Outing gone wrong

“Nagi, don’t wander off.”

“I won’t!”

The little girl with skin a blueish hue instantly came trotting over at her brother’s call. Both siblings were quite similar in appearance with teal hair, webbed ears, and an angler fish’s dangler protruding from the top of their head. They were dressed for a casual outing, clothing light on account of the day’s heat. Summer was fast approaching and soon both siblings would be able to take a break from their studies.

Aito sighed as he reached a hand to rub his shoulder. The other day he’d gone to the gym to train with Toba and Hanako. Those twins were a menace even without the use of their Quirks. But their brutally efficient battle style was perfect for training. He honestly just wished it didn’t have to hurt so much. How the Hell was Toba so strong? He ate plastic for fuck’s sake. That couldn’t be nutritional in the slightest.

The Angler Quirk man was quite literally pulled from his thoughts by Nagi’s small hand tugging on his incessantly. “Aito! I wanna go look at the flowers!”

“What? Why? We didn’t come here to shop for flowers.” Aito frowned slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion.

The siblings, having a day off from school, had journeyed into town to do a little shopping. Originally Aito had just wanted to take his little sister out for ice cream, but then the two had gotten distracted by the open-air market that had been set up for the weekend. So the two of them had been walking up and down the isles simply looking at what was being sold. They’d just been passing by a flowerstand when Nagi had spotted them, her green eyes growing impossibly wide.

Nagi grinned widely at him, showing off her little fangs. “I wanna get some for Hana-Hana!”

Now that caused Aito’s face to scrunch up even further than before. He stared down at Nagi and gave her a very skeptical look. “You want to get Hanako flowers… Because of her name?”

“Duh! And ooh oh!! You could get Toba flowers too!” Nagi threw her hands up in a show of how much enthusiasm she was brimming with. “And then he’ll be so happy he’ll ask you to marry him!”

Aito was left sputtering, a flush overcoming his face and turning it into a darker shade of blue. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to wrestle his expression into its usual scowl, though it ended up looking more like a pout instead. “He’s not gonna ask that just because he got a bunch of dumb flowers! Besides we’re still too dang young to be thinking about that!”

It was Nagi’s turn to puff out her cheeks and pout. She placed her hands on her hips, “Why? Hana-Hana said she’d approve!”

“It’s not Hanako’s choice, so she can’t approve!”

“She could too! She said older siblings have to approve marriages!”

It was a silly thing to be bickering about in front of a flower stall, obviously. However that’s just how siblings were even in public. It wasn’t really even an argument, mostly teasing on Aito’s part and putty insistence on Nagi’s. The two were so engrossed in their little spat that the sudden loud boom of an explosion caught them off guard.

Aito’s attention snapped up and he watched as a plume of smoke rose towards the sky. It was close, far too close for comfort. Just as he thought this another explosion went off. People yelled, pointing at the blooming fairy rose in the distance. From where it came from, there were louder screams as a throng of people came streaming away from the area.

“Aito!” Nagi cried, grabbing onto her brother as another deafening explosion ripped through the air.

He ducked down, taking a hold of Nagi and picking her up. What did he do?! He was a hero in training, he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing! He had to see what was going on, maybe help if he could. But… He looked down to Nagi, her eyes wide and full of fear as she stared back.

Aito couldn’t leave her alone, yet he couldn’t just drag her into danger! Whatever it was making these explosions, Aito had to hope the professionals got here to handle it. In the meantime he had to get Nagi out of here! He would never be able to live with himself if something happened to her on his watch.

Just as Aito was going to make a run for it with the crowd, he noticed something. By this point most of the people had cleared from where the explosions were happening, but only one person was walking away like he was taking a casual stroll. The man was somewhat tall and dressed like a punk, black tank top and skinny jeans included. His red hair was pulled into a short ponytail and he was grinning wide as he ate an apple, finishing it off till only the rind was left.

Aito watched as the man’s smirk grew wider, his eyes sweeping over the people still running. He then braced his feet and drew his arm back before tossing the rind forwards and towards the crowd. Aito watched it like it was moving in slow motion, the world moving at a crawl as his eyes remained glued to the remnants of the apple. Then just as it began to turn a bright white, Aito’s instincts went haywire telling him to run.

“Shit!” Aito cursed, keeping his grip on Nagi and leaping over the table of the flower stall. He held her close and braced as the explosion cracked through the air like lightning. It felt as if the ground shook from the impact, his ears ringing and only Nagi’s terrified scream heard over it.

Aito tried to quietly console Nagi, placing a kiss to the crown of her head and tucking her face into the crook of his neck. Nagi was shaking in his arms, nails digging into Aito’s skin where she clung to him. He didn’t even register the slight prick of pain, too busy focusing on where this crazy villain was.

