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Chapter 40: More Than One Way to Use a Blade
🕑 Added 2024-10-04 21:52:14 +0000 UTCChapter 40: More Than One Way to Use a Blade
“Morning,” Midoriya said with a yawn as he walked out of the elevator onto the more typical levels of the Crust agency. Like usual, he had been bright and early, waking up around 5, brushing his teeth, using the restroom, and showering so the cold water could knock whatever doziness he had out of the system. 20 minutes later, he was dressed in his hero gear and ready for whatever the day brought.
“Morning, Crust said he wanted to meet you in the gym after breakfast.” A sidekick he saw in discussion with one of the office clerks told him that both women were nursing cups of coffee, the caffeine strong from what he could smell.
“Isn’t breakfast not ready yet?” Midoriya asked, as he would have assumed he would need to train by himself till they could start the day properly, but the women only snorted at that question.
"Have you met our boss? He and you are a lot alike, real morning risers. Breakfast is served from 5 to 9, so you can grab something." The clerk told him that their agency remained open 24/7, with staff on for 8-hour shifts at a time; because of that, meals ran for an extended time. As they turned to walk off, Midoriya heard one of them adding. “Are they related? The kid kept up with him the entire day yesterday."
He didn't mind the comment; it was more a compliment, really, as he smiled at that news. “Oh, I think I’m going to like it here.” With that, he turned and looked for the cafeteria, the signs, and some directions from others, bringing him to the large room. Much like his room, it was spartan, resembling the cafeteria set-up of his middle school but much cleaner, with seating for around 60 people. As he had expected, people were already present, quietly eating their meals as they conversed in small groups.
Midoriya got in line, seeing that it was mainly the office staff with just a few heroes. When it got to the front, he saw that they didn't need to be served, as meals were already portioned into bowls and plates; one only needed to grab a tray, so that was what he did before he found himself a free seat and placed his tray down, having grabbed a bowl of takikomi gohan with extra mushrooms and vegetables, tonjiru and green bean gomaae.
A quick prayer later, he snapped his chopsticks and started eating, mewing as he shivered at the flavour explosion on his tongue. “Oh, that’s so gooood. The seasoning is just right.” His cat ears twitched as his shoulders slumped. Others who saw this only laughed at the display while one of the cooks in the kitchen peaked out and gave a big thumbs up.
“Thanks, Kid. It took a lot of trial and error to get it right, but I think I found that sweet spot.” The large man, so much so that Vlad would seem small compared to him, seemed pleased with Midoriya’s praise for his and the rest of the kitchen staff’s work.
Midoriya continued to eat, the meal so tasty that he talked even with his mouth full. "I agree. A good breakfast is the first step to a productive day. I didn't even have to make a fire to cook it myself."
"Make a fire? You live in the woods or something?" The cook asked with a chuckle as Midoriya washed down the rice with some of his tonjiru
"For a while, I was on an extended training trip. My instructor was ruthless, but it got results." Shizune…didn't provide much of anything, not on day 1, not on day 30. If he couldn't find something to eat or stuff to make a fire, then it was on him. This was made worse by the mountain's erratic weather, as days could go from one extreme, like rain and snow, to the other, where it felt like a dry Amami summer.
The cook and the rest of the people present figured that there was more to his tale but decided not to push on it as the cook returned to his tasks. "Well, Crust is just gonna work you to the bone, but you can be sure a hot meal, roof over your head, and indoor plumbing will never be far."
'And for that last part, I'm forever grateful,' Midoriya thought as he continued to enjoy his meal, sharing a few words with the rest of the staff as he did. Soon, he finished, and after placing the used bowls, tray, and glass where they could be collected to wash and tossing his chopsticks, he made his way for the gym.
This was where he saw that Crust spared no expense; upon entering it, he saw that it was nearly as large as one of U.A.'s training gyms. The area had 2 levels to it, with exercise machines on both. Still, those meant for upper body strength and weights seemingly kept to the upper level. The lower housed exercise machines, step machines, treadmills, and other equipment meant for leg strength, as well as a large open area for sparring, one that Crust stood on, arms crossed with a big grin on his face.
