Nezu walked through the silent hallway alone. It was one of many hidden pathways that he had constructed to lead him to an area that he wanted. How many he had….. was a private question only he knew, and as for how he managed to create these tunnels, well he had Power Loader, Cementoss, and Ectoplasm for reasons.
Right now, he was on his way to meet someone he disliked meeting very much. The two of them, whenever they met, which was extremely rare, would exchange barbed words against each other.
'However, despite that, she is better than her predecessor,' thought Nezu, who had half a mind to launch the racist idiotic asshole out of a cannon if it wasn't for the fact he was dead. He danced in front of his grave the chance he could get away with it. In fact, he was tempted to exhume the body to fire it out of a cannon just for fun.
Arriving at the meeting point, Nezu entered a room where right in the middle of the room was a large thick bulletproof glass that separated the rooms. On each side of the room was a chair and an old telephone line that connected to each other via a wire that pierced through the glass wall, though no visible holes could be seen, as if the wire had been there when the glass had been formed.
Sitting right on the other side of the wall was Madam President of the HPSC, who was seemingly alone. Both sides picked up the phone after Nezu took his time to comfortably seat himself, pouring himself a cup of tea.
"So what brings you here?" asked Nezu after the two traded their usual barbs.
"I assume you got the message?" replied Madam President.
"Of course," said Nezu without even batting an eye, "It was obvious before you had your agent plant that book on my student, knowing he returned to U.A. instead of an agency since it's Miruko. I was told Endeavor got the same book with a similar situation. Not only that, but you might as well have blared out to us about the MLA situation when you were making work studies mandatory. Not only that, but some of my people have already been investigating the Deika city situation and have found something that doesn't match the report."
Madam President nodded as she sipped on her own personal flask before continuing, "Then you know the reason why I'm asking for this visit. To put aside our differences for now in order to deal with this upcoming threat that could comprise the whole country."
Nezu hummed for a second to enjoy his tea, "You know, if your predecessor came with this offer, he wouldn't have even made it to this meeting. I would've shot him out of a cannon."
"Something you always mention," riposted Madam without even batting an eye.
"Luckily, you're proving that you're not him. That you're doing better than him, even if we have our differences," continued Nezu, "I'm willing to meet you halfway, but there are conditions that I'm sure we both have that we want from one another. Am I correct to assume besides the mobilization of all our students that you are interested in one particular student?"
"Izuku Midoriya," nodded Madam without even trying to deflect, "Is it any surprise? The boy was held hostage by All for One, primed to steal his quirk, only to have it backfire spectacularly. The damage diagnosis came back and showed us something. Besides having every bone and nerve crushed in his left arm, there were also signs of third-degree burns. Nothing suggests that All Might has any sort of flame enhancements, but we did witness the boy grab All for One's arm and howling in pain. Something happened during that exchange."
"And what, pray tell, would you want the boy?" said Nezu whimsically, but a trained eye could see that Nezu was bristling in anger. Izuku Midoriya was a student of U.A., and he would protect them, especially that prodigious mind of his.
"I would say I want him to be a part of the HPSC, but I know that wouldn't work," sighed Madam, "He's obviously not only under your aegis, but All Might as well. Another suggestion would be for him to do his work studies with Hawks, but he's too busy gathering information as well as already training others."
"And you'd be right," nodded Nezu, "I'm glad you at least recognize that. But you still want something from him."
Madam nodded, "I want him to study abroad in the USA for two months with his identity masked and work under their pro-Hero Star and Stripe. We have enough pull to get him there for a bit, and with your word, it could work. The reason is that despite knowing about the MLA, we don't have enough information. We know Shigaraki Tomura is their leader and ace, and is currently hidden somewhere and undergoing some sort of treatment that takes four months. We need to strike before the deadline, but we also need to make sure we can sweep them out in one go. Especially the one creating the Nomus. At the same time, Izuku Midoriya will be a prime target that they might… no probably will target to eliminate early on. As powerful as they are now, they have no real sway or pull in other countries."
Nezu frowned as he contemplated the idea. To be honest, it wasn't a bad idea. Izuku was indeed a prime target, and no matter what they did, there was still a chance that the MLA, or now named the Paranormal Liberation Front, PLF, could sink their claws into him. Their web of influence was deeper than he imagined, infiltrating even parts of the government. Of course, none of their agents have infiltrated U.A. He personally checked all his staff members, even the janitors, though most of the cleaning was done via robots.
Add the fact all Toshinori needed to do was drop his name, and Cathleen Bates, aka Star and Stripe, would easily accept whatever he requested. She was one of his biggest fans, considering he saved her life once when she was a child. Izuku could certainly get more training under her tutelage while being safe from assassins in the dark in Japan. Toshinori had done the same thing, going to a hero college in the US to prepare for his fight against All for One while being safe and out of reach of his grasp. Even All for One's reach couldn't penetrate too deeply into a country halfway across the globe.
"A fine idea," admitted Nezu, "I will discuss this with All Might and Midoriya about this, as well as Miruko, considering he is interning with her, which is a miracle in itself since Miruko almost never does work studies. Itsuka Kendo interning with her was already one."
