Chapter 74 Conundrums and Happenstances

With so much happening, it can be hard for anyone to keep track. But Nezu is nothing if not capable as he has a means he can fulfill's request while keeping to his own duties. But that isn't the only surprise waiting for those in the light.

Principal Nezu was an enigma for many. His past was unknown to the general public and even most other law enforcement. He had no family, last name, or real connections to wherever he was born. As much as he liked to joke, not even he was sure what it was: A small bear, a large rodent, or perhaps a medium-sized dog, a fusion of the 3 or something else? Such an answer eluded even him, though it had been long since he thought about such trivial things.

He knew what he was, and that was U.A.'s principal. It was he who managed Japan's top school, not just to create the next generation of heroes, but to ensure the next generation was better than the one that came before, one that was smarter, wiser, kinder, patient, restrained in their deeds, and yet free in spirit. Part of it was because he wanted what was best for them, to be sure, but a selfish part of it was that he wished to prove his naysayers wrong, prove that the animal could take the potential these students showed, and turn into polished gems.

To ensure that none would ever become close to the monsters who treated him like a common lab rat.

However, seated in his office, he found that he had more pressing concerns. It was a lovely day, with the sun high, the weather cool, and his windows open to let in the summer breeze. He would typically be busy with work, particularly with the culture festival coming up, or he would enjoy a cup of tea as he gathered his thoughts.

Instead, he faced off against three men in suits, one of whom took centre stage with a blunt order.

“Cancel the Culture Festival.”

Nezu didn't frown at the order but wouldn't pretend to be happy about it either. “I can’t believe the head of the police would pay me a visit, though I must ask on what grounds I should oblige the request?"

The head of police, a tall man in his 50s yet still with a body that spoke of years of training and experience as a police officer, kept his gaze on the principal. "Isn't it obvious? Villains have grown more daring, and the people are losing confidence in our heroes. U.A. is at the heart of this. Things might not have started with you, but your school has been involved far too many times."

"The villains have proved they aren't afraid to strike at you directly, and your last attempt to throw them off also failed. Who's to say they won't try for a third time? If U.A. is hit a third time, it would be a blow we may not recover from.” He warned.

"Yes, I am aware of the situation and understand your concerns. I, too, share many of them, but still," Nezu tried to counter, but the chief of police wasn't having it. Still, he could try to be diplomatic about it, as, regardless of what the media claimed, he knew Nezu was worthy of being U.A.'s principal.

"I know you're an educator, principal, but you're also a hero. Surely you can see that you're putting everyone at risk. It's not ideal for students, but their safety should come first. Isn't that what you promised before Kamino?" He asked, as people had forgotten about U.A.’s press conference, more focused on All Might’s last battle, and the destruction that Kamino went through.

"I did and fully intend to follow through with it; however, you seem to misunderstand something." Nezu nodded, but there was more to it than just protecting their bodies and minds. “It’s true as a hero, I must protect them, but that also means protecting their hearts and spirits. That is something the educator in me agrees with.”

Getting up, he walked around his desk while continuing to speak.

"I will not deny we're living through trying times, unlike any seen in decades, but that is why we need an event like this. The students' morale was hit at the USJ, which has been lowered ever since, spreading to the entire student body. They see how bad it is, and because of this rise in criminal activity, they've been forced to enter our dorm program just to keep their places at our school, even if that means splitting from family and support networks they've had since they were young."

Getting to the other side, he kept up his focus on the police chief, despite the massive difference in size between them. “How can we expect this generation to become what they can be if they’re stripped of safety and joy? Please, the culture festival must continue. Please allow us to combat these trying times before the future grows any darker.” He finished with a deep bow.

The chief's face shifted, a little awkwardness forming along with hesitation. He wondered if this was a stunt or perhaps a scheme from the principal, but even if it was, he couldn't deny his words. Even on the streets, people didn't feel as safe, and they didn't act the same as they once did. Even with Endeavour and other pros ramping up their arrests and patrols, it didn't have as big an effect as they would like.