"Good morning; I hope you had a good night's rest. A healthy and productive body needs at least 7 hours of sleep, which is of even greater importance to a pro! Can't have heroes half asleep on the job." Crust told him, though Midoriya wondered when he went to bed, as the man returned from their patrol around 5 and had him sent to bed at 8.
But he looked fresh as a daisy, so Midoriya didn't push it, so he bowed to his mentor for the week. "Good morning, Crust. Yes, I had a good rest, though I wish we spent more time on patrol yesterday."
“We can get back into that later, but you’re here to learn more than that. I ask you here because I want to see what that quirk of yours can do.” Crust explained, Midoriya paying close attention.
“You mean by attacking you or…?” Midoriya asked as he reached for one of his pouches to pull out some seeds, but the pro laughed it off like a joke.
"Oh, not yet. I want to test your wood is strength, so I asked one of my sidekicks to help with this. Senju, meet Steamroller, one of the most passionate heroes I've ever met." He introduced the man standing off to the side, and much like the cook he had seen, he was massive. Well over 2m tall, Midoriya suspected that he was well over 200kg of pure muscle. On top of that, his hero gear was based on heavy-looking old stream engines, but no doubt as sturdy as one.
“Yo.” The man spoke, waving at him.
“Greetings, am I to spare with him?” Midoriya bowed towards the pro, wondering if he was being tested on how well he did against strong foes.
“Less a match and more a test. I want you to create a wooden barrier, and we’ll see if Steamroller here can break through it.” Crust told him.
'That's a weird request; he saw what my power could do; why else would he be offered an internship?' Midoriya thought, but he was here to learn, so he would trust that the top hero knew what he was doing. “Right,” Midoriya reached into one pouch, pulling out a seed. He pumped in some tenet, and the two heroes got a front-row seat to it as Midoriya created a crude circular shield.
Crust nodded before asking for it, which Midoriya handed. The man then placed the shield between two fasteners in the middle of the sparing area.
"All right, kid. You might want to stand back," he told Midoriya, who followed his example and took some steps back while Steamroller walked to the other end. Turning towards it, the funnel atop his suit hissed as steam shot out as the man rushed the shield. Picking up speed, he crashed straight on through it, not slowing down until he nearly hit the wall.
Seeing his construct so utterly defeated made Midoriya's jaw drop as he weakly pointed at it and then at Streamroller, who wiped stray pieces of it off his body. “What? How did you do that?”
“Again, Senju. Make it stronger if you wish, but another barrier.” Crust didn't explain, and when Midoriya turned to him, the man didn't offer more than a knowing smile. His pride in his skills threatened, Midoriya pulled out another seed and repeated the process, but made it twice as thick before fastening it into place himself. Again, Steamroller went to his starting position, and again, he got to the other side of the room, having charged through Midoriya's shield like it was little more than drywall.
"I…I don't get it. How was he doing that? I carry seeds for wood that is known for its durability and augment it further." Crust didn't answer immediately as he approached the remains of the two shields. Picking up a piece of the larger one, he examined it with a frown before walking over to Midoriya.
“This is how your wood typically looks, correct, Senju?” He presented the piece of wood to him, to which the boy nodded his head as he tried to keep consistency, but only Crust sighed. “It’s as I thought, I figured that was the case from your fight with Kendo, as you could repair your wood exceptionally quick, but it seemed fatally brittle.”
He felt a little embarrassed about that, as he admitted she was stronger, but that didn’t mean he liked how she was overwhelming his element. "Well, I was going up against Kendo. That girl is much stronger than me.”
Crust shook his head, as that was an excuse, and he didn't believe in them. When you failed, you got up, worked out why, and then tried to improve till you succeeded. There was no time for excused and soothing egos. “And will be many of the villains that you face, the same as many of the villains I have faced, but I've faced them and won. Do you know why?"
When Midoriya shook his head, the man took another approach. “Tell me, what do you know about my quirk?” Midoriya stopped to think for a moment before he answered, as he wasn't as quirk-crazy as he used to be. However, he still habitually studied them whenever he had the time.
“Your quirk is called Shield, hence why you're called the shield hero. You can create stone-like shields from your body, which you can use for defense and offense. Those shields are always hexagonal and incredibly sturdy." Crust nodded his head at the explanation. It wasn't everything but a good summary of what he could do.
