore a little on her own.
+Steel.
[] Find Johan and a place to sit and talk.
+++Velvet.
++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 270
Steel: 90+60(Decision)
Despair: 50/100
This marks the 50th story update for this quest.
++++++Steel.
Momo wastes an instant to consider if she should call out a warning, but by the time she opens her mouth it is over. Johan attacked the moment Edge Shot stopped speaking, 「Holy Diver」 blurring forward-
"Enough."
Half a second of sonic booms, and then the 'match' is over. Edge Shot, barely bleeding from a small cut on his cheek, has his eyes alternating between Johan and 「Holy Diver's」 fist. A ribbon extends from his right shoulder and into 「Holy Diver's」 other hand. Johan's eyes never leave Edge Shot, as if he doesn't trust the match to really be over.
To someone without 「Technologic's」 senses, like the ninja-themed sidekicks livening up the rafters with their shocked whispers, Johan and 「Holy Diver」were rushing at Edge Shot before the three of them suddenly punched each other. To Momo the sequence of events is clear: Johan sent 「Holy Diver」 forward to punch Edge Shot in the face, but the Pro Hero folded his head so that the blow only scratched his cheek. Edge Shot counterattacked by folding his right arm into a ribbon, but the attack was caught by 「Holy Diver's」 left hand. And then Edge Shot called the match.
Edge Shot casually returns to a normal stance, and after a tense moment Johan and 「Holy Diver」 follow suit. Momo allows herself a grimace when she sees the blood covering the tip of 「Holy Diver's」 left hand. She can see the logic in it, driving a clawed thumb into the ribbon created from Edge Shot's body to lock his right arm in place, but it isn't what she imagines she would have done in his place.
"Good instincts." Edge Shot says finally after a minute that seemed like an eternity. "I barely felt any killing intent from you."
He takes a step back and rubs the small wound on his hand. "Your Stand is strong, but what is your approach when fighting without it?"`
"If my 「Holy Diver」 is unavailable, then I am already dead." Johan answers with a pout, sounding almost petulant over being asked. "I am 「Holy Diver's Weak Point」, so I mostly focus on hiding behind it or something else."
"And if you must fight, what then?" Edge Shot presses calmly. "Your teachers at UA have done you a great disservice if they never made you fight without Quirks or Stands."
"Nothing fancy." Johan fidgets while wearing that complicated expression he has whenever a teacher that isn't Aizawa gives him pointers. "I just use some tricks my uncles taught me to cause the other person enough pain that they stop fighting back. I am also fast and flexible thanks to my Quirk."
He wiggles his cat ears to emphasize his point before he continues. "I do not get a chance to use what I know very often. 「Holy Diver」has been enough to take care of everything up until now."
Edge Shot considers this for a second, but then he shakes his head. "This requires another assessment."
"Yay…" Mutters Johan. The catboy's eyes widen when Edge Shot turns away to approach Momo. "Hm?"
Sensing his confusion, the Ninja Hero looks over his shoulder to explain. "Moon Shadow will be your opponent in this, Johansen-san. I will assess Yaoyorozu-san's abilities in the meantime."
One of the figures in the rafters vanishes and reappears in Edge Shot's shadow. It is another ninja, dressed in a blue and black Hero Costume.
The figure, almost assuredly this 'Moon Shadow', stands up to face Johan. Johan responds by walking over to a wall and putting his costume case and backpack against it, quickly followed by the jacket of his uniform.
Momo, feeling Edge Shot's attention on her, hurries to get ready.
***
Edge Shot's assessment of Momo takes longer, almost a full minute. Mostly because Momo is a very different opponent than Johan, but also because they are being assessed differently: What Edge Shot was looking for in Johan Momo can only guess at (and she has some that she feels confident about), but for Momo he is testing her skill with her Quirk and using the tools it creates.
「Technologic's」power helps, of course.
"Using your Stand to cover you, keeping the enemy at a distance while you use your Quirk is a good foundation." The Pro Hero hums evenly after they are done. "But do not become complacent. Your own skills will give you an incalculable advantage if you properly hone them."
Momo nods. "Did anything else stand out to you?" Learning from an experienced professional is a fundamental part of any internship!
"Indeed." Edge Shot confirms without hesitation. "But I will leave that for after your Quirk-only assessment." He lifts his uninjured hand and makes some sort of signal, and on cue a second figure detaches itself from the shadows above to appear in Edge Shot's.
The ninja is a mirror of the first, but with red instead of blue.
"Sun Shadow will assess you while I speak to Johansen-san and Moon Shadow about their match." Edge Shot declares as he walks back to where the blue ninja is toying with a frustrated-looking Johan.
"Take care."
***
After a swift and painful defeat Momo and Johan are handed water bottles and ice packs by their examiners before Edge Shot calls down a third ninja from the rafters. This one is dressed almost identically to the others, but she looks older, and the cloth of her costume is green instead of blue or red.
"Sun Shadow, Moon Shadow and I will be leaving for our afternoon patrol now." Edge Shot explains as he gestures to the third ninja. "This is Star Shadow, my second. She will give you a tour of the agency and show you to your rooms."
The three indicated ninja vanish the moment he is finished speaking, leaving Momo and Johan alone with Star Shadow.
"This way." Declares the older woman before she turns and walks away. Momo and Johan look at each other, shrug, and then send out their Stands to collect their things before they follow after her.
Star Shadow shows them the cafeteria, an exercise room (separate from the dojo hall for some reason), a small infirmary, a rec room, the restrooms and showers, and finally their rooms.
"You are not sharing one, for reasons that should be obvious." Star Shadow chides. The only outwards sign that Johan reacts to the comment is that he rolls his eyes, but Momo feels an odd twinge at it before she focuses herself.
None of that. Focus.
Star Shadow checks her watch. "There is still some time until dinner, so put your things away. You are free to explore the agency until they get back, but keep yourselves out of locked rooms." She says before she leaves them to their devices.
Momo sighs when the Pro Hero is gone. The room thing -and the curfew that likely accompanies it- was expected and appreciated, even if one is more so than the other. At least they can still text each other.
*
Once Momo has put her things on the bed she leaves her comfortable, if rather bare, room. Star Shadow said that dinner was at five O'clock, so that leaves a few hours before Edge Shot and the other two return.
A few hours that have to be filled with something. She could-
[] Find Johan and explore together.
++++Velvet.
+++Steel.
[] Explore a little on her own.
+Steel.
[] Find Johan and a place to sit and talk.
+++Velvet.
++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 270
Steel: 90+60(Decision)
Despair: 50/100
This marks the 50th story update for this quest.
- Location
- In my Lair, on my Hoard
[X] Find Johan and a place to sit and talk.
- Location
- USA
[X] Find Johan and a place to sit and talk.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Find Johan and explore together.
Internship Week Part 4
[X] Find Johan and explore together.
++++Velvet.
+++Steel.
Momo takes a few short steps to the room beside hers and knocks on the door. "Johan?"
「Holy Diver」 peeks out, phasing through the door to get a quick look around, before she gets an answer. "Yes?"
