Aoyama was sparkling. He was allowed to be a disco ball, shining brightly for everyone to see! This was a dream job. "More, I must have more glitter!"
"Aoyama, you covered all of your skin in glitter. We don't have enough room for more." Ashido chided him as he and the rest of the dance/backstage crew got ready. "Besides, we have to save some of it for Toru's costume. Aside from you, she's going to be the flashiest one on stage."
"Okay, all those eyes on me, watching me sparkle … great just great …" The invisible girl trembled a bit.
"Hey Toru, you okay?" Uraraka asked.
"Sure sure, just have been so desperate for attention the majority of my life that now I'm being thrown into the deep end of a crowd … I feel sweaty, does anyone else feel hot? Or dizzy? Or see the room spin?"
Ah, stage fright. A plight that once plagued him back in his youth. "There's no need to fear anything, Hagakure. You're a naturally confident young lady who's personality shines brightly." Aoyama reassured her. "You've handled yourself fairly well during the sports festival, you can do the same here."
"I lost my second match in the third round." The invisible girl grumbled. "And it was easier to handle back then. I could focus all my worries and frustrations into beating up other people."
"Then just beat yourself up!" Suzuki spoke from the high walk, practicing carrying a human … he was on his fourth dummy after the horror that baffled the first three. "Take all the stuff that makes you scared and strangle it."
"I don't feel like that's appropriate for this situation, or healthy in any case." Aoyama feared the boy's kidnapping heightened the trauma Suzuki no doubt experienced in his cruel life. "But if you need a goal to focus on, then focus on who you want to dazzle the most, Hagakure." He pointed. "When you're up on stage, just imagine it's just you and the one you fancy."
"… Alright then, Ashido, get me some glitter!" It was nice to help his classmates shine in the areas they wanted to. It was nice to just be here with his friends in general.
"Seriously people, Momo can't just make this stuff endlessly!" Kaminari complained.
"Okay, Iruma, repeat to me what you're going to do when we get to the chorus." Ashido turned to the cowlick kid.
"Use my super strength to lift Aoyama high, like this!" The boy pulled… hard enough for the head to crack against the ceiling. "… I need another dummy." He really hoped Iruma could get it down in time. When Aoyama said he would die for the perfect performance, he didn't mean it literally!
==
Tetsutetsu was kinda looking forward to the play now. He read some parts for the performance and the story was quite touching in its own way, and as Romeo, he could fight a dragon, super manly! Right now they were in the middle of practice, so critiques all around.
"Tetsutetsu, you may be the leading man due to your voice and spirit, but you need to bring forth patience for the calmer and deeper scenes. You don't want to be shouting for the kiss scene between you and Yui right?"
"Understood sir." He had a point, calm and steady wins the-"Wait, come again?"
"Well if you're calmer the moments can be more appreciated and-" Monoma started.
"There's a kiss scene?" Itsuka asked, confused.
"Okay, even in the off chance you haven't read this story, which you should have because everyone besides Itsuka and Reiko auditioned, the title should have given away the romance."
"How does it indicate romance? I just assumed it's about three knights fighting an evil king." Rin asked.
"And Juliet is the princess of the evil kingdom, where she slowly falls in love with Romeo and has to live with the guilt of either betraying a family that has shown her love or a stranger that has shown her kindness. Can anyone else pull off internal conflict in every scene like she can?" Monoma asked the group.
Everyone looked at the girl who just said nothing, looking at all of them as if she just entered the room. "Okay, that is ideal casting, but is she going to be okay with a kiss scene with Tetsu, because…you know?" Kinoko pointed to Yui, and then to Rei.
"We already talked about sperm donors, a kiss with a guy isn't that big of a deal." WHAT!?
"Well she agrees … for reasons that are going to haunt most of us." Shishida stated what everyone was thinking.
"I'm going to kiss a girl…on stage…in front of the whole school…in front of my family." Tetsu was suddenly feeling a whole lot less enthusiastic about this play in general, but it felt too unmanly to back out now!
"Say, there wouldn't happen to be, you know, anyone else that could play the part?" Itsuka, please get someone! Anyone!!
"Shoda and Yosetsu are too quiet and flustered respectively, so they're playing the worried companions Frodo and Samwise. Kurioro isn't comfortable with all the bright lights, so he's on stage duty. Manga can't make anything super dramatic without his quirk putting us at risk, so he's also on stage duty. Kaibara always flubs up his lines, Kamakiri is going to be the dragon due to his screams, and Juzo said he'd rather die than wear one of the costumes described." Monoma shot a glare at the boy in question.
