An All-Out Multi-Target Attack! Part II
(Ryukishi, Blackout, Drone, Arena, Radius, Spark, Recoil, Sunlight Man, Challenger, Archangel)
Inigo continues his journey to win the hearts of class 1-D.
VI. Ashleigh Katsuragi (Blackout)
Inigo stood at the edge of the roof, waiting for Ashleigh to arrive. He had placed an anonymous confession letter in her locker, telling her to come to the roof. He was sure that he could charm her with his wit and good looks. He always thought she was cute, and he'd caught himself daydreaming a few times about what their dating life would look like. A smart, quiet girl like that is just what he needed.
Inigo activated his quirk and turned Gigan, his small shape-shifting dragon construct, into a mirror as he fixed his hair. He shot fingerguns and winked at his reflection. "Man, I'm pretty."
Ashleigh took a deep breath and begrudgingly opened the door to the roof. Bright streaks of sunlight lit up her vision as she walked out of the stairwell.
"Hello?" She spoke quietly while looking around. Empty.
She clutched the confession letter she found in her locker to her chest. Her heart was beating fast. She had hidden it quickly and read it in secret. She would've died if the other girls had found out. Why did this have to happen to her now? This was really forward and unusual for him. Couldn't he have just reached over and placed it on her desk instead. No, that would've been worse! She gulped and felt a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Hello?" She said again.
What if this was just a prank by those girls? They lured her to the roof so they could pick on her. Were they hiding in the stairwell behind her, phone cameras out and ready to laugh at her for being so stupid? It's middle school all over again. She suddenly wished she hadn't come. What would her dad say about this.
Wrapped up in her thoughts, Ashleigh didn't realize that someone was approaching.
"Katsuragi-san!"
Inigo had seen the play in multiple romance animes and visual novels. A big, passionate plea. He just needed to speak from the heart and win the girl. His happy-ever-after depended on it. Gigan mewed and cheered him on.
He stood tall and swaggered forward, stopping in front of Ashleigh and smiling brightly.
"You came along. Does that mean you accept my confession?"
"Y-You!" Ashleigh burst out loudly, shakily pointing a finger at him with a look of shock in her face.
"Huh? Yeah it's me. Were you expecting someone else?"
"No. I just." She looked down, some of her hair falling to cover her cross-pupiled eyes. "How could I be so dumb. Of course you sent me this."
Inigo picked up his composure. "Yes, I wanted you to know how I felt. Ashleigh, you're very beauti-"
"So do you have a new girl up here every day?" Ashleigh said blankly.
"No. This is the first time I've done this, actually." Inigo stepped forward and gazed into her eyes. "I wanted it to be special."
"Oh." She looked up. "Well. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the attention, but.." Her voice shook. Ashleigh turned her head to one side. To Inigo, she looked really disappointed, almost hurt. He suddenly felt bad.
"You like someone else." Inigo said cutting her off. Not missing a beat as he put on a wide grin. "You can't be with me, because you like someone else, right?"
"What no!" Ashleigh's face flushed; she shook her head and stepped back. She had no time to think. "It's because you're sleazy and gross!"
Inigo whistled, and Gigan flew forward. "So who is it? You like Hifumi?" The shapeshifting dragon flew in front of Ashleigh and transformed into a replica of Hifumi, who then growled at her like a man cheetah. A dirty man cat.
"I saw you guys talking that one time."
"No, he was just-"
"Bobby then?" The copy of Hifumi transformed into the blonde American then started to flex.
"No!"
"Ooooh. Kaylee?" A copy of Kaylee winked at the blushing Ashleigh.
"N-n-no!"
"How many more guesses do I get?" He teased as, in rapid succession, Gigan transformed into the other students in their class.
Something caught Ashleigh's eye as she suddenly flushed red. "You're a jerk. I'm leaving! You can have your letter back!" She crumpled the letter and threw it at him, before walking away.
It bounced off Inigo's chest, and he caught it. He sighed and looked down. Maybe he went too far this time. He didn't mean to tease her so badly.
He uncrumpled the letter. Huh? It wasn't just a letter, there were two. She had written a hasty reply to his confession, and there was a name.
Inigo beamed as he straightened the letter and started reading it before Ashleigh could realize what she'd done.
"This is actually really good, you know." Inigo started whistling just as Ashleigh opened the stairwell door. She suddenly realized what had happened.
"Hey! Give that back!" Ashleigh ran towards him.
"No no. It's just getting juicy."
"That's not for you!" Ashleigh ran up to Inigo and tried to grab the reply letter as he held it up above his head.
