Due to how busy we'd all been with the Sports Festival, I hadn't had much time to talk to Tsu face to face. We texted a bit and as much as I wanted to ask about our relationship status I ended up chickening out.
After classes were over, I went up to her. She smiled at my presence, which was more than she did for others. The answer was obvious, but I always had those feelings of self doubt.
"Tsu-chan! I uhm... I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me this afternoon?"
She shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid not. I have to make some preparations to work at Selkie's agency for the week. Afterwards though, I'd love to, kero. Text me about it later?"
I nodded, and was about to leave before I grit my teeth and clenched my fists.
"I have to ask you something then before we part ways. I didn't want to text you about it but... I wanted to ask about... Us." I gulped.
She could see my hands shaking, so she held them and looked into my eyes.
"Our time together at your house was precious. I want to spend more time with you, kero. I've always had a hard time getting along with people, but with you I feel I can share anything. I've already made up my mind, but I want you to ask me. So, ask me."
Shy, but stubborn. Two very contradictory and annoying personality traits. I sighed and looked down, beginning to speak. But she lifted my chin up to face her.
"Tsu... Will you... Go out with me?" I managed to spit out eventually.
"Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well there's -" she interrupted me.
"There's nothing. It was rhetorical, kero. You're perfect for me and I want to call you my boyfriend. I was actually a little nervous that you didn't like me, that's why I didn't ask myself..."
I was so happy! I was overjoyed! She reciprocated my feelings for her! But... Nervous?
"You? Nervous? About asking me? Come on Tsu, you're sweet, you're smart, you're beautiful, you could get someone ten times better than me."
She hugged me tightly, longer than usual, and it caught the attention of a few students. Only one of them was from our class though and it was Tokoyami.
He smiled to himself and kept walking. I knew he wouldn't spread something like that, so I didn't worry. I didn't recognise a lot of the other students, however one of them was from class 1-B, I saw him during the festival, a more insectoid looking guy with razor sharp mandibles.
Tsu let go and kissed my cheek like that night when I walked her home. "What agency nominated you? I didn't hear."
She was shying away after the display of affection, a soft blush appearing on her cheeks.
"I was nominated for Ryukyu's agency, I'm so hyped!" I said energetically, showing more enthusiasm than I did for a lot of things.
She smiled at my enthusiasm, "The number ten hero! I'm impressed. She must see how strong you are. Tell me all about it, okay, kero? See you in the morning."
We parted ways after that. For those of you who don't know, I was really fond of Ryukyu because of how nice she was and her quirk. My fondness of her grew as I realised we had similarities between our quirks and that perhaps she could help me.
Ryukyu, the Dragon hero. What was her quirk? Transformation. She could turn into a freaking dragon. And not a humanoid one on two legs, no, an actual building sized dragon.
I hadn't seen it up close at the time, but even on TV you'd be able to tell how big she was. It was so cool, she was one of my favourite heroes. Maybe my favourite after our week was up.
I gasped as I suddenly remembered that I had to go to the support teacher and pro hero Power Loader to talk to him about redesigning my hero costume.
I didn't bother mentioning it earlier during the hero versus villain test near the beginning of our story because, well, it sucked. And it was totally irrelevant. Also it may have slipped my mind...
I kindly asked Power Loader if he could do the redesign and he seemed enthusiastic to do so, especially considering the fact that I could transform at any time and destroy my current costume.
He invited me to work on it with him.
"Really? Can I?"
"Sure, it's your costume after all, you're gonna have to wear it because this will be the final design. And you know a bit more about your quirk than I do, so walk me through your idea."
I explained my design idea to him. I wanted to have a black spandex suit that covered my whole body, stopping just above my chin. I wanted my feet to just have a tough sole on the bottom and nothing else, to make me that little bit quieter.
I wanted brass knuckles with yellow lines stemming from them that stopped at the wrists which would have yellow bands around them. I requested the tips of my toes and fingers be free in case of transformation, so that my claws wouldn't tear the fabric.
He suggested adding a flap at the back for my tail too which I agreed to. Then I asked him about designing a sort of gas mask that could incorporate a failsafe plan where six vials of sleeping gas could be released into my gas mask remotely, should I go rogue.
The mask would have an elastic strap, which is the end height of the costume.
He told me it could be done and asked if there was a specific design I wanted. I thought about it for a moment and googled what I wanted, showing him the design. He nodded and started working on the suit after taking down measurements.
"Thank you so much Mr Power Loader. I'll try not to damage it."
