Chapter 62
"Change is a slow process"
Walking through the corridors of UA to her new classroom, Momo kept thinking about the last few weeks and all the mayhem that followed with it. Especially after the furious interrogation from her previous female classmates. The girls were extremely displeased with her sudden disappearance and silence about being a part of the Guardians program, to say the least. Although it took some time, they forgave her.
And that was just her own, personal problems. With everything that was happening outside, she was glad that she still had a few years to come to the pro hero scene. Well... Guardians were supposed to be more than your ordinary hero, but the point was still made.
For now, she could enjoy her, however, limited free time without a worry.
Although...
"Izuku? Why does your tie look like... this?" She asked her boyfriend, whose face begin to heat up a little. Looking at the weird way the aftermentioned article of clothing was tied, Momo didn't know what to make of it. It looked ridiculous and silly, completely unsuiting her lover.
"Erm..." Came the overly intelligent answer from Izuku.
"Didn't you know? He can't tie a tie to save his life." Mei chirped in from her side, looking a tad amused at the situation.
"Come on... it's not that bad." Her boyfriend tried to argue, toying with the end of his tie.
"There was a time when you've spent good twenty minutes to get it done correctly, after which you just threw it across the room." Her girlfriend added, sounding strangely fond of this memory.
Izuku let out a whine and hid his face in his hands. "I just can't get it. Mom tried to teach me, Stan attempted to teach me, but both failed." He confessed with a sigh.
"What about your father?" Momo asked, suspecting the negative answer.
"Oddly enough, he apologized, saying that it's his genes at work." Izuku replied, causing her and Mei to snort. So it was a Midoriya thing.
Stopping the walk, she turned to her boyfriend and undid the knot. Taking her time, she tied it, showing great meticulousness about her self-imposed task.
"Hmmm... I guess we could make a baby that would do it for you." Mei mumbled, her gaze stuck in the horizon, most likely already entertaining the idea of such machine.
Momo hummed at it, this invention surely would be helpful to hopeless men and women, who can't tie their ties. "No, I don't mind doing it." She replied in a thoughtful tone.
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked, quirking his brow.
She smiled a little, finished a knot and moved it up to the collar of his shirt. Laying her palms against his chest, she pushed them down with deliberate slowness to make sure that everything was straight. Which came with an added benefit of feeling his muscles. In the end, she grabbed the knot and held it up, making Izuku stand on his toes, and stole a kiss. "Quite sure." She stated, knowing that she made her Mistress proud.
Her boyfriend, who at first was a bit puzzled by her actions, grew a smirk on his face. "Thank you, Kitten."
Before she could retort, a rustle of clothes reached her ears. Turning to the side, she caught her girlfriend who untied her tie and flashed her a giant grin. Shaking her head in amusement, she repeated the process, this time getting a pleasant feel of Mei's curves.
Arriving at the classroom, the three of them paused for a moment. This was it, the first step on the new chapter in their lives.
Opening the door, Momo did a quick check-up on the style of a room. It looked precisely like 1-A classroom, just with fewer desks. Even most of the faces were familiar.
"Ah! Yaoyorozu-san, Hatsume-san, Midoriya-san, good morning to you!" Iida-san shouted, standing upright. "Although I must say that you're pretty late. There are only four minutes before the lesson begins, and we, UA students..." The teen continued, waving his hand around in his typical, robotic fashion.
For better or worse, Momo just tuned it out. By now, she knew by heart how it went.
"And there he goes again." Toshi grumbled from his sit, stiffening a yawn.
"You get used to it after some time." Kaminari-san replied with a chuckle.
"No, you don't." Todoroki-san countered, his eyes not leaving a page from his book 'Friendship 101. Guide for dummies'.
"I'm going to sound like a hypocrite, but 1-A sure had some eccentric characters." Kendo-san stated flatly, gazing at the scene with incredible expression.
"Like Kaminari-san said, you get used to it." Momo said, sitting next to the girl.
Making a quick headcount, she spotted something weird — an open sit. But as far as she knew only four passed or rather decided to join after passing the Exam. And the UA students were informed about it two days ago. Was it someone from outside the school, who made the last-minute decision? No use thinking about it now, the mystery would unfold itself soon enough.
