Scumbag Hero Academia Chapter 25

As Saiki and his girls begin to make their way down to the meet-up spot, two floors down another pair of UA students are also getting themselves ready.

“Do you have to pout like that the entire time?” Ochako asks with a beleaguered sigh.

“Shut the hell up, I’m not pouting!” Katsumi turns to bark at her as she buttons up her red waistcoat. “Can’t believe I let you talk me into going to this stupid party!”

“I get why you’re mad,” the more bubbly girl offers in an attempt at commiseration. “You feel like Saiki stood you up when he and I switched rooms–”

“Like I care what that creeper does!” The blonde freezes up for an instant, her eyes dart about as she realises what she said, paranoid that said creeper would pop out of somewhere to declare her misdeed. She shakes her head realising she’s being stupid. “He can do what he wants.”

“And despite packing fancy clothes you suddenly decided not to go,” Ochako responds silently tapping at her phone a few times.

Katsumi doesn’t like her tone. It’s like the pretend sweetness her mom uses when she knows her daughter is spewing bullshit. “Whatever.”

“Come on, Katsumi! If nothing else this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss!” Ochako argues. “This is an exclusive party! The invite list is all pro heroes, support company execs, all kinds of business moguls! It’s a perfect networking opportunity! Sometimes being a real successful and popular hero is about who you know as much as how good you are.”

“Yeah, well, it shouldn’t be!” the explosive girl retorts, still irritated. “All that should matter is that I’m the best!”

The infinity girl rolls her eyes. She doesn’t know why Izuku is so enamoured with her childhood friend. Trying to have a pleasant conversation with her is like pulling teeth. “People are people, Katsumi. It’s just how they work. If you’re so mad about it go to the party and see if any of the engineers could turn you into a robot cyborg.” Her expression turns thoughtful as she puts on her earrings. “Maybe with grenade launchers?”

Katsumi tries to swallow her irritation. It’s fairly clear pink cheeks is making fun of her. “Robot and cyborg are mutually exclusive. If you’ve still got organic bits, you’re a cyborg. If not, you’re a robot.”

The mostly dressed Ochako puts her hands on her hips. “Yeah? Well right now you’re neither. So best thing for you to do for your hero career is take the opportunity handed to you and wring every last drop of success out of it as you can!” She mimes to match her words, wearing an expression of malicious glee as her hands... Well it looks less like wringing out a towel or sponge and more like wringing someone’s neck.

Katsumi looks at the display over her shoulder, grimacing. “You’re weirdly intense sometimes, you know that?”

“Nothing wrong with being a go-getter!” Ochako takes the comment as a compliment as she circles around her room-mate for the trip. She nods in approval. “Looking sharp!”

The blond looks at herself in the mirror, seeing her slim-fit suit, charcoal grey with a red waistcoat and red chequered tie. “Tch,” she tuts, the irritation rising again. “I was gonna wear this to fuck with the creeper. Figured he’d think I’d wear some froofy cocktail dress or whatever. Bet that’s what tits is gonna wear.”

“Her name is Momo.”

“I know. I don’t care.”

“I figured,” Ochako sighs again. “And yeah, she’ll probably wear a dress. But if Saiki knows you at all he’d probably expect you to wear this too. You’re weird about him, you know?” she asks against her better judgement.

She can hear Katsumi’s teeth grinding. “Whatever. I’m going.”

“Hey wait, I still need to, ugh!” the bubbly girl races back to her dresser table and grabs her imitation pearls, fastening them at the back of her neck as she runs after her not quite friend.

Katsumi really is weird about him. And defensive when it’s brought up. It’s not surprising. Saiki is pretty weird about half the girls in class. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to call him the class playboy by now. Katsumi is doing a bad job pretending she doesn’t care for him. Momo and Kyoka both seem to give him a lot of attention. And Izuku... Well, that’s a can of worms Ochako doesn’t feel ready or willing to open. Everyone knew they were together, everyone knew they broke up, yet somehow they still remain friends. And Ochako knows she hasn’t been imagining the longing looks her friend sends her ex’s way when he isn’t looking.

She feels like she should be angry at him for it. But honestly she’s more amazed that she met a real person who can act like he does and more or less get away with it. Heroes really are larger than life.

-(-)-

“Iida, I get that whole hyper-anal thing you have going on and all,” Saiki drawls as he walks into the meeting place two floors above the auditorium, Momo on one arm and a blushing Kyoka on the other, “But did you really need to yell at me on the phone?”