"It's not that we don't get it; we understand the practical reasons for an event like this, but we can't just act like nothing is wrong, nor can we increase security as you did for the Sports Festival, " the official noted, but that was something Nezu had prepped for.

"We are prepared to change this year’s events, starting with closing the festival to the general populace and limiting guests to immediate family and others who will be thoroughly vetted.” Nezu started.

Line Break

He had given up a lot for his students. They would be upset, or they would be upset, but they understood this was the best he could do. The festival would just be for faculty and staff, with a few exceptions. But what wasn't known to the students was that should the alarm sound, even if it proved to be false, the entire event would be cancelled, and U.A. would go into lockdown.

“And just when I managed to secure something, this happens, I must say, there is never a dull moment, keeps things lively.” Nezu thought aloud as he considered what he had heard from Eraser and Togata. He had no issue with Eri visiting them. In a way, the limited attendance would do the girl some good, allowing her to slowly be exposed to normal society.

But then Togata went and promised Eri that, in addition to attending, she'd be able to meet Pyre again. Pyre is one of Japan's most wanted, and a core reason why the country was so tense.

Getting in contact with the villain wasn't the hard part, as heroes like him were well aware of how the underworld worked. The Thunder were, at the end of the day, hired guns with aspirations for greater things. If he could prove he could pay, Pyre would appear.

The problem was that he couldn't be seen anywhere near U.A., but they couldn't just have him appear on the edges of town and take Eri there; it would be unsafe and disingenuous to her wishes. Then there was the possibility of the mole…

'If there is truly a mole in my staff, then it would serve the League if Pyre were spotted; it would be an attack on us with no risk to them.' Nezu had long suspected that the Thunder and LoVs weren't as close as some colleagues believed. They were associates with some shared goals, that was it.

But regarding this traitor business, he still had no suspicions about who it could be. All staff were methodically vetted for reasons such as this. One might assume it was familiar or financial, but there weren't any signs of danger or other baggage in their families, and their finances showed no signs of issues.

Drugs perhaps?

'I'm spiralling; I need to focus.' Nezu shook his head. For now, along with Eraserhead, who was aware of Togata's promise, he would need to rope in Hound Dog, as with him on perimeter security, it would be impossible to hide an unknown or, worse, known but unwelcome scent from him.

“So many variables, so many failure points, and all of it coming with high, dare I say, excessive risk…” Nezu sighed, feeling the stress getting to him, but so did a smile at the challenge. "And yet, it's a hero's job to confront all that and pull out victorious."

Line Break

“Is this really necessary? You know this could be a trap.”

Pyre couldn't fault Koharu for her comment, as the message seemed incredibly far-fetched.

“Giran wouldn’t have passed it along if he believed it was such,” Pyre replied as they walked down the street. It was early morning, not even 8:30, yet he was out and about. As it was a weekend, the streets of the familiar town were largely vacant, with only a few people in sight, none of whom gave him a second glance. "Besides, the request was clear that this was not to be a combat mission."

“Hence the disguise," Koharu noted, as it was a key reason no one was bothering them. In fact, she was well hidden within it with her human speaking softly to keep any additional attention off them.

A disguise, indeed — Pyre had adopted an entirely new appearance. He wore a sapphire kimono-style top embroidered with wisteria-inspired amethyst floral motifs, its wide sleeves draping elegantly at the shoulders. His waist was cinched by an amethyst obi sash. Below, his flowing dark sapphire midi skirt reached his mid-calf, adorned with ribbon accents in vibrant amethyst.

The transformation extended beyond clothing. With bright red eye contacts and a white wig styled in a traditional hime cut, he appeared almost unrecognizable. His makeup was subtle but calculated: a neutral foundation which hid his freckles, cheekbone contouring to add structure, soft metallic silver eyeliner around the eyes, and a rose-tinted lipstick on the lips. His nails were painted glossy silver, each featuring a tiny ruby-red pattern.

Midoriya seemed entirely new, especially given that Koharu was pressed beneath the layers of clothing, positioned and curled his form to suggest a woman with notable curves.