"And I suppose you have a condition that I won't like?" asked Madam, already bracing herself.
Nezu nodded before laying it out, "I want Kaina Tsutsumi released into U.A's care."
"I was right, I wouldn't like it," sighed Madam as she put down her flask, "Why would you ask me to release one of the notorious villains in Tartarus, who killed a hero in cold blood as well as countless others?"
"Because you and I know she didn't. The ones Lady Nagant killed were under the orders of the previous president of the HPSC, who is forever known as an egotistical idiot. All the blood on her hands belong to him. You took an innocent, brilliant girl and transformed her to a cold killer, a weapon pointed at his 'personal' enemies. The ones whom the idiot claimed would have shaken the status quo were merely people he disliked or desired what they had. The only kill that was by her own hands was justifiable, since she killed that retard. She was doing the world a favor, really. I may not know why she acted out, but I have a pretty good idea. That, and I have a gift basket that I've been waiting to give to her ever since that waste of a human being was properly disposed of."
Madam could only put her hand up to her head to stave off an oncoming migraine. Kaina was a mistake… no, Kaina was an excellent hero. Having her being used and directed by her predecessor was a mistake. It was why she pushed to have her locked up in Tartarus instead of the death sentence. Too many skeletons would've spilled out if they had killed her instead. Madam made sure that Kaina's existence in Tartarus was as comfortable as one could be. Fresh sheets when nobody was looking, and a soft bed compared to the other inmates, as well as some reading materials.
'Then again, perhaps she has served enough,' thought Madam.
"If it helps, I don't intend to let it be known that she's out," said Nezu, "I have already prepared a new identity for her, along with a new look and new uniform if needed. Everything has been set for her already."
"And when did you do this?" sighed Madam, already knowing the answer.
"Ever since she was incarcerated," replied Nezu with a giggle, "I had hoped to find some time to help her escape, but she seemed to be content staying in her cell. But now, we have no choice but to call upon her service once more. However, I intend to have her protect Midoriya. If he does go to the USA, then she will be accompanying him. Her insight could prove useful as well."
Madam took a sip of her flask, using the time to contemplate the request. Honestly, out of all the inmates currently locked up in Tartarus, Kaina was the only one who deserved her freedom.
"Fine," said Madam President as she stood up, "But only if you can convince Midoriya to intern in the USA."
"That won't be much of an issue," assured Nezu, "Though Miruko might want to come along, we'll cross the bridge when it comes time."
With that, the two separated. Nezu hummed as he walked down the pathway, surreptitiously pressing a button on his side as he turned a corner.
Though he disliked dealing with the HPSC, he knew that the bureaucratic office was a necessary evil. The previous few chairmans of the HPSC were mostly corrupt officials putting on a mask so as to not to reveal their true selves. A few others were good people trying to make a better place, but those tended to get replaced fast by the corrupt. Madam President was the only one Nezu would consider as lawful neutral for now. There were some shady dealings, but at least Nezu tolerated her to a degree. Had Kaina not killed the previous chairman, Nezu had already been planning on exposing him, with perhaps a dose of explosions.
It wasn't like Nezu didn't have skeletons in his closet either. As Nezu walked out of the hallway into U.A., the wall slid shut behind him before a muffled explosion could be heard, followed by a small trail of smoke that disappeared.
"Time to build a new one later," cackled Nezu.
Izuku felt awkward sitting in class. The reason he wasn't working with Miruko was due to the fact she had been called in for some other situation that wouldn't allow him to come. So he dutifully went to class that day. The awkward part was that he was the only one in attendance. Everybody else was still in the middle of their work studies.
"I guess this is what I get for choosing a hero with no real agency," sighed Izuku as he looked up to his homeroom teacher.
"I'm not sure why I bothered coming," sighed Shota as he sipped his drink, "I could've used this time to get some more sleep, but instead, you decided to attend class instead of playing hooky. I don't know whether I should be mad or not that you decided to do the responsible thing."
In the end, Shota just made a tick saying Izuku was here before leaving to get more sleep.
"It'll be self-study for the rest of your class time," declared Shota.
Izuku sighed as he grabbed his bag, thinking about it for a second before pulling out his notebook and pencils.
"Wanted to update my costume anyways," muttered Izuku as he began to write on a fresh page, putting random ideas before crossing a few out.
Time ticked by as he continued writing until he finally finished his draft.
"Alright, I should take this to the support department," said Izuku to himself as he looked up just to see blue eyes staring at him.
Izuku jumped back on his seat in surprise while Midnight laughed at that sight.
'You need more situational awareness,' lectured the second user from the depths of Izuku's mind.
"Kayama-sensei," greeted Izuku, ignoring the other user for now, "Why are you here?"
"I came by to see if you were still in class, even though it's self-study for today," said Midnight, "Aizawa mentioned that you had showed up to class today. So is that a new design? May I see it?"
Izuku nodded as he passed on the notebook to her. She was their modern hero art history teacher, after all, even with a flirtatious behavior.
Midnight hummed as she flipped through before giving her approval. She was curious why Izuku insisted on having the straw hat when it offered no real offensive or defensive capability but shrugged it off. It had been part of the original design, and he seemed content carrying it through. At least it could offer him a shade under the sun. It was similar to the domino mask that she herself wore. It was more of an aesthetic choice that completed her outfit.
