Izuku stood outside the steel holding room door as his supervisor paced nervously up and down the carpeted hallway.
"Midoriya please try to be professional." The balding portly man said anxiously. "I know you don't have the best history with Miruko but she is still a pro-hero at the end of the day. Director Fujikawa will have our heads if the press gets wind of your umm...disagreements."
Izuku nodded and took in a deep breath as he placed his hand on the metal doorknob. "I will try sir, I just want this whole thing to be over with."
Izuku's supervisor nodded and began to walk away so as to give his subordinate some privacy. "Good man, I will be the only one watching the cameras so don't worry about anyone poking their nose into your personal life."
Giving his supervisor a grateful nod, Izuku waited until the older man had walked out of sight then opened the holding room door.
Stepping into the beige carpeted room, Izuku closed the door behind himself and inspected his surroundings. There was only the bare minimum in the room, two folding metal chairs and a plastic table between them. There were no windows, and in the upper corners of the room small security cameras constantly swiveled about recording everything they saw.
Then he finally turned his gaze to the lone figure sitting at the table.
Miruko was dressed in casual clothes consisting of blue jeans, a black hoodie, and custom fitted white running shoes. The second Izuku stepped into the room the pro-hero's rabbit ears perked up and she straightened up in her chair, clearly eager to discuss whatever was on her mind.
Sighing tiredly, the Izuku sat down in the metal chair opposite of Miruko and gave her an apathetic look.
"So here I am." The green-haired agent said coldly. "I thought I had made it pretty clear that I didn't want to talk to you. So this better be damn important."
Anticipating another screaming match, Izuku nearly fell out of his chair in surprise when Miruko simply nodded meekly.
"Well...I think it is important." The pro-hero said quietly as her eyes met Izuku's. "Midoriya, I know you hate my guts but I am just asking for you to listen to what I have to say." She was silent for a moment before continuing in a very subdued voice. "I just wanted to apologize for, y'know, everything."
Izuku glared suspiciously at the abnormally quiet woman in front of him and crossed his arms as he spoke. "Okay what is really going on here? Is this some kind of sick joke that you are pulling on me? What makes you think even for a second that I actually believe you?"
Leaning forward, Miruko glared back at the field agent as her voice took on an indignant tone. "Look Midoriya I am trying to apologize for what I did but you are being a real asshole about this. I know you think I am some kind of sicko that enjoys hurting people, but I am trying to change goddammit! Stop being such a dick and listen to me for once!"
Izuku rolled his eyes as he dismissively waved away Miruko's words. "You really expect me to believe you? My bet is that you are only doing this because your agent told you to. So you can take your apology and shove it, because there is no way in hell I am falling for such a stupid lie."
Izuku felt a small amount of satisfaction as Rumi snarled angrily and slammed her metal fist down on the table as she stood up.
"You are unbelievable!" She exclaimed loudly. "You have got to be the most hateful and petty person I have ever met! Here I am trying to make things right and you insist on treating me like shit! What do I have to do to make you believe me?!"
Izuku did flinch in the slightest at Rumi's outburst, crossing his arms defiantly and glaring at her with disgust. "Sorry to disappoint you, but this is not some cheesy movie about friendship and forgiveness. You treated me like I was dirt even after I did my best to work with you. I have had to put up with bullies like you my entire life, so I have no sympathy for you just because you suddenly realized how shitty of a person you are. Give me one good reason why I should believe a single word that comes out of your mouth."
"BECAUSE I ALMOST FUCKING DIED!" Rumi screamed in exasperation. "I GET IT, YOU HATE ME, BUT I AM DOING MY FUCKING BEST TO FIX THINGS!" She heaved in a lungful of air before placing her hand over her heart and glaring at Izuku with hurt and remorse in her eyes. "All I am asking is that you give me a chance to make things right. Please..."
Izuku frowned as he stared at the emotional hero in front of him. Part of him wanted to put her through as much pain and suffering as she had done to him, but he suddenly recalled a memory of his mom.