“Hasaki has a good set of clothing, but I assumed she would get into something more suitable for mating," Koharu asked, which made Pyre hide his face with a fan, one of his regular war fans, but a normal one.

“M-mating? Of course not! And she doesn’t always dress like that; you’ve seen her around our safehouses.” Pyre quietly begged as they walked by an older man. Pyre felt that even after passing, the man's gaze remained on him, not out of suspicion but out of awe.

Well, Nine never did anything half assed.

"It was more surprising that Nine was as knowledgeable as he was on makeup. You sure you're not trying to attract a mate?" Koharu continued to prod, recalling how her human had been sat down by Nine, Slice, and Mummy and made into their dress-up doll for this. They hadn't been happy about it, but when they heard the request, Pyre had managed to convince them.

And because of that, they went all out.

"Please stop teasing me," Pyre whispered, only for someone else to speak.

“Pardon!” Pyre had to suppress the urge to swirl around and handle the threat, for it wasn't a one unless he treated it as such. With a subtle breath, he sent a silent prayer to the fire God before turning around and seeing someone approaching him. “Are you…” They stopped as they took in his features, but they didn't seem as taken by him as others had. More inquisitive, then disappointment and slight embarrassment seemed to be the emotions expressed on this familiar person's face.

‘Wait a second, isn’t this?’ Pyre could recall that face anyway. How could he not, when she was the client's daughter, which made it big for them on the international stage? Still, what was Mellissa Shield doing here? And why now? “Yes, did you need something?” Pyre spoke, but his voice didn't come out like normal. It was softer, a higher pitch befitting a young maiden.

The voice and everything else worked to ensure Mellissa didn't recognise him. Her guard remained low, and she treated him like any random woman she accosted in the street. "No, no, I just…it's silly, never mind."

Pyre could pull away now and let things be, but there was information that could be gained. Besides, he had no reason to turn her away and had some time before meeting with Nezu. “Well, you have my attention, and if it was enough to make you call out, it couldn’t be silly. Please, what was it?”

Mellissa looked hesitant, her gaze looking back at the way she had come. Still, when she turned back towards this beautiful stranger, she saw no malice, annoyance, or impatience in her. They seemed as genuine as they came, so she banked on that and hoped they wouldn't take offense. “Well, I saw you walking, and you look a lot like this person I knew. I thought you were related, but then I recalled they don’t have family in the area.”

Pyre would have no way of knowing that Mellissa was talking about Eri, as his disguise, chosen by his friends to better mask himself, happened to give him a resemblance to the little girl. A resemblance which had nearly been enough for Mellisa to call them some unsavoury names, believing them to be Eri's deadbeat mother, whose flight put the little girl on course to end up in Overhaul's clutches.

“That’s understandable; today is U.A.'s culture festival," Pyre giggled, but he paused when he saw Mellissa's confusion. Dipping his head, he apologised. “Oh, forgive me. You seem like a foreigner, so I assumed."

Mellissa didn’t take any offense. "No, it's fine. It's not a bad assumption to make. And U.A. is hosting its festival, but it's closed to the public; only students and a few guests can enter." She explained that, as the school had announced, the events would continue in a smaller, closed-off format than in prior years.

“Well, do you happen to be one then?” Pyre asked, though he already suspected an answer.

Mellissa let out a little awkward laugh, but didn't feel nearly as tense as she thought. "That's right, though I decided to come out and try to find something. I heard a store around here sold a limited-edition apple pie.” Koharu muttered that it must have been easy for the girl to get an invite when she was so close to All Might, but the hiss went unheard by Mellissa.

“It must be quite the treat if you’re out this early. Afraid it would be sold out by lunch?” Pyre continued to make small talk, a couple walking by them, assuming they were just a couple of friends catching up.

Mellissa groaned, rubbing her forehead. "I know that for a fact, I've gone to the bakery three times already, each earlier than the last, and it was always the same."

"Well, would it be a bother if I accompanied you? I'm in town to meet someone, someone precious, but they won't be available for a while, and you seem like a friendly face." Pyre asked, to which Mellissa agreed as she led her towards this bakery, and they continued to chat.

