Naomi Ishii stood in front of a group of well-dressed men and women within the walls of the Kakegawa City courthouse.
Standing to her right was her parole officer Naomasa Tsukauchi and sitting on the bench behind her were her son Samuru Ishii along with her best friend Nemuri Kayama.
An older man with thinning salt and pepper hair wearing a grey business suit sat at the center of a five-person group behind a long desk across the room from the redheaded mother. The older man leaned forward and spoke into a microphone, "Officer Tsukauchi please step forward."
Said officer squared his shoulders and took five long strides forwards towards a podium sitting just ten feet away from the group sitting behind the desk.
"Please state your name and position officer." The older man requested.
"Naomasa Tsukauchi, I am a deteictive in the National Police Force."
"And will you state for the record why you are serving as a parole officer for Naomi Ishii?" A young woman with brown hair and square glasses asked sitting to the older man's right.
Tsukauchi cleared his throat, "before my promotion I was assigned to Ishii-san as a parole officer. It was agreed that I remain as such after promotion as my assignments did not require me to leave Kakegawa for long periods of time."
The group of five nodded amongst themselves for a moment, as one amongst them wrote on a document. "Officer Tsukauchi. Is it of your professional opinion that miss Ishii still represents any danger to the public?" The older man sitting at the center of the group asked.
The detective shook his head. "I do not believe so, in the twelve years that she has been on parole. I have not once seen her attempt to violate the mandates placed upon her, and she has been proactive in informing me or the parole office of any change that may affect our ability to contact her. Furthermore, she has expressed great remorse for her actions and has proven to be willing to redeem herself."
Another man with short black hair sitting on the older man's left asked. "So you will approve of the court's decision to remove Miss Ishii's quirk inhibitor and lift her ban from being allowed to work as a pro hero?"
Tsukacuhi nodded, "I approve most wholeheartedly."
The group talked amongst themselves for a moment before the older man spoke once again. "Thank you detective you may step back now." He then turned to the redhead "Naomi Ishii please step forward."
Naomi gulped and took two steps forward until she was behind the podium.
"Naomi Ishii, it is in this court's opinion that you have paid your debt to society. We do hereby declare your parole has been served and lift your ban from using your quirk. You may now apply for the hero's license exam should you wish to return to your pro hero duties."
She heard Nemuri and her son cheer from behind. "Thank you," she bowed lowly.
Tsukauchi stepped forward with a key in his hand, "stay out of trouble now." The detective said with a smile.
The quirk inhibitor that had been her shackle for twelve long years was unlocked with a hiss of escaping air and clanked onto the wooden podium.
Naomi rubbed her wrist, noting that the cuff had left a mark of very pale skin from where it had sat on her wrist every single day for twelve years. She took a deep breath as she felt a rush of power invigorate her.
Her purple eyes shone with delight as she felt a familiar presence appear behind her. "I've missed you girl," Naomi whispered.
Hovering behind her was a tall translucent being that resembled Naomi but with a few marked differences. The spirit's skin was platinum white, its hair a dark violet, while its eyes glowed emerald green. The being wore golden pauldrons and a matching golden breastplate, on its head was an obsidian circlet with a glowing red opal inlaid like a third eye in the middle of the being's forehead. The being also wore golden armor legging and boots under a skirt of brown leather.
"This case is now closed, congratulations on your earned freedom Miss Ishii." Said the older man before the group stood and began to file out of the room.
Nemuri rushed over and threw her arms around her friend. "I'm so happy for you!" She cried with a large smile.
Samuru joined them and hugged her waist, "congratulations, ma"
Naomi's smile couldn't get any bigger as she held her best friend in one arm and her son in the other. "It feels like I just regrew a whole limb," she admitted.
"What are you going to do now?" Nemuri asked.
"Now, well I want to kick some rust off right now, but then… I don't know."
The purple-haired woman hugged her friend tighter, "you don't have to come back if you don't want to. But like I said you'll always be welcomed in my agency."
Tsukauchi then stepped forward. "All Might has asked me to inform you that you are also welcomed in his agency as well. But as Kayama-san has said, please don't feel pressured to return if that is not your wish."
Noami nodded, "I'll think about it. For now…let's just go get something to eat."