With extreme caution Aito peeked over the edge of the upturned table, using it as a shield from the red-head’s gaze. The man didn’t even seem to notice Aito, too busy picking up items and testing their weight before tossing them around. One by one explosions went off, the market still dotted with people trying to escape. There were just too many for them all to flee in any semblance of order. It was pure chaos.. At this rate one of those explosions were going to catch a civilian! It was a miracle they hadn’t yet!

“Nagi,” Aito whispered, dread twisting heavy in his gut. He slowly peeled her off of him, setting her down on the ground and holding her face. He coaxed her to look up, pleading with his eyes for her to listen. “I need you to stay here, ok?”

“W-what? But-!”

“Shhh!” Aito quickly clasped a hand over Nagi’s mouth and glanced over their cover to make sure they hadn’t been discovered. It was a relief to see the man too occupied inspecting a booth of jewelry. Satisfied that they were safe from the time being, he turned back to focus on his little sister. “I have to draw his attention away from the crowd till the heroes arrive. But you’ve got to be quiet the whole time, ok? No matter what!”

Nagi clearly looked reluctant but she sniffed, nodding in understanding. Aito pulled her in for a tight hug. He tried not to let it show how his hands were shaking. How his heart was pounding rapidly like the fluttering of a bird’s wings. Aito may be a hero in training, but he’s never actually faced a villain before. But it’s ok, he could do this. He just had to either get close and incapacitate him or distract him long enough for the heroes to arrive.

With a final glance to Nagi, Aito slinked out from behind his cover. He made sure to leave some distance between him and where Nagi was hiding just to avoid accidentally putting her in the crossfire. Then with a deep breath, Aito squared his shoulders and raised his fists. “Hey!”

The man looked up, having been grabbing a handful of rings for some reason or another. Aito had the fleeting thought of annoyance. If all this guy wanted was to rob a cheap jewelry booth, couldn’t he have just gone to an actual jewelry store where they sold more expensive things?

With a shake of his head Aito pushed aside those thoughts, focusing on the here and now. “What you’re doing is a violation of Quirk--”

“Save me the spiel kid. Don’t you have school or something?” The guy raised a brow, smirk visible even with the distance between them.

Aito’s eyes narrowed and he fought the urge to curl his lip and snarl at the comment. Instead he took another deep breath and continued on with the steps he learned to apprehend a villain. “You are to comply with your arrest, otherwise I will be required to use force in order to apprehend you.”

“Haaa?” The guy’s smile turned confused for a moment before he blinked, eyes widening. Suddenly he let out a loud bark of laughter, holding his stomach as he doubled over from the force of it. “Oh geez! You’re serious aren’t you? Little baby fish playing at being a hero!” His laughter abruptly cut off, a chilling smile in place as his gaze snapped back to Aito. “Alright, brat. I’ll play.”

Aito only had a moment to dodge to the side when the man flung the handful of rings towards him. They hadn’t even hit the ground yet before they turned a brilliant white and started popping off one after the other. The explosions weren’t big, not like the previous ones. However there were plenty enough of them to be a problem.

He cursed, sprinting away from the attack. Aito wove around the guy, trying to get close enough for his quirk to be of use. Though he could’ve used his hypnosis from this distance, it would have a better chance of sticking if the guy was closer to his lure. It was dangerous, of course. Especially since this guy seemed to be able to make explosions out of whatever he was holding. This made close combat dangerous. Aito had to be smart about it.

“Not so fast!” The guy yelled, catching Aito off guard as he darted forward. Aito had expected him to keep his distance, use his quirk to his advantage. That didn’t seem to be the case. It was like this man was itching for conflict, that’s why he picked such a public place to cause a scene.

Aito skidded to a stop just in time to raise his hands and block the punch aimed at him. He jumped back, aviding another swing and flaring the light at the end of his lure. The man was caught by surprise, letting out a curse as he squeezed his eyes shut from the painfully bright light.

“Ah fuck!! That hurt!”

Using the moment of vulnerability to strike, Aito swung a sharp right hook, catching the guy in the jaw. He continued with the attack, swinging a leg up and aiming for the man’s gut. The villain grunted as the hits connected, punching blindly and barely managing to catch Aito in the cheek. Aito was knocked back, stumbling for a moment before he sprang back into the fight.

The man opened his eyes and saw the next punch coming towards him. He ducked out of the way, swinging his legs out to knock Aito’s from beneath him. Aito hit the ground, feeling the gravel dig in harshly. He cursed, rolling out of the way to avoid getting stomped on. As he landed on his back, Aito flashed his lure and once again drew out another sharp curse from his attacker.