"Wow. Okay! Let me make things up to you. Let me help you." He said as he played keep-away, grinning.
"Give. It. Back!" Ashleigh suddenly jumped.
As she did so, Inigo lost his footing and fell. He landed on the roof's floor with a thud, Ashleigh falling on top of him. His hand felt something soft.
Ashleigh screamed. "Y-you pervert!" Her eyes glowed as she glared at him. Her quirk flared.
"Huh?" Inigo sat up from the floor and looked around the empty rooftop. What was he doing here?
Oh yeah. He was waiting for Ashleigh.
Inigo stood up as Gigan flew towards him and landed on his shoulder.
"You alright, buddy?"
Gigan let out a series of mews and transformed into the chibi-versions of two of his classmates.
"What? Now you're being ridiculous. Why would those two get together.
Gigan mewed some more.
"You're trying to throw me off my game."
He put his hands behind his head. Katsuragi was a little late, but he was willing to wait all night if he had to. He had to show her he cared, that's how it worked in the mangas. He signed and looked up at the setting sun. He thought about Hoge.
VII. Spherethirst
"And so that's how I failed a 4th time. I need to fix my approach, do what you guys are doing."
"You're nuts man. We got a saying back home. He’s all hat and no cattle. You're all cattle, and no hat!" Bobby smacked the table and laughed loudly, drawing the attention of other customers.
Inigo had no clue what Bobby was saying, he looked to Hifumi for answers, then to Noah, who just shrugged. They shared a look of mild confusion, just as the waitress brought them their food. The four first-year students had gathered that evening to hang out at a nearby Vendy's after school. Inigo winked at the waitress as she left. He then picked up a fry and looked to his three classmates.
"So there I was.. thinking, let's do what Hifumi did."
A. Faith Kang (Drone)
Inigo flew in the sky above the school, a pair of dragon wings behind him. He spotted his target. Faith Kang, aka Drone, was separated from her friends and busy typing alone on a bench. Inigo waited for a moment and then landed next to her just as she was setting her laptop down.
"Hey Faith. You got a minute?"
"Oh hey. No, I have to meet the others for lunch." She started to gather her stuff.
Exactly what I wanted to ask you. Do you wanna have lunch with me?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah. Just thought you might want to know more about Japan. Consider me an expert." Inigo smiled and produced a large boxed bento. Two of the criminals in his uncle's hideout just happened to be ex-chefs. He had woken up early to ask them to build the bento box.
Inigo pulled the lid off, revealing three layers of lightly seared crunchy garlic chips and shiso leaves, pink and white swirls of tender slices of teriyaki chicken, and a mound of fluffy white rice, subtly seasoned with a hint of mirin and pickled ginger.
"We'll be eating somewhere else. I promise we'll have fun."
Faith eyed him suspiciously and then relaxed, smiling a little. "So. Where to?"
Inigo stepped forward and picked up Faith. She was lighter than she looked. "It's a picnic on the rooftop."
He soared upwards, holding Faith closely as they flew to the exact spot Hifumi and Hailey had been. Inigo had laid down a picnic basket and blanket, complete with flowers and scented candles.
He set Faith down gently, and they ate lunch together. They talked about each other's quirks and how they both commanded things. Afterwards, they had a small drone race, with Gigan having transformed into a draconic-looking drone.
"Wow, that's the third time you beat me. You're good." Inigo produced a small silver chain bracelet with two chibi dragon designs hanging off it. "Look I know you don't know me too well, but you're the most amazing girl I've ever seen. Since I laid eyes on you, there's not a minute that I wasn't thinking of you."
He took her hand and laid it around her wrist. "Don't answer now. Think about it, just one night. You can give me your answer tomorrow."
Noah smiled. "That's swell, Inigo. You're together with Faith now? Congratulations."
Inigo grinned and grabbed another fry. "Not exactly. Afterward, I told myself... Let's try what Bobby did.
B. Edith Lee (Arena)
Inigo walked into the general locker rooms from PE class. He had paid two of the 1-E boys to delay the First-Aid classes, and sure enough Edith Lee also known as Arena, was sitting in the locker room with him. It looked like she was waiting for something as she texted on her phone.
"Hey didn't see you there beautiful." Inigo smirked as he swaggered forward, walking pass her to go to his own locker. Edith kept typing on her phone, ignoring him. Is she just constantly texting the other four girls? Inigo decided to walk pass her a second time.
He wobbled a bit, but kept his footing. Gigan had transformed into what could only be described as a realistic muscle suit. Inigo could barely breath, but it made him taller than normal and seem more muscular. A bit of make-up artistry from the support students finished the disguise.
