In all honesty, bringing Midoriya to Kamui Woods' agency made Yu feel like she was dropping a kid off at daycare. She signed in at the front desk and got a visitor pass for herself and the kid. She was then led to where Kamui was while Midoriya was led into the gym where his friends were. "I'm still too young to have kids..." she thought as she was met by Kamui near a cubical-lined area.
"Welcome in," he said. "The way over wasn't too much trouble?"
Yu shrugged, "I just had the van drop us off a block away."
"Hm." Kamui handed a tablet back to one of his office workers. "Death-Arms is in the area, so he'll be handling my patrol."
She nodded before scratching her cheek. "Do you think the statement will go over well?"
"There'll always be people who have a problem with us when we complain about bad media." His eyes rolled, "We're celebrities – we ask for it."
"Complete bull," grumbled Yu.
Kamui chuckled, "And people wonder why I wear a mask."
"That's why?"
"Not the sole reason." They walked around a corner and found themselves standing in a lounge. One of the walls of said lounge was a glass-pane that showed the internal gym. "Having privacy in my personal life is just a bonus, really." The 'gym' was large, encompassing a great deal of the ground floor. Its ceiling extended well past the one above their heads. There was a section dedicated to the standard gym equipment she expected, but most of it was an open space.
"Wish I thought of that... A mask leaves an air of mysteriousness... Would've worked out for me, I think..." she thought. "Also... What the hell is this agency...! He has a lounge and an entire gym...!? I was expecting it to be like a normal looking space..." Her gaze shifted towards the distant ceiling. "He must swing around in there..." She kept the building sense of jealousy and disappointment in. "This is the difference between a patrolling Hero and an on-call one, huh...?"
"There they are."
"You have a lot of sidekicks?"
"No, mostly office workers." He shrugged, "Most people can't maneuver how I do, so the program usually falls through pretty often. Students are easier. I keep my feet on the ground. Lecture and teach. Haven't had anyone come back for a work-study." He jerked his chin at the students below. "He's your first sidekick, right?"
"Yep..." She blew raspberries as she leaned over the railing. "Am I even doing this right?"
Kamui chuckled.
Yu blinked, standing straighter. "W-What?"
"You're doing fine. It's a learning curve for both of you. He learns how to, well, Hero while you learn how to support someone else. Which is fairly difficult in our line of work." He chuckled again. "You'll realize that it's so much easier to save people."
"Heh... Probably," muttered Yu. Her gaze drifted downward once more. "So, what's the plan for them?"
Kamui nodded, "I was planning on working with Midoriya and Shinso about their maneuvering, but I was hoping you could speak to Ashido."
"Me? Why?"
"Well, you know a thing or two about property damage."
For a moment, her eyes narrowed at the comment, but she forced it away. "He wouldn't know..." she thought.
"There's an amount of precision that you require when you have a Quirk like hers and yours," he said. "It's not a problem that I'm familiar with." He shrugged, "Though, your advisement may be more thought than practice."
"Right... uh..." She crossed her arms. "I'll do what I can."
"It's all I ask," he said. "Let's go meet our students."
-XXX-
Mina fought back against the frown trying to form on her face. Through glass, she saw Shinso and Midoriya swinging through the air under the watchful eye of Kamui Woods. She was no longer in the gym and was instead in the lounge with Mount-Lady. She was seated as Pro paced in front of her. "Mount-Lady's cool, but..."
"So, um..." Mina shook the thoughts away as Mount-Lady spoke. "Woods wanted me to talk to you about your Quirk, and uh... help you."
"O-Oh..." She thought, "Our Quirks aren't really similar..."
"Your Quirk is producing acid, right?" she asked.
Mina nodded, "Yeah! Uh, I can control how acidic it is and can even make it inert."
"Ah, good, good..." Mount-Lady took a seat in front of her. "Okay, so you're going to have to worry about property damage."
"This conversation...? Oh boy..."
"Do you plan on scaling buildings or...?"
"I kinda thought I could melt holes to... climb... with..."