Stomping his foot as he shielded his eyes, the man snarled. “Getting real tired of your little lightshow, kid!”

Aito blinked away his blurred vision, leaping back up to his feet. After so many years with his Quirk he had quickly grown used to how bright the light could get. At most it made his sight blurry. However in a situation like this, that could be dangerous.

This time the man recovered faster than Aito would think. There was a sharp pain in his jaw as a fist connected with a crack. The man didn’t let up, swinging jabs left and right and forcing Aito to go on the defense. In the barrage of attacks, he only managed to get in another glancing blow or two. It seemed the guy was getting serious now, his shark toothed grin looking deranged.

They traded blows like it was a dance, Aito beginning to struggle in keeping up. This man was faster, stronger. He aimed to hurt with his attacks and Aito can’t say he was used to such a thing. His classmates and sparring partners always held back in some capacity. So facing someone going all out with the aim to injure him was a new concept. It was wearing Aito down trying to dodge all these attacks and still land his own blows. But hopefully his distraction granted enough time for the heroes to arrive. They’d be here soon, he just had to hold on for a little longer.

It was as he had that thought that the man suddenly kicked Aito in the side. He let out a shuddering gasp, lungs constricting painfully. The blow had landed exactly over his side fins, the appendages sensitive to attacks. He hunched over, breath squeezing from his chest with a wheeze. Just like that Aito’s defenses were broken and the man took full advantage.

He grabbed Aito by the head, slamming him down onto the man’s raised knee. Aito choked, feeling the hot spill of blood run down his face. He hit the ground and didn’t even get the chance to roll away before the man was grabbing him by the shirt. He yanked Aito up, glaring down at him with a grin that looked to be hanging on by a thread.

“You’re really annoying, know that? Here I am just minding my business and you come and ruin it! Annoying freaking brat trying to be a hero!” The man pulled back his fist, sneering down at Aito. “Feel like a hero yet, little fish?”

The sound of his fist connecting to Aito’s face was loud in the clearing. Aito’s head snapped back from the impact, only getting a moment to recover before another blow came. Aito tried to force himself to raise his arms and defend himself, yet he couldn’t get them to move. It was like he was paralyzed! He could only lay there and let this guy beat his face bloody.

“Aito!!”

The scream had both men freezing. Aito gave a wet cough, blinking through the pain in order to let his head lull to the side and seek out the source of the sound. The man followed his line of sight and both spotted the small girl standing beside the upturned table. Aito’s eyes widened and he felt a chill rush through him. Nagi! What was she doing?!

The man looked from Nagi down to Aito, a wider smile stretching across his face. “Oooh? I changed my mind. That’s a little fish.” He bent down, picking up a piece of debris and stepping towards Nagi.

Aito’s heart froze and he scrambled forward, desperately grabbing onto the man’s leg. “Wait-- No! Nagi! Nagi get out of there!” He yelled, voice coming out scratchy.

But Nagi couldn’t move. She was paralyzed with fear, body shaking as the man struggled to take another step towards her. He growled, pursing his lips and glaring down at Aito. He yanked his leg out from Aito’s hold and brought it down to stomp on his hand. Aito cried out in pain, yet he still desperately tried to get a grip back on the man. He had to keep him from Nagi!

Sidestepping Aito’s hold, the man danced a few feet away as he tossed up the piece of debris and caught it. “You really should’ve minded your own business, kid.”

It was like time slowed to a crawl the moment the man threw the chunk towards Nagi. Sound shorted out and white noise filled up Aito’s head. He watched, mouth open in a silent scream as the debris flew through the air. Nagi cried out, diving behind the table and away from sight. However the debris landed close, too close for the booth to provide any protection. Then the piece was turning white before it exploded, sending wood chunks and burning flower pieces in every direction.

“Nagi!!!” Aito screamed his throat raw, tears rising to his eyes. His wounds felt miniscule to the pain shredding through his heart. He didn’t even register when he was grabbed by his hair and yanked up onto his knees.

“Look what you made me do. My hand slipped.” The man said with a scolding air. He then reached down, grabbing a burned flower and holding it up to Aito’s face. “And my hand’s gonna to slip again.”

But before the man could even let the flower go, something happened.

The shadow beneath the two of them rippled for a moment and suddenly something small sprang from it. It connected to the man’s chin and threw him back from the force of the uppercut. Aito dropped to the ground and blinked in surprise as the little figure landed in front of him. It was a bat decked out in a black uniform, an orange visor over his eyes. It took a moment for Aito’s brain to make the connection on who this was, but when he did he found himself gasping.

