Chapter 37: Inko, Updates, Quirk Registry, Rescue, Kamino, Kitchen
Saturday…
Izuku opens his eyes slowly, then flinches back and gives a muffled shriek at finding his mom's face close to his. "Mom! What-?"
His mom smiles and stands up. "I used the permanent door and asked Find-san to open a door to you. I was worried!"
That's right, he slept on Aizawa sensei's couch last night, with the goal of seeing Recovery Girl come morning to get healed. Momo and Hitoshi had gone home after the quirk had worn off. At least the couch is comfy.
"Problem Child? Are you-? Oh. Hi, Mrs. Midoriya. I'd ask how you got in, but I have a feeling that you just asked Find-san. How are you this morning?" Aizawa sensei says, alarm quickly fading to blasé acceptance.
"Oh, I'm fine, Mr. Aizawa. At least now that I've seen my Izuku's face. How are you?" Inko chirps.
"Awake." He yawns, politely covering his mouth with one hand. "Do you want breakfast?"
"No thank you. I already ate." She replies.
"How about you, Problem Child?" Aizawa sensei asks.
"Um. Yes, please?" His stomach is feeling pretty empty. As if on cue, his stomach growls in hunger. He turns a little red as both adults look amused.
~
Saturday…
NovellOfficial – @everyone Thank you all for your concern and well wishes. I can't say anything about the investigation on Bakugou's kidnapping and I'm not supposed to talk about the mall incident until UA has released a statement about it.
NovellOfficial – What I can tell you is that the rest of us are fine. The worst injury was one of Tentacole's secondary arms, but he is able to regenerate them, so he'll be back to normal in a couple weeks.NovellOfficial – @CavernsAncient, @Pikachoochoo, @WideAngel5, @InertNeutron Please know that I would never advocate violence if there's any alternative. InertNeutron is correct about the situation. A mentor of mine has once or twice told me "If you can't reach the head, go for the crotch." In general this is a 'your foe outclasses you by a lot' tactic only, but it is valid! Although, please do not try kicking people in the jaw! That's assault! You could seriously injure someone!Pikachoochoo – Then why did you do it? @NovellOfficialNovellOfficial – Very simply, because the only ally I had able to take him down was out of commission. If he'd gotten up again, he'd have overwhelmed me and then gone on to murder people for fun. I knew what the possible legal consequences were and chose to put lives over my own convenience. @PikachoochooPikachoochoo – Sounds like a fancy excuse to me. @NovellOfficialSYSTEMNOTICE – Pikachoochoo has been banned for 72 hoursAdmin36 – Sorry about him, Novell. He's a fanatical pacifist and commonsense does not sway him. We all consider you and your class as heroes for stopping those villains before anyone could die. @NovellOfficialNovellOfficial – Thanks. @Admin36NovellOfficial – Some people have been asking why an information quirk has other abilities. The answer is that my quirk has recently developed an energy manipulation aspect. We're still finding out all it can do. Besides the black whips that were visible in some recordings, the green lightning allows me to reinforce my body. It's how I survived being thrown through a window and into a wall with so little damage.NovellOfficial – My worst injury was a broken nose from Muscular punching me. It has since been healed by Recovery Girl, along with the worst of the bruises and cuts.SerrusSerrus – Sounds sus to me. @NovellOfficialNovellOfficial – I'm a late bloomer. Really late. You know how weird quirks like that can get, right? @SerrusSerrusSerrusSerrus – That's true. Sus suspicion removed. @NovellOfficialDarlingDaD – So, if All Might is your father, does that mean he has an energy manipulation quirk too? That would make so much sense! I mean, he can change the weather with a punch!CreatiEnterprises – No, we will not be updating Novell's figurines at this time. It is possible that we'll do so in the future. There will, be costume updates for several of Class 1A's figurines, however. Starting two runs from now. @everyoneHypnosUnofficial – I've seen a lot of comments on how calm we all were. We were, in fact, not calm at all. I, for one, can confidently say it was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. But, if we had panicked, the people we were protecting would have panicked too. Not only that, but it's impossible to fight effectively when you're busy panicking. We simply didn't have TIME to panic.TooTwoTo – Eeee! Hypnos, you made an account! I'm so excited! Everyone says my little brother's quirk is villainous. You're his favorite hero! @HypnosUnofficialThis post has 17338 replies. Click to expand.~
"Energy manipulation aspect?" Yamada sensei asks in amusement, handing him the paperwork to update his quirk.
"I didn't have a better explanation!" He defends, then asks seriously, "Should I put it down as something else on the forms?"
"Nah. Energy manipulation is about as vague as you can get with all the things your quirk does." Yamada sensei replies. "The commission and others will only be more suspicious if you don't give them an explanation or if you don't update your quirk description. Pointing out that you're a late bloomer was a really good idea. Maybe claim your quirk has another, earlier application of energy manipulation?"
Technically you could claim Inventory is energy manipulation.
"See! There you go!" Yamada sensei says enthusiastically.
"Thanks. Is it energy manipulation?" He wonders.
More like planar manipulation.
"Oh." That does make more sense.
~
Sunday…
The LOV idiots turn on the TV and move his chair so he has to watch. It's Nedzu and Aizawa sensei holding a press conference about the mall and his disappearance. Some stupid reporter asks if he'd been chosen by the LOV for his villainous potential. Aizawa sensei looks disapproving and politely says that the LOV has made a mistake, because Katsuki is never going to be a villain.
Which the LOV obviously doesn't like, but Katsuki has to blink back tears. The conference continues, but Katsuki misses it as a familiar text pane in baby pink pops up in front of him.
You have been invited to join a dungeon party.
Accept? Yes | No
The hell? This has Midoriya written all over it. But he's not stupid. There has to be a good reason that Midoriya's pissy quirk is deigning to do this.
"Yes." He mutters.
There's a knock at the door. "Pizza delivery!"
"Pizza?" Vapor asks. "Did someone order pizza?"
Do you want out of here?
There's a chorus of 'no's, which Katsuki uses to mutter under his breath, "Yes, I fucking want out of here!"
Very well.
Two things happen at once. The wall busts open revealing All Might on the other side and the floor drops out from under Katsuki. Then he's falling sideways. Or really, upside down, since the chair impacts the floor with him face down. He grunts as his cheek and knees take the brunt of the fall. "Ow. The hell?"
He squints as a text screen in baby pink pops up in front of his nose.
My apologies. I do not normally have to open the door myself. It complicated things. Are you alright?
"I'm fucking fine." He huffs and then starts wriggling around and trying to push himself up enough to crack the chair against the floor and break it so he can escape the ropes. He manages to thwack the thing sideways onto the floor several times over the next ten minutes before he starts cursing. "What the hell!? What kind of villains use unbreakable chairs? I'm going to break this damned chair if it's the last thing I fucking do!"
Or. You could ask me to remove the rope.
"You can do that? Why the fuck didn't you just do that to start with? Was it fun watching me struggle!?" He demands.
I can. Politeness is important. That was just a bonus.
Katsuki curses at the quirk for a couple minutes before running out of breath. "Fine. Remove the fucking rope already."
Nothing happens.
Shit. The quirk had specified 'ask', hadn't it? "Pleaseremove the ropes."
The ropes crumble to dust. He awkwardly shoves to his knees and shoves the fucking chair off of him. Pushing to his feet, he brushes the rope dust off of him, grimacing. Nasty stuff.
~
Sunday…
Meanwhile, Kiriko dashes for one of the bedrooms attached to the bar, grabbing up a gas mask as she runs. Locomotion casts his quirk on the heroes. Mustard, Locomotion and Cupid also grab up masks and Mustard starts flooding the area with gas.