He had just come home from school with a bloody nose and a black eye, wishing all kinds of pain upon those who had been tormenting him. As he tried to hold back sobs of agony his mom had hugged him tight and gently stroked his curly hair.
"Izuku I know how hard this is for you, but I promise one day things will get better. There might even come a time when people will realize what they did to you was wrong and try to make amends. People can change, and I hope that you don't hold onto your hate forever. It will be hard, but sometimes the best kind of friend is one who has changed for the better."
Staring at the pro-hero in front of him Izuku could almost feel his mom's comforting hand on his shoulder.
Maybe his mom was right. Maybe he should give Miruko a chance.
There was a long silence, but eventually Izuku gave his answer.
"Alright...let's say I believe that you are being honest." He said cautiously. "Just what exactly did you have in mind?"
For a second Izuku saw a breathtaking smile on Miruko's face, but it was quickly replaced by an anxious and uncertain expression.
"Well..." She said surprisingly quietly as she nervously wrung her hands together. "I was gonna ask if you would...umm...be my liaison again. I know that is a lot to ask for, and you probably already got assigned a new partner, but that was the only thing I could think of."
Izuku stroked his chin as he mulled over Miruko's plan. Frankly he did not have many reasons to refuse her. The logistics team he was in charge of had improved greatly since the warehouse raid, and most of his days were just filled with administrative paperwork. Also, Izuku could practically feel his supervisor staring at him expectantly through the cameras, and he owed the man greatly.
Sighing in resignation, Izuku nodded. "Fine, we can start over but let me make a few things clear right now." He leaned forward and gave Miruko a stern look as he tapped the plastic table for emphasis. "If we are going to work together you need to treat me like an equal. My trust is earned, not given for free. You can go do your normal hero stuff, but when we are working together you need to listen to what I have to say."
Miruko nodded eagerly as she grinned happily. "You got it Midoriya! I just want to start fresh and forget about our umm...not so friendly past."
Izuku ran a hand through his curly green hair and nodded as well. "Alright then, I will get started on the paperwork and meet you at your apartment tomorrow morning to start planning."
He was slightly surprised when Miruko offered her hand for him to shake.
"You won't regret this Midoriya." She said with renewed vigor.
Standing up, Izuku frowned as he looked at Miruko's extended hand and the expectant look on her face.
She did say she wanted to start over, and sometimes the biggest changes begin with the smallest steps.
Finally, Izuku reached out and gave his newly returned partner's hand a firm shake, all while trying to ignore how warm and soft her skin was.
--------------------------------------------------
Stepping out of the front door of the MoD (Ministry of Defense) building, Rumi could not keep a happy grin off her face as she began walking back to her apartment.
She had done it!
She had managed to convince Midoriya to give her a second chance and she was determined not to mess it up. Pulling her smartphone out of her pocket, Rumi quickly dialed the number of her agent. After two short rings there was a click and the sound of Miss Sasaki's voice.
"What is it Rumi?" The stern lady asked bluntly.
"I did it!" The tanned woman cheered happily. "Midoriya is giving me a second chance! He is coming by my place tomorrow to make plans and stuff."
Rumi could hear a slight grin in her agent's voice as the woman chuckled.
"Well that is good news for a change." The older woman stated. "Frankly I was fully expecting him to tell you to take a hike."
Rumi decided to omit the rough beginning of the conversation in the holding room and simply scoffed at her agent's surprise. "Hey, I can be pretty damn persuasive when I want to be. It's just that most of the time my problems are solved with a good kick."
The two talked for a little bit more before ending the call, leaving the happy pro-hero to walk back to her apartment with a little more pep in her step.
Finally getting back to her penthouse, Rumi grabbed a bag of baby carrots from the fridge and plopped down onto her living room couch. Turning her massive TV on, she flicked through channels in search of something to entertain her.
"I wonder what kind of quirk Midoriya has?" Rumi thought to herself as she munched on her snack. "The way everyone talks him up I doubt he will have any problems doing some of my hero work. Just gotta remember to tell him I am not at full strength tomorrow."