It was Echo Stealth, the bat hero!

“Phantom, now!” Echo Stealth yelled, snapping Aito from his thoughts.

Aito’s vision was suddenly obscured by blackened shadow, everything shifting like he was seeing it from beneath the ground. Then he felt a tugging sensation and he was pulled from wherever he was. When Aito next blinked he was back on the ground a good distance from where the villain was picking himself up off the ground.

A cloaked figure crouched in front of Aito, the young teen looking up at a ghostly mask. The person tilted their head, tucking their hands under Aito and gently lifting him to sit against a stone wall. “Are you alright? You have taken quite the beating, young hero.”

“N-Nagi…” Aito mumbled, unable to form any other word but his sister’s name.

“Ah, right!” The man chuckled, looking at something to the side and gesturing them over. When Nagi came running into his line of sight, Aito felt his breath hitch and a new wave of tears threatened to spill.

Nagi was already a sobbing mess, collapsing beside Aito and grabbing onto his shirt with desperate hands. “A-Aito!” She hiccuped, tucking herself into his side and shaking from the force of her crying.

Even though it hurt to move, Aito forced himself to wrap his arms around Nagi and hold her closer. He looked up to the other hero, Phantom Wisp, with watery eyes. “T-thank you…”

“But of course,” Phantom Wisp placed a comforting hand to Aito’s shoulder, “It is the duty of a hero to defend those in need. You did admirably, young hero. But let the professionals handle it from here. Young miss, may I ask that you keep an eye on your brother for me?”

With a loud sniff, Nagi leaned away from Aito and nodded. She wiped her eyes, puffing out her chest. “I-I’ll keep him s-safe!” Despite the waver in her voice she said it with so much conviction.

Phantom Wisp chuckled again, using his other hand to pet her head. “A brave girl indeed.” And with that the man seemed to sink into the shadow beneath him, disappearing from sight.

From this distance the two could see that the villain was swinging his fists at the air wildly, trying to land a punch on the small bat flying around him and delivering heavy hits. The man was being knocked from side to side, clearly at a disadvantage from the smaller target. And when Phantom Wisp appeared behind the man, the scale grew even more skewed.

The siblings watched as Phantom Wisp gave a kick to the man’s back, sinking back into shadows just as the villain spun around to retaliate. And with his back now exposed, Echo Stealth took the chance to strike once more.

“Wow… Who are they?” Nagi asked, still maintaining a deathgrip on Aito’s bloodstained shirt.

“Echo Stealth and Phantom Wisp. Echo Stealth is the bat Quirk, Phantom Wisp the shadow.”

“Phantom Wisp… He saved me.”

That made sense. Everyone training to be a hero had heard something of these two. Echo Stealth was a perfect example that anyone could be a hero no matter their size. With his bat Quirk, he was only 14 inches in height, diminutive to anyone he faced. And for Phantom Wisp, he was known for his shadow Quirk. The full parameters of it weren't fully known, but he was said to resemble a ghost in the night. Just as he moved Aito from the line of fire, he’d probably done the same for Nagi before the explosion went off.

Between the two heroes, the villain didn’t last long. A particularly loud hit from both Echo Stealth and Phantom Wisp had the man teetering backwards before he collapsed. From there Aito heard the sound of police sirens, or were those paramedics? He really couldn’t tell. His injuries were now catching up with him and Aito found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. He heard Nagi calling his name and saw the shaky shapes of Phantom Wisp and Echo Stealth coming back towards them. But before he knew it, Aito was closing his eyes and falling unconscious.

///

“I’d say you got the makings of a hero!”

Aito nodded slowly at the little bat patting his knee beneath the covers. The young angler fish had woken up in the hospital; cleaned, bandaged, and was feeling numb all over. Nagi was nowhere in sight but Aito assumed his mother must’ve come to get her. He wasn’t alone in the room though. Both Echo Stealth and Phantom Wisp had been there when he’d awoken. While it was a little awe-inspiring to be talking with the two heroes, Aito was a little too hopped up on the good stuff to be able to fully enjoy it.

He’d given both heroes a brief recounting of what happened and, at their prompting, informed them that he was a student at Shiketsu high. Phantom Wisp had let out an excited sound at that, placing his hands to his masked cheeks.

“Ah I recall my days there! The uniforms, though such a tacky colour, shall always hold a fond memory within my heart. Oh but the hats! I find myself craving to wear such a tasteful accessory once more!” The pro hero then fell into a rambling speech, gesturing wildly with his hands as if he was the main actor in a play.

