#quirkless oc

[prettypeachypink]

fem aizawa + some mha ocs in their hero costumes

[miss-pan-ac]

Intersectionality

Been dreaming up a MHA AU recently centering a Quirkless FMC. I’ve been in the fandom for a few years now, joined when the anime got a jump in popularity back in 2020-2021, though it’s been on and off admittedly.

I say this because one of my biggest annoyances when it comes to some AUs with Quirkless characters (especially when they’re female and/or a girl) is that…they’re written as weak even when the story is clearly trying to showcase that they’re not. Another thing that annoyed me in general was how the presence of Quirkless people worldwide is very small too. It never made sense to me personally, like okay we got a whole bunch of people suddenly gain powers out of nowhere and now every generation after has powers.

(ATP I’m doing a big ass rant surrounding rant about genetics and culture and stuff, which I do to explain my story idea better but you can skip past it and hit section Meet the OFMC, which is a mess unfortunately bc i am very tired now but yeah hope you enjoy.)

Genetics:

Like bruh, genetics don’t work like that??? And cultures definitely don’t either. Which seems like an odd thing to connect to that but let me explain. When people suddenly gained powers, it was small percentage initially. You’re really going to tell me that in hyper-religious and/or very discriminatory regions these people weren’t killed before they could even be reported? Societies have killed people for FAR less before. Which is one way that this should have culled the rise of quirk users in the population. Only way for it have spread this far this fast is if a massive selective breeding mentality was adopted by the world.

The international community simultaneously agreeing on something AND that something is breeding? Yeah, fuck off. These assholes can’t even agree to fucking, like, be anti-femicide and do effective work to end it. Yeah, absolutely not.

The other is genetics. First off, I refuse to believe that this was a “mark of evolution”. Both the evolution theory and the disease theory are just dripping in eugenics-type shit. Besides, with what we know about human genetics, mental-based powers, elemental-based powers, and inorganic mutations are just a flat out no. I can see super speed, strength, hearing, vision, etc. because that can be excused by abnormal genetic mutation that’s likely the result of radiation. Which is still pushing it tbh.

And yeah I understand that it’s sci-fi but these are my thoughts so leave me alone lol. Like, genetics don’t work like that.

Especially because it’s presumed that the time between the first emergence of quirks and Midoriya’s story is about 100-120 years.

80% of the population…in just or a little over a century…riiiight, right.

Now you know what this does smell like to me as someone who does enjoy fantasy shit? Magic.

Magic, Myths, and Spiritualism

Now I’m a spiritual person, so my theory that I like to play around with is that a lot of these powers is an intersection of magic and biology. So while genuine magic users of the past wouldn’t have many limits in what they could do (and I’m talking a LONG time ago) and the backlash they’d receive from doing so, quirk users absolutely do. And I think it’d be fun if what powers specifically spawned dominantly in certain regions were tied to the ancient and present myths and such. For example, I feel like there would be a lot more mutation based quirks in East Asia because they have dominant myths regarding humans turning into different entities (which, I will fully admit my knlowedge of myths and folklore in African and Asian regions is MUCH more limited than my knowledge of the stuff in European and American (the whole continent) regions).

Europe and Africa I think would have a lot more mental based and elemental based powers. And the Americas? That shit is a complete mixed bag. First off, the continent in terms of how much of the land is populated before and after colonialism is huge. Like, yes Asia is the biggest continent, but its land is nowhere close to populated as the Americas. Which don’t get it confused. I am not saying that the Americas has a larger population or land area, they don’t. But if you look at how much of the land was populated in the Americas vs Asia pre- and post-European colonialism, the Americas was and is being utilized much more in comparison due to how much of its land is habitable.

So why is it a mixed bag? Firstly, before European colonialism the civilizations there already had a varied belief system with people having mental powers, elemental powers, and mutations/humans turning into something else. After European colonialism, the continent gained very strong European and African influences in its myths and absolutely impacted and created new spiritual practices throughout the entire continent (which, yes, this does include the Caribbean, Hawai’i, and other surround islands).

Establishing a (Literal) Timeline:

Now for a general timeline for the story. First off, the dawn of quirks happens about 25 years after the 2020s, so around the mid 2040s. Following canons time jump, that places the story around mid 2140s to 2160s. There’s expected to be 3-4 generations in the 21st century (smaller compared to previous centuries which would have 4-5). Assume that, although living standards improve globally (though in varied ways and successes), people keep with the trend of waiting to have children till their late 20s-early 30s, then the 22nd century should see a similar 3-4 generations. So between the 2020s and 2160s, there’s about 4-6 generations: the 21st likely will only have 3 and we’re only halfway the 22nd in the story so that really only adds 1-1.5, thus 4-6.

Mind you I’m talking biological generations. Theres about 2-3 social generations (millennials, gen z, boomers, etc.) in each biological generation. So for 4 bio gens, that’s about 8-12 social gens. For 6 bio gens, that’ll be 12-18 social gens. Though due to how societies would likely react to (and did react tbh) to the dawn of quirks, it’s like between 8-12 as there was likely a lag in people willing to have children and such. And most likely, most of those gens have a higher Quirkless population than Quirked.

Population Numbers

And now we get to the Quirkless vs Quirked population numbers. So I’m flat out ignoring the statement that 80% of the human population has a quirk while only 20% are Quirkless. Its genuinely not believable to me, and I refuse to project it as something like a highly infectious disease because that's just a fucking pipeline to eugenics and shit and just--no.

So, a compromise: Japan's Quirked vs Quirkless population numbers is 80:20 (simplified its 4:1, so for every 1 Quirkless Japanese citizen, there's 4 Quirked Japanese citizens).

Population on a global scale: between 40:60 and 50:50 Quirked to Quirkless. Significantly lower than canon, but still more plausible if you consider the quirk genetic mutation to be magic+bio-based rather than just bio-based.

"But this will change all the dynamics we see presently in the show with different types of quirks and quirked vs quirkless!"

Well yes, but also no.

Q vs Q: Yes, Japan is Still Quirkist as Fuck

Listen, globalization has been around for a very long time but its only become as pronounced as it has very recently. And most of it has not been peaceful (unfortunately). Now I can give you a bunch of made up scenarios of different countries and what their societies would look like and their social norms and so on, but I'm going to focus on the two main locations in the story I'm thinking up: Japan and the United States.

Specifically South Florida, but we'll get there in a bit.

Thanks to social media, access to communication with and knowledge of other countries, cultures, and communities has expanded and improved dramatically.

And yes, I'm talking about our world.

That said there seems to be this idea that now that all these cultures have access to one another and are able to express their ideas and stuff with each other with ease, that we are all very impressionable and easily influenced by one another and as such our established cultures can and do fluctuate. This idea I think is very strong in developed countries in particular, but most of them I think have a limit as to how much they think their own country and culture can influence other countries and cultures and be influenced in turn.

Except, the US.