"You are right up until that last part. Steamroller, if you would." The sidekicks nodded as he went back to the starting position, only this time, it was Crust who created one of the ironic shields and fastened it into place. Midoriya had seen how tough they could be, stopping blows from powerful villains, acting as barriers against speeding trucks, and even allowing the pro to hold up tons of falling buildings.
He had seen all that and more from Crust and his quirk, so he could be forgiven when his jaw fell even lower when Steamroller charged and busted through it as quickly as he had done both Midoriya's creations. Still, Crust didn't seem a bit surprised by it. "Like your barriers, my shield didn't stand any chance against his charge. Any guess as to why?"
With the ball in his court, he had to think about this. Looking the sidekick over, he recalled reading about him when he had signed into the Crust Agency. He had also managed to stop some pretty big high-speed chase the same day. “Is it that Steamroller’s quirk has something to do with it?” As far as he recalled, Steamroller's quirk meant that his body was augmented by steam, increasing his speed, strength, durability, etc., with his armor adding to his weight to make it incredibly difficult to stop him once he started moving.
Crust shook his head. “To some extent, but it’s not the primary reason.” Okay, that wasn't it, but what more could it be? Looking towards the armored sidekick, who laughed at the question in Midoriya's eyes.
"Don't look at me, kid. Think about it, and you'll get the answer." Midoriya's shoulders slumped a little as he hoped for a hint, but he just needed to work with what he had. So, he decided to try to inspect the barriers themselves. He had made, but a second look wouldn't hurt. He couldn't see any imperfections; the remaining pieces were as strong as ever. But he noticed something off when he looked at the remains of Crust's shields.
Picking a piece up, he realized that there was something off about it; it didn't weigh as much, and when he held it to check its thickness, he picked up on something. "They're thin, thinner than your normal ones." Midoriya thought aloud, as he had seen the man use his quick the prior day and could swear that then, the shields he made were at least 5 times thicker than this. What he held now was little better than if one put a few pages together. “Did you not make it thick enough?”
Crust’s smile grew, but he wagged his finger at him. “Close, but no cigar! I can’t make them much thicker than that.”
Midoriya frowned, but his irritation didn't linger. It was quite the opposite, as he knew he was on the right track, even if that statement didn't make sense. “But that’s impossible, I’ve seen…” Wait, was it possible, but it would make sense. As he put the pieces together, Crust smiled wider at it, pleased that his intern was real quick on the uptake. “Laying, you’re laying them.”
Crust clapped his hands. “Haha! I knew that you would figure it out! Yes, laying is what I do. I use my quirk to form layers of rapidly multiplying hexagons, which not only means I can create shields at any size I desire on the fly but also means that the finished product is much stronger than a single sheet would be."
He demonstrated that point by lifting a hand and creating a shield, but much slower than normal, so that Midoriya could see the layers being added one atop the other, each perfectly placed so that it looked like a single solid layer.
Although pleased that he had figured it out, Midoriya still had a question that needed answering. "But I don't get it. My barrier was even thicker than your shields, and Steamroller smashed right through."
"That's." Crust retracted his shield. "Because you didn't layer it. Your quirk forces the wood to grow in ways it typically doesn't. As trees tend to grow, they develop rings that move outwards, but yours have next to none because of how fast you’re creating it, creating just a single block.” He started to explain, holding up the piece of wood he grabbed earlier, and true to his word, it had only one vague line in its cross-section.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean that naturally occurring wood is tougher, but in this situation, if you applied that to your constructs, you’ll be able to make stronger ones.” He continued, with Midoriya listening intently to what the man had to say.
“The reason is force distribution and overall integrity. When you make one large wall, if that wall takes damage, the entire structure is compromised, but if you make, say, 6 layers of thinner, weaker walls, any impact to one leaves those behind it untouched. That impact weakens the force and speed of whatever is attacking. People used similar ideas when designing armor for warships back in the day.”
Crust had watched plenty of documentaries in his younger years, when he was trying to get his quirk to be better for hero work despite its weak defensive and offensive properties. When he had seen that bit about how old warships didn't just armor their exterior but also did so for important sectors to ensure that one shell that did penetrate would then need to penetrate another, it had been an epiphany moment for him.