"Yes, Aunty Nemuri's paying!" Samuru cheered.
"Hey, I never said that!"
"Don't care, didn't ask, plus you're rich" Samuru said sticking his tongue at the pro hero.
"You best put that tongue away or else I'll teach you where to put it!"
"Oh, on God? Well in that case." He stuck his tongue out ever further.
Naomi sighed, "both of you quit it. Seriously Nemuri there is a cop literally right here."
Nemuri chuckled sheepishly, "just a bit of banter officer."
Tsukauchi hummed, "best keep those comments to yourself next time. Banter or not lewd comments to a minor is still a crime."
"I-I wasn't, I was implying washing his mouth with soap, honest."
The detective raised an unconvinced eyebrow, "uh-huh."
"Honest."
Naomi and Samuru snorted as they walked away with the officer in tow.
"I'm serious…"
The three ignored her as they continued to walk out of the courtroom.
"Guys…ya gotta believe me…Guys?"
No one believed her.
________________________________________________________
The blazing summer heat beat down on Naomi's sweat-matted crimson hair as she flexed her fists.
The forty trees in front of her were all felled by the swift strength of her many hundred consecutive punches and now that all remained were stumps and splinters. The friction of her attack was so much that a few of the stumps caught fire and were now smoldering piles of ash.
She smirked, half a year since her quirk had been returned to her and now she was nearly back at top form.
"I do hope that will be your last demonstration, I do not wish for you to destroy the entire forest," Itachi said as he approached her with an exasperated sigh.
Naomi looked back with a sheepish smile, "sorry Sensei, got carried away a bit."
The retired hero raised his hand and poked her in the forehead, "sometimes I question if you've ever matured from that impulsive tsundere tomboy."
"I was not tsundere." She denied.
Itachi gave her an unconvinced look, "please. Do I have to show you the video again?"
Naomi narrowed her eyes, "you said you incinerated that disk and deleted all the files."
The Uchiha shrugged, "I never said such a thing, it was just implied that it was all gone after you threatened to castrate that poor Yamada boy who made it."
She humphed in annoyance, "don't you have some bingo or something to do old man?"
"I'm the tea-drinking type of old man, not the grumpy gambler, you know that already little tomato."
Naomi narrowed her eyes at the old nickname, she had far since outgrown the title yet her Sensei would still use it to get a rise out of her, she hated that it worked. "You wanna go again, old man?"
Itachi shook his head, "I'm afraid not. These old bones only have a few spars a day in them and I already spared with Samuru three times."
The redhead huffed, "fine, you're no fun."
The old man shook his head with a chuckle, "come I've made some tea, you've been out here for hours." He said before walking back towards his home.
Naomi followed her Sensei, as they both approached the house they saw Samuru sitting out front underneath a tree with a book laying forgotten on his lap as the boy appeared to be transfixed on something to his left.
She narrowed her eyes to try and see what her son was staring at but for the life of her, she could not see. "Sam, Sensei made tea," Naomi called.
Samuru jumped in place, wide purple eyes looking around startled.
Naomi raised a brow at his reaction and took a few steps toward him. "What's got you all jumpy?" She glanced at the book in his lap, she couldn't read what it was from her angle. Was her son reading something dirty right there in front of their Sensei's house in the middle of the day?
That seemed extremely out of character for him, even for someone who's been partially corrupted by her pervert best friend. But then again he was a growing boy and teenage boys were not known for their excess of wisdom.
"What are you reading?" She asked as she walked closer.
Samuru turned to her, "you guys didn't see that?"
His question stopped her, "see what?"
Her son frowned, "I don't know. Some weird black cloud thing, it's been showing up on occasion for a while now."
Itachi stepped forward and scanned the surrounding area with his Sharingan, "I don't see anything."
Naomi felt worried to begin to bubble in her stomach, if Itachi could not see a trace of what this thing was then it was either capable of circumventing the Sharingan in some way or her son was seeing things.
She would honestly feel better if it was some weirdo with a strange scouting quirk than the latter option. If her son was benign to show signs of mental instability then the damage he could do to himself and others could be catastrophic at best.
Samuru shook his head, "It's probably nothing."
"How many times has this strange phenomenon appeared?" Itachi questioned.