Johan's voice if muffled through the door, but it is followed by the sound of muffled footsteps before the door opens. "Yes?" He asks again, likely in case she didn't hear him, while leaning on the doorframe.
"I'm going to go and look around." Momo explains to the catboy. "Would you like to come with me?"
He blinks and considers the question. "You do not need to be so formal, Momo." He answers after a second before he steps out of the room.
"You're one to talk." Momo chides him with a smile. "I don't think I have heard you being seriously informal since we first met, Johan."
Johan clicks his tongue. "That is because I am not completely comfortable with Japanese yet, and you know it." He grumbles petulantly, but there is no real heat to it.
Their banter continues as they wander the halls of Edgeshot's agency. There is no sign of Star Shadow anywhere, and with little to do they end up in the rec room. Momo, comfortably seated on the rec room's beige couch, reads an article on nanomachines while Johan stalks the bookshelves. 「Holy Diver」 suddenly manifests to bring an old book from the top shelf into his hands, and he wastes no time in flipping it open.
"Classical Japanese?" He blanches, disappointed, before he carefully puts the book back on its spot on the shelf.
Before long he joins her on the couch, carrying a new-looking book about historical ninjas and their relationship with the Burakumin.
***
A little more than an hour passes before they break the comfortable silence by getting up and moving to the cafeteria to get something to drink. Their rooms have sinks, so they don't lack for water, but they have something sweeter in mind and there is a vending machine in there.
"Boss Vending Machines?" Johan mutters, his eyes fixed on the logo sported by the baby blue vending machine.
Momo looks it up on her phone while he gets a bottle of Tropical Fruit Fanta. "It says here that he has a sponsorship deal with the Boss Company."
Johan hums in response as he retrieves his drink and moves aside to let her get one. She inserts a few hundred-Yen coins and gets a normal cola for herself. The bottle falls into the receptacle in time for light footsteps to sound from elsewhere in the building.
Johan opens his drink, waiting to let the hiss fades before he leans in. "I count one person." He whispers and lightly prods himself in the cheek with the tip of the bottle. "No wait: Two."
"I think it is all three of them." Momo whispers back, her 「Technologic's」 sharper senses giving her a slightly better picture of what is going on. "But I can't find Star Shadow anywhere…"
"Maybe she is-" Johan begins before he stops himself when Momo suddenly flinches. Edgeshot just stopped walking and is zooming through the building as a supersonic thread and he is-
Momo whirls her head around in time to catch Edgeshot stopping, on a dime, in the doorframe to the cafeteria.
"Good. Both of you are here." He says after looking them over. "Dinner will be ready shortly. We will talk more after."
***
Edgeshot gathers them around the dining table once the dishes have been put away.
"Yaoyorozu-san, Johansen-san." He begins, looking at each of the two Hero hopefuls in turn. "At one O'clock tonight the two of you will accompany me on a short nighttime patrol."
The details are brief, though the Pro Hero promises more when the patrol actually happens.
With the meeting over all six who sit at the table rise and go their own ways.
"Momo, wait." Johan interrupts. He continues when she stops and turns around. "Keep your Stand out when you go to sleep. It will give you lucid dreams and make you somewhat aware of what is going on around you."
In case Edgeshot or his sidekicks try another test, Momo realizes. She also realizes that this is something he could have told her a lot earlier. "You're telling me this now?"
Johan winces a little from the rebuke, but he recovers quickly. "It never came up!" He insists as they head to their rooms. "It also makes you get less out of your sleep and you all needed that for school."
Momo considers the argument.
"Sleep well, Johan."
And with that she closes the door.
It is a small thing, but how much more is Johan keeping quiet about?
Her 「Technologic」 comes on her command as she changes into her bedclothes, and she goes to bed wondering what else her Stand can do.
***
"Please just knock."
Momo's words makes the intruding ninja –she can't tell which one– twitch.
"Sharp ears." A male voice complements from s point halfway to her bed. Moon Shadow or Sun Shadow, then. "Edgeshot sent me to wake you up. It is time to go on patrol."
Momo nods her thanks, remaining under the covers until 「Technologic」 cannot sense anyone else in the room. Once she is certain that she is alone, and hearing the sounds of familiar footsteps in Johan's room, she gets out of bed and begins to change into her costume.
***
Edgeshot and the others are waiting for them at the exit.
He nods at their approach. "Trismegistus, JoJo." Beckoning them to follow, he walks up to a nearby building. Behind them the other ninjas run in separate directions.
"Moon Shadow and Star Shadow will patrol other routes. Sun Shadow will stay at the agency in case something happens." Edgeshot elaborates before he points up. "You will accompany me on a short patrol, but first I want to see you make it to the rooftop."
Without warning he folds his body and shoots three stories up, almost instantly making it to the top of the roof. He walks up to the edge a second later, waiting for them.
Johan just shrugs and calls on 「Holy Diver」. The Stand leads him into a shadow and they disappear into it, appearing a few seconds later at Edgeshot's side.
Momo has her own plan. Johan showed her how to do the trick he did during the Sports Festival: Just overlay 「Technologic's」 legs with her own… and kick off!
She shoots upward, gaining enough height to send out 「Technologic」 to grab a windowstill on the third floor. Momo lets her Stand haul her up, making sure to get a good grip before she sends it up to the top, where it finds another handhold and allows Momo to climb up.
"Adequate." Edgeshot states when she is up on her feet beside him and Johan. "JoJo has the advantage thanks to his Stand's mobility power, but you should be alright from here on."
He turns away and walks towards the edge of the roof that leads away from the agency. "We will talk while we walk, now listen carefully:"
***
The patrol is two hours of wandering the city at night, with the only excitement being when Edgeshot gets a phone call on the way back to his agency.
"At the moment my agency is working together with another to track down a ring of drug smugglers. Me and mine will handle the situation on land while the other cooperates with the Coast Guard." Edgeshot explains. "The investigation is still ongoing so it is unlikely that the two of you will participate, but if it comes to it, then I expect you both to follow my orders and those of my sidekicks to the letter."
His voice gains an edge that has been missing since they met him. "Am I clear?"
Neither of them feels the need to argue.
Then again, Momo muses, Johan might just be tired.
***
They get to sleep in after coming back to the agency, but after breakfast they are taken out for a day patrol.
"An important part of being a Pro Hero is just in being seen." Edgeshot says as they traverse the crowded streets, sometimes waving and nodding at passersby as he leads her and Johan around. "Civilians feel reassured when they see Heroes, especially famous ones, patrol the streets."
Beyond Edgeshot's lecture and the occasional adoring fan, very little happens in the hours they spend walking around this part of town. There is a purse snatcher that Edgeshot deals with before Momo and Johan can do more than summon their Stands, and that time a kindergartener confuses Johan for 「Holy Diver's」 sidekick when the Norwegian boy gets the child's plushie down from a tall bush.
Momo cannot see his face with that helmet of his, but the mere thought of the massive pout he must be wearing makes her giggle.