"Oh good, you got there on your own," she laughed. "So, if you want high mobility, you need to come up with other methods for travel." Her hand waved, "Like... I don't have to grow big and jump onto a rooftop to scale a building. The jump and landing will damage the building, so what I do is: grow, grip the lip of the roof, hop, and shrink. But instead of shrinking based off of where my feet are, I do it where my hand is." Her face contorted, "Which doesn't apply to you, I know, but it's just an example of... looking at your Quirk differently. What else can it do?"
Mina shrugged, "When it's low in acidity, it freezes at low temperatures?"
"Like ice?"
"Yeah, kinda."
Mount-Lady tapped her chin. "Some Heroes make pillars of ice to help them make big jumps."
"Oh, that'd be kinda cool," she said.
"And instead of melting holes into walls to climb with. You could make holdings."
"Ooh, that works!" Her finger tapped her lip. "I'd probably need a Support Item to do it, though."
Mount-Lady looked into the gym. "Well... It just so happens we do have a Field Support Agent in our midst."
Mina burst into laughter as she saw Midoriya and Shinso crash into each other, spiraling to the ground.
They both stepped out into the gym and called the trio over. Then, they explained their idea to Midoriya, and he concluded, "And you want to see if I can scrounge something together?"
"Can you?" asked Mount-Lady.
Midoriya rubbed his chin. "Hm..." His helmeted head teetered back and forth. "Maybe..." His gaze shifted over to Kamui. "Uh..."
"I'm assuming you need parts?" said Kamui. "If you make a list, I can have someone do a milk run." He shrugged, "If you're okay with putting your training on pause for it, of course."
"It's not gonna look pretty, but I think I can manage something..." muttered Midoriya.
Mina waved her hands. "It doesn't have to be now! It can totally wait."
Midoriya's mutterings made it clear that he was off in his own little world. It went doubly so when she noticed his hands were moving like he was writing in a notebook. "I've unlocked something in Midoriya, I think..."
"Oh, uh... don't worry, um... shouldn't take me too long..." The invisible pencil in his hand moved up and down. "Got any paper?" he asked, looking to Kamui.
"Yes, a moment."
As the Pro walked away, Shinso crossed his arms. "Guess you're gonna miss out?"
"It shouldn't take me too long..." said Midoriya. "Like an hour... or a few..."
"Here you are," said Kamui, handing over a notepad and pen.
"Alrighty..." Midoriya stared at the paper for a moment before turning to her. "Ah, take off your gauntlets and your boots."
Mina blinked, "O-Oh! Uh, okay..."
-X-
Mina was flicking her feet, staring at her provided bunny slippers. "He just has these...?" She reasoned, "Maybe he sleeps here sometimes...? Still though... Not what I expected..." She knocked her feet together before looking up at the approaching Pro. "Oh, thank you!" she said as Mount-Lady handed her a cup of tea. Then, after the Pro took a seat across the table from her, she asked, "How big of a deal is property damage?"
"Huge~," she answered. "If you're not careful, it'll be a constant nightmare for you. And, don't get me wrong, you can't help it sometimes." She listed on her fingers. "If you're a sidekick, whatever agency you work for will probably handle it. In that case, for your own sake, it'd be a good idea to aim for bigger or city-based agencies. If you want to have your own agency, you'll have to pay for it yourself." She shrugged, "There are insurance companies meant to help you with that, but... remember, they're the same as any other insurance company in any other field or part of life. Meaning: they'll spend their money for you, 'to help you', but they definitely don't want to."
Mina blinked, "Oh..." Her gaze lowered to her cup. "Wow..."
"It sucks, I know..." She muttered, "Way too much..." Then came a shrug. "But that's part of the life, you know?"
"Right..." She fiddled with the cup in her hand for a moment. "Why did you want to become a Hero?" she finally asked. "If you don't mind me asking," she quickly added.
Mount-Lady blinked, "Oh..." She leaned back in her seat, teetering her head. "Hm..." She let out a sigh before leaning forward. "Can you keep it a secret?"