All Might punches it away and nearly ends up on his face.
Kiriko comes back with a hulking nomu in a gas mask and points it at the heroes. "Nomu, kill the heroes."
Mustard produces more gas and the four villains take the chance to get out the back door and run.
A baby pink text pane pops up in front of All Might.
Bakugou is safe. You're needed at the other location.
All Might asks the other heroes if they can handle the nomu and after a quick check of the building, goes to the other site, right in time to do his canon fight with AFO, but without running out of OFA or shrinking down to his stick form, since he doesn't have that any more. After the fight, he can feel he's close to running on fumes, so he does his canon point at the camera and says, "It's your turn now."
~
Sunday…
Katsuki stands and picks up the curséd chair absently. The room he's in is quite large and has a number of doors. The ones on the closer wall are labeled. Rabbit dungeon, level 0. Frog dungeon, level 0. Pencil dungeon, level 1. Curious, he opens the pencil dungeon door, only to be faced with a blank wall.
"The fuck?"
Dungeons cannot be entered without Izuku.
"Tch." Disappointed, he wanders over to the opposite wall and tries the first door on the left. It also opens to a blank wall.
You cannot exit yet.
"Whatever." He moves to the next door. And yet again, gets a blank wall.
You cannot enter this area without Izuku.
"Say that before I try the door! What about this one?" He glares balefully at the last door.
You can enter.
Huffing at the pyrrhic victory, he enters the room and looks around in bewilderment. "Is this a kitchen? Where's the freaking stove?"
There's a camp stove in one of the cupboards. This is also a craft room.
"A craft room in the kitchen? Are you stupid?" He demands, opening the refrigerator. It has a few condiments, but no food.
More specifically, this room is for processing dungeon drops, one of which is meat.
"Huh. Weird. Nothing? What's the point of a kitchen if there's no food?" Katsuki demands crabbily. He is not disappointed!
Ah. Are you hungry?
Katsuki huffs and admits, "Starving. They didn't feed me at all."
Before his eyes, a plate with raw meat appears on one of the refrigerator shelves.
Monster rabbit meat. It's unprocessed. There is rice, oil and spices in the cupboards. Cutlery is in the drawers. There is a pot beside the camp stove in the second cupboard to your left.
"Thank you." Katsuki says begrudgingly. Honestly, Katsuki is surprised that the quirk is bothering to provide him with food. It seems pettier than that. He's pretty sure the soft pink screens are just to fuck with him.
Chapter 38: Retrieval, Invitation, Shopping
Sunday…
Katsuki is washing up when a new pink pane pops up.
You may exit now.
"Fucking finally. Let me just finish these up and I'll be gone." He says.
You may leave those in the sink. They will be taken care of.
"I'm not leaving dirty dishes around." He retorts.
Do I need to open another door under you?
"The fuck? What's two minutes difference to you?" He squints aggressively at the pane.
Keeping the true nature of Izuku's quirk under wraps.
Okay, it's weird having the quirk speak about itself that way. It might have a point, though.
"Fine." He turns off the water and dries his hands, then speed walks back to the door he fell in through. Opening it, he finds an office on the other side. Weird. He steps into the office and the door disappears behind him.
Just in time for Nedzu to walk in with some extra, who is nattering at him a bit aggressively. The extra stops mid-sentence when she sees Katsuki.
"He really is here. How?" She demands.
"As I was saying, a third party who wishes to remain anonymous and is affiliated with UA rescued him while the heroes played distraction. As you can see, they are quite trustworthy." Nedzu says in a too patient tone that tells Katsuki how annoyed he is at the extra.
Katsuki glares at her. "Who the fuck are you?"
She ignores that. "Is what Nedzu says true?"
"Fucking what? You think the rat would lie to you? He's right and I'm not telling you shit about them, so don't even ask." He tells her, which is more than she deserves.
"Rude." She sniffs but doesn't look offended. "Very well. I suppose those bruises are because you didn't cooperate with them."
He gives her a look, then blinks as Nedzu winks at him. Hah! "Like I'd fucking cooperate with villains. I'm going to be the new number one hero."
She looks taken aback by that, then gives him a calculating look. "You might just, at that. What with a quirk like yours. We'll keep an eye on you. Nedzu, we'll talk about this more later."
"Of course, Ms. Fujita." Nedzu says with a pleasant smile, hopping up on his desk with surprising ease given his size.
Katsuki bites his tongue so he doesn't curse her out for thinking he's coasting on his quirk. He puts the work in, dammit! He waits until her footsteps fade away in the hall before he looks at Nedzu. "Who's the fucking extra?"
Nedzu's smile drops. "Ms. Fujita is one of the Hero Commission's PR agents. This is not the way I prefer my students getting the Commission's interest. I'm sorry you had to deal with that."
He grunts in acknowledgement.
"Did the villains harm you? Those bruises look fresh."
A pale blue screen pops up.
No, sorry. I opened a door under him to get him free, but didn't think about the fact that the trajectory would be changed by doing that. He landed on his face.
Katsuki narrows his eyes, but decides not to add that the quirk had then watched him struggle for fun. No need to share that humiliation.
"I see. How are you otherwise, Bakugou?" The rat looks concerned.
"I'm fine. The damned quirk even fed me. Even though the Idiot Squad villains only gave me water. They didn't hurt me. Thought they could starve me into submission. As if." He scoffs.
"Hm. That's unfortunate. While it was kind of Find-san to feed you, I doubt you're in shape to be healed quite yet. Though, of course, I will bow to Recovery Girl's judgement on the matter." The rat speculates.
"Tch." He scoffs again. "As if I can't handle a few bruises for a day or two. Besides, it looks better for me if the public thinks the villains hurt me because I wasn't cooperating than to come out without a mark on me, right?"
Nedzu stares at him for a moment, then nods. "I'm surprised you picked up on that."
Now that's just offensive.
"I may have done things I regret, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." He crosses his arms. In all honesty, there's a good chance that the green haired menace (or his bastard quirk) spilled his middle school sob story, but no one has said anything to him about it. So either they think his quirk is too good to pass up anyways, they don't care (unlikely, this IS UA), the green menace asked them not to do anything (the very thought burns), or they really don't know. He doesn't know which it is and it makes him antsy.
"Oh, of course not. But high grades do not always translate to social competence, particularly in an individual such as yourself who has made it clear that you don't value other people's sensibilities." Nedzu chirps. Is the rat laughing at him?
"What's that supposed to mean?" He demands.
"Do you deny it?" The rat has the gall to ask.
"No." He answers in annoyance. Of course he doesn't fucking care about extras' opinions. That doesn't mean he's blind to the fact that a majority opinion among extras can make someone win or fail out of sheer social pressure. Just look at what the extras did to Izu- the green menace in middle school before he got his quirk. The fact that he made it into UA despite that is only because Midoriya lives to defy expectations, as much as it irks him to admit. Of course he hates looking weak, which he will with the bruises, but it also makes him look stronger than the villains and he can deal with a little humiliation as long as people aren't thinking he's a would-be villain. Aizawa sensei had denied it to the reporters, but they had still asked.
The rat laughs. "Alright, let's get you to Recovery Girl. And then Present Mic will drive you home." He glances at his computer, which has something playing in the corner of the screen. "Oh, there is someone who wants to reassure himself that you're okay."
"What?" Who?
The door to the office swings open as if in answer and the fucking green menace rushes in, followed by Aizawa sensei.