***
The third day of their internship takes a turn for the different: Edgeshot's agency doubles as a museum on ninja history, a way to supplement his fame and income outside of Hero work, so he has them work as staff for the day.
It is mostly background work like cleaning floors or refilling shelves at the gift shop, but at times they are made to accompany and assist one of the ninjas or one of the civilian staff that Edgeshot employs.
This, Momo realizes, must be what it is like to have a part time job.
The feeling of having a new experience carries her through the day, just like being around all this historical stuff carries Johan through it.
All in all, their moods have far to fall when the evening falls, and the emergency calls come flooding in.
***
"I move faster on my own!" Edgeshot declares as Momo, Johan and the ninjas enter the Edgeshot Agency's helicopter. "I will go on ahead and join the effort in Hosu, you will assist search and rescue effort when you arrive!"
He shoots off before anyone can respond. Towards Hosu, where some kind of indiscriminate Villain attack is causing chaos all over the Ward.
Momo sighs and sinks into her seat.
"Momo?"
She turns her head towards Johan, who is half-slouching into his seat in that tense way he sometimes sits. "Yes, Johan?"
"Do…" He stops himself, his helmet bobbing as the boy under it tries to put his thoughts into words. "Do we know anyone in Hosu? Is any of ours…?"
He trails off, but Momo understands. "Iida-kun is interning under Manual, so he might be involved." She answers, trying not to let worry seep into her voice. "Todoroki-kun seemed certain that Endeavor wanted to hunt the Hero Killer, so he might be there too."
Johan grunts, his crossed arms tightening around him. "It is just-"
He is cut of when their phones beep. Both of them.
For a moment neither of them do anything beyond looking at each other before they dare take their phones out.
It is a location update from Midoriya, and a glance at Johan's phone confirms that he received the same message. Was it sent to everyone in their class or to all the numbers on Midoriya's phone? Why did he send everyone a message telling them that his current location is in an alley in… Hosu?
Oh no.
***
A change of perspective.
[] Tenya Iida.
[] Izuku Midoriya.
[] Shouto Todoroki.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 270+40(Decision)
Steel: 150+30(Decision)
Despair: 50/100
Good lord this update did not want to be written.
++++Velvet.
+++Steel.
Momo takes a few short steps to the room beside hers and knocks on the door. "Johan?"
「Holy Diver」 peeks out, phasing through the door to get a quick look around, before she gets an answer. "Yes?"
Johan's voice if muffled through the door, but it is followed by the sound of muffled footsteps before the door opens. "Yes?" He asks again, likely in case she didn't hear him, while leaning on the doorframe.
"I'm going to go and look around." Momo explains to the catboy. "Would you like to come with me?"
He blinks and considers the question. "You do not need to be so formal, Momo." He answers after a second before he steps out of the room.
"You're one to talk." Momo chides him with a smile. "I don't think I have heard you being seriously informal since we first met, Johan."
Johan clicks his tongue. "That is because I am not completely comfortable with Japanese yet, and you know it." He grumbles petulantly, but there is no real heat to it.
Their banter continues as they wander the halls of Edgeshot's agency. There is no sign of Star Shadow anywhere, and with little to do they end up in the rec room. Momo, comfortably seated on the rec room's beige couch, reads an article on nanomachines while Johan stalks the bookshelves. 「Holy Diver」 suddenly manifests to bring an old book from the top shelf into his hands, and he wastes no time in flipping it open.
"Classical Japanese?" He blanches, disappointed, before he carefully puts the book back on its spot on the shelf.
Before long he joins her on the couch, carrying a new-looking book about historical ninjas and their relationship with the Burakumin.
***
A little more than an hour passes before they break the comfortable silence by getting up and moving to the cafeteria to get something to drink. Their rooms have sinks, so they don't lack for water, but they have something sweeter in mind and there is a vending machine in there.
"Boss Vending Machines?" Johan mutters, his eyes fixed on the logo sported by the baby blue vending machine.
Momo looks it up on her phone while he gets a bottle of Tropical Fruit Fanta. "It says here that he has a sponsorship deal with the Boss Company."
Johan hums in response as he retrieves his drink and moves aside to let her get one. She inserts a few hundred-Yen coins and gets a normal cola for herself. The bottle falls into the receptacle in time for light footsteps to sound from elsewhere in the building.
Johan opens his drink, waiting to let the hiss fades before he leans in. "I count one person." He whispers and lightly prods himself in the cheek with the tip of the bottle. "No wait: Two."
"I think it is all three of them." Momo whispers back, her 「Technologic's」 sharper senses giving her a slightly better picture of what is going on. "But I can't find Star Shadow anywhere…"
"Maybe she is-" Johan begins before he stops himself when Momo suddenly flinches. Edgeshot just stopped walking and is zooming through the building as a supersonic thread and he is-
Momo whirls her head around in time to catch Edgeshot stopping, on a dime, in the doorframe to the cafeteria.
"Good. Both of you are here." He says after looking them over. "Dinner will be ready shortly. We will talk more after."
***
Edgeshot gathers them around the dining table once the dishes have been put away.
"Yaoyorozu-san, Johansen-san." He begins, looking at each of the two Hero hopefuls in turn. "At one O'clock tonight the two of you will accompany me on a short nighttime patrol."
The details are brief, though the Pro Hero promises more when the patrol actually happens.
With the meeting over all six who sit at the table rise and go their own ways.
"Momo, wait." Johan interrupts. He continues when she stops and turns around. "Keep your Stand out when you go to sleep. It will give you lucid dreams and make you somewhat aware of what is going on around you."
In case Edgeshot or his sidekicks try another test, Momo realizes. She also realizes that this is something he could have told her a lot earlier. "You're telling me this now?"
Johan winces a little from the rebuke, but he recovers quickly. "It never came up!" He insists as they head to their rooms. "It also makes you get less out of your sleep and you all needed that for school."
Momo considers the argument.
"Sleep well, Johan."
And with that she closes the door.
It is a small thing, but how much more is Johan keeping quiet about?
Her 「Technologic」 comes on her command as she changes into her bedclothes, and she goes to bed wondering what else her Stand can do.
***
"Please just knock."
Momo's words makes the intruding ninja –she can't tell which one– twitch.
"Sharp ears." A male voice complements from s point halfway to her bed. Moon Shadow or Sun Shadow, then. "Edgeshot sent me to wake you up. It is time to go on patrol."
Momo nods her thanks, remaining under the covers until 「Technologic」 cannot sense anyone else in the room. Once she is certain that she is alone, and hearing the sounds of familiar footsteps in Johan's room, she gets out of bed and begins to change into her costume.
***
Edgeshot and the others are waiting for them at the exit.
He nods at their approach. "Trismegistus, JoJo." Beckoning them to follow, he walks up to a nearby building. Behind them the other ninjas run in separate directions.
"Moon Shadow and Star Shadow will patrol other routes. Sun Shadow will stay at the agency in case something happens." Edgeshot elaborates before he points up. "You will accompany me on a short patrol, but first I want to see you make it to the rooftop."
Without warning he folds his body and shoots three stories up, almost instantly making it to the top of the roof. He walks up to the edge a second later, waiting for them.
