Hold my Cap, it's License Time! Part 1
I. Inigo's Apartment
Ryu-kishi stood triumphantly over the defeated villains, and his shapeshifting dragon construct, Gigan, floated proudly beside him. His super-sentai helmet had come off during the intense fight, and he beamed at the civilians he had rescued. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins as the young hero basked in the glory of saving so many people in one day. Suddenly, two police officers, a man and a woman wearing Kyoto law enforcement badges, approached him.
Inigo raised an inquisitive brow as the man held out a pair of handcuffs ominously. "Inigo Myoga, you're under arrest for breaking the hearts of too many girls." Inigo scratched his head, and a mischievous grin played across his lips. "Breaking hearts, eh? Well, I can't deny that charge. Been waiting a long time for this day, officers." He winked at the female officer. "They should lock me up, and throw away the key."
"And for unlicensed quirk use, and vigilante activity!" A familiar voice spoke as the sky darkened above Inigo. The glorious scene of heroic victory behind him was gone. He turned to see a figure come out of the darkness. His girlfriend, Hoge, now stood there with a stern gaze. "That's right. That's him. Take him away, officers." The officers cuffed Inigo. His eyes widened. "Hoge? Why would you turn me in?" Hoge cackled and dramatically ripped off her mask, revealing herself to be Inigo's treacherous older brother, Luccione. Inigo's jaw dropped, and shock and betrayal washed over him.
"But- but we kissed!"
"It was me, Inigo. It was me the whole time!" Luccione grinned and Inigo felt sick.
"We were in bed like more than once!"
"And you fell for it, every step of the way."
Inigo's mind raced, his voice trembled.
"And all the pic requests? I sent them all!"
"ALL MADE BY ME! By the way, you should see a doctor about that rash."
"NOOOOOOO!" Inigo's world crumbled. Luccione's evil laughter filled the air as the police dragged Inigo away into the unforgiving darkness.
Inigo was jolted awake, his body drenched in cold sweat. Gigan hovered over him with a worried expression. The green-eyed boy rubbed his right eye. "Take a note, buddy, no more spicy food before bed. That was way too intense." Gigan squeaked, flipped backward in midair, and prodded him lightly with its dragon claw. It gestured towards the Popsy Fun-hour clock sitting on his bedside table. "Oh yeah!" Inigo sat up with his trademark grin, and launched himself out of bed.
Inigo swung the curtains open to a clear, sunny Kyoto sky. He quickly sent a mass text to his classmates, wishing them a good morning and good luck. Today was the day for the Provisional Hero License Exams! Class 1-D had gone through an entire semester's worth of trouble, and they're getting their license test early to make up for it, which means he didn't have to worry about getting arrested as a vigilante. He might still check later if Hoge's actually Luccione. He groaned, the dream wasn't disappearing fast enough. The class representative had insisted on everyone wearing Shiketsu's signature blue and orange cap and coat, despite her own dislike for the rule. She had thrown a fit when he said she looked like a cute preschooler in her new gear.
He stood in front of his closet and opened it. Inside were his ten identical black suits, each of them adorned with a vibrant, always-in-fashion red tie, and hanging besides those was his newly designed hero costume. The thought of staying at Shiketsu with a bunch of hero-wannabes for more than a week didn't occur to him at the start, and he had submitted a green super-sentai costume to the school as a joke. He thought it was hilarious when they actually made it. He had drawn the costume with his father when he was younger, as an example of what a true hero should look like.
Well, pops, I'm wearing this whether you want me to or not..
The white scarf had been replaced with a Shiketsu coat worn over his shoulder like a cape, and the Shiketsu cap had replaced his helmet completely. He had added ,a dark-green translucent visor with a V-symbol on the cap, to mask his eyes. The entire white-green costume had a darker shade to match the hat and cape. His uncle's tailors had to rush to pull it all together in time, which caused the design to look a little off, but he had to admit he made anything look hot. Plus, now people can see his winning smile, which was something that bothered him about his regular helmet. He quickly took his hero costume out of the closet. He had to hurry and join the others at the station.
