6 Chapter 5

Mina was not having a good day.

The bubbly, eccentric attitude she normally held was visibly gone. She knew everyone noticed.

Sure enough, she was right.

"Mina!" Kirishima waved, his hand practically a blur. "What happened? You ok?"

Mina looked at him, gave a small smile, and placed her face on the desk. Today was not the day for socializing.

"Yeah Mina, what gives?" Her equally eccentric friend Hagakure tilted her head to the side in concern, not that anyone knew.

Mina just sighed. "I don't want to talk about it, ok? I'm just not in the mood." She flashed a small smile, albeit apologetic. "I'm just tired. I'll be as peppy as a puppy by tomorrow, promise!" She resumed to keep to herself, much to her friends' dismay.

While classmates like Kaminari and Hagakure were satisfied with her answer, Kirishima didn't buy it.

I'm going to have to talk to her soon, and get her brain sorted out. He closed his hand tightly, eyes brimming with determination. It's just not manly to have her face this alone, with whatever this is.All chatter stopped abruptly when the door open, revealing an exhausted Aizawa. "Alright class, mouths shut, books open. We're going to discuss hero law since your usual teacher could not make it today."

The class, Mina included, unanimously groaned in dread of the boring subject.

Izuku painted. Never had he thought the villain he defeated take so much out of him. I'm fourteen, dammit! this is literally my prime of stamina! While this fact is exaggerated, he still needed rest. He took a swig of water out of the canteen he kept on hand, when he saw a familiar face.

He watched as a red haired male run after the pink girl he totally remembered her name of. Munna? Nina? Mida? No, none of those fi- MINA! Still got it in the ol' noggin. wait, where'd they go.

It didn't take long for him to find them, as he saw they were... arguing.

He narrowed his eyes. He had to be there, just in case. Thinking quickly, he landed on a rooftop near them, making sure he had enough distance between the duo while being close enough to hear in case the male started threatening. He started his recorder and microphone set, made by his good friends the Shields.

{With Mina and Eijiro}

"Listen, Mina, what's going on? you've been avoiding me like I have the chicken pox!" Eijiro was distressed. His best friend for freaking ever avoiding him? something was up.

Mina, on the other hand, was shaking. Both in rage, and fear. Her friends tone sounded especially sharp with her, and loud. It hurt her to listen. She just wanted to be alone.

Timidly, she interrupted her friend's rant.

"Kiri! Stop please! It's not about you!" She was starting to cry, if her voice wasn't a dead giveaway.

Kirishima stopped his spiel, and finally looked at her. Her usual bold self was replaced by a figure of... something he couldn't figure out.

Why is she trembling? is it her grades? if it were she wouldn't be like this. Maybe a family matter? No, she wouldn't have kept it from me. She tells me everything. Then why is she scared? it's just me..in a tank..and jeans..being loud. Oh.

It dawned on him.

She's scared... of me?

Bingo. Sometimes he hated his brain.

Kirishima looked at her, eyes watering. He noticed she refused to look back at him. He understood.

"Mina, are you scared of me?" He was about to cry. his best friend in the entire world, looking at him as if he was murdering her, or worse.

realization continued like bullets to a carcass.

The man that tried to hurt her.

The saviour.

The physique of the man (Mina described him)

How she looked when she talked about it that one time.

Kirishima thought about himself.

His own muscular physique

His own volume and vocabulary.His aggressiveness when it comes to training and class.

Each factor filled in like pieces of a puzzle board, the final image being..

"Mina! Please, tell me. Are you afraid of me?" He waited, his eyes begging her to answer. "Please! You're my best friend, we're supposed to be honest with each other. So please, tell me what's going on!"

Remember when I said he was about to cry? Scratch that. The waterworks blew past his retinal dams.

Ashido could only stare at the crumpled form of her friend. The man that chose to stay at her side, despite the harsh words of strangers, or people she assumed were friends.

Yet, she could not come to embrace him right now. Her mind screaming at her to hold her friend, to console him, to inform him that everything would be ok. That she isn't scared of little Kiri. The "Manly" Man who once screamed when a spider crawled up his arm. Her body just wouldn't move.

Instead, she spoke.

"Kirishima," Seeing her couldn't hear her soft address, she upped the ante. "Eijiro!" Still, cries were heard. She gave one gutteral cry, breaking the strings that held her bound, enabling to run to him.

The sight of her best friend so...defeated...drove a spark through her.

She launched herself onto him, latching her arms around his back. One final scream broke him out of his trance.