Johan just shrugs and calls on 「Holy Diver」. The Stand leads him into a shadow and they disappear into it, appearing a few seconds later at Edgeshot's side.
Momo has her own plan. Johan showed her how to do the trick he did during the Sports Festival: Just overlay 「Technologic's」 legs with her own… and kick off!
She shoots upward, gaining enough height to send out 「Technologic」 to grab a windowstill on the third floor. Momo lets her Stand haul her up, making sure to get a good grip before she sends it up to the top, where it finds another handhold and allows Momo to climb up.
"Adequate." Edgeshot states when she is up on her feet beside him and Johan. "JoJo has the advantage thanks to his Stand's mobility power, but you should be alright from here on."
He turns away and walks towards the edge of the roof that leads away from the agency. "We will talk while we walk, now listen carefully:"
***
The patrol is two hours of wandering the city at night, with the only excitement being when Edgeshot gets a phone call on the way back to his agency.
"At the moment my agency is working together with another to track down a ring of drug smugglers. Me and mine will handle the situation on land while the other cooperates with the Coast Guard." Edgeshot explains. "The investigation is still ongoing so it is unlikely that the two of you will participate, but if it comes to it, then I expect you both to follow my orders and those of my sidekicks to the letter."
His voice gains an edge that has been missing since they met him. "Am I clear?"
Neither of them feels the need to argue.
Then again, Momo muses, Johan might just be tired.
***
They get to sleep in after coming back to the agency, but after breakfast they are taken out for a day patrol.
"An important part of being a Pro Hero is just in being seen." Edgeshot says as they traverse the crowded streets, sometimes waving and nodding at passersby as he leads her and Johan around. "Civilians feel reassured when they see Heroes, especially famous ones, patrol the streets."
Beyond Edgeshot's lecture and the occasional adoring fan, very little happens in the hours they spend walking around this part of town. There is a purse snatcher that Edgeshot deals with before Momo and Johan can do more than summon their Stands, and that time a kindergartener confuses Johan for 「Holy Diver's」 sidekick when the Norwegian boy gets the child's plushie down from a tall bush.
Momo cannot see his face with that helmet of his, but the mere thought of the massive pout he must be wearing makes her giggle.
***
The third day of their internship takes a turn for the different: Edgeshot's agency doubles as a museum on ninja history, a way to supplement his fame and income outside of Hero work, so he has them work as staff for the day.
It is mostly background work like cleaning floors or refilling shelves at the gift shop, but at times they are made to accompany and assist one of the ninjas or one of the civilian staff that Edgeshot employs.
This, Momo realizes, must be what it is like to have a part time job.
The feeling of having a new experience carries her through the day, just like being around all this historical stuff carries Johan through it.
All in all, their moods have far to fall when the evening falls, and the emergency calls come flooding in.
***
"I move faster on my own!" Edgeshot declares as Momo, Johan and the ninjas enter the Edgeshot Agency's helicopter. "I will go on ahead and join the effort in Hosu, you will assist search and rescue effort when you arrive!"
He shoots off before anyone can respond. Towards Hosu, where some kind of indiscriminate Villain attack is causing chaos all over the Ward.
Momo sighs and sinks into her seat.
"Momo?"
She turns her head towards Johan, who is half-slouching into his seat in that tense way he sometimes sits. "Yes, Johan?"
"Do…" He stops himself, his helmet bobbing as the boy under it tries to put his thoughts into words. "Do we know anyone in Hosu? Is any of ours…?"
He trails off, but Momo understands. "Iida-kun is interning under Manual, so he might be involved." She answers, trying not to let worry seep into her voice. "Todoroki-kun seemed certain that Endeavor wanted to hunt the Hero Killer, so he might be there too."
Johan grunts, his crossed arms tightening around him. "It is just-"
He is cut of when their phones beep. Both of them.
For a moment neither of them do anything beyond looking at each other before they dare take their phones out.
It is a location update from Midoriya, and a glance at Johan's phone confirms that he received the same message. Was it sent to everyone in their class or to all the numbers on Midoriya's phone? Why did he send everyone a message telling them that his current location is in an alley in… Hosu?
Oh no.
***
A change of perspective.
[] Tenya Iida.
[] Izuku Midoriya.
[] Shouto Todoroki.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 270+40(Decision)
Steel: 150+30(Decision)
Despair: 50/100
Good lord this update did not want to be written.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Tenya Iida.
Time to see how he's handling everything
Time to see how he's handling everything
- Location
- In my Lair, on my Hoard
[X] Tenya Iida.
And for the second time we have a tie that cannot just be broken by counting the votes that provide some justification for themselves twice.
[X] Shouto Todoroki.
-and-
[X] Tenya Iida.
-both have a normal vote and a vote where the voter provides a reason for their choice. If the tie is not broken in 12 hours, whether by new vote(s) or somebody changing their vote(s), I will roll an in-thread die.
[X] Shouto Todoroki.
-and-
[X] Tenya Iida.
-both have a normal vote and a vote where the voter provides a reason for their choice. If the tie is not broken in 12 hours, whether by new vote(s) or somebody changing their vote(s), I will roll an in-thread die.
- Location
- In my Lair, on my Hoard
I kinda just wanna see where Iida's mindset is in the scenario - he's the only student with no Stand, and he so desperately wanted that power for his quest for vengeance. Getting into his head as he sees these two Stand-users with powerful Quirks of their own needing to come to his rescue, fighting the villain he felt he had to face himself...
Right then, rolling a die.
1 = [X] Shouto Todoroki.
2 = [X] Tenya Iida.
EDIT: 1. The winner is:
[X] Shouto Todoroki.
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Internship Week Part 5
[X] Shouto Todoroki.
For Shouto, his internship is filled with questions from Endeavor and his senior sidekicks. Annoying questions. Questions like:
"Aren't Stands invisible?"
"How do you feel about working at the agency of the Number Two Hero?"
"That's a staff, not a Stand. Stands look like people, so what is that?"
"Shouto! Why isn't it working!?"
Shouto answers as best he can whenever Endeavor is not breathing down his neck, and at times he even has time for questions of his own. On the evening patrol on the third day of his internship he has questions such as:
"How long is Endeavor going to bloviate about the importance of training in favor of actually training him?"
"What are the things from the USJ doing in Hosu?"
"Why is Midoriya updating his location in the middle of this chaos?"
"What the fuck is that?"
The last question takes priority, Shouto feels, as 'that' happens to looks like an amorphous mass of flesh that is chasing Midoriya and a man covered in knives around the alley. The blob monster seems to focus on the man who can only be the Hero Killer, who brandishes a chipped, bloodstained sword at the questing, clawed tendrils that shoot out of the monster.
But it is still throwing the odd attack at Midoriya and 「Take On Me」, and so Shouto unleashes a wave of fire at the monster. His green-haired friend goes prone on the ground when he hears the roar of the flames, leading to Shouto discovering Iida doing the same a little closer to Shouto. It looks like he is bleeding from the arms, but other than that Shouto cannot see any injuries.