"If it's not my hero costume, I don't wanna wear anything ridiculous."
"So he's going to be on the director team, he's got the head for it anyway." He grumbled. "Shishida is a hippogryph because of his animal look and love of nature, Rin is playing a space soldier to compliment Tokage's alien look, Kosei is the only reason we can walk in air so he's on stage control, and Bondo is … Bondo."
"Me pots are great! I make a lot of background!" Good on him for finding a way to help out, but it was seriously screwing Tetsu over!
"And none of the girls that could play an action role looked comfortable kissing Yui." To emphasize, Rei slid a finger on her throat. She would probably follow up on it too.
"Alright, if there's no one better…" He would do the manly thing and just suck it up. He would go through with it and give the manliest kiss he could….agh! That made it sound worse! This was going to suck!
"Wait, you never said why you couldn't." Itsuka pointed out. Oh yeah … protagonist and Monoma's ego went hand in hand.
"Oh, well you were already picking my idea so I went with the count instead and left it to Tetsutetsu." Damn it! Monoma picked a helluva time to curb that ego! Wait a second … maybe they could build it up!
"No way man!" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know this story inside and out! If you want to be Romeo, you've gotta be the most qualified!" He brought him in closer. "Think of it, Neito Monoma! Writer, director, actor, and hero! You're a jack of all trades!" Now for the killer. "There's definitely no one in 1-A who's as naturally talented as you, and this play is the best opportunity for the whole School to know it for a fact!"
The boy blinked, before laughing. "Very well then, you shall be the count, my rival and hidden father, destined to either kill me or die by my hand. Prepare yourself, Tetsutetsu!" Dodged a bullet!
==
This was never not going to be awkward was it? The two heroes sitting with nothing making a sound but his limited edition All Might clock. In hindsight, he probably should've taken all of his All Might memorabilia down when the man himself said he wanted to come over. He blamed his injuries on affecting his judgment. "So…how's the stomach treating you?" All Mi-Toshi broke the silence.
"Well, just having to eat some lighter foods so my diet is adjusted, shouldn't take too long until I have it down." He answered, the silence once again returning. "So … how's the school treating you?"
"It's exhausting, now that I no longer can go out, Nedzu is forcing me to do all the paperwork I've put off since the beginning of the year." The man groaned, before lightly snickering. "All I have to do to get him to back off though is tell him I hear Young Suzuki's stomach growling, and he flees into the vents."
That actually made Mirai chuckle just a little. "I heard he bested the rodent, but I assumed it was just Miriko over exaggerating." It was funny just how insistent the woman was on watching over Iruma. "You had to have known when you were training him the circumstances were…less than ideal."
"I may have been a tad overeager. I only gave him ten months to train up for One For All and just hoped he'd answer with a yes … but I tried to encourage him, make him see that he earned his power instead of just having it shoved or gifted to him." His former partner sighed. "Clearly I failed on that front."
"I don't know, he was pretty adamant about OFA being his power alone." Mirai tried to comfort. "I expected to be discouraged when he first met me, but he was determined to make me see things differently." He even considered using the trigger words at one point, before waving it off.
"Given he outright changed the future, I figure you definitely see things differently at this point." Yagi smirked. "The only other time that happened was a time looping quirk." That was a weird Friday the Thirteenth.
"It's strange, ever since I returned from the hospital, I've been getting flashes." He looked down on his desk. "Now that I'm aware of the existence of alternate timelines, I've seen visions of multiple branches instead of a singular path. The first time I tried to use my quirk after recovering, it was like a kaleidoscope was shoved into my mind, and it became hard to separate reality from imagination."
"How so?"
"In one timeline, I saw you choose another quirkless child that eerily resembled Suzuki. In another Suzuki was somehow a puppy, and in another I watched your successor become captured by All For One and that four armed Nomu." His head started to form a headache. "Pass the tylenol please?"
Yagi complied. "Well, if we've been able to avoid all those terrible outcomes, and prevent one from occurring, then the future does look a little brighter." Yes, yes it did.
"Besides one image of a bloody wolf, I haven't seen much of a dark future to date." He rubbed his head."The most bizarre timeline I can't be sure if it was real or a fever dream is where Suzuki is sent to hell, but somehow lives peacefully there pretending to be a demon."
