A few days later, Mei contacted me and alerted me that my new weapon and costume upgrades were ready for pick up. I happily went to meet her, excited to see what magic the over-excited girl worked up for my costume.
"This is now my most precious baby!" Mei says as soon as I knock on the development studio room, dragging me in and shoving the new weapon into my hand. In its collapsed form, it look similar to my original staff, only now it's about a foot long whereas before it could condense down to about eight inches. It had to be moved to a new placement on my costume because of that, so it now resided in a holster along the spine of my leotard. It was easily reachable and not in the way, so I didn't mind the new placement. "Open it up and test my baby out!" She encouraged, and I didn't hesitate to follow through.
I extended the staff to its full length, which was only an inch longer than previously. Mei worked it out so that the staff could be used exactly the same as my original one like this, unless I grip it a certain way and give it a specific twist. Once I did those exact movements in front of her, on one end of the staff a hollow curved blade appeared out of it piece by piece before it locked into place as a solid scythe.
"Wow, that's amazing!" I observe as the blade literally appeared as if out of thin air. "It's so lightweight too, it didn't throw off the balance of the staff. It's like magic. Will the blade withstand hits though?"
"It will." Power Loader jumps in to answer reassuringly. As much as I gave free reign to Mei to design the weapon, it was all down to Power Loader and my costume designer to approve the final product. "That blade is made from some of the strongest metal there is. And it's specially crafted and designed to be hollow, that way your wind will have more room to wrap around it and enhance it. Go on and test it out. Outside of my studio this time, if you don't mind."
"Thanks, I'll go test it now!" I say happily to him as I take the briefcase for my whole costume.
"I'll come watch in a bit, I want to see my baby in action!" Mei waves me off, already distracted with whatever her next project is as I leave the room.
I noticed there was a subtle design change to my hero costume as I put it on. The combat boots, which previously went to just above my ankles, now went up to my knees where the knee pads were. The cream colored fur that was on the top of the boots is now gone, and instead two smaller stripes of fur run along the length of the boots where the laces are. My leotard top now had the new weapon holster along the spine, so it's no longer entirely mesh in the back. Now there's a bit of movable armor padding along the whole spine of it, likely so that the weapon won't irritate me as I fight. It's very flexible armor, so I'm thankful it doesn't hinder me at all.
(A/N: Again, I'm not an artist, this is just a rough idea of the design. The blue is more navy and the red is maroon.)
I was back to testing ultimate moves for the rest of that day, jumping from platform to platform as Cementoss kept creating more walls for me to destroy with my scythe while my Ectoplasm clone was timing me. It wasn't what I originally planned as my ultimate move, but I was just working on how to use the scythe for today. It was mostly like how I was using the scythe Momo made for me in the Beast's Forest, using a bit of wind to enhance the blade and flying with my agility to get to the next target faster. Not an ultimate move, but certainly a very useful fighting method.
"Look out!" I suddenly heard Bakugo yell, and turn around and see a large chunk of boulder falling towards All Might.
I can see Midoriya already running to the boulder, so I take off to All Might at a lightning fast speed and create a dome over him. The boulder was destroyed by Midoriya, but my dome shielded All Might from the smaller pieces as they fell.
"Are you alright, sir?" I ask the retired Pro as I dissolve the dome and Midoriya joins us, asking a similar question.
"I am thanks to you two, wonderfully done." All Might smiles proudly at us both. Everyone gathers to congratulate us on the save and on Midoriya's new moves, but I notice something different about Eijiro.
"Sleeves?" I ask my boyfriend, running up to him and shamelessly feeling the new fabric covering his previously bare arms he had in his hero costume.
"Yeah, I thought it would look cool, ya know?" Eijiro says sheepishly, and I grin at him.
"Super manly. Thanks for not covering up the sexy torso part though." I wink at him, and then grimace at myself. "You don't know this, but I winked at you. I flirted with you, it was hidden. I am checking you out shamelessly." He blushes a deeper red with each awkward sentence I say to him.
"Thanks, Bubbles." He says shyly. It doesn't help his embarrassment that several people are within hearing range of us, but most of the class is used to my random comments by now. Only Eijiro knows the difference between my word vomit and my actual flirting. Somehow.
"Wait, Todoroki?" I spot the half and half boy nearby gripping his new arm braces that look... exactly like mine. "Did you copy me?" I ask him with a teasing grin, walking over and tapping his new braces with my own.