Pyre was growing certain that Mellissa wasn't in town for any serious business, certainly not anything related to him or the Thunder, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a good time together before they split. Besides, she wished to see how far they could take their disguise. Practice makes perfect, after all.

Line Break

Uraraka was also up and about a few blocks away at this early morning hour, though she was in a rush. “I can’t believe I overslept; I blame Sato's delicious cake." The girl muttered, as she had been spending her time leading up to this important day either in dance practice before she got moved to Aoyama disco duty or still needed time to train with One for All.

She had her provisional license, but she knew she still had a long way to go. Since, as far as she was concerned, she wouldn't have mastered the power till she gained the power and skill to capture Shigaraki and Pyre, those 2 villains seemed to be relating to everything that had befallen them. From the USJ, Iida, to even their raid on Overhaul, making off with the finished quirk deleter product.

Its absence was causing many concerns among the pros, as Togata and Nighteye worked with the police to trace it. However, with no reports of it being used or any suspicions of people having issues with their quirks, they could only fear they were keeping them back, coining them as their silver bullets against any pro that got too close.

So, she had a lot on her plate. When they discovered that the rope they had been using to hoist up Aoyama and would use for their performance was frayed, she volunteered to head out early to buy a new one, even setting her alarm to wake her up an hour earlier than the rest to do just that.

But then she and the rest of the class had eaten some of Sato's cake the night before, and it knocked her out. She slept through the first alarm and only woke up by chance. If Iida was still around, he would scold her for blaming Sato, as she shouldn't have eaten cake when she knew it would put her into such a wonderful deep sleep, but she wanted to be a little petty.

Stepping out of the hardware store, she breathed a sigh of relief as she looked into her shopping bag, where a fresh rope was secured. It even had that new thing smell she rarely experienced growing up. "But I at least got it. It's a good thing I knew to check the hardware store first; it saved me the time crunch."

Jogging onto the sidewalk, she started her journey back towards school, knowing that she was making good time and should be able to get back and get the rope ready. They could put on a super stellar performance, which would knock everyone's socks off.

A smaller, older building was off to the side, almost in the shadow of the hardware store. A couple in large hats, medical masks, and thick coats walked out of it.

“Dear me!” He nearly got knocked over by Uraraka, the taller of the two, seeing her in time to stop and hold out a hand to keep his partner from getting it.

Hearing them, Uraraka could also stop and quickly bow in apology to them. “Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been running without paying attention to my surroundings. Are you all right?”

The man nodded, seeming to be in a rush. Uraraka found that odd. Where could they be going? Also, why were they wearing coats and hats that big? “Yes, yes, we’re quite all right, but do watch where you’re running, young lady. You almost ruined the aftertaste of the Gold Tips Imperials we just enjoyed, a travesty I couldn’t ignore.” The man replied.

‘Drat, she caught me off guard,’ He seemed calm, but under the disguise, Gentle was sweating bullets. 'Why did I open my mouth? I must avoid all contact on my route to the school.'

"Honey, we shouldn't take up more of this young lady's time. We'd best be off then." He quickly turned to leave. La Brava took a moment to unpack what her partner just said.

“Honey? Oh yes, honey, that’s me.” She quickly rushed to catch up, her shorter legs struggling, particularly when Gentle moved with such long and hurried strides.

Uraraka could let them go and get back to campus, but she couldn't shake a feeling in her gut about them. ‘Weird, but maybe they don’t call each other honey, but why not use their regular couple names then?’ Were they the type that used those embarrassing ones, like in Toru's romance books? Wait, where did they come from? There wasn't.

Oh, she was wrong. There was a building down the grass-covered path, though its design clearly marked it as something built decades earlier, when this district was more suburban residences than the mixed district it was now. "Wait a second. You said Gold Tips Imperial? Is that tiny house acaféé or something?"

It was a simple statement most would ignore or comment on before leaving. But La Brava knew Gentle, and knew he wouldn't be able to exist such bait, not when he was in a fabulous mood from the tea. ‘Gentle!’