He chuckled, "No need for formalities, I'm not your teacher. Power Loader is fine, hell, you can call me Higari Maijima if you want. You'll get your suit by tomorrow in time for your workplace training. See you in the morning."
I smiled and went on my merry way, walking home and actually got recognised by some passersby.
"Hey, aren't you the guy who went nuts and trashed the stage?!" A young boy noted, with a friend of his.
His friend hit him and told him not to be rude, but I laughed it off.
"Yeah, kinda. It's a little complicated, but I'm working on it!"
They both were brimming with childlike wonder, they must have been around eight or nine years old.
"You're gonna be a strong hero! Like All Might! You were even able to get away from him!"
That was something I hadn't considered either. I nodded.
"You're right. I'll use my powers to help protect you and your friends and families. And I'm sure whatever your quirks are, you can become heroes someday, too."
The more sensible kid looked a bit sad. "I don't have a quirk..."
I crouched down to him, "You can still be a hero. Maybe not one that's fighting villains with your fists, but you can help other heroes in agencies or even help making gear for them. You never know. Just don't give up on your hopes and dreams, and something will surely come of it."
They both brimmed with delight again, "You're so cool! What's your hero name? I wanna tell my friends at school about you!"
I smiled, "My hero name? I'm Alakan."
"I can't wait to see you on the news after you beat a bad guy, and I'll tell all my friends about how I met you before you got all famous and stuff!"
His friend tugged on him, "We gotta go, my mom is gonna be mad."
"Oh, uh, bye, Mr Alakan! Thank you!"
I waved at them. Nice kids. What a day though, right? My favourite hero nominating me for their agency, my crush pretty much asking me out, and then already getting some fans.
It was nice to see they weren't scared of me. There was nothing that could bring me down from this high I was on! Not even my dad in a bad mood could ruin my day!
I should've cherished those moments of happiness more, as I didn't have too much longer before they went away. After getting home, I just did the normal routine before heading to bed, struggling to get to sleep with how excited I was for the next day.
I eventually succumbed to sleep and got the whole night, waking up the next morning to the sound of my alarm, a rare noise to hear for me.
I pretty much jumped out of bed, ready to get the day started and go for my field work experience! But first, I'd have to collect my new and improved hero costume.
After having breakfast and a shower, I got ready to leave my house and go to school a little early, so I could collect my costume. I couldn't wait to try it on!
I went to his classroom and knocked on the door. Upon hearing his voice granting entry, I walked in to see a rather excited Power Loader.
"Behold! Your glorious costume!" He opened a storage capsule outwards and displayed my suit which was hanging up.
It looked just how I imagined it. My eyes widened and I gasped, smiling widely. "It's perfect! It's perfect!"
"Try it on then. Let's see how it fits!"
I took it out of the display capsule and instantly started taking my school uniform off to put on the costume. It felt really comfortable, and stretchy.
I could feel my feet being freed from the confines of shoes, while also having solid footing on the ground. The soles had small grips on the tread to help me, well, grip.
I felt the steel against my knuckles from inside the costume, and I picked up the gas mask to put on. It already had the vials of gas in, too!
"Midnight was kind enough to produce some gas for you on short notice. We were able to get some help liquidising her sleeping gas and pouring it into the vials, before it warmed up again."
He showed me a remote with a single button on it that was covered by a protective plastic case that had to be flipped open to access.
"This is the remote operating system, it's pretty simple really, just press the button. Obviously don't let a villain get a hold of it. If it falls into the wrong hands, take off the mask as soon as you can."
I nodded and turned on my phone's camera so I could look at myself and how it fitted. I looked at my back and pulled the flap up, revealing the top of my buttocks.
"It shouldn't come undone in the wind, the Velcro is rather tough. What do you think?"
I looked at my wrists and my feet, and took off the mask to reveal my ever growing smile. I bowed to Power Loader.
"Thank you so much, Power Loader! I love it! I love it so much! Thank you! It's how I always dreamed it would be!"
He was brimming with pride as he saw how satisfied I was with the costume. "No problem! It's much simpler than some other costumes I have to make, but it was still fun to create. Stay safe out there."
I nodded and took the costume off and put it in my backpack before heading off to class. Everyone was really excited and nervous for their workplace experience. Except for Iida, he didn't seem to be holding up too well.
I wouldn't learn until a while later about the whole Stain incident, and I wish I knew earlier. Maybe I could've done or said something to help? Either way, you all know the outcome of that fight so I needn't go into detail about it.