“When you choose to be tardy?” Iida asks, chopping the air with one hand, “Absolutely!”

“Guhhhh!” Kaminari groans, sinking to his knees in misery at the sight before him. “Saisei I hate you! I hate you so much! Two beautiful girls on your arm?! It’s just not fair, dammit!”

“Is sparky whining like a little bitch again?” Katsumi drawls as she rounds the corner with her hands in her pockets, Ochako hot on her heels. “How about you try sucking less, see if people give a shit then.”

The blue-haired playboy gives the girl who is technically his date for this thing a quick once over, noting her sharp suit is almost identical to his. The only differences being the feminine cut, the suit being a slightly darker tone and the waistcoat and tie being a different colour. Saiki’s cobalt blue and Katsumi’s wine red. “Nice, Katsumi! Looking sharp! You even chose a colour to match my eyes, that’s so sweet!”

“I didn’t–” The ill-tempered girl stops her vehement denial to check. They do match. And worse, if she tries to deny it no one will believe her. “Dammit!”

“And Ochako, may I say you’re looking cute as a button?”

The girl in pink giggles slightly. “It’s weird to hear you pretending to talk fancy.”

“It is unnerving,” Todoroki agress quietly.

“How! How is he still doing this?!” Kaminari continues to moan.

“Oh good! We didn’t miss everyone!” Izuku’s voice rings out as she appears through the doorway.

Saiki does his best not to stare with only partial success. She wears a green, shoulder-covering dress that hangs just below the knee. It isn’t skin-tight but it does enticingly hug her plentiful curves. Her hair straightened and contained in a short braid. Her make-up tastefully done to bring attention to her wide and innocent eyes. A little effort had been made to downplay her freckles, the only thing Saiki takes issue with about her look. “You look beautiful, Izuku.”

She smiles with appreciation, uncertain as it might be. “Thanks.”

“Phew! We aren’t late are we?” Melissa asks as she arrives.

Kaminari looks up and sees a true vision of beauty. He shakes his head, wipes the tears of lament from his eyes and shakes his head as he stands, hoping she didn’t see that as he approaches. “Ahem, Miss Shield, may I say you’re looking lovely this evening?” he asks, bowing slightly.

Kyoka leans toward Momo around Saiki and whispers, “Is he trying to do the super lame thing that Saiki just did?”

“I’m right here.”

“I believe so, but it’s better than crying on the floor,” Momo whispers back.

“Oh!” the blonde engineer in training blushes at the sudden and unexpected compliment and formality, raising a hand to wave away the embarrassment, “Well, um, thank you! I–”

He takes her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Your outer beauty is only matched by your inner beauty, your generosity of spirit that allowed me to attend tonight.”

“Oh!” Melissa responds, or tries to respond as what comes out is only embarrassed, blushing babble. “Well umm, wow, I uhh, thank you, I mean you’re very–”

Kyoka’s eyes are wide as she watches the spectacle unfold. “Oh my god it’s working.”

‘Son of a bitch, it’s working,’ Saiki thinks to himself, outwardly calm but inwardly gnawing  on his own shirt in impotent fury. ‘Keep it calm, Saiki. Keep it cool. Don’t ruin a sure thing just because Zappy McDerp is stealing your shtick and somehow making it work. You can get hold of him later and shake him like a ragdoll. For now, cool.’ He tears his attention away from the pair of blondes to flirt with his dates instead.

Unfortunately for all of them, especially Kaminari, circumstances then choose to interrupt the good mood. Namely an announcement over the loudspeakers. “This is an announcement from the I-Island security system. We have received a report that an explosive device was discovered somewhere on the I-Expo grounds. I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety is our top priority. Residents and tourists should return to their lodgings at this time. Anyone on the street in ten minutes will be in violation of the law. Please clear out of public areas.”

“What the hell?” Todoroki mutters in confusion.

“Someone planted a bomb here?” Izuku asks. “Ah!” she turns as she hears the sounds of machinery to see shutters lowering to cover the windows.

“As a precautionary measure, most of the main island buildings will now be sealed off. I repeat, we have received–”

“Well now what do we do?” Kyoka asks with folded arms. “Can’t really ‘return to our lodgings’ if the building is sealed off with us inside.”

“It’s only a threat, right?” Kaminari asks. “The announcement said it’s someone tipped security off about a bomb. Might not even be real.” A little of the tension in the room eases at the thought.