The young redhead shrugged, "I've only seen it like five or six times in total when I'm awake."
"Awake?" Naomi pressed.
Samuru looked away from her, "it's showed up in a recurring dream a few times."
Itachi frowned, "how many times and how often?"
"I think like…four times? It doesn't show up on a schedule or anything, I think the last time I dreamed of it was probably like three months ago."
Naomi and Itachi shared a concerned look.
"Does this cloud ever talk to you?" She asked.
When Samuru once again avoided eye contact she felt her anxiety churn inside of her stomach.
Naomi crossed the distance between him and Samuru and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Samuru, what does this cloud say?"
He looked up at her, "nothing really, just…nothing. Like jumbled whispers and stuff."
"Are you sure, it doesn't tell you to do anything? Doesn't promise you anything? Doesn't Identify itself in any way?" Naomi pressed.
"No, just whispers that aren't even in language."
She looked her son in the eyes they held eye contact for a full minute before she pulled her hand away. "Okay, but tell me if it does okay?"
Samuru nodded.
Naomi ruffled his hair, "now go back inside with Itachi Sensei, I'll be inside in a minute."
He eyed her for a second before standing up and walking towards Itachi's house.
Once his back was turned Naomi frowned. Samuru had just done something he had never done in all of his life, and it felt as if she was just punched him straight in the gut.
"He lied to me." She whispered.
_______________________________________
Naomi hauled a large two-hundred-pound box over her head with little effort and made her way towards the back of the waiting semi-truck. The cold winter chill nipped at her face as she walked past other workers, idly she pulled at the red scarf Samuru had given her for Christmas a few days ago.
With a grunt, she dropped the wooden box at the back of the truck, causing the vehicle to wobble as she did. Naomi had quit her corner store job a few years ago for a higher-paying warehouse position, and while the benefits were great and the hours weren't that terrible. She couldn't help but feel empty as the days began to blur into a monotonous drone of packaging, labeling, and hauling hundreds of packages a day.
Her quirk being given back to her made her work ten times more efficient, she didn't use her astral self but her enhanced strength that came with the power did help. Her manager took note and had given her a raise, well only after she demanded it of course but the fact that she was able to get it without threatening to unionize was progress in her eyes.
"Ey Naomi, me and the boys were wondering if you wanted to come to join us for poker tonight." A large man with a rhinoceros head offered.
She gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I can't Juzo, my son and I are going to watch the robot fight tonight."
Juzo's eyes widened. "Woah really, how did you get tickets? Those things sell out in hours."
"I know a guy." She said vaguely.
"Well have fun, I heard this one's supposed to be the best one since the Colossus of Rhodes got turned to slag a few years ago."
Naomi grinned, "I plan on it."
________________________________________
The Mecha Arena of Kakegawa City was a huge domed complex half a mile in diameter and eight hundred feet tall with over two hundred thousand seating capacity. It was the largest arena in all of Japan and among the top five in the world.
Naomi did not want to risk losing Samuru in such a giant crowd so she had him perched on her right shoulder like a little pale goblin, his words not hers.
"You're wearing your inhibitor right?" She asked as she parted the mass of people with her intimidating physique, being a goliath of a woman had its perks.
"Yeah, still wish I didn't have to though," Samuru grumbled.
"We'll try it out after the fight, but not right now. We don't want to give you a headache and ruin the night."
"Sounds fair." Her son admitted.
"Excuse me, Ishii-san, Ishii-san over here!" A voice called from over the crowd near the tunnel entrance that lead towards the seating.
She followed the voice until she stood before a well-dressed man in a black suit and matching black gloves with his mid-length orange hair slicked back by greasy hair gel while his short pencil mustache was neatly trimmed.
The stranger smiled, "ah there you are. Mistress Midnight apologizes that she is not able to meet with you tonight, I'm afraid a villain had taken a group of people hostage and she was the first to respond." The man said in a refined accent.
Naomi raised a brow, "and why did she send you and not just call me?"
"Her phone was destroyed by the villain's magnetic quirk, I was tasked with coming here and informing you of the unfortunate news."
"Are you one of her sidekicks or something?" Samuru asked.
