Quirky (Boku no Hero Academia/Mahou Sensei Negima crossover)

[OverMaster]

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

---

Quirky.

Part One.

---

Bakugo Katsuki was at the supermarket of his neighborhood, absently looking through the magazine racks for the latest Shonen Jump. Reading about Luffy and Zoro putting the hurt on idiots sometimes soothed his inner fury down.

At one point the blond young man overheard something that invariably did provoke that fury, though, rendering the search for Shonen Jump pointless. It was that annoying Deku's whiny voice. He appeared to be asking something to someone.

Bakugo looked towards the source of the Most Annoying Sound. Down the aisle, he could see the short, freckled, green haired boy talking to some girl as both of them bought groceries, each holding a large bag in a hand. The girl was good looking, Bakugo guessed. He'd seen far worse at their school, that much was sure. She was taller than Deku but not much, with a slender build, and long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She had large round glasses, which was a turnoff for Bakugo, but she was too good looking to be talking with Deku. What was going on there?

Since sometimes it was fun to prickle the geek, Bakugo made his way towards them. "Hey, Deku," he snorted.

As usual, the scrawny boy almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Katsuki's voice. "K-Katchan!" he gasped. "Ah, good morning, this here is H-Hasegawa-san, my—"

"Cousin?" Bakugo snorted, looking at the young lady. She glared back at him, sternly, hate at first sight. She was too good looking to be directly related to him, either. Bakugo had known Deku long enough he'd already know if he had a sister, plus, in Bakugo's own opinion, Deku's mom was too much of a pig looking cartoon to spawn any decent looking children.

Deku nodded stiffly, gulping. The girl kept on looking at Bakugo with narrowed eyes, as if waiting for something.

"Y-Yes, my cousin, sh-she and some friends are staying over for—"

Bakugo and the girl stood in a tense contest of glares, as if measuring each other. This bitch was starting to upset him for some reason. Normally, by that point Bakugo already would be having some fun with Deku, but her presence made things… not complicated, as he wasn't afraid of any bitch and he could just start messing with the nerd any time he wanted, but… she'd start whining about it, and people would stare at them, and the guards would come around to ask what was happening, and all of that would be too much of a hassle to be worth some quick fun.

"Yah, yah, ask me if I care," Bakugo huffed, turning around and starting to walk away. "Whatever."

"Ah, yeah, bye-bye, Katchan," Deku waved weakly after him.

Soon he was out the front door, and only then Hasegawa Chisame spoke. "So that was him."

"Mmm-hmmmm," Midoriya Izuku nodded.

"I was expecting for someone bigger and taller," the girl told him. "Like, American quarterback sized. And you let him push you around?"

"He's still much bigger than me, Hasegawa-san!"

Chisame huffed, starting to go through the grocery list again, picking items Inko-san had put in it and putting them in her bag. "Your own fault, you should've started working out much sooner if you were being bullied."

Izuku sighed, starting to do the same thing again with his own list. "It'd have made no difference. He's got a Quirk."

Chisame said nothing, but once more began thinking back of the events that had led her there, several days ago…

---

"It's no good!" Anya gasped loudly as everything crumbled down around them, large chunks of rock falling everywhere. "They've destroyed the gate's keystone… the link between the worlds is broken, with us caught in the middle!"

"The displacement magic is going out of control!" Negi observed. "Everyone stay together!" he commanded to his forces and the confused hangers-ons. "Join hands tightly, and-!"

Then everything surrounding him exploded in an onslaught of light, smoke, flying marble, rubble, shattered ice and, for some reason, the taste of a bell ringing and the sound of baby cologne (synesthesia was a bitch). His lungs were filled by dust, and a massive impact hit him in the chest and sent him flying back and away from the others as his whole world went black.

He still could hear Asuna's voice desperately crying, "Negi! Take my hand!" before losing his hearing in addition to his sight. And then everything became quiet.

---

Chisame was still shivering when she and Izuku left the market, heading back home.

"Hey, Hasegawa-san," the boy asked her with obvious concern. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay, I won't be okay until I'm back where I belong. We won't be okay until we're back where we belong," she grouched, as they walked down the street. Once again she tried to ignore the weird looking people walking all around them, the large flashy signs and screens showing off colorful men and women in spandex, and thought back of Mahora, sweet, good old Mahora. Normal Mahora.

Izuku lowered his head, unsure of what to say, for several minutes, until they reached the front of his apartment building. "I'm sure All Might will give you an answer soon enough," he said in a low voice as they entered the lobby of the building.

Chisame snorted non commitally. They went into the elevator and shared another uneasy silence until they reached the apartment of the Midoriyas.

"Mom, Sensei, everyone, we're home!" Izuku said, leaving his bag and shoes by the door, Chisame doing the same in unreadable silence. "Sorry we took so long! We ran into Katchan at the store and—"

Shiina Sakurako lifted her gaze from the cellphone Inko-san had bought for her. She had been laying on her stomach on the couch, bare feet swinging back and forth. "Oh! You mean your bully?"

Negi Springfield put the book he was reading down, with Chamo the white ermine sitting on his shoulder. "He didn't try anything, did he? I knew I should have gone…"

"Please stop blowing that out of proportion, Sensei," Izuku sighed, while Karakuri Chachamaru walked out the kitchen and bowed at him. "He's not that bad, and—"

"Dinner's almost ready, Izu-kun, Chi-chan!" Midoriya Inko's voice came happily from the kitchen. "And oh, it's delicious! I can't believe how much of a cook Chacha-chan is!"

"Welcome back home, Midoriya-senpai, Chisame-san," the green haired beauty said, humble and soft spoken as ever. "If you sustained any damage, please let me tend to your wounds and also point me towards the perpetrator so I can retaliate properly."

"He didn't even touch me…!" Izuku rolled his eyes.

"By now you've trained enough you should be able to land at least a hit on him," Inugami Kotaro, the final current inhabitant of the rather stuffed apartment, said from where he sat on the floor, watching television. "What's he gonna do after that, start a superpowered fight right at broadlight so he's arrested?"

"He really didn't touch him, why is 'punch punch punch' your answer to everything?" Chisame said, moving towards the laptop on loan from Izuku. "Geez, at least we've been able to restrain you from going out and picking fights with those meatheads so far. I bet you're itching to—"

"Um, yes, about that, Chisame," Negi rasped. The red haired boy put a fist on his mouth. "All Might-san called earlier, and he said that since we have spent almost two full weeks here already…" He paused for a moment, briefly looking really miserable, as he no doubt was thinking about the rest of Class 3-A again. "Well, basically, he says that since he doesn't know when he can help us finding a way back, maybe we should start fitting in and doing something so we… so we don't have to keep on leeching from Inko-san, and—"

"It's not a bother at all, you can stay as long as you want!" a jubilant Inko said. "Oh, this soup! I've never tasted anything like it!"

Negi sighed, placing his hands on his knees. Chisame raised an eyebrow at him. "Then, he more or less asked us if we'd like to start taking some training along Izuku-san, and that perhaps we'd like to take the test for admittance into UA, using our powers as if they were Quirks, and—"

"But I'm not a fighter," Chisame said dryly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Negi raised his hands to placate her. "Sakurako said she'd be okay with it, and we'll be establishing a provisional alliance so we can see what kind of training would fit her best, but—"

"Good for her," Chisame said sharply.

Sakurako, impervious to sarcasm as ever, smiled and gave Chisame a thumbs up. "Thank you, Chisame-chan!"

Negi fidgeted. "But I also know your feelings on the matter, and your powers truly aren't those of a frontline fighter, and—"

"Sorry to be useless," Chisame said.

Negi gasped. "That's not what I meant!"!

"Sorry Kagurazaka can't be here. Or Miyazaki. Or even Iinchou, at least she could kiss you and get you something like a giant bazooka of love that would level a city down," Chisame said.

"A lot of respected Pro Heroes have made successful stints working with apparently lame powers, Chi-chan!" Inko said, briefly poking her head out the kitchen. "You only need to think out of the box with them!"

"Mom, please!" Izuku moaned.

"In any case," Kotaro said, taking another mouthful of chips from his bag, "you should work out with us a little, just in case. This place's got no mercy and you can run into a superpowered freak at any time. What if Negi and us aren't around to protect you then? At the very least, you should be able to take a minimum of care of yourself, Megane-Neechan."

"Don't call me that…" Chisame gritted her teeth. "Are you still doing that in that stinking beach full of trash?"

"It's only half full of trash now," Izuku replied.

Chisame took a hand to her face. "I can't deal with this. But mostly, I seriously can't deal with you guys!"

Yet again, her mind drifted several days ago, to try and make some sense out of her current situation…

 

[OverMaster]

Over ten days ago, Midoriya Izuku had been helping All Might cleansing a wide beach littered with junk all around.

All Might, the most powerful and beloved Pro Hero in all of Japan! A human beacon of hope and a paradigm of decency for everyone in the islands to follow. He stood, over seven feet tall, muscular and blond like a sculpted Adonis. His very tight white shirt hugged his torso to such a degree that it looked spray painted, and his tropical shorts showed his robust legs off, his feet clad in sandals.

He smiled, flashing pure white teeth, while Izuku panted in the background, moving large pieces of broken machinery towards a massive box.

"Breathe slowly, in and out, making sure to fill your lungs properly every time," the superhero advised his apprentice. "Half of the endurance training is about breathing adequately."

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Izuku wheezed, having taken his shirt off and sweating all over. The sun was setting in the horizon, but it remained as potent as by midday.

"Are you feeling okay?" All Might asked him. "You won't be getting anywhere is you push your body beyond its limits before receiving All for One."

"I'm fine!" Izuku reassured him, pushing one of the discarded engines into the box, then spitting on his hands and rubbing them together. He began pushing the next machine in while All Might looked at him in silence.

Finally, the titan of a man chuckled. "That's the spirit!" he said in English. "Then we'll keep on doing this for two hours more, then call it a day! You know, Young Midoriya, there's a lot of discussion about whether heroes work better at day or during the night. What is your opinion?"

"It's, it's all the same as long as people actually needs you, isn't it?" the boy asked back. "But, if you ask me, I guess I'm more of a daytime person..."

All Might nodded pensively. "Same with me. Daylights seem to bring the best of people out. Daytime rescues are often about saving people from accidents and catastrophes, while nocturnal emergencies are more about crime and those who would hide in the darkness to prey."

Izuku blinked and stopped briefly. "So you'd rather save people from accidents than villains?"

All Might's powerful shoulders shrugged. "Punching others out is actually the worst part of the job. It's necessary, of course, but I didn't get in this job to hurt others. I suppose that is kind of naive for an old man, isn't it? HA HA HA!"

Izuku wiped the sweat off his forehead with a fist. "N-No! You're right, in a perfect world there wouldn't even be anyone wanting to kill others, or steal from them..."

All Might looked at the sea. "Violence, Young Midoriya, begets its own vicious circle. All too often, it starts cycles of revenge, and that embitters even the most noble of hearts. When you find your nemesis, the guy or woman who gets under your skin, the one who hurts you the most- please try to keep a sound mind about him or her. Don't let them drag you into the abyss with them. Don't be tempted into more violence than strictly needed."

Izuku thought about the person who had injured All Might, damaging his body. What kind of monster could have done that to him? Was that person still around? Or had he... no, it couldn't be... but what if he had forced All Might to-

The hero frowned, looking into the sky now. "What's that?"

Izuku looked up as well, but he couldn't see anything but a normal reddish sunset sky. "What do you mean?"

"Behind me," All Might said, sweeping an arm behind his own back. Izuku gulped and hastily did as he was told, moving to stand behind the juggernaut. Only then, he saw the tiny twinkle in the sky. It was falling quickly towards the beach, like a shooting star, with a whistling noise that grew louder by the second until there was a large explosion of sand in all directions, mere meters away from where they stood.

"UWAAAAAAA!" Izuku shouted, stumbling back but not quite dropping, finding his footing in time.

All Might lurched ahead, granitic fists tightening. "A space alien?! Man alive, it's been a while!"

But then he stopped himself. True to his word, he hadn't attacked before making sure that what had just landed before them was not a threat. Izuku looked around the man's legs, puzzled, to see a short, red haired boy at the middle of a smoking crater in the sand. He couldn't have been any older than twelve, and he breathed laboriously, apparently injured and bruised. He wore tattered pants and a shirt with a huge hole at the middle, wrapped in rags that had once been a longcoat.

"What the...!" Midoriya gulped.

"Quick!" All Might instructed. "Call Emergencies!"

"Em- Ah, yeah, of course!" Midoriya scrambled around for his shirt, rummaging through it for his cellphone, while All Might crouched down before the downed child and took his pulse. With trembling fingers, Izuku dialed the number, but before he could speak, another living projectile arrived from the sky, landing with a splash in the water before him. "Another one!?"

And then, a person rose from the water. A tall, pale, gorgeous young woman with light, long green hair. Izuku blinked, but before he could even proccess what was going on, the girl flew back up, intercepting another plummeting person, and then, almost too fast for the eye to follow, a second one.

"What..." Izuku blabbered. All Might was approaching him now, with the fainted boy in his arms.

"Did you call them?" the hero asked.

Izuku blinked. "Uhh...? Ah, ah, sorry! Did you see that!? That girl just startled me, and-!"

All Might sighed patiently. "Yes, yes, of course I saw her. Here she comes, maybe she will explain," he said, eyes fixed up as the girl flew back down, holding an unconscious girl under each arm. One of them had long light brown hair, and the other one was shorter, her hair bleached blonde.

The flying girl landed gently on her feet, the rocket repulsors built into them turning off. "My apologies," she said softly. "Is he okay?"

"Looks that way, Young Miss," All Might said stoically. "And you would be...?"

"My name is Karakuri Chachamaru," she said, reading the vitals of the girls she was tenderly setting down on the sand. "Our class has just been attacked at the middle of a trip. There were several others with us, I should go looking for them right now..."

"You... You were having a class trip UP THERE!?" the bewildered Izuku looked upwards.

Chachamaru followed his pointing finger with her gaze. "No, not quite there. It is very strange, my readings indicate we would be back in Japan for some reason. But we just were in Wales..."

Then a much smaller comet came down, crashing down on Chachamaru's head and barely fazing her.

"Ouch!" a tiny voice yelped, and a white, small animal covered on fur bounced from Karakuri's skull and then down onto the sand. "Ow My spine!"

All Might looked down at it, and then blinked twice, his eyes widening at the sight of the creature. Izuku was surprised, as this was the most perplexed he had ever seen his hero until then.

"Sorry, Chamo-san," Chachamaru told the twitching ermine. "I didn't see you coming."

"It's.. It's all right, it... only hurts when I laugh..." the ermine spoke.

Another body hit the water, and one moment later, a knocked out boy around the same age as the first one came to the surface, floating with a bump on his scalp, which was covered on wild black hair and topped by furry ears. He also had a long tail to match. That part didn't shock Izuku at all, since had met many children with animal features before, and even gone to school with a few. But...

All Might was already returning from the water with the second boy, setting him down and starting to reanimate him with CPR. Izuku looked quizzically at the girl with green hair.

"That is strange..." she mused to herself, her green eyes glowing faintly. "I'm trying to call Principal Konoemon, but to no avail..."

"Who?" Izuku said.

She looked at the freckled youngster and asked him, "How far are we from Mahora Academy? My maps seem to be malfunctioning, as I can't locate our way back."

"Young Midoriya, sorry, but it looks like we're going to cut tonight's training earlier than expected," All Might said while the boy with a tail began coughing.

 

[OverMaster]

The memories of recent days were shaken off Chisame's mind as they reached the beach, next day after classes. Home lessons from Negi in the cases of Chisame, Chachamaru, Sakurako, and Kotaro (Kotaro was grumpy about it).

All Might waited for them in his lanky form while Deku paused only a moment in his pushing of stuff to wave at them, feigning to smile despite his exhaustion.

"Good afternoon," the man told them. In English. "So did you all decide to take it?"

"It should be fun!" Kotaro grinned.

"If we become notorious enough, there are good chances we'll draw attention of our missing friends, so we can reunite," Negi summed up. "Or the other way around, we'll have better chances to find them as active heroes."

"There is no good reason why I shouldn't do it," Chachamaru told him.

"I may be weak but I'll do my best to improve!" Sakurako promised.

Chisame groaned.

All Might perked an ear up. "Sorry, I didn't hear. What did you just say, Young Hasegawa?"

Chisame sighed. "I won't be useful at all, for myself or anyone else, if I just stay indoors for God knows how long…"

All Might looked at her. "Are you sure that's the way you feel?"

"Yes, it is!" she said.

"Because this isn't a safe job at all. You can't go into it with a half-heart. You've got to give your best, and even then, sometimes that's not enough! Just look at me!" He poked a finger on his scrawny chest and coughed blood up.

Sakurako and Negi both winced.

"Sometimes we've gotta do things even if ideally we wouldn't want to," Chisame said sourly.


"That's right to some degree, I suppose." Yagi Toshinori looked thoughtful. "If your willpower really isn't into it, the training should dissuade you anyway."

"So, what are we going to do?" Negi asked, eagerly. "I look forward to seeing how your training compares to Master Evangeline's, Sir!"

"First of all, I need to see what are you made of," Toshinori told the boy. "To assign you a training program I need to learn about the one you have been subjected to, and its effects on you."

He handed Negi a notebook and a pen. "Write a detailed account of how this Eva trained you."

Negi nodded, and very hastily wrote several pages' worth down, then passed the notebook to Toshinori.

The first thing the man noticed was how good Negi's handwriting was despite writing so fast. Then…

He glared at Negi. "Is this a joke?"

"No, Sir," Negi said.

"Because if it's a joke, it's not a funny joke," Toshinori said. "You need to be honest with me so I can gauge you adequately…"

"Every word of what I wrote there is truth," Negi promised with a hand on his heart.

Yoshinori looked at the account again. "What kind of… training was this!? For someone your age!? There's harsh training and then there's this!"

"That's how Eva rolls," Chisame informed the hero. "She once threw Asuna naked into a snowy mountainside and kicked her down a hill."

"You should go for a checkup," Toshinori told Negi. "Who knows what kind of damage she caused you!"

"That's okay, since we have a teammate, Konoka, who healed me with magic every time," Negi said.

Toshinori pondered that, stupefied. "I don't know or understand anything about magic," he confessed, "so if you say so…"

Then he pointed at one of two large containers next to each other.

"Young Negi, Young Inugami, physical testing comes next! Punch those containers with all your strength and we'll see how much hitting power is there in you!"

Kotaro chuckled, rotating his arm while Negi and he walked towards the containers. "Piece of cake!"

Toshinori, Chisame, Chachamaru and Sakurako watched on. Chamo whistled and looked at his paw nails.

"One…" Negi raised his arm.

Izuku stopped his own efforts, and he joined the curious onlooking.

"Two!" Kotaro did likewise.

"THREE!" Negi shouted, and both boys punched the containers.

They exploded sending trash everywhere, their surfaces as well as their contents pulverized into what might have been just confetti.

Chisame had to block with an arm to make sure nothing of it would hit her face. Somehow, none of the flying trash hit Sakurako, all of it just making its flying way around her.

"That was… I hadn't ever seen anyone without a Quirk hitting anything that hard," Toshinori admitted. "Are you sure you didn't start manifesting that strength when you were four or so?"

Negi and Kotaro shook their heads.

"Chachamaru is just as strong, but she is a robot, as you'll recall," Negi said.

"That… That was awesome!" Izuku said, his face full of trash and his eyes shining through the muck. "I want you to train me too!"

"One step at a time, Young Midoriya, or else you could stumble!" Toshinori warned him before coughing again. "Fine, I'll design a training program for you two, I should have it ready for tomorrow."

"What about us?" Sakurako asked.

"He is your teacher, I'm not entitled to tell him how you should be trained." Toshinori pointed at Negi. "I'm trusting him on it, since he knows you far better than I do."

"Thanks… I guess?" Chisame said.

Chamo stumbled around blindly, stuck into a can of tomato soup.

 

[OverMaster]

A lot had happened in a very short time since that day they first met.

In Negi's dream, he wandered aimlessly across a cold wasteland. "Asuna!" he called out. "Kotaro-kun! Kaede...! Ku-roshi?"

Then he stopped and shrieked. He had reached a valley filled with stone statues depicting his friends and his students. All of them stood in distraught poses, their faces marred by horror and shock, their arms trying to shield themselves.

He ran and moved from one to another. "Iinchou! Natsumi-san! Nodoka! Yue! Asakura-san!"

Until he saw him. The white haired boy, standing next to a statue of Asuna.

No. Next to the petrified Asuna herself.

"You made a mistake coming after me, Negi Springfield," Fate Averruncus told him icily.

"But... I never sought you out!" Negi said. "I only wanted to find my father, why did you get on our way!?"

"You'll never find your father, and you only dragged your friends into defeat and destruction," his foe told him in that bland voice of his. "Their downfalls are your fault. You involved them in your own selfish quest, and now look at them..."

"No! No!" Negi shouted. "Turn them back, now!"

"Or else what? Will you beat me up until I agree? You know you'll never defeat me," Fate said. "You are weak. Too weak. And you'll never be strong enough to best me, Negi."

"No! Don't do it!" Negi tried to move towards him as Fate readied his fist, but his feet wouldn't move. He was rooted to the ground, his own legs turning into stone already while Fate punched the petrified Asuna and shattered her into so much dust...

"NOOOOOOO!" Negi shouted, jolting up into a sitting position.

"Oh, you finally came back to your senses!" said a gigantic man who crouched next to him, along a short boy with green hair and freckles. Negi immediately realized that Chachamaru, Chisame, Chamo, Kotaro and Sakurako were there as well, thank goodness. "I was about to call for Recovery Lady..."

"Who?" the boy with messy hair asked.

"Bro, thank God you're alive and well!" Chamo wailed, leaping to his chest and hugging it. "My poor little Bro..."

Negi blinked. "Chamo..." He quietly petted his best friend's hair, and then asked, "Wh-Where's everyone else? Where we are..."

The huge man got up, dusting his hands off. "This is the Takoba Municipal Beach, at the coastline of Musutafu City."

"Musutafu?" Negi echoed dubiously.

"You know, in Japan," the man said.

Negi narrowed his eyes at him. At first sight, he had believed he might be Jack Rakan, the old friend of his father, the one he'd first seen in that picture back in Kyoto. Rakan was supposed to meet them at the Gateport, after all, and he looked just as tall and musclebound as this person. But now that he looked at him more carefully, the hair and the skin tone didn't match. "And you are..."

The man blinked. "You mean... that you don't know either?"

"Told you so..." Chisame almost sing-sang under her breath.

The giant took a hand to his own chest. "Have no fear! Why? Because I am here!"

"What?" Negi asked.

The man ran a hand down his face. "You all must have a serious case of selective amnesia..."

"We're telling you, man, we've never heard about you! And Musutafu City doesn't exist either!" Kotaro said.

"I live in that city that doesn't exist," the green haired boy said. Then he bowed at Negi. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Midoriya Izuku..."

The child blinked. "Ah... It's a pleasure. Negi Springfield..." He looked at Chisame. "Did they rescue us and flew us all the way back to Japan?"

"I don't think so. Nothing about this makes any sense," she told him.

"I believe," Chachamaru said, "that the magical pulses sent by the destruction of the Gateport have somehow transported us into a parallel plane of reality. Chao once theorized about the possibilities of encountering alternate worlds while traveling through time."

"You are time travellers!?" Izuku gasped.

"Like in a sci fi movie?" Sakurako asked her, ignoring Midoriya. "You were hiding all those things from us all this time!?"

"It couldn't be helped, we wanted to keep you safe," Negi sighed. "The world of magic is a very dangerous one, as you have just seen." He pulled several cards out of his breast pocket and exhaled in relief as he examined them. "Thank God, they all are alive, at least..."

"Magic!?" Izuku said.

"Magic," All Might said, frowning in disbelief.

Negi was putting a card on his own forehead and concentrating, then another one, and so on, until he was finished with all of them. "I can't contact any of them," he said gloomily. "They must far, out of reach..."

Izuku looked at All Might. "Surely, in all your years of experience, you must have encountered dimensional travellers before? I know there are records of that, but everyone knows that All Might's untold greatest stories are legion."

"There are no stories about travelling across dimensions in that legion," All Might said, stroking his square jaw of Justice. ""AH HA HA! But there is a first time for everything!"

"This isn't funny at all, our friends are lost and my teacher has lied to us for all of our lives!" Sakurako said.

"We have only known him for less than one year, where is this 'all of our lives' stuff coming from!?" Chisame told her.

"Our friends are still lost," Chachamaru said.

Negi slumped ahead, eyes sinking into his face. "I'm the worst..."

"There he goes again," Kotaro facepalmed.

"Not only I pulled my students into the line of fire an enemy I couldn't defeat, and one I knew was still on the loose, but I lost them in ANOTHER DIMENSION to boot..."

Izuku blinked. "I don't understand, are you their teacher? Do you have a Quirk of Youth or something?"

"A what?" Kotaro asked.

"You know, a Quirk," Izuku asked. "Don't you know what a Quirk is either?"

Then All Might took a hand to his own forehead. "Nnnghhhh!"

Izuku looked back at him. "Sir!? Are you okay!?"

"I forgot the time was almost up!" the Number One Hero shuddered, starting to move away quickly. "Sorry, Young Midoriya, please look after them while I look for-"

Then he stumbled on his own feet, fell flat on his face, scattered sand everywhere, and appeared to deflate instantly, shrinking several sizes and losing most of his muscle mass in the blink of an eye. In seconds, a scrawny blond man with long twisted limbs was there in his place, facefirst on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding his face.

"What the-!" Kotaro said.

Negi uttered a wise "Uhhhhh..."

Izuku moaned. "Not now...!"

"Maybe we should just call for a taxi, head for the local Iinchou's house, and work our way from there," Chisame thought. "There must be an Iinchou in this dimension, right? Right...?"