Deku has talked about it in interviews a few times as well, so you can listen to them if you don't remember it. He was a formidable first villain for them...
Mr Aizawa came into class and briefly explained that it was time for us all to go our separate ways to the hero agencies. He was going to bring us to the station and we'd go from there.
We were all on the bus to go to the train station, and we were talking to each other about what hero agencies we'd chosen.
Yaoyorozu told me about the Uwabami agency, Tsu was going to Selkie's agency, Kirishima was going to Fourth Kind's agency. Everyone had seemed to have gotten into pretty big agencies!
"Midoriya, which agency are you going to?" I asked.
He seemed lost in thought as usual, but replied, "I was nominated to work under Gran Torino's care. He's a friend of the previous O-... He's All Might's old trainer."
"All Might's trainer?! Wow, that's so cool!" Mina shouted, amazed.
We got to the station soon after and most of us got different trains. Mr Aizawa told us not to wear our costumes in public, unless stated otherwise.
My train was the third one in line, I ended up travelling with Yaoyorozu and Shoji, as their selected agencies weren't far from Ryukyu's.
"Just realised we've never actually spent time together. Now that we're away from the crowd, let's get to know each other! You guys up for it?"
They nodded, and I looked at Yaoyorozu, then Shoji. I'd suggested it, but I had no idea what to say.
"So, uh... What are your families like?"
Yaoyorozu was the first to answer, "I don't know my parents that well, they're both pro heroes so would spend a lot of time away from home. I then grew attached to books and reading, spending a lot of time studying. Even when they were home I would often be studying and training my quirk."
"That's a shame that you don't know them too well. But the extra time studying has brought you this far, you're the number one student so it definitely has paid off!"
She smiled and looked away, embarrassed. I looked at Shoji, who began,"Well, I-"
The train pulled to a stop and he looked out the window.
"Oh, this is my stop. I'll catch you two later. Have a good week."
He got up and left.
"Huh. Well then. That wasn't very fruitful."
Yaoyorozu giggled slightly, "He's still as mysterious as ever. What about your parents?"
I looked down. "Oh. My parents. Well, my mother passed away a few years ago."
She gasped, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."
"I didn't tell you until now, so why would you? I've gotten through it, don't worry. My dad is... Something else. He wasn't nice to me growing up, he'd often shout or curse at me, saying mean things to my mom and I. It kinda started off my depression and anxiety, and I've never forgiven him for it.
He's toned down a lot after my mom died, but he finds it hard to open up due to his own childhood. As much as I hate him, I don't blame him. He's still my dad, and I don't know what I'd do without him. If it weren't for my mom dying and him allowing us to move here, I never would've gotten to U.A. so it's not all bad."
She seemed upset by my story, and put a hand on my shoulder. She smiled at me and spoke.
"No matter what anyone says, you're an amazing person. I know a thing or two about self-doubt, it hurts to put yourself down. But honestly, whatever he's said to you in your past is wrong, because here you are today as a really good person and a great friend. Don't stop being you."
The train pulled in again and she got up. "See you later, Alex."
She waved and left, as I was left feeling uplifted and I waved back. She was going to make someone a lucky guy one day.
I was left alone, no one sitting with me on either side as I contemplated what it could be that Ryukyu had in mind for me.
After another fifteen minutes, my stop finally came up and I got off the train. I looked at my phone for directions to find my way to the agency. I saw it in the distance after some walking and put my phone away, jogging to it.
I walked in through the doors and spoke to the receptionist who was sitting at his desk.
"Hi, uhm, my name's Alexander Hill, I have work experience in this agency for the week."
He looked at a few files and nodded, "Good to have you aboard, Mr Hill, go through the hallway to my left, take a right up the stairs to the third floor, walk down that hall and at the end is Miss Ryuku's office."
I nodded and thanked him for the directions, and followed them to a tee. I got to the end of the hallway and sure enough her name was on the door engraved in a gold-plated plaque.
I knocked on the door and heard the familiar voice on the other side saying, "Come in."
I opened the door to see the number ten pro hero sitting behind a desk. She looked up at me and smiled. "Good to see you, Alex! Are you looking forward to our week ahead?"
{A/N: Hey there! Sorry for the lack of action this chapter, I kinda had to slow it down and take a better look at the relationships between characters. The next chapter may feel a little slow too as it will look into my perspective of the lives of pro heroes, and what Ryuko will try to teach Alex. However, something big is coming for chapter 14 so stay tuned! Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it or if I made any mistakes!}