The Subtle Smell Of Fish (D. Kaminari X Reader)

33 - Kill 'em Dead!

It wasn't long before you'd finished eating and showering, ending your training for the day.

"I take it you were successful then, considering that Sorahiko-San is in a pretty good mood," you asked, standing at Midoriya's room.

The two of you decided to get together at the end of each day to just relax, play a few rounds of whatever board game you could find, and talk to each other about your progress. Gran Torino didn't mind either, as long as you didn't make too much noise.

"Yeah," he nodded, throwing a shirt on and rubbing his hair dry with a towel. "What about you?"

"I made some progress," you sighed, entering the room. "Connecting with the previous users, that kind of thing you know? Apparently it's supposed to make it easier to use my quirk."

"Really?" Midoriya asked. "I should try that."

"It's a waste of time," you scoffed. "I connected with them but I still don't know what I improved."

"Must be frustrating," he nodded, taking out a deck of UNO cards and dealing them out to you.

"No, I'll just have to work on it twice as hard tomorrow," you sighed. "Obviously connecting didn't work, so I might have to practice more attacks. I can't rely purely on defense in the real world."

It was true, you relied mostly on your father's quirk so far, which only converted various types of heat into ATP for your muscles to use. That of course, caused an increase in strength.

Your mother's quirk however, was something you'd concealed until the sports festival, and even then you only used it for defense.

Villains wouldn't wait for you to attack, you knew that all too well. So it was even more important for you to perfect your attacks alongside your defense.

"Crazy how we both have powers that can be passed down though," Midoriya mumbled, much to your surprise.

"Yeah, that's true," you shrugged, unsure of what to say. "What'd Gran Torino have you do anyways?"

"I had to fight him constantly and dodge his attacks," he quivered. "While using One for All."

"And you didn't break any bones?" You asked, surprised, only to receive a glare from the greenette.

"Apparently you don't have to switch off the power, it's not a light switch," he shrugged, explaining how he got control.

"So you have it in you all the time, you just increase the output," you realised, to which he nodded. "I guess that would be more effective with me as well, instead of suppressing it out of fear."

And that was exactly what you did the next day.

The entirety of the next day, you and Midoriya took turns dueling Gran Torino, with you switching between quirks more boldly.

"One more time Y/N, you need to react faster," Gran Torino stated, attacking you before you could even get up.

You instantly put your arms in front of your face and put a shield up, unknowingly making it more powerful than you'd intended to.

The shield was so thick it could be easily mistaken for solid, and the pressure between the heat molecules was no better.

Gran Torino repeatedly attacked you, waiting for your shield to wear down or for you to attack first. You, on the other hand, only increased your defense output as you prepared a tactic to attack with.

Just as he aimed a kick straight at your arms, you switched your weapon to a staff, quickly throwing him off and onto the ground.

"Good, you're improving," he coughed out, getting up to check the time. "Now, your internships aren't just about training. You two still need a workplace experience."

Midoriya and you nervously shared a glance, though you threw on your costume anyways and followed him out to the curb where he hailed a taxi.

"It's on me," you shrugged, pulling out a credit card, though your mentor stopped you from paying.

"Don't listen to the lady, I'm paying," he responded. "Central Station is good, thank you."

"Yes sir," the driver nodded, starting the car.

"So where are we off to?" You asked, leaning into the car seat and taking your visor off to clean it. 

"We're going to Shinjuku," Gran Torino informed you, to which you abruptly realised that you would be passing Hosu on the way.

It seemed Midoriya had the same thought, as he shared a glance with you not a moment later.

"Iida-kun," he whispered, to which you nodded, gripping the hem of your skirt.

You were more worried about Iida than you liked to admit, he'd been out of it ever since you visited his brother at the hospital. The fact that he'd chosen to work with Manual at Hosu didn't ease your worries either.

"He'll be fine, I know he will," you mumbled, trying to calm yourself down.

You were attached to Iida since you were kids, should anything happen to him, you wouldn't forgive yourself.

"A friend?" Gran Torino asked.

"My best friend," you responded, eyes downcast. "His brother was involved in the Hero Killer incident last week, and he's been down ever since."

The veteran hero nodded in response, not having anything to say as you all got off at the train station.

"The train to Shinjuku is at 17:15, let's hurry," he instructed, rushing you up the stairs as soon as he'd bought the tickets.

"We'll only get there at night," Midoriya mumbled, to which he nodded.

"What are your hero names anyway?" Gran Torino asked the two of you.

"I'm Deku!" Midoriya smiled.

"Firefly," you nodded.

"Alright then, Deku, Firefly," Gran Torino began. "Stay on guard. Nightlife in Japan is most dangerous, for that's when villains thrive."

Villains could do anything at night and get away with it. Robbery, murder, anything that could be thought of. The only criteria was that they shouldn't be seen.

Thankfully for you, your vision could switch into seeing heat signatures when you needed it to, due to your mother's quirk. Your visor only made it easier, so that you wouldn't strain your eyes using your quirk, which you found extremely practical.

The train to Shinjuku was quick to arrive and the three of you got in, worries of Iida pushed to the back of your mind.

He'd be fine, you just knew it.

A/N: filler chapter 3, we're finally in the next arc!

QOTD: thoughts on a potential movie special?

Have a great day/night!