“We should go down to the party,” Izuku suggests. “All Might will be there. He’ll know what’s going on.”

“All Might’s here?” Iida asks.

“It is our best course of action,” Todoroki agrees. “Gathering in one place with the heroes would be the wisest course if the threat turns out to be legitimate.”

Nine hero students and one engineering student make their way down the nearest flight of stairs, taking them to a room overlooking the auditorium. Todoroki who had been leading stops and pushes everyone back up the stairs the moment he gets a look inside. “Villains. Several armed. And the heroes have been restrained by glowing cables, including All Might.”

Melissa’s eyes widen. “The restraining system! To have it target the heroes they must have taken over security!”

“Don’t know whether to be glad the bomb threat is a sham,” Saiki utters. “Just a way to lock down the island without anyone asking questions.”

“You’re probably right,” Iida agrees. “What should we do? We’ve been caught in the middle of a dangerous situation.”

“Again,” Kaminari groans.

Izuku appears resolute. “I have an idea. Kyoka, I’ll need your help. Does anyone have a mirror?”

A minute of preparation and the plan is enacted. Izuku getting All Might’s attention by reflecting light in his eyes, then signalling that they can hear him. With that, he relays the current situation to Kyoka listening with her earjacks. As well as what he insists they do.

“So they’re holding the entire city hostage,” Momo scowls as the group mull over what they’ve learned.

“All Might gave us our instructions,” Iida states firmly. “As our instructor, we should do as he says and find a place of safety and stay there.”

“Figures the tight-ass brown-noser thinks we should do that,” Katsumi mocks him. “I’m not just gonna stand by and let some jackass in a dumb mask think he can get one over on All Might and get away with it!”

“And what do you propose we do?” Momo asks archly. “Even if we wanted to act, we don’t have hero licenses. We’d end up as criminals, same as them.”

“Exactly!” Iida readily agrees.

“Not true,” Saiki counters, frowning with his arms folded. “This isn’t Japan, or America. We’re in extra-national territory run by corporate interests. We have free use of our quirks and whether we get punished for acting is down to the corporate bigwigs. And if we help resolve this shitshow, I can’t see them giving us a hard time over it. In fact I bet at least one of ‘em is down there with the hostages right now.”

“Someone talking sense, I just wish it wasn’t you!” Katsumi jabs a finger in his direction. “See? The heroes are stuck, no one outside knows what’s really going on! We’re the only ones who can do something!”

“All Might told us to leave!” Iida nearly shouts back. “Are you so willing to ignore his instructions?! We’d not only be putting ourselves in danger but everyone else at the party!”

“Everyone at the party is in danger now!” Katsumi growls.

“I want to help,” Izuku cuts in, prompting Iida to look at her, his mouth open and ready to continue arguing. “Look, we don’t need to fight anyone. They don’t know we’re here. We just have to get to the security system and shut it down. The heroes will be free and the villains won’t be holding the town hostage anymore! From there it all resolves itself!”

Melissa steps forward. “The villains will have already unlocked security for us. All we have to do is get to the top floor to disable it.”

“Elevators are locked down,” Kaminari notes. “How many floors?”

“Two hundred.”

There is a long, pregnant pause. It’s obvious where Izuku, Katsumi, Saiki and Melissa stand. Kaminari is the first beyond them to declare his allegiance. “I’m in.”

Izuku beams at him. “Kaminari!”

“So long as our purpose is to free the heroes so that they may defeat the villains, and not for us to defeat them ourselves,” Todoroki spoke next, “I’m in.”

“I feel like should we allow this to go on unchecked, the end result won’t be pretty,” Momo admits. After all if the villains did something this brazen, if they neutralised the number one hero, there is no limit to what they might do to ensure their escape. “I’m with you.”

“Same,” Kyoka agrees.

“Let’s do it!” Ochako cheers.

The group look to Iida, the lone holdout. His eyes close as he takes a centring breath. “Fine, but if the situation deteriorates to the point we only become a hindrance, I’ll put a stop to it.”

Saiki and Katsumi roll their eyes at the arrogance of that statement.

“Melissa,” Momo turns to the blonde local, “Which way is the most direct route to security?”

“This way, follow me!” she says as she starts walking.

Only for Izuku to grab her. “Wait, you shouldn’t go. You’re not trained for this.”

