I never quite understood why Tokage showed up or what she actually wanted. Either she simply wanted to chat with me and Yui because it was Sunday and “you can't do any business on Sundays!”... at least that would explain the long-sleeved dress she rarely wore. Or maybe it was because Mars was blue today. Meaning—I have no idea! A random game event, no doubt.
Glancing at yet another argument those two had started, I waved my hand and went to linch… I mean, lunch.
I gloomily bought three steaks, claiming that meat is the secret of a circus animal tamer—you need to throw meat to the lions at the right time.
And what about me? Am I the odd one out? I want some too!
My wallet, which seemed bottomless just yesterday, was rapidly heading toward showing its bottom...
At the table—Mawata wasn’t in the dining hall, just so you know—I noticed that Himiko had suddenly stopped tying her mane into those strange buns, and her loose hair, reaching her shoulder blades, was softly fluffing out.
The answer to my lazy question knocked me dead. Particularly because the first sentence was a literal quote from myself:
“Friends should think about each other. And Niren likes long hair.”
Karma exists, after all. My reward was the look of unbearable, downright universal frustration on Setsuna’s face. Apparently, she had simply let it slip, not watching her tongue. Well, no wonder, since her tongue was hanging a meter away from her. What, is she just jealous of the blonde?
I feel like Gulliver. The Lilliputians have their tiny problems, while I sit high up, gazing far away, thinking about important matters. For example, h̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶e̶a̶k how to get to the Hero Support Department today.
“Himiko, let’s go make you a costume.”
“But I already have one…”
“No, you don’t.”
“Alright…”
“Oh, and since you’re already here, following us around with nothing to do, come along, Tsuna. Be our mannequin.”
“Huh? Huhh?!”
***
I wasn’t sure if we could actually get into the department on a weekend—the website only listed the building, and all I got from Mawata was directions on how to get there. But I was betting on the fact that there were likely some workaholics who stayed overnight with their inventions. And I was right.
Carrying both mine and Tsuna’s costumes, we made our way to the third floor, passing through one of the wide corridors connecting the various sections of the Academy’s main building (I was wrong when I called it one main building—there were actually four of them). We ended up in another “leg” of the letter “H.” The entire complex, when viewed from any side, looks like that letter, although in reality, it’s more like four large rectangular towers connected by bridges.
After descending back to the first floor, dragging a whining Tokage behind me, we quickly found what we were looking for: the U.A. Development Studio. Basically, a huge workshop divided into a labyrinth of dozens of rooms, dedicated to creating, testing, and perfecting hero costumes and gadgets.
It was buzzing, screeching, sparking, and occasionally exploding. I didn’t like it.
Leaving a marker under the sole of my shoe at the entrance to avoid getting lost on the way back, I decisively set off in search of the main target—the Power Loader.
First, I needed someone to fix my costume by getting rid of that embarrassing neon lighting.
Then, I had to get someone to either make or at least attempt a costume for Toga, based on the principles of Setsuna’s suit.
After asking for directions from three students so engrossed in their work that they were completely detached from reality (seriously, one of them replied to my question, “Where can I find the head of the department, Power Loader?” with, “Who? No idea, I’m in charge here”), I finally found the man I was looking for, after passing through a series of workshops.
A scrawny redhead was wearing his yellow exoskeleton, even indoors, which looked more like parts of an excavator, given that his mask was shaped like a bucket. A bizarre design with an exposed, unprotected torso (not even a shirt—just bare chest and stomach), and even stranger that he didn’t take off the mask.
After giving me a thorough once-over, listening to both of my problems, and snorting, the half-naked shrimp turned and led us somewhere, further and further away from the marker.
What’s wrong with this guy? Does he realize the fleeting nature of his existence, standing next to someone as magnificent as me?.. Ahem. It seems Setsuna’s presence is contagious.
Speaking of her, both girls were clearly uncomfortable, so they fell silent, only exchanging whispered insults. Which, by the way, was quite remarkable.
Himiko’s gaze could be really intimidating—remember that incident with Momo? In her dissatisfaction, she often resorted to blatant threats, which, as I knew very well, weren’t empty.
However, such things seemed to slide off Setsuna like water off a duck's back—she forgot about them in seconds. Flexible psyche, I’m telling you... possibly part of her Quirk in action. As I mentioned before, it would be incredibly difficult for me to live as a being fragmented into dozens of nearly autonomous parts. But for her, it’s fine.