"Well, I see no problems with this build," said Midnight, "However, how come you're not using DNA-infused clothes? You could have it weaved into your uniform so it stretches with your body and keeps you warm if you need to work in cold weather. I know you gave Hagakure-chan that idea."
Izuku could only chuckle nervously. The truth was that he did try, but since his rubber powers weren't granted to him by natural quirk factors, they couldn't be replicated in his clothes. Melissa was currently working on trying to find a viable solution, but none was working so far.
"My quirk is…. complicated," said Izuku, trying to find the proper words, "For some reason, once any DNA leaves my body, the quirk factor goes missing. Maybe a side effect of the strength enhancement I have."
Midnight frowned at that, pondering about that statement. Something was off, but she decided not to push it. Nezu surely knew about this, and since he had done nothing, then there was no point. Instead, Midnight decided to push into a much juicier topic she had been itching to get to know now that she had cornered Izuku alone.
"So, I see you're getting close to all your classmates, and not just 1A," started Midnight.
Izuku could only nod. Back at Aldera Middle, he hadn't had any real friends. It was only after meeting Momo could he say that he had more friends besides Itsuka.
"So how's your polyamory going?" asked Midnight, diving right into the heart of the subject.
Izuku almost choked on his own spit at the blunt question, his eyes bulging while looking everywhere but Midnight.
"There's no point in denying it," laughed Midnight, amused by Izuku's reaction, "Don't worry, there's no rule about students entering into relationships with each other. As for how I know, having been in a few relationships myself, it was obvious to me. I can see you're with Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Kendo, Shield, and Asui. I thought Kodai would join, but it seems like she went for your friend instead."
Izuku finally decided his only path forward was to keep his mouth shut.
Midnight giggled even more, "Don't think you're the only one in a relationship with more than one partner. There are a few other students in this school who are involved with multiple others. I remember when I was in a small one with two other guys. In the end, I ended up leaving because the two were more into each other, but were too shy to come out with it until I was there. I'm still good friends with them though. Now, why don't you tell sensei just how far you've gone with your partners?"
Izuku kept his mouth shut while Midnight licked his lips, the two staring off at each other until…
"Not far," sighed Izuku as he broke first, "We're in no rush."
"No sex, but have you seen each other's body privately?" asked Midnight.
Izuku stiffly nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"I know it seems weird for me to be the one saying it, but the key part in such a relationship is not to rush it. Being heroes, we are always risking our lives. That sort of lifestyle can cause us to rush some things, including consummating a relationship or even starting a family, or do the opposite, like Aizawa," advised Midnight, "I know I have some regrets in some of my relationships. Took it too fast before finding out we just weren't compatible with each other."
Izuku slowly nodded at the rather sage advice. Midnight was an adult with a flirty sadistic attitude, but that was her hero persona. Off duty, she could be caring and motherly. She was the main counselor for the female students to look for when they had feminine issues.
Izuku listened to Midnight give out advice and coaxed out answers from Izuku slowly, including admitting he was afraid that his friendships and relationships were fake, due to how nobody wanted to be his friend from preschool all the way to high school.
Izuku felt better overall and more confident thanks to their little conversation.
"So that's out of the way, which one do you feel like you are? Top or bottom?" asked Midnight.
Izuku blushed crimson at that, but Midnight continued on, "I can see you as a switch, but you might be a more dominant force. Especially with those elastic fingers. You can easily turn them into a little rope-tying session with some practice. The tightness of the ropes binding you while feeling the warmth of skin…. oh it makes me shiver."
Izuku felt like he had taken a step forward in his relationships…. and three steps back when Midnight started getting into BDSM.
Izuku was called to Nezu's office the next day early in the morning, causing him to wonder what was needed of him so early. Arriving at Nezu's office, he was surprised to see Toshinori along with a grumpy Miruko waiting inside.
"Still don't see why he can't stay here where I can teach him! I'm doing a good job, aren't I?" muttered Miruko.
"You know it goes further than that," sighed Toshinori.
"I can protect him!" said Miruko indignantly, "Those assholes wouldn't dare fight me if he sticks with me!"
"That's not a guarantee we can make," reposted Toshinori, "They've shown they were willing to attack Endeavor when he took the number one position. We aren't sure how much resources they have to send another Nomu like that to target you, or him. Could you defeat that Nomu without any problems or assistance?"
Miruko scoffed but didn't reply. She would have opted to use her more lethal, Luna Tijeras, but the Nomu showed that he could live even with its neck torn off from the body. It was only thanks to Endeavor utilizing overwhelming firepower to burn every cell into ashes that prevented him from regenerating its wounds.
"You must be wondering why I called you here?" asked Nezu as he took his seat, "I'm sure from what you gathered from the conversation from earlier that something is happening."
As Izuku nodded, Nezu passed him the Meta Liberation Book from Hawks, repeating the same line Hawks had given him. It took Izuku a few minutes as he flipped through the book before decoding the message.
"The Meta Liberation Army?" said Izuku in slight disgust. He had never been a fan of the newer versions, advocating free quirk usage as a right, which included bullying others. Having been a victim of unregulated quirk bullying when he was younger would do that.