I'll be very honest, as an American I am very aware of the American ego, okay. That said, I do believe that the States do have a very strong cultural (meaning fashion, music, trends, etc.) influence internationally (especially with Western countries) (and different types of influences can be debated as well such as economic and political influences, but again that's much more up to debate).

This statement is not implying that the US is better than anyone or the best at anything. I am not claiming superiority in any way. But despite popular belief, something or someone does not need to be superior, better, or the best at anything in order to be influential.

And before anyone tries to argue about this, I'm going to need you to take a very hard look into the massive global influences the Black-American and Latin communities have been while being very unpopular in the eyes of the many.

In turn, however, I personally feel like the US is indeed extremely impressionable and easily influenced culturally by other countries. The most notable examples of this is the influence of Latin American (yes, including the Caribbean, the CaribbEAN IS PART OF LATIN AMERICA OH MY GOD) culture in the US and most recently the rise of Asian cultural influences as well. Not to say they're the only ones but they're the most predominant ones in my opinion.

So why do I say all this? Because the dynamic we see in canon Japan will be the same in this story. Just because most of the world has mostly balanced Quirked to Quirkless population numbers, and likely have their own social norms and dilemmas surrounding their own stuff, does not mean that Japan's current dynamic wouldn't exist as it is. Let's be clear, the US is not the standard in regards to healthy work-like, school-life, and relationship balances but Japan is worse.

At least, that's what I've read thus far.

From what I've read, Japan puts a heavy emphasis on social harmony, respect of the hierarchy (like respecting your elders, teachers, bosses ,etc.), and conformity. Listen, none of this is bad in and of itself. I do genuinely see how these things are beneficial in keeping things smoothly going. But any social norm and traditions can become harmful when they're taken to their extremes.

So let's tie this back to why AU-Japan would be the same with canon-Japan despite the change in global population stats.

Because Japan still has a significantly higher Quirked to Quirkless ratio thus making having a Quirk the social norm and being Quirkless a deviancy. Add onto the fact that, although All Might is very much an international figure, he is still first and foremost a Japanese hero and a very strong cultural influence on his home country, in both intentional and unintentional ways. In fact, thanks to how influential All Might is, and being a representative of Japan as a whole, I wouldn't be surprised if a strong(er) patriotic ego was developed, lessening any impact other countries would have on them.

So: Japan is still going to have huge Quirkist discriminatory issues.

The US, of course, will have them too but, honestly? At a far lesser extent.

Treatment of Different Categories of Quirked People and the Quirkless + Some Extra Stuff (Generally, Because This Post is Getting Way Too Long)

Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, I feel like I can honestly just bullet point this part since I'd hope that anyone reading this (you) will have a general understanding as to why I'm saying what I'm saying.

Mutations are fetishized to hell and back on a global scale.

While I will be including racial issues, gender issues, LGBTQIA+ issues and the like in this story because they do, to an extent, have an impact on the characters and different storylines, the actual presence of these issues in the societies of this AU is significantly diminished because I don't see the necessity in its continued dominant presence in this world. It existed and still exists, but nowhere near how it was and its existence will vary depending on what location we're in.

Quirkless people are also fetishized to hell on a global scale.

There's a large market in the underground for quirkless and mutations, specifically in the sex trade.

Quirkless people are discriminated against in both Japan and the States, however, the discrimination in Japan is significantly more violent (in every way violence presents) in comparison to the US.

Highly volatile quirks (bright and powerful ones) are very well liked in Japan but are looked at more warily in the States.

In addition to that, people with quirks like these (think Endeavor and All Might, anything that can potentially cause significant damage to property and/or people, even the ones they're fighting) are expected to have very good control over their powers and know how to properly minimize any damage they cause if they're in a career that requires them to use it extensively (like hero work) in the States. It's highly frowned upon to not have that control. In Japan, while no one likes excessive damage, heroism is significantly more performative in the sense that people enjoy "watching a good fight", so big, powerful, flashy quirks are very liked and not as much emphasis is put in control over them.

Mental quirks are very well liked, or at the very least fearfully-respected, in the States but are villainized in Japan.

Mutations is discriminated in both the States and Japan, but how they're discriminated against and how much is a toss up depending on what it is and where they are (some places in the US is far more accepting than others)

In South Florida (one of the main locations), there's a slightly higher percentage of quirkless to quirked but its relatively even. It also remains very diverse racially & ethnically. Both of these will be important.

The presence of dominant gangs reappeared across the US, including South Florida, however the behaviors of most of these gangs is radically different to how they used to be. They act more so like vigilante groups rather than organized criminals. Not to say those don't exist or that different gangs don't have issues with one another, but they're not harassing their communities and causing needless violence either. This is also important.

Meet the OFMC

Valeria Chavez.

She's Latina (of course, what with how much I've put a focus on the community in this post) of Central American origin and lives in South Miami, born and raised. Leo Sun, Virgo Moon, and Libra Rising :3. Bday is Aug 15. Parents are loving and lovely but distant since they're out of the country more often than not so she lives with her Tia Juana.

⁽ᵇᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃˢᵏ, ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵃᵇˢᵒˡᵘᵗᵉˡʸ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵃ ˢᵉˡᶠ⁻ⁱⁿˢᵉʳᵗ, ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵍⁱʳˡ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵇᵉ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵈⁱᶠᶠᵉʳᵉⁿᵗ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵐᵉ ˡᵒˡ. ⁱ ˢⁱᵐᵖˡʸ ᵖʳᵉᶠᵉʳ ᵐʸ ᵒᶜˢ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ˡᵃᵗⁱⁿᵃ ᵒʳ ˡᵃᵗⁱⁿ⁻ᵃᵈʲᵃᶜᵉⁿᵗ ˢⁱⁿᶜᵉ ⁱ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵉˢᵗ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳˢᵗᵃⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶜᵘˡᵗᵘʳᵃˡ ᵇᵃᶜᵏᵍʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ. ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵒᵘᵗʰ ᵐⁱᵃᵐⁱ ˢᵗᵘᶠᶠ ⁱˢ, ʰᵒʷᵉᵛᵉʳ, ᵇᵃˢᵉᵈ ᵒᶠᶠ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᵉˣᵖᵉʳⁱᵉⁿᶜᵉˢ.⁾

She's best (virtual) friends with Izuku initially. They met on one of the forums for a specific hero. Let's call the hero VI. VI, a Latin-American hero, had partnered up with All Might in a case. Valeria was a fan of hers and Izuku is a giant her nerd that is obsessed with All Might, and he found a pretty popular forum for her online. While scrolling through the comments, he starts to see discourse regarding some quirkist statements some douchebag made (because of course someone like that is doing something like that) and was going to ignore it initially because he saw that they had insulted quirkless people; however, he comes across 12 year old Valeria's response to the idiot.

She cusses him out and starts to go off, finishing it off with some statement about how anyone can be a hero, quirk or no quirk (because somehow the conversation got there). Izuku, dewy eyed message her privately to ask if she was actually serious about her statement to which she responds "yeah, and?". Boom, the rest is history. They begin to chat, she introduces him to some US based quirkless and anti-quirkist servers and they begin to chat back and forth.