"...I'm going to need some of that tylenol." It was a shame neither of them could drink anymore.
==
Jiro wrote and walked, trying to make sure the lyrics were on key. "Be a hero … hero …" Maybe she should change up the word? Savior sounded more dramatic. What about survivors? No, that was pretty dark. "Damn it, I wish I was better at note taking." There were just so many thoughts she could have on a single lyric alone.
"I wish I was better too." Iruma said, laying his head down on the dorm couch. "How am I supposed to remember how to spell so many words? English is such a hard language."
"I can get that. There's so many ways to spell the same word." She admitted her own struggle. "I had a little help from my parents though. They had me listen to alot of American music when I was little, and it made me eager to figure out exactly what they were trying to say."
"Maybe I should learn like that to … like how to spell food in every language." She would let him have it. "So what are you working on?" He asked, now sitting up with a stretch.
"The song we're going to play. I wrote half of something a while back, and I thought we could use it." She groaned. "The only problem is trying to figure out what the lyrics are going to be. I, there's something I want to say, but I'm not sure how to say it." She slapped the pages on the table. "I wonder why I even bothered to write this in the first place."
"Because you're good at music?" The boy asked. "I mean I think so, I never saw you play at our old school. And the bands there were kinda … one note." As in they played one note over and over.
"I don't know if I call myself good. Music was always just a hobby for me…at least that's what it is now." She thought back to all her parent's music lessons. "My parents have their own band, so they taught me what they knew. It was fun and cool, and back then I could totally imagine myself playing on stage. But I wanted to be a hero, and they said they'd support me no matter what. It kinda makes me feel like the lessons went to nothing, you know?"
"I actually do." Iruma looked down. "I never thought about being a hero before Bunny-sensei found me, and after Overbird, I..sort of do and don't hate heroes? It's like being called a hero now is like how Bakugo's cursing makes people feel."
"Annoyed and slightly irritated?" She guessed.
"Exactly. I don't want to be a hero, but I don't wanna lose everything we have so far. And … I feel like heroes are the people that can make others smile the most." The boy looked down. "Like Bunny-sensei always smiled when he saved others."
"Smile huh..?" She quickly jotted something down in her notebook. "That's actually sort of why I wanted to be a hero. It seemed really cool, and I loved how happy they're able to make people. When I told my parents, they told me that's why they chose to be musicians."
"Well, when you put it like that, that makes them heroes too, huh?" Iruma laughed. She really should've talked to him more before highschool. Jiro could only hope she was able to make up for it now.
She let out a soft smile. "Parents are sometimes the best heroes you can get …" She blinked. "No offense."
"None taken, Parents are either good people or bad people." Iruma shrugged. "I've learned how to be happy even with bad parents. The problem is Eri hasn't." He looked down.
"That's the girl you saved from the Yakuza, right?"
"Yes, but she doesn't remember how to smile." What? "Overbird hurt her so much she can't smile anymore." The boy's face got super determined . "So if the festival is super fun, she'll remember how to be happy again and smile!"
Saving someone with a smile. It was times like this she remembered this kid was All Might's student, and she could one hundred percent see the reason WHY the man picked him of all people. "Don't worry Iruma, we'll make sure she smiles again."
==
Thuglife45: Anyone know what this shit is for?
Crazytrain32: Don't know, just came up anonymously on multiple streaming channels about an hour ago. Countdown has another minute or so.
Lonelysoul68: I'm hoping it's something fun I can get behind, all the latest broadcasts are all garbage.
GentleTea: Probably some hooligan wanting to do a crazy stunt. Leave it to the professionals, will you?
Thuglife45: Hey, newbies have to start out somewhere. #startersupportpack
The screen turned on, revealing a group of figures. Three members of the League of Villains, and a tied up man with his face obscured. "Hello everyone, we're the one and only bad guys who bring forth the justice heroes can't get ya, the League of Villains!" The girl known as Himiko Toga shouted with a wave.
Crazytrain32: HOLY SHIT, IT'S THE LOV!
Lonelysoul68: This is the best day ever. #lovelov
GentleTea: Since when do they broadcast themselves like this? The internet is supposed to be my domain!
Thuglife45: You're what now?
"Yes, it's us, everyone knows and loves us. They want us dead and in jail! " The crazy one known as Twice, the masked contradiction, went next. "We saw this lame guy named Gentle Criminal and decided to take a page out of his book. Give the man some support, Ruin his channel! "
Lonelysoul68: Burn! #ruingentleschannel.