"Kendo-san, did no one else from your class decided to join?" Momo asked, wanting to kill time with a simple but pleasant conversation.
The girl looked at her a bit bashfully and scratched her neck. "Well... I won't quote some of the comments made, but those who did pass it were somewhat dubious about keeping up with the program. That or scared." She said truthfully, smiling a bit uneasy.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying." Kaminari-san said, apparently listening to them. "The rest of the 1-A also had mixed feelings about it."
"Mineta dropped out." Todoroki-san added nonchalantly.
"Yes, he seemed very stressed with the way the exam played." Iida-san stated. "It's a shame, he still could stay and..."
"No." Came the joint answer from everyone in the room except Kendo-san. Thank god for being merciful.
"Wait, weren't you a buddy-buddy with him, Kaminari?" Mei asked with a slight edge in her voice.
The boy jumped a little, quickly shaking with his head. "I mean... at the beginning of a year, he seemed like a pretty chill guy to hang around, and he liked to goof out. But after actually paying attention to how he behaved and things he said, I thought that it would be better to stop it." The teen said hastily. "I think with all the things that happened lately, it was too much pressure for him. So he decided to drop out and travel around the world or something."
"Around the world?" Toshi asked, quirking a brow. "Did he said why?"
She saw that Iida-san wanted to answer that, but was beaten by Todoroki-san. "If you count out all of the sexual content, then you could say that he was rather silent about it."
"Todoroki-san!" Iida-san screamed in outrage.
"When did you learn how to be humourous?" Her friend continued a slight grin on his face.
The two-toned boy paused for a second, looking up. "Yesterday." He said in an attempt to joke. Considering that he got a snicker from Kendo-san, Momo counted it as a success.
Before the talk could go further, the door opened and through Aizawa-sensei walked in, dressed in a suit. If her memory served right, it was the same one he had during the press conference. Momo had to admit, the man cleaned up nicely.
"Alright, let's get this going." Aizawa-sensei stated without an ounce of energy.
"Sensei, if I may?" Iida-san called, raising his hand up. "I don't want to sound overly inquiring, but why are you here and not in 1-A?"
Momo shared a look with her lovers and friend as they already knew the reason.
"Due to numerous reasons that would take too long to count out, I was chosen to be a caretaker for you." The man replied with a sigh. "Any other questions not regarding the Guardians? We're still waiting for the principal to arrive with the last person."
Momo tuned out the talks, her mind latching onto the teacher's speech. Something about his phrasing put her off. Looking around, she saw that Izuku, Mei and Toshi also caught it.
"And this will be your classroom." The principal called, walking into the room. Following him were...
"Meli?!" Mei shouted with glee, jumping from her seat.
Blinking away her sudden shock, Momo herself confirmed that it was indeed the one and only Melissa Shield, dressed in UA's student uniform, standing in a doorway. The girl gave them a wave, smiling a little.
"You know her?" Came a whisper from Kendo-san.
"Yes, we met her at I-Island. She's a good friend." Momo replied, waving back to the girl.
Not wanting to gain Aizawa-sensei's ire, she kept quiet but followed with her eyes as for where... Oh, what a delightful surprise for the only empty desk to be right next to Toshi. And both of them blushed! It was going to be so fun to tease the two of them till the end of times.
Wow, Midnight screwed her mind really good.
"Right, let's get this going." Aizawa-sensei stated, releasing a tired sigh. "To answer the question that's bugging some of you. Miss Shield was accepted here as a person who's going to be your eyes and ears during various operations. She's here to get familiarised with you, allowing the team to build trust in her person."
"So you're like our overseer?" Kaminari-san asked, looking at the girl in question.
"Oh, yes. I'll also help you with your gear, be it inventing or maintenance. But..." Melissa replied, looking at the principal, who was already sitting on Aizawa-sensei's shoulder.
"Young Shield set her sight at becoming a full-fledged Guardian in the future; therefore, she's going to be taking a more active part in your training, besides managing the comms." Nezu-sensei announced cheerfully.