"Kacchan! You're okay!" He blurts, then throws himself at Katsuki, who doesn't think to dodge until it's too late and he's being hugged and blubbered on.
He gently starts pushing him away, but the idiot just clings tighter. "Fucking let go! I'm fine!"
"You have bruises!" Midoriya protests.
"And your fucking quirk gave them to me!" He says in exasperation, already sick of people mentioning the damned bruises.
"Find-san!" Midoriya gasps, aghast.
"Tch. It was an accident." Katsuki admits instead of leaving the quirk to defend itself. Considering how much it probably hates him, it had treated him well, so at least he can return the favor.
Midoriya huffs a little, but lets it go and after a moment, releases him. "Have you seen Recovery Girl yet? Can we go home?"
Katsuki sneers at the idea that 'home' is the same place for them both. "No. I have to see the old lady first." Then he has a thought and he points at the green menace. "And you're taking me on your next dungeon trip."
He has the gall to look startled. "Oh, um. I don't know- Find-san? Can I do that yet?"
…
"What does dot dot dot mean?" Katsuki asks in irritation.
I'm thinking.
"Think fast." He mutters. It makes sense that a sapient quirk would have to think.
You're not supposed to move to level 1 parties until after clearing a level 2 dungeon, but I'll allow it. But he has to start with a level 0 dungeon like everyone else.
"The rabbit dungeon?" He guesses, because he knows Midoriya cleared that one, based on what he was given to eat.
Both Midoriya and Hobo sensei shudder at that. "No!"
The fuck? But he doesn't ask. So that leaves the frog dungeon, right? Frogs are no challenge for him, but whatever, not like rabbits would be either. He can wait for higher dungeons to find a real challenge.
~
Monday…
Izuku answers his phone without looking at who is calling. "Hello?"
"Midoriya shounen?" A familiar voice asks.
"Yagi sensei? Is something wrong?" He can't think of a lot of reasons for his mentor to be calling on summer vacation.
"I was wondering if you'd like to come to I-Island with me? I get a plus one invite every year and this year I'd like to go and to introduce you to my friend David Shield." All Might explains.
He's not sure what sound he makes, but it's loud enough that his mom peers into his room. "Izuku? Is everything okay?"
"Mom! All Might sensei is inviting me to I-Island to meet David Shield!" He blurts, voice embarrassingly high pitched with excitement.
She smiles. "That's nice of him. Have you told him 'yes' yet?"
"Can I?" He asks, because she's the one who has final say.
"Of course. It'll be good for you, I'm sure. Ask him what you'll need to pack, okay?" She assures him, then wanders off back to what she was doing.
He takes a deep breath and concentrates on the phone. All Might is laughing on the other side. Yup. He's totally embarrassed himself. "Mom says I can and told me to ask what I should pack."
"Hm. One nice suit and the rest can be casual wear, though I'd suggest long pants and shirts without sayings on them." All Might suggests.
"Are you saying my fashion sense sucks?" He teases, although he's panicking a little, wondering if he even has shirts without dumb joke sayings on them.
"What? I- Um. I would never. No?" Yagi sensei fumbles.
Izuku laughs. "I'm just kidding. Even if you think so, it's nothing Kacchan hasn't said before."
"Young Bakugou?" All Might sounds surprised.
"Oh, yeah. His parents are prominent fashion designers. MM Designs is their brand. You didn't know?" He asks. Not that he really expects All Might to know that.
"I did not. They make nice stuff." All Might admits.
That's it! If he doesn't have any appropriate shirts, he can ask Auntie Mitsuki to help! It's not like she doesn't threaten to do something about his wardrobe at least twice a year. She'll probably be thrilled.
You definitely don't have anything appropriate. You outgrew what little you had over last summer.
He groans mentally. Auntie Mitsuki it is. Verbally, he agrees, "Yeah, they do."
~
Monday…
"Hi, Auntie Mitsuki." He greets when she answers her phone.
"Izuku? What's up, sweetheart? It's rare for you to call me. Does Inko need something?" Auntie Mitsuki asks.
"Ah, um, no. That is, I was wondering if you could help me with shopping? I'm going to I-Island and I need some appropriate clothes, because I outgrew the ones I had." He explains sheepishly.
He hears her drop something. "Fuck! My toe!"
"Um, Auntie? Are you okay?" He asks worriedly.
"Eh, I'm fine, kid. I was just startled. Did I hear that right? You're willing to let me take you shopping for once?" She demands.
"Yeah, Auntie." He assures her. Not that he can blame her for doubting her ears. Usually he makes any excuse he can come up with to avoid shopping with her, because shopping with her is exhausting.
"Okay, kid. Don't run off. I'll be over in twenty; I'm not giving you time to change your mind." She orders. "What kind of clothes do you need?"
"Um. All Might said some casual clothes without sayings. I'm pretty sure he meant professional level casual, though. And I don't know how to do that. Oh, and a nice suit." He tells her.
"Got it. Now, I mean it. Don't run off. Let Inko know we're going and make sure you don't forget your phone. You know how anxious Inko gets if she can't get ahold of you." She instructs.
"Yes, Auntie." He acknowledges, not surprised at all when the phone call abruptly hangs up. Checking the charge on his phone, he decides that it's full enough to last a few hours. Shoving his phone in his pocket and making sure his wallet is safe in the other one, he walks out of his bedroom and calls out, "Mom? I'm going shopping with Auntie Mitsuki to get some clothes for I-Island."
"What? Oh dear, are you sure? You know how Mitsuki is. I could go with you to the mall." She offers, looking disturbed.
"Honestly, mom? I'm not comfortable going to a mall with you after what happened the last time I went to the mall. And Auntie won't be taking me to the mall because of how she is. So it- It feels safer." He admits uncomfortably.
"Oh, baby! Of course. I should have thought about that. You've been so brave about it that it completely skipped my mind." Inko says, looking like she wants to hug him but not sure if she should.
Izuku doesn't know what to say. He wants to tell her how scary it was, but he also doesn't want to worry her.
Understandable. But it will take some time before we're comfortable going to a mall again.
Bless Find-san.
Less than five minutes later, there's pounding on their front door. Auntie and Kacchan are there when he opens the door. "I thought you said 'twenty', Auntie?"
"Oh, sweetie, it's cute that you forgot that I live two minutes away by car. What is it that teacher of yours says? It was a logical ruse. Like I'd give you that much time to rethink this. Inko! I'm trading you sons for the afternoon! Make sure the brat cooks or cleans for you or something. We'll be back for a late supper." Auntie Mitsuki says, shoving a disgruntled looking Kacchan through the door.
"Wait, what?" Izuku asks. Why are they taking that long? It's still morning. They don't need to be out all afternoon too, do they?
Kacchan scoffs and avoids crashing into Izuku by a fraction of an inch, then pivots and shoves him towards the porch. "Go on. Enjoy your funeral."
Now he's afraid. "Kacchan?"
"Hi, Auntie Inko."
And now he's being ignored. Great.
"Katsuki! It's nice to see you." His mom says cheerfully.
Izuku squeaks when Mitsuki takes his wrist and tows him towards the car idling in the driveway.
~
Monday…
Four hours later, he has more slacks and skinny jeans, dress shirts and fashionable casual shirts than he knows what to do with and the beginnings of a hunger induced headache. The trunk and back seat are full of bags.
"Auntie? Can we stop to eat?" He asks wearily.
"Oh! Of course. We can shop for shoes and a suit after we have lunch." She replies easily, sliding into the driver's seat again. "I know a place that does a nice katsudon and some lovely salads."
"I don't know how you can live on salad for lunch, Auntie." He tells her.