There is also an adult in an odd costume slumped against the wall further down the alley, who is for some reason being completely ignored by the monster.
His fire washes over the monster, which screams and thrashes in response, but beyond charring the surface layers of the ever-shifting mass it accomplishes little. It doesn't even distract it from its target.
"Todoroki-kun!"
"T-Todoroki?"
Midoriya and Iida both react to his arrival, but the Hero Killer only leaps and bounds in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of a twisting mass that relentlessly pursues him. It is hard to tell in the dark, but Shouto thinks he can see teeth and metal claws at the tips of the tendrils that the mass extends towards the infamous murderer.
But if fire doesn't work-
A wave of ice spikes erupt from under his right foot, surging towards the monster and its agile prey. The ice that lances into the creature is crushed and absorbed, doing no real damage in the face of the monster's counterattack and sheer resilience.
"Midoriya." He growls as his friend gets back onto his feet, his eyes never leaving the monster. "What is that thing?"
"It is Iida-kun's Stand." Midoriya, his body alight with the glow of his Quirk, replies. "It was fighting the Hero Killer when I got here." He inclines his head towards the prone Iida. "Stain's Quirk is that he can paralyze people by tasting their blood!"
"Can't your「Take On Me」 transfer-" Shouto cuts himself off when his brain registers the bleeding cuts covering Midoriya's arms and torso.
Midoriya nods. "I tried, but when I sent「Take On Me」 at him-" He shudders and clutches at a deep gouge in his chest. "These cuts suddenly appeared! 「He has a Stand!」"
Shouto's eyes widen before he locks them back onto the Hero Killer. Ignoring Iida's demands that they leave him be, he watches the Hero Killer jumping from wall to wall to avoid the attacks by the monster. The Villain snarls and raises his sword-
-which immediately spasms as if alive, its chipped edge transforming into a row of serrated 「Shark Teeth」.
The Hero Killer slashes at the air with the shark-tooth sword before jumping away. Iida's monster Stand follows mindlessly, and just like what happened to Midoriya cuts suddenly form on its body. No, not cuts.
"It is running into edges." Shouto breathes in realization. The second realization, that the monster's wounds are barely healing at all from these cuts, sends his brain into overdrive. He summons 「Prime Mover」, the double-ended staff-Stand instantly coming to rest in his hand.
"Midoriya, can you fight?"
Midoriya looks up at him from where he kneels, his eyes wide but calculating. "Yes." He nods with a small smile, though his breath is heavy. "He got me with his Stand, but if I can get「Take On Me」 close to him then I can transfer my injuries."
Shouto nods back, the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind. "Get ready, the most important thing right now-"
[] "-is to get Iida back on his feet!"
[] "-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
[] "-is to clear out the Hero Killer's edges!"
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 310
Steel: 180
Despair: 50/100
For Shouto, his internship is filled with questions from Endeavor and his senior sidekicks. Annoying questions. Questions like:
"Aren't Stands invisible?"
"How do you feel about working at the agency of the Number Two Hero?"
"That's a staff, not a Stand. Stands look like people, so what is that?"
"Shouto! Why isn't it working!?"
Shouto answers as best he can whenever Endeavor is not breathing down his neck, and at times he even has time for questions of his own. On the evening patrol on the third day of his internship he has questions such as:
"How long is Endeavor going to bloviate about the importance of training in favor of actually training him?"
"What are the things from the USJ doing in Hosu?"
"Why is Midoriya updating his location in the middle of this chaos?"
"What the fuck is that?"
The last question takes priority, Shouto feels, as 'that' happens to looks like an amorphous mass of flesh that is chasing Midoriya and a man covered in knives around the alley. The blob monster seems to focus on the man who can only be the Hero Killer, who brandishes a chipped, bloodstained sword at the questing, clawed tendrils that shoot out of the monster.
But it is still throwing the odd attack at Midoriya and 「Take On Me」, and so Shouto unleashes a wave of fire at the monster. His green-haired friend goes prone on the ground when he hears the roar of the flames, leading to Shouto discovering Iida doing the same a little closer to Shouto. It looks like he is bleeding from the arms, but other than that Shouto cannot see any injuries.
There is also an adult in an odd costume slumped against the wall further down the alley, who is for some reason being completely ignored by the monster.
His fire washes over the monster, which screams and thrashes in response, but beyond charring the surface layers of the ever-shifting mass it accomplishes little. It doesn't even distract it from its target.
"Todoroki-kun!"
"T-Todoroki?"
Midoriya and Iida both react to his arrival, but the Hero Killer only leaps and bounds in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of a twisting mass that relentlessly pursues him. It is hard to tell in the dark, but Shouto thinks he can see teeth and metal claws at the tips of the tendrils that the mass extends towards the infamous murderer.
But if fire doesn't work-
A wave of ice spikes erupt from under his right foot, surging towards the monster and its agile prey. The ice that lances into the creature is crushed and absorbed, doing no real damage in the face of the monster's counterattack and sheer resilience.
"Midoriya." He growls as his friend gets back onto his feet, his eyes never leaving the monster. "What is that thing?"
"It is Iida-kun's Stand." Midoriya, his body alight with the glow of his Quirk, replies. "It was fighting the Hero Killer when I got here." He inclines his head towards the prone Iida. "Stain's Quirk is that he can paralyze people by tasting their blood!"
"Can't your「Take On Me」 transfer-" Shouto cuts himself off when his brain registers the bleeding cuts covering Midoriya's arms and torso.
Midoriya nods. "I tried, but when I sent「Take On Me」 at him-" He shudders and clutches at a deep gouge in his chest. "These cuts suddenly appeared! 「He has a Stand!」"
Shouto's eyes widen before he locks them back onto the Hero Killer. Ignoring Iida's demands that they leave him be, he watches the Hero Killer jumping from wall to wall to avoid the attacks by the monster. The Villain snarls and raises his sword-
-which immediately spasms as if alive, its chipped edge transforming into a row of serrated 「Shark Teeth」.
The Hero Killer slashes at the air with the shark-tooth sword before jumping away. Iida's monster Stand follows mindlessly, and just like what happened to Midoriya cuts suddenly form on its body. No, not cuts.
"It is running into edges." Shouto breathes in realization. The second realization, that the monster's wounds are barely healing at all from these cuts, sends his brain into overdrive. He summons 「Prime Mover」, the double-ended staff-Stand instantly coming to rest in his hand.
"Midoriya, can you fight?"
Midoriya looks up at him from where he kneels, his eyes wide but calculating. "Yes." He nods with a small smile, though his breath is heavy. "He got me with his Stand, but if I can get「Take On Me」 close to him then I can transfer my injuries."
Shouto nods back, the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind. "Get ready, the most important thing right now-"
[] "-is to get Iida back on his feet!"
[] "-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
[] "-is to clear out the Hero Killer's edges!"
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 310
Steel: 180
Despair: 50/100
Last edited:
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] "-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
Iida you need to calm down you might injure people in your blind rage.
Iida you need to calm down you might injure people in your blind rage.