"You are so cute when you are delusional, Sis," the ermine said.

 

[OverMaster]

"Well, dwelling back on all of that is useless, isn't it?" Chamo said in a peppy voice, drawing one of his magical circles with a sharp piece of metal, on a stretch of boulevard Izuku had cleared up. "Now it's time to give Sakurako-neechan her Pactio, isn't it, Bro?"

Toshinori looked at him from where he and Negi had been sitting, the man listening to the stories told by the boy. "Ah yes, that 'provisional alliance' thing, isn't it."

He got up with Negi's help and walked towards the proud looking ermine and his circle.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori called over. "Come here, you might want to see this! It's a life experience after all!"

"Hu what?" Izuku said, too busy pulling on a huge container of junk towards Toshinori's truck. Sakurako and the sweatdropping Chisame were sitting on top of said junk. "Ah, just a sec, okay, All Might?"

Sakurako and Chisame got off the junk, and Shiina giddily skipped towards Negi. "Oh, Negi-kun, finally! I'm so happy, tee-hee-hee-hee! Misa-chan will be jealous!"

Negi gulped. "If you're sure that's what you want, Sakurako…"

Toshinori folded his arms. "So let's see how this is done. You talked a lot about how they give people powers comparable to those of Quirks, but you never mentioned how are they achieved."

Negi gulped again. "It's not that it's a difficult procedure or anything, but… Chachamaru, what about you, are you interested—"

The green haired gynoid shook her head. "Thanks for your kindness, Sensei, but it's not necessary. Please do save your magic reserves for those in the most need of it. Besides… I'm not sure it would even function if I were to try contracting you."

Sakurako looked at Chachamaru's lowered head and pouted. "C'mon, Chacha! You're as human as any of us…"

"I'm not, sorry," Chachamaru said softly. "Please don't be deterred by this."

Sakurako sighed, moving to face Negi at opposite ends of the circle. "Eva-chan raised you wrong, too gloomy. Like this, isn't it, Negi-kun?" She smiled at him. "Am I doing it fine?"

Negi was sweating visibly, suddenly even more than Izuku. "S-Standing right there is okay, Sakurako. Y-You don't need to come closer than that, if you don't want…"

"You know what comes next, Sis," Chamo told the girl. "You remember the instructions, don't you?"

Sakurako rolled her eyes. "It's not like a manual is needed for anything that simple!"

She grabbed Negi's cheeks, pulled him towards her face, and stamped her lips on his.

Chu!

Toshinori sprouted a mouthful of blood while Izuku's face turned HOT PINK.

"Whaaaaaaaa!" the Pro said, tumbling back and dropping on his butt.

Chisame sighed.

"Oooooh, you're a good kisser, yum yum!" Sakurako finally pulled back from the dazed Negi. She wiped her mouth with the back of a fist, and then a card appeared in the air between them. Chisame leaned forward and picked it in midair, giving it to Sakurako. "Oh, thanks, Chi-chan!"

"Don't call me that, you airhead!"

Sakurako looked at her card, which showed the happy go lucky girl in a cheerleader outfit, raising a leg to expose a peek of panty, and holding a pom-pom in each hand. The text under her picture read

Siina Sacuraco

Hilaratrix Fortunans

Toshinori sprang back to his feet, shaking in outrage. "Y-Young Negi, Y-Young Shiina, this is immoral! At your age…!"

Izuku blinked. "But I thought you had spent years in America, the den of depravity? Aren't you used to this kind of thing by now?"

"It's not depravity, you prude!" the ermine growled.

"That's one of the reasons I came back to Japan, you know!" Toshinori fumed. Then it dawned on him. "So, all those other cards you brought…"

He looked at Chisame.

Chisame blushed. "It was an emergency! Listen, Chao was about to reveal magic to the world, and we had to do it! Otherwise we'd have ended up with a society of people using freak powers everywhere, just like yours!"

"Sir, I don't want to question you," Izuku said gently, "but All Might always taught us to respect all different cultures, no matter how their values diverge from us, it's in your Peace Around the Planet videos, and—"

Toshinori exhaled and ran his hand down his face. "Sorry, you're right, Young Midoriya. It's just… this comes as a shock, and I've been through a lot recently. My apologies." He looked at Chisame once again. "But you're sure that none of you ever abused him, aren't you!?"

"I can't speak on behalf of Eva, but the rest of us always kept Iinchou on a very tight leash," Chisame answered.

"A pity, she'd make for an incredible Ministra," Chamo said.

Kotaro snorted insolently. "And that's Negi's greatest pitfall as a warrior, he relies too much on the girls. I fight alone, and I'm that much stronger than him because of that!"

Negi frowned. "Would you want to spar and prove that?"

"You're on!"

"Ahem! Bro!" Chamo said. "Before you do that, what if we test Saku-sis' powers and see how can we use them for this hero thing?"

Toshinori was shaking his head. "Good thing no one's around filming any of this, they'd start thinking weird things about me. I don't sponsor early experimentation, but chastity through a clean healthy living…"

"I know a girl you would love. Her name is Setsuna," Chisame said. She doubted. "You don't have anything against lesbians, or do you?"

"Of course not. I fight for the tolerance and acceptance of all gender leanings, as long as they don't kiss minors in the mouth," Toshinori grouched.

"In Setsuna's defense, she was as obligated by her circumstances back then as I was when I had to do that thing," Chisame said. All Might facepalmed, and Chisame felt a pang of sympathy for the man. She had been there once, hadn't she? She was one of the weirdos now even when compared to Super Captain America on steroids, now that was a scary thought. But moving on…

 

[OverMaster]

Moving back to the first day our heroes met, Chisame winced as soon as Toshinori was done with his story.

"And you still keep playing hero after THAT?" she asked him. "Mister, you earned a retirement!"

"I don't 'play' hero, being a hero is what I am," Toshinori said. "Also, people everywhere still need me... I'm aware I'll have to retire for good someday, of course, but that's what I'm preparing Young Midoriya for."

Izuku sniffled. "Thank you so very much for that chance...!"

Kotaro and Chamo looked at him in a dubitative silence.

Toshinori stared at them, although Izuku himself was blissfully oblivious.

Negi sniffled as well. "You... You remind me of my father!" he said, moved to his heart. "He was a great hero, too! They called him the 'Thousand Master', the man who achieved control over a thousand spells..."

"Of course, if you're going to believe Evangeline, he was very strong, yeah, but he also was a lazy bum who only knew six spells by memory and got by on raw inborn potential!" Kotaro said.

Negi pouted. "Master Evangeline is a great woman, but she is a bit biased since he was her nemesis."

"Sensei, even Old Man Albireo and the Headmaster say he was indeed a lazy bum..." Chisame said.

"He still was great and very powerful, and no man is perfect!" Negi insisted.

Izuku blinked. "Who is this Master Evangeline you speak of?"

"Another of Four Eyes' students," Kotaro answered. "She is an immortal vampire in the loli form of an innocent cranky girl."

Sakurako huffed. "To think I studied with Mina from Interview with the Vampire that long, and I never realized it..."

Izuku sweatdropped. "You know vampires, too!?" He looked at Toshinori. "Vampires are real here too? Did you ever fight one behind the scenes?"

"No vampires, no leprechauns, no Loch Ness monster, nothing of that," the skeletal All Might said. "There are a few villains with quirks that resemble vampirism or lycantrophy, of course..."

"Yeah, but Evangeline's an actual vampire, seven hundred years old," Kotaro said. He touched his own furry ears, pulling on them. "And I'm from the wolf tribe species! I should know werewolves exist, I hail from Kami knows how many generations of them!"

"Cool!" Izuku's eyes shone.

Negi stood up and dusted himself off. "No offense, but I'm wasting my time here as the rest of my students are still missing. I feel better now, I should leave to look for them..."

He gave a few steps away from the others, then faltered and had to support himself on a pile of tires.

"Negi-san!" Izuku gasped. "Are you okay!?"

"Yes," Negi breathed in. "It was just some momentary dizziness..."

Chisame walked to him and touched his forehead. "You've got a fever! You should lie down, if the others haven't died yet, they surely can keep themselves alive a little longer!"

Negi shook his head stubbornly. "No, no, how could I do that...?"

Toshinori hummed. "Maybe I should take you to my headquarters. I can give you good medical attention there, and I could use my links to Official Intel to look for your friends. But..."

"What?" Sakurako asked.

"I'd also have to tell my fellow Pro Heroes and the authorities about you then," he admitted. "They would deploy the legal procedures for hypothetical transdimensional incursions..."

"I thought you'd said you never saw anything like that?" Sakurako asked.

"That doesn't mean that we haven't thought of measures for the event that ever happens. Be always prepared!" he added in English, wagging his finger. "And not even All Might pulls enough rank to single handledy prevent you from being taken into quarantine..."

"That doesn't sound too ominous. How long is that quarantine intended to be, Sir?" Chachamaru asked.

"It would last until they have finished dissecting you all for viruses and possibly to study your bodies and research any secrets from your anatomies," Toshinori said. "In your case, you would be taken apart piece by piece, your technology duplicated and adapted for our robotic labs."

Everyone else winced, even Chachamaru, albeit very subtly.

"That... That isn't very heroic!" Izuku understated.

"Young Midoriya, it's the way the status quo works, am I supposed to impose my will single handledy?" the man shrugged. "If it were up to me, I'd just let them chill with cocoa and cookies for months if necessary, but try looking at them from their perspective. The powers-that-be feel it's necessary to be extremely careful around anyone who claims coming from beyond. I can't fully fault them. Appearances can be deceiving, as that 'Evangeline' girl proves, right?"

He gave Negi a weary look.

The boy mage sulked. "I do understand, Sir. The mage society and their procedures aren't that different."

"Normally, they just turn you into an ermine if you commit a crime, don't they?" Chisame gulped.

Toshinori and Izuku looked at Chamo.

"I was born like this!" the furry mammal protested.

Midoriya raised his hands. "If you say so!"

"BUT!" Toshinori lifted a finger. "There is always a way! Fret not, All Might's ingenuity is here! I will provide you with funds secretly, and you won't be left without a roof over your heads! A subordinate of mine will graciously house you during your stay, as a true hero should!"

"I knew you wouldn't fail them, Sir!" Izuku gushed. "Which of your peers do you have in mind? Sir Nighteye? Eraserhead? Captain Celebrity?"

One hour later, Midoriya sighed, facing his mother. "Mom, Toshinori-san asked me to bring these young people in need here, on behalf of All Might. It is... part of my community service as a hero in training. I know I'm asking for a lot, all of a sudden, but... can they stay for a few days, please?"

Inko blinked, then looked again at the people on her doorstep.

A wheezing, feverish looking redhaired boy was supporting himself on a black haired child with wolf ears and a tail. A blonde girl waved at her and smiled. A green haired gorgeous girl bowed at her. Another girl turned away from her in shame and twiddled her fingers. An ermine already was slinking into the apartment, between Inko's legs.

Inko finally stepped aside and nodded. "Please put that poor boy on the couch while I go prepare a futon for him..."

 

[OverMaster]

And that was how they got there.

Presently, Sakurako stood before the others, unsure of what to do. "First of all," the ermine said, "hold your card up and say 'Adeat'."

"Adeat!" Shiina obeyed, waving her Pactio card up. In the blink of an eye, she was enveloped by a flash of light, and then she stood there, now wearing the cheerleader outfit seen in the card.

"Whoa!" Izuku said. "An instant uniform!"

Sakurako looked at her pom-poms. She bopped one against a trashcan at hand. "They don't even leave a dent, they aren't heavy. Do they shoot lasers or something?" she wondered. "I don't think they'll be of any use in a fight scene!"

"Sis, you've been doing cheerleading for years," Chamo said. "What do you think you should do with a cheerleader kit?"

She frowned at him. "Am I going to kill villains by cheering them?"

"Killing the villains is only the absolute last resource," Toshinori chided the girl.

"Sis, not all Artifacts are directly offensive," the ermine explained with patience. "Nodoka's, for instance, only reads minds, but that doesn't mean she isn't a priceless commodity and comrade on a battlefield, because she can tell you all the enemy's going to do before they can even pull it off!"

Izuku nodded. "Quirks are like that too! Many famous heroes made their way into the halls of heroism by sagely exploiting apparently useless Quirks."

"Brother, you sound like even more of a geek than Four Eyes," Kotaro said. "Ease down on it or you'll be bullied hard in school."

Izuku flinched. "A bit late for that advice, Inugami-san…"

"Why am I not surprised," Kotaro deadpanned.

"Try waving those pom-poms at something or someone, cheering on them for something, and see what happens," Chamo said. "That is the logical use for them from a glimpse! The Artifact's shape most often, well, shapes their use!"

Sakurako blinked, then pointed the pom-poms at Toshinori, hoping she wouldn't kill him. "A-All Might-san was an ace in a fight, but now he's lost his light. Please cure him from his blight, so he can be better overnight! Go Mahora?"

Toshinori jerked up, startling everyone. The others pulled back from him for a moment, surprised at his reaction. For a second, she sat straighter, and he appeared to bulk up very slightly, only to then recede back to his weakened state. He looked at his hands, trembling.

"A-A-Are you okay!?" Izuku cried.

Negi gulped. "Oh my goodness!"

"That… That felt actually good!" Toshinori said. "I've had very brief pangs of spontaneous recovery, the doctors said it was my metabolism acting, but usually it's only one or two a year. And they never felt so… nice…"

"I knew it!" Chamo boasted. "Neesan's always been lucky! If I'm not wrong, she is weaponizing her luck through the Artifact!"

"That makes sense, the Artifacts are to match the Ministra's already existing skills," Chachamaru said. "Hence, Saotome-san's drawing from her drawing, and Ayase-san's booking from her book reading."

There was a faint rimshot in the distance.

"What a SHAFT anime moment," Chamo sweatdropped.

Toshinori pointed at the boulevard. "Young Midoriya. Jump as far as you can while Young Shiina cheers for you!"

"Yessir!" Izuku ran there, joyous. He got ready to make a leap while Sakurako grinned, placing herself aside. "On your marks, Shiina-san! One, two…"

Sakurako gushed. The guy was kind of cute! Especially when he beamed like that, he wasn't too unlike Negi-kun. If anything he seemed more optimistic than Negi-kun. "Senpai, go as far as you can! You can be a Superman! Go, go, go!" she shook her hips in circles, skirt flaring up. Toshinori covered his eyes with a hand.

But he opened them a second later to see his protégé making the leap, and easily going a long further than he ever had before, shouting in delight. The hero stood up, walked to the boulevard, pulled metric tape from a pocket, and measured the distance from where he had leapt to where he stood now, panting after landing on his feet. "Impressive! That's almost twice as long as the last one." He held a pointer finger up. "On the other hand, the wind very suddenly and conveniently shifted to a way that favored your movement through the air the best…"

He looked at Izuku. "Now leap again, without Young Shiina cheering you."

He did so, and the leap was somewhat shorter now.

Toshinori measured again. "A bit longer than yesterday's jumps, but that's because you are improving through training. Young Shiina, cheer for him again as he jumps."

"Leaping like a grasshopper, Midoriya-kun! He's even green and everything; boy is this fuuuun!" Sakurako was getting into the spirit of things as she used to, while Izuku made another fantastic leap aided by another very noticeable shift in the breeze.

"A probability alterer," Chachamaru said.

"That's why we never bet against her at anything," Chisame said.

"Now let's see if that has offensive uses as well," Toshinori told the peppy girl. "Point them at any thing that can't hurt us and try seeing if it breaks down or anything like that."

"Haaaaaiiii!" Shiina giggled. She aimed the pom-poms at a very tall column of old pans and pots. "Taking down the house, cuter than a mouse, a cuture future spouse! Saku-chan's here and you'll plummet over there! Yay me, yay Saku-chaaaaan!"

The pans and pots suddenly lost all their balance, and they fell like a castle of cards, scattering all over.

"It took me half a day to put all of those together, Shiina-san," Izuku said.

"Ooops! Sorry, Midoriya-kun!"

"That's all very good, congratulations, Sakurako. However, you also need to work on your physical stats, and the same goes for you, Chisame." Negi rolled his sleeves up. "While Toshinori-san handles Midoriya-san, I'll handle you…"

"Oh, Negi-kun, you cad, you," Sakurako giggled coquettishly.

Chisame scowled. "You should think that stuff before you say it, you know!"

Negi blinked. "What? What did I say? Never mind." He smirked in a way eerily resembling Evangeline's, no doubt a successful attempt from the boy to imitate his mentor. "I'm not going to be gentle on you…!"

"You're doing it again!" Chisame barked.

Sakurako cooed and brought her knees together. "Negi-kun, stop it…!"

"Stopping what? I can't stop! I must whip you into shape! Test your bodies and make you give the best from yourselves! Even if it means we need to go all night long… Sweating buckets and—"

Toshinori raised a hand. "We got it already, thank you, Young Negi!"

Izuku was shooting steam out of his ears, his face flushed. "Sir, perhaps I should go take a refreshing shower? I feel overheating… must be that time spent under the sun…"

 

[OverMaster]

Senator Hiroyama thought of himself as a good man.

Hadn't he worked for three decades to bring his country and economy from the brink of collapse? He'd been part of a brain trust that made the new Japanese financial miracle possible. He had looked into the eyes of the American and European wolves and survived successful negotiations with them. He'd never turned his back on his children. His wife was well kept, with everything she could wish for.

Surely he was entitled to have his little pleasures without being condemned by them, he told himself as he entered the hotel room.

A girl sat on the luxury, wide bed, lined with fine pastel coloured sheets. She was just like he liked them, very young and fair skinned, with an European look about her. She wore a white dress and glasses, her thin legs crossed as she beckoned him playfully.

"Good evening, Hiroyama-han," she spoke to him in a sophisticated Kyoto accent. She was well bred, which excited him even more. She crooked a pointer finger towards him. "Come here, will you? Yomi-chan will give you a kiss..."

He walked over to her, smiling and already undoing his tie.

As soon as he was at arm's reach, her angelic smile changed, and she reached down, under the bed covers. Before the Senator could activate his Quirk to defend himself, with a velocity beyond anything he had ever seen in the flesh, the girl shoved a sword into his skull.

He fell, crashing on the floor, pulling on the sheets with his final jerky motion. The bodyguard, who had been standing outside by the room, stormed in, shattering the floor and activating his Quirk. Black stripes covered his body as his torso was covered by fur and expanded into stony muscle. The girl smiled wickedly at him.

"There's a kiss for you too," she said, and lunged ahead.

Minutes later, the young lady whistled, and calmly polished the blood off her blades with a curtain. Once again, she sat crosslegged on the bed, waiting until her partner for this enterprise arrived.

Finally, he shuffled in through the destroyed door. Breathing heavily.

"Took you long enough, so, let me guess?" she said conversationally. She sheated the swords in. "Were you eating? Bad form, spoiling your appetite."

"Good evening. Flesh, eat, thank you," the tall, thin man almost fully wrapped in black snapped his jaws, hovering from one of the dead bodies to the other one. "Good meat, very good meal, hehhhhhh! Both, let me have both."

She kept him apart from the Senator by pressing a foot on his chest. "Not this one, Dear Sir. He's important, and the terms of my contract were clear."

He foamed off the mouth at her. "But he's mine! So hungry! Eat you too then!"

The girl stopped smiling and gave him a piercing glare from right above the round glasses.

Moonfish seemed to be taken aback and stepped away from her. It was a trick she had learned while studying Shinmeiryuu. Put enough spiritual pressure into your glare and you can push weak minds back. "Hehhhhhh! Unfair," he said.

"Those are the ways of life, Dear Sir." She shrugged her shoulders delicately, and pointed the dainty foot at the corpse of the bodyguard. "Alas, blue collars like us still can eat other blue collars. He's got more meat on him regardless."

"FLESH!" Moonfish agreed, swooping down to devour noisily.

The girl sighed, throwing the Senator over a shoulder and going towards the window. "It's almost enough to make one miss Fate-han."

While leaping from one rooftop to another with ease, carrying her victim, she thought back of Fate-han. This was all his fault, wasn't it? For all of his intelligence, he hadn't predicted they would be caught on the backlash from the Gateport's destruction, much like Setsuna-senpai's team. Thanks to his oh so brilliant stupidity, now she was lost in another world, forced to take degrading jobs like this one to make ends meet and pay the bills. Next time she saw Fate-han, she would give him a piece of her mind! And take a few from his.

It never crossed her mind, to think he could be dead. If she had survived, so had he. She was sure it was a matter of time until they met again.

She stopped once she thought she was far enough, dropping the body into a stinking, lonely alley, scaring a few rats away.

"Well, here's where we part ways. It was fun, Senator-han," she said, dusting her hands off. "Sorry I couldn't give you sex, but I'm saving myself for someone else. You aren't my type, but-"

Then she tensed up, as she had just sensed someone else in the alley.

Slowly, she pulled the longsword and the dagger out and moved to face the other person with her. The contract had been clear on how she was to kill the target, leave a crime scene as confusing as possible, and drop the body far from the site of the assassination. And no witnesses. The first part had gone without a hitch, but now there was a spanner in the works for the second. She only hoped this person would give her a fight. She was getting tired of milk runs against weaklings.

Another girl stepped out of the shadows, and oh dear, she was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Setsuna-senpai. What a waste it would be, to kill her.

The stranger smiled, and the swordswoman liked the smile, too. It was an erratic smile, matching those golden kitten eyes so well. Her hair was short and light blonde, but not as light as her own, very messy in comparison with her long, well combed, smooth hair. She wore a lightly smelly school uniform that appeared to have been worn for days, unwashed, and even so, she was so gorgeous that the swordswoman had to remind herself to stay professional.

The stranger waved a hand. "Helloooo-oooooo," she said, singing the word along. Her eyes gazed across the blood splattered Senator and the red spots all over the cute white dress. "Sorry to interrupt, whatever you were doing."

"It's not much, I was just dropping some trash," she replied, focusing her senses to locate any other nearby chis. It was entirely possible that she had been double crossed, and this girl was a decoy for the police, meant to entertain her until they got the drop on her.

"Aaaahhhhh-hhhh," the other girl slowly walked towards her, eyeing the blood pooling around her feet even more intently. "Then you won't mind if I take it, right? If it's just trash..."

Dear Kami-sama, what was wrong with this place? It was full of sickos, even for her tastes.

"You want the meat or the blood?" she asked her, going to the point. Had Moonfish brought one of his friends for the job? The mind boggled. How could anyone like THAT have any friends? Or was she a relative? Was this a Texas Chainsaw Massacre kind of thing?

The girl licked her lips, panting. "Just the blood, please. I kind of... need blood." She almost sounded embarrassed for a moment. "It's my Quirk, you see..."

"Ah," the girl answered. These freaks blamed everything on their stupid Quirks. Not her. She was more honest than that. She recognized that her wickedness was all her own. She stepped aside. "Then help yourself, Dear Miss."

"Thanks," she sighed with relief, moving onto the body and starting to lick the blood desperately. The other girl watched her in silence, paying the most attention to her cute raised behind, and she considered just leaving. What happened to the body after she dropped it wasn't meant to be part of her responsibilities, and this girl was so obviously out of her mind that she barely counted as a witness anyone could question.

And yet, she didn't leave. She kept on watching her, trying to understand those strange feelings in her heart.

Finally, the stranger rose from the feast, wiping her mouth with a fist. She faced her benefactor and smiled, more charmingly now, despite the blood caking her features. "Thank you very much. What's your name. Mine's Himiko! Toga Himiko!"

She sounded so strangely casual about it that the shorter, younger girl couldn't help smiling back. "Tsukuyomi." She offered her hand graciously, like the lady she was. "Iwai Tsukuyomi," she added after another moment, albeit she rarely gave her full name.

Toga Himiko shook her hand, not with refined politeness, but with the crude enthusiasm of a plebeian. Tsukuyomi's heart soared despite herself.

Then Toga Himiko grabbed her hand and licked the blood from it, suckling on the fingers, and Tsukuyomi cooed. She closed her eyes, and only opened them when, surprising her, she was kissed on the nose, right under the bridge of her glasses.

Toga Himiko swallowed, like a playful tabby. "You had some on your nose," she said.

Tsukuyomi only hoped she wasn't blushing as much as she felt.

"So... Do you live here, or-"

"For the moment. I had to run away from home. What a bore," Toga Himiko snorted.

"I wonder why. What could move anyone to expel someone so obviously personable from their home?" Tsukuyomi wondered, only half sarcastic.

Toga Himiko shrugged. "It's a looong story."

Tsukuyomi looked at her in silence for several moments. "I have a nice place across town, where I'm staying for the time being. Would you like to come?"

Toga's eyes shone curiously. "Are you serious?"

Tsukuyomi smiled and sheathed the swords back in. "I'm feeling generous tonight."

Please forgive me, Setsuna-senpai. I'm a bad girl after all.

---

Next: Welcome to UA.

 

[OverMaster]

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

---

Quirky.

Part Two.

---

Midoriya Inko understood the need of her son to be a hero perfectly well.

She knew that, growing up, it had been a blow to Izuku's self-esteem to lack a Quirk. She knew that said absence of Quirk had been a long standing source of... friction between him and other boys (that Bakugo-kun had actually BRUTALIZED IZUKU MENTALLY for years sort of escaped her in full extent. She knew that Bakugo-kun was... coarse when addressing him, but a combination of Izuku not being willing to share all he had endured behind her back and traditional Japanese mentality on the issue of bullying had led her to somewhat ignoring or minimizing the issue. That, and Bakugo-kun's parents had wealth and she knew she'd never win a court showdown against them. So there was that too).

She knew that Izuku idealized All Might, but then again, who didn't? Even Bakugo-kun did, and he was... Bakugo-kun. Ah, those magazine centerfolds with All Might posing heroically, flexing all muscles, had helped Inko through many nights of loneliness...