“Do you know how to operate the security system?” Melissa asks with an arched eyebrow. The greenette grimaces and lets her go. “I thought not.”

“Fine, but someone else takes the lead.”

“On it,” Saiki volunteers, taking point as they begin their long ascent.

Twenty floors of running up stairs. Thirty. Already a couple of the group are panting for breath. Especially one.

“Melissa, are you okay?” Kaminari asks the panting girl as they keep running.

“Yes, I,” she breathes heavily, having long since disposed of her heels like all of the other girls who had worn them, “I’ll be, fine!” She grins as if that will reassure him.

It doesn’t. “Here, get on my back, I can carry you!”

“No he can’t,” Katsumi shoots him down before Melissa can respond.

“I’m fine! Save your strength in case you need it!”

“In that case,” Saiki cuts in, having fallen back on hearing the conversation, “I’ll carry you.”

“No, really, I–”

“Lady,” Katsumi calls back, “he doesn’t get tired and he could probably bench press all of us! If you slow us down for your pride I’ll throw you up every staircase myself!”

“She’s a hypocrite but she’s not wrong,” Saiki comments as he crouches down in front of her with his hands ready for her to jump on.

She doesn’t look happy about it but, “Fine.”

Saiki rises, blonde in tow as Kaminari speeds up to catch up to him and send him a betrayed look. Saiki returns that look by glancing up toward where they’re going, back toward a scowling Melissa and then back at Kaminari. As if to ask ‘Is that really your priority right now?’

Much more climbing later, the group come upon their first obstacle. “They have blast doors?” Ochako asks, bemused. “Why only here?”

“They aren’t only here,” Melissa explains as Saiki lets her down. “They’re all over the building. I guess the villains haven’t figured out the controls for everything yet.”

“What now?” Iida asks. “Is there another route we could take?”

“There are multiple staircases but we’d need to go through security doors to get to them. That will let the villains know where we are.”

“If they’re paying attention,” Kyoka adds. “Besides, I don’t see another way out of here with shutters over all the windows.”

Katsumi tuts to herself before kicking open the nearby door. Melissa gasps but the explosive girl ignores her. “What’re you idiots waiting for? If the villains come at us, they come at us! We’ve got a job to do!”

It’s too late for arguments. Suddenly it becomes a race as the villains were indeed paying attention and attempt to seal the corridor. Only quick reactions of Todoroki and Iida manage to keep one of the closing doors open long enough for the group to pass through into a multi-story botanical garden with an elevator at the other end.

A moving elevator.

“They’re coming for us,” Kyoka whispers as if the elevator occupants can hear her.

“We should hide, hope they pass us by!” Iida suggests.

Katsumi and Saiki look at one another and an unspoken understanding passes between them. They step out into the open, Saiki continuing to move until he’s flush with the elevator wall. Katsumi catches on quickly. “Heh, sometimes I like your style.”

“What are you two doing?!” Momo demands.

“Like Katsumi said,” Saiki rolls his shoulders, “If they come, they come. Todoroki, you can get everyone up to the upstairs of this place, right?”

The two-tone legacy hero looks from the group to the elevator, steps forward and plants his right hand on the floor. A column of ice forms and rises out of the ground behind him, carrying the rest of the group up.

“Todoroki!” Kaminari shouts down.

“We have one objective here. Keep going. We’ll catch up.”

The elevator dings as it reaches their floor, the doors opening to reveal two figures, two men. One squat and round, the other tall and lanky to the point it must be quirk-related. They immediately see the ice pillar, the boy making it and the group of teens on top of it. They rush out–

Saiki is already there, his leg coming around to kick the shorter villain in the midsection. Only the good instincts and quick reaction time of the man is enough to protect him as he activates his own quirk. Saiki’s foot lands in a rapidly expanding wall of densely packed muscle, the villain’s transformation giving him the shape of a giant, purple, ape-like man. The gorilla catches Saiki’s foot and lifts him by it, intending to slam him.

Saiki is surprised to find himself in this situation again so soon. But the monkey is no All Might. Just like that battle, Saiki’s other leg comes around to slam the ape in the face with a kick that does not at all hold back like the first did.

“Augh!” the ape cries out, letting go of the hero in training to clutch at his own head as he stumbles back.

On the opposite side, the lanky figure sees his partner getting attacked by one of the students. He whirls around to see another coming at him with her arm out and a malicious grin on her face.

His grin matches her.