- Location
- In my Lair, on my Hoard
[X] "-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
We should probably try and circumvent Stain's powers first and knock him out. If we focus on helping Iida or taking down Iida's Stand (which is shocking! I thought the Arrow didn't react to him?), then Stain might use that opening to stab us in the back too.
But if we don't deal with Iida's stand, it'll continue to rampage uncontrollably, and end up doing more harm than good. Especially since it's too focused on destroying everything in its path to eliminating Stain...
Once Iida's Stand is brought to heel, we can focus on the Hero Killer.
We should probably try and circumvent Stain's powers first and knock him out. If we focus on helping Iida or taking down Iida's Stand (which is shocking! I thought the Arrow didn't react to him?), then Stain might use that opening to stab us in the back too.
But if we don't deal with Iida's stand, it'll continue to rampage uncontrollably, and end up doing more harm than good. Especially since it's too focused on destroying everything in its path to eliminating Stain...
Once Iida's Stand is brought to heel, we can focus on the Hero Killer.
Point of order, all this means is that there is a chance that Iida would have died instead of receiving a Stand, and Johan isn't willing to take the risk. It is the same reason that Johan didn't stab Mineta with it.
The main difference is that Johan was pissed at Iida and therefore didn't bother to offer him an alternative like the Spin.
Internship Week Part 6
[X] "-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
"-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
Shouto twirls 「Prime Mover」 for emphasis and levels its blue end at the shifting mass chasing the Hero Killer around the alley. He is about to move in when Midoriya stops him.
"Todoroki-kun! Wait!"
"Midoriya?" Shouto blinks, but does as he is told.
"The edges!" Midoriya gasps as he releases Shouto to clutch at his own wounds. "Some of the edges might still be there!"
The edges created by Stain's Stand? "I should be able to destroy them with 「Prime Mover」, but-" Shouto's mouth falls open as Midoriya jams his gloved hands into his own wounds and squeezes. Red blood, nearly black in the dim light, wells up to pool in his hands.
"D-don't worry, Todoroki-kun." Midoriya says in a feeble attempt to reassure him. "This-this is nothing!" With a choked yell, Midoriya throws two handfuls of blood through the space between them and the monster Stand.
And true enough, the edges are revealed. Drops and splashes of Midoriya's blood betray their locations, hovering in the air where they are smeared along Stain's Stand power. Shouto hefts 「Prime Mover」and goes to work, clearing a path by striking every midair bloodstain with the blue end of his Stand. Every step through the monster's mucus trail heralds another tap of the staff, all of which creates a sound of cracking glass before the blood falls to the ground, the edge supporting it vanishing in the face of 「Prime Mover's」 power.
The monster ignores them until the last second, only sparing a moment of its attention for them in its blind pursuit of the Hero Killer when they get too close. It lashes out with a fleshy tendril covered it teeth and metal plates. Shouto braces himself, preparing to intercept the attack with 「Prime Mover」, but it is for naught:
The attack is caught on another of Stain's edges, one that is high and far enough not to be marked by Midoriya's blood. The tentacle is severed clean off, but its thrashing could be a hazard. Shouto stabs 「Prime Mover's」 blue end through it, making it explode in a small flash of light.
Which is when Iida's Stand goes absolutely berserk.
The monster Stand screeches, and the trail of mucus begins to glow with an ominous hum. Arms throw themselves around Shouto's body as Midoriya hurries to get them both clear. "Get back!"
Beneath their feet the mucus turns a bright orange before it detonates in a fiery explosion, throwing everyone and everything in the alley up into the air and setting most of it on fire.
Shouto kicks the wall to form a wall of ice to catch him, Midoriya, Iida, and the paralyzed Pro Hero before he shifts it into a platform to hold them. Below them the Hero Killer, in an impressive display of acrobatics, regains his balance in midair. The monster surges up the wall to get at him, but Stain leaps off his perch to avoid it, those 「Shark Teeth」 that once covered his sword emerging from every spike and edge on his outfit to create a web of invisible edges as he soars through the air.
The monster shoots off with speed that shouldn't be possible for something that big and, well, lumpy, but Shouto spots his chance. "Cover me."
"Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya yells helplessly as Shouto creates an ice slide to get closer to the monster. He hops off to get on solid (if rather scorched) asphalt, stabbing one of 「Prime Mover's」 ends into a charred trash bag and catapulting it through the intervening space. The bag bursts when it catches on one of the edges, spraying rancid garbage over the remaining edges and the monster, who responds with numerous lashing tendrils to catch the compost out of the air.
Shouto hears Midoriya beginning to follow him, but his focus is on the monster, which has resumed its hunt for Hero Killer Stain. He breaks through the edges with his 「Prime Mover」 and releases a wave of ice spikes to cover his approach. The monster goes for the ice wall-!
Giving Shouto the perfect opening to drive 「Prime Mover's」 blue end deep into its side.
Iida's Stand pops like a soap bubble.
Shouto around as Midoriya catches up to him, allowing them to stand back to back. Midoriya faces the Hero Killer while Shouto keeps an eye on Iida. Iida's Stand wasn't harmed by 「Prime Mover」, when Shouto's Stand disrupted its manifestation it just returned to its User.
Meaning that Iida could call it back out at any time.
But did Iida know that?
He risks a glance over his shoulder, trusting Midoriya to warn or cover him should the Hero Killer take the opportunity to attack while he is distracted.
"My Stand…my-my." Iida descends into broken mumbling, but his Stand remains absent. To Shouto's knowledge Iida didn't attend any of the lessons Shouto had with Johansen about using one's Stand, so it is possible that he doesn't realize that his Stand has just returned to him instead of having been destroyed.
A loud click of the tongue from further down the alley brings his attention back to the Hero Killer. "Not bad." He snarls, eyeing them warily from where he stands. "I've been fighting that thing ever since the kid in armor threw it at me."
Stain looks down on his shark tooth-covered sword and grimaces. "No thanks to this thing. That faceless fuck was full of shit…"
Cracks in the teeth immediately appear with every word the Hero Killer says, transforming the grimace into an outright sneer. "What the- is this thing out of power or something?"
"No." Midoriya mumbles at Shouto's side, though Shouto is sure the Hero Killer cannot hear him. "You don't believe in it, so it becomes weaker."
Shouto finds himself involuntarily nodding. Johansen had told them about this: Doubt in your Stand's power would weaken it, and that was just the start.
The Hero Killer clicks his tongue again. "Tch. Return to wherever, 「Mack The Knife」. I'll do this the traditional way."
Shouto enters a fighting stance and readies his Quirk. Now begins the battle against the Hero Killer.
**********
For Momo the second worst part is the wait, and from the way that Johan paces between every task they are given he shares her view on things. Edgeshot's subordinates only let them direct civilians and help rescue workers and first responders under their supervision, barring the occasional tool they have her make.
The worst part is the casualties. They only work at the periphery of the efforts involving those who died in the villain attack last night, but the sights and smells… are likely to stay a while.