They were all heading to Nagoya today. He had only gone there once before. He couldn't help but wonder how little Eri was doing.
II. Kyoto East Station 5
The students of class 1-D were filed together as they arrived at the station. Principal Karaburan came out to see them alongside other faculty members. There was a pro-hero by her side that Inigo recognized as the Transport Hero, Rescue Ray.
"My my, you have quite a set of candidates, Anzu," the pro-hero said quietly.
"You bet, and they did it themselves. Didn't even need to pad the numbers. Every student passed their qualifying tests with flying colors. Let's see the rat match that." Karaburan said it with a hint of pride.
"I'm afraid, the Sunray Troubled Youth Center was only able to accommodate two students for the examination this year."
"Don't sell yourself short, Ray. Two's respectable. Your school can't match the prestige that Shiketsu carries in the West. If you did, well I'd be out of the job." Anzu chuckled lightly.
"Why, yes. You're right, of course. Shiketsu is quite a school indeed." Rescue Ray said politely as he drummed his fingers together. They watched a photographer tell the costumed students where to pose along the station entrance.
Inigo grinned and took his spot next to Hifumi before they exchanged a high-five. Class 1-D was being arranged according to their heights, with the shortest of the class at the front. The cameraman was having trouble keeping order as the students were busy chatting and wishing each other well on the exam. Inigo waved at Faith from across the group, then he shot fingerguns at Hiro, who actually acknowledged it with a smiling nod. They had gotten a lot closer as a class since the Night Parade attack on the school.
He glanced around at everyone's costume changes. Shinkan stood out at the back; he had modified the cap so that his steam pipe went through the top. Next to him, Genma had somehow turned the coat into a leather jacket affixed with several chains and small metal skull spikes. Inigo wondered how much they could modify their costumes. There wasn't really a clear line, so could he have turned the cap and coat into earrings and worn them on his left ear? Wherever that line was, it disintegrated dramatically when it came to the Spheres girls, who had customized their costumes fully and tantalizingly. There's just no way they grew that much in one semester! It must be some sort of optical illusion. They contrasted with Bobby, who just wore the blazer and cap over his costume normally. Inigo chuckled as they both took turns making devil horns and bunny ears with their fingers behind Sora, much to the irritation of the photographer and the gravity-wielding student.
Inigo had to pause laughing as his heart skipped when he saw Maru take her spot with her goofy-looking shadow warrior costume. The photographer was warned about her quirk and strategically placed her along the side. She kept adjusting her giant cap, and the students behind her were absentmindedly knocking it aside. Inigo willed Gigan forward and subtly turned it into a tiny latch to keep the hat in place. A hush came to the class as Rosethorn-sempai took her place next to the class for the photo. They were all set.
"Alright everyone!" The photographer shouted. "I want to see big smiles! Lots of energy! On the count of three.. shout out your school motto!"
They all looked around in mild confusion. What? Did Shiketsu even have a school motto? There's no way he missed it if they did. Was the photographer confused?
"One.. two... three!"
<Your School Motto <Cheesu <Yee-Haw <Hey <God Bless Us All <Never give up <Cheese <Cinders and Ashes <Star Power <Wooo <Nya <Plus Ultra <茄子 <HUH!?> <....> <Ow
The class broke out into laughter and random chatter. The photographer turned to the Principal, who had her palm pressed against her face.
"Can we do that again?"
"Sorry, ma'm, it's one photo per school."
III. Nagoya Station & Park
Lost in the bustling crowd of Nagoya Station, Inigo found himself wandering aimlessly. He was definitely lost. This wouldn't have happened if a certain someone had just agreed to hold hands romantically during the train ride. His search for Hoge had led him away from the designated train car for his class, when he decided to scout out a group of rivals from another school. How was he supposed to know those girls were headed to a special car to change into their costumes? He sighed. They had chased him long enough that he couldn't leave the train with his class. Looking around, he couldn't make out a single familiar face in the sea of students going by. Buses continued to unload kids from other schools, further filling the station with commotion.