Momo watched Aizawa-sensei sigh with an amusement. The man looked like he was about to be done with all of this, most likely regretting agreeing to play a part in Guardian Initiative.
"I'm glad that I was notified ahead of time about it." The mas stated dryly, shifting his gaze at Meli. "We'll manage something to get you in shape if you're willing to go all the way through with it."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now... As you're all aware, things changed." Aizawa-sensei said gravely, gaining everyone's attention. "After everything that happened with Quirkless Hero Ban and truth about Endeavour's doing, not only Japan started to look closer at their heroes." The man stepped to the side as a slide projector came to live, displaying numerous pieces of information. "United Korea, England, the USA, Europe, a bigger part of Africa, and many more are inspecting their heroes for any signs of corruption and foul plays. It hasn't been two weeks, and already numerous agencies were closed, heroes' licences were suspended or wholly revoked, with some instances taken as far as to the court. So starting off today..." Aizawa-sensei paused, looking them straight in the eyes. "You're not high school students."
Momo managed to blink before all the hell broke. The loudest cry of shock came from Iida-san, which wasn't that surprising. She saw Izuku look at her, confusion marring his face. Momo answered with a shake of her head - she didn't remember anything about it. Gazing ahead, she saw Nezu-sensei and Aizawa-sensei waiting patiently.
"Iida-san, if you could." Kendo-san called the boy, signalling him to sit down.
"I won't lie to you." Eraserhead started. "You staying here, playing students, is in part a ruse to pull the wool over society eyes. The moment you said 'yes' to become Guardians, your everyday life ended. When your peers learn about history, you'll learn how to disarm the bomb. Their free time activities are your training with specialists. When they go on the streets to gain some work experience, you will be stoping organized crimes around the world." The man paused for a second. "There's no sugar coating it, the whole world is a mess right now, and many people are counting on you. Not only to ensure that everyone's life is slightly more peaceful but to set new standards... Yes, Kaminari?"
The boy scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. "I get that a lot is going on, but how do we do it? Prove ourselves to people?"
"One way to do it, would be by taking SNHQT." Todoroki-san chimed in.
A laugh escaped from Nezu-sensei, who looked greatly amused for some reason. "You will face something harder."
"Harder?" Mei questioned, swallowing involuntarily.
"Life itself." Aizawa-sensei stated. "Your success or failure as Guardians will be what dictates the next changes in our world. This is by far the most crucial thing our superhuman society will face, with you at its centre."
Talk about a weigh on one's shoulder. They knew that the Guardians Initiative would be a game-changer. Still, just now Momo clearly understood what the stakes are.
"Sir, if I may." Kendo-san called, gaining a nod from Eraserhead. "You've mentioned that we're going to learn things from specialists. What kind of things are we talking about? And I mean no disrespect, but if Guardians are so important then why are you appointed as our caretaker? Why not someone with more... experience in the field?"
"I agree with Kendo-san. It seems like a strange choice." Todoroki-san added.
Aizawa-sensei shuffled his papers, before settling on one and glancing through it. "The specialists will come from numerous fields. They will teach you how to deal with explosives and firearms, will show you how to strategize and plan. And so on. As for my person..."
Nezu-sensei giggled loudly, cutting off Aizawa-sensei. "I know that Eraser here may look like someone out of his depth, but trust me, when I say that he's one of the best for the job. Why is that? Because he's responsible for creating one of Japan's best functioning underground communication system!"
That was something new. While Momo never doubted that the man wasn't resourceful, she clearly didn't expect that.
"It actually makes sense." Toshi said lazily.
"How so?" Kaminari-san asked.
"Present Mic can use his radio station as a cover-up for encrypted messages. He's popular around all of Japan, so no one will think that it's strange if he addresses someone living in Hokkaido or on one of the many islands. Furthermore, Midnight has her perfume company, which could be used to send packages or other information via her firm."
The room stayed silent, all eyes focused at the boy, who remained still and reached behind his neck to scratch it.
"I had a passing interest in cryptology."