This likely comes from her Quirk, giving her a well-founded confidence in her survival abilities in extreme situations, combined with the strength she’s gained from training and education over the past year. But that’s not all.
I’ve also noticed that she tends to switch topics often, showing a certain capriciousness and impulsiveness. In contrast to Yui, who is consistent and good at noticing details without losing sight of the big picture. Or take Mashirao, for example, who doesn’t show much initiative and follows his father’s directives, like… like a tail.
It wasn’t the first time I’d wondered why so many people around me suspiciously resembled… no, not exactly. The personalities of most people I know seem to have traits that are somehow linked to the core characteristics of their Quirks. Though not everyone—like my mom, for instance. What could you possibly have in common with a holographic timer? Then again, maybe it’s just because hers is a weak one.
Hmm. I wonder if there’s something in common between me as a person and my Quirk?
"Mei! Your clients are here!" Power Loader yelled somewhere into the depths of yet another workshop we stumbled into. The place was cluttered with half-disassembled gadgets—probably all of them only halfway done.
Who the heck is Mei?..
Something crashed to our left, followed by an explosion, and then a slightly smoking and soot-covered girl in a woolen sleeveless sweater and goggles, which looked more like two telescopes, stumbled out of the door.
Oh, another pink-haired one. The girl looked a lot like Mawata, but…
But she turned out to be her complete opposite.
After squinting through the smoke and impatiently waving it away with her hand, the girl swiftly jumped toward us, put her hands on her hips, and announced:
"I'm Mei Hatsume, and you’re my test subjects, right?"
Setsuna and I exchanged glances.
"She’s handling the upgrades for your class’s costumes as part of her production internship," Power Loader grumbled and disappeared into the mist—or rather, the smoke. "I’m leaving you to her… or her to you..."
Toga yawned and sat down on the nearest table.
"I have two requests," I began, lifting the case. "First, here’s my costume. The armor is great overall, the wingsuit is above everythin—"
"Oh, I remember, I remember!" she interrupted me cheerfully, snatching the case with the armor and immediately scrutinizing it. "Very interesting request! How do you like my special lightweight composite ribs? And the hidden air intakes?!"
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Uh, yeah, like I said, everything’s great. The problem is this: I asked for no electronics, but the suit has integrated lightin—"
"A brilliant idea, isn’t it? You can make a statement, grab everyone's attention! Plus, the suit looked too dark, so I decided to add stylish, bright built-in illumination. Youthful, as they say! Isn’t it cool?!"
"No," I shook my head. "I don’t need it. It runs on electr—"
"Hahaha, you just don’t understand! It’s the height of fashion!" the lunatic shouted, pushing her goggles onto her forehead.
My jaw tightened, while the green-haired traitor snickered nastily behind me.
Toga picked up some device that looked suspiciously like a knife and began absentmindedly twirling it in the air.
"Anywa…"
"Oh, and I have more ideas for your costume! Maybe we could add flaps so you can maneuver during flight with the turbines?!"
"What turbines… I don’t have engines, it’s a wingsui—"
"Don’t have any? No problem, I’ll install new ones! I’ve just developed some brand-new, untested turbojet engines! Let me show you my babies!"
Hatsume turned and began rummaging through a pile of gadgets, while I covered my face with my hand.
Setsuna was already laughing openly. Well, don’t worry, dear, your turn will come...
"No, I don’t need turbines on my armor," I loudly responded to the Frankenstein-like tech genius’s delirious idea. "I just need you to remove the lights."
"But a suit with lights will be more noticeable!" Hatsume spun around and moved so close to me that her nose nearly touched my chest, completely ignoring all known and unknown rules of personal space.
We all categorize people around us based on how close we allow them to get. Depending on this, we either feel uncomfortable or don’t mind when a person steps into our space. Everyone has these personal boundaries, and for most people, they are quite similar—strangers make us uneasy if they get closer than three meters, acquaintances are tolerable within a meter, friends and companions can come within half a meter, and only the closest—like a partner—don’t trigger a desire to move away when they’re closer.
Usually, no one speaks about this rule aloud, yet everyone intuitively feels it.
Mei Hatsume invades personal space way too close, and her lack of consideration makes me extremely uncomfortable!