Listen, 11 year old Izuku is very aware of internet safety rules and such, but it's been a long day, Kacchan and co. were dicks, his wounds hurt, and he was feeling soul-crushingly lonely. He'll take what he can get even if it ends up being fools gold. Eventually, they both build up the nerve to video chat. Both wanted to see who exactly they were dealing with and lo and behold they were who they implied they were! No creeps! Yay!

It's during the same video chat that Valeria introduces her friend group (because no way was she doing this shit alone). Next thing you know they have a regular groupchat and they're facetiming, and Izuku is helping them learn Japanese while they in turn help him with Englissh and Spanish, and Izuku introduces them to his mom and Inko is crying because my baby has finally made healthy friendships after which she introduces them to her Tia and look at that! Inko has made a new friend! And then Valeria is asking, "Hey Zuzu," which oh my god, I have friends! and we have nicknames! "what do you think about coming over to Miami for your break? Meet up in person?" and Izuku is like omgomgomgomgomg and when he asks his mom she doesn't even hesitate to say yes. Now they're on their way to Miami and they finally meet at the airport and when Valeria sees Izuku for real in person she breaks into a sprint with a giant grin on her face, screeching "Zuzu!" and tackling him into a bear hug which her responds to in kind. And, oh Inko is crying again.

Now we're taking regular trips and then the it happened when Valeria was 13 and now she's 14 and oh my god, make it stop it hurts what's happening and now Izuku is spending his whole break in the States which, where this money is coming from who knows (let's be for real now, Inko is absolutely making fucking bank in order to buy Izuku all the All Might stuff that he wants) and he flies over as much as he can afterwards.

Its okay though she went to therapy and has self-help books (which therapy only works if you're ready and willing to be completely honest in the first place which considering what happened--) and she's honestly doing so much better now! She's going to parties and having fun and now she's 15 and she's dating this really sweet guy now too.

Now Izuku is 14 and he's suddenly talking about how actually, quirkless people can't be heroes, he almost died trying to save Kacchan and actually made things worse (he didn't) and "what he told me on the roof---" "Roof?! What roof?! Who's he?! What did he tell you???" And now ohshitohshit I wasn't supposed to telland now Valeria is glaring at him through the camera and he panics and tells him that he got saved by some guy from his first fight with the sludge villain "The FIRST time!!???" and he recognized him as a heroe and he asked him if someone quirkless could be a hero and he said no. Now Valeria's pissed demanding to know who the ever loving fuck is telling him these bullshit lies and Izuku is avoiding the question until he eventually caves and tells her that she met All Might in his civilian form.

"...Fuck All Might. Who cares what this asshole says? With his fake ass." Queue Izuku losing his mind. She prods at him some more, but he's really not budging now and now seems to firm in his belief that quirkless people can't be heroes so she takes a minute and she says "You know what. I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to become a hero just to show you that we can be. In fact...I'll go to Japan and join UA." "...WHAT?!"

He can't talk her out of it, she's dead set on this now.

Valeria, his quirkless pseudo-older sister, has decided to become a hero.

Valeria, who has never shown any interest in the career outside of being a fan of a handful of heroes and only really if they're a part-time artist of some kind or an activist.

Valeria, who enjoys spending her time dancing and partying and painting and cooking and singing and laying out in the sun at the beach.

Valeria, who will never say otherwise but those closest to her know that she is terrified of going too far from her home, her safe haven.

Valeria, who, yeah, she knows how to fight, took it upon herself to learn after what happened and does so well but not because she wanted to do it long term.

Valeria, who despite their long-term friendship has never ventured to Japan due to the discrimination levels there, has decided she is moving to Japan and joining UA.

Valeria, who is wrapping up the 9th grade soon and has decided to pause going to school so she can apply to UA and join Izuku there ("How do you know I'm going to UA?" "Izuku, come on. One, you're 100% doing this with me and two, even if you weren't going for the heroes course you would totally be applying for the support, business, or general course." ..."You know you're doing this with me right? I figured this was implied." "...Yeah, I'm doing it with you. Always will."). Inko is ecstatic to host the girl she's come to view as a niece if not a daughter. And Valeria goes.

Then again, maybe this shouldn't be that much of a surprise either. Because this is still her.

Valeria, who is an absolute crash out when it comes to racists, misogynists, and quirkists.

Valeria, who endeared herself to some dangerous people.

Valeria, who has fought off several creeps and made that pain last.

Valeria, who takes absolute no shit from fucking anyone.

Valeria, who slaps the living shit out Yagi Toshinori upon meeting him because they dumbass revealed himself to be All MIght.

("Valeria! What are you doing!?" "Teaching a lesson. Are you insane!? Telling a young boy that he could never be a hero due to his quirk status and the leaving him on a fucking roof!? And then you back out of that for whatever reason and decide to train him? Did you even apologize for what you said? Do you realize the impact of your words? Do you even care!?")

Valeria, who, after slapping him and then slapping him again after finding out that he intended to give Izuku a quirk and told this random kid his backstory which is "so fucking dumb, are you out of your mind?! You have no idea who we are, for all you know we could be trying to kill you or something.", and then getting into an argument with him yelling at him about how "since you've decided to take on the role of mentor and train Izuku to fight, then you need to teach him how not to die. And maybe you're just really out of fucking touch with reality but news. flash. that's not exclusive to quirked people only. How is it that you can come to the conclusion that even the most powerful, perfect quirk can't stop you from dying. That it doesn't change your status as a mortal, human being, and not be able to connect it to the fact that in the end it doesn't. fucking. matter. That the only thing that's going to be able to determine your ability to survive is to know how to not die. Quirks are a tool, they are not an all deciding factor for life! I'm not saying that we wouldn't be at a disadvantage, but its not the end of the fucking world either." and ending it with slapping some sense into him and offering him an ultimatum, "How about this, hm? You wanna train Izuku? You're gonna have to train me too."

Valeria, who after all that, endeared herself to the man she slapped thrice and became his pseudo daughter/really annoying little sister (trolling and rage baiting is sibling behavior, sorry not sorry). And listen, he had a plan for Izuku: make him gain muscle and then give him his quirk. But now that Valeria is part of this, he realizes he's going to need to go further than this. He's gonna have to channel what he's learned from his mentors but is worried about becoming too harsh...up until Valeria tells him that "I know now that you're training us like this because you're genuinely like this, but we really need you to toughen it up. Normally I would never suggest that, especially because this is exhausting as is but I'm in this now and if I want to succeed, then I need you to push me, push the both of us, to our absolute limits. Especially in combat."

So now we have Toshinori, who is very good at hand to hand combat actually and, in the face of his fear of either of these two kids dying, is an absolute drill sergeant when he's teaching them hand to hand. School is back in session again for Izuku, he needs to finish up the 9th grade, so now he can prioritize training Valeria during the week and prioritize Izuku during the weekend. Which is good because although both of them need to learn combat and keep up with strength training, Valeria will be the one who is gonna remain quirkless and is going to need as much training as she can get.