"No, this was simply an efficient means to block incoming attacks." Todoroki answers plainly, but he subtly can't make eye contact so I know he's not being entirely truthful. I hum knowingly at him, then I leave him and go back to my clone, and then I get an idea.
"Sir, can you stand on the other side of the gym for me?" I ask Ectoplasm, pointing to a spot about 100 yards away. He nods and moves into place, and I float up into the air with my scythe.
I had this idea a while ago, but I haven't gotten around to testing it until now. As I'm floated there, I used the basic concept of my arm crossing attack I use and I created two layers of wind along the hollow blade of the scythe. I mentally kept it there, going faster and faster along the surface as it made almost a whistling sound from the friction. I spun my own body in a circle to build up momentum, and then I released the wind from the edge of the blade.
My aim wasn't perfect for my first attempt, but the concept worked. I may have missed Ectoplasm's body, but the high speed arc of sharp wind cut entirely through the wall a few feet to his left. The whistling stopped the second I shot off the attack, and the wind made no noise as it travelled until the moment it impacted the wall.
"Very impressive." Ectoplasm says as he rejoins me. "With some practice on aiming, that could be your second ultimate move. What will you call it?"
"Wind Scar." I grin at my teacher, proud of my achievement. Then I immediately start thinking of other potential names. "Silent Scream? Whistling Abyss? Singing Decapitation? Maiming Winds? Sneaking Assassination? Screaming Blades of Death?"
"Those are getting worse." He deadpans at me. "Wind Scar is a fine name."
"Right, thanks." I chuckle sheepishly. "Uh, the other one I'm just calling Ultimate Defense, is that ok?"
"Aptly named. Let's perfect them both now." He says, then we resume our training. Mei came at one point to observe the weapon in action, and she was satisfied with her 'baby'.
This whole week I've been training super hard, and as Aizawa not-so-reluctantly agreed to my father's terms, I've been having double training sessions every day. Before, I would meet with him and Shinso two or three times a week for sparring. Now, I met with Aizawa every night and was given hours of some type of training or another, with or without Shinso around.
Everyone in the class has been pushing themselves super hard lately, either in preparation for the license exam or in perfecting their ultimate moves. We've all been so busy that even though Eijiro asked me out on Monday night, we've hardly had a single moment alone together since then. He's been pushing himself super hard and been at the gym lifting weights every night after a day full of training. I know a part of his drive to push himself right now is that he still feels guilty for me and Bakugo getting taken, so I'm hoping a few hours of relaxation together this weekend helps him out.
"Sir?" I tentatively knock on my homeroom teacher's door in our dorm on Friday.
"What do you want, Yoarashi?" Aizawa asks grumpily, clearly upset at being bothered.
"Um, could I have permission to leave campus on Saturday with Kirishima for a few hours?" I ask hopefully. His responding glare and then sigh aren't very promising.
"Why?" He asks sharply. "Students are here on campus for their safety, you especially."
"Umm..." I rock back and forth on my feet, a little embarrassed I have to ask permission from my teacher to go on a date with my new boyfriend. "We're going on a date. Our first date?" I look up at him once again with hope, his eyes narrowing at my request.
"That's an illogical and unnecessary reason to leave campus." He says plainly.
"I know..." I agree, figuring I wouldn't be allowed out, but still trying to go anyway. Time to play dirty. "We could have it here, but so many of our friends would just follow us and crash our date. Plus I just figured a little sense of normalcy and something fun would really help relax my nerves after, ya know, being kidnapped and all that recently." I lay it on thick, bashfully battling my eye in faux sorrow.
"Guilt and manipulation don't work on me, Yoarashi." He says sternly, seeing through my less than subtle attempts.
"How about bribery?" I ask with a sly smirk. "Coffee from Celeste Café?" I know it's his favorite coffee place, so I'm hoping it sweetens the deal a bit more. It at least makes him pause in his rejection, so I continue on. "Perhaps a pound of their dark roast specialty batch?"
"Four hours, daylight only." He eventually says through gritted teeth. "And you'll keep your location on your phone turned on."
"Yes, papa-zawa." I tease him more, which earns me a door slammed in my face. It's no matter though, I got what I wanted, so I zoomed away off to tell my boyfriend the good news.
I didn't notice I had an eavesdropper during the whole conversation. A deviously smiling eavesdropper.
"Ochaco!" I knock urgently on my friend's door early the next day. "Ochaco I need help!"
"What?!" Ochaco asks worriedly, opening her door still half asleep but her lamp in her hand as if she's going to use it as a weapon.