So she was willing to give Izuku a lot of leeway when his chance to become a hero came along. When he showed up saying he'd met a guy who worked for All Might and who would train him to access UA, Inko had given said guy the benefit of doubt, despite that being the kind of bullshit every two bit pervert gave boys to take advantage of them. She'd invited Yagi Toshinori, realized that he was weak enough he couldn't even rape a squirrel, and allowed Izuku to spend a couple hours a day with him.

From what Inko understood, Yagi-san was making Izuku clean a beach. That wasn't so bad. Even if he was being duped, he'd learn a valuable life lesson from it and gain some muscle already.

And then he had shown up with those kids, saying Yagi-san had asked him to house them for a while.

It wasn't that they were leeching the Midoriyas' finances off. Every day, there was money transferred to Inko's account to pay for their expenses, which made her realize that All Might's money might actually be poured into this. But the fact remained, it was a small apartment, and there were a lot of them, and well...

There had been that time, for instance, where she had casually walked into Chisame-chan wearing a black leotard with a microskirt that didn't even cover her crotch, a domino mask, and little black bat wings on her back.

"..." Inko asked, staring at her while waiting for an answer.

Chisame-chan blushed and fidgeted. "... I'm cosplaying as Pop Step..."

"Who," Inko asked stoically, "is Pop Step, dear?"

"... a vigilante..."

"Okay..." Inko's eyes narrowed.

"I, I, I know that around these parts, being a vigilante is barely above being a villain, but that's a retired vigilante, nobody's seen her in months, and anyway, it's not like people can't cosplay as the Joker and Harley Quinn without getting in trouble, and I know that's different because the Joker and Harley Quinn aren't real, but... The costume is cute, okay? I like it!"

"It's also sexy. Cute and sexy," Inko said blandly, inwardly congratulating herself on how wonderfully patient she was being. "Very sexy, dear, especially to be worn in a small apartment around several young boys..."

Chisame blinked. "Do you think I'm sexy?"

Inko counted to ten mentally. "Any other reason beyond finding the costume cute, dear...?"

Chisame gulped. "I, I, please don't tell anyone, but it's for my webpage."

"Your webpage..."

"Y-Yeah, I had one back at home, and I've set a new one here, it doesn't harm anyone, and it's just a hobby, I've been through a lot of stress and I need-"

"Mom, I'm home!" came Izuku's voice from the front door. He had just returned from school, ready to dine before leaving for the beach. "How's everyone doing?"

Inko grabbed a table cloth and dropped it on Chisame's head, covering her all the way to the feet. "Don't worry about them, Izuku dear, I've got them covered."

"That's... very funny, Inko-san, congratulations," a humiliated Chisame said from under the cloth. "Ah ha ha, yeah, from now on I'll only do this behind locked doors..."

Izuku walked in. He looked up and down at the table cloth, then at the feet poking underneath. "Pop Step's boots. Is that you, Hasegawa-san? Are you doing that Chiu thing Negi-san told me about?"

Two large veins bulged from under the table cloth.

"NEEEEEEEEGIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Chisame roared.

 

[OverMaster]

"For the last time, Chisame, I had to tell him!" Negi protested, blocking her furious and constant blows with his arms. "What if he had just walked in on you ignoring everything about that!"

"You always have an excuse for everything, don't you!?" Chisame growled, unloading Tsundere Punch after Tsundere Punch on him. She was wearing a tight, black and yellow spandex top and matching shorts. Sakurako had to admit Chisame had quite the figure, despite being a shut-in. She'd seen the other girl naked several times in the baths of Mahora, but she'd never paid her much attention. "Stay still, damn you!"

"That would beat the purpose of the exercise!" Negi said, blocking every punch easily. "I'll let you land an extra punch as soon as you pass through my defenses, okay?"

"What if he did that just to provoke her into going all out on him during training?" Sakurako wondered, sitting at the sidelines with Kotaro, Chachamaru and Chamo. Toshinori was fanning himself under a beach umbrella, wheezing loudly. Izuku was dragging another haul of junk into the truck.

"You're giving him too much credit!" Kotaro gave a little grin.

Izuku moved on to take a big chug from his bottle of water. "Sir," he told Toshinori, watching as Chisame redoubled her efforts on Negi, "what if I ask Negi-san to teach me martial arts too?"

"On top of everything you're doing already?" his mentor asked him. "Normally, it'd be a great idea, but you're working yourself up enough as it is! Go overboard, and you'll end up collapsing from overexhaustion!"

"What is that?" Izuku blinked at the word in English.

"Burning yourself out from doing too much in too short a time," Yoshinori explained. "Young Hasegawa and Young Shiina have enhanced physical stats when they activate their Pactios, but that's an advantage you don't have. I told you, learn to walk before you start running. Put your body in full shape and then we'll think about martial arts."

"Maybe we can get him a Pactio from Negi-kun or Kotaro-kun!" Shiina raised her right hand. "Then he'll be as strong as us when we're on magic, won't he?"

"Geh!" Kotaro said. "I'm not kissing any guy, much less on the lips! Count me out!"

"It'll be just a short peck, Kotaro-kun," Sakurako pursed her lips towards him.

"Don't even joke about that!"

Izuku gulped. "I'm not ready to give my sacred first kiss yet, and I don't think Chamo-san would approve, either."

"Of course I wouldn't!" the ermine barked.

"But it doesn't hurt if I just teach him some basic moves, right?" Negi said, ducking as Chisame changed tactics to swing a kick at him. She was getting tired, breathing heavily now. "I'm not going to put him through the wringer, just a few minutes a day..."

Toshinori frowned, then said, "Only as long as I'm supervising, to make sure you don't overdo it."

"Word of honor!" Negi put a hand on his heart, rolling back from Chisame's attack.

"Don't make it look so easy, you're humiliating me!" Chisame whined.

"And Young Karakuri will record every minute of your activities while I'm away, to make sure you aren't disobeying," Toshinori pointed at Chachamaru.

"I already do it," the gynoid said, her eyes glowing faintly as she kept on staring at Negi.

"Don't worry, Chacha-chan isn't a shotacon because she's only two years old herself," Sakurako told Toshinori.

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better!?" Toshinori said.

 

[OverMaster]

Several weeks later, they sat after training hours, in Izuku's apartment. They had convinced Yagi-san to stay for a little before leaving for his home, and the man was too tired to protest too much. It surprised Negi to see how easily he grew exhausted while not in his All Might form. He only wished he could take him to a good magical doctor. Perhaps they could do something for him...

"Na na na na na na, All Might..." sang the opening theme in the television. Kotaro snickered at the quality of the animation on screen.

"Old anime were really stiff, weren't they?" he chuckled. "We've come a long way since then!"

"Hey, it's not that old! It's from only twenty years ago, and it still holds up!" Izuku scowled. "Plus it's technically not anime, it's an American and Japanese co-production."

"All Might wasn't all that well known yet," Yagi-san said nostalgically. "The budgets for superhero anime weren't that big back then. Even so, Dini and Timm more than made up for it with the inspired designs and stories."

"Oh, no doubt about that!" Izuku gushed, while the episode opened with All Might punching a guy with a pizza slice for a head. Chisame squinted at that. Good writing...? "The Alex Toth loving influence is evident in every frame!"

"Ah ha ha, I don't know that much about pre-Quirk superhero comics and animation, so that Toth name escapes me," Yagi-san admitted. "But the stories were actually better than the actual incidents All Might got into while living in America. Or so I heard," he added, sweating a little as he heard Inko humming from the kitchen. "I suppose that's unavoidable, since reality isn't scripted."

"Oh, I don't know," Kotaro said. "Not to boast, but our adventures would make for an awesome anime!"

"Manga," Chisame said, sipping her juice from a straw moodily. Negi had forbidden her and Sakurako from drinking soda and similar sugary drinks as long as they were training, and she hated it. "The manga is always better."

"It'd have too much nudity," Inko opined, coming along and starting to distribute snacks among everyone.

"Thank you, Mom," Izuku said.

"He already sneezed here, didn't he?" Yagi-san asked Inko.

Inko, Izuku, Chisame and Negi himself blushed.

Yagi-san sighed. "We need to think of a way to curb that while you're in the academy," he told Negi. "It won't do, having you strip everyone during a mission. Maybe you should wear a special mask..."

"What happened to that guy, anyway?" Kotaro pointed at All Might's juvenile onscreen sidekick. "Or is he just madeup for the show?"

"Sir Nighteye? No, he's still active as a successful independent superhero on his own," Izuku said. "He and All Might separated on good terms, no matter what the rumors may say."

Yagi-san rasped subtly to himself, yet said nothing.

"And the villains? Are American villains actually that corny?" Chisame asked. "The ones in the news look way scarier. Or did they just go grim and gritty over time?"

"The latter, to an extent," Yagi-san said, "but even then, there were real bastards around. It's just that the show only used the relatively harmless bad guys, the ones who reformed and made showbiz deals. Most of them were just attention seekers. A few even stayed on the straight lane! All Might still keeps on touch with Eartha, the Explosive Hummingbird. Great ol' gal, that Eartha."

"Some of them even played themselves in the animated series, like Roland Mc Garrison, the Mad Patissier," Izuku recalled fondly.

"Yeah, but showbiz chewed most of them out," Yagi-san said. "Roland died of a drug overdose, poor fellow."

Izuku blinked. "I thought it'd been a heart attack?"

"Never believe press releases," Yagi-san wagged a finger at him. "Unless they are All Might's, heh heh."

"Now that's a depressing turn of conversation..." Chisame said.

"I agree," Inko said, sitting down and starting to chew slowly.

"Sorry," Yagi-san said. "Not all of them ended up like that, of course. Eartha's still doing great, like I told you. Those ones were not all that bad. The real bad ones... we tried not to give them any publicity. I always thought it was wrong glorifying crime like that. Have you ever heard the story of Herostratus?"

Negi nodded. "The psychopath who burned the temple of Artemis in ancient Greece, hoping to immortalize his name."

"And the sad part is he succeeded, but at which cost? He was tortured on a rack and executed." Yagi-san pointed his finger at the children. "That's the lesson to be learned there, kids! Crime never pays! If you ever succeed in life after having been a criminal, it's not BECAUSE of it, but DESPITE of it!"

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Haruna is the one who should be hearing this," Chisame said. "Save that speech for when we find her, okay?"

As usual when reminded of his missing students, Negi folded into depression again.

"Never lose hope, Young Negi," Yagi-san said. "Our agency's still looking for clues about them every day. Why, I would go as far as to say we might be close to confirmation on one of them..."

Negi perked up. "Really!? Where!?"

Yagi-san smiled. "I'm not authorized to tell you anything yet. It might be a false lead. But there are some rumors about a peculiar enough young lady in South America..."

 

[OverMaster]

Several more weeks passed.

"Misorita?" the portly lady with thick brown curls framing a round face asked, appearing at the door. Literally. "You can talk with them now."

"Hmm?" the short, wiry young lady in the miniskirted nun habit tilted her head back from the autograps she was signing. "Oh, you mean... For real, this time!? Great!"

She turned back to the children surrounding her and smiled. "Sorry, amiguitos, but I've gotta run!"

"Are you gonna fight another bad guy, Hermana Misteriosa?" a dark skinned little girl asked.

"Kick 'em in the ass for me, Hermana!" another girl wagged her small fist around.

She laughed lamely, while the woman urged her with hand gestures. "Come back tomorrow, okay? I'll tell Marylin to give you extra passes so you don't have to pay again! Well, it was a pleasure! Bye!" She waved and dashed towards the door, while the children waved back at her.

She gulped while the obese lady led her down the hallway. "Why so nervous?" the woman asked her. "They're just your friends, aren't they?"

"W-Well, yeah, but it's been months, and I was starting to lose faith I'd ever see them again, and- Never mind, I'll tell 'em myself!" she decided, reaching the room covered on posters of the local Presidente. Marylin pointed towards the computer on a small desk at the other end of the room, and the girl sat there, trying to put on her best smile. "Hellooo! Negi-kun? Is that really you, Negi-kun!?"

"Misora-san...? MISORA-SAN!" the familiar face on the screen leaned closer, and actual tears started leaking from his eyes. It was him, no doubt. Even a shapeshifter couldn't be that convincingly... Negi-kun. "Oh dear God, Misora-san, thank goodness...!"

"Hey, hey, don't start weeping on a happy day, Sensei, that's bad for the luck!" Kasuga Misora tried to calm him. "Sorry about the delays, but we needed diplomatic clearance from the Presidente, you know! That... That's the way things are around here..."

Chisame's face appeared on the screen next to Negi's, slightly pushing him aside. "So that's actually you, Kasuga? I thought you'd run as fast from the explosion as possible, how comes it caught you too?"

Misora frowned. "Nice to see you too, Chisame-chan. Who else's there with you? Marylin, my manager, mentioned Chachamaru and Sakurako."

"It's only them, Chamo, and Dog Boy," Chisame said.

"Who are you calling 'Dog Boy'!?" Kotaro called from offscreen. "And then you don't want to be called 'Chi-chan'!?"

Misora whistled. "But Negi-kun's cards are fine, aren't they?"

"Yeah, so far," Chisame said. Sakurako was also trying to peek in now, pressing Negi down as if resting on his shoulders.

"Then they're fine, same thing with Cocone-chan," Misora sighed, briefly pulling her own Pactio card out and looking at it. "She's tough and resouceful! I'm sure she's taking good care of herself..."

"We were told you'd been making a name for yourself in Venezuela," Negi said, trying to stay on focus without shaking any of the girls off. "To be honest, I'm a bit shocked they let you operate as a public pro hero already..."

"Heh heh, well, yep, things here are a bit... different from how they operate in the States or Japan," Misora said. "I dropped by, I was a bit injured for several weeks, and as soon as they saw I was up and I had an useful... Quirk... they asked me to help around. I had nowhere to go, so..."

"When will you be coming?" Negi asked eagerly. "We are in touch with All Might, we can pay you a plane trip here as soon as possible!"

Misora shifted on her chair uneasily, with Marylin looking over her. "I'd love to, Negi-kun, but that takes diplomatic clearance too, you know? The relations between Venezuela and Japan aren't at their best right now, and..."

"But everyone's treating you well, right?"

"Who, the boys and girls? Of course!" Misora said smoothly. "I'm a celebrity here!" she boasted, no doubt inflating herself too much in Chisame's opinion. "I'm part of the Red Circle Revolution with El Perro, Beto Matraca, Popular Miriam, Rey Zamuro and Reina Petroleo. La Hermana Misteriosa, youngest and most promising recruit!" She grinned, with a hand on her flat chest.

"It's just stunning that you're part of a fighting team without just fleeing on them as soon as you could," Chisame said.

"Hey, I'll let you know that my peerless strategy of making villains chase me so the guys ambush them has netted dozens of villains already! How many villains have YOU caught by now?"

"We'll be enrolling into UA in a couple months, so we're working on that, Misora-san," Negi said warmly. He saw the woman who stood behind Misora tapping on her wristwatch with a finger, and he sighed. "Well, until then, we'll be in contact, won't we? It was a real relief, to see you are alright..."

"Same here, Negi-kun," Misora said sincerely. "Same here."

As the link was cut, Negi spun his chair around and drooped his shoulders. "At least she's alive and healthy, but..."

"Most heroes with powerful Quirks leave the country as soon as they can, so the local authorities are strapped for useful operatives," All Might said. "Don't lose hope, Young Negi! We'll keep on negotiating. If we can convince one of our younger pros to replace her for a time, as a goodwill ambassador, we'll have her in Japan before year's end. Of course, all of that depends on the evolution of our diplomacy."

"Who would want to go there in the first place?" Chisame asked.

"Hey, Kamui Woods has been talking about REALLY wanting to visit the Amazon jungle for a while..."

 

[OverMaster]

The final day had arrived.

No, not the last day of mankind where the fate of Earth would be decided by a climactic battle against all hopes. Heroes called those 'Sundays'.

Yagi Toshinori parked his truck by the entrance of the beach and unlocked its gates. Then he stood, entranced, at the sight of a completely clean area, other than the last pile of junk ready to be loaded onto the vehicle.

Izuku, shirtless and bathed on sweat, stood on top of said pile, squeezing his fists by his sides and shouting "I'M THE KING OF THE WOOOOOOORLD!"

Sakurako stood next to the pile, in her cheerleading uniform, clapping and with starry huge eyes. "Bravo, Izukun...!"

Chisame was resting on her face on a bench, groaning.

Negi stood nearby, sweatdropping, with Chamo sitting on his head. Chachamaru was sweeping the boulevard, and Kotaro smirked and waved at Toshinori.

The emaciated man sighed and walked to the pile as Izuku descended from it. "It did it, Sir! I actually did it in time!" the green haired boy crowed happily, and then he fell ahead to rest on Tashinori's chest. "I'm worthy of One for All now...!"

The hero slowly cracked a smile and rested his hand on Izuku's head. "You always were, Young Midoriya. I only needed to see proof of it. Please forgive this dumb old man."

"But Sir," Negi said. "Isn't it too late now? The entrance is this afternoon, Midoriya-san won't have any time to practice with One for All..."

"That's fine, he won't be subjected to any life or death situations on his first day," Toshinori said. "If he fails, he can train with One for All for another year, and... I'll vouch for him to get another attempt... It's not the usual procedure, but they should listen..."

"N-No... No!" Izuku tried to stand straight. "It's fine! I can do this! Katchan will be entering today, I need to prove him I can do it too!"

Kotaro and Negi traded a somewhat scrunched look.

"Paru would have a field day with this," Sakurako thought aloud.

"How about you, Young Hasegawa? Are you feeling up to the task?" Toshinori asked Chisame.

She pulled herself from the bench with a snort. "Give me a couple hours of sleep and ask again."

Toshinori looked at the hour in his phone. "There's enough time for that, I suppose."

"I can't help feeling... like I'm cheating, though," Izuku coughed. "I'm not going into it with my own Quirk... unlike Katchan..."

Kotaro and Negi traded another strange look that mixed disturbment with confusion.

"That's fine, Izukun," Sakurako said. "We're cheating by going without Quirks AND high on magic and we have no shame about it!"

"Please stop talking about magic as if it were cocaine, Sakurako," Negi requested blandly.

Toshinori grinned and bulked up into All Might. "No, no, you all deserve this, Young Shiina! You and Young Hasegawa worked out hard under Young Negi, and Young Negi and Young Kotaro had to train hard from childhood, even long before most of us pro heroes did! And Young Karakuri, uh, she worked hard to gain human feelings, I suppose, it's always an achievement when advanced AI pull past the 'Kill All Humans' stage."

Chachamaru nodded. "That is why Hakase-san and Chao-san didn't give me any limbs until I outgrew that phase, Sir."

"What," Chisame said.

All Might put a paternal hand on his protege's shoulder. "And you have proved yourself as well, Young Midoriya. Quirks don't make the hero, it's the other way around."

"Quirks unmake the hero?" Chisame snarked.

All Might squeezed a fist and sniffled loudly. "THE HEROES MAKE THE QUIRKS FROM THEIR HEARTS!" he shouted in English. Then he ripped some of the hair from his head and offered it to Izuku. "Now eat this," he told him.

Izuku blinked. "Ah?"

"You need to assimilate my DNA into you so One for All passes into you!" All Might told him. "If you eat it now, it should have been diggested by the time you get to the academy!"

Izuku grabbed the hair, looked at it for a second, and ate it.

"Is that all?" Negi asked.

"YEP!" All Might grinned, the sunlight reflecting on his teeth so much that Chisame and Sakurako shielded their eyes.

"Okay, then can you give some hair to my brother so he eats it and he becomes another All Might, can't you?" Chamo asked. "He's in way better shape than Izubro here, since he had too much of a headstart on him. So he can take it fine!"

"Are you crazy? You can't give One for All away as if it was candy!" the hero said. "It can't have more than two wielders at a time!"

"Why not?" Chamo asked.

"Because Reasons!"

"That doesn't explain anything at all!" the ermine cried.

"I could give you a detailed explanation on why, but we'd be done by tomorrow and Young Midoriya would lose his chance to enter this year and satisfy his worrying psychological reliance on the young man who made his life miserable for years," All Might said.

"Please stop talking as if I had a problem," Midoriya asked. "Because I don't."

Negi and Kotaro shared that look again.

"Will you two please stop doing that!?" Izuku said.

---

Next: Ochaco at last. I had been waiting for that.

 

[OverMaster]

"Mahora is better," Chisame said.

"This one doesn't even have its own Library Island," Sakurako scoffed.

"The lack of a World Tree makes it esthetically unpleasant if compared to our alma mater," Chachamaru opined.

"What are you talking about, this is UA! Just look at all that awesomeness!" Izuku said. "It's breathtaking! How can you be so blind to it!"

Negi exhaled. "I never wanted to say this, but Merdiana is not only better than this, but it's also somewhat better than Mahora..."

"Them's fighting words, Mister Springfield!" Shiina angrily wagged a finger at him.

They stood now before the front gates of UA. They were shaped like a gigantic 'H' made of two buildings lined up at both sides of a long pathway in.

The sky was shiny, a clear blue. The clouds were harmoniously white and the breeze was gentle and yet dry. Students and would be students everywhere were walking in through said gates and chattered happily among themselves.

"Disgusting, nobody's even going on rocket powered scooters," Chisame said, oblivious to how much she had despised that months ago. "What kind of future is this?"

"This place really needs a Hakase Satomi," Sakurako nodded.

"Don't they all?" Chachamaru philosophized, walking along Chisame.

Somewhere in the Support Group Laboratories, Hatsume Mei sneezed.

She stared at the camera, smiled and waved. "Early Bird Cameo!" she said.

Then they were surprised by a loud yell from behind.

"STEP ASIDE, DEKU!"

"Yikes! K-Katchan!" Izuku yelped, leaping aside to let Bakugo Katsuki walk past him, even though there was plenty of space he could have used to go through, otherwise. The blond boy stomped with a bag slung over his shoulder, frowning and radiating menace and EDGE.

Then he stopped, blinked, and looked at Chisame with mild curiosity. "Have I seen you before?"

"I am Chisame, Izuku's cousin," she told him. All of a sudden the contents of her stomach were rebelling against her.

Bakugo blinked again, clearly not remembering. "Cousin?"

"That is, the child of your uncle or aunt," Chisame went out of her way to explain as if talking to a very slow child. "You'll see, when people aren't complete assholes their parents aren't repulsed enough to stop at having that single one child, and-"

Ignoring her altogether now, Bakugo began stomping again, heading into the majestic school. "Fuck, they are multiplying! What is this world coming to!"

And then he disappeared in the crowd.

Kotaro lifted an eyebrow. "He doesn't even have a badass scar across his face. What kind of bully is that?"

"I know, right?" Chisame said, starting to walk again. "Kakizaki makes for a meaner bully than that, at least she destroys your reputation behind your back after she's done smiling condescently at you."

"She's my friend and I love her regardless!" Sakurako proclaimed, very loudly.

A vein popped on Izuku's forehead. "I don't think you are understanding my Very Important Childhood Trauma at all!" he said, but followed them anyway.

He stopped right when he was about to step past the line separating the school grounds from the entrance, twitching.

"Now what..." Chisame said.

"Are you suffering another flashback, Midoriya-san?" Negi asked helpfully. "Breathe in and out slowly, it's what I do when I have mine..."

"It's not that," Izuku said. He lifted a foot, holding his leg in the air."It's just that... by giving this step, I am leaving my old life behind and getting into the academy of my dreams! It is the most important step I'll take in my life! I must savor the moment! I will set my foot down slowly... and become a hero through AHHH!" He stumbled and fell ahead.

But he didn't hit the ground.

Instead, a species of invisible force held him in place, then pulled him back, safely, to his feet.

"Was that... an invisible person?" Kotaro wondered.

A floating short skirt with a long sleeved navy blue blouse, a pair of matching high heeled shoes, and white gloves passed by next to them. "Hardly," a female voice said.

"Sorry, that was me!" a very cheerful girly voice said from behind them. They looked at a girl who smiled at them, around the same height as Sakurako, with short brown hair and a cute, rounded face. "I used my Quirk on you without asking first! That was rude! But you were about to plummet and break your nose in a grotesque explosion of blood against the cold pavement and none of your friends here seemed about to stop your fall!"

"..." Izuku said, his eyes expanding in vast circles. His freckles disappeared in a sea of red, and time ralentized around him. "...!"

The girl, in slow-mo, casually tossed some of her hair back, over a shoulder, with that kind of girl-next-door loveliness Izuku had only imagined from his most Guilty Pleasure readings of romantic manga ever before.

"...!" he said, and then hiccuped.

Sakurako frowned, looking back and forth between them.

"But then again, they must have been too nervous for that!" the girl said, slapping her hands together. "You're nervous too, aren't you? Of course you are, that's why you fell like that! Boy, I'm nervous too! Who wouldn't be? That's why I'm blabbering like a complete idiot at the middle of the way in while bothering everyone who has to take ways around me because I'm blocking the path! So are you, by the way, not that I have any room to criticize!"

"...?" Izuku asked.

The girl giggled bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Good luck with the exams! You're taking the exams, aren't you? Well, maybe not you two, you two look too young, although you might have dwarfism Quirks, you never know, not that there's anything wrong with being a dwarf! Well, bye bye!" she waved and took off into the grounds just as Negi opened his mouth to speak.

"...!" Izuku smiled goofily, waving after her. Sakurako fumed.

"Strong Makie vibes. Scary, in a way!" Chisame commented.

Sakurako pointed a finger at the back of the girl while she still could see her. "A hex on-"

Chisame grabbed her hand in a quiet way. "Shiina, no..."

 

[OverMaster]

"WELCOME TO MY CONCERT!" the man at the podium shouted at the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE SAY HEYYYYYY!" he added in a thundering, joyful and badly mangled English.

The students gathered all around the titanic auditorium fell into a stuned silence.

"CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUU!" the man shouted again, moving an arm in circles.