That said, he could see that he and Midoriya didn’t have the same quirk, but he could show that the principles could carry over. "I can prove it. We'll both make layers of defences that would match this thickness," he held up his hand, with his thumb and index finger held to show the thickness of a smartphone. And see if Steamroller can get through.”
“Understood.” He wasn't entirely on board, but if it worked for one, maybe it could for another, so he did as asked, ignoring how his mentor could create his shield in less than a second while Midoriya needed 30 to carefully create something made not from one piece.
"Alright, old friend. Try with mine and then the kid's." Crust said after he had fashioned both shields into place. Steamroller grunted as he wanted to his starting position and charged. Unlike before, when he slammed into the shield like a runaway freight train, the stand it was fastened to was pushed back a couple meters, but the shield held. Its first couple of layers were destroyed, but the remaining ones held, if bent inwards.
“As you see, it will bend, but it did not buckle. And I have a feeling that yours will be just as well.” When Steamroller repeated it with Midoriya’s, the stand was carried even further, and the man did break through to the other side, but just barely, unlike before when he had managed to charge straight through.
"Maybe not, but he couldn't continue the charge.” Crust frowned, but Midoriya didn't see this as a failure, at least not of the concept.
"I made just four layers; I didn’t want to waste time.” Crust could have made who knew how many layers of the stuff, yet he struggled with just four. Hearing that made the pro smile, as he saw that he had been right in his theory.
Slapping his back, the hero let out a laugh. "None of that, my boy! You're here to learn, so any time spent doing that is time well spent. But I hope you see what I was trying to show you. Laying is an incredibly potent technique for people with quirks like our own! Crucial when you stand between innocents and evil or disaster."
Looking towards his sidekick, he gave him a thumbs-up. "Thank you, Steamroller. You were a big help!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm heading off. You had me work the night shift, and I would like to get some sleep." Steamroller turned to leave the room.
"Drive safely and text Mendez when you arrive!” He waved over his shoulder as he exited, leaving the two as Crust turned his attention back towards his student. "Well, we have our game plan for the day. We won't have any patrols, but instead, we'll work on getting you used to laying everything you make so that, like me, you can make them in a flash without thinking about it."
Looking at the shattered remains of his first shields and the badly damaged but still standing 3rd one, Midoriya felt a fire being lit inside him as he turned to flash a fang smile at Crust. “Let’s do it!”
Line Break
Midoriya wasn't alone in his excitement over his second day of internships, for as the hours passed, more people woke up. They got into the grooves of things, his classmates and friends also to learn as they watched from the professionals and took in what they demonstrated. Monoma followed after Ms. Joke with diligence, listening to how she explained how one could even use bad jokes to handle a situation and how, in his case, he could weaponize typically off-putting eccentricities to throw people off and keep them on balance.
Tetsutetsu learned more about hospitality and the more minor points along with his class A counterpart, Kirishima, under Fourth Kind, though never let it be said that the man wasn't a harsh drill sergeant as he put them through how one was to treat guests that came to the agency and whenever they messed up, he would punch them right in the head, each time they both activated their quirks, but not once did the man complain, so those fists and brass knuckles must have been the real deal.
Kamakiri tailed after Shishido, who helped teach him how to navigate through the city as fast as possible with as little disturbance to the people they served as possible. As in his words, 'Heroes that mess up things trying to fix them don't deserve to wear the costume.' Of course, they stopped crimes whenever they came across them, or more accurately, Shishido did. Kamakiri played a non-combat support role, but the mohawk enjoyer didn’t complain.
With Kuroiro, he went for Edgelord Hero: Odd-Eye, and despite the hero's…personality and oddities, or perhaps because of them, Kuroiro listened to every word the man said like it was gospel, with them spending the days largely inactive and in lectures, and the nights on patrol where both their talents could shine at the best. Shiozaki went for Kamui Woods and found that she enjoyed her time with the man, as he wasn't religious but still, a righteous man who believed sincerely in the ideals of heroes and practiced them without fail.
Kodai joined in with Uwabani and the other two as they posed for several pictures for a hair care product. She had been worried that her tendency to not emote would be trouble here, but the heroine had said it was fine as she was to be herself. She had no idea that she was 'photogenic' as Kendo and Yaoyorozu only posed for a few pictures solo and several more as a group with Uwabani. Still, Kodai found herself posing for dozens as the photographers seemed to not have enough of it, always wanting more.