"Rough day of weight training. I'm almost at 800." Inigo pretended to grab a towel and glanced at her through the mirror.
Still nothing. She just kept texting faster. She didn't even acknowledge him.
Inigo sighed and nodded to himself. Okay Plan B. His muscle suit opened a little to reveal some stitches. He slowly walked right up to Edith and flexed. "Hey Edith, you know First- Aid, right?"
Edith scoffed, clearly annoyed, as she looked up. "What do you want, Inigo? Can't you see I'm bu-" She looked up at him, and let out an audible gasp, her phone dropped to her lap. She just stared, frozen, for a few seconds.
Inigo braced himself for rejection, but was surprised as she just sat there looking with interest. "Uh.. It's kind of embarrassing. I was doing some pull-ups, and one of my stitches got messed up." He flexed his arm, bending down. "Got them in a fight with these punks from downtown. Can you help?"
Edith's eyes were slightly glazed over as she admired his aesthetic. "Oh no. Let me get a kit. Wow, you - you should be more careful."
Edith's phone buzzed, but she just ignored it. She got up and found a nearby first-aid kit. Inigo used that moment to take a few deep breaths in. Damn this suit was constricting and itchy.
She started fixing the stitches on his arm. Inigo made sure that his body was close to his. She was avoiding eye contact with him, and her face had a visible flush.
"I didn't know you were so big Inigo. Your arms. Your arms are big."
Inigo smiled. "Yeah, Bobby's been helping me with my workouts lately. Gotta be fit to be a hero."
She nodded, and it seemed like she was doing things as slowly as possible. "Almost done."
Her phone buzzed again, and she ignored it. "Do you sometimes miss Korea?" Inigo caught himself staring at her, she had such delicate hands but she worked with precise ease. Maybe she could be the one for him.
"Sometimes, but we've been all over. So I'm used to it."
"That's good, you have such loyal friends with you. My mom's from Europe. I'm half-Austrian. I sometimes feel like a foreigner even in Japan." Inigo did his best Bobby grin.
"There done." Edith smiled and looked up at him.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver. Maybe I can make it up to you with a date?" She stared, aware of how close he was.
"A date?"
"Yeah, have you ever been to the Ryoan-ji Temple? It's this famous rock garden in Kyoto. It's dumb, but I hear it's going viral on Tiktok right now."
"Can the others come?"
"Yeah, but I was hoping it'd just be you and me Edith. You're special to me."
He stared into her eyes, and smoldered, he leaned in close. He repeated the same line from before. "You're the most amazing girl I've ever seen. Since I laid eyes on you, there's not a minute that I haven't been thinking of you."
He took out a small silver-chain bracelet. ""Don't answer now. Think about it, just one night? You can give me your answer tomorrow."
Inigo's three classmates had a pained-look on their faces as he finished telling the second story.
Hifumi was the first to speak. "This won't end well, bro." Bobby burst out laughing, and Noah sighed.
Inigo sat back, grinning, and waved a fry in the air. "I figured if one of the girls rejected me, I'd still have the other, but why stop at two."
Inigo glanced at the angelic hero in front of him and smirked. "I was on a roll. So I asked myself... What would Noah do?"
C. Maxine Ngugen (Radius)
"Miss Ngugen! Oh Miss Ngugen!" Inigo's clothes were pressed and neat. He had an angelic aura around him courtesy of a hidden Gigan, using his scales to reflect sunlight onto Inigo from above. He had even buttoned up his collar and fixed his hair in an orderly way.
Maxine Ngugen, AKA Radius, was heading to her last class when Inigo caught up with her. He hugged a stack of books to his chest. Through shrewd negotiations, he had positioned himself to be her lab partner the day before.
"I'd just like to say that I'm thankful to have you as my lab partner. Please take good care of me. " Inigo smiled brightly and did a deep bow.
Maxine paused and gave him a strange look. "Dude, Inigo. You're acting weird. Were you with that Hiro kid again?"
Inigo stayed in character. "No no. Miss Ngugen! I just- I'm just a little nervous about having someone as pretty as you be my partner. I don't really have much experience when it comes to girls."
Maxine rolled her eyes. "Just call me Maxine. And aren't you always hitting on girls." She pointed an accusing finger at him.
"No no. That was just a misunderstanding. One I deeply regret." He sighed. "I've decided to turn over a new leaf."
Maxine started walking away, and he ran up to catch up and walk beside her. "By the way, the next lab test is on Wednesday. Let's both do our best!"
"Ugh. I hate tests. I took way too long on our last one. It's so dumb."