Gentle forgot about his plans or the risks, turning around to approach Uraraka. "Ohohoho, I see you're familiar with the exquisite tea. If you had that realization, you must run in high society circles."

Uraraka still found this weird, but not nearly as much as dealing with her eccentric classmates. She just assumed the man liked his tea. "Yeah, I don't think I would qualify as running in all that high society stuff. A friend of mine just made some for our class recently. If I'm honest, it was good, but I prefer stuff that doesn't break the bank."

‘Wait, she doesn’t seem like she comes from wealth, but if she has a friend with access to that, and for an entire class, then it’s likely she’s a U.A. student!’ Gentle felt like smacking himself upside the head. Of all the people to encounter and fail to leave, it had to be someone from the target. He should have known things wouldn't pan out; they rarely did in the first shoot.

"Oh…well, I assure you, it's not as expensive as you would believe. Sourcing it is the tricky problem, butcaféss like the one we just visited would happily brew you a cup at a reasonable price." Gentle gestured to thecaféé but internally. 'Drat, I can't just leave now. She could be from the hero course, which would tip her off!'

‘He seems nervous, but why?’ Gentle wasn't as good at masking his distress as he thought, and La Brava was similar, setting off alarm bells in Uraraka's head. "Still, I'm more of a water person." Still, she couldn't act on it without something more to work with. Some people were just the nervous lot.

Gentle was aghast at such a statement, as if she had just claimed she loved eating hot sand. "Just plain water? Deary me, that can't do. One must have some sort of flavour in their beverages. Tea is the perfect choice, as its varieties cater to many nutritional, health, and flavour preferences." As he spoke, his eyes widened. ‘Wait a second, I recognise that face, this girl…she’s from class A, Uraraka!’

This was no good, no good at all. He had seen her at the festival, and how hard she fought, even when the odds seemed stacked against her, and then again against that fiery fiend, Pyre at Hosu. She was well above any pros he's dealt with in the past, and unlike those times, he couldn't flee-not yet, not when he hasn't set his name into the history books!

‘Is he a criminal? He doesn’t look like one, but villains don’t really have a single mould.’ Uraraka had seen plenty of villains so far, and the most dangerous seemed to all have something unique about them, not just their quirks but their mannerisms, style, and dress.

Now that she thought about it, didn’t Mr. Compress from the League dress in a similar manner? “Well, what about timing. I know a few teas are instant, but when I explained it to my friend, she kinda just got upset with me.” Uraraka continued to talk to buy time, subtly adjusting her stance to not alert them to anything suspicious.

'Gentle, this is bad. We need to leave now.' La Brava wished she could send her thought telepathically to Gentle, as they were in seriously deep water. The sooner they left, the better, as this kid would start asking some questions they couldn't answer, or they would start to suspect.

'This is bad, but not unsalvageable. I just need to keep a calm and level head, recall your wonderous tea, and steady my nerves.' Gentle assured himself. "Well, your friend has good taste, is all. Instant teas are a mockery of the real thing. Brewing a passable cup of true tea isn't nearly as time-consuming if you know what you're doing."

"I'll have to ask her for advice; she knows a lot more about this than I do," Uraraka responded, though Gentle caught something different in her tone, a difference that set off his alarms.

‘Now’s my chance!’ He didn't know what he did, but he could tell she was catching on, so they needed to get out. "You do that. Now, be sure to stay safe and be mindful of others in public spaces. We must be off!"

“Wait a second!” Gentle pressed his lips together at Uraraka’s call, stopping to look at the girl over his shoulder, seeing she had shifted into a combative stance. “Before you go, just one more question…do you have any plans to go to U.A.?”

“La Brava, it seems we’ve been made. Bring out the camera.” Gentle could see when to fold. Reaching for his mask, he lowered it so he could breathe easier, not caring that it also exposed his face.

'He admitted to it so fast, that's cocky, but it also means they know what they can do,' Uraraka frowned, recalling Pyre, Shigaraki, Toga, and Wolfram’s goons. ‘Just like them.’