Already lost, he decided to follow a group of historical reenactors who seemed like they knew where they were going. They were cutting through a memorial park full of onlookers and hero students. Their path led to a grand, shiny, over-engineered building—the NQA building. Inigo paused to stare. From this angle, it kinda looked like a giant- "Wiener! Hot dogs! These are the best franks in all of Nagoya!" A street vendor yelled as he pushed a food cart along the grass. The aroma of sizzling hot dogs wafted through the air. Inigo briefly considered getting a quick snack when he heard a commotion to his left. Intrigued, he crept closer to investigate.
"Out of our way!" a group of ten students dressed in flashy, expensive-looking hero costumes bulldozed through the crowd, led by a towering figure with a bull's head. The onlookers instinctively parted to give them a clear path. Inigo heard murmurs that they were UA students. Blending in with the crowd, he tapped the shoulder of a tall girl donning a small rotating satellite dish on her head.
"Yo what's the deal with those UA guys? Looks like they have everyone on edge."
"T-they're from the number one hero academy in Japan. The top dogs."
"I'm from Shiketsu. They don't treat us like that."
"Y-you're one of us! We're all gathering to do something about UA, you in? Uh.. Hello?"
Inigo was already gone. He made his way through the crowd, following the UA students. He had heard the saying before.. "UA in the East, and Shiketsu in the West." They were the two prominent hero academies in Japan. Surely they weren't that far off from each other. He had to see for himself. People were giving way to the gang of UA students, but a short dark-haired boy with a gold monocle wasn't fast enough, he fell to the ground as he ran into the bullheaded boy. "What did I just say, huh!?" The minotaur kid growled.
"Please.. I just.. I just.." The monocle boy panicked even more, and as he scrambled from the ground, he tried to activate his quirk with a sneer. The minotaur kid kicked him wildly before he was able to do so. The boy rolled forward and groaned in pain, ending his movement in front of Inigo, who stood in the center of the open path. Inigo looked down at the fallen boy, with a look of concern. He extended a hand to help him up, ignoring the bewildered stares of the surrounding crowd. The boy hesitated for a moment before accepting the offer, cautiously grasping Inigo's hand and pulling himself up. Without a second thought, Inigo stepped forward, positioning himself between the minotaur boy and the injured student.
"Hey, cow-man! What's the matter? Can't handle someone your size?" Inigo called out, with unfettered bravado. He stared directly into the minotaur boy's eyes. The minotaur boy scoffed, his nostrils flaring with anger. "What's it to you, SHIT-KETSU shrimp! Get out of the way if you know what's good for you."
Inigo smirked. "Oh, I know what's good for me, all right. And it's definitely not running away from a fight. Besides, picking on someone smaller than you isn't very heroic, is it?" The minotaur boy's face contorted, and he started laughing gruffly. "A fight!? You think you can take me on, shit-ketsu? The weakest UA student can destroy any Shit-ketsu any day."
Inigo's eyes lit up, and he pointed an accusing finger at the bull-headed boy. "UA eh? I doubt that. U.A. more like. Ugly Assholes, if you ask me! More like, Unremarkable Apes! Just a bunch of Underwhelming Amateurs! BA-KA!" He taunted and did a short mocking dance.
"You're going to regret waking up today!" The Minotaur roared and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. A stout boy with shiny blue hair, another UA student, placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's just trying to rattle you, Buru. Let's just go."
Buru grinded his teeth together. "Shut up, Tetsumaro! Don't tell me what to do!"
"You should listen to him, Buru!" Inigo added, as he ran his right hand through his hair cockily. "You don't want to get your pretty uniform dirty."
"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DEAD-MEAT!" Buru roared, his hooves pounding against the ground as he charged full speed towards the blonde boy.