She pats his arm. "I find them energizing and I don't need a heavy protein diet like you and the brat do."
"Oh." He says rather blankly. Katsudon does sound good, though.
Not unexpectedly, she takes him to a restaurant whose menu prices are probably equivalent to Uraraka's parents' yearly income. But the katsudon isdelicious. Even if the maître de and servers give his outfit dubious looks. He probably deserves that, given how fancy the place is.
The place she takes him to get a suit is so formal that he immediately wants to leave. Not brave enough to actually do that, he gravitates to a red striped suit with a black bow tie.
"Absolutely not. You'll look like a Christmas present in that." Auntie says flatly and tows him further into the store. "Armand! I have a new customer for you!"
A Caucasian man with greying blond hair emerges from the back. "Mitsuki, it's good to see you so soon! What's the occasion? And who is this?"
"This is my nephew Izuku. He needs a nice suit for an I-Island event. Something in black. And not a bowtie." She replies.
"Um, Auntie? I kind of mangle anything but clip-ons." He warns.
Armand chuckles. "We have classier clip-ons. No need to worry. In fact, I think I know the one we'll need."
He turns to a nearby display of ties and quickly selects one, holding it up for inspection. It's black with curly green patterns on it.
"Acceptable." Auntie agrees.
The man nods and sets the tie on a counter. "If you'll follow me? I have several fabrics that I think might suit."
Auntie Mitsuki settles on a black fabric with an almost invisible dark green pinstripe that somehow manages to be both rough and soft to the touch. "What do you have for shirts? Something in green and something in black, I think."
"This way." Armand says, touting the roll of fabric under his arm, leading them off to another display.
"Um. I thought suit shirts were always white?" Izuku asks uncertainly.
Auntie Mitsuki gives him a considering glance. "You can have one in white, too, if you want."
"Are you going to at least let me pay for the suit?" He asks plaintively.
"Not a chance." She tells him. "This isn't something cheap that a highschooler could afford anyways. Just let me spoil you. You're my favorite nephew."
He wants to argue that he's her only nephew, but knows that she'll just turn it around on him.
"Here we are. Hm. Push up your sleeve." Armand requests.
Izuku complies and sees Armand's grey eyes widen a little. "My, you are quite muscular. I'm afraid we'll need the next display over, after all. We'll just have to adjust the length and waist."
Suddenly, Izuku has to wonder if he's a bother to this classy looking foreigner. "Sorry."
"No need to be." Armand assures him. "It will be only a matter of minutes to adjust them. My quirk is called 'Tailor', which is quite useful."
He immediately bites his tongue so he doesn't start muttering theories about the quirk, which sounds fascinating.
Armand apparently sees something in his expression, because he winks at Izuku. "Now, as you can see, we have several shades of both green and black and three different whites to choose from."
Izuku ends up with ten shirts. Four in different shades of green, five in various shades of black – because apparently he look good in black, and one in a creamy white. Honestly, he thinks it's excessive, but both Armand and Auntie assure him that it is not and they're the experts. He also ends up with cufflinks and a tiepin in an abstract design. At least he was able to talk them out of the jeweled ones. Those had real gems in them!
Then he has to stand still as Armand adjusts the shirts (all ten!) with his quirk and then makes a complete suit from the green and black material. When it's done, he finds that it's weirdly comfortable.
"What's that expression for, Izuku?" Auntie asks.
"Oh. Uh. It's just comfortable. I didn't expect it." He admits.
She scoffs. "Of course it is. It's tailored to fit."
"I would be concerned if it were uncomfortable." Armand adds.
~
Monday…
Their next stop is a shoe shop that's as nice as Armand's shop. The attendant gives his shoes a derisive look and he feels compelled to defend them. "They're special order. I have the extra toe joint."
The attendant looks surprised, then sympathetic. "Well, you can't wear them with everything. Not to worry. We carry a variety of primordial styles as well as various styles to accommodate mutations."
Izuku gives Auntie a surprised look and she just smiles smugly at him. Oh, of course she would have thought of that.
~
Monday…
Izuku thinks they're done then, but Auntie Mitsuki scoffs at his relieved expression. "We're not done yet, kid. One last stop."
It turns out to be a large hair salon with shelves of hair products along one wall.
"Mrs. Bakugou? How can we help you today?" A girl with blue and pink hair to her waist asks.
"An easy care trim for my nephew here and some hair care products for his hair." Auntie replies.
"Auntie!" He says, aghast. "I have hair care products."
"Not as good as these." She retorts.
He gives up. He's dead on his feet and really has no energy left to argue.
~
Monday…
When they get home, Auntie loads him down with so many bags that he looks like some weird bag construct. He can barely make it through the front door by turning sideways.
Kacchan takes one look and laughs his head off, but goes out to the car to help with the rest of the bags.
His mom takes a few bags from him and fusses, "Oh, sweetie. You look so tired. Sit down. I'll help with the bags."
Taking her at her word, he drops the rest of the bags, though that takes some doing, then flops on the couch, face down. He doesn't even twitch when Kacchan dumps an armload of shoe boxes on him.
"Wow. You are out of it, nerd." Kacchan laughs.
"You're a nerd." He retorts brilliantly and gets another laugh for his pains. Kacchan must've had fun with mom.
He gets more stuff dumped on him as the minutes go by, but he's too tired to care until his mom says, "Honey, you should put these away. Katsuki made his spicy chicken curry."
With a groan, he gets up and starts carrying things into his room, causing a small landslide of boxes and bags. It takes him a while, but he's not going to miss out on Kacchan's curry because of a little tiredness.
When he's done, a green screen pops up.
You could have just put all that into Inventory, you know?
Izuku facepalms with a groan. "You could have reminded me sooner."
Find-san doesn't reply and Izuku groans again before making his way to the dining room where Kacchan is setting out beautiful plates full of spicy chicken curry. This is his just reward for putting himself through the hell that is a shopping trip with Auntie.
Chapter 39: Phone Calls, Chats, Bedrooms
Tuesday…
Izuku groggily swipes Answer on his phone. "H'llo?"
"Oh dear, did I wake you up? I was under the impression that you are usually up by this time of day." A cheerful voice says.
"Nedzu?" He squints at the clock. 9:47am. Why did mom let him sleep in so late? He's not late to school, is he?
"Indeed! And no, there's no school. This is summer vacation, after all." Nedzu answers.
"Did I say that out loud?" He wonders.
Nedzu chuckles. "Yes, you did."
"Oh. Auntie took me shopping yesterday. Mom probably let me sleep in on purpose." He realizes. "What did you call about, Nedzu sensei?" He asks with a yawn.
"Oh, I was just wondering if you and your group feel up to doing another dungeon this weekend. I understand that you're going with All Might to I-Island next Wednesday, so I will understand if you'd rather take that time to prepare for the trip." Nedzu explains.
"Um." He blinks a few times. "I mean, I'd have to ask the others if they want to. I think I'm prepared for the trip other than deciding which new things to pack."
"Excellent! Let me know if you need any of their numbers." Nedzu sensei offers. Which is kind of him, but…
"No, I have everyone's number." He refuses politely.
"Even better. People tend to get a little strange if you know their number without having asked for it." Nedzu says cheerfully. "Well, I'll let you go, so you can get to that. Do let me know what they say."
"Of course, Nedzu sensei." He says, rolling out of bed and wincing when his sore feet hit the floor. "Talk to you later."
"Till then!" Nedzu replies and promptly hangs up.
He puts the phone down and wanders into the bathroom. Ack! His hair! He runs his fingers through it frantically and is surprised when it settles into place easily. Oh, right. Easy care haircut. Neat!