"Don't worry Miss Nguy—I mean Maxine." Inigo looked flustered. "I already read ahead on the project. We could study together if you'd like.
"Mhm or you can just do the work for me."
Inigo nodded. "I'll try not to let you down. I'll even let you borrow my notes if you'd like." He tried to take out one of his notebooks, only to stumble forward, all his books falling to the floor.
"You're really clumsy. Be careful." Maxine sighed and stood there, not helping, just watching Inigo as he scrambled to pick up his books. Her eyes locked onto one of the books that had slid forward.
"Is that the latest issue of Quirkcape Zine? Where did you get it?"
"Oh, that thing." He moved to hide the magazine. "Please don't tell anyone. I love reading about heroes and villains. I keep up with the latest gossip and quirk-related drama, but it's not school reading material. I could get in trouble if they found out I had this. "
Maxine stared, Inigo kept going. " My uncle works for a publisher and gave me a test copy. He told me to destroy it after I finished reading." This part was half-true, Inigo thought. The Dai-Ichi Ikka controlled many of the publishers in Kyoto.
"You've read it all?"
"Yep, I'll just destroy it after class."
"No! Let me see it first."
"Aren't we late for class?"
"It's just English. Boring. Let's go somewhere together."
Inigo stood up with all his book and looked around. "Okay, where to?" He spoke meekly, trying to sound like Noah.
They decided to head to the back of the library, and sat behind a bookcase as Maxine poured over the Quirkcape Zine. Inigo produced a box of chocolate, and they started eating it. They got to chatting about heroes and villains, and about the different quirk families who lived in Asia.
She was a big nerd, but Inigo found himself getting more and more interested in just talking to her and vibing. Maxine was a lot calmer when she wasn't around those other girls. For a few moments, they were in their own little world.
As the school bell rang, Maxine's phone started to buzz. "Gonna go now. Thanks for the chocolate and magazine."
"Maxine, wait.. " Inigo grabbed her wrist and took out a silver chain bracelet.
He repeated the same lines he had said to Edith and Faith.
"I don't act like that!" Noah protested.
Well, maybe you should, you'd get a girl. I could talk to Yui for you if you want." Inigo teased. "Plus it worked didn't it?"
Hifumi stuck his jaw up, and rubbed a line along his cheek. "It's gonna be funny when this all blows up."
Bobby laughed. "You're going to have to date all of them at once!"
Inigo ate the last fry in his plate and stood. Well, gentlemen, I better go. I have an early start in the morning. Gonna meet my destiny!"
He struck a pose, half raising a fist before wishing the homies good night, and leaving the cafe.
Tonight was the last night of him being single.
He fantasized about coming home to his three wives. Oh Inigo! Welcome home! We warmed the bath up for you.
Inigo had a dumb smile on his face as he walked home. Passersbys choosing to avoid him.
D. Hailey Chang (Recoil) + Minerva Kim (Spark)
Inigo had woken up early that day. He didn't mind living alone, plus Gigan was always around to take care of him. Gigan had already finished cooking eggs for breakfast as he walked out of the shower. His uncle had given him a small penthouse apartment on top of a dorm building for college girls. It wasn't the nicest place, mice and bad plumbing were common issues, but at least he didn't have anyone ordering him around.
The building was old, the elevator shook as Inigo got off on the ground floor.
"G'morning Inigo!" Some of tenants said as he passed by.
"Ladies." He grinned and shot them fingerguns, winking.
Inigo got to the school grounds 20 minutes before the morning bell.
"Myoga! We want to speak to you." Hailey Chang, aka Recoil, and Minerva Kim, aka Spark, stood infront of him, blocking the path into the school building. They walked towards him with cold intent. A small crowd had gathered around them.
"Hailey! Minerva! Don't worry. I got some for you too." He pulled out two silver-chain bracelets with mini dragon designs. "Consider them from Bobby and Hifumi. So now you all match."
As the two approached, the other three girls appeared behind them.
"You've been running around lying to girls!" Hailey said.
"It's not like th-"
"You really thought you were gonna get away with it?" Minerva said.
Inigo turned to look at Faith. "Faith, baby. Did you think about what I said?"
"No!" She threw the chain at him.
"Maxie-pad?"
"You used the same line on me. The nerve!"
Edith walked towards him. Inigo stammered. "I-I meant what I said. Are we still good for that date?"
Edith's eyes flashed, and Inigo found himself in an odd dark space. Edith's stasis. He heard an ominous clanking coming from the shadows.
"Girls. Let's show him what we do to perverts," Hailey's voice echoed.
The world was pain.