Star Shadow told them to sleep in the helicopter, but now that morning has come it is time to get back to work. Edgeshot dropped by before they went to bed to tell them that the situation was over, and that more Heroes and relief personnel were on their way. In all likelihood, they would be back at Edgeshot's agency in time for dinner.
Momo wipes the sweat off her forehead as she finishes creating the bandages one of the medics asked for, handing them in to a grateful middle-aged man in white before walking off to where Johan is helping the rescue workers clear some rubble from where one of those things from the USJ had lobbed a garbage truck into a storefront.
"That should be enough." She hears a man in an armband that marks him as the leader of this group tell her friend when she comes closer. "Go take a break, kid."
Johan grunts and makes 「Holy Diver」 drop the wreckage it was carrying into a designated pile. He spots her approach a second later, and wastes no time in walking towards her.
"Hi, Momo." He sighs, his voice muffled by his helmet, while rubbing on a spot where he would normally find an ear, sounding bored out of his mind with every word. "Are you done on your end?"
"More or less." She nods. Her eyes flicker to the pockets on Johan's costume. "Have you heard anything from Midoriya?" Their green-haired friend hadn't sent any messages after the location update last night, but maybe Johan had more luck.
Johan shakes his head. "No. Still nothing-"
He is interrupted by his ringtone, which is nothing special, likely the one the phone came with.
"Hang on a second." He mumbles as he pulls off one of the gloves on his costume, 「Holy Diver」 hard at work helping him to take off his yellow motorcycle helmet before he fishes out his cellphone.
The catboy blinks at the display. "It is Midoriya." He tells her before he presses accept call. "Hello? Midoriya?"
Momo cannot hear what Midoriya is saying to Johan, but from the way the Norwegian's blue, slitted eyes widen it can't be good.
"You are in the hospital?" Johan demands of Midoriya, much to Momo's shock. What had he been doing last night? "With Iida and Todoroki-san? What happened?" He looks over at Momo and hurries to add: "Are the three of you alright?"
Another tense period of inaudible chatter arises as Midoriya answers Johan. "Um-"
"Hm?" Johan notices Momo discretely trying to listen in. "One moment, Midoriya." He puts a hand over his phone and turns to her. "They are alright. They are injured, but they are going to make it."
Momo lets out a sigh of relief, which quickly turns into a sharp intake of air upon hearing the next words out of Johan's mouth:
"Iida awakened his Stand?" Johan exclaims, sharing in Momo's utter bafflement. "Hang on, Midoriya. Momo is here. Let my just put this on speaker-"
A series of sounds come out of the cellphone, and Johan freezes instantly.
Momo leans forward, concerned. "Johan?"
"Midoriya…" Me whispers, ignoring her completely as his voice takes on a calm, quivering timbre. "…which hospital are you in?"
Johan ends the call a second later, thoughts of putting their friend on speakerphone forgotten now that he has gotten his answer.
"I think we passed that hospital before." Johan whispers as he turns to look down the street. "It should be over there…"
"What hospital." Momo asks before she follows his gaze. "Johan, what are you going to do?"
[] "…Let us ask Edgeshot if we can go."
++++++++Velvet.
++Despair.
[] "I am going to that hospital. Tell Edgeshot if you want."
+++++Velvet.
+++++Steel.
[] When she looks back, Johan is already gone.
++++++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 310
Steel: 180
Despair: 50/100
Hero Killer Stain's Mack The Knife.
"-is to get rid of that monster Stand!"
Shouto twirls 「Prime Mover」 for emphasis and levels its blue end at the shifting mass chasing the Hero Killer around the alley. He is about to move in when Midoriya stops him.
"Todoroki-kun! Wait!"
"Midoriya?" Shouto blinks, but does as he is told.
"The edges!" Midoriya gasps as he releases Shouto to clutch at his own wounds. "Some of the edges might still be there!"
The edges created by Stain's Stand? "I should be able to destroy them with 「Prime Mover」, but-" Shouto's mouth falls open as Midoriya jams his gloved hands into his own wounds and squeezes. Red blood, nearly black in the dim light, wells up to pool in his hands.
"D-don't worry, Todoroki-kun." Midoriya says in a feeble attempt to reassure him. "This-this is nothing!" With a choked yell, Midoriya throws two handfuls of blood through the space between them and the monster Stand.
And true enough, the edges are revealed. Drops and splashes of Midoriya's blood betray their locations, hovering in the air where they are smeared along Stain's Stand power. Shouto hefts 「Prime Mover」and goes to work, clearing a path by striking every midair bloodstain with the blue end of his Stand. Every step through the monster's mucus trail heralds another tap of the staff, all of which creates a sound of cracking glass before the blood falls to the ground, the edge supporting it vanishing in the face of 「Prime Mover's」 power.
The monster ignores them until the last second, only sparing a moment of its attention for them in its blind pursuit of the Hero Killer when they get too close. It lashes out with a fleshy tendril covered it teeth and metal plates. Shouto braces himself, preparing to intercept the attack with 「Prime Mover」, but it is for naught:
The attack is caught on another of Stain's edges, one that is high and far enough not to be marked by Midoriya's blood. The tentacle is severed clean off, but its thrashing could be a hazard. Shouto stabs 「Prime Mover's」 blue end through it, making it explode in a small flash of light.
Which is when Iida's Stand goes absolutely berserk.
The monster Stand screeches, and the trail of mucus begins to glow with an ominous hum. Arms throw themselves around Shouto's body as Midoriya hurries to get them both clear. "Get back!"
Beneath their feet the mucus turns a bright orange before it detonates in a fiery explosion, throwing everyone and everything in the alley up into the air and setting most of it on fire.
Shouto kicks the wall to form a wall of ice to catch him, Midoriya, Iida, and the paralyzed Pro Hero before he shifts it into a platform to hold them. Below them the Hero Killer, in an impressive display of acrobatics, regains his balance in midair. The monster surges up the wall to get at him, but Stain leaps off his perch to avoid it, those 「Shark Teeth」 that once covered his sword emerging from every spike and edge on his outfit to create a web of invisible edges as he soars through the air.
The monster shoots off with speed that shouldn't be possible for something that big and, well, lumpy, but Shouto spots his chance. "Cover me."
"Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya yells helplessly as Shouto creates an ice slide to get closer to the monster. He hops off to get on solid (if rather scorched) asphalt, stabbing one of 「Prime Mover's」 ends into a charred trash bag and catapulting it through the intervening space. The bag bursts when it catches on one of the edges, spraying rancid garbage over the remaining edges and the monster, who responds with numerous lashing tendrils to catch the compost out of the air.
Shouto hears Midoriya beginning to follow him, but his focus is on the monster, which has resumed its hunt for Hero Killer Stain. He breaks through the edges with his 「Prime Mover」 and releases a wave of ice spikes to cover his approach. The monster goes for the ice wall-!
Giving Shouto the perfect opening to drive 「Prime Mover's」 blue end deep into its side.
Iida's Stand pops like a soap bubble.