“I don’t know what you’re after, but I won’t let you anywhere near our school.” Uraraka powered up One for All and got ready for a quick fight—nothing too big. She needed to handle this before she called it in. That way, the alarm wouldn't be triggered, so they could keep the festival going.

“La Brava, no matter what, don’t stop filming.” Gentle advised.

“I’m all over it.” La Brava also pulled her mask down and pulled out her pink recorder. “But are you going to fight on the streets? What about your masterplan?”

“My dearest viewers, I think it’s about time I give you all another taste of my hijinks!” Gentle ripped his disguise off, revealing his full face to the camera and Uraraka. Uraraka spotted something in front of it, like the air was shiny and rippling, but it faded momentarily. "And if there is one thing you should know about your favourite scoundrel, it's that he's nothing if not adaptable, so please, try not to avert your eyes from my dazzling performance."

"Young lady, I am Gentle Criminal, at your service." He bowed to Uraraka, who didn’t immediately respond, and when she did-

“Who?”

Somehow, that hurt more than if she had just punched him, and La Brava noticed as she yelled at Uraraka. "Hey, you don't need to be rude. Gentle is going out of his way to be a super cool gentleman with you!"

“It’s quite all right, La Brava. The burn from the ignorant masses will never cease,” Gentle calmed his partner. Comments like that only threw fuel into his flames of determination. He would ensure that by the end of the day, not a single person in Japan would ever say something about him again.

"That's why I shall do the impossible, and break into U.A. after they've already improved their security like the lovable rogue you know." He vowed, which was enough reason for Uraraka to rush him.

“I won’t let yo-!” She had planned to tackle him, or even just graze him and remove his gravity, rendering him helpless and easy to handle.

What she hadn't expected was to smack the air, which had hardened like the kid from class B's quirk. But unlike with him, which made glass-like designs, this was much more flexible and stretchy, almost like she had jumped into a trampoline.

"Sorry, young lady, but I can't allow you to stop me. As you must be wondering, I did, in fact, use my quirk. Right at the moment, I cast off my disguise. As for what that quirk is, well, anyone who's watched my videos would know, so I won't be telling, but I'm sure you, as a U.A. student, can figure it out."

Gentle could have explained his quirk, but she was still a tad upset about the 'who' comment, so she would need to figure it out as things went—that is, if she could catch him as he placed a hand on the elastic air.

“Gently Rebound.” Gentle sent Uraraka flying before turning to the camera.

“I so loathe using violence to solve my problems.”

"Uh, yeah, but that move was intense." La Brava called out. She and the camera looked down the street to see that Uraraka had landed pretty far away from them, and that attack had thrown up some dust but hadn't damaged anything.

“Her speed and power are quite remarkable, far greater than anyone her age should have. She would truly be my greatest foe,” Gentle called out, before he turned and made a dash for it, La Brava quick to follow.

"Unfortunately, I am not a criminal who indulges in pointless fights; I have a break-in to get to. Farewell!"

Uraraka got up just as fast and gave chase, yelling for them to stop and surrender.

Line Break

In a quiet little bakery where the smell of freshly baked treats waffled through the air and the mood seemed to always be light, two girls seemed to be laughing as they enjoyed each other's company, the delicious treats, and the coffee. “No way!” Mellissa managed to say through her laughter.

“It’s true, one of my roommates did that. We spent the night cleaning up the wreck that was our kitchen before heading out for convenience store food." The other woman, who introduced herself as Shuri Mari, repeated.

"What was she expecting? Didn't she know recipes have amounts for a reason?" Mellissa asked, as this woman had all kinds of stories about her four roommates and how they seemed to always have something happening in their lives.

Shuri shook her head, taking a quick sip of her coffee. "She refuses to tell us why she made the mistake. But it's not like I'm perfect. We have this…well, you could call it a pet, which I'm responsible for. I often forget to clean up after them, and they get everywhere."

"Oh yeah, I've had friends with pets. One had a hamster who, to this day, she has no clue how it got out of its cage, across her house, and into the toilet." Mellissa recounted, which drew a raised eyebrow and a small gasp from Shuri.