After he's done in the bathroom, he wanders into the kitchen, makes himself a bowl of cold cereal and eats it. Then he rinses the bowl out and leaves it in the sink, since the dishwasher is still full of clean dishes and he's not awake enough to not drop stuff trying to put it away. He gets dressed, then considers his phone.
Hitoshi first, then Momo and Shouto. Then Ochako and Tsu, though he's not sure if either of them can come, even if Find-san provides transportation. And after that, if enough people say yes, he'll inform Kacchan. No need to get him riled up if the others can't make it, after all.
He calls.
"Mmph?" Hitoshi answers, clearly not awake.
"Good morning, Hitoshi!" He says brightly, because if he has to be awake for this, Hitoshi can suffer with him.
There's a heartfelt groan on the other side of the call. "What did you do? And why are you dragging me into it?"
"Rude." He says in amusement. "Nedzu wants to know if we want to go dungeon diving this weekend."
"If it's Saturday, count me in. I need an excuse to avoid my dad's work's 'family dinner'." Hitoshi says promptly.
"That bad, huh?" He asks sympathetically.
"They always have bad food, half of them are rude about my quirk and the other half want to know why I'm set on heroics instead of following in dad's footsteps and joining their company in a few years. Or to talk shop, because obviously I know all about dad's work." Hitoshi complains.
Izuku stifles a laugh, because it really isn't funny. "That sucks. So late afternoon?"
"Nah. Around noon. It's actually a luncheon." Hitoshi clarifies.
"Okay." He nods to himself, making a mental note. "I'm going to get off now and call Momo and then Shouto."
"Yeah? You want me to call Ochako and Tsu?" Hitoshi volunteers.
"Would you? That would be great." A yawn sneaks up on him. "Sorry, I'm still tired from the trauma inducing shopping trip I went on yesterday."
"More traumatizing than going to a mall?" Hitoshi inquires. "Mom dragged me out shopping for the things I needed for summer camp yesterday. I almost had a panic attack on the spot. We ended up going to individual stores instead."
"No, not that traumatizing. We went to individual stores too. I must've tried on two hundred pairs of shirts and jeans apiece, about forty pairs of shoes and got fitted for a suit. I don't want to see another store for at least two months." Izuku explains.
"Okay, you win. That's way worse than just picking up a few items." Hitoshi concedes.
"It's not a contest!" He protests.
~
Tuesday…
"Izuku! How nice of you to call. I was just thinking about you." Momo answers the phone.
He turns red. "Something on Hero Official? No, wait. That's not what I called about."
"Oh? What did you call about?" She enquires, sounding amused.
"Do you want to go dungeon diving on Saturday around 11 or 11:30?" He blurts.
"I'd love to." She says immediately, sounding pleased.
"Oh? UA is doing dungeons now?" A female voice asks in the background.
Izuku groans. "Momo, do you have me on speaker again?"
"Oops, sorry. Something like that, mom. We're something of a test case." Momo answers calmly.
"They're not Yun Hwang's dungeons are they?" Her mom asks pointedly. Yun Hwang is a Korean woman with a high powered gamer quirk that creates dungeons so deadly that only pro-heroes rated in the top 200 of any country are allowed to enter.
Momo sputters. "No! I swear they aren't, mom!"
"Well, that's okay, then. You can go." Her mom says easily.
He facepalms. Well, that was unwontedly easy.
"Mom says I can come." Momo repeats. "Meet at UA's front gate?"
"Yeah, that would be good. I'm going to call Shouto now and see if he can come. Hitoshi's calling Ochako and Tsu." He answers.
"Oh." She sounds slightly disappointed. "Okay. Good luck with that."
"Thanks, talk to you later."
~
Tuesday…
"Shouto speaking."
"Shouto? This is Izuku. I was wondering if you want to go dungeon div-?"
"When?" Shouto cuts him off.
"Saturday at 11 or 11:30."
"Yes. I'll tell Endeavor I'm going. At UA?" Shouto answers immediately.
"Ah, yes." He says, a little taken aback by the abruptness.
"I'll be there at 11." Shouto says and hangs up.
Izuku stares blankly at thin air for a moment before taking the phone away from his ear. Well that makes five people, including Aizawa sensei, so it's time to call Kacchan. He dials before he can chicken out.
Kacchan answers with, "What do you want, you menace?"
"Do you want-?"
"Hah!?" Kacchan sounds disgusted.
"To dungeon dive on Saturday, at 11, at UA?" He continues doggedly.
"Of course I do. Old Hag! I'm going to UA Saturday morning to do some training with Izuku." He yells.
Izuku winces and holds the phone away from his ear. He hears a faint female voice reply, but can't make out the words.
"She says that's fine." Kacchan interprets.
Somehow he doubts that, but that's just how Kacchan and Auntie interact.
"Alright. See you there!" He says with fake cheer and hangs up before Kacchan can say something rude. Hey! He has a little self-preservation!
~
Tuesday…
Rumble Room chat
HelloDarkness: Ochako can't come. Her family is keeping her busy. Tsu said she can come at 11:30.
RiseNShine: Okay! That's fifty percent more than I thought.
HelloDarkness: Pfft.
RiseNShine: Shouto and Kacchan are going to be there at 11, though.
LetsSayGrace: I, too, can only come at 11:30.
RibbitNRoll: Sorry, I'm babysitting before that.
ShowOfHands: And sorry I can't come! I was looking forward to our next one.
TheWorldEndsTwice: I'm still coming at 11. I don't mind waiting.
RiseNShine has added Katsuki Bakugou.
Katsuki Bakugou: What the fuck is this?
RiseNShine has changed Katsuki Bakugou's name to KaPow.
RiseNShine: Kacchan, this is the group chat for this weekend's activities. I just needed to let you know that Tsu and Momo can't make it until 11:30, but Shouto and I will be there at 11. So you can either sleep longer or show up earlier and wait with us.
KaPow: Got it. Also got that you're too cowardly to call back and just tell me yourself.
HelloDarkness: Or. If you can't be nice, you can just stay home this weekend.
KaPow: Who asked you? And who the fuck are you?
RiseNShine: Oh! Sorry, Kacchan. HelloDarkness is Shinso, LetsSayGrace is Yaoyorozu, ShowOfHands is Uraraka, RibbitNRoll is Asui and TheWorldEndsTwice is Todoroki.
KaPow: Who?
ShowOfHands: Is he serious?
RiseNShine: Unfortunately, yes. He has trouble with names. I doubt he even remembers my real name.
KaPow: Oh, fuck you, Izuku Midoriya!
RiseNShine: Wow, sometimes you amaze me, Kacchan.
KaPow: I'm always fucking amazing.
RiseNShine: Of course, Kacchan.
RiseNShine: Shinso has purple hair. Asui has green hair. Yaoyorozu has black hair. Uraraka has brown hair. Todoroki has red and white hair.
KaPow: Oh. Eyebags, Frogface, Ponytail, Cheeks and IcyHot. Why didn't you just say so?
RibbitNRoll: I have a name. Use it.
KaPow: Hah? What's wrong with Frogface?
RibbitNRoll: I'm a mutant. What do you think? Do I need to spell it out for you?
KaPow: …Sorry. What's your name again?
RibbitNRoll: Call me Tsu.
HelloDarkness: Now I'm curious as to what his nickname for you is, Izuku. Also, why did you invite him?
KaPow: The green Menace. Because I'm amazing.
RiseNShine: Couldn't be helped. He saw the dungeons room when Find-san rescued him and he demanded to join.