Todoroki, watching from a distance, notices. Thinking quickly he realises something is wrong. The scrawny villain’s quirk appears to be a pair of large, scoop-like hands but he wouldn’t be trusted to handle this situation if his quirk were so simple.

Before Katsumi can grab the villain, a shaft of ice blocks her path, just in time for the villain’s scoop arm to take an enormous chunk out of it.

“What the hell, icy-hot?!” the girl demands.

“Did you see what his quirk did?” Todoroki asked in a slightly more urgent version of his usual monotone. “Think before you act next time!”

From far above on an elevated walkway, Izuku watches the fight, distressed. Iida grabs her by the shoulder. “Midoriya, we need to keep moving!”

She looks quickly between him and the fight, nods.

The slightly smaller group come to the end of the walkway into another hallway only to find the blast doors sealed on both sides. “Dammit!” Kaminari curses, “If only there were a control panel I could short out or something!”

“That only works in movies,” Kyoka cuts him down.

All Might’s successor examines the area, hoping to find something that would let them ascend further. She blinks. Looks up at the ceiling. “Melissa, how sturdy do you think the ceiling is?”

“I... Don’t know.”

Iida catches on quickly, but, “The most destructive among us are still fighting below.” As if to corroborate the statement, the sounds of explosions echo around them.

“Not all of them,” Izuku corrects him. “Melissa, do you still have the Full Gauntlet on you?”

“Oh,” she nods, reaching into her dress to pull out a small red device, “I didn’t have time to get it back to my room after taking it off for you.”

The greenette grins. “Perfect! Everybody get back!” She waits for them to get clear of what she thinks the destructive radius will be as the gauntlet forms along her forearm and over her hand. ‘Alright,’ she thinks to herself as she takes a low stance, ‘here goes. One for All! 50%!’ “Alaskaaaaaaaa...!” She leaps upward with enough power to crack the floor, driving her fist into the ceiling, “SMAAAAASH!”

The ceiling buckles, breaks, then with the rumbling roar and shearing tear of ruptured concrete and metal, Izuku tears through not one but two floors. She grabs the upper hole and climbs up before looking back down. “Come on, you guys! Going up!”

From below, most of those watching are astonished. “Damn, Izuku,” Kyoka mutters as they all snap out of it and get to climbing after her.

Down below, the fight continues against the two villains.

“Hey, hold on a second!” the monkey says thoughtfully as he meets Saiki’s fist with his own, grunting with the effort of knocking him away. “I know you, don’t I? You were in that sports festival thing!”

“I won that ‘sports festival thing’,” Saiki corrects.

“Yeah, yeah!” the monkey grins. “You were that one-trick pony who could only take a beating!”

The cocky smirk that had wormed its way onto Saiki’s face as he dominated the fight suddenly vanishes. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah!” the purple ape laughs. “You got your ass kicked in like, half your fights. Only won ‘cos the ref kept letting you keep going! Ha! Alright,” he leapt into the air, fist cocked back, “Playtime’s over kid! Time for you to sleep! If you’re really that tough maybe it won’t be forever!”

Saiki’s cheek twitches. Some two-bit thug thinks he can talk shit? His leg bends. And then he’s gone.

“What the–!” The ape thug’s fist slams into the floor where the boy had been.

From above, standing on a walkway, Saiki sneers down at the idiot. He makes another leap to the underside of a higher walkway and launches himself back down fist-first into the monkey’s back.

“Guah!” Spittle flies from the ape’s mouth. The pain is terrible. He swings his muscular arm around to catch the brat, but he’s already gone again, having kicked off toward the wall, then rebounds again to kick the purple primate in the face. His head rears back, the force enough to throw him backward. Saiki doesn’t rebound again. Instead, he plants his feet below the villain’s belly and hammers him with fist after fist after fist, each impact ringing out with heavy thumps as the hero in training pulverises his opponent.

With a heavy, satisfied sniff, Saiki stops, letting the monkey fall. Both physically and into a metaphorical pit of shame for being so pathetic, talking shit that he couldn’t back up.

Todoroki offers Saiki only a neutral stare. Meanwhile Katsumi, the arms of her shirt and jacket ruined is seething. “Tell me I didn’t just see you steal my moves, Saiki!”

“I didn’t steal your moves,” he happily tells her. “I stole Izuku’s moves.”

“Bastard...!”

“Come on, we need to catch up with the others.”