But hand to hand combat can only go so far, and really, Valeria already has a pretty solid grasp on it. They have about half a year before admission exams begin, so he begins to look around to find her a weapons instructor. Valeria mentions that she's had some training with knives, street fighting stuff and knows how to wield a gun. Toshinori blanches at that and firmly shuts down the guns. And knives are good but she should learn something that she can use to fight long distance ("No, guns are not an option. They're not even legal here, the licensing and paperwork to get one is extremely difficult to get through and approved, and they're definitely not going to allow one to be in the hands of a minor").

Turns out, there is someone that can teach her but they're back in the states. Valeria glares, getting defensive at the idea that he's trying to send her away in order to get her to stop from applying, but her firmly shuts that down and tells her that he simply didn't know how to teach her weapons combat because he didn't wield any. Besides, ("I thought you liked VI?" ... "I GET TO TRAIN WITH VI!?"). Turns out VI and him kept in touch after that last case, or rather she and Yagi kept in touch. He mentioned that he had a protege that he was training but needed someone to teach her something with weapons and thought she'd be the best for it (or at least finding someone who can).

So Valeria goes home for the time being, and trains. She develops a love for blades and, surprisingly, the rope dart. She already had a basis with knife fighting and she wanted something flexible that she could move around with, like a whip. It was fun, felt kinda similar to ribbon dancing. But while VI allowed her to keep those as her favorites, she made it a point to make sure that she knows how to use a variety of other weapons and how to turn rubble into weapons ("You'd be surprised by how similar a pipe is to a bo staff. Similarly effective too.") It helps that Izuku, Toshinori, and occasionally Inko visit during breaks too. She turns 16 as she trains and prepares for entrance exams.

April hits and now its go time.

She gets in. And now, the story begins.

[jinxysims]

🪶 Hawks and Naomi Furukawa 🪶

A hero and his quirkless Press Agent.

[imnotsorryforanyofthis]

Quirkless Advantage

Links to chapters

OK!!! I am finished posting all of the chapter! Enjoy this crazy, cringy, funny story.

Also Warning: lots and lots of cussing in this story.....

Description: links to wattpad, ao3, and spotify

Character and playlist

Prologue

Chapter one: Where the hell am I?

Chapter two: Complicated Explanation

Chapter three: Aizawa

Chapter four: Quirk

Chapter five: U.A.

Chapter six: Classes and Starting War

Chapter seven: Bandages and Books

Chapter eight: Dates and Annoyances

Chapter nine: Shit is about to go down

Chapter ten: U. A. Sports Festival

Chapter eleven: NOT A DATE

Chapter twelve: Haru and Name

Chapter thirteen: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Chapter fourteen: Take me out on a date first

Chapter fifteen: Hero Killer

Chapter sixteen: Knife

Chapter seventeen: Tree House

Chapter eighteen: Memories

Chapter nineteen: Fall and Rescue

Chapter twenty: A home vs. a house

Chapter twenty-one: Vivid

Chapter twenty-two: What exactly is this?

Chapter twenty-three: Coffee and Packing

Chapter twenty-four: Camp fun

Chapter twenty-five: Kids...they're annoying

Chapter twenty-six: Text Message

Chapter twenty-seven: Fell asleep

Chapter twenty-eight: Don't hide, just run

Chapter twenty-nine: Haircut

Chapter thirty: Dark Knight in Blue Flames

Chapter thirty-one: Coming with us

Chapter thirty-two: A change of clothes

Chapter thirty-three: Making a Deal with Devils

Chapter thirty-four: Fight

Chapter thirty-five: Trust

Chapter thirty-six: Bakugou

Chapter thirty-seven: All for one

Chapter thirty-eight: Now I know why

Chapter thirty-nine: Heroes to the rescue

Chapter forty: So many questions

Chapter forty-one: Leave

Chapter forty-two: No... wait... stay

Chapter forty-three: So much noise

Chapter forty-four: I hate saying this but -

Chapter forty-five: You Owe Me

Chapter forty-six: Text message...again

Chapter forty-seven: How the fuck -

Chapter forty-eight: Desires

Chapter forty-nine: Only Us

Chapter fifty: Don't worry, I'll fix this

Sorry not sorry

Done!!!

[mamadoe]

👢 Showbird - Chapter 2

Summary ||

When Akira moved to Fukuoka to pursue her dancing career, life was easy. However, when her father has an unexpected health crisis, she needs consistent work in the worst way to help support her parents back in her hometown. A day job lined up at one of the Hero Agencies promises good pay for the time being, but she didn't expect not only to meet but get to know the Pro Hero the agency is named after.

Follow Akira's perspective with some of Keigo Takami's sprinkled in.

~~~

Complete Masterlist

Also on AO3 Pairing || Keigo Takami (age 22 at start)/Akira (Fem OC, age 23 at start)

Warning || brief depiction of hospital care

WC || 4037

~~~

The blaring of her alarm is cruel as it rips her from a deep sleep. Akira’s fumbling hand struggles to find the button to turn it off, and when she finally finds the right one, she is greeted with early morning silence. Before she gives her body the chance to slip back into sleep, she forces herself to sit up with a groan and rubs the back of her sore neck. No dreams interrupted her slumber for once, which she’s thankful for. If she didn’t know any better, she would describe herself as feeling like a husk of the person, her soul already stripped from her body as her shell marches forward with her still-new routine. Though now, she finally feels she’s starting to adjust to very little sleep. For the past week, all her waking hours have been claimed by commuting, working at the agency, riding the train back across the city during rush hour, dancing at the hall, and finally, the nights are capped with a brief moment when it’s just her in her quiet apartment taking care of her most basic needs, just to do it all over again the next day.

The sun isn’t even blessing the skyline yet, but she knows if she wants to make it to work on time, that’s the way it has to be. The night before had stretched well into this morning’s early hours, much to her dismay. Once arrived home, all she wanted to do was collapse into bed. But she needed to shower to wash away the sweat and makeup and to get a proper meal to sustain and restore her strength after a hard dancing night. She took the quickest shower of her life, heated one of her many containers of hot pot stews, and before she knew it, she had slipped into her dreams, unintentionally leaving her hair to air dry overnight and to handle in the morning.

She rubs her palms into her aching eyes before grabbing her glasses off the nightstand. Even with how tired she was last night, she had the wherewithal to set out another change of clothes, so she grabs them as she passes to the bathroom, setting about making herself presentable for her work day, including taming her beast called hair, which is cast in all directions. She’s gotten her morning routine fairly streamlined now, so it doesn’t take long before she’s back in her room looking much more presentable and packing her bag for dancing after work with a couple of new outfits and her charger for her phone, as well as her lunch she had prepared earlier in the week between her two livelihoods. As she passes the mirror on the wall by her front door to grab her shoes and coat, she catches a glimpse at herself. It’s almost comical to see her in such bland attire and tired, sunken eyes yet again. Akira doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror. This is the new normal now, though, so she kneels to put her flats on before pulling her coat over her frame and grabbing her bag. One last sweep for her keys, and she’s out the door.