"It's a good thing that you're keeping the secret for that communication system under lock and key, Eraser. Anyone with young Shinsou's knowledge would crack it." Nezu-san stated clearly entertained.
"He was right!?" Mei and Kaminari-san shouted.
"Regardless of that... My presence here is also a part of a ruse to fool society." Aizawa-sensei stated, clearing his throat. "Moving on. We need you to decide on your team leaders. You need to choose people who you can trust, who would have the ability to make quick and sometimes tough calls."
Trust and tough calls, huh? That required a charismatic people, who are quickwitted and can listen to others opinion—someone who will be able to grasp everyone's attention and stay strong in the times of need. Who to choose?
"I think that Midoriya and Yaoyorozu should do it." Kaminari-san said brightly.
"Yeah! Izuku and Momo would be the best for it." Mei added, nodding enthusiastically.
"I see, they did prove themselves during I-Island crisis." Iida-san chimed in.
"I think that they're the most reliable from all of us. No offence." Todoroki-san stated with his usual straight face.
Momo's brows rose up. She couldn't decide if she was surprised by it or flattered. Most likely both. But that also made her nervous. The pressure of getting all of that responsibility, of being in a position to make a life and death calls... Would she be able to face it?
"Boss and boss's girlfriend, huh? I can get behind that." Toshi said lazily, giving them once over.
"I don't know you very well, but seeing what happened at the camp, I think that you'll be the best choice." Kendo-san declared, making a thumbs-up.
"Without you two, the I-Island would be a mess. So you have my vote." Meli added with a smile.
How could she say no to them after all of it? They already were showing that they'd go to hell and back with her and Izuku as their commanders. Looking at her boyfriend, who also was flabbergasted, she nodded at him.
"I don't think we've much of choice now." Izuku said with a curt laugh.
"Me neither... You're the leader, and I'm your vice." She quickly announced before he could protest.
"Fair." He replied with a shrug. "As for the first order as your leaders... From now on, we're using each other's names."
"Isn't that a bit too forward?" Kendo-san asked, blushing a little.
"While it may seem like that, I think that it's a great idea that will allow us to get more familiarised and comfortable with each other. Great thinking, Midoriya! Ah no, Izuku!" Tenya announced, waving his hands around.
She and Izuku watched the lively conversation between others with strained smiles. They didn't want to burst the bubble saying that it's the best way to not get a weird nickname from their beloved girlfriend. No matter how funny they were.
"Alright, settle down." Aizawa-sensei called. "There's one more thing before I send you back to the dorms."
"Send us back?" Mei asked, knitting her brows.
"Yes, there are still some matters regarding Guardians that Nezu and I need to attend to. Besides, it'll be one of your last free weekends, so make sure to enjoy it."
Suddenly the door opened, and through them, Mirio-senpai and All Might walked in. It was still weird to see the Symbol of Peace in his frail state. To think that the man had to live like that for the last few years.
"We're not late, right?" Yagi-san asked.
"For once, you're right on time." Aizawa-san replied, before shifting his focus back to them. "The last thing that comes from being the Guardians is that you'll be able to learn some of the secrets. Stay put and listen well."
Himiko waited patiently on the rooftop, overseeing the parking lot. Today was a slow day, with not many people showing up in the hospital. Which was very good in her opinion. Her gaze landed involuntarily on the nearby trees. The dark green leaves reminded her of Izuku's eye colour and his hair highlights. Damn, there she goes, distracting herself again with thoughts about her crash. As pleasant as they were, she needed to focus.
"This is the nest. Each team give me your status." She called through the radio, speaking in Chinese.
"This is Alpha, we're good to go."
"Bravo, we're ready."
"Charlie here, we're done securing the escape."
Himiko nodded to herself, checking the time on her watch. If everything went smoothly she would have to, regretfully, go back to those League of Losers tonight. At least her master told her that soon they'd say goodbye to this group. Small graces. "Copy that. All teams, operation 'A doctor's visit' is a go."
When Izuku woke up that day, he was prepared to face the unknown that the Guardians were. The closest thing to it would be the European League of Heroes. This idea came during the second generation of Quirks. Still, due to some political conflicts of interest between many countries, it quickly went up in flames. After that was south coast of Africa with its Africa's Vanguard, but the significant crime rate and not enough funding made it impossible to continue.