After a few moments, the young people shouted, hesitating, "HEEEEYYYYYYY..."

"YOU GOTTA DO BETTER THAN THAT!" he laughed, his extremely tall blond reverse pompadour bobbing back and forth as he moved his head. He wore yellow tinted shades and a black leather, with a zipped up jacket. He looked like what happens when a DJ falls into a convention of punk bikers and then they are mobbed by rabid rockers and it all ends in sexy, except that the sex wasn't sexy at all. "NO MATTER, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR! PAY ATTENTION, LISTENERS! I'M GONNA EXPLAIN THE ADMITTANCE EXAMS TO YOU! ARE YOU READYYYY!?"

"Who is this clown?" Chisame muttered under her breath. "All Might is hammy, but his head seems screwed the right way. This is just pathetic..."

"Shhhhhhh!" Izuku hushed her. Negi frowned. "That's Present Mic, the mythic Disc Jockey hero! I hear his radio show every day...!"

"What? When?" Chisame asked. "We live together and I'd never heard this loudmouth before!"

"His show is on when you do your Chiu thing, Chis-" Negi began whispering, and then had Chisame pressing her hand on his mouth.

Chisame gritted her teeth. "There are other ways to explain that, kid..."

"Shut up, Dekus! I want to hear the man!" snapped a voice from near them.

Negi and his students blinked, and craned their necks to see Bakugo sitting at the other side of Izuku, folding his arms and brooding.

"What, what are you doing here of all places!?" Chisame said, sweeping an arm to gesture at the jam packed auditorium. "Out of all seats in the house, you had to take that one!?"

"I'm starting to suspect that this obsession is a two-lane way," Sakurako mused.

"YYYYYYYEEEAAAHHHHHH!" Present Mic vocifered, making many look around for David Carusso instinctively. "ALL OF YOU LUCKY LISTENERS WILL UNDERGO A 10-MINUTE LONG BATTLE SIMULATION! YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH YOU, AS LONG AS THEY AIN'T NO LETHAL WEAPONS! AFTER CHANGING INTO YOUR BATTLE RAGS OF CHOICE, YOU'LL BE TAKEN TO A BATTLE CENTER OR ANOTHER TO ROCK ON, BABIES!"

"Taken? By whom? So we can't choose who will we go with?" Chisame whispered.

Kotaro shrugged. "Alone or working with you guys, I'm sure I can do it."

"If the staff tries to stop you from partaking, remember to show them the pass Toshinori-san gave you, Kotaro-kun," Negi told him.

"I know, Dad..."

"AT THE BATTLE CENTERS, YOU'LL FIND THREE, COUNT 'EM RIGHT, THREE KINDS OF 'VILLAINS'!" Present Mic held three fingers up. Every jumbo screen around the auditorium zoomed in on the gesture. "YOU'RE TO ELIMINATE 'EM AND YOU'LL BE GIVEN A SCORE ACCORDING TO HOW MANY YOU'VE WASTED! REMEMBER THAT SOME VILLAINS WILL GET YOU MORE POINTS THAN OTHERS! YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU SEE 'EM, YOUNG LOVERS!"

"Basically a war game, not too unlike some of the training at the Master's resort," Chachamaru said softly. "Sensei, you and Inugami-san shouldn't have any issues with it."

A very tall and strong looking young man rose to his feet several seats away from Negi's team. He had short and very well cut slick hair, with glasses, and an immaculate white suit, and a black tie."SENSEI!" he shouted, as if trying to sound as loud as Present Mic. He held a sheet of paper and pointed at it. "THE FLIERS SHOW FOUR TYPES OF VILLAIN, HOWEVER! I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE THIS IS A PRINTING ERROR, NOT FROM JAPAN'S PREMIERE ACADEMY! ARE YOU TESTING US, THEN!?"

"OKAY, OKAY!" Present Mic replied. "THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, NUMBER 711! GOOD EYE! IN TRUTH, THE FOURTH KIND OF VILLAIN WILL SCORE YOU NO POINTS! IT'S THERE ONLY TO BOTHER YOU ON YOUR WAY..."

"So a Deku," Bakugo snorted.

"THANK YOU! I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY NOW, SIR!" the formal looking boy bowed deeply. "SORRY FOR DISTURBING YOU!" He sat back down.

"NAAAAYYYYY I SAYYYYY, YOU WERE RIGHT TO ASK!" Present Mic said. "HEROES CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED! REMEMBER, THE COURSE IS THERE TO MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT FOR YOU! YOUR JOB, YOUNG HEROES, IS TO OVERCOME IT ALL! AS THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID..."

Negi scoffed. "Bonaparte. Hero."

"Your Britishness is showing again, Sensei," Chisame snarked at him.

"TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE! PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG, EVERYONE...!"

There was a loud snap at some other point of the audience. "OWWWWW!"

"NOT LITERALLY, NUMBER 578, YOU IDIOT!" Present Mic shouted. "FELLAS, SEND THE MEDICAL STAFF, WILL YOU...!?"

 

[OverMaster]

At the dressers for boys, Kotaro and Negi made small talk while changing into the jumpsuits they had brought.

"Are you nervous?" Kotaro asked.

"As if!" the dog boy said. "You?"

"I'm a little concerned about Chisame and Sakurako, but that's it," the prodigy said, attempting to stay calm under the pressure, as Evangeline had taught him. "Chachamaru is more than up to the task of acing the test easily."

He looked over at Izuku. "What about you, Midoriya-san?"

Izuku's teeth clacked together while he zipped his jumpsuit up. "E-E-Everything's great, I feel fine…!"

Kotaro slapped himself on a knee. "Aw, c'mon! You've made it so far, gonna get cold feet now!?"

"Be easy on him, it's his dream, not ours," Negi reasoned. "It's obvious that he'll feel more pressured than we do. Isn't that right, Cham—" He looked around. "Goodness. You take your eyes off him for a second!"

"Wanna go look for him?" Kotaro asked, tugging his boots on.

Negi sighed. "I'd like to, but I know what would happen. He's spying on the girls, if I go there I'll be spotted, the girls, mostly Chisame, will be furious, and then I'll sneeze. If they think he's just a normal ermine it won't be a problem."

Kotaro hummed. "Good to see you're finally wise about those things. Yeah, even if Megane and Shiina-neechan see him they won't spill the beans on him."

"Exactly!" Negi headed for the doors of the dressers. "Here, he's actually less prone to get himself in trouble than back at Mahora."

Several doors away, a tiny young man with an oversized round head and a very curiously stylized hairstyle crouched down and edged along a wall separating his own dresser from that of the girls next door. He looked carefully, feeling the wall with his fingers, a true expert. He knew that there always was a peephole somewhere in those walls. Kindred souls abounded wherever youngsters gathered to study together, and once he found such a hole, he thanked his predecessors in perversion.

He leaned in and put his eye on the hole. Most of the other boys had left already, and those still left weren't paying him any attention. He was too small and unremarkable for that, plus most people liked to keep a distance from him. Eventually he'd grown used to that, sort of. He grinned lustfully to himself, eyeing a young derriere in white panties.

"That's what I'm talking about, baby…" he whispered. And then he felt something small and furry tickling his head.

"Waaaahhhh!" the boy tumbled back, dropping sitting on the floor as a white ermine, who had been sitting on his head trying to peek in as well, fell along him, both tumbling across the floor at the feet of another aspirant, towering over them.

Scary shiny glasses shined down at them. Two strong fists rested on wide hips. The tiny boy gulped, recognizing that person. It was the stuffy sounding boy who had addressed Present Mic during that speech.

"And what do you believe you were doing looking through that wall, Mister?" he growled at him, and the smaller boy sweated bullets.

"L-Looking? Who, me?" he gasped, shaking under the shadow of that gigantic boy. At least, gigantic when compared to him. "No, you must be thinking of something else, Mister! I'm sorry, I, I was…" He grabbed the ermine, holding him before himself as a living shield. "Looking for my mischievous pet!"

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Why did you bring a pet here?"

The tiny young man gulped, at a loss about what to say. But then he heard a very, very slight whisper, low enough the other boy could not hear it. "Luck," a male voice was saying.

"It's… for the good luck, Mister!" He shook, bowing his head. "I'm terribly sorry! I'm so attached to him, but he has a bad habit of spying on others and you know how curious animals get! Please excuse me! We didn't mean wrong!"

The other boy gave a step back. He seemed taken aback. "W-Well… You shouldn't have, but I can tell you're very nervous… an animal lover cannot be that bad, but that's still against the rules…"

"Is it? I had no idea, Sir, please don't tattle me!" the tiny boy wailed, throwing himself at his feet. "I knew I should have read the rules better first! But, but I was too busy studying other things day and night, and I have to support my ten little siblings, and and and!"

The huge boy sweatdropped, holding his hands up. "I understand! I understand! I'm not made of stone! Look… Just leave him somewhere safe and don't bring him again, okay? The battle arenas are no place for pets!"

Then he squinted at him. "Are you sure you weren't spying with him…?" He was not that sure, and he wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. He hadn't been paying attention to him before he stumbled, and misjudging others was a very unheroic thing to do.

The tiny boy paused, then crossed fingers behind his back. "Was not…!"

He frowned at him, pausing, but then looked at the clock on a wall. "No time to settle this. We'll talk later!" he promised, and headed out.

The tiny boy exhaled. He slumped ahead, sitting on the floor. Everyone else had left already.

"That was a close shave, wasn't it, Bro?" the ermine asked him.

The boy frowned at him. "You some shapeshifter?"

The ermine shook his head.

"You are… an animal with a Quirk?" the boy grew more intrigued. "Those are very scarce, wow!"

"Sort of," the ermine said. "I shouldn't have revealed myself to you, but I felt pity, that guy was going to turn you into mulch. All because of a harmless hobby! Some guys just can't understand, they are too repressed, right?"

The boy smiled. "You're right! Finally, someone who understands!"

The animal extended a tiny paw at him. "Albert Chamomile, but you can call me Chamo, Bro!"

"Mineta Minoru!" He shook the paw as best as he could. "What's a cool dude like you doing here?"

"I came to support a friend, but he'll be fine. You look like you could use some help, though."

"Can you… help with a test like the Battle Simulation?" Mineta doubted. "That guy said we couldn't bring animals…"

"As long as you keep me well hidden nobody will notice," the ermine said. "Trust me, I'm a professional trainer of heroes! I can smell danger from a mile away! Just wait until you see what my protégé is able to do!"

Mineta pondered all of that for a moment. What could he lose by trying? He smiled, picked the ermine up, and gently stuffed him down the front of his shirt. "Thanks for the kind offer, Chamo-san! Let's rock their world!"

 

[OverMaster]

"—and so, listen me out, this is my idea," the short girl with brown bangs obscuring her eyes was telling Kotaro, as they waited for the go signal. "A Visual Novel where a grand total of seven mages summon Heroes from the past to fight each other for the sake of an omnipotent artifact that grants wishes. I think I'll call it Tainted Moon, noko."

"Uh huh," Kotaro said, clearly uninterested. They'd separated him from Negi and the others for the exercise; so he'd be running on his own. Not on his own, actually, since he'd be running with these weirdos.

(THAT IS A GREAT IDEA, ACTUALLY) read the words on the balloon floating above the neck of the other student who stood with them at the start line. (GIVE ME A CALL IF YOU GET TO DO A MANGA ABOUT IT).

Kotaro rubbed his temples.

(SO, HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAY?) 'said' the boy with a word balloon for a head.

"Eh?" Kotaro blinked, looking up at him and reading the text. "Uh, I turn twelve next month…
"
"Twelve? That's weird, noko," the girl said. "Why did they let you in so early?"

"Because I'm a prodigy," Kotaro smiled, pulling briefly on the front of his shirt as if he was doing so on the lapels of a fine jacket. "I've been fighting since I walked out my cradle!"

(AND WHAT IS YOUR QUIRK?)

"Wolf," Kotaro grinned, getting the claws of his left hand out, and flexing them in and out. It was the name he and Negi had agreed on for his non-existent Quirk, if anyone asked about it. Negi's was 'Magic', Chisame's was 'Hack', Sakurako's was 'Random' and Chachamaru's was 'Mecha'. Plain names but apparently the best Quirks had those.

(THAT'S COOL. WELL, GOOD LUCK, KID. WE'RE GONNA NEED IT).

"Not me," Kotaro flexed his arms. "Luck is what you need when you don't have the skills to cut it on your own."

The girl sighed. "It's not that I lack skills, noko, but they aren't the best fit for this kind of stuff, noko. It's unfair, I'm still good hero potential, but I'm not that good at running and—"

"Don't worry, Neechan," Kotaro said. "Just stick close to me and I'll help you out."

She smiled, the lower half of her face looking rather cute. He knew she was probably just manipulating him to get him to protect her, but he didn't mind, that was his duty as a gentleman, damn it!

Besides, she kinda reminded him of Nodoka-neechan. Once again, he had to wonder where she was…

 

[OverMaster]

Izuku breathed in and out, trembling on his feet at the middle of another startling line.

"Haaaaahh! Haaaahhhh! No Toshinori-san, no Negi-san, nobody to turn on for answers!" he said. "I'm all on my own now...! Uh, no offense, Chachamaru-san."

"Midoriya-san," the gynoid told him. She was the only one who had been assigned to make the test run with him, out of the whole group of friends. Several others wandered around them waiting for the exercise to begin and chattering among themselves. "Could I share a personal story with you? I think it fits this situation."

"Uh? Of course, Chachamaru-san," he said.

"When I first came to this wonderful life of mine," Chachamaru shared sagely, "I only did whatever Chao-san and Hakase-san told me to. Then I was handed over to Master Evangeline, and I only did what she told me to. I even hurt Negi-sensei and Asuna-san back then, something I regret dearly. Then I went back to doing what Chao-san told me for the Festival, and I also had to oppose Negi-sensei even though that wasn't what my heart wanted."

"And now?"

"Now I only do what Negi-sensei and Chisame-san tell me to. But that's not the point. The point is, you should do things on your own, not because Yagi-san or Negi-sensei tell you to. Spread your own wings and fly freely, Midoriya-san. Do things on your own. Enjoy this instead of dreading it."

"But you said-"

"I am a robot, Midoriya-san. My case is different."

Then she touched his forehead. "My sensors tell me you aren't properly hydrated for the exercise. I will go bring you a glass of water. Please don't move an inch, will you?"

"But you just told me that I shouldn't just do what I am t-"

"Just stay here, will you?" Chachamaru insisted, turning around and leaving.

Izuku sulked. At least Katchan hadn't been assigned to that course too. No, wait, that was a bad thing, wasn't it? This way he couldn't show Katchan how much he had improved, and he would keep on badmouthing him whenever they crossed paths again!

A little Negi angel showed up on Izuku's shoulder and began lecturing him on not caring so much about what Katchan thought. A little Katchan devil showed up right after and kicked the Negi away.

Izuku shook his head and, trying to clear his mind, looked at the course ahead. It was built like several blocks of urban landscape. Buildings as tall as real ones littered the ground ahead as far as he could see, and several mannequins labeled 'CIVILIAN' stood along the sidewalks. Izuku looked at the pamphlet of the rules again. As soon as they got going, they had to 'save' as many of those civilians from the enemies. That had to be easy, right? Carrying a dummy to safety was easier than carrying an actual living person. He had grown strong enough to lift huge piles of junk, so carrying several of those frail looking dummies on his shoulders should be a piece of cake.

He kept on looking around, trying to locate any other familiar faces. And then he saw her.

Slow sensuous music began sounding in Midoriya's head. The brown haired girl with the gravity powers stood with her back turned on him, her hands brought together as if she was praying or just concentrating. Izuku smiled, pastel bubbles surrounding him, and he gave a step towards h-

"Hey, you!" a very virile voice snapped behind him.

Izuku looked back over his shoulder. "Yes?"

The bespectacled young man who had spoken during Present Mic's speech huffed at him. He now wore a jumpsuit as pristine white as his formal suit. "I knew I recognized you! You were muttering and distracting others during Present Mic's highly important explanations! And now you're about to go harass that girl, aren't you? For shame! Did you get here only to have fun, or what?"

Several question marks appeared above Izuku's head. "You heard me from that distance...?"

The taller boy folded his mighty arms. "With that kind of attitude, you'll only get in the way and slash or get hurt! You should reconsider and leave before we start!"

Izuku stared blankly at him. What was up with this guy?

He began pacing before Izuku, holding a pointer finger up. "Please don't misinterpret me. I'm not bothering you for no reason, like that blond ape who sat next to you..."

Izuku growled angrily.

"But you should keep in mind that this tactical game is no game!" the other boy continued, unaware of the outburst. "This is a serious matter, probably the most serious of our lives! I simply cannot, in a good conscience, let you get distracted so easily and become a hindrance for the whole test. Easy distractions, as the old saying goes, are a fast way to... to... to...!"

Izuku blinked, seeing the weirdo's powerful jaw slack down, as his glasses fogged up. Then he saw Chachamaru approaching him with a full glass of icy water. "Sorry I took so long, Midoriya-san."

"Oh, thank you very much, Chachamaru-san," Izuku nodded and accepted the glass. He took a long drink and looked back at the still mesmerized boy. "You're still here?"

The tall boy gazed fixedly at Chachamaru, as slow sensuous music and large pastel coloured bubbles surrounded her. A random gale of wind blew, and moved her hair in a way that made her briefly look like a greek goddess being born from the foam of the sea...

Izuku frowned. "It's always sad when men act like this, isn't it?" he asked Chachamaru.

The tall boy appeared to hear that and blinked back to the real of reality, blushing. He clicked his heels together martially. "AHEM! Sorry, it appears I just suffered a mild sunstroke! Good luck in the test, Miss! Miss... Miss..."

She bowed. "Karakuri Chachamaru. Thanks and likewise, Senpai."

He bowed back so fast Izuku feared he'd snapped his back. "Thank you! Iida Tenya! You are... this young man's..."

"She is my cousin," Izuku said calmly, finishing the glass of water.

"Aahhhhh! That does explain the green hair!" Iida said, straightening back. Funny, suddenly he sounded far less stern to Izuku.

He probably was going to say something else, but then Present Mic's voice boomed all across the area.

"HEEEEEEEYYYY YOU GUYS THERE!" They all looked up. The Pro Hero stood on the rooftop of one of the nearest buildings, holding no microphones but shouting just as clearly as if he had been right next to them. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THE GAME STARTS NOW, GO! REALITY DOESN'T GIVE NO STARTING SHOTS, AND YOUR TEN MINUTES ALREADY BEGAN, PARTNERS!"

Izuku blinked, and then felt everyone else run past him, towards the buildings, and leaving him behind in a blink, Iida and Chachamaru herself included.

After a second of shock, he began running after them.

 

[OverMaster]

I-Island.

An artificial island built at the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. A wonder of modern technology, populated by over ten thousand scientists and a comparable amount of security, maintenance and organization staff. By all appearances, a present day paradise isolated from superpowered crime, an example to follow by the rest of the world, and the base of operations for several of the best renowned researchers on Earth.

From her office, one could get a good view of most of the island. She liked working with her vast windows open, so she could enjoy the salty breeze coming from the sea, inspiring her. The beautiful, curvaceous blonde young woman with glasses currently sat at her desk, tapping on her laptop to design a new reinforcement for the electric fences around the perimeters. Father had stressed the need to improve on the security after the... recent incident. And it looked like no improvement ever fully satisfied him, as he'd kept on asking for more since.

Of course, she didn't feel there was such a need for it, since the alleged 'intruder' had proved to be completely harmless so far. But Father liked to have all of his bases covered, and Melissa thought there was no arguing against that. Although it was a bit strange had been adamant on the need of not telling Uncle Might about it. Well, Uncle Might did have a lot on his plate every day, that couldn't be denied.

One of her assistants peeked into the office. "Miss Shield?" the man asked. "She just woke up."

Melissa blinked and stood up immediately.

Quickly, she made her way to the medical wing of the shiny, silver tower. They had kept their 'sleeping beauty' there for several months, and by now Melissa was starting to fear she'd never wake up from her coma. But, much to her confusion, when she was ushered into the room, that girl was apparently fine and even mildly spry, although a bit on the expressionless side.

The petite girl with a wide forehead looked at Melissa from where she sat on her bed, wearing only a hospital gown. "Shield-san, I assume?" she asked. "The doctors said you'd be coming. That you are... the owner of this place."

"That's my father, actually," Melissa Shield smiled, shifting to Japanese, and approaching the bed. The girl looked at her carefully, analyzing her. She had Iinchou's long, light blonde hair, with Murakami's freckles, Haruna's figure, and Makie's aura of true, sincere happiness. She liked her instantly, but she knew the necessity to stand on guard against strangers and not trust her instincts blindly. "I'm Melissa. Glad to see you recovered, just like that... Do you feel okay?"

"As if I'd just woken from a nap," the short girl told her, looking at the IV in her arm. "My legs feel a bit stiff, that's all." There was a pause. "And I really need to pee..."

Melissa laughed. "The doctors tell me you're peeing all the time."

The short girl blushed. "Sorry about that. I've always been that way..."

Melissa Shield resisted the urge to play with her hair. She was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen!

She respected the girl's wish for as much privacy as possible and stood outside while the nurses helped her urinate. Afterwards, she was ushered back in. "Thanks," the girl told her. "How long have I been..."

"We found you crashed at the beach five months ago," Melissa said. "Your legs were damaged very seriously, and you've been unconscious ever since. The fact you're so eloquent and mentally able right after waking up... I won't lie, it almost seems... a miracle. S-Sorry, I don't mean to-"

"Five months..." the sleeping beauty said in a fainted tone, as if the breath had just been knocked out of her. For a moment she stayed very still, and Melissa started worrying.

"Do you... Do you remember everything? About your life, your family and friends, the events that brought you here?" Melissa asked carefully. "It's okay if you have some amnesia, that would be a natural result of your ordeal."

There was another pause of thoughtful stupor from the girl. "Amnesia? No... I don't think so. I believe I remember everything." She looked at her hopefully. "Wasn't there anyone with me? Two other girls, a boy? Or perhaps a-"

Melissa shook her head. "Sorry, but we couldn't find anyone else near you."

She looked at her legs. "Will I ever walk again?"

"We have the best specialists, and while your state was critical, you've already improved greatly, even before waking up. After a couple months of therapy, you should be able to walk on your own. Some of our doctors even have Quirks oriented towards healing."

"Quirks?" the girl echoed as if she didn't understand the word.

Melissa's smile faltered briefly. So she did have some amnesia after all. Better not to prod her about that yet.

"I believe I had a card on me," the girl said. "A very special card, which was extremely important to me. Maybe you saw it...?"

Melissa smiled again. "Somehow, I thought it'd pay off to keep it at hand." She reached for the drawer next to the bed and pulled something out. "You mean this?" she asked, handing it to her.

"Yes... Yes, thank you very much," the sleeping beauty said, accepting it tenderly.

She looked at the card in a very long silence, and Melissa noticed her eyes had started leaking tears, even though her expression remained neutral.

Melissa looked at the card for the first time in two months. It still looked the same, sure enough. Showing the sleeping beauty, wearing the pointy hat of a witch, and holding a broom in a hand, and an open book in the other.

"I'll help you, Ayase Yue," Melissa said, finally daring to put her hand on Yue's head.

---

Next: Albert and Mineta. The Story of a Bromance.

 

[OverMaster]

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

---

Quirky.

Part Three.

---

Five Months Ago:

It all was, Naba Chizuru decided, Makie's fault. It had been her who had insisted on them to follow the English Research Society that evening, despite Kagurazaka-san insisting that they didn't want to be followed and that they should part ways there for the rest of the vacation.

Alas, Makie had stubbornly insisted, and Ayaka, no matter how much Chizuru respected her, had been swayed into sneaking behind their teacher and her rival, dragging the rest of Class 3-A with her.

Now the whole world appeared to be exploding around Chizuru, blinding her, and she screamed in panic, her instincts making her lash around for support as a strong force blew on her, trying to send her flying upwards.

But then someone had leaped and caught her in a powerful embrace.

"Please hold on tight, Naba-dono," a familiar voice told her. Chizuru did as she was told, gripping onto Nagase's body as best as she could, and the tall shinobi maneuvered through the chaos. Never letting go of Chizuru, although she had to ignore her other classmates being pulled away from her reach. Kaede headed the way they had come in through, hoping she could reach it in time, and somehow, she did.

They rolled across the dirt, like rough lovers, Chizuru shielded by Nagase until they stopped rolling. The deafening noise and the screams stopped abruptly, and Chizuru's eyesight returned gradually. She blinked at the ninja, whose smiling face, covered on plasters and chunks, hovered above hers. "Are you okay, Naba-dono?" she asked the other girl.

Slowly, Naba nodded. "Good," Kaede said, getting off her. She walked over to Donet Mc Guinness, who was unconscious several meters away, and took her pulse. "She will be okay…" the kunoichi sighed, relieved.

Chizuru stood shakily, looking at the smoking ruins of the gateport. "What… What was that!?" she panicked again. "Where, where's everyone!?"

"Naba-dono, please stay calm," Kaede said. "You just suffered a hit on your head, so—"

"Ayaka! Natsumi-chan! Kotaro-kun!" the usually unflappable Chizuru ran to the rubble, looking through it. "Negi-sensei! Where!? Where!?"

Kaede came behind her, as her classmate fell to her knees, shivering and clutching on the pieces of stone. "This one is sorry we never could tell you anything about this, Naba-dono. Please accept this one's humble apologies and—"

Chizuru's angst mercurially turned into fury. She sprang to her feet and spun around to grab Kaede by the collar. "Start talking like a fucking normal person and tell me where are they!"

Nagase sighed and agreed, "I have no idea. We were supposed to be transported to the Magical World right before we were attacked, but I'm no expert on magic, so I don't know where are they now, or even… if they are still alive. I… I'm sorry, Naba-d—san,"

Chizuru blinked. "What!"