“It fell in?” Mellissa was quick to wave that off.

"No, she found it behind it, and only when she got up to use it at night. She doesn't even know why it chose the bathroom to play in; it could have easily gone to the living room or kitchen." She explained that knowing things hadn't gotten serious allowed things to remain light between them, as they had been since they arrived.

Lucky for Mellissa, they got there in time to secure the coveted apple pile, and once she ordered 3 slices packed for this friend of hers, they ordered 2 slices each. Shuri could have ordered 4 times as much and had room for more, but that would be inappropriate, not to mention drawing unwanted attention.

“What’s that?” Mellissa's question and gaze out the bakery's window shifted the conversation.

“Hmm?” Turning her head, Shuri looked out as well and saw something in the distance. ‘Isn’t that a person?’ Wait, that was a person, one cloaked in a familiar lighting, and they weren’t alone, as she could see them in what seemed to be a chase with someone.

"Oh no, that can't be good. It could be a villain." Mellissa reached for her phone, ready to call Uncle Might before someone got hurt.

“Please, don’t panic, Mellissa. It wouldn’t do.” Mellissa turned to Shuri, shocked she would say something like that, and while looking so calm as she took a bite of her pie.

"Wouldn't do-someone could be in danger," Mellissa told her, as she was happy the woman had such confidence that it would be resolved, a rarity in Japan these days, but she couldn't just sit back and assume; they at least needed to call it in, as Musutafu wasn’t a city with a lot of crime. The pros could not notice till it was too late if not informed.

Shuri nodded. "Perhaps, but like I-island, Uraraka can handle it."

“Why did you bring that…” Mellissa froze, her finger just about to call her Uncle and report this when Shuri's words registered. She had already admitted she knew who Mellissa was, which wasn't weird; she was well known, even more so with her father's trial back home.

But the details hadn't been made public, nor had Uraraka's involvement at I-island. She looked at Shuri—really looked at her—and still couldn't detect anything off with her. “Who are you?”

Shori finished her slice of pie and calmly set her fork onto the side of her plate before turning her smile onto Mellissa. And as things started to unravel, she let some of the mask fall, enough for the girl to realise she wasn't some mere civilian. “For now, I’m Shuri Mari. But I did keep something from you, which is the fact I also have business with U.A. today, Mellissa.”

She waved over their server, reminding Mellissa that they weren't alone, nor had she released her hold on the knife she had been using to cut her pie. A weapon in the hands of someone creative enough. "Let's not make things messy. Today's meant to be fun, so let's have another serving of this delicious apple pie on me.”

Line Break

Hmm, another week and another chapter. This one was much longer than the last, as my laptop got fixed over the weekend. However, I forgot to ask what they did, as I was just happy that they managed it, and because it was something relatively minor, they didn't charge me anything. Also, I learned that you CAN'T transfer programs into an external hard drive, though I have no clue why, as you can do the same for phones; all you need is a cable link, and everything from contacts, photos, videos, and even apps gets transferred from the old to the new.

Anyway, onto this chapter. With how things ended in the previous one, I was tempted to rewrite it, perhaps focusing on other characters during the event, but ultimately decided against it. We'll get more screentime for them and their development during the second round, which will be much harder than this one, as was the case with how the provisional license went. However, the direction I took proved fruitful, considering everything that's happening in a part of the story many fans don't like, though I disagree, as the Culture Festival and Gentle/La Brava were fantastic.

Line Break

Ladies and Gentlemen, Izuku has unlocked a second crossdressing form. But for real, I find myself spending way too long just designing outfits for these stories, which sucks because many of them aren't going to be seen again. Maybe it's the part of me that liked the fashioned characters in older cartoons who would regularly change their outfits.

As for his voice, I wanted to say it was because of his proficiency with his quirk that he could mask it. Still, you can do a lot when you practice, as any VA could tell you, such as Tokoyami's English VA, who voiced him, along with Armin from AoT. Yeah, you never would have thought they were the same person.