"Should we be worried about how much these guys like taking pictures of her?" Kendo asked as Kodai stood to her side and turned to the camera, holding out her hair with a bored look on her face, which seemed to be exactly what the eight guys with cameras wanted to see.
Uwabani walked up to them, having finished her solo shoot of her own. "They're vetted professionals, Kendo. Nothing vile is going through their heads, but I must say I was right about how pretty she can be. Even without trying, she's able to draw that level of attention. She reminds me of a young me."
Kendo wasn’t so sure about that, especially as one guy said something about her being the ideal kuudere. Still, she would trust the one with experience in this side of the industry. “When are we going to meet with your friend?”
"After the shoot, I think she'll be happy to meet the two of you," Uwabani replied. Kendo was wise to the fact that the heroine hadn't given them any details on who this person was or what kind of fashion show this was.
Yaoyorozu picked it up from there, as the girl had fallen well into the role one would assume a secretary would have, carrying Kodai's stuff while she did her shoot. "And afterward, you were booked to be a guest on a radio show and a magazine interview, right?"
"Correct, Kodai's going to be front and center for the magazine, as she doesn't need to speak all that much, but you two will be taking the lead for the radio show, so remember to be relaxed and treat it like a regular conversation." Uwabani wanted them to have an excellent platform to confirm the kinds of people they wanted the public to see. The magazine and radio shows were well respected, with hosts she knew would be pretty easy for them to interact with.
"I know that this is important, but you have to admit, we're basically your entourage at this point," Kendo added. She found it more amusing than anything else, as she could admit that it was starting to grow on her, especially when they didn't need to spend long with the makeup since, as the makeup artist said, they were already knockouts that just needed touches.
She might be a martial artist, but she still loved compliments on her looks now and again, like any other girl.
Uwabani laughed at that, as she felt the same when she started and still did to some extent. “Welcome to the business, ladies. You’ll find that you’ll need to do things like this more often than you’ll think.” Of course, not all heroes needed this. Underground didn't count, as their entire thing was avoiding the media and public eye like the plague, but others could get on by with little, if any, media skills.
After all, Endeavour had neither the skills, or the patience for things like this and yet still climbed to the number 2 spot and remained there for over 20 years despite the best efforts of others with far better media skills like Edgeshot or Best Jeanist.
"And we're done, all right. Stop with the photos; we got more than enough.” The lead photographer clapped, the rest following suit as the man approached Kodai, who stopped posing. “Nice work, Rule. You were born for the camera.”
“Okay.” The class B girl nodded her head.
“Not much of a talker, are you?” The photographer joked, but when Kodai didn’t reply, things got awkward quickly as the man coughed into his hand. "Okay…well, I'll just leave you to it." He didn't wait as he turned to leave. Uwabani laughed into her hand, and she couldn't believe that Kodai could shut that guy down so effectively with so little effort.
Line break
Once more, the day went by; crime was stopped, people went about their days, and the world kept turning. However, as the afternoon sun continued to give some remaining rays of light over the country, back in the U.A. All Might sat lost in thought. He had finished helping teach other classes as with the hero course gone, he had the time. It was nice to spend more time with the students of general, but that time was over, so he had little but his thoughts, and some new information to give him company.
“All Might, what as you in such a contemplative mood? You’re usually a man of action.” He looked up from his lap, seeing that Nezu had placed a cup of steaming tea before him. All Might hadn't even noticed the principal entering the faculty lounge, never mind preparing a kettle of tea.
"Well, to be honest, Nezu, I've had much to think about." He replied, recalling parts of the rather revealing conversation he had the previous day.
“I imagine it has something to do with your meeting with Mrs. Kenmikoto.” Nezu didn't need to be a genius to guess that much; he knew All Might would be going and would ask for answers. “You never did say what you learned.”
Picking up his tea, All Might stared into it, seeing his reflection looking back at him—not his muscle form, but the emaciated, sunken-eyed, and weak body he had come to call his norm over the last couple of years. "Wel…it's hard to explain. I've understood for a long time that there were things in the world that didn't make sense, secrets that most people would go their entire lives never knowing."