She makes it to her train just in time, and when she gets to her station on time, she decides there is time for a quick stop at one of the little coffee shops by the agency. If it takes too long, she can just duck out and head to work; however, she knows she practically needs the caffeine in an IV drip, so a cup of coffee will have to do. She waits in line, already knowing her order, so she looks outside to watch people hurrying toward their work. Not nearly as many as there would be in about thirty minutes, but still, there are more people out than she expected to see. The sun has just barely started to come up over the horizon, casting long shadows on the sidewalk. After a few moments, she lingers on an oddly still crowd. Sure enough, it’s a group of paparazzi or the press, the flash of their cameras illuminating the wall of the building across the street. She squints into the still-dark morning light to try to see what’s so interesting, but they soon disappear to cross the road, out of sight from where she’s standing. What are they doing out so early? Can’t people catch a break?

Akira forgets about it in an instant when she hears the cashier call for who’s next and she places her order and pays before sliding down to the end of the counter to wait for her coffee. Not a breath later, she hears the door open and the sounds of camera shutters and jovial laughter bright as a bell before the door is shut quickly, keeping the press outside. She glances to see who it is, and her breath hitches when Hawks steps into view, waving to the cashier who happily squeals a greeting. He dazzles her with a smile before stepping up to the counter. She hasn’t seen him since meeting him on her first day, but she recognizes that smile as the one he used on her the first time he looked at her. Something about it this morning leaves a sour taste in her mouth, and she can’t contain her eye roll.

“Sorry about that. Don’t want them swarming your shop. A regular coffee is fine.” He doesn’t even register the price, just slides a few bills from his pocket across the counter and dismisses her with a soft, “keep the change,” before gliding in Akira’s direction. It’s only when his eyes slide from watching the workers behind the counter to her that he realizes she’s there, and his thick eyebrows shoot up with an eager grin. “Good morning, little bird! Just can’t stop running into you like this, huh?” He teases as he tucks his hands into his pockets, a go-to classic pose for him. Immediately her cheeks flush, coupled with the heat of wearing her winter coat inside. She had been expecting a quick stop and to go, so she didn’t think to peel off her coat while she waited. Now with the press lining the window outside and blocking the door, she lets a soft groan loose before turning her back to the window, thankful for her coat being plain, so she can attempt to fade into the background.

“Good morning, Hawks.” Her words are short, quiet but firm. Even though he is beaming this morning, it only makes her already not-so-great mood this morning plummet. By now, all guise of him being a Pro Hero has worn off on her, and he’s just another man.

“Ha, not a morning person, huh?” His grin is sickeningly sweet as he shifts his stance, his back angled toward the windows to block her from the view of the cameras, stretching his wings innocently enough to pass as a coincidence. He has done this song and dance countless times before, so it almost comes naturally. Hopefully, they don’t realize they know each other or at the least think he’s just making small talk with a stranger.

“No,” she states bluntly as she glances at him out of the corner of her eye. “This happens often?”

“Huh? Them? Oh yeah. Well, not all the time, but especially after a big win like yesterday, yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck as he meets her glance. “Don’t worry, they won’t follow you out of here as long as I leave before you.” That’s right, she had barely caught it yesterday, but one of their department leads had brought up that he had done well controlling a situation downtown while on a patrol.

“Hm, okay. As long as I’m not late,” she says under her breath as she nervously starts to rub her palms together. His eyes follow the slope of her arm to her hands, taking notice of her lack of gloves but his glance lingers on her reddened knuckles, from the cold or working with them, he’s unsure. Admittedly, Hawks hasn’t thought of Akira much since they met the first time. She was pretty in a unique way, but when you’re a Pro Hero, you meet a lot of people, so their meeting came and went without much thought. But now seeing her chapped hands drudges up the memory of her sore-looking knuckles on the rooftop a week prior.

“Ha, no worries. Actually,” he pauses and shoots a glance back toward the window and gives the gawking press a big grin, only to be met with lots of white flashes, making Akira close her eyes, even though she’s not the one facing the brunt of it. “We could slip out the back.”

“We?” She whispers harshly under her breath, worried the worker approaching with her cup will say something about them standing a little too close together for her liking as he sets it down on the counter for her to take. Hawks’ chuckle under his breath triggers the same fiery feeling in the cavity of her chest, but at least this time it stays contained below her neck. Her cup warms her hands and grounds her when she takes a short sip, almost burning her lip.

“Yeah, I’ve done it a couple of times. You won’t be late, and I’ll get to enjoy my coffee in peace. Win, win! What do ya say?” He gives her a quick nudge and before she gets the chance to decline, his bright eyes shift from her to the worker approaching with his cup before he gives another one of those dazzling smiles. Akira notices he flashes them like candy to get what he wants. “Would it be alright if I escort this poor young lady out the back? You know, they won’t leave her alone now that they’ve seen us together.” He gestures to the window with a slight head nod, and after a moment of brief confusion, the worker nods, gesturing toward the back door.

“Better hurry, though, they look like they really want more of you today,” the worker says under his breath before turning to get back to work, as if he didn’t just address a hero.

“Ha, see? No problem.” He grins at her, cup in hand, before once again ghosting his other hand back around her shoulder, eliciting that same shiver down her spine. With gentle precision, he draws her away from the counter, her quiet protest under her breath going ignored. He guides her in front of him toward the back door, still using himself as a shield from the cameras. Within seconds of realizing Hawks is getting away, the call of the press bleeds into the shop, spiking her adrenaline, her stomach tightening in fear, so she lets him spirit her right out the back door. The cold slaps stings her overheated cheeks, immediately fogging up her glasses, completely blocking her main field of view, but she can barely address it before he’s handing her his cup in her free hand.

“Hold on, little bird!” He laughs in her ear with absolute glee at winning the flight as he takes a firm hold of her around her waist, pulling her back flush to his chest, and pushing off the ground. Suddenly the ground is gone beneath her feet. If she weren’t so shocked, she would scream. Her stomach immediately turns over, more aggressively than before, and she’s thankful she didn’t eat yet this morning. The sound of his beating wings, the whooshing of the wind, and the thunderous heartbeats in her ears are all she can hear. The burning cold of the early morning air is painful against her sensitive skin, the speed of flight making the cold more intense. When she manages to glance down below her glasses’ frames, she can see they’re going up, and up, and up, the once-large dumpsters behind the shop shrinking. The towering sides of the buildings around them sweep up to meet them, giving her an intense case of vertigo, and what little vision she has begins to spin. She is just barely able to make out the back door of the coffee shop swinging open and a few of the press storm through, but almost instantly Hawks darts around the side of the building beside them, making her lose all sense of direction.