ShowOfHands: Are you sure you can trust him not to blab?
KaPow: The fuck? Of course I'm fucking trustworthy, Cheeks!
RiseNShine: He hasn't told anyone that Find-san is a gamer quirk and he's known for months.
LetsSayGrace: Kapow, what weapon do you want to take?
KaPow: Hah? I'll be fine with my quirk.
LetsSayGrace: I doubt that.
KaPow: Fuck off, Ponytail!
TheWorldEndsTwice: Don't say she didn't warn you later.
KaPow: I know what I'm doing, IcyHot, so you keep your fucking opinions to yourself.
RiseNShine: Be nice, Kacchan. Or I'm telling Uncle.
RiseNShine has removed KaPow.
HelloDarkness: That's hilarious, that he calls you the green menace.
LetsSayGrace: Izuku, do you know if PowerLoader has finished our weapons and costume changes?
RiseNShine: No. But I can ask.
RiseNShine has added Nedzu.
RiseNShine has changed Nedzu's name to HigherPower.
RiseNShine: Nedzu? Do you know if PowerLoader has finished with our weapons and upgrades?
HigherPower: Indeed, he has!
HigherPower: Is this a personal chat? Or is it, as you told Bakugou, an activities chat?
RiseNShine: It's personal, but it's okay, we can make a new personal one.
HigherPower: No, keep this one personal. I'll make a new chat for activities. Expect it to download to your phones within a few minutes.
TheWorldEndsTwice: Fear.
HelloDarkness: Fear.
ShowOfHands: Fear.
HigherPower: :-)
HigherPower has left.
HelloDarkness: Well, that happened.
~
Tuesday…
Activities chat
Nedzu has changed their name to MrPrincipal.
MrPrincipal has added IzukuMidoriya, MomoYaoyorozu, HitoshiShinso, KatsukiBakugou, OchakoUraraka, TsuyuAsui, ShoutoTodoroki and ShoutaAizawa.
MrPrincipal has changed IzukuMidoriya to Novell.
MrPrincipal has changed MomoYaoyorozu to Creati.
MrPrincipal has changed HitoshiShinso to Hypnos.
MrPrincipal has changed KatsukiBakugou to EmperorExplosion.
MrPrincipal has changed OchakoUraraka to Uravity.
MrPrincipal has changed TsuyuAsui to Froppy.
MrPrincipal has changed ShoutoTodoroki to Shouto.
MrPrincipal has changed ShoutaAizawa to Eraserhead.
Eraserhead: mnrpPgd
Eraserhead has changed their name to Sleepy.
Sleepy: This is Hizashi. Add me too! I want to dtungslrku;dflkue
Sleepy: Sorry, Hizashi stole my phone. He wants to know if he can go on dungeon dives too.
Novell: Yes!
MrPrincipal has added HizashiYamada.
MrPrincipal has changed HizashiYamada to PresentMic.
PresentMic has changed their name to Rocking.
EmperorExplosion: Why have I been added to another fucking chat?
MrPrincipal: This one is much more secure, so you may mention dungeons freely in this one.
Shouto has changed EmperorExplosion to EMP.
EMP: What the fuck, IcyHot?
Shouto: Because you're a conversation killer.
EMP: The fucking menace kicked me out of the conversation!
Shouto: Because you were killing it.
EMP: Fucking whatever.
EMP has left.
EMP has joined.
EMP: What the fUCK!?
MrPrincipal: Oh, no one can leave this chat once added.
EMP: Fuck no!
EMP has left.
EMP has joined.
EMP has left.
EMP has joined.
MrPrincipal: For the record, even if you get a new phone under a new name, this chat will follow you.
EMP: Fuck You!
MrPrincipal: No thank you. You're not my type. Not to mention, much too young for me.
Sleepy: I can attest that he's not lying about the chat following you.
EMP: ;sdu9@$^&F@$#**(&(UKJTUJgkdfg;a!
Novell: Kacchan. You may want to rethink what you're about to say.
EMP: SLkJU*#$*^+ Why the fuck should I?
Novell: Do you know what happened to the last student who insulted Principal Nedzu?
EMP: …
EMP: No.
Novell: Neither do I.
Novell: And I'm not brave enough to ask.
MrPrincipal: I'd be quite willing to tell you in explicit detail. ;)
Shouto: Fear.
Novell: Fear.
Uravity: Fear.
Creati: Fear.
Hypnos: Fear.
Froppy: Fear.
EMP: I'm not afraid of anything!
MrPrincipal: Is that a request to be told?
EMP: …
EMP: No.
MrPrincipal: Disappointing. ;)
MrPrincipal: Midoriya, you may want to may sure Bakugou has a room before the dungeon dive commences.
Novell: Sure, Nedzu sensei. I can do that today.
EMP: Room?
Novell: There's a hallway that leads off of the dungeons room to dorms. I just have to be with you until you pick a room and it's assigned to you.
Novell: Yamada sensei, we should set you up with one too.
Rocking: Sure thing, listener! Can it wait until Saturday or do you want to have me come pick you up somewhere in the next few days?
Novell: No need to pick me up! Just stay by Aizawa sensei and Find-san can open a door for you.
Novell: In fact…just let me pick up Kacchan and I can set you both up with a room right now.
EMP: Don't you DARE open a door into my house!
EMP: I'll come over so the old hag won't question where we disappear to.
Novell: Okay, Kacchan. See you in a few minutes.
Rocking: Wait. Does this mean Find-san can do teleportation?
MrPrincipal: It is my understanding that it is actually trans-planar relocation portals rather than teleportation.
Rocking: !!! That's so COOL!
Sleepy: Quit using your quirk inside.
Rocking: ?? You could have just told me that out loud.
Sleepy: I'm using peer pressure against you. Is it working?
Rocking: … Yes.
Sleepy: Good.
~
Inko answers the pounding on the door and smiles. "Katsuki! What brings you here?"
"Hi Auntie. I'm here to see Izuku." He says, looking like he swallowed a lemon.
Her brows rise. "Really? I was under the impression that the two of you don't get along very well."
Katsuki looks briefly guilty.
"Mom! Kacchan's going to a dungeon with me and my friends on Saturday. He just came over so we can set him up with a room." Izuku says, emerging from the hallway.
"Oh. Okay, sweetie. Have fun." She says encouragingly and steps away to let Katsuki in. It's nice to see the boys getting along again, even if they aren't exactly friends.
~
Hizashi is surprised when Shouta suddenly tugs him aside. He turns to see what- Oh. A floating door! How cool!
It opens and Midoriya pokes his head out. "You can come in. Aizawa sensei, are you coming too?"
"Yes." Shouta shakes his head. "Nemuri is staying with Eri."
"Okay! Tell Eri 'hi' for me, later!" Midoriya replies cheerily.
"Tell her yourself." Shouta grumps, like the marshmallow he is for his kids.
Midoriya salutes. "Yes, sensei!"
"Nemuri, we're leaving!" Shouta calls.
"Have fun!" Nemuri replies from Eri's bedroom, the sound somewhat muffled by going around corners.
Hizashi cautiously steps through the door and finds himself in a room full of…doors. What?
Midoriya opens the door next to the one Hizashi entered by. "It's this way."
He follows the two boys down a hallway that has three doors at the end. Boys to the left, Laundry dead ahead and Girls to the right. Midoriya opens the door on the left and motions them in.
"You can pick any room that doesn't already have a name on it. They're all the same." He explains. "Oh. Find-san. Can you add Yamada sensei to the dungeon party?"
Done.
"Ah. Thank you!" Midoriya says.