"Mashi and Ina-nii are useless and give terrible advice!" I cry to her, shoving her back in her room and closing the door as she trails blearily after me.
"I'm confused." She says slowly.
"So am I!" I agree with her. "What do I wear?!" I throw myself down dramatically onto her unmade bed and wait for her to have the solution.
"...What?" She asks in confusion after a long moment of her rubbing her eyes and waking up. "Irisa, start from the beginning. I have no idea what you're dressing for."
"Oh... right." I chuckle sheepishly, realizing she's right. "So, I have my first date with Eijiro today, which is technically a secret since we weren't going to tell anyone until after the date but that got ruined. Well, ruined by me, right now by me telling you. Anyway, I'm not used to doing girly things like looking nice or trying hard on my appearance, and I tried calling my brother this morning and his idea was to cover me head to toe in thick unshapely clothes and wear a mask over my whole face. Then I tried Mashi this morning, and he just told me I looked fine in everything I tried showing him, so I couldn't trust his opinion because that wasn't helpful at all! So now I'm here and I need advice!!"
"... You're dating Kirishima?!" She yells out in shock after my ranting, and I nod hurriedly so she can get past that and help me. "Ok, ok, I'm ok. I'm caught up now. You need an outfit to wear on a date, we can work with that! To your room, now!" She says confidently, then drags me out of her bed and upstairs to my room.
"Thanks, Ochaco." I thank her softly as she starts to rip all of my clothes out of my drawers and closet.
"Irisa..." She says darkly after about five minutes. "All you have in here are workout clothes and combat pants. I know you have cute clothes, I've seen you wear them before, so where the hell are they?!"
"The interns didn't pack any! I was going to get some when I went home next." I answer sheepishly and then sigh. "I guess I can go casual..."
"Wait, Momo might have something you can borrow! You two are roughly the same size, right?" She asks brightly after having the thought.
"We're close, but her chest is bigger." I debate. "Maybe she could have something though, just don't tell her what it's for."
I don't know how the events ended up leading to it, but within 20 minutes every girl in our class was in my room and helping me get dressed and put makeup on and doing my hair. There wasn't much to do with my makeup, just mascara on my right eye and some light tint on my lips. My hair also couldn't get much done, but Jirou had some cool clips to put in my hair, so she ended up pinning the shorter bangs on my right ride off my face entirely with cute crisscrossing pins. Hagakure, Mina, and Momo picked out an outfit from their own combined wardrobes for me, only after they also complained about the clothes I had on hand. Tsu put a cream in my hair that made it softer and less spiky, and I ended up instantly ordering several bottles of it while we chatted since I loved it.
"Thanks, you guys." I say with a grin when I notice I'm ready with a few minutes to spare. "This... honestly this means so much to me. I grew up mostly surrounded by guys, so girl time and things like this, I missed out on it all."
"We're happy to help!" They all say some variation of the same sentiment.
I feel warm inside as I walk to go on my first date. A part of me is sad though. I wonder, if things had turned out differently, if it would have been my mom helping me get ready for my first date instead of my friends. I've been thinking about her so much lately, especially since getting taken again, but also with admitting my feelings to Eijiro. I have no doubt I would have come to her for advice on Eijiro long before I ended up confessing. She was such a romantic already, she would have had great advice for me.
A melancholy smile graced my lips as I stepped off the elevator to meet Eijiro, thoughts of how sweet and loving my mother was to my father running through my mind. Once my eyes locked onto familiar crimson red ones though, my smile grew to a happier one. I think mom would have loved Eijiro, and that thought is enough motivation to enjoy the situation as it is. She wouldn't want me sad about her not being here, she would want me to be happy with the boy I like.
"You look amazing." Eijiro says once I get to him, his jaw slightly dropped and his eyes wide. "Not that you don't always look great, you're just even more beautiful now."
"Thanks, I had a little help." I chuckle sheepishly as we walk out of the door, our hands finding each other's once we're out of sight of the dorm. "You look very handsome yourself. I think we clean up nice."
"Thanks, I agree!" He grins with a light blush on his cheeks.
"So, where are we going for our four hours of freedom?" I ask him happily once we pass through security.
"I was hoping to go back to our spot?" He asks hopefully, and I light up with excitement and grin broadly at him.
"Let's go!" I tug him gently to get him to hurry, already excited to go to our nerd smoothie bar.
I was so excited, I didn't realize we were being followed.