Inigo's grin widened, a thrill coursing through his veins. "Gigan, it's time to go!" With a surge of energy, he transformed his construct into a skateboard. He darted through the bustling crowd. Moving quickly, he did a railslide along a set of handrails, drawing gasps from onlookers who saw the chase. He glimpsed the bull-headed pursuer gaining ground behind him. Inigo veered left as he rounded a sharp corner. Without missing a beat, he launched himself into the air, and ollied over a tall statue of a dog. The wind whizzed through his hair as he descended. Spotting a series of stair steps leading to a lower level, he soared down the staircase, performing a series of flips and spins mid-air before landing on the grass.
"Did we lose him?" Inigo said, looking around, and seeing he was in an empty part of the park. Gigan suddenly squeaked and pointed behind him.
"FOUND YOU!" The minotaur boy ran at full sprint towards Inigo and began his assault. This UA student is way slower than the villains I've fought. Inigo thought as he weaved through the minotaur's blows. He wondered if he should just fly away and save himself some time. He dodged right, then left. The minotaur pulled his arm back to smash forward. Inigo stood his ground confidently and shifted Gigan into a barrier in front of him. Gigan's shield broke from the bull teen's mighty blow, and the minotaur's fist landed. Inigo fell to the ground.
"I got more where that came from, bug." The Bullheaded teen yelled.
"Damn.. Okay. You're strong. You wanna go? Let's go." Inigo stood up. "I've got just the thing for you." Gigan shifted around him and formed an intricate leather cuirass, a Greek helmet, and an armored skirt. "My Achilles armor! Get it? Because you're a minotaur"
"If you're fighting me, shouldn't it be Thesseus' armor?"
"He's cool, but I like Achilles more. He's just a lot more bro, but how the hell did you know that?"
"Cause I'm Greek, and they call me Buruburu the Bull Hero: Minos!" Minos grinned.
"Well Minos, I'm Inigo, also known as Ryu-Kishi, the Dragon Hero. Nice to see a fellow fan of culture." Inigo grinned back.
"Yeah, it's a shame I got to bust your head in now!"
"Bring it on, Meat-head!"
They charged at each other.
As their fight continued, it became evident that neither of them was willing to go all-out. Despite their shared stubbornness, they soon found themselves battered and bruised, their excess energy spent. With mutual respect, they had called for a stalemate. Just ten minutes later, Buru and Inigo sat side by side on a weathered park bench, enjoying some steaming hotdogs obtained from the food vendor. They found that they had a lot in common. Gigan hovered over Inigo's shoulder, watching the two teens, as it gleefully sucked on a pack of ketchup.
"--and then Gigan transformed into a shopping cart! Can you believe it?" Inigo exclaimed, a chuckle escaping his lips. Buruburu erupted with laughter, clutching his sides and giving Inigo's shoulder a hearty pat, nearly toppling the blonde boy.
"Wow, you're probably the only other person who got that joke," Inigo said, grinning, as he watched Buruburu struggle to breathe.
Buruburu kept on laughing and placed a large hand on Inigo's head. "Everything you do is funny, even your fighting style, it's like you want to get punched in the face."
Inigo took a large bite of a hot dog and spoke with his mouthful. "And you're slow as hell man, you might as well mail me your attacks. It'll be faster!"
Amidsts their laughter, Buru's phone buzzed, and he glanced at it. "You're a good guy, Ryu-Kishi. Thanks for the warm-up, but we should head back and join the others. The main event is about to begin."
"Oh yeah, I should find my class," Inigo replied.
"Good luck in there, Bug." Buruburu extended a hand towards Inigo.
Inigo's eyebrow shot up, followed by a light chuckle. "Heh, thanks. I'll see you at the finish line, Meat-head." With a firm shake, they bid each other farewell and parted ways. The exams were about to begin.