Four Months Ago:

"So, you knew," Naba said glacially. "You knew about magic, the whole time, and you never told me."

Her father, a tall and very robust man who looked twenty years younger than he really was, stood with his back turned to her, arms folded behind himself. He looked out through the huge window of his office. "When one moves across the elites, dear, one is told about most secrets of what actually happens behind the stages. It's… necessary for the business. Sorry. I thought it would be better for you if you didn't know yet… or ever."

Chizuru bit on her lower lip, turned around, and left. Kaede was waiting for her outside. "Where to now, Naba-dono?"

"Where else? Mahora."

Three Months Ago:

"I'm sorry," Konoe Konoemon said, shifting the chair around so he didn't have to keep on looking at them anymore. "We're doing all we can. We… We haven't found any remains at least, so there's still some hope. Believe me, if anyone's interested on their prompt return, that is me…"

Chizuru kept on looking at the slumped old man, now reduced to a shadow of his habitual jovial self. Part of her wanted to keep on prodding him, to ask again if they really were trying their best, to ask him why he'd allowed them to leave when that Fate person was still on the loose. But there was no point. "Thank you, Sensei," she said quietly, and she and Kaede left his office.

Only then did Konoe pull the drawer of his desk and took the bottle of liquor out. He took a long, large gulp, and tried to smooth his pain down as best as he could.

One Month Ago:

After too long, Evangeline finally granted them an audience.

Kaede and Chizuru entered the small cabin and saw the tiny blonde sitting on a couch, looking the same as ever, except for her expression. They hadn't seen her since they returned to Japan. At first, she looked as aloof and apathetic as ever, but as long as one looked carefully into those green eyes, one could see something else. Something jaded and very dull, something that scared Chizuru inwardly, yet she kept from pointing it out.

"It can't be done. Sorry," Evangeline said. Had they ever heard Evangeline say the word 'sorry' before? "Why do you imbeciles think I have holed myself up this long here? I did as much research and practice as I could, but it cannot be done, that kind of magic never was my strong point anyway," she admitted, folding her arms and frowning. "It's not a matter of establishing a gate, that can be done, but with the link between both worlds cut, the gate wouldn't take you anywhere. That depends on the high spirits of magic, which are even beyond my control," she grumbled.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kaede asked.

"Wait for the magic barrier between the worlds to heal," Evangeline advised. "The magic associations said it should take one year at most. They already are working on rebuilding the gates themselves, so as soon as that—"

"One year!" Chizuru slammed her hand on the table. "Do you have any fleeting idea of how many ways they can die in one year!?"

"If they are still alive," Evangeline said darkly, and Chizuru took a step back. The vampire sighed. "Be thankful the mages took pity on you and didn't wipe your memory clear, child."

"It's… It's the least they owed us," Chizuru said, sitting back.

"No, they did it because your father spoke on your behalf," Eva said. "Move on with your lives. If you ever see them again, good for you. If you don't, Boya, Kagurazaka Asuna, and the rest of them would want you to keep on living."

She guided them towards the door, promising, "I'll keep on working regardless. If I make a breakthrough, or I learn anything from the associations, I will inform you."

"We aren't going to quit, are we, Naba-dono?" Kaede asked, as they went down the green hill.

"Of course not, Kaede," Chizuru told the young woman who had pretty much attached herself to her as her retainer ever since. "If magic doesn't help us, maybe science will."

Now:

The limo stopped before the large inn on the mountains. Kaede and Chizuru exited the vehicle.

"Are you sure this is the site, Naba-dono? It looks… unremarkable, if this one may say so."

Chizuru nodded. She walked up to the front door, followed by Kaede, and knocked on it.

A beautiful young woman opened the door and smiled at them. "Ah, welcome!" she greeted them. Kaede and Chizuru bowed. "You must be Naba-san and Nagase-san… right? Su's brother said you'd be coming."

"My name is Naru," she said, closing the door after them and guiding them into the old building. Now that she looked at her so close, Nagase saw she looked remarkably similar to an older Asuna. Or maybe Chisame. "My fiancée and most of the girls are away, buying things for our wedding, but Su stayed since you'd be coming. You are invited to attend, of course…"

"Thank you so very much, Naru-san," Chizuru said evenly. Soon enough, they arrived to a large workshop behind the inn, past the hot springs. There were pieces of machinery scattered everywhere, and Kaede was reminded of that one time she visited Hakase's own workshop. Small, turtle shaped robots trudged around everywhere. Someone stood on an elevated catwalk, with a wielding mask covering her features, and wielding a part of the exoskeleton on the skull of a giant bipedal robot modeled after a smiling young man with glasses.

"Su-chan!" Naru called out from below. "Your visitors are here!"

The masked person looked down at them.

Chizuru rasped and stepped ahead. "Sorry to disturb you, Kaolla-san," she said. "I'm Naba Chizuru, of the Naba Zaibatsu. We have… investments on your homeland. Your brother said you might be of help with a think-tank we are forming, to solve… a scientific riddle of sorts. I was given to understand that you have been studying on applied transdimensional displacement recently…"

The masked person reached into her short skirt and pulled a half-eaten banana out. She pulled her mask up, revealing a brown skinned perky face, and merrily bit a piece of the fruit.

Su Kaolla winked an eye at them. "That sounds fun!"

 

[OverMaster]

"This isn't fun at all!"

Meanwhile, in another world, Izuku ran down the streets, streams of comical looking tears running down his cheeks in angst.

They all outraced me so badly I can't see any of them anymore! he thought, surrounded by the thick clouds of dust they had left on their wake. But I can't activate One for All yet! Gotta remember what All Might said...

He finally saw one of the dummies they were meant to 'rescue', planted like a scarecrow next to a fake jewelry store. He jumped for it, snapped it from its support, and slung it over his shoulder.

It immediately began pummeling his head with its fists. "Who are you!? Why are you grabbing me!? Who are you!? Why are you grabbing me!?" a recorded voice said.

"Ow! Ow! I understand!" Izuku said, enduring the blows as he ran. "Some victims might panic at being rescued! Ouch!"

At the same time, in another course, Bakugo was stomping furiously on a dummy. "Why are you hitting me, stupid bitch!? Why!?"

After turning a corner, Izuku saw an open door with a 'SAFETY' sign hung over it, along an icon of All Might in Chibi form smiling and giving a thumbs up. He threw the dummy through that door and the icon glowed red, blue, and white. "CONGRATULATIONS!" it said in English. "YOU SCORE ONE POINT!"

"Only one!?" Izuku yelled. He kept on running.

He saw another dummy, but before he could grab it, a shapely girl with eyes all around her head beat him to it and ran away with the dummy. Izuku blinked. "Well, easy they come...!"

Two blocks away, he found another dummy. He approached it, but a boy who looked like a mole erupted from the pavement before him, grabbed the dummy, and dug back in with it. "Aw, nuts...!"

He ran a bit more, and smiled, seeing two dummies standing next to each other and holding hands. "Two points, that's great!" he said. But then a boy with wings on his back swooped down, pulled the dummies up, and flew away with them. And they couldn't even hit him on the head, since it was out of their reach. "You are kidding me...!"

Then the street ahead of him shook. Izuku grinded to a stop. "Ah, yes, the enemies..."

The wall of a building exploded, and a bipedal robot that looked JUST ENOUGH like the ED-209 from RoboCop to spare UA from a lawsuit stepped through it, blocking Izuku's way. "ENEMY TYPE 01!" the boy recognized it.

It aimed its massive hand cannons at Izuku. "Locking in on target. Prepared for elimination..."

Izuku froze on his feet. Waaaaahhhh! he thought. Why do I keep on doing this!? Just like Chisame-san!

The cannons were about to shoot when a laser blew through the robot, making it collapse on itself. Izuku blinked, and then saw a handsome, slim blond boy race past him, with smoke coming out his navel. He waved at Izuku, never slowing down.

"Merci!" the stranger saluted him with a smile. "We make a great team, non? Alas, we'll probably never meet again! Adieu!"

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Team? But I didn't do anything!"

"SIX MINUTES, TWO SECONDS LEFT, LOVERS OF THE GOOD MUSIC!" Present Mic's voice blared.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Izuku took his hands to his head. "And I only have scored one point!"

Oblivious to him, the beautiful brown haired girl skipped by happily. "Twenty eight points! Twenty eight points! Twenty eight points!" she sang to herself.

Izuku watched her go. "... wow. She's perfect!"

He shook his head and looked around. More robots were appearing everywhere, not only Number 01s, but also 02s, which were much smaller and traveled around on two wheels, and 03s, which were spindly, repetition-rifle ripoffs of those droids from The Phantom Menace. How shameless were the UA designers anyway?

There was another brief cutaway to Hatsume Mei.

"Don't look at me!" she told the audience. "Those unimaginative designs are from long before I joined! Do you truly think so lowly of me?"

The other students were fighting them down bravely. Iida was leaping and stomping on several of them, smashing them to pieces against the ground. A large boy who looked like a sumo wrestler was bodyslamming a 03 and destroying it. Chachamaru flew above them and slammed them around with a pole she had ripped off a sidewalk, once again proving that there is no loyalty among robots like MegaMan and the Transformers have taught us.

While Izuku looked desperately for an enemy of his own to bully, the others were acting so fast that they appeared to have dispatched their foes before he could engage another one. "Aw, come on! I wasn't going to freeze this time...!"

For a moment, there only was silence as they regained their breath. Except for Chachamaru. Since, you know, she only pretended to breath.

Chachamaru looked down at him. "How many points have you scored, Midoriya-san?" she asked innocently. "I have scored seventy nine..."

Izuku's head slacked down." Chachamaru, please...!"

Then the main square of the city exploded from below, and a gigantic robot popped from the underground, shooting massive cannons into the air. Chachamaru dodged nonchalantly while casually plucking the winged boy with herself out of the enemy fire.

"IT IS THE GRAND DEBUT OFFFFFFF... THE NUMBER FOUR!" Present Mic announced.

"That thing is 'the villain who is there only to bother us on our way'?!" someone yelled.

"WELL, YOU CAN'T DENY THAT IT IS A BIG BOTHER!" Present Mic said.

It gave a step towards where most of the students were, and the whole complex trembled.

After a moment, almost everyone started running away from it.

Chachamaru looked up and down at it, looked at the winged boy in her arms who trembled violently and cried like a baby and, shaking her head, also turned around and began flying away.

Izuku froze.

"DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!" he heard Iida's commanding voice as he ran past him. "MOVE, MOVE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!"

Izuku blinked. "Huh?" Then he decided that, strange acting as he was, this boy might just have a point.

Izuku was about to escape as well, but then he saw the brown haired girl laying on her stomach among the rubble caused by the rise of Number 04. Her legs appeared to be pinned down by many large chunks of concrete, there was a large cartoon bump on her head, and her eyes had turned into spirals.

"My twenty eight points..." she groggily babbled to herself. "My twenty eight points..."

Izuku sprang ahead, towards the robot that was advancing in her direction.

"Squeeze your ass tightly..." All Might had said. "And then, you have to scream this from the bottom of your heart!"

The girl blinked back to awareness. "Twenty eight... What?"

She glanced back over her shoulder and looked up at the robot. "Oh my. This is not very convenient."

And then she saw a boy leaping right over her, towards the robot, and quickly gaining a whole lot of height.

"Ahhh, it's the boy with crappy friends!" She waved. "Hi, boy with crappy friends!"

He pulled his arm back. It inflated into a powerful bundle of muscles.

He opened his mouth widely, reached the chest of the robot, and swung at it.

"Arkansas..."

The fist went through the metal.

"SMASH!-!-!-!-!"

 

[OverMaster]

"What is going on!? What are you dragging me around!?" What is going on!? Why are you dragging me around!?" said the recorded voice while Mineta ran, pulling the dummy across the dirt while keeping it grabbed by the ankles. Its fists hammered on the pavement.

"Not a very elegant rescue, but we'll work on that," Chamo said, stuffed down the front of Mineta's shirt. "Look, ahead!"

"Got it!" Mineta said, reaching the 'SAFETY' stop and tossing the mannequin through it.

"That throw would have broken a human hostage's neck, you know," Chamo said.

"Real heroes don't have the time to be gentle, alright!?" Mineta said, running again. "Aaaahhhh, ten minutes aren't enough! I need more time!"

Then an enemy 01 appeared on their way. "Stop the exercise now! Stop the exercise now!" Mineta panicked. "It's gone too long!"

The robot trained its sights on him. Then it had to recaliber down, since he was just too small. "Acquired target. Ready to blast!" it spoke.

Mineta shook from head to toes. "Oh, f--!"

The robot shot, but then…

"AH!" Chamo yelled.

He had just jumped from Mineta's shirt and intercepted the bullets with his body, taking them in midair as he twisted around. Time stopped for a moment.

"C-CHAMO-SANNNNNNNN!" Mineta said.

Chamo managed a smile of pain and winked at him. "Go on strong, my boy!"

And he fell to the pavement.

"NOOOOOO!" Mineta said.

"animal abuse," Chamo said weakly.

The robot reloaded. "Missed shot. Trying again in two, one—"

Mineta's eyes flashed red, and he made a sweep ahead, between the robot's legs. While doing so, he plucked two large round balls from his hair, stuck one to each of the robot's feet, and reached back for Chamo, grabbing him by the tail and pulling him to himself as he slid the rest of the way behind the robot.

The robot tried to turn around to take its next shot, but it found its feet stuck to the ground. It doubled ahead and pounded its upper section of the street. It tried to shoot down to propel itself back, but the shots exploded against the pavement and back into its cannons, disabling them.

It made a long, miserable sound, and stopped moving while sending a distress call for the Reparation Department of UA.

Mineta raced for the shelter of a doorstep with Chamo cradled in his arms. "Why!? I barely know you!"

Chamo coughed, with a large wet red apparent wound on his fur, across the chest. "I could tell… You are better than you look, boy… Better than you think you are… N-Never… be discouraged… and always… think of the boobies…"

He wailed. "Chamo-san…!"

"If you ever meet a girl named Chachazero…" the ermine begged, "Tell her I always loved her…"

Then he took a paw to his chest, scooped up a bit of the red, and sniffed on it. "Ah, it's paint. Should've known that they wouldn't use lethal ammo."

Mineta hugged him, now wailing in happiness. "Chamo-san…!"

Chamo smiled and patted his arm. "Hey, you said it yourself, heroes don't have time for ridiculousness! Let's start moving again, Bro! Eyes on the prize…"

"Y-Yeah!" Mineta stuffed him down the front of his shirt again.

"So, that was your Quirk, right?" Chamo asked while they retook the street.

"Yeah. Kinda lame, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to deny it could be better, but you've gotta work with what you have. Maybe I can get you a good girl with some potential so she can be your Magistra."

"My what?"

"(Innocent ermine noises)".

"No, seriously, what does that mean!?"

 

[OverMaster]

"Let go of me! Let go of me! Let go of me!" the dummy repeated, walloping Chisame over the head.

Chisame clenched her teeth. "I'd really like to have a friendly talk with whoever designed these idiots!"

A new cutaway to Hatsume Mei.

She raised a hand. "Guilty in this case, but my babies shouldn't be carried harshly in the first place, don't you think?"

Finally, Chisame caught up to Sakurako, who was diving in for another dummy. Chisame blinked, seeing that the mannequin had a small shortcircuit as soon as Shiina seized it, but not strong enough to electrocute her. It didn't hit her at all while Sakurako took off with it.

"Shiina!" Chisame said. "How many times has this happened to you?"

"This is my third one, they keep malfunctioning as soon as I grab 'em, isn't that lucky?" Sakurako giggled as she ran.

A vein pumped on Chisame's head as her dummy kept on hitting it. "Damn lucky airhead!"

She punted the dumb thing (not Sakurako, the dummy) into the first 'SAFETY' point she found, and then she was found by a Type-03 robot. It aimed its paintball rifle at her. "Stop! Surrender and forfeit the exercise or I'll shoot!"

Chisame froze on her feet. Damn, why do I keep on doing this?! she realized. Just like Midoriya-san!

Before the robot could shoot her, however, there was a cry of "Sagitta Magica!" and a very familiar projectile flew through the robot's head, beheading it. As it plummeted, Negi came along. He was carrying two dummies slung on each shoulder, and he ignored them as they hit him on the head. "Chisame, are you okay?"

Chisame groaned. "Thanks to you, as ever! Because I can't cut it on my own! I told you I'm not made for this kind of thing! I'm not Nagase, or Kagurazaka, or Ku Fei! I shouldn't be here in the first place, I'm not a--!"

Negi put a hand on her arm. "Chisame. Even if you don't pass, it'll be okay, don't worry. Sorry if I pressured you into this. I shouldn't have! But… I know you can do it. Not everyone will get a perfect score, you only need to play to your strengths. Do what naturally comes the best to you, okay?"

She sniffled. "Don't mock me, twerp! As if I had anything that could be useful for this kinda thing, all I have is this scepter to fight this bunch of robots, and…" She looked at the Sceptrum Virtuale in her hand, and then made a face at herself. "I'm an idiot, ain't I…"

Bakugo was just done with destroying another robot and dusting his hands off, ready to jump into the next fray, when he saw a number 01 pass by next to him, and for some reason it was using its sturdy legs to stomp and kick at every 02 and 03 on its path, pulverizing them.

Deku's pockmarked cousin stood on top of it, cackling madly as she waved a stick with a heart at its end around.

"Kneel down and call me queen, you suckers! Bwa ha ha ha ha!" she boasted almost insanely, as she and the robot disappeared turning a corner. "You brought the wrong woman to an electric circuit, FOOLS!"

Bakugo blinked after her for a moment. "No way they are related," he said eventually.

 

[OverMaster]

Meanwhile, in another world.

"Sometimes I wonder," Shiori said softly, "if there is a point left on going, anymore."

The tall, hooded man huffed, still standing with his back turned on her. He overlooked the vast plains of Mundus Magicus under the edge of the floating platform where they had established their new base of operations. There, far away from most of the major kingdoms in the world, all those prairies and valleys stretched as far as sight reached, with the occasional flying whale gliding over the rivers. The sky was clear, the two moons starting to show up in the distant horizon.

Shirabe sat nearly, playing her violin, while the captive sat across the table, saying nothing. The hands of the captive were still in the same heavy cuffs placed on her as soon as she had fallen on them, all those months ago. Her gorgeous face had been scrunched into that unreadable expression over hour and a half now, but that wasn't infrequent on her.

"Nonsense," the hooded man said. "We will find a retrieve Fate soon enough, and even if we don't, the reserves should be prepared soon enough. The plan cannot be stopped, only delayed."

Homura and Koyomi stood vigilant at opposite sides of the chamber's door.

Shiori lowered her head. "With all due respect, Lord Dynamis," the fair skinned girl with pointy ears said, "if we don't ever find Lord Fate… I, personally, don't know whether I could go on or not."

"We must. We didn't pledge our cause to any singular enforcer, but to the will of the Master." Dynamis turned around to face their partners in arms and the captive, gesturing stoically with a strong tanned hand. "You would do well to remember that, child."

The captive looked nostalgically at the cup of fragrant tea she had been given, that hour and a half ago, and which she still hadn't touched. "You don't understand the heart of a woman in love," she told the man.

"Any heart in romantic love, whether male or female, is a foolish one," Dynamis said gravelly. "We owe ourselves to greater goals. We must. Flesh is fleeting. The spirit of a noble goal is all that ultimately matters."

"Romantic love is all about the spirit of a noble goal. You don't understand that either, and that's why you will fail," Yukihiro Ayaka predicted, finally sipping from the cold tea, and struggling not to weep again at the memory of a lost boy. "You claim defending humanity, in your own way, but I doubt you've ever understood it at all."

Shirabe stopped playing her soothing melody for a few moments. "Be thankful you are even allowed that tea, woman," the long haired girl with the ever closed eyes said. "Lord Fate would never allow such a brewery around his home."

"For the last time, this is not Fate's home, it is Cosmo Entelecheia's home," Dynamis said, so heavily, he went all the way back to sounding somewhat petulant, like someone playing their childhood idea of what a fantasy villain should be. "You are all young, but it is time you should learn that a worthy cause is more important than any personal liaisons."

"There can't be the former without the latter," Ayaka insisted defiantly.

Dynamis regarded the young blonde woman he could crush so easily, as she held the stare from the depths of his dark hood with her shiny blue orbs. Finally, he dismissed her again, waving his hand slightly. "That is, like, your opinion, woman."

Ayaka finished the tea and put the cup down. "Negi-sensei will put an end to this absurdity."

"You have said that for almost half a year now, and has it come to pass?" Dynamis asked. "You are fortunate that we are individuals of honor. Despite being an acquaintance of our enemy, we have treated you well. Can you say otherwise?"

Ayaka lowered her head. "No."

"I am aware, naturally, that is not enough for you. But fret not. Soon, we will have brought a perfect world upon this planet and the other one. There, you will see Negi Springfield again, every day, for the rest of existence!"

Someone knocked on the door from the outside.

Dynamis cleared his throat, ever so subtly hammy. "Step in."

The door was opened, and in walked Tamaki, silently falling to a knee before him. After her came a young woman who made Ayaka flinch. It was how identical she was to someone Ayaka appreciated so much. It always made Ayaka extremely uneasy, knowing they had such a person as their enemy. And without Negi-sensei or Asuna-san even suspecting it.

"Lady Rainyday," Dynamis said. "A honor, as always. Please speak."

The girl who looked like Zazie Rainyday complied, her voice made of silky whispers, just like Zazie's. Even in that.

"Venus has found likely clues on the whereabouts of Fate Averruncus, poyo."

Ayaka perked up. Wherever that Fate person had turned up, Negi-sensei and her classmates might be there as well.

Shiori's face also lit up, hope almost making her smile. Homura and Koyomi paid attention. Shirabe stopped playing the violin.

"It is a realm that is extremely difficult to reach, even for us, poyo. But it can be done over time, poyo."

"How long?" Dynamis asked.

"That depends," the dark skinned female said, "on how much effort are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the enterprise, poyo…"

 

[OverMaster]

Izuku whistled, looking at the huge hole he had opened through the chest of the robot.

"Ohhh..." he said. "Nice!"

The robot blew black everywhere, then began falling backwards.

Izuku smiled slowly. "Ha! Ha! I did it!"

Then he began falling. "WAAAHHHHHH!"

He glanced at his right arm, which had not deflated yet, but was covered on blood flowing from his broken knuckles.

He kept on falling, a deafening noise hiding the yells coming from below him.

He glanced at his legs, which hung stranglely, flapping in the air as if they were made of paper.

Ahhhh, that's right, Izuku thought. I also used One for All on them when I jumped.

I should have tested it before using it! Wait, doesn't that mean I'd just have broken my limbs before!? At least this way I used them saving a life!

The ground kept on coming closer, although it was the other way around. Izuku bit his tongue.

But while I'm still as strong as All Might, I might survive falling from that height, right!? No, I gained the power of All Might, not the power of Wile E. Coyote! But, but my left arm still works! The effect of One for All hasn't passed yet! All I need is swinging my left fist to the ground...

Chachamaru was flying towards him, as fast as a rocket. But, she feared, not fast enough.

If I don't punch at the exact moment, I'm toast! Izuku panicked. Too early and I break my arm with nothing else to fall on, too late and I already am a splotch on the pavement! Stupid, stupid, you should have punched the robot in the crotch and the fall would've been shorter!

And then the brown haired girl came up, floating on a huge piece of debris she was hugging. Izuku looked at him and managed half a blink before she swung her hand in his general direction.

Immediately, the velocity of his fall ralentized.

Izuku fell he was falling in slow mo now, along the girl and her piece of debris, which had begun to descend very slowly with him. Chachamaru stopped in midair, speechless, and wondering iof she should interfere from there. If that girl's powers were saving him, interrupting her would be unwise.

As soon as they were only two meters above the ground, the brown haired girl clenched her teeth and gurgled out," Re-lease."

Izuku fell on his face onto the dirt, and so did the chunk of debris. The girl then procceeded to vomit all over it.

Izuku spent a pair of seconds assimilating what had gone on. Then he looked towards the girl. "H-Hey..." he told his crush. "Are you... okay...?"

The girl gurgled something else and passed out.

"Girl!" Izuku gasped, trying to use his good arm to crawl towards her.

Chachamaru approached him. "Midoriya-san, please don't move..."

"G-Gotta help her!" he said. "Gotta help... her... she saved me..."

"TIME OUT!" Present Mic called out. "CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYONE! OH YEAH, NICE JOB!"

Izuku fainted.

Several boys approached her.

"Hey, do you know him?" one of them asked.

"He's my dear, brave cousin," Chachamaru said.

"If he's so strong, why did he so badly through the test?" another boy asked.

"Classified information," Chachamaru said.

"Are you free tonight?" yet another boy asked. Iida bristled.

"My social agenda is full for the rest of the year, sorry," Chachamaru said.

Iida walked next to Izuku, and he was about to try and help him out when a soft, jovial female voice called out, "Yesss, good job indeed, everyone!"

They looked towards a tiny old lady with white hair pulled into a bun, who walked towards them supported on a cane and smiling warmly. The cane was shaped like a syringe, which probably would have intrigued Chachamaru less if Ako had her provisional alliance by that point. She was dressed like a doctor, with a long open white coat over her dress.

"Oh ho ho, let's start with the most serious case, shall we?" she said. They made way for her, who stopped before Izuku.

Rumors and whispers abounded.

"Hey, who's that granny?"

"Don't call her that! Don't you know her? She's Recovery Girl, the pillar of UA!"

"She has a unique healing Quirk! No wound or bruise stands a chance before her!"

"Eh, then it's all fine, I guess."

"Are you sure you can't go out this weekend, Oneechan?"

"No, I can't," Chachamaru said stoically.

"Your body and your Gift weren't acting in tandem," Recovery Girl tenderly told the unconscious Izuku. "Now, where have I seen that before, hmmmm?"