Shouto around as Midoriya catches up to him, allowing them to stand back to back. Midoriya faces the Hero Killer while Shouto keeps an eye on Iida. Iida's Stand wasn't harmed by 「Prime Mover」, when Shouto's Stand disrupted its manifestation it just returned to its User.
Meaning that Iida could call it back out at any time.
But did Iida know that?
He risks a glance over his shoulder, trusting Midoriya to warn or cover him should the Hero Killer take the opportunity to attack while he is distracted.
"My Stand…my-my." Iida descends into broken mumbling, but his Stand remains absent. To Shouto's knowledge Iida didn't attend any of the lessons Shouto had with Johansen about using one's Stand, so it is possible that he doesn't realize that his Stand has just returned to him instead of having been destroyed.
A loud click of the tongue from further down the alley brings his attention back to the Hero Killer. "Not bad." He snarls, eyeing them warily from where he stands. "I've been fighting that thing ever since the kid in armor threw it at me."
Stain looks down on his shark tooth-covered sword and grimaces. "No thanks to this thing. That faceless fuck was full of shit…"
Cracks in the teeth immediately appear with every word the Hero Killer says, transforming the grimace into an outright sneer. "What the- is this thing out of power or something?"
"No." Midoriya mumbles at Shouto's side, though Shouto is sure the Hero Killer cannot hear him. "You don't believe in it, so it becomes weaker."
Shouto finds himself involuntarily nodding. Johansen had told them about this: Doubt in your Stand's power would weaken it, and that was just the start.
The Hero Killer clicks his tongue again. "Tch. Return to wherever, 「Mack The Knife」. I'll do this the traditional way."
Shouto enters a fighting stance and readies his Quirk. Now begins the battle against the Hero Killer.
**********
For Momo the second worst part is the wait, and from the way that Johan paces between every task they are given he shares her view on things. Edgeshot's subordinates only let them direct civilians and help rescue workers and first responders under their supervision, barring the occasional tool they have her make.
The worst part is the casualties. They only work at the periphery of the efforts involving those who died in the villain attack last night, but the sights and smells… are likely to stay a while.
Star Shadow told them to sleep in the helicopter, but now that morning has come it is time to get back to work. Edgeshot dropped by before they went to bed to tell them that the situation was over, and that more Heroes and relief personnel were on their way. In all likelihood, they would be back at Edgeshot's agency in time for dinner.
Momo wipes the sweat off her forehead as she finishes creating the bandages one of the medics asked for, handing them in to a grateful middle-aged man in white before walking off to where Johan is helping the rescue workers clear some rubble from where one of those things from the USJ had lobbed a garbage truck into a storefront.
"That should be enough." She hears a man in an armband that marks him as the leader of this group tell her friend when she comes closer. "Go take a break, kid."
Johan grunts and makes 「Holy Diver」 drop the wreckage it was carrying into a designated pile. He spots her approach a second later, and wastes no time in walking towards her.
"Hi, Momo." He sighs, his voice muffled by his helmet, while rubbing on a spot where he would normally find an ear, sounding bored out of his mind with every word. "Are you done on your end?"
"More or less." She nods. Her eyes flicker to the pockets on Johan's costume. "Have you heard anything from Midoriya?" Their green-haired friend hadn't sent any messages after the location update last night, but maybe Johan had more luck.
Johan shakes his head. "No. Still nothing-"
He is interrupted by his ringtone, which is nothing special, likely the one the phone came with.
"Hang on a second." He mumbles as he pulls off one of the gloves on his costume, 「Holy Diver」 hard at work helping him to take off his yellow motorcycle helmet before he fishes out his cellphone.
The catboy blinks at the display. "It is Midoriya." He tells her before he presses accept call. "Hello? Midoriya?"
Momo cannot hear what Midoriya is saying to Johan, but from the way the Norwegian's blue, slitted eyes widen it can't be good.
"You are in the hospital?" Johan demands of Midoriya, much to Momo's shock. What had he been doing last night? "With Iida and Todoroki-san? What happened?" He looks over at Momo and hurries to add: "Are the three of you alright?"
Another tense period of inaudible chatter arises as Midoriya answers Johan. "Um-"
"Hm?" Johan notices Momo discretely trying to listen in. "One moment, Midoriya." He puts a hand over his phone and turns to her. "They are alright. They are injured, but they are going to make it."
Momo lets out a sigh of relief, which quickly turns into a sharp intake of air upon hearing the next words out of Johan's mouth:
"Iida awakened his Stand?" Johan exclaims, sharing in Momo's utter bafflement. "Hang on, Midoriya. Momo is here. Let my just put this on speaker-"
A series of sounds come out of the cellphone, and Johan freezes instantly.
Momo leans forward, concerned. "Johan?"
"Midoriya…" Me whispers, ignoring her completely as his voice takes on a calm, quivering timbre. "…which hospital are you in?"
Johan ends the call a second later, thoughts of putting their friend on speakerphone forgotten now that he has gotten his answer.
"I think we passed that hospital before." Johan whispers as he turns to look down the street. "It should be over there…"
"What hospital." Momo asks before she follows his gaze. "Johan, what are you going to do?"
[] "…Let us ask Edgeshot if we can go."
++++++++Velvet.
++Despair.
[] "I am going to that hospital. Tell Edgeshot if you want."
+++++Velvet.
+++++Steel.
[] When she looks back, Johan is already gone.
++++++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 310
Steel: 180
Despair: 50/100
Hero Killer Stain's Mack The Knife.
Hero Killer Stain's Mack The Knife.
Stats:
Destructive Power = C
Speed = D
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = D
Development Potential = C
Abilities:
-Bound Stand: Mack The Knife has no physical manifestation beyond a small tendril of clear smoke that binds itself to any point or edge the User desires. Anything that Mack the Knife binds itself to becomes covered in shark teeth.
-Such Teeth, Dear: When a point or edge that has been infused with Mack The Knife is swung or thrust and doesn't strike anything solid, an invisible point or edge will be created where the bound object passed through. These traps cut or pierce anything that comes into contact with them with the strength that was used to swing or thrust the bound object, but only if approached from the front. The traps are infused with Stand energy and can hurt Stands, but vanish if the User moves more than fifty meters away.
Appearance:
Stats:
Destructive Power = C
Speed = D
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = D
Development Potential = C
Abilities:
-Bound Stand: Mack The Knife has no physical manifestation beyond a small tendril of clear smoke that binds itself to any point or edge the User desires. Anything that Mack the Knife binds itself to becomes covered in shark teeth.
-Such Teeth, Dear: When a point or edge that has been infused with Mack The Knife is swung or thrust and doesn't strike anything solid, an invisible point or edge will be created where the bound object passed through. These traps cut or pierce anything that comes into contact with them with the strength that was used to swing or thrust the bound object, but only if approached from the front. The traps are infused with Stand energy and can hurt Stands, but vanish if the User moves more than fifty meters away.
Appearance:
- Location
- In my Lair, on my Hoard
[X] When she looks back, Johan is already gone.
While not the nicest pick, it seems like the one that suits Johan's urgency and panic the best.
While not the nicest pick, it seems like the one that suits Johan's urgency and panic the best.