"Oh my where are my manners, I am Rejiro Osada, also known as the Heartman and most trusted servant of Mistress Midnight." Rejiro introduced himself with a bow.
Naomi snapped her fingers in recognition, "you're that kid who got second place at the sports festival the year after we graduated. You got that quirk that can slow a person's heart rate with just a touch."
Rijiro smiled, "ah yes, that was a most pleasant time in my youth."
"Yo, it's cool and all that you came and everything. But the fight is gonna start in like fifteen minutes." Samuru reminded.
"Of course, best I do not disappoint my mistress." The man turned on his heel and led them further down the stairs and towards the empty seats situated in the direct middle of the arena near the front. Only ten feet away from the large clear wall that lined the outside of the arena that was four hundred feet high and five feet thick.
"Thanks, Osada-san," Naomi said as she plucked Samuru off her shoulder and set him down on his feet.
"It is my honor, as it is the least I can do for saving my mistress's life on countless occasions," Rijiro said with a low bow.
He then asked. "Will that be all or do you wish for me to fetch some snacks?"
"That won't be-" Naomi was about to wave off the offer until Samuru spoke up.
"We'll have two chili dogs and two large cokes please."
Rijiro nodded, "as you wish. I shall return in a moment."
"Sam we don't take advantage of nice people like that." Naomi admonished.
Samuru waved off her concern, "the guy's a simp. Besides he's not exactly a good guy."
"I thought I told you to keep your inhibitor on."
"I do have it on, I've just seen the guy before is all, didn't recognize him at first with the suit though," Samuru said whilst waving his arm, showing off the bracer wrapped around his wrist.
Naiomi raised an inquisitive brow. "When did you see him, and what do you mean by that?"
"Ah, I was going to surprise Aunty a few months ago by showing up at her office. But I won't tell you why the guy's bad news, that's between him and his girlfriends."
"You just…" She sighed. "You really need to stop doing that Samuru, some people should just be left to their sins."
"Are you really defending infidelity?" Samuru questioned.
"That's not what I mean, you're becoming too willing to pry into people's lives." Naomi gave her son a stern look.
Samuru frowned, "I don't mean to, it's just some people think so damn loud."
She ruffled his hair, "I know, you don't mean to. Just exercise more caution from now on. It's a slippery slope you're going down. One day you're peeking into a suspicious mind and the next your blackmailing world leaders."
"Is that what dad did?" He asked.
Before Naomi could answer, Rejiro arrived with their food and drinks. "Here you are Ishii-san." The man said with a pleasant smile.
"Thank you Osada-san, how much do I owe you?" She asked.
Rejiro waved off her concern."Oh no need, Mistress Midnight offered to put any expense on her tab."
Naomi sighed, she really didn't like it when her friend paid for everything, but she insisted and Nemuri was about as stubborn as she was when it came to these things. "I'll have to thank her then."
"If that is all you need, I shall return to the crusade against crime."
"Yes, thank you Osada-san."
The man bowed one last time before walking away.
"Good luck out there!" Samuru waved before his smile dropped and a grimace replaced it. "You'll need it you cheating cunt." He mumbled.
Slap!
"Ow, what was that for?" Her son cried.
"Language." She chastised.
Samuru's responding grumble was drowned out by the sound of a loud horn blaring as the massive metal doors on either side opened with a hydraulic hiss.
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the ultimate fight of the year?!" A man with a deep voice announced over the intercoms.
The audience roared, shaking the arena with the strength of the united voices of two hundred thousand people.
"May I have your attention to the west side of the arena? Hailing from the vast jungle of Brazil. Stalking into the arena at two hundred feet from shoulder to foot, weighing in at twenty thousand tons. The great Jaguar of the Amazon Gato Malvado!"
The floodlights shone on the western door, and a moment later a sleek black mechanical jaguar leaped out from the darkness, revealing its titanic form. Its eye was lit by bright golden lights, and its large tail whipped around, throwing up dirt from the arena floor into a small tornado.
"Gato. Gato. Gato. Gato. Gato. Gato!" The crowd chanted as the giant roared, shaking Naomi's chest with its loud bass tone.
After a few minutes of cheering the lights then dimmed in the arena as the floodlights traveled around the arena erratically.