The rest of the day passed quickly and Rumi eventually went to bed after a nice long bath. Flopping onto her massive bed, she burrowed under the blankets and quickly fell asleep trying to imagine what Midoriya's quirk was.
The next morning Rumi woke up bright and early to prepare for her guest. Frankly not much needed to be done as the only part of her penthouse that was messy and unorganized was her bedroom, and there was no way Midoriya was going to be setting foot in there.
Finished with her preparations, she sat down on her couch and waited for her liaison to arrive.
The rabbit hero had barely started watching a morning news show when her apartment doorbell began to chime loudly. Jumping to her feet, Rumi cast one last glance around her apartment to make sure everything was in order. Just as she was about to open the door she happened to glance down at herself and stop dead in her tracks.
She was still wearing her goddamn pajamas!
"Hold on a sec!" She yelled before bolting to her room.
Frantically digging through her closet for a nice set of clothes, Rumi paused in the middle of comparing two different color shirts.
Why the hell was she getting so concerned about her clothes?! She could care less how Midoriya saw her off-duty. Hell, she had talked to him yesterday in a hoodie and blue jeans!
Resisting the urge to slam her head against the nearest wall, Rumi threw on a cyan t-shirt and black sweatpants before sprinting back to her front door. Taking a second to straighten out her hair, she opened the door and smiled at the man standing out in the hallway wearing his sual government-standard black suit.
"Heya Midoriya!" She said cheerily. "C'mon in. Sorry about that I had to..uhh...turn off my stove."
As the handsome field agent gave her a quizzical look Rumi mentally screamed in embarrassment. That was the lamest excuse she had ever concocted in her entire life! Why couldn't she just have been honest?! It was like whenever Midoriya was involved her normally calm and composed mentality went flying out the window!
"Umm..okay..." Midoriya said slowly as he walked into Rumi's apartment.
Closing the door behind her liaison, Rumi gestured over to the lone couch and low coffee table.
"Just sit over there." She said awkwardly. "I can grab a stool from the kitchen, you can take the couch."
Midoriya nodded and Rumi finally noticed that he was carrying a black briefcase by its handle. As the dark-skinned woman grabbed a folding stool from the kitchen, the field agent sat down on the couch and placed his briefcase on the table in front of him. Opening it up, he pulled out a stack of papers and a small laptop.
"First off I need you to fill out some forms." The green-haired agent said as he retrieved a black ballpoint pen from the briefcase. "After that we can discuss strategy. You might have to change your normal patrol routine a little but for the most part you can just do your duties as usual."
Placing the stool so she was facing Midoriya, Rumi could not suppress the slight annoyance in her voice.
"Really? Paperwork? I normally have my agent do all that kinda stuff." She said as she examined the form at the top of the pile and the concerning amount of small text it had on it.
"Well your agent isn't here and this needs to be done as soon as possible." Midoriya said as he handed the pen to her. "You better get used to doing this, because working for the government means there are at least two forms for anything you do."
Groaning in dismay, Rumi placed the first form in front of her and began skimming through the contents. "Aw man! nobody told me that. How do you get anything done when you have so much paperwork?"
Midoriya shrugged as he opened his laptop and powered it on. "You get used to it. Actually I could do all this myself, but I wanted to give you a taste of what I have to do so you can appreciate my work. For every pro-hero there are at least three office workers doing all their paperwork."
Rumi grumbled under her breath but diligently filled out the first form before moving on to the second.
"As you do that I want you to give me an overview of your daily hero activities." The government agent said as he cracked his knuckles. "This way I can streamline the process so you spend more time out in the field and less time sitting here with me doing paperwork."
Rumi paused and gave Midoriya an apologetic look. "Uhh...I dunno how to say this but...my quirk still isn't working."
Rumi would have laughed at the bewildered expression on her liaison's face if the topic wasn't so depressing.
"What?!" Midoriya said loudly in disbelief. "Are you messing with me?"
Rumi shook her head sadly. "I wish I was. The doctors at the hospital were not that helpful in offering advice either. I have just been kinda lounging around ever since I got back from the hospital." She paused before smiling at her liaison and grinning confidently. "But it aint that bad. I mean you can just take my place for a little bit until I am back to full strength. Easy-peasy."