Thankfully he was interrupted by the door sliding open with enough force it hit the wall with a crack. A dark-skinned busty woman with pink hair came in, Nagi perched on her hip. The two had matching drinks and sunglasses, the one on Nagi a little too big for her face.

“We’re back!” The girl paused, pursing her painted lips and lifting up her sunglasses. “Oh, professor Hibiki, Hiromitsu. Hey.”

“Ah, it’s Hanako!” Echo Stealth, Hibiki, perked up from his space on the bed. He leaned to the side, seeing someone else entering the hospital room. “And Toba! The Ikeda twins!”

Behind Hanako was a person that looked just like her, the only differences being that he was a man and that his pink hair didn’t reach his roots. He gave a glance over the people in the room, gaze resembling a glare.

“Ah, professors.” Was the only kind of greeting Toba gave before he made his way to Aito’s bedside. He scooted a chair close enough that he could sit down and take Aito’s hand, not even caring over the stares such an action drew.

Aito’s face turned a dark shade from his blush, sputtering something unintelligible. However Toba didn’t seem to notice, squeezing Aito’s hand and humming. “We were worried.” He nodded to both Hibiki and Hiromitsu, “Thank you for protecting them, professors.”

Hibki stood from the bed after patting Aito’s knee once more, taking off into the air and flapping over to Hiromitsu. He landed on his teammate’s shoulder before saying, “It’s no worries! All in a day’s work!”

Nagi looked between the Ikeda twins and the two ‘professors’, making the connection in her head. “You teach at U.A?”

“Yep! My main focus is stealth and espionage, with a side course on hand-to-hand combat for students shorter than average.” Hibiki’s wings quivered for a moment before the thin membrane began to recede into his body, leaving behind two relatively normal arms.

Hiromitsu hummed, clasping his hands and holding them to his chest. “And I am placed in charge of educating students to better their defense. My Quirk provides ample chances to learn how to face an opponent you cannot see with ease. Ah, I am also in charge of basic curriculum as well.”

Nagi nodded, taking in the information with wide eyes. Then she bit her lip, glancing between the two heroes. “And um… Do you have… Sidekicks?”

Hibiki tilted his head, sharing a sideways glance with Hiromitsu. Technically speaking, no, they didn’t have sidekicks. But that was because usually the two of them partnered up for jobs. And even if they didn’t always work together, Hibiki usually preferred to go in alone. Granted he still had a team on the outside to keep in contact with, but his point still stood.

“Well currently I’m not looking for a sidekick. Hiromitsu?”

The ghost hero tilted his head to the side and hummed, placing a hand to his masked cheek. “I am not blessed with a sidekick at this point in time. Though I do not think I would be opposed to one. Should a student wish to pick me as a mentor, I would weep a thousand tears of joy! How honoured would I be to be blessed with guiding the next generation of heroes? Ah but I am already doing that as a teacher! Nonetheless! Such a grand opportunity!”

Hibiki huffed, smacking a small hand to Hiromitsu’s mask before turning to Nagi. “In short: no, he doesn’t have a sidekick.”

With a firm nod Nagi stated seriously, “I’m going to U.A then.”

As the small group laughed over her declaration, Aito found his attention shifting to Toba. Though the other teen was usually quiet, this time was a little different. He had a furrow in his brow and was frowning down at Aito’s bandaged hand. He was holding it like it was made of glass, a finger tracing along the white gauze.

“Hey…” Aito mumbled, squeezing at Toba’s hand like the other had done prior. Toba’s golden eyes slowly lifted to Aito’s, his frown deepening. Aito fought the urge to roll his own eyes. At the best of times he struggled to read Toba’s expressions, but he liked to think he was getting better at it. “I’m fine.”

“Still hurt though.”

“Yeah well that’s the life of a hero.” Aito shrugged his shoulders as he reclined back against his pillows.

Toba hummed, neither indicating he agreed or disagreed. In the end he looked back down to their hands in contemplation. After a moment he said, “Then I’ll be your sidekick. We can get hurt together.”

Aito stared at Toba with wide eyes before he snorted. The brief bit of laughter hurt his ribs but it was honestly worth it to see the way Toba’s expression began to ease. “Dork,” He said once he caught his breath, “I thought you were going to be Hanako’s sidekick.”

“I could do both.” He narrowed his eyes like he expected Aito to challenge him.

Doing nothing of the sort, Aito merely grinned at the other and shook his head in fond exasperation. “Like I said, you’re a freaking dork.”

With a small quirk of his lips Toba smiled, once more humming. He raised their hands and placed a kiss to the back of Aito’s. His expression grew smug as a blush once more swallowed up Aito’s face. “Yeah… But I’m your dork.” And that was something Aito couldn’t deny even if he wanted to.

-End-