"And now, for the fighter, you've been waiting for."
The audience's roared even louder.
"Standing at four hundred feet tall and weighing thirty thousand tons. Hailing from the land of the rising sun. The titan slayer! Mechagodzilla!"
The crowd went wild as the gigantic form of the lizard robot marched into the arena with a roar, its crimson eyes glaring down at its opponent.
"Holy fucking shit!" Samuru screamed with an awed face.
Naomi couldn't blame his reaction, this was amazing.
"Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha!" Chanted the audience.
"Are you ready for the greatest fight you will ever see?!" The announcer questioned.
Naomi and Samuru were swept up into the moment as they shouted with the ear-ringing crowd.
"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
A loud horn blasted as the two mechanical titans rushed towards each other, shaking the ground as they did.
Gato Malvado was faster and leaped forward, scraping its massive claws against the leg of the giant lizard.
Mechagodzilla responded with a strong kick that sent the Jagua sailing through the air before it righted itself midair and dug a trench with its paws as it slid to a halt.
The jaguar went back on the offensive and jumped forward again, this time with much greater force as it sailed across the air and latched onto the chest of Mechagodzilla. The sounds of metal scraping against metal grated on Naomi's ears as the beast's claws dug into the armored plating of the giant lizard.
Mecha roared as if in pain and thrashed around in an attempt to throw the giant metal cat off its chest. The wide swings of its body sent gale force winds through the area as they crashed against the hard transparent wall that protected the crowd.
Gato however would not be shaken away so easily as the beast's toothy metal maw clamped down on the shoulder joint of its opponent. Causing sparks as its sharp teeth wrenched into the powerful hydraulics that powered Mecha's arm movements.
Mechagodzilla hunched forward, a high pitch whine then began to ring through the arena coming from the titanic automaton. Its glowing red eyes began to brighten as two large doors began to open on its chest, revealing the barrel of a forty-foot diameter laser
"He's gonna do it. Holy shit he's gonna do it!" Samuru shouted as he vibrated in his seat in excitement.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A red laser smashed into the stomach of Gato Malvado sending the jaguar careening two hundred feet into the air and crashing to the other side of the arena. Its left arm was completely torn off while its chest glowed hot as slags of metal sloughed off its body like falling molasses.
"Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha. Mecha!" The audience chanted in approval.
It looked like the fight was over, Gato Malvado was down for the count, nothing short of a pro hero with a powerful defensive quirk could take something like that point-blank and keep going.
The metal Jaguar roared as it slowly stood back up defiantly, the hole where its arm used to be sparked as the hydraulics attempted to move a limb that was no longer there.
Mechagodzilla marched forward, intent on crushing the damaged beast with a massive metallic foot.
Just as the giant robotic lizard was about to smash the head of its opponent. The arena lights suddenly shut down and the glowing eyes of both automatons blinked out.
The audience gasped in confusion as the arena was plunged into darkness.
"Ladies and gentlemen it appears we are having technical difficulties. Please remain in your seat un-" The announcer was abruptly interrupted as the microphone cut out and white noise replaced his voice for a brief few seconds before a new, more sinister voice spoke.
"Bread and circus, bread and circus, that is all you people ever care about." The new voice was low in pitch as if it was spoken through a voice modulator.
"All you people ever do is chase your next dopamine rush in a vain attempt to give life any meaning, work, live, and die for corporations that hate you. In a society that treats its most vulnerable like trash."
Both Gato Malvado and Mechagodzilla's eyes reactivated, but instead of the golden cat-like eyes and intimidating red gaze. They were now both replaced with bright emerald green, their mechanical gazes being the only light in the arena.
The crowd began to panic, Naomi stood up with wide eyes, her fists clinched as an old instinct nearly took over but the sight of her son sitting in her peripheral stayed her hand. "Samuru, we need to leave now." She said to him.
Her son was already at his feet, his eyes just as wide as hers as he frantically looked around the arena. "Where are the damn heroes?" He asked.
Samuru had a point. Where were the heroes, surely there should be at least a dozen hidden within the crowd for an event this big, and didn't bots like this have hundreds of firewalls and redundancies to protect them from a highjacking like this?