“H-Hawks, you bastard!” She rasps, clutching the cups like he commanded, hoping to the gods above that she hasn’t accidentally spilled them, and the pain of the heat hasn’t hit her yet due to her adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her voice comes in a meek little squeal against the wind, completely drowned out. However, his laugh carries right over the wind, his joy radiant as he gives her an affirming squeeze around her waist once more.

“Just a few more seconds, little chickadee,” he practically sings in her ear as a tease as he sweeps them right up to the roof of his agency. Careful upon landing, he lands first, making himself a grounding force as he sets her feet down in front of his. It takes a moment for the rush of flight to wear off, and Hawks pushes his blinders back like a headband, his free arm still holding her flush against him. Her balance hasn’t returned, and she is trembling like a leaf in the wind in his grasp. Instinctively he gives her upper arm an affirming rub with his free hand, as if to warm her through her thick coat.

“Easy there, little bird, take a second,” his tone is sweet as she manages to take a step away, nearly stumbling like a deer trying to walk for the first time. He keeps an arm around her as it dawns on him how unsteady she truly is. Was she about to faint?

Despite being on solid ground, Akira’s world continues to spin, her hands shaking. With barely any presence of mind, she tries to hand him the drinks before she accidentally dumps whatever is left of them. Suddenly uncertain, he lets her go completely to take them from her and quickly sets them on a nearby table before turning back to her, but already she’s sitting on the ground, looking absolutely disheveled and her skin comes off as a slight shade of green.

“Don’t. Ever. Do that again,” she barely rasps between gritted teeth. The sternness in her tone catches him off guard as he quickly kneels beside her.

“Sorry about that, I should have warned you first.” He immediately begins accessing her condition. With trembling hands, she takes off her fogged-up glasses, and for the first time, he can see how terrified she is, her deep brown eyes blown wide with fear.

“Oh, little bird, I didn’t mean-,” he comforts as his hand lightly caresses the back of her head.

“Shut it. Just-,” she bats his hand away and manages a slow, shaky inhale for breath as she finally meets his worried gaze. “Just give me a minute.” Dejected, his brows are bunched together and his permanent smile has crumbled to a frown for once. He nods before taking off his glove and pressing the back of his hand to her already clammy forehead. When she glances up at him from the corner of her eye, the slight light of the sun catches the scruff on his chin. She hadn’t noticed it before since the hair is blonde.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you, Hatori, I really didn’t, I’m sorry,” he is practically stringing his sentences along as he watches to see if she has any change in her condition. To his surprise, however, she chuckles as she slowly leans to lay flat on your back, her breath visible as puffs of hot air in the cold.

“Funny you remember my name when you’re scared,” her words are weak, but the chuckle is still in her voice. Her words, again, surprise him. “And I said to shh. How were you supposed to know I am afraid of heights like that,” her poor, chapped hands rub her face, finally bringing some relief to her oncoming nausea. He observes suspiciously, continuing to access her, rolling her words over in his head.

“Still, I’m sorry. Do you need anything, any aid?” She shakes her head no, which he doesn’t believe, not when she still appears to be green. When he persists, she looks at him from between her fingers.

“If you want to feel useful, lay down and look.” He gives her a confused look before she points up to the sky. “Watch the stars go out. We still have time.” His gaze follows her finger up to the sky which is now easing into an early morning orange, but it’s still dark enough that some of the stars are visible.

“Promise that’ll help?” He gives her a side glance as he’s already shifting to lie down beside her, and she nods.

“Yeah, I promise,” her voice is still quiet and shaky, but she seems more grounded than before. He adjusts his wings before fully reclining, and he’s surprised at just how many stars he can see. Then he remembers her glasses.

“Can you even see them without your glasses?” He prods a tease and earns a light giggle.

“Barely, only a few of the brighter ones. I’m nearsighted, but the bright ones, they still shine for me.” She lets her hands fall to be crossed over her stomach, her breath far more steady now, and the two of them fall into a comfortable silence. Hawks is surprised at the ease of it. Now that he’s thinking about it, he hasn’t had a calm moment like this in a long time. Has he ever been this still before? They lay like that for a while, watching as the sky brightens, blinking out most of the stars. “You know,” she breaks the silence as she twiddles the zipper pull on her coat, “it always surprises me how many you can actually see in the city sometimes, during times like this. I mean, it’s not like living in the countryside, no light pollution out there. But right now? This is the most I’ve seen in years.” The nostalgia dripping off her words oddly brings him a sense of comfort, relief even.

“I wouldn’t know. I grew up here.” He gives her one more glance, and her normal coloring has returned, thank god. He didn’t want to have to take her to the hospital over something he did. She hums softly, considering.

“Sometimes I want to move back to the countryside, when I remember how quiet and calm it is,” she returns his glance, “at least, through rose-colored glasses, it was great. But, I…,” she chews on the inside of her cheek before continuing, “It’s better that I’m here.” And just like that, she’s looking back up at the sky as if there are no cares in the world. Hawks doesn’t know what to say to that, so he lets the silence stretch on for a few more minutes before her phone buzzes in her pocket. A quick glance and she is slowly sitting up to turn off the alarm.

“You okay now?” Hawks asks softly as he sits up next to her, taking note that her clamminess appears to have passed.

“Mhmm, I’m okay,” she glances at him from under her lashes. “Sorry I reacted like that. I appreciate what you did. Between unwanted crowds or heights, I guess you chose the lesser of the two evils.” He laughs at that, glad she seems to be more herself now.

“Nah, don’t be sorry,” His big grin is back, “I won’t do that again, not without your permission.” He sticks out his tongue as a tease before getting up and offering his hand to help her, which she takes without question. The sudden vertical motion nearly triggers vertigo again, but she catches her balance. Once he’s sure she’s not going to fall right back to the ground, he turns to grab their drinks.

“At least we still have coffee, yeah?” He chuckles as he hands her the cup with her name on it, and to her surprise, it’s still mostly full.

“Thanks,” she smiles and manages to take a proper drink this time, and it settles her upset stomach if only a little bit. Hawks watches her features as she takes another drink. Her soft content sigh melts away any more worry, which pulls a genuine smile across his face instead of his grins for show.

“Heh, we should do that again sometime, though! Running for the press is always fun,” he starts for the door, and she goes to follow.

“Yeah, right, like I’m letting you scoop me up like that again,” she returns his tease with her own, and his sharp, unexpectedly loud laugh makes her laugh, too.

“We’ll see about that,” he gives her a playful glance as they head down the stairs. It doesn’t appear so dark in the hall this time since it was still dark outside, so she’s able to meet his intrigued, honeyed gaze.

“Seriously, I would rather break my fingers than do that again,” earning his laugh once more while they wait for the elevator.

“Ah, but you didn’t even get to see the best part!” He nudges her arm playfully with his elbow, hand in his pocket, before taking a drink of his coffee, looking at her over the brim.