IV. NQA Building
Inigo flew along the rear of the crowd of students, scanning the sea of faces for his class. He wondered why it was taking them so long to open the doors. He paused to hover behind a tree as heads turned to look up. He followed their gaze and raised a brow. There was a dude standing on the edge of the roof. Eh? There's no way this guy's going to jump, right? He moved to get closer. He thought he heard someone call his name in the crowd, as Inigo's wings suddenly felt faster and lighter. The guy had jumped and was already plummeting to the ground. Inigo kept an eye on him as he flew forward. He didn't have the right angle to safely swoop and catch him. If he was going to knock himself out constructing a gigantic pillow to catch this guy, at least he'd be doing it at the start. Inigo sent Gigan flying forward.
WHOOOSH! The man's parachute opened, and it slowed his fall. It was a false alarm. Inigo recalled Gigan and narrowed his eyes at the dude with the parachute. I could go up there and poke holes in his chute. Inigo thought, which got him a judgmental look from Gigan. After a rather lame landing, the man started to speak. "Welcome, everyone, to the Provisional Hero License Examination! I'm your host and the owner of this building, Daisuke Taiho! "Now, I'm sure you're all dying to get started, so let's go inside, shall we?"
With that said, the doors to the NQA building opened, and the students started to shuffle inside. Inigo joined them on foot and found himself growing increasingly excited. This is it. The host started to talk. "Your goal for this examination is simple: find one of the keys hidden in our maze and bring it to the end on the other side! Of course, it's everything else that's not simple! There are so many of you here, but only so few keys."
So all Inigo needed to do was find some keys. That didn't seem too bad. He looked around as the host kept going. It was a giant maze like the ones in the old dungeon crawler games. There was enough vertical room that he had a clear advantage just by flying. Was it cause they wanted heroes who could fly? It didn't really seem fair, though he would be an easy and obvious target with his shiny dragon wings. He looked up at the large glass top of the winding halls, and flew up to touch them. They weren't completely flat but instead slightly mirrored the inclines and slopes of the ground level. From the top he could see parts of the maze ahead. Not enough to see what's in them, but just enough to give him a sense of the paths ahead, plus he could see other fliers who might be doing the same thing.
The host continued his speech, "Most dangerous of all, however, are the pro heroes moving throughout." The NQA hasn't spared any expenses on gathering pros to handle this job. You can find many well known talents like Magnum Shrimp, Impakt, and Slipstream as well as the lesser known ones like Seiryu, Honoken, and Smokin' Sexy. (What? No, Popsy's not here. Wait, where are you going? Hold on, come back!)
Inigo grinned, it was too bad Popsy wasn't here. It would've been nice to see her smack some kids around with a giant mallet. Seeing Impakt, Smokin' and Honoken in their element was still pretty cool. He flew across the crowd and cut his way towards a path above the maze, he hovered just over a lab window and looked at the whole thing.
Inigo continued to listen to the host. "And don't go thinking you can just go bursting through the walls or ceiling. These babies are reinforced by some of the best quirks money can buy! I dare you to try to break them! Now, only one key per person. If you're thinking of sharing a key with your friend, you're out of luck. If we find out that anyone snuck through the doorway without a key, then obviously they won't pass."
It was way too complicated to actually remember, but he focused his memory on three large areas that appeared along the middle. That's route A, B, and C, he muttered to himself. If this was a VN game, A is the busty redheaded vampire, B's the girl-next-door cheerleader, and C's the lonely office lady you bump into downtown. He memorized the routes.
Sensing the end of the host's speech, a group of winged students rushed back towards the maze and nearly ran over Inigo. They were vying for a spot at the front of the pack. Inigo quietly hung back. He already knew it wasn't gonna be a race, the main threat was the challenges inside. Inigo's heart was racing, he didn't even realize how excited he really was.
"--it's time we started this thing! Everyone, get ready! Let the Provisional Hero License Exam...
BEGIN!"