Hizashi follows Bakugou down the hall and notices Shouta's name on the room on the left, the only actual room before the hallway turns right, and Nedzu's name on the first room on the left after the hall turns. Hmmn…
Bakugou scoffs.
"Which room is yours, Midoriya?" Hizashi asks.
"The third one on the right, between Hitoshi and Shouto." Midoriya answers, rolling his eyes. "The first one on the right is open, and all except the first two on the left are open."
The explosive boy scoffs again and makes his way to the end of the hall and opens the door of the last room on the left. "This one's mine."
Well, that little interaction is concerning.
"Okay, Kacchan."
"And I'll take this one!" Hizashi says, taking the first room on the right. Which puts him as close to Shouta as possible. A doorplate forms on the door as he watches. Very cool. And the room is much nicer than he expected. A bed actually long enough for his height. A small, stacked washer/dryer set. A dresser. A desk. A full length mirror! A closet. A bathroom with a shower, toilet, sink and mirrored cupboardsthat open up to make a three directional view of the person at the sink!
He tries the sink and gets water. The toilet flushes quietly when he pushes the lever. The shower works too. Still curious about the functionality, he turns on the washer and dryer. Watching the washer fill up with water and the dryer turn its barrel.
I would not suggest using them for anything other than underwear.
Hizashi startles a little. "Why not?"
Even the best mini washers and driers are rather inefficient.
"Ah, so that's why there's a laundry room." He surmises.
Correct.
There's a knock on the open door. Midoriya pokes his head in. "Yamada sensei? We're leaving now, but you can stay if you want. Just go back out the same door you came in."
"Oh, no, I'll come with. I was just…" He trails off sheepishly.
"Yeah, everything works." Midoriya says in amusement. "Weird but true."
It's weirder that you would think that I would place non-functional items.
Hizashi winces. "Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
You did not.
"Oh. That's good. Yeah…good." Hizashi says lamely, shutting the door behind him as he exits. "So, what dungeon are we doing? Or do you know?"
Bakugou huffs from where he's ahead of them, like hearing his question is a chore.
"Oh, we already did the rabbit dungeon and since new members have to start with level 0 dungeons, it's going to be the frog dungeon." Midoriya has an odd note to his voice. Almost like dread, but not quite. Very strange.
"What should we wear?" Hizashi prods.
"Your hero costume. Uh. And you might want a weapon. But you probably shouldn't bring your speakers and Kacchan shouldn't bring his gauntlets. I don't think they'd be safe to use. Loud sounds and fire don't work very…um, well in tunnels, as it turns out." Midoriya says hesitantly.
"Tch." Bakugou scoffs. "I don't need my gauntlets to take out frogs."
"So, the directional speakers kind of are my weapon. What do you mean by weapon?" Hizashi is friends with Shouta. He understands the need to clarify these sorts of things.
"Um. Something blunt. Like Hitoshi and Aizawa sensei added clubs to their gear, Ochako has these metal rounds she throws and Momo has a bo staff. Or maybe a knife?" Midoriya suggests. "A big one, though. Not a little pocket knife."
Hizashi nods thoughtfully. Sounds like these dungeon frogs might be dangerous. "I've got one of those. Shouta got me in the habit of having a spare on hand."
Chapter 40: Frog Dungeon, part 1
Saturday…
Principal Nedzu has a stack of costume cases neatly labeled with their names, by his desk. He gestures at them. "I believe it will be more efficient to change in your rooms rather than the nearest changing rooms."
Yamada sensei and Aizawa sensei are already in their costumes, minus Yamada sensei's directional speakers, but the others grab their cases and head through the door Find-san opens for them. When Izuku emerges a few minutes later, he finds Shouto, Hitoshi and the three teachers waiting for them patiently. The others emerge over the next few minutes in their updated costumes.
Kacchan stares when he sees the changes. "What the hell, Ponytail? Since when is armor your look? Don't you need open space to use your quirk? And since when do you carry around a metal stick, you Menace?"
Izuku giggles at Momo's expression. "Since we did the rabbit dungeon, Kacchan."
Momo makes a face. "If you must know, the armor is moveable panels that allows me to move it aside when I need to use my quirk. However, I realized that being without protection is a liability."
The blond huffs, but doesn't argue. "Are we going to do this or not?"
Izuku looks around, but everyone is there, so he walks over to the door labeled Frog dungeon, level 0. "Create frog dungeon."
Then he opens the door and starts to step through, only to pause and step back.
"Hey, Momo? Do you think you could make us wading boots? I think we're going to need them."
Nedzu comes forward and peers into the dungeon. "Indeed. It appears to be a water dungeon. I suppose that makes sense, since frogs are amphibious."
"Of course. Just give me your shoe sizes." She says
"I don't need them." Kacchan says, crossing his arms.
Izuku gives him a weird look. "You really want to explain to Auntie how you ruined your new shoes by 'walking through a lake'?"
Kacchan huffs again. "Fucking fine."
They all give their shoe sizes and when Izuku gives his, Kacchan speaks again.
"You need to make his larger in the toe. The Menace has the extra toe joint."
He blinks at Kacchan, then smiles broadly. "Thanks, Kacchan. Sorry, Momo, I should have warned you. I usually have to get all my shoes special order or in the mutation section of shoe stores. It's not a big difference, but enough to be uncomfortable."
She nods. "That's easy enough to adjust. Tell me if I get it wrong."
"Will do." He promises, because he doesn't want to take advantage of her, but knows she's going to be upset if he doesn't tell her and ends up limping. Fortunately, the pair she makes fits fine.
Quest: Survive the frog dungeon, level 0.
Optional quest: Survive without being maimed.
Optional quest: Survive without injury.
Optional quest: Survive without acquiring a negative status effect.
Optional quest: Complete the frog dungeon.
He was afraid of that. Darnit!
Izuku probes the water with his spear staff before stepping in, but fortunately, the water is only a little over a foot deep. The waders are thigh high, so the depth is no problem. Everyone steps in behind him and he moves out of the way so he doesn't get stepped on.
"Wow, it's dim in here. I mean, it's a cave, so that makes sense, but I didn't expect it. At least we can see okay." Yamada sensei says, looking around.
"The better to see the eyes with." Shouto says in his usual monotone.
"Eyes?" Yamada sensei sounds puzzled.
"Yup." Hitoshi says. "We could be wrong, but last time-" He pauses as lots of little glowing eyes start appearing. "There we go. Called it, Shouto."
Shouto just nods.
Then little frogs start flinging themselves at them, sharp teeth on display. Izuku tries to hit one with his spear staff, but misses and his weapon clashes with Momo's bo staff, staggering both of them. They exchange a look.
"I'll move back. Kacchan, do you want to be up front?"
"Of course I do." Kacchan huffs and visibly restrains himself from shoving Izuku aside as they pass each other.
Now it's Kacchan, Momo and Tsu in front, followed by Shouto, Hitoshi and Yamada sensei, and Izuku moves back to be beside Aizawa sensei. The dungeon is pretty wide, so three abreast is doable as long as no one is careless.
Momo looks amused, but merely says, "You'll want to be about a foot further from me so you don't accidentally get hit with my staff."
Hitoshi gives him a shit eating grin, but says nothing.
Aizawa sensei, likewise, buries a grin in his scarf.
Yamada sensei gives them all confused looks.
Shouto intones, while batting frogs into pixels with fire and ice coated wushu staffs, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
"Oi, Icyhot! You making fun of me?" Kacchan says, exploding a frog.
Yamada sensei screams right then and the resulting noise of both things is so loud that they all stagger and clutch their ears. Some frogs do drop, stunned, but that doesn't really help.