She crouched next to him.

"Oh, no, she's gonna heal him! Avert your eyes! AVERT YOUR EYES, F'R CRYIN' OUT LOUD!"

"Huh? Why? What is so special about a healing Q-"

Iida, who of course HAD also heard about Recovery Girl, followed the random NPC's advise and made a point of looking away as best as he could.

Recovery Girl pursed her lips, guided them towards Izuku's, and-

KISS! WITH LOTS OF TONGUE! PRACTICALLY MOUTH RAPE!

(TM and C Shadow Crystal Mage).

Instantly, the streets were covered on more vomit than that of the brown haired girl's.

---

Izuku sat the dinner table of his apartment, staring fixedly at the wall.

"Izukun?" Inko asked him. "Will you please eat your fish already, dear? Are you sure you're feeling okay...?"

"I'm fineeeeeeeeee!" Izuku said, tears flowing down his eyes.

"But you later did well at the written test, didn't you?" Kotaro asked without a worry on the world, serving himself seconds.

"I did..." Izuku spoke like a zombie, mechanically taking a mouthful to his slowly chewing maw.

"Midoriya-san, even if you didn't pass, that's fine, you can take another test next year!" Negi tried to be helpful. "What kind of academy would give chances only once?"

"No matter how badly you might have done the first time?" Kotaro nodded, gulping down.

"Kotaro-kun!" Sakurako said.

"I'm trying to be helpful!"

"By next year you'll have much better control of One for All," Negi said. "Or I could teach you magic! You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Negi paused at Izuku's lack of reaction.

"Then again," the boy genius said, "we ARE supposed to find everyone and leave as soon as possible..."

Izuku's face dropped on his plate.

Inko sighed. "He hadn't been like this ever since his father left to buy cigars all the way over in America."

"You could just become a vigilante," Kotaro said. "Vigilantes can be just as heroic as pros and they don't have to follow any rules!"

"I don't want All Might to be forced into hunting me like a mad dog!" Izuku pulled up and wiped his face clean. "What kind of jerk would I be if I used the Quirk he gave me to break the laws he's upholding!?"

Chisame slammed her hands on the table. "Oh, stop the self pity fest already! Even Sensei at least waits until we're all asleep to lock himself in the bathroom and start weeping over his failures!"

Everyone but Negi, who lowered his face in shame, frowned deeply at her.

Chisame blushed crimson and sank on her chair. "S-Sorry! My temper...!"

Then she hastily got up and reached for her jacket. "L-Look, tonight's Shiina's turn to wash dishes, right? R-Right? I'm... I'll go buy something and I'll be right back!"

"'Kay," Kotaro said indifferently.

"Try to buy something against the bitchery at the drugstore while you're at it," Sakurako mumbled, moving on to pat Negi's back as he sulked.

Chisame blushed again and went out the front door as fast as she could.

She went down the elevator, head low all the way, and exited the building muttering to herself and hiding her face in a hand.

Kagurazaka would never lash out at him like that, she thought. At least, not anymore. I'm not made for this. I'm not like her. I'm the worst...

She walked two blocks over to her favorite store. It was a middle sized clothes store labeled 'Kazuho's Fantasies', at the front of a small building of apartments and offices. She pushed the front door open, glad to see the 'Open' sign still hanging from it.

"Haneyama-san...?" she said. "It's me."

The manager blinked, looking up from the cellphone she had been checking behind the counter. It was a girl not that much older than Chiyame herself, with messy and thick pink hair falling all around her shoulders, and large glasses on her cute face. Apparently, she once had been a fashionista or stage sensation, since there were several portraits of her in fancy outfits and posing all across the store.

"Hmmmm? Ah, good evening, Hasegawa-san," she greeted her, quickly pushing the phone out of sight. "Look that way if you want, those dresses just arrived from France."

"From France? Neat," Chisame said neutrally. She began checking them out carefully, trying to distract her mind.

Ever since she had restarted her Chiu page in that strange new world, she had been going there regularly. It was well stocked, and the owner had good taste in Chisame's opinion. This batch was fine too. Just a few adjustments, and Chiu would be rocking those ones.

Chisame picked two, went to the dressers to try them out, and quickly came out to nod at Haneyama-san, putting them on the counter. "I'll take these," she told her.

"Good!" Haneyama-san said. Chisame felt guilty once again about wasting the money All Might gave her for that kind of stuff, but for the umpteenth time, she pushed the guilt from her mind the same way she always had regarding her parents' money. Once the transaction was done, Haneyama-san noticed something. "Why the long face?" she asked Chisame.

"Ah, this? No, it's nothing, it's just..." Chisame sighed. "My cousin is in a really, but really bad funk, and it's been making things awkward at home."

"How so?" Haneyama-san asked. Her left eye was dull and lifeless as ever, but the other one shone in interest.

Chisame shrugged. There'd be no harm on telling as long as she was vague. "He thinks he failed the entrance exam at UA. He just took it and did very badly, and he'd been pumped about it for years..."

Haneyama-san pulled back briefly, paling a bit. "... oh," she said very quietly.

Chisame barely noticed it and nodded. "Yeah. Boys, amirite?"

"Y-Yeah, they get crushed over the dumbest things, don't they? But... It's always bad when one's dream is broken, anyway..."

Chisame raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

She blushed slightly. "Nothing. I said nothing!"

Chisame looked at the portraits again. Now she realized they told a story. "Look. I know that's not my business, but just in case... Here between you and me, 'cause I kinda like you... If anything's troubling you like that, Haneyama-san, don't let it consume you."

"I don't," she said, snippily. "Not anymore."

"You're still young and pretty, you're only starting to live," Chisame said, asking herself what would Negi say. Damn, maybe his and Midoriya's stupidity was rubbing off on her. "If you dressed with the clothes you sell me, I'm sure you'd be a knock out!"

"Of course I'd be," she rested her chin on a fist, the elbow on the counter. "That's not it..."

"Then what?"

The older girl sighed. "I kinda blew it up when I had my chance. Then I tried... another, better line of action, but that failed too, so I moved from my city and tried to start all over here."

"Well, maybe you're made for better things than running a pop and mom store," Chisame tried to cheer her up. "Go for it! If you fall, you get up and start again!"

She frowned. "You think so? But..."

"Was it something that would hurt people?"

"Only me," she answered, sourly.

"Then just do it better and be careful about yourself," she told her. "The first time I tried my hand at my favorite hobby, it went awful, and it traumatized me, but I didn't give up and now I love it!"

The girl blinked. "W-Well, I... Now that you mention it, I guess it can be done, if I'm careful about it this time. There's this person I've heard about online, who does something similar and has grown very popular, I... I'd like trying something like that..."

"That's the spirit!" Chisame slapped her shoulders. "You'll regret it later if you don't try your best! If that's the call of your heart, go for it!"

She smiled slowly. "The call of my heart..." She frowned. "You know, once I didn't hear that call, and now I'm kinda kicking myself over it."

Koichi...

"See?" Chisame squeezed her shoulder. "If you stopped because of what others thought, who cares about those idiots? Look at me! I've never cared about what others think of me, and I'm as somewhat-happy as someone can be, yessir!"

The older girl nodded. "Thank you! You have been very enlightening! This thing... Now I realize that, since I gave up on it... It left a void in my heart that--"

"Yeah, yeah, you go, girl!" Chisame smirked and headed for the door, giving her a thumb up. "Uh, you won't close the shop though, will you?"

She shook her head.

"Great! See you around, then!"

As she walked back home, Chisame congratulated herself. So THIS was what helping someone without being asked or forced felt like! She wouldn't lie to herself (this time), it felt good. Very flattering to the ego, nearly as much as a good Chiu session! Maybe that was why heroes did their hero thing...

Back at the store, Haneyama Kazuho quietly put the 'CLOSED' sign on.

She headed to the backstore, where she had been living ever since, and opened the old locked closet.

Kazuho stared at the old uniform.

"It only needs a few retouches and nobody will ever know," she decided, taking a hold of it and pulling it out.

Two nights later:

Izuku still stared at the wall. "Only three days... until the letter comes... telling me about it..."

Negi passed by next to him, fresh from the shower Inko had forced him to take. He looked at Izuku for a few moments, debated inwardly, and finally walked away from him, shaking his head.

Passing next to Chisame and Sakurako's room, he heard a shriek. He peeked in. "Chisame!?"

Chisame was sitting at her computer, pointing at the screen and yelling at him, "IMPOSTOR!"

Negi blinked. "What?"

"IMPOSTOR, IMPOSTOR, IMPOSTOR!" Chisame angrily stabbed a finger on the screen. "Look at this! Fans have been sending me mails congratulating me on my public appearance last night! 'Chiu's great debut near the Cheres Amigos club!' They even include videos! Some skank's impersonating me, damaging Chiu's reputation!"

Negi blinked, looking at the video playing on the screen. "Wow, she's good. I mean... she does a great impression of you, Chisame."

"Not an impression of me, you numbskull, an impression of Chiu! But she's a better singer, that shameless freak!" Chisame took her hands to her head as the girl on the screen winked at the audience, blowing kisses around. "This can't be tolerated, Sensei! It's a declaration of war!"

"Negi, for the love of God, take it easy!" Negi demanded.

Chamo peeked up from behind Negi's shoulder. "This isn't going to degenerate into some messed up 'Negimaru' shit, is it?"

 

[OverMaster]

The night after, Chisame, once again, sat before her computer rubbing her chin, while everyone else slept.

If I were a fame hungry and obviously sexually repressed, emotionally stunted, attention seeking womanchild who very evidently needs dressing up and exposing herself to perverts to gain some sense of self, she wondered without any self awareness, where would I be acting tonight?

She made another search of popular 'happening' places around the city. She looked for ones that weren't frequently visited by heroes, so none where there were many villains to fight either. It was a Tuesday night, so many of those would be closed until the weekend.

Then inspiration struck her, and she re-checked her own site.

Several fans had asked Chiu to visit the Culture Shift Party Saloon next, as they were regular patrons. This was not through personal mails but leaving messages in the public board. If the impostor, as she obviously needed to, went through her page, she would have seen those...

Chisame smiled. "Gotcha."

Silently, she put on her Biblion Rouge costume and added a domino mask, just in case... She moved stealthily towards the window and glanced back. Chamo slept on the open underwear drawer with a snot bubble blowing from his nose. Sakurako slept on the lower bunk, and Negi had snuck in with her, sleeping soundly by her side.

"Suckers," Chisame said, then smiled fondly. She snuck out and took to the fire escape stairs, disappearing into the night.

Negi opened an eye. "I knew it," he snapped with frustration.

---

"Motto SPARKING NOW! Tsuyoku TAFU na HATO... Migaitara sekai wa michigaeru..."

She sang winking and twisting her hips in circles as the audience went crazy. Now, this was more like it, she felt alive again. She had observed Chiu's mannerisms enough so not only she had copied her visual style, but she also could act as her. Turnaround was fair play after all, considering how many times Chiu had dressed up as Pop Step for views without asking for anyone's permission.

The Culture Shift was, as its name indicated, constantly going through 'paradigm' shifts according to whatever trend trickled the spirits of the young generations. In more cynical terms, they were blatant and shameless fad chasers, and for now, the reigning fad were witches, after the world success of the Teen Warlock movie through the last month. Several of the partygoers that night were cosplaying as sorcerers and enchantresses, and so was the partycrasher who had shown up to take over the center stage, as sometimes happened when any courageous thrillseeker wanted to make their presence known.

"SPARKING NOW! Takaku kazashita SOURU!" she ondulated, dancing with her microphone as the screams for her soared. "Chikara no kagiri Mezase sen PERCENT!"

Cheap, feel-good pop that didn't have much to do with the witch attire she wore, complete with a mask to protect her identity. She did not want to go through certain parts of the business again. Anyway, the song worked regardless, for what it was intended, that was merely to provoke the boys (and some of the girls as well, she guessed), while striking that good ol' delicate balance between innocence and sensuality.

Hasegawa-san, poor drab soul as she was, had actually been right. This was what she needed. Romance? Pheh. Family? Screw that. To ease the pain, to gain a purpose, this sufficed. To forget, one had to live, and enjoy that life to its fullest. Surely there was a valuable lesson to learn th-

Then all lights in the club went dead.

Not only that, even the speakers stopped functioning.

The girl on the stage, for some reason, felt like a sudden blow to her stomach, one that surely she had only imagined, but...

There was light on one of the windows. Only one set of lights had returned, framing a figure standing on said window, and overlooking all the patrons.

The girl on the stage recognized the costume.

Biblion Black.

"I knew this was a bad idea..." she did a sudden full change of opinion, already giving a step back.

A sceptre was pointed at her. The patrons paused eagerly, coming to believe this, too, was part of their impromptu show. "You," the newcomer said. "You have a whole lotta nerve!"

The girl on the stage forced herself to smile and made a curtsy, playing with the edges of her short skirt. "And grace and beauty too!"

Then she leaped.

And what a leap it was.

Chisame gasped, seeing her go all over every patron in attendance, and then land before the open door, bolting for the street on rather fast feet. She grounded her teeth together and gave chase, pushing herself on her Pactio-induced reserves of energy. She might not be able to jump that much, but she surely wouldn't lack on running stamina after the training she had received from the kid.

"Do you think you'll escape so easily!?"

The girl running ahead of her, for some reason, laughed, stretching her arms wide open. This also confused the fugitive herself for a moment, until she realized that she was relieved it was only Chiu herself who had shown up. This, she could handle. Surely, the big threats were gone for now, after all Koichi and the old man had achieved. It wasn't like she could get her, it didn't look like she had any powerful Quirk, or she'd have blasted her already, or something.

Now, as long as no pro hero showed up before she left her behind...

They raced across the lonely boulevard by the sea, lit up by several rows of colorful lampposts, and then, when they were about to reach its end, the witch jumped again. While doing so, she looked back over her shoulder, and mischievously stuck her tongue out to the chaser. "Kisses from a fan!" she giggled, and gained so much height so fast that Chiu could only stop and stay in her dust, seething.

Then Chiu felt someone grabbing her from behind, pulling her up. "AIAIIIIEEEEE!" she brieked. And then blinked. "S-Sensei?"

Negi was fuming angrily, placing her behind himself on Inko-san's broom, which he was riding, making it hover above the boulevard. "I can't understand you!" he told her. "One of the most intelligent people I know, but you become an idiot when this... when your hobby is the focus of the issue!"

Chisame paused, stunned, as he firmly directed the broom up and ahead, flying after the false witch. She had never seen him actually furious at her. He almost looked and sounder older, even moreso than when fighting the white haired boy.

Then she realized that he wasn't wrong that time, and that she indeed had been stupid, and she blushed despite herself. "I, I'm sorry..."

Negi fumed. "It's only a hobby! Haven't you understood how truly dangerous this city is at night?! How many ways you could get yourself hurt or worse, by going out alone at night!?"

Chisame looked aside and pouted. "L-Look who's talking, Mr. I Walk into Every Danger Ever..."

From the rooftop of a distant tower, a standing figure watched as a short woman bounced from a building to another, with two other figures flying after her on... a broom?

The eyes of the tall man narrowed with disgust. His fingers itched towards the blades he had on his person. They were very far, but he still thought he could reach them in time, with enough effort. But there were even more pressing matters to attend to that night, and priorities were important for a hero. The white haired one had been sighted elsewhere, and if he didn't hurry, he would miss him once more. The small rabble, irritating as the idea was, could wait.

"Later..." Stain promised in a growl.

The false witch jumped again, heading home and enjoying the fresh breeze on her face. Now that she had made her escape, the seriousness of her actions sank in. She told herself that maybe she should stop for good after this, she already had felt alive enough for a while, and-

Then she looked back, just to cover her back, and gasped. "You've gotta be kiddin'...!"

"Then why are we still chasing her!?" Chisame asked over the wind, hugging Negi from behind. "Why!?"

"Because you won't have peace until you sort this out," Negi scowled, a hand on the broom while another wrapped a thick yellow scarf over the lower half of his face. Hopefully that would protect his identity in the darkness, if he was seen from close enough. The leaping girl ahead of them was growing desperate in her flight, gaining as much speed as she could from each impulse, and he smiled, slowing down and losing height.

"What are you doing?" Chisame asked. "We gonna let her go after all?"

"We are letting her think we are," Negi said, smiling oddly like Evangeline. "Once she stops, she's ours."

Chisame gulped and, without realizing it, hugged him tighter. Doki, doki.

The false witch gradually left them behind, or so she thought, and while she had problems controling her escape while constantly looking back, there came a moment when she couldn't see them anymore. She still kept on running from them for a while, just in case they were playing it smart, but eventually, she felt safe enough to actually reach her own rooftop and stop there to rest.

She panted, standing near the ledge. "Never again..." she promised herself, taking the mask off. "How could I be so dumb, letting her convince me to-!"

A voice spoke from behind her. "Tag, you're it."

"YAHHHHHH!" she screamed, turning around to face them, who had been standing so close behind her, apparently from nowhere, like that stupid cartoon dog. She stumbled around, lost balance, and plummeted back, over the edge.

She found herself falling facefirst fast. The Quirk offered no protection from that kind of landing. "Definitely not my night...!"

But then, she felt someone leaping off after her, she saw a flash zooming towards her, and before she knew it she was cradled in small but strong arms, pulled upwards. There was a scream in Latin or Greek, and the broom flew from the rooftop and placed itself under them. She felt a short tug down, and then stability.

She squinted through the dark, and saw a tired but earnest smile. "Are you okay?" a youthful voice asked.

For some reason, she blushed. Oh, you are so stupid, she thought. Always falling for the knight who rescues you...

This one's damn short, tho'.

They floated down to the alley behind the building, which thankfully was deserted. The boy set her down, and then she could see that not only he was short, he also looked very young. The heart thumping did not slow down, however, but she tried to reassure herself that it was only because of the whole nearly becoming a splotch on the pavement thing.

"Uh... th-thank you. I'm fine."

The boy smiled through the scarf, his voice muffled by it. "I'm glad! My friend would like to talk with-"

She grabbed the scarf and pulled it up, yanking it over his eyes. "See ya!" she said, once again feeling rather smart, and leaped from the alley. She bounced over the next building, and disappeared again.

Negi pulled the scarf back down. "I can't believe it! We were so close...!"

Chisame was calmly coming down the fire escape. "Don't sweat it, Sensei. We only need to wait for her inside."

He looked at her. "Excuse me?"

She pointed at the building. "She works here, and I think she lives behind her store too. I knew I recognized the building, and I also recognized her face as she fell."

Meanwhile, the false witch circled all around half the city, breathing so hard she thought she'd die, and for some reason not meeting any patroling hero while she jumped. Maybe they were busy somewhere.

She made sure she had lost them this time. She waited several times, paying the most attention she could. She repeated the procedure almost a dozen times at several points apart from each other, until there was no doubt that they weren't on her trail anymore.

Sighing and congratulating herself on her ingenuity, the girl made it back to the building. She entered her house, so to call it, through the back door, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "This is it, Pop," she promised, reaching for the light switch. She turned it on.

She blinked a few times.

"Hello again," she was told gently.

She gawked. "How... How did you..."

The girl in the Biblion costume, who had been sitting on her favorite couch while the boy stood next to her, got up and smirked. She pointed the sceptre at her. "I overrode your electronic locks, of course. That's what an electric fairy would do, isn't it? Now let's talk from woman to woman, Haneyama Kazuho-san."

---

Next: The Dry Eye Syndrome.

 

[OverMaster]

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

---

Quirky.

Part Four.

---

The streets of New Ostia were bustling with life and happiness.

Another Festival drew close and tourists were everywhere, swarming the Roman-style bath houses, and the arenas, and the markets. Mostly the markets. The midday sun was scorching, and the crowds were sweaty and ever active. It all gave the air a distinctive salty smell not helped by the lack of breeze at that moment.

Two of the visitors were moving from one stand to another, all through the main Ostian market. They were a short, dark skinned little girl with serene golden eyes, long black hair trailing behind her, and an also black haired older young woman, the lower half of her face hidden by a black scarf, and glasses shielding her round brown eyes. The latter had an old, bandaged and beaten up wooden staff hanging from her back, along two backpacks.

They would catch casual glances at the 'Wanted' ads hanging from the walls whenever they saw them, and then kept on moving. When they approached a stand, the tall busty one pulled a sheet of paper out and ask the owners about the girls masterfully drawn on it.

After hours of looking (it wasn't strange for someone to come looking for lost girls, many young women disappeared through Festivals) the woman at charge of a legume stand nodded at the sheet. She pointed at a few of the drawings. "I know these three. They always come from the main arena, buying groceries. The purple haired one has a chip on her shoulder, but the other two are sweeties."

The busty one nodded her thanks, and gave the woman three gold coins, asking her to stay silent if anyone asked. The woman nodded back, since that was the custom around Ostia. Mind your own business, and if you are paid, you owe whoever paid you what they asked from you.

They headed for the gigantic gladiatorial arena, a coliseum that would put Rome's to shame. They navigated their way in through more bribery on guards and employees. The little girl never talked or emoted at all, leaving her companion to ask all questions. Finally, through another two hours of negotiating, they were led towards an office.

The busty young woman smiled as she closed the door after them. "Mister Tosaka?"

"Who wants to know?" snorted the slim but muscular middle aged man sitting behind the desk, his fingers intertwined, his eyes shifty. He had a black hairline with widow peaks, and wore brown pants a matching vest, shirtless.

"That doesn't matter!" she told him. "What matters is that I heard you have three slaves I want to buy."

"Hm, this isn't a slave market. And most of my gladiators are freelancers, kid."

"I'm not into buying gladiators… yet!" she purred. "I meant scullery maids…"

"What do you want scullery maids for?"

The girl smiled sultrily. "Why, Mister, you shouldn't ask those things from a lady…"

"Look, I don't care if you're into men or women, but if you want maids, go to the damn slave markets, then buy your damn—"

"I need these three specifically," she said.

"Why?"

"Because I have money and I want to buy them."

The man paused. "They don't come cheap!"

"State the price and I'll meet it," she said, full of confidence. The little girl looked at her fingernails.

Tosaka gave the price.

The busty one pouted. "That's a lot. I only can pay for one."

"Too bad." He shrugged.

"Could I talk with them first, please?"

The two girls were led into another room shortly after, three other girls being ordered to sit in there previously. The tall one recognized them and smiled. One of them was very petite and pale, with short light blueish hair. She looked anxious and was on edge. Another one was much, much taller and gifted with serene beauty, her hair very long and silky dark, and the third one was gorgeous, even though her face was dirtied by heavy chores, and her hair was long and purple.

The girl with glasses cracked a smile. "Ako, Akira and Misa."

The three perked up.

"Sorry… Do we know you?" Kakizaki Misa asked after some moments.

The busty girl grinned and pulled her glasses off. The magical charm effect—since those were not her usual glasses—was taken off, and all three smiled in renewed hope.

"Saotome!" Misa said.

"So you're still alive!" Ako said.

"Ha ha ha, I'm not the ghost in the class!" Haruna laughed, her chest bouncing.

"And you are Misora's friend…" Akira looked at the small girl. She tried to remember. "Cocone-chan?"

The girl with brown skin gave her a thumb up. Her expression remained stoic.

"Listen, let's make this quick," Saotome Haruna said. "No, I couldn't find anyone yet, and yeah, I'm here to free you, but I only can pay for one of you for now. Please decide who is it gonna be."

Akira pointed at Ako. "Buy Ako-chan."

Ako pointed at Akira. "Buy Akira-chan."

Misa raised her hand. "Buy me, me, me!"

Saotome glared at her. "Really, Misa, at least try pretending."

"They have each other and can support each other, but I have no one here!" Kakizaki said.

"Maybe you'd have more people if you weren't so… you…" Haruna sighed. "Don't hate me, but---"

An hour of extra negotiations later Haruna and Cocone left the city behind with Ako in tow. She still was wearing the French maid uniform but at least she was not wearing the collar anymore. She rubbed her throat with a hand, and it still ached. "Thank you," she said. "You should have bought Akira-chan, but thank you."

"Hey, that's what friends are there for, isn't it?" Haruna waved her off.

"And now what?"

"Now we need to earn more money since that bastard's gonna charge more for Misa and Akira." Haruna hummed. "I have a whaleship hidden in the mountains. We can sleep there until we figure out what to do next."

"You have enough money to buy yourself a whaleship! How?" Ako gulped.

Haruna grinned back at her. "Through perfectly scrupulous means!"

Ako sighed. She looked back over her shoulder, at the big city of fantasy, and thought of Akira.

"Step lively, Ako!" Haruna said. "There's so much to do!"

Ako kept on following them.

---

At that moment Haneyama Kazuho backed away and locked herself in her room.

Chisame stood before the closed door. Negi joined her. "You know, we'll be waiting here until you come out," she said.

There were sounds of a window being opened from the room.

"This is your house and you have to come back eventually and we'll be waiting here for you!" Chisame said, raising her voice.

There were sounds of the window being closed back.

The door went half open, and Kazuho peeked out, frowning. "Why do you torture me like this? What did I do to you?"

"You dare asking that after you stole my sthick!" Chisame said.

"You stole mine first."

"No! I never said I was Pop Step, I just said I was cosplaying as Pop Step!"

"She has a point, you were outright claiming to be Chiu, on the other hand," Negi said evenly.

Haneyama paled. "Pop Step? I never said I was Pop Step! Who, who is Pop Step!?"

"Don't get funny with me!" Chisame said. "Do you think I'd cosplay as someone without researching them? Those jumps were all Pop Step! Address the point!"

Kazuho grinded her teeth. "You could have published a disclaimer saying you weren't doing public appearances and that I was a dirty impostor. It's what I was expecting for you to do. You know, like a normal person! Then I'd have retired before being booed as a fake."

"How was I supposed to know what you were thinking!" Hasegawa said.