"Well tonight ladies and gentlemen, you will be the first to bear witness to the start of the revolution. The world will awaken to the blight of humanity, we will lead you all to this new beautiful world!"
The giant emerald eyes turned towards the crowd, the titans then moved forward with a deafening roar.
The audience fell into chaos as people panicked and ran, women screamed, men fled, and children were trampled underfoot.
Gato Malvado leaped unsteadily towards the east side of the arena but a sudden clang rang in the darkness, a bright spark from the scarping of metal against metal briefly lit up that side of the arena. Four more crashes then sounded as black silhouettes smashed through the transparent barrier and rushed to try and stop the robotic jaguar.
Mechagodzilla swiped at one of the rushing silhouettes and sent whoever it was across the arena as if it was a particularly annoying fly. The giant mechanical lizard lumbered forward with a roar as the horrid maniacal laughter of the villain sounded over the intercoms.
"Come on we've got to get out of here!" Naomi shouted as she made to grab her son and run.
Another spark briefly lit up the area around them, letting the mother see her son's pale face as he pointed a shaking finger towards the arena.
Naomi turned in that direction as a high-pitched whine began to ring out over the screaming panicked mob. Mechagodzilla was charging its laser cannon towards the opposite end of the arena.
She and her son were safe from the blast, she could grab him and use her quirk to quickly navigate out of the danger. She should leave, she wasn't a hero anymore, she didn't deserve to be one after all she's done.
Naomi moved without thinking and leaped forward far faster and higher than she has in over thirteen years. Her astral self appeared mid-flight, creating a platinum white ethereal glow that drew the attention of anyone who wasn't currently in a panicked frenzy.
She was across the nine hundred-yard gap and upon the giant killer robot within a split second, Naomi reared her fist back and bellowed.
"Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!"
Hundreds upon hundreds of powerful attacks, each capable of punching through solid steel rained down upon the back of Mechagodzilla. Naomi's blows were so powerful that fire began to spark as she melted her way through the hard eight-foot-thick armor plating of the mechanical beast.
Mecha roared as its inner circuitry was combusted and its hydraulics were smashed like tin cans under the woman's assault. The giant laser cannon in its chest began to glow ever brighter however as it turned its body towards the largest mass of people at one of the exits. "You won't stop the revolution, the people know. They have nothing to lose but their chains, death to tyrants!" The villain shouted over the intercom.
Naomi grit her teeth as she powered through her straining muscles the fire brought about her powerful blows burned her skin and choked her lungs. But she couldn't relent, she couldn't stop, this was what she was born to do, this was why she existed.
"Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!"
She continued to scream as she punched her way through the body of the titanic metal monster as if she was a hot knife through butter. Within seconds she was at the core where the laser was nearly finished charging. The inner core was hot, sweat matted her hair, muscles were torn into bits, her body was tired and her vision blurred. Naomi did not have time to hack into the system or carefully slice the core from the main body.
She did the only thing she could do and with one last mighty yell, she and her astral self smashed right through the surrounding hard platinum casing that shielded the laser and into the core.
The moment Naomi did so, the beast imploded in a bright display of red and orange. Sending metal, wires, and slag all over the arena. Most bounced off harmlessly against the thick clear barrier that was meant to protect the audience, but some managed to either pierce through or flew via the gaps made by the pro heroes once they entered the fight.
Naomi's astral self quickly moved to cover her body like a second skin in order to shield her from the blast. However, the force of the explosion was enough to send her flying clear across the arena, through the five feet thick transparent wall, and into the stands on the far east end of the building.
She coughed blood as her body slammed into the ground and created a deep crater in the concrete. With each breath, Naomi felt a sharp pain stab inside her chest, her arms were burning limp noodles, her ears rang and her head swam in numb dizziness.
The wounded woman lay in a groaning heap of pain for several minutes as the ringing in her ears slowly subsided. Once it did so, she recognized a loud voice booming over the chaos of the panicked arena.
"It is alright now citizens for I AM HERE!"
That voice was so full of confidence and reassurance, the voice of a man she had come to look up to as an ultimate goalpost of her own personal growth. The man she had once called a friend and ally in days long gone by.