In a sense, the Guardians Initiative was a second major project that was to unite the world since Quirks came to play. I-Island being the first.
And he was supposed to be the team leader. Izuku knew that he could be bossy, sometimes over the top, but this was different. If he screwed up, made a bad call or was indecisive, then all of them could be end up dead. The only reason that he allowed himself to direct the action during the Training Camp rescue mission was that he had a few minutes to analyze the situation and consider all of the what-ifs. He agreed mostly because everyone trusted him. A trust that he hoped he wouldn't drag through the mud.
And now he was getting looks of astonishment and awe from other team members. All because Yagi-san just had to say that he was one of the candidates for One For All.
"Wow... who would have known that the thing like this existed." Kaminari, no, Denki said, looking at All Might and Mirio-senpai with an owlish gaze.
"I get you." Itsuka whispered, having a similar expression.
"Just remember kids, don't go and spill this secret." Yagi-san reminded in a grave tone.
"To be honest, I don't think it's a secret anymore. It feels more like information with how many people know about it." Toshi stated bluntly making All Might blush a little.
"Erm... Uncle Might, a question from another end. Now that you can't be active as a hero, what are you planning to do?" Melissa asked.
"That's... That's a good question actually." Yagi-san replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I was thinking about continuing as a teacher, but I'm not entirely sure."
Izuku smiled a little. "Than how about becoming the first captain of Urania?" he said with a jovial tone.
"I see, having someone as All Might in Guardian would surely come with an excellent benefit for PR. Good thinking, Izuku!" Tenya shouted, waving with his hand.
"Add to that a valuable experience that All Might could give the staff on the ship and us." Shoto added.
"I... I don't know what to say. I don't even know anything about being a captain." Yagi-san replied with astonishment.
"Don't worry, they're still selecting the staff to man the ship, and everyone will have to go through the training to run it." Izuku added with a polite smile.
"I agree with Midoriya. As much as it pains me, having you on board will be beneficial to us in the long run." Aizawa-san grumbled, clearly struggling with words.
"I'll think about it." Yagi-san said with a smile. "Now, Young Mirio and I need to get going. Thank you all for your time."
Once the door closed, Aizawa-san clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention. "Now, we'll end here. Nezu-sensei and I still have some things to do regarding Guardians. As for you, read through the files that were sent to you and enjoy your weekend. It'll be one of the last free ones that you're going to get for a while. You're all dismissed."
"Everyone, let's head to the dorms. The newcomers will have to unpack all of your things. Then we can relax with a movie." Momo said as she rose up.
The group made its way out of the class, everyone starting to chatter, exchanging their reaction about the meeting. Izuku himself stayed relatively quiet, occasionally adding a bit here and there. His mind was on the flash stick from professor Shield and its content. He only got a sneak peek at it, during the last few days, but he was already trying to piece together the puzzle inside.
He almost fell, when Denki, who was walking ahead of him, abruptly stopped. Following the teen's gaze, he saw Kirishima-san standing next to the wall with a troubled and awkward expression. He looked like he wanted to say something, but whenever he opened his mouth, he quickly closed it.
"Kirishima." Denki started with a strong voice. "If you want to be a hero, you need to think about what really matters." The boy said, before beginning to walk again.
"What was that about?" Itsuka asked, sending Denki a curious glance.
"He's beating himself up for failing the Exam. As far as I know, he was doing it only because he hoped that Guardians are going after League of Villains."
"It's about Bakugo, right?" Shoto questioned nonchalantly.
"Kirishima-kun always tried to get to Bakugo while he was in school. He seemed to see something in him." Tenya answered, stroking his chin.
"Well, as long as Kirishima-san finds what he needs to it's fine." Momo stated, ending the conversation.
Arriving at the dormitory, they were welcomed by the stacks of suitcases and cardboards with the names on them.
"Why don't you guys unpack, while girls, Toshi and I make food." Izuku proposed, already marching to the kitchen.