“Yeah, and what’s that? Your shit-eating grin while I’m screaming to be put down?” Her smugness again catches him off guard, like he’s talking to a completely different woman than the one we met a week ago. He nearly chokes on his coffee as another laugh bubbles up.

“Oh, a foul mouth now, are we?”

“Never said I wasn’t one. Besides,” she steps into the elevator once it opens and looks at him as he follows her in, “I didn’t have a reason to cuss you out before. You’re now on my shit list.” His clear, bright laugh bounces off the walls of the elevator and warms her to her core, a tingle racing from the back of her head down her spine.

“Damn, you’re brutal,” he chuckles as he presses their floors with his index finger, cup still in hand.

“Only when I need to be,” she smiles sweetly at him before taking a drink from her cup, and he nearly catches his breath. Who is she? Where’d she come from? Aside from other heroes, no one talks to him like that, and he’s not going to lie, he loves it. It’s not often he’s treated as normal.

“Well, Hatori of the reparations department, I’d love to stay and bitch about how awful flight and the press are, but I have to get to work, and so do you.” Before the doors slide open, he once again claps his free hand on her shoulder with a small squeeze before setting out and giving her a backward glance. “See ya around, little chickadee.” Without even thinking, she casually gives him a teasing wave, her cup still lingering at her lips. The next thing she knows, she’s alone in the elevator, absolutely dumbfounded at how her mood went from hating this morning to despising Hawks, from feeling utterly grateful that he stayed on the roof with her to cheekily teasing him in return. By the time she makes it to her cubicle, her coffee is drained, her mood is over the moon, and the queasiness in her stomach is gone, allowing her to settle into her seat and jump right into work, surprising Yuri who sits across from her.

“Hey, what happened to you? You’re never this happy in the morning,” he teases before lowering his voice and leaning into her cubicle. “You didn’t take someone home from work last night, did you?” That earns him a sharp laugh. She had told him of her dancing work, so he knows the nature of it, and she’s thankful he’s accepting and willing to tease about it.