All Might had arrived, descending from the opened roof of the arena in a three-point landing, and with him came several more heroes all wearing headlamps or other forms of illumination. With practiced ease the heroes quickly moved to the panicked crowd, their voices shouting into megaphones or naturally booming over the crowd's noise in a similar fashion to the number one hero.
Naomi as stubborn as she always had been, slowly began to stand under her own power, ignoring the pain that flared in her chest as she sat up. "Fuuuuuuck," she groaned as she felt a rib shift under her skin.
She squinted her eyes when a bright yellow light shone in her direction. "Ma'am do not worry, we will get you to safety." The voice of a young man spoke as he approached her.
"Stop shining that shit in my eyes rookie," Naomi growled out in annoyance.
The young man complied and dimmed the light on his headlamp, allowing the woman to adjust her eyes better. She blinked to see the hero who was trying to assist her was none other than Mr.Brave, a young hero with messy black hair who wore a dark blue body suit with light blue gloves a yellow utility belt, and thin bronze pauldrons on his shoulders.
"Ma'am please take my hand to safety." The young hero requested.
Naomi swatted the hand away and began to walk forward, "I'm fine, go check on-"
A sudden flare of pain forced her to double over and hack up a wad of bloody spit. "Gah fuck!"
"Ma'am please sit down, I will get you a stretcher right away."
She grits her teeth in anger, not at the young hero doing his job, but at herself. Had this been thirteen years ago, an explosion like that wouldn't have so much as dazed her. She was far from the top form as she had initially assumed.
Naomi was about to protest further until a familiar voice shouted at her.
"Mom are you okay?!" Samuru cried as he ran his way towards her.
She couldn't help but feel a proud smile break across her lips as she watched her son seamlesslyglide through the stands and broken ruble as if he was a practiced dancer. In a way, he was, with all the years spent practicing his fighting skills with either Itachi-Sensei or herself.
With one final leap, her son came crashing into her legs his arms around her, looking up at her like a baby sugar glider with wide watery purple eyes. "You absolute crazy woman, you…I…don't fucking do that!"
Naomi's body wouldn't let her bend down and hug her son back, so she settled for patting his head reassuringly. "Language young man." She chuckled, her son was acting just like she once did many years ago when she and Danuja had encountered their first major villain.
"I'll say whatever I want when you go off like that and try to make me an orphan!" Samuru rebutted."I'm sorry, I just…" Those scared violet eyes they both shared made her want to explain herself but his exasperated smile stopped her in her place.
"I know, that's why I love you."
She smiled back, she didn't have to explain anything to him, for despite what her son would say, they both had the same thing. A heart of a hero.
_______________________________
Naomi limped up the stairs towards her home with Samuru at her side aiding her weary and partially broken body with every step.
She was about to pull out her keys as they neared the front door but with a casual flick of Samuru's wrist, the door was unlocked from the inside.
"When did you take the inhibitor off?" She asked as they walked inside the small apartment and turned the lights on.
"Around the time you decided to jump in," Samuru admitted as he helped her sit on the ratty old blue loveseat.
Naomi groaned in pain as the small couch squeaked under her weight. "Did you have any trouble keeping up your shields?"
"I'll be fine," he said a bit too quickly for her liking.
"Samuru." She gave him a pointed look.
"You shouldn't worry about me right now, the doctors said you shouldn't stress yourself for the rest of the month. Here I'll get you some tea to help you sleep."
Naomi grabbed him by the wrist before he could walk off and pulled him towards her. She held his chin up in her hand, a frown crossed her lips as she saw faint dried blood that had fallen from his nose and down his cheeks from the corner of his eyes. Evidence of raw red flesh could be seen as he had tried and failed to wipe everything away.
"Oh Sam," here her son was suffering in silence whilst trying to take care of her.
"It'll be alright, just a bit of a migraine is all."
Seeing his dried blood and worried face was the last straw that broke the camel's back. All the fear and pain and worry of the night came crashing into her. Despite the pain it caused, Naomi pulled her son close and engulfed him in a hug.
"I love you, I love you so much," she whispered in a choked sob.
"I'm here, we're safe now," Samuru reassured as he gently squeezed her back.
After several minutes her son pulled back and gave her a small smile yet was more full of warmth and genuine love than any wide toothy grin she had ever seen. "I'm so proud of you."