"Excellent idea, Izuku! Now everyone let's get going." Tenya exclaimed, grabbing his stuff and walking towards stairs.
"So..." Izuku started looking at the rest. "Who can cook?" While he wasn't a novice at cooking, there was a chance that someone was better than him.
"My mom said that I'm forbidden to step into the kitchen." Mei said with a smile.
Somehow he wasn't surprised by it.
Momo opened her mouth, then quickly shut it, her face momentarily going from green to red and meek. "I can't." She finally admitted with resignation in her voice.
With a hopeful look, he switched his gaze to Toshi. The boy scratched the base of his neck for a few moments.
"I know how to not cut myself with a knife." The teen admitted after a moment.
Better than nothing. So something relatively simple and tasty... Katsudon it was. Yes, it was his favourite dish, but also the one he knew the most.
Preparing the meal, and making sure that Mei accidentally didn't create a bomb, Izuku's mind kept going towards the undeniable and obnoxious problem.
The palladium, while doing its job, wasn't a sufficient material to power the armour for long periods. Even now he was on the bring of upgrading his armour to second Arc Reactor. And the added bulk wasn't precisely what he was after. He preferred the slick look that his armour had.
Other than that was the weaponization part. While Izuku wished he could avoid it, it was a pipe dream. There were people out there who didn't fear to use lethal forces to accomplish their goals. He still would be more on the side of capturing. Still, a few devices would need to be made with an intent to completely and utterly eradicate the target.
Wow, that was dark. Necessary but dark.
After the meal was completed, during which some more pleasant talk happened, everyone gathered in the living room, getting comfortable on the couches.
"So, what are we going to watch?" Itsuka asked.
"I think that going with a theme we should watch something about the superheroes." Denki proposed smiling lightly.
"The theme?" Shoto questioned, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly.
"I think that he's referring to us being the Guardians." Mei replied. "I'm cool with that."
Seeing the rest nodding at the proposition and hearing some titles form the current era being thrown out, Izuku took the opportunity and plugged his USB stick into the laptop connected to the TV. Standing up and clapping his hands, he gathered everyone attention.
"If we're going to watch superheroes movies, then how about we see something old school." He said, his smile growing bigger and bigger when he saw everyone agreeing to his idea. He caught the sight of Momo and Mei looking at him with the knowing looks. Ah, they already know what was going to happen. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to your new religion." Izuku said as Alan started playing the first movie from MCU - Iron Man.
A/N:
I AM... UPLOADING THIS CHAPTER WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECTED IT!
Hey guys, it's been a while. My fault, well, kind of. You see I was busy with a job hunt, then I got the job, and it absolutely wrecked my daily schedule. But now I'm slowly, but surely doing my best to find the time to write again. Also, this chapter was so hard to write, without making it an info dump. I'm not sure if I succeeded in it or no, but here it is.
If anyone is interested in something a bit more... magical please try my other story - The Arcana of the Universe.
In any case, be well everyone and see you in the next upgrade.
OMAKE
Shota came late in the night to his new room in the dormitory for the teachers. The day was full of meetings with various people, making his head spin from all those talks. He felt like he already forgot half of what they were about—something regarding Guardians. Why did he agree to is again?
He grunted from exhaustion, looking at the sleeping forms of his wife and husband. His eyes wandered towards the Nerumi's stomach, where the small bulge was already visible.
That's the reason - for his future children. For them, he agreed to partake in this madness.
Children... This made him involuntary think about the Guardians themselves. Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Hatsune and Shinsou. Those four were the cornerstone of it—the typical Problem Children. Then came Todoroki and Kaminari. Those two became close with the four, especially Midoriya. Another two Problem children. Iida, another case, thanks to his stunt with a Hero Killer. Shield... young and ambitious, also close to the four Problem Children, making her most likely another one.
Holy cats were Guardians full of Problem Children?! No, wait, Kedo. Kendo seemed normal. What did Vlad say about her? Headstrong, smart, diligent worker... prone to violence when pissed off.
Shota released a silent cry. This was his punishment for all those students that he expelled. A group full of Problem Children...
Shit.