GentleTea: WHY IS THAT A HASHTAG!?
Crazytrain32: #ruingentleschannel.
Techthrob72: A little harsh, they just said give him support.
Thuglife45: Lets see what they're about first.
"But this isn't the time for pleasantries. We came for one purpose." Tomura Shigaraki, the leader of this group, spoke up with a calm contrast to his two partners. "We bring you forth Akichi Kaosa, a Judge of the Musufasu District." The hood was removed, showing forth a scared looking man, looking at his surroundings as his eyes dilated to the light.
"You won't get away with this, especially if this is on tape!" The judge screamed. "There's not going to be any hope of leniency for you!"
Thuglife45: Is he threatening them while tied up? The dude is mental.
Techtrob72: Not like he can do anything else. What's he supposed to do? Quietly accept his kidnapping?
Crazytrain32: I just thought he'd be begging for his life or offering money.
"You see, he's a fun little man." Toga smiled, placing an arm around his shoulder. "He has this funny little habit of having a group of people in a district pay a sum of money in order to hide dirty laundry. And if they try and out him? Use those cases against THEM instead."
"These are lies you bastards!" The judge argued.
"I don't believe you. He's telling the truth. " Twice could be seen grinning under his mask. "Let's take a look at these clips we got by illegally hiding cameras inside of your office."
What occurs is a montage of clips playing out one after the other. Despicable crimes such as dangerous substance release being let go, and men being threatened into paying him or paying the price, to sexual harrasment against his secretary.
Thuglife45: Holy shit. And he's been doing this for how long?
GentleTea: I must admit, there is no crime more heinous than those committed within the law.
Crazytrain32: Eh, you'd be surprised.
The man is left gaping in horror. "The slaps hurt my bum, you know." Toga frowned.
"That was, you were, I-" He was cut off by a punch in the gut from Twice.
Shigaraki once more took the stage. "Tell me, if the man who decides the fate of others is controlling those fates, is the system really good? Are your rules worth holding onto for those sense of 'justice' and 'law' you all follow?"
Thuglife45: Yeah, fuck all the rules! Death to justice!
Lonelysoul68: Send the fucker into the dirt, let the worms feast on him!
Techthrob70: The world is corrupt, let's give it some light.
Shigaraki let out a small smile behind his hand, pressing a button and tilting a slightly visible screen. "You can see this, can't you … the jury has spoken against you."
The screen turned on, seeing the bastard of a man in a private room with a man and a woman, both of which had blue hair. "Now then, with this little donation, I'm sure we can come to an understanding, correct?"
"Certainly, it's nice to see people support the system. Folks can be so ungrateful, didn't they used to give offerings to the lords back in the times of old?"
"Such a shame how people can be so selfish. It's why our son thinks he can actually have the right to own his own bed now."
The screen changed back to the current conversation, the man was bleeding out and begging for them to just end him as they mutilated his body. "If you see any injustice within the society people crave, speak out. Even if no one else will listen, we will-"
STREAM HAS BEEN TERMINATED AND DELETED DUE TO VIOLATING CONTENT CONSENT FORM
==
Techthrob70, or La Brava, put away her computer and turned to the fuming Gentle. "Are you … mad at what they did, sir?"
"No, if they were going to copy me they did it the right way, showing out the injustice of the world … no matter how violently." He frowned. "My problem is people still prefer that over our content. We've been around for years and now everyone is flocking to a single video."
"Hey, it's not all bad, we got a few likes on our last video!" She recalled. "Two of them in fact. People are willing to listen to you, Gentle! It just takes time."
"We've had time … maybe the target is the problem." He thought aloud. "People paid attention due to how large he was, how many people he made suffer. What if we go for something just as big and newsworthy no one on the planet will be able to ignore."
"Something big and newsworthy." La Brava muttered. It wasn't hard to come up with a spot, the only problem was that they needed to make sure they could escape in time, unscathed, so that left out infiltrating hero agencies. "Maybe a location we could hide in instead of just attacking a person in broad daylight like we usually do?"
"Yes … yes …" Gentle muttered, looking through pictures. "A place everyone is focusing on … a place that everyone knows about. Yes, of course, how could we be so blind!" He let out his dashing laugh. "Look La Brava, our next target!"
She looked onto the screen, seeing a notice for the UA Cultural Festival. A place of fun, where multiple people would be allowed to enter, and they could even get to be next to heroes without notice. "It's perfect, Gentle."