Aizawa sensei glares at Yamada sensei, eyes red and hair floating. Hitoshi switches his glare between Yamada sensei and Kacchan.
"Don't use your quirks in here. Loud noises in an enclosed area just deafen your teammates and make communication hard." Aizawa sensei says loudly, though they can barely hear it over the ringing in their ears. Both of you should know this. You especially, Hizashi. Were you trying to kill us? You know what your screams can do to people at close range."
"Sorry." Yamada sensei says meekly, stabbing at a frog who apparently has recovered enough to make a second attempt. He misses. It misses too and bounces off his sleeve.
Damage done: -10 HP for all party members.
Yamada sensei winces and Kacchan stills for a moment before punching a frog with a small explosion that isn't nearly as loud as the first one, or that could be because they're all half deaf at the moment. Eh, probably half of one and half the other.The frog pixels.
Momo doesn't offer either of them a different weapon. None of the others ask her to.
~
Hizashi is sort of fine stabbing still stunned frogs into pixels. Though he doesn't think he'll ever get used to it. No, the problem comes when the frogs recover and start leaping at him again. The little demons are hard to hit. He's not bad at it, but he misses as often as he hits them. Most of them just bounce off and try again. From other angles sometimes.
But one of them has a bright idea and uses its tongue to hit him. Which doesn't seem that bad until he tries to shake it off his sleeve and fails because it's attached via its tongue. That's kind of freaky, but not as freaky as what happens next. He tries to cut its tongue to get it off and…fails. The tongue just…squishes. Why won't it cut!? He can't even put more pressure on it, because the knife starts to cut into his jacket if he does.
He may, just a little, freak out then. "Shit, shit, shit! Get off of me, you creepy demon!" Hizashi says as he goes back to shaking his arm frantically.
Then Shinso, bless his purple little soul, steps closer and deals the frog a smart blow across the head with his club. Thankfully that pixels it.
"Thank you!" He says gratefully.
"Next time just stab its body." Shinso says blandly.
Hizashi gets the impression he's being laughed at, but he can handle that in return for the rescue. And the boy isn't wrong. He should have thought about that. That's how he'd been killing them all along, so there really was no reason for him to panic in the first place. Though really, who wouldn't panic about being attached to a demonic frog? The things have teeth. That's just wrong!
~
"They're so hard to hit at this size." Momo complains.
"Absolutely." Izuku agrees. "I think you're better at it than I am, though."
"I have had training. Although I'd be happy to teach you what I know if you want to train together sometimes. Still, I think only practice will make us better at hitting monster frogs." She says.
"I'd be happy to train with you, Momo." Izuku says, ducking a frog that he missed hitting.
~
Katsuki is doing fine, just fucking fine, despite that too large explosion + Mic sensei screaming debacle at the beginning. Mic sensei had stopped with the screaming altogether and Katsuki had toned down his explosions to something less ear shattering. This works great for the first group of tiny frogs and for the second group the size of softballs. And then he fucking slips on something and goes down backwards hard and fast. He doesn't even have time to react before he's laying in the water like some demented statue.
What the fuck is his life, even? And what the hell did he slip on? He's not this fucking clumsy, okay?
He sits up, grunts and gets to his feet, ignoring Tsu's concerned, "Are you okay, Bakugou?"
It doesn't escape his notice that Mic sensei and the Menace are the only other ones who ask if he's okay. Makes sense. Ponytail and Eyebags are still pissed at him. Tsu doesn't seem like the type to waste words. Icyhot is either pissed or just doesn't know he should ask. Not that Katsuki needs to be asked! And Aizawa sensei is probably just annoyed or amused at Katsuki's expense. Not that he cares which. Of course he doesn't.
"Punching and kicking works, Kacchan, if you still don't want a weapon." The Menace tells him.
"Kicking works well." Tsu agrees.
Katsuki grunts again, this time in acknowledgement, and slicks some of the water out of his clothes before stopping and dumping the water out of his boots. Great, now they're nasty inside. At least it isn't his actual shoes. The Menace had been right about that. Not that he'll ever admit that.
~
Hizashi is doing his best not to freak out. Spoiler: he's failing at it. The demon frogs keep getting BIGGER with every batch they run into and the little ones were BAD ENOUGH! What is it with this dungeon? Is this normal? Sure, he's played games before but that's pixels, not risking his own hide. He's pretty sure the dungeon doesn't come with an auto-revive option. The demon frogs KEEP TRYING TO EAT HIM!
And they HAVE TEETH. Why do they HAVE TEETH? That's JUST WRONG! Frogs are harmless little things with no teeth that only eat bugs. Frogs are good. Why are demon frogs SO EVIL? The sound of predatory ribbiting before an attack will haunt his nightmares.
"Why do they have TEETH? That's JUST WRONG!" He blurts, stabbing another one.
"Actually, earth frogs sometimes have maxillary teeth to help hold onto their prey." Midoriya says, LIKE THAT HELPS! He definitely DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT. "Did you know that frog tongues are one of the softest substances in existence? They're covered in non-newtonian liquid. That's why their tongues stick to prey until they swallow. I think it's pretty cool really. It took humans forever to come up with non-newtonian substances. And frogs just. Evolved with it."
He jerks his hand out of the way of teeth just in time. "Ack! Teeth!"
"And they swallow with their eyes. How neat is that!? And their skins are mildly contact poisonous. That's why it's not good to let your dogs eat one, particularly the bigger ones. They might get sick and die."
Ugh. Is he trying to make us nauseous?
"Midoriya, kid, Izuku. I love you to death, but I do NOT need to know frog facts when we're being attacked by DEMON FROGS." Hizashi says, frantic to shut him up. As fascinating as the kid's rambles normally are, he doesn't need his image of earth frogs ruined while facing down DEMON FROGS.
Wait. Earth frogs?
Shinso gives him the most amused look ever at his outburst.
Midoriya sounds sheepish. "Sorry, Yamada sensei. I didn't mean to ramble."
"It's all good, kid. So, when you say 'earth frogs', do you mean these are real frogs not simulations? I mean, they do pixel when they die."
"Oh! Yeah, they're real. The pixeling is just Find-san breaking them down for storage, I think. You wouldn't believe how much blood we got on us in the rabbit dungeon." Midoriya says cheerfully, although his voice wavers on the words 'rabbit dungeon'.
"That was mostly you, Mr. Punches Them. And Aizawa sensei's boots." Todoroki says in a monotone.
The contrast of words and tone is almost enough to make Hizashi laugh, but he's A LITTLE DISTRACTED HERE! Demon frogs are APPARENTLY A REAL THING! And they're ACTUALLY TRYING TO EAT HIM! Well, all of them, but the point stands.
"Tsu's shoes too." Midoriya corrects.
"Store what, exactly?" He's not sure he wants to know. He also does not want to know whose shoes had blood on them. Ew.
Meat, skin and bones. Bosses and higher level dungeons also have other drops. Ingredients can also be found in dungeons, if one knows what to look for.
Hizashi shudders. Meat? Who the hell eats frogs other than foreigners? And what would you even do with the skin and bones?
His expression must speak loudly, because Find-san replies again.
Unwanted drops can be exchanged for drop points and used to provide furniture and household appliances.
Oh. Well, that's good at least.
~
Hitoshi bashes another frog the size of a small dog and winces as another one slides off the crotch of his costume. Thank kami for bite proof costumes or he'd be in a world of pain right now.
"Mad respect, Tsu." Here's all the proof one needs to know that frogs are badass.
"Kero."