As the host's voice boomed through the speakers, the crowd erupted in a frenzy of movement. Inigo felt the surge of adrenaline. This was his moment to prove himself and show that he had what it takes. He launched himself high into the air, his wings beating with powerful strokes, propelling him forward. As he flew above the maze, he marveled at its intricate design. The towering walls stretched high above him, forming a labyrinth of twists and turns. He noticed a stampede of kids rushing into the maze. Panic and chaos filled the air as they jostled and pushed their way through an area with a large moving panel. Kids were falling into some sort of portal that brought them back to the beginning. The more times the kids fell into the portal, the more desperate they became. Inigo thought about just flying forward, and securing a lead. But then a pang of guilt tugged at him. Each of the students below worked hard to qualify for the exam. To lose and get injured because of bad management at the very start was just super lame and boring. It was his manly duty to help. He nodded and veered off course, descending into the chaos below.
The smaller kids were caught in the stampede, struggling to keep up with the larger and more agile students. Inigo swooped down, his wings creating a gust of wind that pushed some of the kids back. He grabbed two small students with mushroom tops instead of hair, flew them up, and sped through the maze. He set them down along a side corridor.
<Hey! Thanks for helping us <That was really scary
Inigo grinned and gave them a thumbs-up before flying back into the stampede. He had to go back and help some more. As Inigo darted through the maze, his eyes scanned the chaos, searching for any students who needed assistance. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar face among the panicked crowd. It was Edith. Did she get separated from the other four girls? She was stumbling and struggling to keep up with the rushing students, fear etched across her face. A large teen with a tree trunk for a face barreled towards her, and she pulled him into her quirk, only to be pushed to the ground by a purple-masked girl.
Without a second thought, Inigo changed course and swooped down towards Edith. He reached out his hand, catching her just in time before she could be trampled. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with both relief and irritation. "Myoga?!" Edith exclaimed, her voice was shaky. "What are you doing?"
Inigo smirked. "Just lending a hand to a pretty girl." He winked. "Let's get you out of here!" He adjusted himself and carefully carried her through the chaotic crowd.
"I fell into the panel.. Did you see where Hailey went?"
"No idea, it's wild down there."
"You don't need to tell me that. My quirk is full of idiots right now," Edith said with a hint of regret and anger.
Inigo spotted someone in the crowd. "Hey Edie, hang on to me, okay?" I think there's a child in there!"
"What? You can't be serious!"
Inigo dove down in the chaos and snatched a small blonde child that had curled up into a ball next to one of the panels.
"Hey. You okay!? You shouldn't be here."
The balled child unfurled herself and gave Inigo a sassy smirk. His eyes widened in surprise and recognition.
"Mio-sempai!"
"Ew, not her! Just drop her off so she can stay lost with everyone else." Edie interjected from Inigo's back.
The short third-year scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Lost? Please, I know exactly where I am. It's these clueless giants who are lost. Can't even find their way through a simple maze."
Inigo couldn't help but chuckle at her confidence. "Well, if you're not lost, what were you doing down there?"
The girl pouted and crossed her arms even tighter. "I was hoping to find someone competent. I got separated from my serv- friends. I can't believe I'm stuck with all these amateurs."
Inigo grinned. "I can drop you both off at the next bend. There's plenty of people there, but it's not crowded. Is that okay, Mio-sempai?"
The tiny girl smirked and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. "That's fine; I think I found exactly who I need. We just have to get rid of the extra baggage." Mio side-eyed Edith. Inigo gritted his teeth. He suddenly remembered how much he fucking hated Edie, he really couldn't stand her at all. She deserved a little revenge for all the bad things she'd done to him. He started to turn, so she'd fall off his back. A sharp ringing in his mind from Gigan broke Inigo out of his train of thought. Huh? What was he just doing?
"Myoga, what the hell!?" Edith yelled out.
"S-sorry!" Inigo narrowed his eyes at Mio. "Hey, what was that for?"
Mio smiled innocently. "What? That wasn't me! I didn't do anything. Try turning faster, nex-" She was there one second, and then she was gone.
"I should've done that earlier. Now I'm full." Edith scoffed, she had used her quirk to get rid of their upperclassman.
"Thanks Edie." Inigo flew faster, he sped past several twisting panels and into the path he had memorized.