Mina's eyes sparkled for a moment before nodding vehemently.
A contortion flashed over the Pro's face before she shrugged, "Well..." A sigh followed. "I grew up in the countryside. A part of our town was just farming fields, but... a bunch of the local shops were getting shut down when a supermarket rolled into town." A droll of sadness fell on her tongue before she shook her head. "A-Anyway, uh... We didn't have a local Hero – heck, we never really needed one. Local police were just fine. So, the first Hero I ever saw was on TV. She was a foreign one, American: Stars and Stripes."
Mina blinked, "Oh, I've heard of her."
"She was just starting out when I was a teenager, I think..." Mount-Lady smiled, "The way she acted around the media and paparazzi. How kind she was to the people she saved." She chuckled, "How crazy she was... How beautiful." She leaned on a propped up hand. "I was a fan."
"You were in love~," was cooed
The Pro laughed, "Sure." She shook her head. "Seeing her... I wanted to be like her." She sighed wistfully. "I wanted to make it big. Shine over Japan like she did to the US." Her smile slowly faded as her gaze drooped.
"What's wrong?" asked Mina.
"Nothing! It's, uh... nothing."
"U-Um... I know it isn't really any of my business, but..." She smiled, nudging the air. "I really can keep a secret."
Mount-Lady lowered her head for a moment, muttering to herself. "I'm being consoled by a teenager..." She chuckled, lifting her head. "I'm just realizing the gap between myself and her..."
"Well, you're still a rookie Hero, right?" offered Mina. "You've still got time."
She nodded, "Right..." She took a swig from her cup. "What about you?"
"Ah..." Her cup hadn't left the table, turning it in place for a moment. "Well... It's not a really cool reason or anything..." Her head teetered. "I... I just want to help people, and a lot of people started thinking I'd be a good fit for it." She sighed, "I know it's a pretty boring reason."
Mount-Lady lifted her cup. "It's a classic – in a good way." She shrugged, "I gotta admit: I was really excited to be a celebrity originally."
"It's a bit of a plus, right?"
A chuckle. "Sometimes." She shook her head. "Just make sure you have some boundaries for yourself when it comes to all that media. You're gonna lose some privacy."
Mina nodded, kicking her feet. "True..."
Suddenly, there was a crash as a narrow air freshener can went flying away from Midoriya's hand. "Sorry!" he cried. "Sorry!" He walked off to collect the runaway canister, wincing at its touch. "Cold-cold-cold..." A few regular-looking office workers gave a few glances and stares but went back to their work or meals.
"Should we be worried?" asked Mount-Lady.
Her face contorted. "Ah, eh... probably... not?"
"Filling me with confidence..."
"No!" cried Midoriya, snatching another, separate, canister out of the air. "You don't get to fly away!" His voice could barely be heard as he hovered over the canister, holding it against the table. "Stay still." He was climbing atop the flat surface to straddle whatever he was working on. The image was made slightly ominous by him pulling a length of duct-tape above his head.
"Though... now, I'm curious," said Mount-Lady before turning in her seat. "Hey, kid!" Midoriya didn't seem to register her voice. "Kid!"
Mina smirked, calling out. "Broccoli boy!"
Mount-Lady blew raspberries, looking back at her. "That's degrading."
"Huh?" said Midoriya, finally turning around.
"Don't respond to that!" snapped the Pro.
He shrugged, setting whatever he was working on down. "It's, uh... inside joke, but what'd you need?"
"Why did you sign up for this?" asked Mount-Lady. "Why become a sidekick?"
Midoriya didn't even hesitate. "I always wanted to be a Hero, and, given what I am, this is the closest I can get to being one right now."
"That's it? No inspiration?"
The orbs of his mask widened for a moment before flattening into semi-circles and chuckling slightly. "There was one."
"Oh, no... I'm sorry." Mount-Lady shrugged. "Well, I respect the spite."
Midoriya crossed his arms. "Spite?" He shook his head. "I..." He hummed, trailing off and slowly facing the table once again.