Kazuho looked back and forth between them. "You were engaging into vigilantism, and now home breaking and entering. I was also doing something technically illegal, so what if we all forget this and leave it at that?"

Negi nodded. "That's for the best. No need to involve the authorities."

"But you have to promise you won't pose as Chiu, ever again!" Chisame said.

Kazuho put a hand on her own heart. "After that scare, I don't want to be in your shoes again!"

"Then let's call it a draw," Chisame allowed.

Kazuho smiled. "Thank you… Hasegawa-san."

Chisame's jaw dropped.

Kazuho snickered. "You can disguise your voice in the net, but up close and personal I recognized it despite your putting on that gruff tone. Also, you have so much acne I couldn't mistake it!"

Chisame growled.

"You delete it all in Photoshop, don't you?" Kazuho walked out.

Chisame growled again.

Negi chuckled.

"What is so funny?" Chisame huffed.

"You inspired each other… You two created your own enemies, hee hee!"

"Shaddap, that's not funny," Chisame snipped.

"What she said, brat! Unfunny!" Kazuho nodded.

Negi recoiled. It was like being told off by Chisame, in stereo.

"Are you the cousin she spoke about?" Kazuho asked him.

"No, he is… my roommate," Chisame answered before Negi did.

"You room with a child?" Kazuho asked. She looked at Negi again. "You are a child, aren't you? Or do you have a Quirk that makes you look like that?"

"I'm the age I look," Negi said, very proudly.

"And that age is…" Kazuho said.

"What age does he look to you, huh?" Chisame snorted.

Both girls glared into each other's eyes for several instants of tension. Negi looked at them, mildly fascinated. But they finally softened.

"We have our reasons, and leave it at that!" Chisame said.

"You should know what you're doing with your life. Huh. But you won't stop buying at the store. Will you?" Kazuho asked.

Chisame scowled. "I guess not…"

There was a beat.

"So, you want some chocolate before leaving?" Kazuho felt like saying, rubbing herself on an arm.

---

Kazuho dipped another potato chip on the bowl of sauce and ate it happily.

"Oh ho ho!" she said. "The best food is that had while crashing at other people's!"

"That is, mooching," Chisame said, although technically, she also was doing that.

They sat around the table of the Midoriyas, having a nice mid afternoon snack. Not Izuku. Izuku was doing pushups mechanically at a corner of the room. His eyes remained vacant and he had been doing that for nearly two hours by then. Ever since Kazuho arrived, having closed her shop early and willing to party.

"I'm starting to understand who is the real hero of this home!" Sakurako observed, while Inko came stoically from the kitchen with another tray of snacks.

"So start helping her already," Chamo sweatdropped.

Kotaro looked at Izuku. "Hey," he whispered to Negi. "Just start teaching him magic. If he wants to be a hero so much, he can pass it as a Quirk too..."

Negi whispered back. "He couldn't carry another training while also carrying All Might's. And now that he's done with it, well... you can see he's not at top psychological form for that."

The two looked at Izuku for a few moments more and Kotaro turned his attention to Kazuho. "Hey, Neechan. This Pop Step thing you did, why did you stop it?"

Kazuho paused, losing the smile briefly. After that she waved a hand, pretending not to care. "It was too much effort, and... the heroes were getting in the way, always breathing on my neck!"

Chisame could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. Did her retirement have anything to do with that missing eye?

Chachamaru came from the front door, holding Inko's broom in a hand and a sealed envelop in the other. "It's from UA, they must have reached their decision already..."

In a flash, Izuku already had stepped past her and snatched the envelope from her, ripping it open desperately.

Chachamaru blinked. "Are you sure you don't have a Speed Quirk?"

A large holographic screen was projected from the letter, showing All Might's head, laughing thunderously.

Kazuho gasped. "All Might!? But he doesn't work at UA! Why is he sending you a letter!?"

"We know him," Kotaro boasted.

"You do!?" Kazuho said. "You never told me!"

"FEAR NOT, WAIT NO MORE, PRE-RECORDED ALL MIGHT IS HERE!" the hero said. "GREETINGS, YOUNG MIDORIYA, YOUNG NEGI, CHAMO AND EVERYONE ELSE!"

"Why does Chamo get a mention, but we are 'everyone else'?" Chisame sweatdropped. Sakurako shrugged.

Kazuho's eyebrow twitched. "You are friends with All Might!"

The superhuman, wearing a fine stripped suit, bowed, the image zooming off to show him full bodied and standing. "My apologies for not contacting you sooner! I have been busy with several affairs, such as locating another of Young Negi's friends. I can't confirm yet, but she might have been seen in India..."

Negi's eyes sparkled. "Wonderful!"

"But I'm back to the city now," the top pro informed them all. "I'm going to start working for UA!"

"Plot twist!" Sakurako said.

"Young Karakuri, you were the top scorer in the exercises, congratulations!" he finished the sentence in English. "105 points after saving that boy! Your enrollment is guaranteed!"

"Yay. Thanks," Chachamaru said blandly.

"At least try showing some emotion over something like THAT!" Kazuho said, eyes spiralling, although the false one spinned slower. "Darn it!"

"Young Negi, with 93, and Young Inugami, with 92, also did so well that everyone was impressed!" the blond wonder said. "We're proud of you!"

"92!? Only 92!? I should have gotten a 100 or so!" Kotaro stood up and pointed.

"You're unhappy with a freaking 92!?" Kazuho freaked out even further, pulling on her hair. "What sort of inhuman are you, brat!?"

"Young Shiina has 40 and Young Hasegawa has 35," All Might said. "For two girls who said they'd never fought before that's impressive! Some judges objected to Young Hasegawa's tactics, but we thought she deserved her points for her ingenuity."

"Yay. Thanks," Chisame said blandly.

"If that's your reaction to making it in why did you enlist to begin with!" Kazuho said.

"And Young Midoriya..." All Might paused. "You did very well in the written test, yes, but you only scored one point in the war game." Izuku stared blankly at his hero. Inko sniffed. She held his shoulders from behind and played with his hair. "BUT...! Never fear, Young Uraraka Ochako is here!"

Izuku gulped. "Who?"

"ROLL VIDEO!" All Might said, and he was replaced by the image of a cute girl with brown hair standing before Present Mic, dated from the day after the test.

"Oh!" Izuku said.

"Who is that?" Kazuho asked.

"Some girl Izuku likes," Chisame said. In the background, Sakurako had begun mumbling.

"Sorry, Sensei, but..." She spoke awkwardly, blushing at gesturing with her right hand above her head. "You know about that boy? The one with freckles and very messy hair? That one who didn't stand out?"

Izuku smiled widely.

"Her description of him isn't very flattering..." Kazuho said.

"Could I, could my points be shared with him?" Uraraka asked in an eager voice.

Izuku's eyes widened.

"He, he is a real hero. I can tell," Uraraka lowered her head. She dragged her left foot in a circle. "And I spent like two fifths of that test unconscious! If not for him that robot would've crushed me, n-not that I'm questioning your safety standards, Sensei!"

Izuku's mouth went open.

"Who knows how many points he could've scored during the time he spent saving me?" Uraraka said. Her face went up, and she all but shouted. "At the very least, Sensei... I'd like him to have the points he lost saving my life!"

Present Mic smiled and patted her head. "That's very noble of you, Young Listener. But, the points cannot be shared!" the rock hero told her. His voice actually sounded somewhat normal now, even if still campy. "But that's not necessary!"

"And he's right!" All Might's footage retook the video. He gave two thumbs up. "Being a hero, I told you, is not just about beating villains and following rules! A real rescue, a true selfless act, that is more important than saving a dummy or destroying a robot! We couldn't call ourselves a school of heroes if we turned off someone for doing the right thing!"

They all looked at him, speechless.

All Might smiled. "60 Rescue Points for you, Young Midoriya!"

"And, and the girl, Uraraka-san, she also saved me, and what she did was way more impressive, and and and and and!" Izuku ranted.

"He can't hear you," Chisame said, "he is just a--"

"Because I know you'll also ask about Young Uraraka, she scored a total of 45 Rescue Points for saving you! Bringing her total to 73! FILL THAT BURNING HEART WITH JOY, YOUNG MIDORIYA!" He extended an open hand. "THIS IS NOW YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"

(TM and C Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha).

Izuku began wailing. "SHE DID IT...! SHE DID IT...! SHE SCORED 73 POINTS! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE...!"

Sakurako had started chewing on her knuckles. Chisame stepped away from her, scared of her for once.

Izuku began dancing around, then grabbed his mom by the hands and began dancing with her, Inko laughing with him.

Kazuho sighed. In a way, it was like the old times. "You're all weird, but it can't be said you don't get things done! Congrats, Midoriya-kun."

He stopped dancing and blinked at her. "Who are you?"

"I've been coming over for two days!" Kazuho shouted, glasses obscured and teeth bared.

 

[OverMaster]

New Delhi.

Far beneath the highly populated metropolis there was another hidden city. It only could be accessed through a labyrinthic spider-web of narrow passages and heavily guarded checkpoints.

At the bottom of that city there was an arena.

"TWILIGHT PRINCESS HAS FIVE ARM RASHID AGAINST THE ROPES!" shouted the tiny but spirited announcer, with a voice that was barely any lower than Present Mic's. "THE WONDER FROM THE WEST IS DOING IT AGAIN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

The young woman in the white dress swung her gigantic sword expertly. She blocked all strikes coming from the musclebound arms of the shirtless behemoth before her. He had a long black ponytail and the eyes of a vicious animal. She was much smaller but well shaped, with long reddish hair pulled into twintails. One eye was blue, the other was emerald, and them both were dull and void of emotion.

"IT'S INCREDIBLE, THE BUTCHER OF THE GULF CANNOT LAY A HAND ON HER!"

She moved in circles around him, tiring him out. He panted and seethed, swinging a kick, but she ducked under it and let go off the hilt of the sword with a hand, the weapon still gripped in the other. She balled up the free fist and whispered "Kanka."

She thrusted the fist ahead, towards Rashid's chest, and the crowd cheered, maddened in glee. Then, as he was not falling, she punched him again and again and again, her hand almost appearing to glow with each punch. Finally, he fell backwards and she slammed a foot down on his throat.

"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!" the audience chanted. Twilight Princess paused, her fallen foe closing his eyes, but she pulled the foot back and shook her head.

She turned around and began leaving the arena.

One of the men in the upper rows seemed to whisper to himself, ignored by the people around him. "It's her," he told the device hidden in his ear. "She matches every description, she even fights using that weapon. And she spared him. I'll follow her now."

He was very tall, with huge shoulders and a serious face, a jaw one could have been used to crack coconuts. His eyes were very small, almost like black dots, and his hair was buzzcut, a long black trenchcoat over his street clothes.

He followed her from a distance as she went back up outside after being paid. He had the impression she was aware he was after her, even if she never looked back. She never spoke, not even to the organizer of the tournament after he had paid her. The guards were only shown the credential the organizer had handed her, at every stop. There was no pride over a well won match, there was no hurry to see anyone.

He finally approached her when she was out in the actual city, walking through a deserted alley for her next destination. "Kagurazaka Asuna?" he called out the name.

She kept on walking.

"All Might sent me," the man said. "You have heard of All Might, haven't you? He is in contact with Negi Springfield. He wants to see you."

The girl stopped. She looked back over her shoulder, icily. She still said nothing.

"My name is Enlightenment," he said. "I can help you, if you will let me. I'm not lying, I can link you directly to All Mig—"

She swung the sword at him, spinning on her feet. He rolled back, with studied agility, and fell into a fighting stance. "You don't want to do this…" he told her.

She swung again, with finesse that betrayed her youth. He had a hard time dodging her attacks.

She was forcing him back, and he couldn't find an opening through her technique. She had him as dominated as she had with Rashid. But he had something that Rashid didn't have.

He shoved his hands ahead. "Let the light flow into you!"

Empathic Quirk.

The young woman staggered back. Her neck rattled back, her eyes widening. Enlightenment smiled. "I am unleashing the most pure goodness in your heart. The true self you might have repressed for some reason. Fight whatever is influencing you! You have people who care deeply about your well-"

"You are talking to the wrong person," she spoke finally. She had stopped, putting a hand on her face. She breathed deeply, and Enlightenment approached her with an open hand. "No, don't…"

"Please," he said.

"Kanka," she replied, and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying against a wall.

He woke up some time later. It couldn't have been much, as his belongings were all still on him as he felt himself and sighed; she was nowhere to be seen. He was on top of piles of smelly trash, with rats squealing around him.

He got up with some effort. Even through the body armor he wore under his shirt, the pain was intense. "Might?" he called his friend again. "It's her alright, but she doesn't act like you told me she would. She kind of kicked my ass and left. Uh huh. That's what I was thinking. Will you tell the boy? I see…"

He shook himself off, breathed in and out, and headed home for a shower and some needed sleep.

---

Izuku danced happily as they headed down the street, in their new school uniforms. It was a sunny and beautiful morning, and he moved like Tobey Maguire.

"We're joining UA today!" he told the boy from the magazine stand as they passed him by.

The pimple faced youngster snorted, staring at his phone. "You told me that yesterday! And the day before!"

"No, yesterday I didn't tell you 'we'll be joining today', yesterday I told you 'we'll be joining tomorrow'!" He winked and gave him a thumbs up. "HEYYYY!"

The vein bulged on Chisame's head. "Do you want to turn us into Bakugos!?"

"It's his dream, Chisame," Negi reminded her blandly, walking along her. Sakurako gave him a worried sideglance.

"Negi-kun," Shiina said, "if you're still worried about Bookstore, she is strong and—"

"I know, I know," Negi said. "Sorry, I'm not going to spoil this special day by brooding."

Izuku blinked. "What happened, Negi-san?"

The other boy shook his head. "Never mind, I'll tell you after we are there. We shouldn't be discussing that out in the open."

Kotaro looked at Midoriya and shrugged. "Ala Alba business!"

Izuku paused, starting to grow worried himself, but then he looked at the guy from the minimarket and waved at him. "Good morning, Satoru-san! Today we're joining UA!"

"I KNOW!"

Izuku whistled as they went into the subway. "You'd think they'd be happier to know they'll have several Pro Heroes as neighbors!"

"I'm moving back as soon as I can though…" Chisame grouched, going down the stairs with them.

"Friendly Neighborhood Midoriya and his Amazing Friends!" Izuku said as they went into the train.

"Lame!" Chisame said.

"The Teen Titans?"

"Already done, boy!"

"The Outsiders?"

"What you are about do is trying to embrace the system, head on! How is that being an outsider, Izuku-san!?"

Negi sat down as the train started and brooded in silence. He thought back to two hours before and Nodoka's card and everything related to it.

"Hey, Sensei," Chisame said, getting up and seeing him sitting on the edge of her bed. She was so used to him sneaking in next to her while sleeping that she barely bothered to get angry about that anymore. "Something wrong?"

"Yes," he said. He looked at her, and Sakurako peeked down from the upper bunk. He held one of his alliance cards up."You know that every morning I try contact the others, don't you?"

Chisame looked at the card. "Bookstore's? It hasn't changed at all."

"No, but I did get a signal from her today," he said. "The thing is, I cannot actually talk to her. I feel the link, it's as if I could hear something from her side, but it's only interference, it's static." He waved a hand in a circle and said, "It sounds like..." He thought of how to say it. "A buzzing?"

"Maybe she's getting into range from wherever she fell and it will clear up as she grows closer?" guessed Chisame.

"Perhaps," Negi said. "But it'd never done this before."

"Why don't you just try to summon her?" Sakurako asked.

"I'm afraid to. If something's wrong with the link between us trying to transport her might hurt her, and I want to avoid that as much as possible."

The girls looked at him, unsure of what else to offer him.

And so, they had soon arrived to UA, which was just as impressive as it had been the week prior.

"Still not Mahora," Chisame said.

"Are you still hung up about that!?" Midoriya protested.

Kotaro looked at the sheet he had printed from the texts All Might had sent them. "Shiina-neesan and I will be studying in Class 1-B, here it says it's... that way?" He pointed at a turner of a corner after they had gone into one of the upper floors. "And the rest of you are in 1-A, which is over there." He pointed the opposite way. He grinned at Negi. "It's good to know that I won't have to endure you all day long anymore, Four Eyes!"

Negi, despite his funk, smiled back. Inugami, Chisame told herself, always had a way to pull him up. "That's my line!"

They bumped fists. "We'll be in rival classes now, and I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"Hah ha!" Negi told him. "How do you know we'll be rivals!?"

"It's the way it always is in these stories!"

"No, I mean that you won't be a rival for me!"

"Hah! Not bad, bookworm!"

They bumped foreheads, each leaving a slight bump on each other's head, shook hands, and went their opposite ways. Sakurako smiled at her friends, shrugged, and waved while following Kotaro.

Chachamaru waved back at her. "It's tragic that we have to be rivals..."

Chisame sweatdropped. "It's not like this is Battle Royale!"

They went the rest of the way to the door signaled as '1-A'. Izuku stopped and made a nervous smile, freezing on his feet.

"Now what...?" Chisame said.

"I just hope that... Katchan and that weird stuffy guy aren't there!" Midoriya said.

"Weird stuffy guy?" Chachamaru repeated.

"You know, Iida-san! That was his name, wasn't it?" the green haired boy shuddered.

"What is wrong about him? He seemed very pleasant and orderly, if anything," Chachamaru said.

"He scares me! He's too intense!" the greenette said, pushing the door open. "Knock on wood..."

The first thing he saw upon opening was Katchan with his feet on a desk while Iida gave him a lecture.

"What will our teacher think!?" the bespectacled boy fumed at the blond. "And there are ladies present as well! Don't you have any shame, ruffian!?"

"Ah, go bite on the wall, Square!" Bakugo relaxed back, smirking at him and folding his arms behind his neck. "You must have gotten the wrong class, the school for accountants is across the street, prissy! Heh!"

The freckled boy kept on smiling and closed the door before the two could notice him. "What if we ask for a place in 1-B?" he suggested.

"I think I saw the Uraraka girl in there too," Chisame said.

The greenette opened the door again and walked in.

---

Midoriya Izuku walked into the classroom, and Bakugo immediately stopped laughing and glared daggers at him. "Deku..."

Izuku tried to smile and nod. "Hello."

Bakugo snarled out a corner of his mouth. "What sorta shit did you pull back there, Deku? You're a fucking Quirkless, don't tell me you were hiding one all this time just to mess with me?"

"Language!" Iida said.

Chisame sighed and walked in after Izuku. "Hi there, Katchan-san. Would you believe it if we told you it was magic?"

Bakugo huffed. "Deku Girl."

The vein bulged again. "Deku Girl!?"

Chachamaru walked in next, bowing to everyone. "Good morning, future companions in the quest for education. I look foward to studying together, please bear with me."

Iida gasped. "You... You..." The pastel bubbles began appearing again, but he shook his head and forced himself to fight through them. He bowed back instead. "Fate, that is, a fortunate coincidence indeed, that we would study together!" He looked at Izuku and was right before him in a single stride. Izuku flinched back. "Please accept my apologies! I misjudged you, and even told you to flee cowardly, only to have you show me a lesson on true heroism!"

Izuku's face twitched. "Ah... Thank you?"

Bakugo had slammed his feet on the floor. "You!" he said, staring at Chachamaru.

"May I help you?" she asked innocently.

He stood up and pointed at her. "TOP SCORER! HEAR THIS! I WON'T LET THIS STAND! YOU WON'T HUMILIATE ME AGAIN! I... I WILL.."

She blinked oh-so-very-slowly, her light green eyes full of innocence. "Humiliating you?"

Bakugo fell silent as many heads in the classroom turned towards him. Iida's glasses shone dangerously. But Bakugo did not notice any of that.

He kept on looking at Chachamaru's eyes and their complete lack of malice. What, what kind of Lovecraftian shit was that? Why couldn't he talk like he wanted to? He'd never had any problem threatening anyone else before. Not even Dad. So why...? It wasn't like he'd fallen for this bitch like the accountant, if anything there was something creepy about her, but at the same time it felt wrong to chew her out.

It was like raping a kitten.

He sat back, looked aside, and folded his arms. "I'll top your score next time!"

"Yes. Good luck, Katchan-san," she said.

"Don't call me that! Stuff your sarcasm!" Bakugo said, but didn't go any further than that.

"Sarcasm? But... I was not attempting sarcasm." Chachamaru looked at Chisame. "You are the expert on sarcasm. Did I sound sarcastic?"

"No, but you do now!" Chisame said.

Negi, who had been standing outside to see if he would have to slap a bitch who threatened his students for real, smiled and walked in. Thankfully the necessity for horrifying violence on a classmate had been avoided, and Bakugo-san would live another day!

"Good morning," he said, "I'm Negi Springfield..."

Several heads in the class perked up.

Oh shit, not again... Chisame thought and facepalmed.

"It's..." a girl with pink skin and horns said.

"One of them..." a girl with very long and very smooth black hair, and very large and very round eyes, said.

"One of the two kids at the test!" said a grinning busty girl with long and wavy dark green hair. Instinctively, Chisame thought of a combination of Haruna and Yuuna.

A girl sitting at the back of the class and formerly sunk in her own thoughts, blinked slowly, looking at him. She had fair skin that constrasted with her black hair, and a large bustline. "Cute..." she whispered to herself, then flinched on herself as if embarrassed at the slip of the tongue.

Chisame braced herself for the onslaught of dashing girls, but actually, all but one of them stayed on their seats. Only the girl with dark green hair walked to Negi and slapped his shoulder several times. "Nice to meet you, everyone's been talking about you too! Wow, are you really that young? Don't worry, I'll be your Neechan and protect you from these weirdos! Name's Tokage Setsuna!"

Negi blinked, snapping out of his fleeting thoughts of I'm not being mobbed? Am I losing my touch? and smiling at her. "Ah, thank you, Tokage-san. It's a funny coincidence, an old friend of ours is named Setsuna as well."

"Ahem," Chisame said.

Tokage looked at her. "Yeah?"

Chisame's jaw moved from one side to the next before she grumbled with bitterness, "He already has a Neechan to protect him, okay?"

"Oh, are you his sister?" Tokage took the liberty of shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Springfield-san!"

"I'm not his sister! I mean that I'm his guardian, okay?"

Tokage took a pause, perplexed, and began to laugh, showing off a mouthful of sharp teeth. "I like you, you're funny!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Chisame groaned.

"I doubt it, kero," the girl with huge eyes said.

A very tiny, even shorter than Negi, boy walked to Negi and shook his hand. "Hey, Negi-kun, nice to meet you! Mineta Minoru!"

Negi smiled and nodded. "Likewise, Mineta-san. Thanks for the welcom-"

Mineta twiggled his eyebrows and smirked at him. "Chamo told me a lot about you!"

"... Chamo?" Negi said.

"Chamo?" Tokage asked.

"Chamo!" Chisame seethed.

"You know Chamo? From where..." Negi began carefully.

"Oh, we met at the course and he helped me a lot!" Mineta laughed. "He's very proud of you, so great on you, pal! The 'Magic' Quirk, huh? That sounded so awesome and useful!"

Tokage chuckled. "Magic!" she said, as if finding the word funny.

"Hey, look over there," Mineta pointed towards where the big breasted girl with black hair sat. She gulped in a very low tone and studiously hid her face in an open book on her desk.

"What is it, Mineta-san?" Negi asked, before realizing Mineta was reaching up to try and tickle his nose. He blushed and slapped Mineta's hand away. "So you really had a talk with Chamo!"

Mineta smirked impishly. "You can't blame a dude for trying!" He moved on Izuku. "And you, the ladykiller! You seduced one of the teachers already before entering! I'm impressed!"

Izuku blinked. "I did?"

"Don't be modest, everyone knows it!" He grinned, holding his phone up and showing him a video of Recovery Girl kissing him. "It's gone viral!"

"WAAAAHHHHHH!" Izuku backed away from him.

Mineta blinked. "You mean you didn't know?" He sounded honestly surprised, and then he was slapped by Bakugo against a wall. "Hey, what gives!?"

"TOO FAR!" Bakugo roared.

Izuku gasped. Katchan, meeting two standards in a single day? "Who are you and what have you done with Kat-" He began, but then melted as Uraraka Ochako came along to greet him.

"OIIIIIIII! Lucky, lucky, lucky, having you here!" she laughed, reaching over and slapping his arm several times. "I wanted to thank you personally! You know, over the other day! That was made of pure Win and Awesome! Whatta punch! Worthy of All Might! Present Mic-sensei agreed! So, we gonna study together, huh, huh? Huh? Uraraka Ochako! That's me!"

Izuku blushed and nodded. "Th-Thank you, that was nothing, Uraraka-san! I'm Midoriya Izuku!"

"Deku!" Bakugo huffed.

Ochako looked at him. "Gesundheit!" She looked back at Izuku. "What a weird way to sneeze. He must be a gaijin."

"N-No, he isn't..."

"I mean, look at that blond hair. Not that I have anything against foreigners, but-"

Then a tired, manly voice came from the floor. "If you are all done with your school romantic comedy, perhaps we could begin with the introductory class, just saying..."

Ochako looked down and shrieked. "AAAHHHH! A giant caterpillar!"

The giant caterpillar stood up lazily and unzipped itself, revealing itself as a man with stubble and messy long black hair, wearing all black and with bags under his reddened eyes, who was peeling his sleeping bag off himself. Everyone stared at him, stunned out their minds.

"AH!" the boy who had saved Izuku during the test with his powerful navel blast gasped. "You were here!?"

"Yes, always. I read that manga too," the man deadpanned. "I'm Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher..."

Tokage began laughing, slapping her knee and pointing at Negi. "A class with two Shotas! You can't make this up! HA HA HA!"

"I miss our own Setsuna so much now!" Chisame said.

"Don't we all?" Chachamaru asked. Beat. "Wait, were you being sarcastic again, Chisame-san?"

"It's going to be such a long school year..." Chisame moaned.