Inigo and Edith raced through the intricate maze of corridors. The panicked cries of other students reverberated around them, amplifying the urgency in their movements as they neared Route B. The walls around them seemed to come alive, shifting and morphing with each turn, and when they rounded a corner, the path behind them suddenly vanished, sealing their retreat. Their eyes widened in alarm as they saw the distressing scene unfolding in front of them. A group of defeated students was being forcefully hurled into swirling portals by a colossal dragon-like figure. It was a transformed Seiryu, the pro dragon hero. He had marked his path and was ruthlessly intercepting any students foolish enough to cross it. Inigo felt a wave of fear shake him. He steeled himself with his trademark grin and turned to Edie.
"We need to be careful," Inigo warned, his voice barely a whisper. "Seiryu is no joke. He's taken down at least thirty students from the look of that room."
Edith nodded, her expression serious. "So what's the plan? We need to find a way past him."
"You said you had students in your quirk, right?"
"Some. Just the ones too dumb to escape on their own."
"That might be our only chance. We can't face him head-on."
Just as they began strategizing their next move, the dragon's large shadow moved. Seiryu's menacing gaze locked onto them. With an earth-shaking roar, he lunged forward, his colossal dragon wings propelling him through the air with astounding power. Is this what people felt when they went up against Gigan's dragon form? Inigo tensed up. He barely had time to react, but Edith quickly activated her quirk, releasing her stock of students in front of Seiryu's path to distract him. The confused students suddenly found themselves defending against a dragon, even Mio was plopped down behind the group. Inigo watched her roll away. Seiryu, caught off guard, thrashed his enormous tail, sweeping through the hall with devastating force. Several students, including Inigo, were caught in the unexpected attack. Inigo hurtled through the air in pain, the world spinning around him as he plummeted to the ground. In a desperate instinct, he activated his quirk, rapidly enlarging his armor to shield both himself and Edith as they crashed down.
Inigo winced as he looked at the damage to his cracked visor and armor, his concern shifting immediately to Edie. "Are you alright?"
"What do you think!? You need to find a way out! I don't have many students left!" Edie was scared.
Inigo nodded and steeled himself. "Second time's the charm, right?" They took off again. "Here we go!" Inigo yelled. Edith dropped the last students she had in front of Seiryu. A tall teen wearing an eskimo coat threw a large snowball at the dragon hero. Inigo wasn't going to waste the chance Edie gave him, he picked up speed. Instead of flying around the large dragon, he waited for Seiryu's next move. There it is! Seiryu twisted to do another tail swipe, likely one of the few moves he had that avoided heavy injuries to students. This time, Inigo swooped down and ducked, and he flew through the swinging dragon tail. Inigo glanced back, he could see the pro hero making short work of the students. It bought them precious time to escape his clutches. Inigo took several wild turns to make sure they weren't followed.
They cheered together as the noises from the dragon grew fainter and farther away. "Thanks, Edie! You're a real lifesaver!" He called back, his voice full of appreciation. Edith smirked and replied with an amused tone, "Don't mention it. I had to protect my ride right?" Edie's hold on him tightened. He felt relief that Edie was on his side this time, despite their past differences. Inigo's dream scenario was that all his classmates obtained their licenses today, but he had no idea how he could make that happen.
V. Maze - Eastern Side
Inigo continued his way through the labyrinth. He had run into Faith and Max, and dropped off Edie, which left him to fly off alone. He had decided to take the paths leading away from the crowds of people. He had two goals at the moment, find a key or somehow find Hoge. He frowned. He's likely to find multiple keys before he finds her. He had flown through several trap filled hallways, and found the hallways eerily quiet and empty. He flew up towards the glass top of the maze to scout his surroundings. He was very close to the end of Route B, and he could see two fliers within the large hallway: a boy with multi-colored serpent wings and a girl that propelled herself with bubbles coming from her feet and fingers. There must be something interesting going on there.