He felt like the message had been distorted from the first version. Sure the new one was updated with a more modern language that others could understand, but somewhere along the translation, the meaning of Destro's message had been twisted to fit the author's own view.
"Correct," smiled Nezu, happy that the successor to One for All had an intelligent mind that went along with his power, "In about four months, they intend to strike out at society. We intend to prepare for this, and if possible, ambush them, reversing the trap. While we prepare for this, there is still the matter that they are there. And you are becoming one of their prime targets due to what happened back at Kamino Ward."
Izuku winced as he remembered that incident had been broadcast all around Japan, if not the world.
"So what do I do?" asked Izuku, "You can't ask me to just stay here at U.A. for my own safety, right?"
"No, no, not at all," smiled Nezu, "Rather, we have a more peculiar request. The HPSC also came up with this recommendation, and after a bit of negotiation, we made a certain compromise. Everything has been set, and all we need is your approval."
Nezu took a sip of his tea, motioning Izuku to drink something before giving the news.
"We would like you to study under Star and Stripe, the USA number one hero, under an alias," announced Nezu.
Izuku almost fell back on his chair in shock at that news as Nezu continued, "I had All Might reach out to her, and she readily agreed. She even said she was looking forward to teaching the one whom All Might recommended. She does look up to him as you do."
While Izuku was in awe at the offer, he glanced over to Miruko.
"But what about my work studies with Miruko?" asked Izuku, "It's not officially done yet, it would be rude to leave. And what about my schooling?"
"Miruko has agreed to let you go, though she will be accompanying you to America for the first half of your internship under the guise of an international cooperation exchange meet," said Nezu, "You will be accompanied by another bodyguard that will remain unnamed at this time, but rest assure, the person has my trust."
"Again, this is not an order, but rather a suggestion," repeated Nezu, "You are free to stay in Japan. But this is a rare opportunity to study under the number one Pro hero in America who even All Might recognizes. If you're worried about translation, she also speaks Japanese. I am told she learned Japanese so she could smoothly communicate with All Might."
"What about my schooling?" asked Izuku.
"I am prepared to give you an overseas lecture online to cover all the lessons that you will miss," said Nezu before whispering, "Plus extra. It's only fair to Plus Ultra this."
Miruko and Toshinori shivered despite not hearing the last statement, as well as half of the hero community, the HPSC staff, and even the civilians.
The two had forgotten not to let Nezu have his grubby claws on a hero student alone, even if it was online. Leaving an impressionable boy with the strength to shatter buildings while also having the brains to match his brawn with shining potential to a chaotic overlord rat-dog-bear…. Nezu was a horrifying idea.
In the future, they could only blame the fact the MLA caused this to happen, while the HPSC president knew she should've kept a sharper lookout for the loopholes Nezu would use.
For now, they let it slide on the account they were more worried about the PLF targeting Izuku.
Izuku remained silent, thinking about the offer hard. It was certainly a tempting offer, one that wouldn't be so easily given. And he wasn't going to be staying there forever, just for two months. But he would miss his friends, even if he could video chat with them if they had time.
"Can I take someone with me?" asked Izuku, thinking about asking Melissa to accompany him.
Nezu hummed for a second, contemplating for a second before ultimately shaking his head.
"No. We can't risk another student being amiss. While it's not known, there is still a chance that a spy is within U.A. You being gone can be still covered by me, but if another student is suddenly on an undercover mission, it increases the risk of the enemy discovering just where you went. And I truly am sorry to spring this on you so quickly, but I need you to decide today, preferably within the next ten minutes."
Izuku paled before going on a mutter streak for the next five minutes. Toshinori and Nezu were used to it, and could even pick out what he was saying. Miruko had a little trouble trying to decipher all the muttering, and was only able to thanks to her sensitive ears.
In the end, Izuku took a deep breath before looking up.
"You already have plans B-H ready to convince me don't you?" asked Izuku.
"Maybe," hummed Nezu. In reality, he had B-K ready, but the boy was at least sort of close to guessing the amount of plans he had.
"Then can I at least leave my close friends a message?" asked Izuku, "I won't reveal anything."
"Acceptable," nodded Nezu, "Now since we have that settled, Miruko, will you please go settle the paperwork? I have some personal items I need to discuss with Midoriya alone. All Might, if you could show Miruko where and how to settle the paperwork for overseas work?"
Toshinori would later remember he just left his successor alone with the mad principal, but that would be for later.
"Now then, about your alias," began Nezu, "We would prefer that you not use your primary quirks, aka your ability to stretch like rubber or super strength. We're trying to draw attention away from you, after all. If another sidekick were to suddenly be able to utilize your same move set while you were supposed to go underground, it would easily draw attention to who you really were. I was told that you developed a few more quirks, so perhaps you could utilize those as practice?"
Izuku hummed as he cataloged through the list, "I suppose Danjuro will be happy that I get to practice his quirk more, and En gets a chance to shine with Smokescreen."
"Damn right I will!" shouted Danjuro from within Izuku's mind.
"Excellent. Since you haven't revealed that you can use them, it will be an excellent disguise. Now then, since I have you alone, this will be a good time to get started on our little lessons."