Rumi was confused when Midoriya buried his head in his hands and groaned in dismay.
"Even if I had a..." He stopped mid-sentence and paused for a few seconds before looking up and continuing. "It's not that easy Miruko." He said bluntly. "Besides the fact that I don't have any kind of experience with hero work it would be a political shitshow if I took your place, even if it was temporary."
Rumi frowned and tilted her head slightly in confusion. "I don't get it." She said honestly. "Just tell everyone you are filling in for me. Also, you probably have plenty of experience after doing all your army stuff."
Rumi watched as Midoriya slapped his palm to his forehead and tried to calm himself.
"There are so many things wrong with what you just said." The field agent said unhappily.
Before Rumi could ask why, Midoriya began to explain.
"You have to think with an outsider's perspective." He stated. "How would it look if some random guy from the MoD took the place of a top-ranked hero without going through the entire pro-hero training process? I can guarantee people would see it as me abusing my authority and skipping the figurative line to become a pro-hero. Add on the fact that any number of watchdog groups would start screaming bloody murder about government interference in a privatized sector. Next thing you know pro-heroes are replaced by government sponsored military contractors that only have the interests of their employer in mind." Shaking his head vehemently, Midoriya closed his laptop and stood up. "There is no way in hell we are doing what you suggested."
Rumi only understood a third of what Midoriya was saying, but he did seem to have a point.
Looking around, the green-haired man scratched his chin as he seemingly pondered his options. "Okay, change of plans. Getting you back to fighting strength is our number-one priority."
Rumi stood up as well and gave her liaison a doubtful look. "It isn't that easy man. My quirk is fucking gone and the only thing I can do is wait for it to come back."
Midoriya paused before speaking. "Says who? A handful of doctors who have never dealt with this problem before? Jesus christ it almost sounds like you are giving up!"
Rumi narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she tried her best to keep calm. "Hey I didn't say I was giving up! I just need to wait since it is the only thing I can do."
Midoriya shook his head and walked over to the kitchen counter. "Nope, that is the easy way out. The only way you will know for certain is if you try. Now come here and arm-wrestle me."
Rumi's ears flicked slightly as she tried to figure out just what the hell her liaison was up to.
"Umm...what?" She said like she had not heard correctly.
"You heard me." Midoriya said authoritatively. "Come here and arm wrestle me. I want to see for myself how weak you are."
Rumi huffed in annoyance and marched over to the waiting field agent. She knew that he chose those words to get a reaction from her, but it still pissed her off being called weak.
Putting her flesh and blood arm on the counter, Rumi clasped hands with Midoriya and forced herself to ignore how warm the man's hand was.
Once they were both ready, the two immediately put all their strength into besting the other. For the first few seconds it was a deadlock, neither of the two participants able to overpower each other. But eventually Rumi's arm began to shake from exertion, and slowly her hand was forced down until it slammed against the counter with a thump.
Breathing heavily, Midoriya looked at the defeated Rumi with surprise clearly evident on his face. "Wow, I was honestly not expecting to win that. I guess you really are telling the truth."
Grumbling unhappily, Rumi massaged her now sore arm with her metal hand. "I told you. Now what are we gonna do?"
For the first time Rumi saw Midoriya give her an evil grin that both excited and annoyed her.
"Now I get to put you through hell until you get your strength back." He said with fiendishly. "Oh I am gonna enjoy this. You better be prepared tomorrow, because I am going to work you until you can't move a muscle."
For a second a small part of Rumi's brain suggested some exercises the two could do together, but she quickly locked those unhelpful thoughts away and fought to keep a blush off her cheeks.
Quickly packing up his things, Midoriya pulled out his phone as he held the handle of his briefcase in the other.
"I should probably unblock your number now." He said matter-of-factly. "Enjoy the leisure time while you have it, because from now on you are either going to be training or working."
Still trying to get her thoughts in order, Rumi could only mumble an acknowledgement as Midoriya left her apartment.
Great, this was definitely karma coming back to bite her in the ass.