The Pro blinked. "Um, k—"
Reaching across the table, Mina quickly whispered, "Uh... It's... a kinda personal topic."
Mount-Lady turned back around, clearing her throat. "Y-Yeah... Um, back to what we were talking about earlier..."
-XXX-
"Now, this type of movement isn't just skill. It's intuition. It's on-the-fly thinking," explained Kamui Woods. He and Hitoshi were suspended near the ceiling of the gym. "There are going to be moments when your line doesn't grab what you want it to. A slip, a missed hold..." Kamui was held by his expansive roots and bark while Hitoshi relied on his wires, precariously held up by them. "That feeling – fear can make you freeze or panic. Either will make that potential hurt, guaranteed." Kamui tapped his chin. "I found, through personal experience, that the best way of dealing with such a thing is exposure."
"So, this balancing act is meant to—UH!" Hitoshi leaned forward, quickly correcting his turn. "Simulate that?"
"Yes... But, also..." The Pro reached over and twisted the sidekick's buckle, unlocking him from his belt.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" cried Hitoshi as he plummeted towards the ground.
His floating stomach nearly shot out of his mouth as Kamui's branches took hold of him. His descent was steadily slowed before he came to a complete stop. Then, he was slowly brought back up.
"You okay?" asked Kamui.
Hitoshi growled, "There... are... SO MANY WORDS! THAT I CANNOT SAY!"
"A very fair reaction," chuckled the Pro. "It actually works out that you and Midoriya are training separately. I can surprise him with this as well."
"I'm not sure how I feel about that."
"I definitely prefer that over you being excited about it." Kamui placed his hand on his chest. "However, let me say that while your fear may be real – the danger will never be. Not in my presence."
His branches held Hitoshi up, letting him lock back into his belt. "Uh... That does help a little bit."
The Pro retracted his branches. "Now, let's return to our practical."
"Okay..." murmured Hitoshi as he released one hook, falling into a swing. He re-shot that first hook as he retracted the second to swing forward.
"First, quick descent. Gain a little height, fall, and recover." Kamui turned and began to swing along the ceiling as Hitoshi followed. "Do what you can to keep up." He yanked on his extended bark, sending him upward before giving into gravity – diving. Hitoshi mimicked the motion with his line, falling after the Pro. He watched as Kamui twisted his body through air and shot a branch upward, slipping past him, to latch onto the ceiling. So, as the Pro swung underneath him, he turned in the air and fired off a line.
Kamui's feet skipped off the ground as he neared before landing with a few steps forward. Hitoshi tried to let his feet do the same, but he had done it too early and his first foot slipped back. His knee-pads and greaves skidded against the floor as he almost fell. Luckily, his line and rig kept him upright, letting him ride out his dying momentum.
Hitoshi retracted his line as he dusted off his legs and stood. "Crap..."
"It wasn't too bad," offered the Pro.
"True..." He chuckled, "Midoriya crashed through a window the first time he used this thing..."
"In public?"
"Off-site training center."
"Ah, one of those." Kamui wagged his finger. "But, what's very good is that you didn't panic in spite of free-falling."
Hitoshi sighed, "I don't want to acknowledge that as a good part of this lesson."
Another chuckle from the Pro. "Fair." He put his hands on his hips. "With this portion complete, we're going to break out the crash-mats and create a few obstacles for you to practice with."
"We couldn't have started with that?"
"As much as that would've been nice, I think it's best to start with the toughest aspect of this type of mobility... that instinctual fear of falling that we all have," explained Kamui. "And... the obstacles here are not dangerous – you'll crash into them and be fine afterwards. Out there, it's: jutting pipes, hanging wires, glass, metal, brick, and wood..." He stepped towards Hitoshi, placing a hand on the younger's shoulder. "I'm certain you know of this, but I need to make sure you leave this place understanding it. I can give you the basics, the general ideas, but I can't truly prepare you for those split-second decisions you'll have to make in the field." He shook his head. "And I can't stop you from being afraid, but I can numb you to it. So that when the time comes for those decisions, you can make them without freezing."