It was an hour later that Toshinori burst into the room, remembering what he had just done, but the damage was done.
Weeks later
Izuku sighed as he finished packing up the essentials. A new costume had already been made for him that he would wear over in America as well as living quarters. Star and Stripe insisted that she be the one to provide Izuku with food, eager to introduce All Might's recommended student to American food.
"Need to do this before I run out of time," muttered Izuku as he began to make his recordings. He had several to make, each one personalized to each of his girlfriends, as well as one for Iida. Izuku planned to drop a little hint, telling them to be careful.
"Melissa will probably figure it out first, since she saw that book with me," mumbled Izuku as he got ready.
Later that day, he was inside a vehicle with Miruko, being transported to a private airport.
Kaina Tsutsumi took a deep breath as she breathed in the fresh air outside of Tartarus. She never believed that she would be able to see the blue sky once more, to feel the fresh breeze in her face.
"I'm actually out," muttered Kaina as she played with her hair, "Never thought I'd see the world once more."
Closing her eyes, she let the smell of the earth take over her senses.
"Then again, I'm not exactly free, am I?" murmured Kaina as she eyed the vehicle that she was supposed to get in, "In exchange for one prison, I'm being handed to another overlord."
Seeing no choice, Kaina stepped into the van, sitting down to see the principal of U.A., Nezu, sitting across from her.
"Welcome," grinned Nezu from his seat.
Kaina briefly thought about escaping by shooting Nezu, but tossed that thought aside. Nezu surely had various systems to prevent that. Not only that, but she remembered the rants against Nezu from her old boss before she shot him. An overgrown lab rat who had the audacity to compete against him, with influence and power undeserving. As much as he ranted, he knew he couldn't order a hit on him. At best, it would be mutually assured destruction on both sides, or worse, he was slammed with the book while Nezu was the one gleefully holding the book doing so. Nezu was just too smart and charismatic despite his short nature.
"So, what am I doing?" asked Kaina, "If you want me to go back to my old job, forget it. I'd rather stay in Tartarus. You know I was put in Tartarus for killing he-"
"Spare me the details," scoffed Nezu, "We all know that you were a weapon the old buffoon used before you did us all a favor and turned it against him. Speaking of which, please make sure you buckle up."
Mystified but not surprised that Nezu knew she was the one who killed the predecessor of Madam President, she did as ordered. As soon as she did, the van suddenly accelerated, rushing through the streets out of Tartarus. Suddenly, the van made a few erratic turns.
"Doesn't your driver know how to drive?" hissed Kaina as she stabilized herself, only for Nezu to smile before raising his right paw up, with three digits raised.
Kaina looked out before realizing the van was driving right into a wall. Nezu didn't seem worried as he slowly put one digit down until the last one was down, just right before the collision.
Suddenly, the floor plan of the van detached from the vehicle, dropping the whole bottom onto the road. At that same moment, a portion of the road lowered itself like a ramp to reveal an underground tunnel. The ramp was narrow enough to drop them through but keep the van still on the road.
As Kaina and Nezu were shooting through the apparently greased tunnel, the van itself crashed into the wall before exploding.
As they were going through the tunnel, Kaina noticed the lack of a driver, meaning that the vehicle had been automated. Or at least she hoped it was. Soon, they finally stopped somewhere when they hit a wall, and Kaina was ready to unbuckle when she noticed Nezu not even moving. She had her answer as they were sprung sideways through a wall. Kaina managed to turn her head back in time to see a spring wall had shot them through a holographic wall. Before she could regain her bearings, she felt them being flung left, up, down, right… upside down?
Kaina gave up trying to figure it out before they finally stopped, and after carefully watching Nezu unbuckle his seat belt before she did the same.
"Apologies for the exciting ride, but I had to make sure there was nobody following us," 'apologized' Nezu, but in reality, he just wanted a chance to do something like this for fun.
Kaina didn't reply, but rather looked around to see a chair and some shelves, as well as Recovery Girl, Snipe, and a stranger she didn't recognize.
"Now then, hurry up," motioned Recovery Girl, pointing to the chair, "I have to take your physical before Nezu ships you off to who knows where."
Kaina obediently obliged as Recovery Girl went through the motions. Kaina knew she was healthy. Despite being locked in Tartarus, she made sure she exercised. There wasn't much else she could do really. And her food was prepared by an appointed nutritionist hidden within the staff of Tartarus.
"While Recovery Girl is doing her job, you might be wondering why I requested you," said Nezu.
"If it's doing your dirty work, you can dump me back at Tartarus," said Kaina flatly. She was tired of killing, and even though it had been years, she still saw blood on her hands. It was especially vivid when she was near children.
"No no no. I would never stoop to such neanderthal tactics," shook Nezu, sending an insult to Kaina's predecessor at every chance he got.
"Then why am I out?" asked Kaina, raising her hand as Recovery Girl instructed her to.
"Because I wanted to give you my gift!" declared Nezu before pulling a rather large gift basket from somewhere, with a card that read 'Thanks for curing the human race of a diseased walking cadaver'.