“Not that that’s any of your business, but no. Can’t I have a good morning?”

~~~

Previous Chapter --- Next Chapter

[g1itchtree]

Redesigning characters go brrr

This is a bnha oc for my fic Caged Bird on Ao3 and Quotev. I might start uploading chapters here too idk

Anyways I really like to see how much not only I’ve grown but my character has grown as well :)

[fandorkofeverything]

Mineta: He's quirkless. There's no way he could stab three third-years *throws dart*

Noah: *catches the dart mid-air* That's a bit ableist. Quirkless people can easily win against heroes. With the right motivation.

[lazywaifu]

🍧 𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃 𝒮𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉 🍧

Tamaki Amajiki x OC

Warnings: none...yet 😏😏

Wors Count: 2,257

Edited by: @dragonhrte

🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡

“Okay, that should be all of them.”

Maia Hanime wiped a bead of sweat from her brow leaving a small smear of flour across her forehead. She removed the pink ruffle lined apron and hung it on the hook behind the kitchen door, which swung open with an unintended force.

“Woah Mai you did all that by yourself? What’d ya even hire me for?” It was her burly cook Kai Hideki, the man was a mountain, he was six feet eight inches tall, with insanely broad shoulders, so wide that Maia had to widen the door frames upon his employment. Atop of those broad shoulders was a boulder-like head, with a messy crop of brown hair with two white horns peeking out the top, and matching goatee. Kai’s quirk was called The Taurus, he had all the abilities of a bull which explained his incredible stature.

Although he had a quirk that made him intimidating, he was one of the nicest people Maia had ever met. Something Maia learned early on was not to judge people by their quirks or lack thereof.

“Well, I didn’t think it was fair for you to have to come in so much earlier, and honestly I couldn’t really sleep. I’m actually really nervous, what if no one shows up, or worse, what if they don’t like anything.”

Maia’s cheerful excitement quickly turned into nervous anxiety and she got the sudden urge to throw up.

Kai grabbed the chef’s hat and apron off the hook, “Hey don’t sweat it kiddo, people will come, and they will love your food. I mean how can they not, you’re like the best baker ever!”

Kai placed a large hand on Maia’s head flattening out thick raven black curls, “And if they don’t I’LL BEAT THEM TO A PULP HAHA!” Kai punched his hand with a large fist accompanied by a devious grin on his face.

Maia pressed her hands to her face and squeaked out, “Uh thanks Kai...I think.”

He pulled the too small chef’s hat over his head poking two little holes in it with his horns, “No problem kiddo, I got your back.”

Maia’s crisis was interrupted by a high-pitched sing-song voice, “Goood Moorniiing!”

A lanky girl with a purple pixie cut walked through the door, “Geez what's up? Why’re you guys here so early, I thought we didn’t open ‘till eight?”

Maia shook her hands to ease her nerves and made her way to the kitchen door, she swung it open and beamed at the girl on the other side, “Rei! You made it!”

Maia proceeded into the front of the cafe and leaned against the countertop, her chin rested on her hand, “Rei, what if everyone hates it? Am I a moron?”

The lanky girl in front of her clapped a hand on her distressed friend’s shoulder, “Don’t do this to yourself Mai, everything will be fine! I could always give you a little confidence boost.” she said grinning down at the worried entrepreneur.

Rei’s quirk was called Sunshine State: It gives her the ability to enhance a person’s mood, confidence, and luck for fifteen minutes, the only odd thing is how it’s received. For Rei to use her quirk on a person she must kiss them on lips for at least ten seconds.

Rei was Maia’s first friend when she moved from the Okinawa country-side, the two had met when Maia’s bag got stolen on her way to her apartment, and Rei chased the thief down and thoroughly kicked his ass, returning her bag, for a fee. The two have been pretty much inseparable ever since. Maia thought about her idea, she glanced at the clock 7:26 am it read.She sighed, if she was going to pull this off she would need all the help she could get.

“Fine…but let’s go into the kitchen first, I don’t need potential customers thinking this is some sort of fan-service place.”

The two girls quickly made their way through the swinging door, “Hey boss I got all these pastries boxed up, you really went all out huh?” Kai turned to see his new boss locking lips with a strange purple-haired lady, “Whaa, why! Who? Uhhaaaa….”

Rei and Maia turned to Kai who was red-faced and sputtering. Maia gave out a hearty laugh , she felt better almost instantly.She scooped up the four parcels filled with breakfast pastries.

“Okay wish me luck!” she shouted as she shuffled out the door towards the hero agency a few buildings down.

Kai blinked after his boss as her petite form was dwarfed by the parcels, quickly remembering the purple-haired stranger he rounded, “Who the hell are you!?”

Rei laughed, “Rei Yara, cashier, nice to meet you!”

Rei poked her tongue out at him and proceeded to the front of the cafe. Kai pushed the door open, “So what exactly does she have in mind for all those pastries?”

Rei began counting out the cash in the register, “Well, you noticed who’s agency we are close by right?”

Kai looked at her confused, she sighed, “FatGum! Good thing you’re cute.” She said waving off his slow uptake.

“Y'see she picked this spot specifically because it was so close to his agency., Who’s gonna resist a delicious cafe right in their backyard? I mean Fat is in his name after all...not that that’s a bad thing.” She finished quickly, “So what better way to get business booming than by getting the No.10 hero raving about your establishment. It’s rather genius actually.”

Kai nodded, “Hmm seems like she’s thought of everything.”

Rei agreed silently, finishing up the morning shift register.

Maia hummed happily as she shuffled down the sidewalk her nerves had all but disappeared and the day seemed much brighter thanks to Rei’s quirk. While passing the large windows she raised a few eyebrows, appearing to be four boxes stacked on top of each other with legs. When she reached the door she ineffectively reached out for the handle attempting to balance the parcels on the side of her face.

“Woah, hold up there. Let me get that for you!” An upbeat voice sounded to her left. She shuffled awkwardly to the right and squeaked out a suppressed, “Thank you.”

The man opened the door and she tottered inside.

“Here let me take that.”

The top two parcels were lifted up and Maia’s line of sight was finally unobstructed.

“Whew thanks!” Maia was face to face with a tall muscular man with spiky red hair and a toothy grin. “It’s no problem, what, uhh, is all this?”

Maia smiles broadly, “I’m so glad you asked! Pro-Hero Red Riot prepare to have your taste buds amazed!”

Maia felt like she was having an out of body experience. She was speaking with such clarity and assurance, not stuttering and tripping over word vomit. It was like watching a pro salesperson from a spot inside their mind.

“Oh! That sounds great! Let me go grab FatGum. He'd really appreciate this!”

Red Riot took off around the corner towards the elevator. Maia smiled after him, suddenly there was a twinge in her stomach, Rei’s quirk was beginning to wear off and her anxiety was becoming more apparent with each passing minute. Maia watched the clock intently, it had taken her about five minutes to walk there, which left only ten minutes for the mood enhancement. Red Riot was gone for four minutes and thirty seconds which left five minutes and thirty seconds and it seemed as time wound down the effects also began to lessen. “Oooh jeez, Rei’s quirk is wearing off…” Maia fidgeted with the hem of her black skirt as the young pro-hero returned with his elder and one other person, she couldn’t tell who because they were wearing a white hood and indigo bangs covered their upper face.

“Hey uhh…” Red Riot rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Oh…my name's Maia,” she said waving nervously. Uhhhh why did I wave… she thought, mentally slapping her palm to her forehead.

“Hi Maia, Red Riot says you have something tasty for us!” The large hero said, licking his lips.

Maia smiledsoftly, “Yes, I- um… I just opened a cafe. It’s a few buildings down and well I guess… I figured why not stop by and introduce myself. I’m sorry if I bothered you… I just thou-“

FatGum interrupted her, “No bother at all! Let’s see what you have!”

Maia nodded and began opening the boxes, her trembling fingers fidgeted with the knots, three minutes had passed and she felt like she was falling apart, the knots were unusually tight, damn Kai, try to remember not all of us have super strength… she thought.

Heat was rising to her face thank goodness for her dark complexion or she’d be blushing so fiercely she’d look like a tomato. She finally undid the last knot and pulled back the tops on the boxes displaying various pastries like melon pan, anpan, sausage pan, and cornets. A deliciously sweet aroma filled the lobby of the hero agency attracting a few of the other side kicks and agency staff.

“Oh wow that looks amazing!” FatGum said, excitement building on his face.

“Help yourselves, I believe I brought enough for everyone.” She said stepping to the side a bit as more people began crowding around the table. Maia couldn’t help but feel proud as she watched the hero’s and staff devour her pastries, all except one person had a mouth stuffed full.

The person in the white hood, they had managed to end up in the very back of the crowd almost like they were hiding.

Maia grabbed a napkin and swiped the last melon pan from the box pushing past the dense group, “Um, hey? I don’t think you’ll get anything way back here.”

She offered a soft smile and handed them the pastry.

The young pro-hero took the treat out of her hands, she couldn’t help but notice they appeared to be trembling, “You alright?” she asked, kneeling slightly down to maybe get a peek under the hood.

Before the young hero could answer Red Riot bounded back to where they were standing, “Dude you missed out…” he spoke after taking another bite out of the sausage pan, “She can really cook!”

Maia smiled nervously, “Thanks, my cafe is just a few buildings down, It's called Somethin’ Sweet.” she said feeling happy over all, it was a success.

“You hear that! Hell yeah! We’ll be there! Do you do lunch?”

She nodded happily, “Yes sir, sure do.”

Maia’s attention went back to the hooded hero, “ I uh, don’t think your friend likes it very much,” she said fidgeting with the hem again.

Red Riot turned towards his fellow hero and pulled back his hood. “ Nah I’m sure he does, he’s just super shy and you’re cute so…” He said all this so nonchalantly then proceeded to just walk off exclaiming to another person how good it was.

Maia was slightly taken aback by this comment but she couldn’t focus on that so much because the hero standing in front of her was a deep shade of crimson. From the tips of pointy ears all the way down to the collar of his hero outfit all exposed skin was dark red and it seemed like the longer she stared at him the worse it got, “I-I-I have t-to go…”, he said quickly, and darted around the corner, pastry still in hand.

Maia blinked after him, “Uh… ok.” she said wondering what in the world just happened.

By this point the fifteen minute mark had long passed, however, she succeeded in her plan. Maia turned to pick up any trash or leftovers and everything was gone including the boxes. She couldn’t believe it turned out so well as she pushed the glass doors of the agency open and headed back to her shop. She couldn’t stop grinning. It was now 7:55 am and Somethin’ Sweet cafe was officially open for business.

“See we told you, everything would go well!” Kai exclaimed from the kitchen, Rei nodded in agreement.

Maia sighed, “ I know… I know.”

Soon a few customers began coming in and before they knew it, they had sold out over half of what they made for breakfast. It was a successful morning. Around 11 o'clock the cafe had quieted down and the last customer of the breakfast rush had left.

Maia plopped down in an empty chair and sighed running her fingers through dense curls, “Wow I wasn’t expecting that.”

Rei nodded from behind the counter, “Yeah man, and you were afraid no one would show. See you just need a little faith.”

Maia pulled a rag from her apron pocket and chucked it at her purple-haired friend.

“Yeah yeah yeah…” she rolled her eyes.

Rei laughed and caught the rag, tossing it over her shoulder. She grabbed the full till from its compartment inside the register, “ You know I’m right.” She pushed the manager's office door open and slung the rag back at Maia. After a few moments of rest she got up and began boxing and labeling the last bit of breakfast food.

As she began putting out lunch displays the bell on her door jingled lightly followed by a familiar cheerful voice, “ Heeeey this is super nice huh Tamaki?”

Maia turned and greeted the two hero’s with a smile,. “Oh, hi!”

Red Riot grinned broadly and threw his arm around his nervous fellow hero, “We came for lunch!”