 

[OverMaster]

The teacher moved to the front of his classroom. He looked jadedly at the students.

"No, I'm not the janitor. I am, indeed, a pro Hero."

He took a breath and said, "Start stepping to the front and introduce yourselves."

"Uhhh… Sir?" Iida raised a hand. "Who should go first? Shouldn't you start according to the class roster?"

Aikawa shrugged. "What would the point be? Everyone will do it regardless. But someone should start already."

The pink skinned girl with horns had begun to stand from her seat when Aizawa raised a hand. "Wait. Before you start, there's something else to address." He pointed at Negi. "Springfield. After classes, head over to Tech Support and ask for Hatsume. She'll do something to help you with 'that thing'. And in the meantime, try not to do 'that thing' here, understood?"

Negi nodded. "Understood!"

"Good boy. Now you can start, young lady."

Iida bit on his lower lip. Is this another secret test of character? He wants to see who is too bold and full of themselves? Or doesn't he want us to be timid, to be forward and secure of ourselves instead? For that matter, what if we are supposed to call him out on his shoddy dress code, or would he scold us saying appearances don't matter? This is all more complex than it looks, but that is the way of the Pro Hero, isn't it!

The pink skinned girl with horns had skipped merrily to the front of the class while he thought that. She raised a hand. "Nice to meet you! Ladies go first, so here am I! I'm Ashido Mina! My Quirk is secreting a powerful acid through my skin, but don't worry! I can control it at will! So don't be afraid to shake my hand! Let's make some happy days together, okay!?"

Bakugo stepped on next. He glared at the rest of the students and shouted, "I'm Bakugo Katsuki! I'm here so I can be the best of Pro Heroes! I'm gonna be the next All Might! Scratch that, I'm gonna be better than him! That's the mindset a real hero should have! So there!"

As he returned to his chair, Aizawa hummed apathetically. "A person in the bloom of youth should be ambitious. Everything with moderation, of course…"

The tiny boy skipped over. "Mineta Minoru!" he said chirpily. "My hero dream is…"

He smirked and raised his eyebrows, cocking a fist on his ribs. "For the future, I'd like to establish strong and lasting bonds of everliving friendship with those most neglected of society. Ladies, who should always be taken care of by a strong hero and slash or fight side to side with those heroes as equal, should they happen to be heroines. I have devoted my life to their cause."

That's just a fancy way of saying you want to woo women! Chisame thought.

The green haired girl stepped next. "Tokage Setsuna! I really like helping others and learning and reading about dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are so cool, I modeled my superhero energy about them…!"

Negi tensed up on his seat. Chisame groaned.

Chachamaru. "Karakuri Chachamaru." She was as polite as ever. "I'm here to help Negi-sensei, Hasegawa-san, and the rest of my friends who are… elsewhere. If I can do anything for any of you, please just tell me so I can do my best. Thank you," she bowed.

Tokage blinked. "Sensei?"

Iida. He stood with his arms folded behind his back, then raised a hand and said loudly, "IIDA TENYA! Pleased to meet all of you! I am here to follow the path of a hero no matter what! For what are us without the society that has bred us? Without the families that placed high hopes on us? For their sakes, we must fight on, and what better path to fight than that of the hero? Never falter, dear compatriots, for together, we can accomplish—"

"Next," Aizawa said.

A boy with what Chisame assumed was a black crow mask.

"I am Tsukuyomi, a Hero of Darkness…" he said.

Negi's face twitched at that name. "Tsukuyomi."

"Your real name," Aizawa told Tsukuyomi. "Not your codename, you won't be using that for now."

"But that is my real name, the one sprung from the depths of my soul, the—"

"State what name they put on your birth certificate," the teacher said.

There was a very overwrought sigh of very heartfelt wounded dignity. "Tokoyami Fujikage."

"It wasn't so difficult, was it?" Aizawa noted. "Next."

"But I haven't shown yet my always loyal life companion in Darkness, the--!"

"There'll be time for that later, when I don't have so much of a headache," Aizawa sighed. "Next."

Negi stood before them. He smiled. "Sorry to be cliché, but I am genuinely pleased to be here with you! Thrilled, even! I am Negi Springfield, and this is a good new life experience! I want to be a hero like my father…"

"Who is your father?" asked a tall boy with hair that was half red, half white.

"Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master!" Negi said with pride.

"Never heard of him!" Bakugo scoffed.

"He's a Welsh hero," Negi said. "I also really, really like dinosaurs!" He smiled at Setsuna, and Setsuna smiled back. Chisame growled under her breath.

Uraraka.

Izuku sighed.

She raised her hand. "Hi there! Uraraka Ochako! I control gravity!" She yanked the eraser from the desk, took it in her hands, and made it levitate to the ceiling. "Release!" she said, and it fell on her head, showering her on chalk. "Heh heh heh! See? I also can turn it on and off at will, like Ashida Mina-san!"

She dusted herself off, and said, "And what Bakugo Katsuki-san said is important, too. I mean, stating one's motives to be a hero from the start, because that's what defines you as a hero, isn't it? As for me, I want—"

She stretched a hand ahead, flexed the fingers, and said in a husky voice, "Money."

Everyone blinked.

"Lots of money," Uraraka said.

"Honestly is also important," Aizawa said blandly.

A tall boy with spiky red hair stood there and pumped a fist up. "My name is Kirishima Eishiro! Great class we have here, I really like what we're seeing so far! You all look like a bunch of interesting people!"

"May you live in interesting times and all of that," Aizawa sighed to himself.

A huge boy with a craggy rock like sharp tipped head fidgeted. He stood there for a few seconds, then said in a very low voice, "Koda Koji…"

He began talking in hand language signs to make up for it, but nobody in the student corps but Negi, Ochako, and the black haired busty girl seemed to understand, all nodding attentively during his long explanation.

The frog looking girl walked to the forefront. She stared blankly at everyone at first.

"Asui Tsuyu. Please call me Tsuyu, kero," she said.

There was a beat.

"I'm a frog, kero."

She hopped back to her seat.

"Well," Chisame said, "that explains everything...!"

---

A tall and scary looking young man with short white hair and six arms, three right ones and three left ones, held together by a membrane on each side. Half of his face was hidden by a purple mask.

"It's an honor," he told them. "Please let's all do our best. My name is Shoji Mezo. I'm still attempting to figure out my way in life, but I believe studying in UA will help me, as it seems to be my true calling."

A somewhat short and unremarkable looking girl with short purplish hair and a modest body figure. The young lady reminded Chisame of Bookstore, but with a more serious, a bit less cute face, smaller eyes and a red curved shape on each cheek. Also, she had long earplugs hanging from her ears. Cannot forget that.

"I'm Jiro Kyoka," she introduced herself calmly. "I'm afraid I'm not as passionate as some of you guys… But that doesn't mean I won't take this seriously. I believe people actually get to know each other through experience, so I'll leave it at that for now."

Chisame nodded to herself. She kind of respected this one so far. Her plain no nonsense but not haughty attitude sort of reminded her of Ayase's.

The handsome boy with half red and half white hair stepped up. The red half covered that side of his face, much like with Bookstore. When he spoke, his words were mild mannered, reluctant even, and dry in tone.

"You can call me Todoroki Shoto," he said. "I wield ice based powers and, uh, I know how to fight.

Izuku gasped. "Todoroki!? You mean… like Endeavour!?"

The tall boy glared at him quietly for a moment before he answered, his voice strained but no longer reluctant. "Yes. Like Endeavour."

Mineta raised his hand. "Is Endeavour related to you?"

"… yes, he is."

"Aaaaahhhh!" Ochako gushed. "Are you Endeavour's son!?"

Shoto slightly slumped ahead, hair obscuring all of his face now.

"Yes, he is, but don't think there is nepotism involved here," Aizawa said. "He has been tested and found an extremely able student."

"I don't remember seeing him anywhere during the tests…" Bakugo grumbled, putting his feet on his desk again. He looked at the girl with black hair and a buxom figure. "Or you for that matter!"

The girl blinked, then stood up as Shoto stepped down and returned to his seat. "I'm Yaoyorozu…"

She noticed she was introducing herself at the wrong spot and awkwardly walked to the front of the classroom, rubbing herself on an arm. She raised her voice as best as she could, "I… I am Yaoyoruzu Momo…"

"Like the Yaoyorozu Zaibatsu?!" excitedly asked one of the boys. "Are you one of them!?"

There were two very quiet and shy nods.

"Being a heroine… has been my dream since I was a very small child. Being here is a source of great joy and I'll fight to be worthy of the trust that has been placed on me, to give me a spot here amongst you. Thank you."

She walked back to her seat, face low and probably beet red. Most of the boys looked hard after her.

A confident looking blond boy stepped ahead.

He snapped his fingers. A large bolt of electricity jumped from them, chipping on the wall. Aizawa stared in a disapproving way, but the boy did not notice.

"Kaminari Denki!" he said. "Here to shock you and everyone by making my presence known in a jolt from above!"

The students stared at him, except Yaoyorozu, who was still berating herself quietly.

"I have electric powers. If you haven't noticed," he said.

Crickets chirped. "They are awesome powers. What's with that reaction?"

"All Might might step there and get the same reaction, if he had tried jokes like those, kero," Tsuyu said.

He frowned. "I was unaware this was the comedy school!"

"Sit down, you idiot," Bakugo snorted.

A quite tall, taller even than the other tall boys so far except Shoji, boy with a musclebound body and big, thick lips and spiky brown hair.

"Hey there, everyone!" He waved at them. "The name's Sato Rikido! I have enhanced lifting strength and endurance that are multiplied when my sugar intake increases! Cool power, huh?"

"What's your codename, Will Die Diabetic Boy?" Bakugo asked.

Izuku came next. He gulped and stepped to the forefront. He forced himself to smile as Negi and Ochako discreetly waved support at him, and Chachamaru gave him a stoic thumb up.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku…"

"Deku!" Bakugo scoffed.

"Gesunheidt," Ochako said primly.

Izuku sighed. "Just like Yaoyorozu-san, my dream since my earliest childhood has been a Hero of Justice! It's awesome, being with all of you here today!" He opened his arms. "I don't know what codename will I take, or what my costume will be, or what kind of villains will we fight, but I'm sure we'll do it together and emerge better people from the experience! That is our destiny, since the hearts of heroes also beat in you! This is Our Hero Academia!"

(TM and C Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha!)

"Oh, conventional but spirited! I like that!" Laser-Navel-Boy nodded, and Ochako began clapping. After a moment, so did Negi, and as soon as she saw Negi doing it, Tokage followed suit, laughing musically. Then Ashido, and then Chachamaru. Yaoyorozu blushed and also began clapping very quietly. Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mineta waved their fists up, so cheering in their own way.

"Woo! Wooo! WOOOO!"

Izuku gulped and blushed. "Th-Thank you, everyone!"

A school where he was actually admired and looked up at! Well, assuming they weren't being ironic, some of them at least. The way Mineta was laughing was making him wonder.

Chisame grumbled and finally joined the applause, feeling like a dork.

Navel-Lazer-Boy was the next. "What can I say?" he grinned, white teeth glinting. "I'm just a humble hero in training ready to take the stage by assault. Remember this name well, friends! Aoyama Yuga! The rising star from France, the land of champions and battle saints! You will look back at this day once you have become great heroes yourselves, and you will think—"

Tsuyu looked away. "They eat frogs in France. Don't get close to me, kero."

"Are you going to engage into stereotypes from the start?" the boy asked her.

Chisame hid her face in her hands. These imbeciles were worse than 3-A! Why had she joined that stupid trip? Right now she could be still in Mahora, Hakase and Yotsuba and Rainyday weren't such bad company, and after a while you got used to Evangeline, and…

"Pssst, Chisame. Your turn," she heard Negi, elbowing her from the seat next to hers.

She looked at him with irritation. "What?"

The blond boy with a strong physique and a long tail was bowing at his new co-students. "Thank you for the warm welcome. You are all very nice," Ojiro Mashirao said formally, and returned to his desk.

Chisame blinked. She looked all around the room, noticed that everyone else had introduced themselves indeed, and sighed.

Chisame took her turn at bat. "My name is Hasegawa Chisame. I am a fan of computers, and I've been told that I know my way about hacking. I studied with Karakuri here and one of the students of 1-B before joining UA. I'm also the legal guardian of Negi."

"Don't you need to be of legal age to be anyone else's legal guardian?" Kaminari wondered.

"I was as surprised as you when I learned I was," Chisame put a finger on her forehead. "Sorry I'm not giving you a longer speech but I have a splitting headache for some reason."

"Hooray for Hasegawa-san!" Ochako pumped her fist up.

Chisame looked at her, surprised at that.

"You look like you could use the cheering. Didn't you like it?" Ochako said.

What did you even say to something like that?

---

"Well, now I'll give you a not legally obligatory, but regardless expected from me, introductory lecture on what heroism means, and what UA and society in general expect from you," Aizawa said after they all introduced themselves. His tone was if anything flatter than before.

He went on a large rant about the virtues of heroes and the legacy of do-gooding, one Izuku remembered reading in a book somewhere before. It was such a long lecture that Ashido fell asleep through it, not that Aizawa bothered to wake her up. Only Negi, Iida, and Yaoyoruzu paid attention to every word, taking notes, as even Chachamaru had gone into rest mode with her eyes playing small screen savers.

Bakugo folded his arms and grumbled to himself every minute of it, while Izuku was just confused. There was no passion in this man's voice, unlike what he had seen of Present Mic, so why was he even working at UA?

"- and as they all say, Plus Ultra," Aizawa finished the lecture just as the bell rang. Then he smiled, and it was an actual, if very tiny, smile. "Now that we have gotten that out of the way, the actual lessons for you start tomorrow."

Tsuyu prodded Ashido awake. "Uh? Huh? Wha? Wha? Wha?"

"Springfield," Aizawa said as most of the students began leaving. "Remember. Hatsume Mei, so she does something about that."

He nodded. "Of course, Sensei. But... Where is Tech Support anyway?"

Aizawa turned around and left the classroom. "If you can't find them on your own what are you doing trying to apply as a Pro?"

They looked after him. "Uh, well, excuse me," Negi said after he was far enough.

"I heard that," Aizawa said.

"I didn't mean to offend!"

"Who was that anyway?" Chisame asked Izuku as they left the class with Negi and Chachamaru. "I never saw him in any of the news."

"That's Eraser Head, the Quirk erasing hero," Izuku lectured them, finger wagging. "He isn't very popular since he acts during nights, hidden by the protective shadows. It took me a while recognizing him. What a honor! Receiving the cold shoulder from Eraser Head!"

"Eraser Head..." Negi said.

"With a name like that..." Chachamaru said as a thought balloon of a man with a head shaped like the eraser of a pencil appeared above her, "One would think of something like this..."

Chisame looked up at the thought balloon. "Isn't that a villain of Batman? By the way, Midoriya-san, why aren't you upset about Uraraka-san?"

"Why would I be upset with her?" Izuku asked.

"You know, because she has a purely mercenary interest on heroism. All she wants is money," Chisame said. "Wouldn't that go against your principles?"

He shrugged the question off and said "I follow my principles but I don't force anyone into following them, as long as they don't hurt anyone. If she wants money she has every right to it. Everyone has some entitlement to be paid over what they do!"

"You remind me of Chao-san's take on Capitalism," reminisced the robot.

"Chisame, you know about how Tatsumiya-san acts greedy all the time, don't you?" Negi asked.

"Everyone knows. What does that have to do with this?" asked Hasegawa.

Negi wagged his finger. "In truth, she invests most of the money she makes on the orphanage she grew up in. We don't know what Uraraka-san wants that money for, so we can't judge her motives."

Izuku smiled. "Exactly! Well, you've got to meet this Hatsume person, don't you? If you want me to, I can go with you..."

"No need for that, go get your room ready and we'll talk later," Negi laughed, waving at him. "It's been a long day and you need some rest!"

"If you say so. See you tomorrow, Negi-san," Izuku said, he and Chachamaru splitting from them with Chachamaru bowing at the others.

"The same applies to you, Chisame, if you want," Negi said.

She stuck with him. "I room with you, remember? I can't get rid of you even here. So what difference does that make?"

Negi smiled at her tsundereness. "Fine, let's see what this individual has to offer then..."

They arrived to the Technology Support wing after asking some students around, and from there it took a few more questions to locate the quarters of Hatsume Mei. The locals however appeared somewhat wary, for a lack of a better word, when giving information about her.

"Are you sure you want to go there?" was a common question. "Wouldn't you want to see Power Loader instead?"

They finally stopped before a wide and heavy metal door at the end of a hall. Chisame gulped. "This feels like the first time I roomed with Hakase!"

"You still can turn back," Negi said calmly, before putting his knuckles on the door and rapping gentle, since there was no bell to be seen.

"Identify yourself," said a muffled voice from inside the room.

"Negi Springfield, ma'am!" Negi said. "Aizawa Shota-sensei sent me..."

The doors opened themselves slowly, as a booming voice began blaring from their top.

"Introducing, the woman, the legend, the Ace of Robotics, the Empress of Invention, the Princess of Advanced Programming! Behold the brilliance and amazing brainpower of the one and only HATSUME MEI!"

The doors were fully open now, revealing a bipedal mech, heavily armed, that had been standing inside, with a young lady standing on top of it. She was very beautiful, with shoulder lenght pink hair, a large chest, bright golden eyes, and a shapely, fit body. Unlike Hakase's usual labcoats in her line of job, she wore a tight, sleeveless black top and baggy black pants over sturdy, black boots.

Hatsume Mei leaned ahead and grinned at them.

"Welcome to the World of Tomorrow...!"

"Oh, goodness," Negi said.

---

Next: The Dry Eye Syndrome, Part Two.

 

[OverMaster]

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

---

Quirky.

Part Five.

---

Hatsume Mei jumped off the robot, landing on her feet easily before them.

"So you are Negi Springfield!" she laughed and shook Negi's hand vigorously. "Let me see..." She felt his arm up and down. "Better muscle definition than I was expecting. I suppose you wouldn't have been accepted otherwise, though."

"Good afternoon, Hatsume-san, it's a real pleasure to-" he began.

She started ushering him in as the doors closed behind them. "The Principal himself called to explain the details of your case; you must be a quite relevant individual if he took a personal interest!" she feistily said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they walked. "Over there, the prototypes are already built so it's only a matter of testing them!"

Chisame didn't move from her spot. "Ahem!"

Hatsume looked back at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Hasegawa Chisame, his legal guardian."

"Then why are you standing there instead of coming with him?" Hatsume asked, starting to walk again. After a second of bristling, Chisame followed them. The pink haired student gestured at dozens and dozens of robots, vehicles, and bizantyne machinery lining up the walls of the gigantic workshop. And it was a workshop, rather than a laboratory; Chisame, whose apartment had been half turned into a laboratory by Hakase through the two years prior, could tell that difference. "These are all my babies! If anyone tries to claim otherwise they will lie, as collaborations are stored elsewhere! Which ones do you like best? Perhaps you'd like being told in lenght about them, before we-"

"Thanks, but we are on a tight schedule!" Chisame called out from behind the duo. Negi began sweating.

Hatsume rolled her eyes at her. "Don't tell me so. What a pity," she said, showing her none of the exhuberance she showed him.

Negi tried clearing his throat. "Hatsume-san... while all of these achievements look very impressive, the nature of my issue is... I dare saying that it is biological, but you appear to be a specialist on mechanics..."

"THE specialist on mechanics!" she wagged her finger. "You are right that I'm not going to 'cure' you, as I don't believe there's anything to be cured, and very clearly neither does the Principal. If your so called stripping sneezes are linked to your Quirk, it's for the best to find a way to contain them rather than attempting to eliminate them."

Negi nodded. Besides, it wasn't like anyone there would know how to solve that question of magical origins when nobody back at his world could.

She led him to a chair that looked too much like Old Sparky for Chisame's comfort. "Take a seat and relax," Hatsume said.

Negi sat down, and Hatsume opened a large metal filer standing next to the seat. She took out a light transparent artifact, rather similar to a nebulizer mask, and secured it on Negi's lower face. It covered his nose, mouth and chin. Almost gently, she clicked it in place, tugged on it to make sure it wouldn't fall off, and connected it to a hose coming from a square tank a few steps from them.

"Does it inconvenience your breathing?" Hatsume asked, stepping back. Chisame watched carefully.

"No, not at all," Negi said.

Hatsume put on a wicked grin. "Nor does it interrupt your vocalization! Just like I expected! Now to turn on the pepper." She pressed a button on the tank.

"Wait, did you just say... Pepper!" Negi shouted, the mask blowing onto his face, and he jerked ahead, sneezing at the top of his lungs. "ACHOOOOOOO!"

Before Chisame could even protest, she and Hatsume stood there, completely naked, and Negi covered his eyes, blushing. Chisame dropped to her knees and hugged her upper body. "Kyaaaaa!"

"Oh, it was completely obliterated, such a lung fortitude!" Hatsume marveled, leaning towards Negi without concern for her nudity.

"Please put some clothes on already!" he said.

"You are insane! I thought had met insane scientists but you are worse than either of them!" Chisame said, staying crouched on the floor. "I'm going to sue! I'll strip you of... that is, I'll take all the money you have!"

Hatsume reached into another drawer and pulled out two long lab coats, dropping one on Chisame and putting the other on, without bothering to button it up. "Put on this and stop whining." She grabbed another, sturdier looking 'nebulizer' and put it on the trembling Negi. "Model I was not quite up to the task, but I'll forgive you. Sometimes a few babies need to be disposed of for the sake of science!"

"I really hope you don't mean that literally, you freak!" Chisame shrieked, buttoning her coat up. "Let me out of here before you try again..."

Hatsume was pressing the button again already. "PEPPER!"

"ACHOOOOO!"

"YAAAAAAA!" Chisame said.

Hatsume flung another coat at her. "An interesting challenge!" She threw another coat over her own shoulders and put a third model on Negi's face, despite his protests. "Stay still and we'll end sooner so you can meet your schedule, Negi-san! PEPPER!"

"ACHOOOOOOO!"

"FUWAAAAAAA!" Chisame foamed off the mouth.

A fresh coat hit her on the face. "Ho ho ho, you won't beat me yet!" Hatsume boasted, leaning over Negi so his face was smothered between her breasts as she put another mask on him. "This is the Deluxe Edition! Ultralight, manufactured from state-of-arts materials, yet able to stand even heavy artillery fire at close distances! PEPPER!"

"ACHOOOOO!" Negi sneezed again, but this time, he didn't blew the mask off, nor the coats off the girls.

Chisame blinked. "... success?"

"Success!" Hatsume laughed.

Negi smiled and breathed out. "What a relief! Thank you, I can see how this would help, now please accept my apologies and let us-"

"Trying with a second dose! PEPPER!" Hatsume said maniacally, releasing more dust on Negi's nose.

"ACHOOOOOOOOO!"

"I HATE YOU!" Chisame said as they were stripped again.

Hatsume chuckled, turning around and looking for more coats, bending over so Negi had to avert his gaze. He already had seen everything regardless, but it was the spirit of the question.

"So it won't stand more than a single sneeze, that's fine, all you need is carrying spares on your costume, and as soon as you sneeze into one, switch to a fresh one." This time she did bother with all the buttons of the coat, and only then gave another to Chisame, as an afterthought. Hasegawa angrily snatched it from her. "I assume that you don't like me much for some reason?"

"GWLF!"

"But we have just met, what is the reason for that animosity?"

"GWLF!"

Hatsume shrugged. "To each their own." She smiled at the flushed Negi. And then she tapped on a side of the mask she was holding. "Each of these has a miniature radio so you can communicate with your teammates and the headquarters, without the need to use your hands. And if you don't want to have the enemy reading your lips as you speak, and frankly who would, this other button makes the surface opaque. Quite useful, isn't it!?"

Negi had to admit it was. "Th-Thank you, Hatsume-san..."

"I wouldn't advise you to wear them at all hours, though," Hatsume shook her finger. "Only on the battlefield."

"Why?" Chisame grumbled, standing back up.

"It's just not healthy, to wear a mask at all times, even though this one filters the air and cleans the atmosphere, maintaining a minimal weight." Hatsume sighed. "On the battlefield, it is a need, since many of your partners might rely on their costumes for maximum efficiency, and your sneezing could be a liability for them. But for everyday interactions, you should be fine just avoiding sneezing on them as much as you can. That is what you have done so far, isn't it?"

Negi nodded.

She gave him a pretty smile and pinched his cheek. "A good obedient soldier, I like that in a man! Especially since you now have to marry me, as you have seen me, a virginal innocent, naked."

"AAAAHHHH!?" Negi panicked.

Hatsume laughed. "As if! You have to be less naive, age nonwithstanding, or you'll be tricked easily by any two-bit villain, Negi-san!"

"I'll leave you living on the streets!" Chisame promised.

Ignoring her, Hatsume ranted to Negi. "I was told by the Principal that your sneezes didn't affect your own clothes, so I was expecting a less advanced, cheaper model would suffice, but it took the elite type to contain your youthful lungs! The academia's budget will survive it, I guess. If it always had been that easy, you always could have restrained them with a simple cloth mask anyway!"

Negi rubbed his nose. "To be honest, I had never thought of that."

"You never thought of minimizing the collateral you did on us?!" Chisame said.

Negi blushed.

"YOU HAVE LIKED SEEING US LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME, HAVEN'T YOU?!" Chisame roared.

"Of course not, Chisameeeeeeee...!"

"Of course yes, because you are a man, youuuuuuuu...!"

Hatsume looked back and forth between them. "Is that why you were so fast to accept that joke, Negi-san? Because she already tricked you into illegal marriage under the same pretenses?"

"You'll hear of my lawyers before weekend!" Chisame threatened. By the time she told All Might about this he'd surely be happy to pay her legal expenses!

"I'll add you to the list of lawsuits," Hatsume nodded, taking out an electric notepad and adding her to the end of a long sequence of names in it.