"Exactly! I don’t need a noticeable suit!"
"But that’s wrong! If the suit isn’t noticeable, no one will see my babies!"
"I don’t need your gadgets!" I was grinding my teeth by now, and by Japanese standards, I was already outright rude, having switched to informal speech. "I just need armor and a wingsuit, nothing else! I insist on removing the electronics! I don’t care how you do it, just get rid of the electroni—"
"That’s an idea!" Mei shouted excitedly. "Creating lighting without using electricity, based on chemiluminescence… and a permanent magnet will compensate for deformation and restore the shape when bent… but cartridges for refilling will still be needed, hmmm..."
I took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Whatever. As long as she removes the electronics so that Quirk users like Kaminari can’t roast me in my suit like a chicken in breadcrumbs, I don’t care about the lights. I’ll just toss the cartridges and forget about it.
"The knife is shaking," Toga murmured to no one in particular, "and heating up…"
"Wait, what’s that? Is that a vibro-knife? Oh."
"DROP IT!" both the mad inventor and I yelled simultaneously, and we all scattered—Setsuna dove under the table, Toga jumped off the table, I rushed to cover the girls, and Mei scrambled to protect her "babies"...
BOOM!
The damn knife exploded, scattering gadgets and warping one of the metal tables.
"Well…," Hatsume said sadly, adjusting her crooked goggles as she crawled out from under a chair, "I’ll have to fix it again…"
I seriously itched to strangle this… lunatic, but I restrained myself. No one got hurt, and the explosion wasn’t too powerful… but still, what the hell?
"What the hell?" I asked Mei.
"My babies sometimes act up…"
"And why do you need a knife that explodes, anyway?" Setsuna asked, glancing suspiciously around the workshop, likely on the lookout for more potentially explosive items.
"It doesn’t explode," the genius-inventor replied, offended, "it vibrates! It’s a vibro-knife! I even came up with the name myself."
"It. Just. Exploded." I repeated, syllable by syllable, as if speaking to someone insane.
"Vibrates very well!"
"I don’t like it here, Niren," Himiko grumbled, lying on her back under the table where she had fallen during the explosion, arms crossed over her chest. "I want to go home. And I want a drink."
"If you don’t want to stick to a diet of one blue-haired dish for the rest of your life, you’ll need a costume that can optimize the use of your Quirk," I almost blurted out, "and so you can be useful in battle," which would have been hypocritical, considering that Toga is more dangerous than half of Class 1-A even without her Quirk.
But surviving in the Simulation Joint is a different matter…
"I’m fine with what I have," Himiko pouted, kicking her legs while still lying on the floor. Given that she was doing this in a skirt, considering the angle, and given how short her skirts usually are—because “kawaii”—I found myself praying to the gods of chastity…
Who am I kidding? That wasn’t on my mind at all: I was too focused on the desire to burn down this workshop and seek out a proper equipment supplier.
All U.A. teachers can structure their curriculum however they want… Damn the freewheeling ways of U.A.…
"Nirens tend to run out, Himiko," I massaged my temples, stubbornly "not noticing" the unusually intense look that Setsuna was shooting back and forth between Himiko and me. "You’re a hero now, and heroes need costumes. No discussion."
I offered her my hand, and she reluctantly took it, sitting down on a chair.
"Ah, so you came to me with a brand-new project?! I’m all ears, I’m intrigued! Who needs a costume, you? What’s your Quirk? Tell Mei everything about it! We’ll design you the best suit!" the pink-haired mad scientist bounced up to her, excited.
Himiko muttered lifelessly, "I didn’t have a choice; I was ordered to come here."
"My babies can meet any needs, and if necessary, I’ll invent something new!"
Himiko perked up a little:
"Well, I wanted a cute knife, a syringe on a hose, and a pump for drawing bl—"
"No," I interrupted her, and the blonde pouted.
"Fine, what about some of my inventions?! How about my babies?! Offense, defense, movement? Do you want to shoot lasers, or roll around on skates, or…"
Himiko gave her a look that would have sent Momo Yaoyorozu running to the bathroom.
But this time, she met her match. Mei didn’t care at all. And believe me, Toga’s angry gaze isn’t something you can just overlook. It seems Mei is completely oblivious to social norms.