"Right..."
He added, "It's also never too late to change. You don't have to stick with this mobility if you find it doesn't suit you. You still have time."
"Thanks," responded Hitoshi.
"Anytime." Kamui then beckoned his sidekick towards the storage doors. "Now, come along, these obstacles aren't going to set up themselves."
-XXX-
Mina blinked as Midoriya set a chair beside her, plopping himself down. "Okay... These thermal gloves need to fit well, and leave enough room for non-absorbent material to lay in between your skin and the gloves themselves."
"That's why you had them buy large gloves."
"Aye, aye..." He shrugged, "So, luckily, one of the workers let me borrow their mouse-pad with a wrist cushion, so go ahead and set your hand down. I'll start with some measurements first... I'll keep them for later, so I can make a proper prototype after we get back from the internships."
"Oh, okay."
He picked up a measuring tape. "Think of it all as a manicure – chat away, don't mind me."
"He says that, but..." Mina fidgeted slightly in her seat. "Wah... I can feel how intense his stare is...! It's making me feel all squirmish... It's like when a teacher starts looking at me when I'm taking a test, and it's just at the moment I just considered looking at someone else's exam...!"
"Woosh~." She blinked and spotted the smirking Pro-Hero sitting across from her.
Her face nearly flushed completely before shaking her head. "W-What were we talking about?"
Mount-Lady grinned, "Got a boyfriend?"
Her forced smile faltered with a bit of panic. "N-No..."
"Aw..." Mount-Lady shrugged, waving her finger. "Anyway, um, when you first start out, a lot of these companies are gonna kiss the feet you walk on. They want the next All-Might to be their client – not just for the walking advertisement, but they'll be after you, especially. Acid Quirk? They'll look at you like a walking checkbook of rising deductibles."
Her eye twitched as she felt the wrap of measuring tape suddenly tighten. "Tensing at just hearing his name, bud...? I know the gist of it, but that interaction must've been total trash if you react like this..." She said aloud, "So, they're looking for easy money."
"Pretty much. There's certainly way more strategy to it for them, but that's the idea." She leaned on her propped-up hand. "Ugh, and... don't get me wrong; you're still their client/customer so they'll step up to bat for you sometimes." She emphasized, "Sometimes."
As Midoriya traded one hand for another, Mina nodded, "Right." She forced a chuckle. "No offense, but all of this stuff is giving me a headache."
In turn, Mount-Lady chortled, "Sounds about right." She continued, "Just remember to base your choice in insurance on how you handle the property risk. You're still in your first-year, so it's not like you're expecting to make a selection now. However, even in school, your name will get around. You might get offers in your second-year, but definitely in your third-year. Don't sign for anything and double-check whatever they ask you to autograph."
"Seriously, they'll use an 'autograph' ploy to trick me?" The tape was tightened a little too much again. "Ah...! You shocked too, Midori...?"
Mount-Lady rolled her shoulder. "Yeah, one of the Business Course students saved my butt with that."
Midoriya's measuring came to a close before the process of tailoring the glove to her hand began. The conversation with Mount-Lady continued, but they couldn't keep talking about insurances forever. The next topic was initially about strategy with Mount-Lady providing examples and Mina brainstorming. However, that fell away too before they started talking about the media – specifically the gossiping kind. Mount-Lady maintained her dislike of them, but noted they were occasionally entertaining. This allowed Mina to comfortably share some of the recent stories she's read up on. Luckily, talking made the time pass quickly, and now, Midoriya had two tailored gloves.
Mina slipped on her boots first and noticed the out of place 'plate' that encompassed the toe-area of her boot. A second look made her realize that it was half of a plastic cap with a slightly rough texture so her toes could grip it. Attached to the sides of her boots were two of those four air fresheners; secured by duct-tape and hot glue. Little tubes led from those can into the thick soles of her boots.