"But you always thought that you'd be an exception?" Nezu guessed, jumping into a seat with a passive face, his beady eyes giving nothing away of how he felt in the moment.
Taking a sip of his tea, he let the ginger linger on his tongue before he spoke. “It’s not an unreasonable thing to believe. After all, your fight with All for One is known to a select few, fewer knowing the truth about your quirk and its history. Considering that they could be more than you don't know would be quite unusual."
“And to learn it all from a woman old enough that she could someone like Gran Torino ‘young’ only makes it all the more bizarre.” All Might joked, as he had brought up his old teacher in passing and had nearly coughed up blood laughing when she snapped her fingers and called him the 'Hot up and comer kid that kicks first and asks questions later.'
He had never realized it, but his master and Mirko had a lot in common, enough that he entertained the idea of asking if he was her grandparent or something.
“Nezu…do you think that quirks is all there is?” All Might’s smile faded, returning to a pensive look.
“What do you mean?”
"I mean, do you believe that quirks are the only oddity in our world? That one thing that seems to have broken through logic and science but exists nonetheless?" He asked as it seemed like a foolish question, one that many would write off and merely say, 'Of course, there wasn't,' but Nezu wasn't most people, and that's why All Might wanted his thoughts on this.
Nezu tapped a clawed finger on his cup, briefly musing over the question. “Well, considering that there was a time when things like ‘science’ were seen as little more than sorcery, and ‘logic’ is horribly subjective,” He started. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was more. In fact, I expect that there is."
"Well, I learned that there is one and that Mrs. Kenmikoto is much more informed than we thought.” All Might replied.
“Does she know about One for All?”
"No, but she did know of my master, Nana. That was how she knew of Gran Torino as well. But…well, she did know about All for One. She knew how dangerous he was and mentioned that many of her students, some of her best from her U.A. days, met their end fighting that monster. So, she thanked me for finally putting him down so they may rest."
"Not that surprising, he might not be talked about today, but go back 30-40 years, before there was even the idea of 'All Might,' and I would imagine his existence was an open secret. All the more apparent in the hero business." "But she knew you killed him?"
“Yes. But I'm sure that's all she knows; she didn't hint that she even knew about One for All or the other users besides Nana."
“Well, then you might need to return the gratitude to her. Tsukauchi came by earlier. He had news about the status of the Nomu creature."
Line Break
Slidin' Go led Iida back to the agency after a long day patrolling the streets. There was more crime than the previous day, but nothing that was meant to write home about. Easily handled, with little in the way of injuries, it was a good day. Iida thought nothing of it as his mentor took a phone call and left the room to do it.
Heading to the locker room, he removed his gear so he could shower, then went to bed as they had eaten something earlier while on patrol. But as he closed his locker, Slidin' Go came looking for him. “Iida, I have something to tell you before you retire for the evening.”
“What would that be, sir?”
The hero shook his head at that. “Oh, none of that sir business, I told you, it’s Slidin' Go.”
"Apologies." Iida's response didn't inspire much confidence in the man, as he looked Iida over, seeing poorly hidden frustration in the boy, one that he figured he knew the source of but didn't touch on it as there was something else to discuss.
"Man, it seems like your head's in the clouds. But you need to get it back down to earth because we're going on a little field trip tomorrow." Slidin' Go told him, with Iida paying special attention to that, as he thought they'd be doing the same patrols for his entire week with the hero.
“To where?” He asked.
“Hosu.”
And done!
The second chapter of my commission is up for those in the second tier, but the first one should be available for the rest in the first tier. This chapter was rushed, as I found that I didn't have as much time as usual to write and then edit, but now that I've finished writing for Path of Storms and should finish with Path of Waves next week, I'll have more time on my hands, at least for the next few weeks as I figure out the details of where I want those two stories to go from where I left off.
As you just read, I wanted to take a different approach to this chapter. I already set up that Iida was with a different pro, but so is Midoriya, and he's not at the same point as he would have been in canon. He's experienced and knows how to use his power well enough, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have room for improvement.
Takikomi gohan – Japanese Mixed Rice.
Tonjiru – Pork and Vegetable Miso Soup.
Green bean gomaae – Sesame Dressing.