"KIRI!" Her voice, seemingly hoarse from hours of uncommon unused, rose him out of his stead. Surprise took over his features when he saw his pink horn buddy on him, bawling her eyes out.

Moving her into an embrace more comfortable, he let her cry. He'd be there as long as she needed. She needed his shoulder to be on. She trusted no one else with the task.

As Kirishima held his friend, Izuku smiled. He was glad she was safe. He was relieved she had a support system, where shed have someone there for her. Gazing at the duo, an idea sprout to mind.

Izuku grinned. He would not regret this at all.

In fact, he felt this would benefit both him and the redhead in the future.

Izuku, despite his brain demanding him to go after cases, he stayed, making sure the duo was safe.

Izuku waited for the duo to finish up. He was patient about it. He smiled at the friendship reforming. He knew the girl was going to get some help. She deserved it.

Looking at the sky, he noticed purple and orange cottonballs mashing together and dotting the canvas above.

Seeing the duo arrive at the train station together, he decided it was time to pack his bags. Although , that annoying voice in his head was increasing in annoying volume.

I have to speak with red head tonight. He was not ashamed to admit he followed them, looking over their well being was his excuse. If Naomasa called it stalking, he was so going down in poker, the hard way.

He will admit, Seeing the young girl with the energy of The Mask was a nice change of pace from the Eeyore style girl he observed just hours ago. He could sleep easy now, knowing she's going to get some therapy of some kind.

{2 hours later}

Kirishima had just said good night to his buddy's parents, informing them she'll be ok, and he'll walk her to school in the morning and afternoon. He almost missed the sign that something wasn't right

Almost. He hardened his arms and head on instinct. "Who's there! Show yourself! I'm armed!"

If the redhead expected anything, it wasn't laughter.

He saw a small figure, covered from head to toe in black, aside from a messy green ponytail. The figure looked to be a little shorter than he, and a bit on the scrawny side. Eventually, the figure rose, wiping a tear from his eyes.

"I'm armed. Whoo, that's a great one! hehe, I'm armed. Haha." the figure was slowly calming down.

Eijiro, however, could not help but be confused, irritated, and amused. Finally, someone laughs at one of his warnings/jokes! about time too.

"Ok, sir, who are you? Why were you following me?" He glared at the figure in front of him, although his gaze was less threating with the joke out there.

The figure in black had completely calmed down.

Speaking in steady droves, he made the occasional chuckle here and there.

"Ok, To answer the first question, my name is Quirkless, or QL. I'm a type of hero that does not profit off of typical hero...stuff." At this, the redhead was confused.

"I'll answer any questions at the end of the tour." Izuku quickly called out before the boy in front of him could ask anything. "Please just listen before you hit me with your arms." Izuku nodded at Kirishima.

"I've been following you because I wanted to make sure that girl was ok. Kirishima was about to speak when Izuku held his hand out, pausing the redhead.

"To tell you the truth, I saved her from the criminal that tried to get his way with her. You see, I specialize in immobalising and delivering criminals to the police department, only I don't target murderers, robbers, or arsons." Kirishima tilted his head in slight confusion.

If he doesn't bust bad guys for murder or theft, what does he do?

Izuku continued to answer the unasked question.

"I specialize in child abduction, pedophiles, rape, and sexual abuse." To say the the resident redhead was surprised was an understatement. He didn't know heroes could specialize in those fields! Such a manly way to live!

Izuku broke him out of his thoughts. "So yeah, the criminal who attacked your friend was a repeat offender, although if it were up to me, there wouldn't even be a second, third or fourth attempt." Izuku darkened more so than he already was.

Kirishima took this time to ask. "So what do you mean you don't profit off of typical hero stuff? sounds pretty heroic and super manly to me." He smashed his fits together. Izuku just sweatdropped at his antics.

Clearing his throat, Izuku brought Kirishimas attention to him. "It means I'm a vigilante that does hero work." Kirishima looked at Izuku, eyes wide as saucers.

"Vigilante?! How is that legal?" He was so confused. A legal vigilante is just a hero, right?

"Its not legal when you use your quirk without authorization, right?" Izuku had Kirishima use his brain big time.

"Yeah, it's authorized by the government not...to..." a figurative bulb lit up. "You're quirkless!" A nod was all the confirmation he needed.

"Right on the money, Horns. I am quirkless, it's in the name." how did this boy not register his name and lack of quirk, Izuku will never know.

"Onto the third, secret reason of my visit," (totally stalking) "I'd like to make a proposition with you." Izuku lowered his mask, revealing to the red head his boyish looks and look of pure genuineness.

"I'd like to train you"