"I had to 'redirect' a bunch of those nozzles. The little stopgaps are hot-glue, so as long as you don't pump high acid down there, they should hold." He picked up her new gloves. "Now, I can't create a proper seal for those gloves so the rim of your gauntlets will have to do." Her gauntlets were accompanied with the remaining two of the canisters, and with a notable addition of a panel that slipped onto the back of her hand.
Her fingers flexed, noticing the nozzles at the tips of her fingers. "It didn't click earlier, but the gloves kinda mess with the way I use my Quirk."
Midoriya frowned, "Ah... crap, you're right..."
"Do I really need them?" asked Mina.
"For safety, yeah..."
"Okay, then... For the time being, I'll put them on when I need to climb, but I won't wear them all the time."
"It'll have to do. At least, until I can properly design something."
"Okay then, let's test it."
Midoriya started walking towards the gym with Mina in tow. "We don't have a lot to work with. The canisters contain the gas that dry ice emits, and they've been pressurized for firing. Now, to activate, the panel on the back of your hand operates like a switch. Once your hand is at an, almost, ninety degree angle, it'll fire off the gas from below your palm. In your boots, grip your toes and off it goes."
"Gotcha," said Mina.
Midoriya waved his hands as they entered the gym. "Coming through!"
Kamui and Shinso acknowledged their entry.
"Don't hit us!" She smirked, wagging her finger. "We'll sue!"
Kamui chuckled at that.
He clapped his hands together. "Alright, we're gonna speed up this whole process." He stood with his back against the wall as she stood in front of him. "I'll boost. You'll try to climb. You fall; I catch."
"Clear," she said.
He crouched, holding his palms out. "Ready?"
"Alrighty...!" She kicked the toes of her boots against the ground. "On the way!" she cried as she ran forward.
Mina's foot landed on his hands before he threw her upwards. She landed hands and toes first against the wall before sliding downward. Thick viscosity and low acidity pumped through the nozzles, forming a bulb in her palms. Once her wrists turned and her toes tensed, white vapors burst their nozzles and her fall stopped. A laugh escaped her lips as she looked at the gray-colored molds in her hands and beneath her feet.
"It worked!"
Midoriya cheered from below. "Awesome!"
Mount-Lady stepped into the room, leaning against the wall. "Whey! Look at that..."
"Keep going!" called out Shinso.
Mina extended her hand upward, forming another low-acid bulb in her palm. It froze and became a new holding. It was slow at first, but she gradually began to speed up and ascend up the vertical surface. "This is so cool!"
"Literally," joked Kamui.
"This is great!" Mina peered below herself. "Coming down, Midori!"
"W-What? Wait, wait, wait! You're actually pretty high up!"
In spite of his words, she had already let go. She dropped and suddenly found herself in his arms. "WOAH!" She smacked his shoulder before climbing free. "Ha! Like a crazy trust fall."
Kamui waved his hand. "Speaking of trust falls, considering you've completed your work, Mr. Midoriya, if you would please come over here!"
"Uh, sure!"
Mina grinned, "Imma keep climbin'!"
Before Midoriya could voice a new concern, Mount-Lady stepped forward, waving him away. "I'll keep an eye on her."
He nodded before jogging over to Kamui. Shinso sat back as the Pro had Midoriya ascend towards the ceiling with him while Mina ascended herself. Though, it wasn't very long until Midoriya was very suddenly descending before being caught by branches and bark.
"You okay?" asked Kamui.
"WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT!?"
-\XXX/-
AN: Hello, hello! I'm late. I keep underestimating how much the holidays take up my time. So, this chapter is mainly worldbuilding and relationship-building. Some set up for the future and bringing everyone forward in terms of gear and training.
And, speaking of underestimating holidays, I'm actually going to be taking this upcoming posting date off for the holidays. Even if my family decides not to do anything - it won't stop work from being a headache. So, I'm not gonna risk it. We'll be taking a break and returning in January.
With that, thank you for reading and criticize away!
Update Window: January 20th - 30th
Intended Due Date: January 20th - 25th