A disorder, perhaps? I even cooled off a little. As far as I know, in some forms of autism, intellect is preserved, and savant syndrome—extreme talent in a particular area—can even occur, though social interaction still suffers greatly.
Or maybe Mei’s Quirk enhances her vision but doesn’t allow her to read facial expressions?
"No," I repeated again. "Himiko’s ability allows her to copy the appearance of people when she consumes a portion of their blood. The costume should be as functional as possible, make it easier to use her Quirk, and be based on the design of Setsuna's suit and my sketches. All the key points are outlined here."
I handed over my sketchbook for hero costumes, where I had thoroughly detailed and even included a couple of schematic drawings to illustrate what I was proposing.
Setsuna curiously peeked into my case, standing on her tiptoes and resting her head on my shoulder. Her hair tickled my cheek, and then her locks pulled away.
Mei, realizing she wouldn’t get anything from Himiko, clung to my notebook and started flipping through it, muttering to herself.
Setsuna didn’t hand over her case.
"Tsuna, you didn’t forget to bring your costume, right?" I asked without turning around.
"Oops… forgot," she replied, standing behind me to the left.
"And you didn’t forget your head—" I began to turn toward her, ready to scold her…
But I swallowed my words.
Because Setsuna had indeed forgotten her head, and standing over my shoulder was just her body, with a black circle where her neck should be, and a grinning mouth floating in the air.
I burst out laughing. It was just too unexpected.
"Phahaha-haha… I love your pranks like that," I said, wiping away the tears that had formed.
"Idiot," Tsuna grinned, returning her head to its place, and punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Of course, I didn’t forget my costume. I’ve been wearing it under my clothes almost all the time now, just like you advised."
"Thanks," I smiled back.
Tokage, taking advantage of the fact that her costume was under her dress, seductively pulled off the top...
And then Mei pounced on her:
"I see, I see, the sleeves come off easily, the skirt too, with zippers, got it, that’s for your Quirk… and the scaly bodysuit," Mei’s pupils suddenly shifted like a pattern in a strobe light, "Oh, I see, it’s made from skin cells! How elegant! But not very durable… though, wait, regeneration, I got it! O-ho-ho, how fascinating!"
She leaned in, staring intensely at the fabric of Setsuna’s costume, right at her chest.
Setsuna crossed her arms over herself and blushed:
"Is it normal that I feel like I’m being sexually harassed?"
"What, you want a sexy costume? Add some feminine charms and tricks?" Mei exclaimed. "Mua-ha-ha-ha! I can do that, I know all about it! Trust the master! Ha-ha-ha!"
Apparently, she had absolutely no idea what she is talkin‘ 'bout.
***
I don’t know how long this farce would have continued, but we were saved.
Power Loader showed up.
He picked Mei up under the arm and simply carried her away without a word, while she kept laughing.
I was honestly grateful to him… for about five seconds. Then I remembered whose teaching methods were responsible for my experience with this lunatic.
A madhouse.
"You know, Toga," Setsuna said thoughtfully, "I thought you were the craziest one here, but someone just stole your first place."
"I’ll crack open your skull and eat your brain," Himiko muttered darkly, clearly not wanting to be considered normal.
"Good luck with that, Himiko," I chimed in, intending to get some payback for her earlier prank, "because Tsuna doesn’t have one at the moment."
"Hey!"
"It’s flying around somewhere separately…"
Illustrations:
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/dfcc7bdd3ab84c30ac8da31a030b9065.jpg]
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/9ddb311fb0654f7eb888bf85c7f3adcd.jpg]
Development studio and support department.
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/fcc52d33b4a54e22a093ec9e0745a418.jpg]
Power Loader.
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/a602f01461034c69bb312a1f4bd43bc9.jpg]
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/d45a2edbeb8a474cb12e2a46d06f1629.jpg]
Mei Hatsume. So annoying :)
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/e19fcdfbafaa478a9a19e83a21378e37.png]
Human personal space boundaries. They can vary, but this is the average norm.
image [https://cm.author.today/content/2024/09/30/395d041a3b984b00921a64f005bf3477.jpg]
And Setsuna’s pranks, only this time it’s not some wimp in the lead :)
Author's Note:
Sorry, guys, the holidays are tough on both my liver and my writing :(
But I'm alive again! Recovery Girl puts me back together, and I'm delivering two chapters now. Merry (WASTED) Christmas!