Inigo descended from the glass top of the maze and made his way towards the end of Route B. As he approached the room, he noticed a large crowd gathered near the entrance. A group of students stood guard, their expressions wary and suspicious. Inigo could sense tension in the air. As he flew close, the students turned their attention towards him, eyeing him with caution. One of the guards, a tall and muscular student holding an oversized sword, stepped forward and crossed his arms.
"You're not from UA, are you?" He asked, his tone guarded.
Inigo shook his head, a friendly smile on his face. "Really? We wear this uniform for a reason, y'know. You see the hat? I'm from Shiketsu."
The guard narrowed his eyes, sizing Inigo up before nodding slightly. "Alright, we'll let you in. But be warned, things are getting intense in there."
Inigo nodded gratefully and flew into the basketball-court sized room. There were tables and benches arranged along the wall, as well as water fountains. This was built to be some kind of break room. There were at least twenty kids here, and they had all encircled the central part of the chamber. A boy with a golden monocle whistled and waved Inigo over.
"Oi! You're that Shiketsu kid that helped me before, right? Heheh. We got a surprise for you."
"Yeah? What kind of surprise?"
"Check it out. I tagged them with my quirk at the park and it paid off."
Inigo watched as the crowd moved slightly, he saw what held their attention. He felt both excited and worried to see his friend, Buruburu at the center of the crowd, behind him were two of his smaller classmates from UA. They were surrounded, but neither side was attacking.
The monocled boy snickered, "Those UA students have two keys already. We're going to nab them and send them back to the start."
"Doesn't seem fair. We should find our own keys." Inigo said furrowing his brows.
"It's the crushing of UA!" The monocled boy snickered. "They deserve it for looking down on us, we caught this little group away from the main pack. They can't escape now! And it's only a matter of time before we have enough people to take them out. Heheh! We'll let you get the first hit on the big guy, Shiketsu. I know you hate em' as much as we do."
Inigo shook his head and sighed, he flew forward.
"Hey! Where are you going!?"
Inigo landed in front of Buruburu and his two classmates, and the crowd looked on in surprise at Inigo's interference. The two UA students behind Buruburu, a boy with blue hair and a girl with curly pink hair, looked at him with distrust. Electricity crackled around the blonde boy as a warning.
"What's the Shiketsu from the park doing here? You want to be the first to die?" The blue haired boy demanded, his voice was tinged with aggression.
Buruburu had been caught off-guard, he chuckled as he recognized Inigo. "That's Ryu-Kishi! He's okay! What the hell are you doing here, bug?" The crowd behind them murmured in surprise, uncertain of what to make of the situation. Inigo took a step closer. "You guys look like you could use a hand," he smirked. "Can't just watch this crushing business happen."
"Are you nuts?" the pink-haired girl said.
"Yeah, he's kinda dumb." Buruburu chuckled loudly. "But I won't say no to some help. There are a lot of them out there."
"You've got a plan?" Inigo whispered.
"Now that you're here, yeah. We need to act fast. More students are arriving, and things are only going to get worse. Our best chance is to fight our way through!" Buruburu pounded his chest.
Inigo nodded in agreement, he felt a rush of determination. "Alright. Let's fight together. On your call, Buru!" He flashed a grin at his minotaur friend, and turned to face the crowd with the UA students.
"You traitor! We're coming for you Shiketsus, next!" The golden monocled boy called out from the crowd.
Inigo felt Buruburu's large hand on his shoulder. "I never thought I'd come here and fight alongside a Shit-ketsu!"
"Heh. How about fighting alongside a bro?"
Buruburu chuckled, his tense shoulders relaxing a little. "Yeah, I can do that. Let's show them why our schools are on top!"
Inigo stood side by side with his new friend, ready to face the crowd. The atmosphere in the room was electric. The other students looked on with a mix of anxiety and anger on their faces. They had all decided to attack at the same time. Inigo grinned and reached out an open-hand. Gigan turned into a giant mallet, and he wrapped his fingers around the large weapon. If Popsy's not here, he might as well do her thing. Inigo looked at the charging students and braced himself. "It's Popsy' time!"
Shiketsu MHA season 1 ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIbhGHfOm30