I've got no Strings

Part 3~Seiji

Grumbling, Izuku slammed his head down on the table. This school had become boring. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary and he was being forced to put up with heroes instead of teachers, though, neither was preferred.

Even worse than that, the LOV was getting a new recruit today and he wanted to be there. He usually got the last word when it came to accepting someone into the circle but he couldn’t because he had to go to school! For some strange reason, he still didn’t quite understand!

Bursting through the door, All Might made his dramatic entrance. Izuku gritted his teeth, doing his best to not snap the fool's neck, here and now. All Might grinned as he opened the nearby lockers, letting each student take their hero costume and leave.

“Hero costume.” How ironic.

Pulling on the circus-like costume, Izuku smiled. The formal attire was made from a flexible material, allowing for proper movement while not compromising on the aesthetics. Placing the top hat on his head and the “grinning” mask over his face, he walked out. This would be perfect for his villain work. Stein proof so no blood could get on it, thousands of little pockets he could hide weapons in and gloves to prevent fingerprints.

No one else noticed how perfect this costume was as they criticised it. They were just lucky he promised not to kill any of them.

All Might drawled on about the task. Protect or get the weapon. It seemed simple enough but he was overwhelmed easily. Pathetic.

Drawing names out of a box was stupid too but there was little he could do. Seiji nodded in acknowledgement but neither made any movement to deal with each other. Sighing, Izuku walked into the building, Seiji walking behind him as they approached the large weapon.

Drumming his fingers on his leg, Izuku leaned back. “Do you have any ideas?” Seiji jolted a little, turning his head slightly to glance at Izuku but nothing more. “What’s your Quirk? You didn’t use it the other day so I don’t know.”

“You were watching me?” Seiji raised their eyebrow, their eyes flickering over Izuku as he internally cursed and put on a face.

“Well, I was watching everyone. You all have such amazing Quirks but you didn’t participate at all. Why didn’t you?’

Seiji turned away, crossing their arms over their chest. “I don’t need to. Only Nezu can expel me and my quirk doesn’t affect me so his little test was pointless for me to take.”

“What is your Quirk?” Tilting his head, Izuku tried to get Seiji to look them in the eye. It’s a lot easier to tell if someone is lying when they are looking at you.

“Blood bending. I can control blood, in or out of a person and make them do what I want.” Seiji scowled, seeing the expression Izuku was giving them.

Seiji was like Izuku. They must have grown up with everyone telling them that they couldn’t be a hero. That’s why he’s so defensive. Smiling, Izuku thought at least he would understand. “That’s amazing! You can stop anyone you want without needing to get near. You can save so many lives.” And destroy them too.

Seiji smiled, though it was small. “So, what’s your quirk fireboy.”

Laughing, Izuku waved his hand about. “Nothing incredible. I can produce fire and control it to some degree but if I’m too far away from the flame, I can’t and if I use it too much I get hypothermia.” Shivering, Izuku remembered the many nights spent in warm blankets trying to get the feeling back in his veins.

Seiji hummed, tapping their chin. “Sounds useful. This is what we’ll do.” Leaning closer to Izuku, Seiji whispered to him in hushed tones, formulating their plan.

~~~

Iida frowned as he stepped into the corridor. There was no one around. Motioning for Uraraka to step forward, they gently walked down the hall. They checked every door before making their way up. Each floor they climbed, they became increasingly aware of how close they must be getting.

Opening the door to the final floor, Iida had to slam it shut. The entire floor was on fire! Gulping, Iida shouted for Uraraka to get out before he braced himself and charged into the flame. He called out to his classmates, hoping they managed to get out.

In the far corner of the room, he could see the weapon and two figures lying on the ground. Covering his mouth, Iida rushed over, picking up the nearest figure only to realise… that wasn’t a human. At best it was a mannequin wearing a mock-up of each hero outfit but it didn’t matter. Izuku and Seiji weren’t here.

Iida stood up, looking around in confusion. The weapon was fake too, a simple 2D cardboard cut out that was burning but that didn’t make sense. They had checked every other floor. In his confusion, Iida didn’t notice the large beam cracking above him.

A sudden lurching feeling shocked Iida as he was thrown to the side, barely missing the beam that cracked through the floor, allowing the fire onto the level below. The feeling was back, dragging him to the whole and to the floor below, almost levitating down. He looked around in confusion, not understanding what happened when the timer went out.

~~~

All Might frowned as he watched the four return. Izuku seemed proud of himself and Seiji, praising the child for saving Iida.

As they made their way into the observatory room, the last of the mock building burnt to nothing and collapsed in on itself.

Izuku apologised for letting the flame get out of hand, bowing deeply as he lied through his teeth. He didn’t regret it. That was awesome.

The day continued, leaving Izuku to take a nap and Iida to shout thanks to Seiji.

~~~

Returning home, Izuku was grumpy but well rested and full of energy to try out the new member. He ducked under the villain’s swing, bursting into flames and causing him to step back. “Ready to give up, Naoki?”

Looking up with flashing eyes, Naoki grew stronger from the pain. “Never.”