'They really hated each other,' sweatdropped Kaina as she tentatively accepted the gift basket. Looking inside, she blinked as she noticed not only her favorite candy was inside, as was a typical gift basket thing to have, but a passport, IDs, and various other documents. Opening one up, she saw her picture on the passport, but a completely different name, birthday, and everything. In short, a false identity.
"I had everything prepared," chirped Nezu, "Another identity for you after that incident happened. It has a proper paper trail and everything. If it wasn't for the fact that you felt safer in Tartarus after that incident, I would have sprung you out as a gift."
Kaina had no idea if Nezu was serious or not, and decided not to think about it for fear of going too deep.
"Anyways, I do have a reason for having you come out," nodded Nezu, "Besides your quirk, you are a keen scout with the ability to make swift decisions under pressure, along with your experience... Meaning you would be the perfect tutor and bodyguard I had in mind."
"Bodyguard?" asked Kaina curiously, taking a deep breath as Recovery Girl had a stethoscope on her back.
"Yes," nodded Nezu, "I suppose I should get you updated on the whole situation. Tell me, what do you know about the Meta Liberation Army?"
Kaina was soon updated about the newly formed Paranormal Liberation Front and their plans.
"So what does that have to do with me?" asked Kaina dully.
"As you've probably been informed or seen, Izuku Midoriya is a person of interest," said Nezu, "I'm sure you've seen All for One being wheeled into Tartarus. I'm willing to bet that you've heard of him before in your previous occupation. Well, Midoriya is the only one who managed to resist All for One's attempt to steal his quirk, and even countered him."
Kaina raised her eyebrows at that as she motioned for Nezu to continue.
"The PLF is composed of both the Meta Liberation Army and the League of Villains, whom All for One had a hand in raising. While they are preparing to take Japan by storm in four months, they may have an interest in eliminating a few key players, one of them which includes Midoriya."
"So you want me to shadow him?" asked Kaina, contemplating the idea. It wasn't an assassination, so Kaina didn't immediately reject the offer.
"Yes, but not in Japan," said Nezu, causing Kaina to look up in confusion, "We're sending him to America to study under Star and Stripe for two months, and we want you with him to protect him."
"So you're putting him out of reach," concluded Kaina, "And you want me to watch over him in case they somehow put an agent out or just from other villains. Tell me, what makes you think I would accept this?"
"The fact that you'd be out of Tartarus and free to explore another country?" chuckled Nezu, "You'd be truly protecting someone instead of protecting the 'status quo'. Not to mention the fact I'd imagine you wouldn't want the PLF to succeed now, would you? It'd be a dark future for the future generations, especially since they follow the latest Meta Liberation Army creed where only the ones with the powerful quirks stand above others."
Kaina couldn't help but fall into a trance at that statement. She remembered when children wanted to shake her hands, only to see her bloodstained hands reaching out towards them. She didn't want to have the children touch her bloodstained hands for fear of leaving a mark on them. She would never condone children to doing what she did. But if the PLF did win, she could easily imagine children climbing over each other, doing whatever was necessary to win, if not live. A bloody future where each child had blood on their hands.
"Fine, you got your girl," grumbled Kaina, "But I can't easily just head to another country like this. Even with the advent of quirks, my purple hair is too distinguishable."
"That's why we have him," grinned Nezu, pointing to the stranger, who suddenly had four crab arms in addition to his regular arms, "He's going to give you a new look that'll make it harder to identify you."
"This'll be fast, kebi," stated the man, his claws snipping in agreement.
"Umm, you know that I do need my hair to make bullets, right?" said Kaina slowly and fearfully. While she had sported a ponytail during her hero work to keep her long hair in place, her hair was now just neck length due to cutting most of it off. Cutting more off would affect her work.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, kebi," said the man as a handful of hair products was on the side.
Kaina could only wince as the crab man went to work, closing her eyes in slight fear as she heard rapid snipping as well as his hands going through her hair. For some reason, she felt something was off as he stroked her hair.
"Done, kebi," announced the barber as he stepped back, holding a mirror in front of Kaina.
Kaina slowly opened her eyes before blinking in shock at her new hairstyle. Instead of her indigo hair with pink streaks, she now had dark blue hair with seafoam green streaks. Not only that, but her hair had grown just past her shoulders.
"You can thank my personal barber," said Nezu as he waved at the barber, "He's one of my secrets of having a fine sheen on my fur."
"I was originally going to make it a lovely crimson, but I changed my mind after feeling your hair, kebi," said the barber.
Kaina chose not to answer that as she looked at her new hairstyle. It was certainly different, having it this long, but somehow still worked for her. She could put a small hair braid at the end of her hair if needed for her work.
"Alright, I'm guessing you already have some new paperwork with this updated look?" asked Kaina, to which Nezu replied by holding his phone up, snapping a photo of Kaina's new look.
"I do now," nodded Nezu as he closed his phone, "Now then, I have already made several suits and costumes for you to wear during your tenure, which are already packed and ready to go. We should get you to the airport, where they are waiting for you."
Kaina nodded as she got off the chair. She understood why Recovery Girl and the barber were here, but she was unsure of Snipe.
'Probably as a bodyguard,' hummed Kaina, to which she was half correct when Snipe went up to her, holding a book.
"Umm, could you sign this?" said Snipe in an embarrassed tone, "I've always been in awe at your sharpshooting skills, even with my own Quirk, Homing. To think you could hit targets so far away with just skills alone is inspiring. I've been training myself to use a rifle besides my revolver, making any adjustments on the bullets before they go beyond my range, but I'm still nowhere close to what you can do."
Kaina felt her face blush a little as she signed the book. She noticed she didn't see her hands covered in blood as she did so, but thought little of it. Perhaps it was an adult asking for an autograph, and not little kids. But it was certainly a nice change.
"Alright, let's go," said Nezu as he guided Kaina to a hidden elevator while the others left in another vehicle that Kaina was sure hadn't been there. But before she could ask about it, Nezu was already gently pushing her in.
The elevator quickly rose up to ground level, opening its door to reveal that they had been under an airport hanger.
"You should change your clothes," advised Nezu, pointing to a more remote area with a clothes hanger in place as well as a portable shower, "Don't want your client to think you just broke out of prison."
Kaina glanced down before realizing that she was still wearing the orange jumpsuit with hair dye splashed over the shoulders. Quickly changing out of her clothes before jumping into the shower, she relished the warm water going down her skin. After bathing, she changed into her new clothes, which happened to be a suit.
"Not bad, but this sleeve would rip if I used my quirk," hummed Kaina as she stepped out, fully dressed. Not her usual costume, but then again, her hero costume had just been a sleeveless dark suit with armored plating underneath her chest.
"Try it. I think you'd be surprised," hummed Nezu.
Kaina decided to humor Nezu and did so, only to see her when her rifle popped out of her elbow, a hole that she hadn't even noticed in the suit allowed the rifle to smoothly go through it without ripping her sleeve.
"So you already took account of that," hummed Kaina, "I suppose it helps to be prepared. So what's my ID?"
"Your 'current' name is Harumi 'Fox' Jolie, a mixed descendant," said Nezu shortly, "Your birthday is already on the card, but I made sure to take a few years off so you can better associate with your clients."
"Ass," said Kaina in slight anger at that remark on her age. She was well aware of her age now, but women didn't like it being shoved in their faces.
"Look up now, they're here," said Nezu, pointing to a vehicle approaching.
Kaina nodded as she put on the sunglasses that came with the suit. Feeling it, she could tell the suit had kevlar weaves in it, giving her some sort of protection while also giving a professional look.
'I suppose I could get used to this for now,' thought Kaina as Izuku and Miruko stepped out of the vehicle.
"Who's the suit?" asked Miruko bluntly as she stepped out.
"Harumi Jolie," replied Kaina.
"Yes, otherwise known as Fox, she will be the one watching over Izuku during his tenure over at America," chimed in Nezu, "Her experience should prove useful."
"Fox, eh?" said Miruko as she sized up Kaina, "What's with that name? Think you're cunning and a predator? You ain't got nothing on me."
Kaina cursed at Nezu for tossing her into this situation. She had been fine just introducing her name, why put that nickname out that wasn't even hers?
"Miruko, we should get on the plane soon," said Izuku as he managed to separate Miruko from Kaina, "The pilot looks grumpy waiting for us."
The two women looked over to see the pilot indeed tapping his foot, waiting for them to board. Tabling the little argument for later, the trio quickly got into the plane, with Izuku waiving his final goodbyes for the while.
"I'll miss you all, but I promise I'll be back in time!" vowed Izuku as he ducked into the plane.
Everyone's work-study had ended, and had returned to U.A. High.
"Hello everyone!" greeted Momo as class president of the class, "I hope you all enjoyed your work studies during the winter break!"
As everyone gave their greetings, they noticed one particular vice-president was missing.
"Where's Midoriya?" asked Denki, voicing all of their thoughts.
"It's not like him to be late," nodded Sato.
"I have not gotten any calls about him being late," said Tenya, chopping his arms in the air, "Have any of you gotten any messages?"
When everyone shook their heads, they wondered if Izuku was sick until Shota walked in. Immediately, everyone took their seats in response.
"Good, everyone's here," stated Aizawa, "We're heading to ground Alpha for training."
"Sensei!" said Tenya, "Midoriya isn't here! Did he contact you saying he was sick? If so, can we visit him to make sure he's alright?"
"Midoriya won't be in U.A. for two months," replied Shota, causing everyone to gasp in surprise, "Miruko was contracted to work overseas, and decided to take Midoriya with him to the U.S. He'll be taking private lessons online to catch up with his schooling while working under another agency there."
"The fuck!" roared Katsuki, "He can't do that!"
"He just did, with Nezu's permission," said Shota dully, "Now hurry up and get to ground Alpha."
As the students hurried away, with a few of them giving glances at each other, Aizawa heard his name being called through the intercom, telling him to head towards the faculty office.
"Man that lucky bastard!" cried Mineta as everyone was changing into their hero costumes, "He's going to be partying it up with those American babes! Those American super size ass and boo-"
Mineta was promptly frozen by Shoto by everyone's request so they could clothe in peace.
Meanwhile, in the girl's locker room, Momo, Ochako, and Tsuyu were having an impromptu meeting.
"Did Izuku tell any of you?" asked Momo, to which both girls shook their heads in reply.
"Maybe Itsuka or Melissa might know," theorized Ochako.
"Kero, doubt it," said Tsuyu, "Izuku wouldn't only let one of us know. He'd let us all know. Maybe this is something that was taken out of his hands?"
"Then we need to ask someone who would know," said Momo, "All Might or Principal Nezu. They wouldn't let Izuku go off so easily."
The three girls nodded to each other, knowing they would need to tell the others as soon as possible.
When class 1A reconvened on the ground Alpha after Mineta had finally been unfrozen, they were met with All Might making a pun with cotton candy.
"Eh, where's Aizawa-sensei?" asked Denki.
Toshinori sighed before announcing that due to emergency reasons, their homeroom teacher had to leave campus.
Toshinori could only resist the urge to tighten his fist when he said that. He had been told just who Kurogiri was exactly. A specialized Nomu who was built off of a previous U.A. student thought long dead. Oboro Shirakumo, a U.A. student who died when he was in the same grade as Eraserhead and Present Mic, their best friend. The same person who helped lead the attack on the current students of 1A and 1B.
'All for One, there truly is no end to your perverse acts!' thought Toshinori, 'At least Izuku is safe in the U.S. for now. Star and Stripe will protect him.'
Then he noticed Momo, Ochako, and Tsuyu giving him a questioning look before realizing just where they were asking. Then again, it shouldn't really be a shock since it was his future son-in-law they were dating, and were in on the secrets of One for All.
"Later," whispered Toshinori as he passed by them, "We'll explain in private."
Momo nodded for the group before sending a text to Itsuka and Melissa in regards to Izuku.
Later that day, Izuku's girlfriends had gathered up in a private room within the school with Toshinori waiting for them.
"All right, girls, I know you're all curious why Izuku suddenly left for the U.S.," coughed Toshinori, spitting out a little blood.
"Uncle, I thought you weren't spitting out blood after the treatments!" said Melissa worriedly, "Is the healing tank not working enough?"
"No, no, this is a separate issue," said Toshinori, "It's related to Izuku though. But let's go through that first. Melissa, Izuku told me that you saw the book that he was given by Hawks."
As Melissa nodded, Toshinori produced the same book from his desk, "Do you remember what Hawks told Izuku?"
As Melissa quickly went through the book, Momo and the others saw the title and frowned. None of them were fans of that particular book, though Momo did ponder why such a controversial book was still kept in circulation. To do so must have cost a fortune, and she couldn't imagine it making that much money.
"Marks….. Fourth chapter," mumbled Melissa asking Momo for a piece of paper and pen. Melissa began to write out words, crossing some of them every now and then to write something new. When she finished, she looked at what she wrote before paling.
"What is it?" asked Itsuka.
Melissa turned the paper over to them, "I'm not the best in Japanese, but if I'm reading this right…."
On the paper itself read, 'The enemy is the Liberation Army. Number over one hundred thousand. League has taken over. In four months, they will act.'
"Liberation army….. The Meta Liberation Army?" gasped Momo, grasping the message.
"Kero, that doesn't sound good if the League of Villains took it over, especially if they have over one hundred thousand followers," gulped Tsuyu.
"Wait, why aren't we doing something about this!?" asked Ochako.
"More like we can't, not yet," answered Toshinori, "We have a spy in their midst, but something is happening to the leader of them all. He's not with them, but rather with the one who helped manufacture those Nomus."
"So we're trying to take them all in one strike," hummed Itsuka, "Risky, but it makes sense. If you strike now, the main leader is still free to roam and recruit others. Not to mention I'm guessing that the spy hasn't finished gathering information."
"Correct," nodded Toshinori, "Now, I don't need to remind you all that this information can't leave this room, do I?"
As the girls nodded at once, Toshinori sighed as he leaned back onto the chair, "With that being said, we're afraid that they may strike at key targets to ensure their uprising is successful."
The girls pondered about this before Ochako made the connection.
"Deku," said Ochako, causing the girls to turn to her, "He's one of the targets, isn't he?"
"We're not sure," responded Toshinori, "But given the fact that he had publicly shown to be able to resist All for One, the League might be interested in making sure he isn't a threat."
"So that's why Izuku is in America," breathed Momo, "To be out of reach for a while."
"Exactly," pointed out Toshnori, "Don't worry, he'll be safe and still be caught up in training and education. He's going undercover with Star and Stripe while taking lessons from Nezu."
When Toshinori said this, he paused, pondering why that statement seemed so wrong, but chose to continue forward.
Momo was tempted to buy plane tickets to America straight away, but managed to push down the urge.
"Anyways, Izuku left these messages for you before he left," said Toshinori as he passed out the tiny hologram projection devices, "Watch these in privacy, and don't bother keeping them, it set to delete their content and self-destruct."
The girls quietly accepted the messages and left while Toshinori coughed out some blood again. The reason he was doing so was because Inko unintentionally shifted his organs out of place in anger when she learned Izuku was gone without even being notified. Toshinori bore the punishment in silence, as he really did love her, and vice versa. Though he was sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future for a bit.