Samuru may have inherited her eyes and hair, but over the years as he lost his baby fat, his face was all his father. The burgeoning strong jawline, the high cheekbones, the narrow nose. For a brief fleeting moment her mind did not see her son, but the man she had loved with all her heart, the man she had very nearly broken the world for.
"I'll get that tea started." Samuru pulled back and fast-walked away with a flushed face.
Naomi held her head as he left, a slight grimace on her face. She must've hit her head harder than she thought for her to be seeing ghosts like that.
As the water was set to boil, Samuru left for the bathroom and she remained on the couch. Her body was slightly numb as the effects of the painkillers the hospital had given her continued to work their opium magic.
A strong knock then came to the door, Naomi's heart rate increased as she lay there vulnerable. Her eyes immediately went to the gun hidden in the back of the leftmost cabinet in the kitchen.
Samuru was swiftly out of the bathroom, eyes wide and body practically buzzing with excitement.
Naomi relaxed at seeing her son's response, no doubt he had already used his quirk to verify the identity of the person knocking at their home at this late hour. "Who's at the door?"
Without answering, Samuru called toward the person beyond the door. "It's open." He said whilst unlocking the door with his mind.
A tall blue and red spandex-wearing man ducked under the relatively low-hanging doorway as he stepped inside. His wide muscular chest also had to be angled as the apartment was not built with people of his physique in mind.
His wide smile and shadowed eyes along with his two long yellow bangs that stood straight up atop his forehead reminiscent of bunny ears were all dead giveaways of who this person was.
"Hello, young Ishii." All Might greeted in his deep rumbling voice. But was distinctly more quiet as he was considerate enough of the sleeping neighbors to not shout his arrival as he would normally have done.
"Here to arrest me again All Might?" Naomi asked even though she was pretty confident it may not be so. Her son wouldn't be so excited to see him and All Might would not be smiling so brightly if that were the case.
"No, it is quite the opposite in fact." He then withdrew a packet of papers hidden behind his back and offered them to her.
Naomi took the papers with a curiously raised brow and read the words written. Her eyes widened, she reread them again, then again, and then again. "This…"
"An application for renewal of your hero license." Confirmed All Might.
She looked up at the man who had been the source of so much inspiration for her during dark days. He was there at her father's funeral, he was there to shake her hand when she breached the top ten, and he was there when she turned her back on the world and chose love over duty.
Self-doubt began to well up inside of her, in the year since her powers had been given back to her. She had no doubt contemplated going back, but seeing the application right here in her hands, she couldn't help but feel unworthy of it. "All Might…I can't I…I'm not."
"Young lady." The man put a hand on her shoulder, his shadowed eyes looking down at her. "What you did tonight proved to me and everyone that you still have what it takes, the mistakes you've made in the past are not who you are today."
Naomi looked down at the papers in her hands. "But…I've hurt so many people. How could I be a hero after all that I've done?" She felt like a little girl again, unsure of herself and afraid of what others would think of her.
"Tell me, what were you thinking when you rushed in there to destroy that robot?" All Might asked.
"I wasn't." She immediately replied.
All Might's grin grew, "that is all the answer you need, you are a hero."
Her heart swelled in pride at his words, and a small smile crossed her lips as the warm feeling spread through her.
"You should do it, you were born for his." Samuru encouraged with a smile of his own.
Naomi gripped the papers tighter and took a deep breath, for better or worse, this decision would change the lives of both her and her son forever. "Are you sure?" She asked the boy that was standing behind her.
He nodded, "I've never felt you so happy before in my life mom. You're meant for this, standing in front of danger and protecting others is where you've always belonged."
"This won't be the last time you see me hurt like this if I do this."
Samuru walked around the couch and approached her as All Might respectfully took a few steps away to allow them a moment. "I can't promise I won't worry and be up at night wondering if you'll come back okay. But I can promise to be there when you do, I'll support you in this because I know this world needs more genuine heroes protecting it."
The mother softly kissed his forehead, "okay." She turned to All Might and grinned, "I'll do it." Naomi said as she extended her muscular arm towards the man.
The number one hero grinned back and clasped her forearm with his own large hand. "Then I'll look forward to your return, Star Platinum."
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