MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"So, did you manage to clean up the beach?" Tatsuo asked as Alfonzo descended through the skylight in the gym.
"Don't even ask." Alfonzo replied as he touched down. "Being a pro hero sucks."
"Then quit." Tatsuo replied with a shrug before lying down to do a few bench press sets. "I mean, you could still make money just selling support gear, right?"
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied. "But quitting isn't really my thing. Plus, I'm not number one on the Hero Billboard."
"Yeah… Good luck with that." Tatsuo replied. "Until All Might retires, that's never gonna happen."
"I know." Alfonzo replied. "I'm just used to trying to be the best at whatever I do."
"Shoot for the moon, I guess." Tatsuo replied while steadily pressing the bar. "Anyway, when do you think All Might will bring Midoriya over here?"
"Probably tomorrow." Alfonzo said after thinking about it for a minute. "I talked to him not too long ago, and we discussed training plans for Midoriya. So, he'll probably wanna get started as soon as possible."
"That's about what I expected." Tatsuo replied.
"And have you heard from Akatsuki and Sakura yet?" Alfonzo asked in return as he started walking towards the gym's shower.
"Yeah, they texted me." Tatsuo replied. "They should drop by tomorrow after school. They definitely won't be here as often as Midoriya, though."
"Well, they are girls." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Speaking of them… Did you see Akatsuki? You know she's gonna be pissed when she has to go back to her world."
Tatsuo could not help but laugh when he heard that.
"Oh, for sure." Tatsuo said between chuckles. "I gotta make sure to take some pictures to show the rest of the [Chat]. There's no guarantee anyone else will ever get to see her like that."
"Damn right." Alfonzo added. "It's a good thing Lici didn't try to make a hero costume for her before we left for this [Mission], there's no way it would have fit."
"Damn… I should have asked Lici to make one for me." Tatsuo muttered as if he just thought of that possibility.
"Yeah, she made mine." Alfonzo said while popping the collar of his trench coat. "And it looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself."
"I won't argue with you on that." Tatsuo said as he put the bar back on the bench. "But there was no creativity. I wonder what she would have been able to come up with if her husband wasn't fanboying over a hero from another IP?"
"Static was my favorite superhero when I was growing up, okay?" Alfonzo said defensively. "He was the only black hero with a Saturday morning cartoon show back then. Well, unless you count Green Lantern… But he only showed up on Justice League."
"I'll take your word for it." Tatsuo replied as he reached up to start his next set. "I've only read the old Static Shock comics."
"Well then, you missed out." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take a shower. Then, I'll get dinner started. I'll call you when it's ready."
"Thanks." Tatsuo replied. He then pouted while continuing his set. "Why don't you ever cook when I'm not working out? Afraid I'm gonna catch up to your cooking skill?"
"Nope." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly as he walked away. "If you did, I could come home to a hot meal instead of having to slave away in the kitchen as soon as I get off work."
"Eww! Please stop talking like that." Tatsuo said in a grossed-out tone. "You're making it sound like I'm a useless househusband while you're a hard working woman that still has to take care of the house and home."
"Ahahahahaha!" Alfonzo laughed loudly. Though, had his back not been facing him, Tatsuo would have seen the grimace on the older man's face. "Anyway, I'll call you for dinner."
And with that, the rest of the night passed peacefully.
The next day, the two woke up at the usual time. This time, there were no alerts about anyone trying to access Tatsuo's, Alfonzo's, Akatsuki's, or Sakura's information. So, Tatsuo left for school on time after his morning workout.
It did not take long for Tatsuo to arrive at school. When he did, after changing his shoes, he made his way up to his classroom. Like always, thanks to the time he usually left for school, he was one of the last students to arrive.
"Hey, Sora-Kun!" A short, lively girl, standing at about 5'1" tall, with light pink skin, slightly darker, short, fluffy pink hair, slightly square-shaped yellow eyes with black sclerae, and an athletic figure with rather healthy looking thighs said while energetically bouncing towards Tatsuo, who was walking towards his desk. "Heard you were sick yesterday. Are you feeling better now?"
"Hey, Ashido-Chan Yeah, I'm fine." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "Overdid it while I was training yesterday morning and my cousin freaked out a little, making me sleep it off. *Sigh* Ever since he moved here, he's always worried about me."
"That's super-manly!" A rather well-built young man standing at about 5'5" tall with red eyes, a scar over his right eye, spiked-up red, dyed hair, and somewhat pointy teeth exclaimed energetically as he approached Tatsuo's desk, as well. "Pushing yourself so hard in the morning is the pinnacle of manliness!"
"Yo! What's up, Kirishima?" Tatsuo asked as he extended a fist towards the energetic young man with a smile. "You know how I do, go big or go home."
In response, the red-haired young man, Kirishima Eijiro, smiled brightly as he fist-bumped Tatsuo. Meanwhile, the pink-skinned girl, Ashido Mina, could only shake her head at their antics.
"*Sigh* Boys... Anyway, how many times do I have to tell you?" Mina asked in a mock exasperated tone. "Just call me Mina."
"Oh, you don't have to." Tatsuo replied with a cheeky smile. "I know how much you'd rather I call you by your given name."
"Then why don't you?" Mina asked, genuinely curious to find out. "I mean, we've been classmates for almost two full years by now. I think we're pretty good friends, too. Don't tell me you think we're still not close enough to use given names or nicknames... No, that's not it. You don't seem to mind when I call you Sora-Kun..."
"That's actually quite simple." Tatsuo replied as his smile widened. "It's because it gets on your nerves. What other reason is there?"
As he asked his question, Tatsuo, despite how mischievous his prior words were, tilted his head while putting on an innocent expression.
In response, Mina only stared at Tatsuo blankly while Eijiro could not help laughing uproariously, only stopping when Mina kicked him in the shin for laughing at her.
"Anyway, I met All Might yesterday." Tatsuo said casually while Mina continued to stare at him.
At the same time, as if they were all listening into the trio's conversation, the entire classroom fell silent. A moment later...
"No Way!"
"Damn, he's so lucky!"
"Ah! I wanna meet All Might, too!"
... the entire class exploded into excited and envious exclaimations.
*Ding!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Ding!*
However, before they could get too out of hand, the bell signaling the beginning of homeroom rang, causing them all to start grumbling as they turned to look at the front of the classroom where the homeroom teacher had just arrived.
"You're definitely gonna tell us about this later." Mina said quietly as she turned away and rushed towards her own seat.
"Yeah, definitely." Eijiro added as he, too, returned to his seat.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo only smiled as he leaned back in his seat.
'*Sigh* When did I get so mischievous?' Tatsuo asked himself. 'I mean, only half a year ago, I didn't even really like interacting with people. But now, I like messing with them like this. I blame James and Alfonzo for this. But seriously, throwing in that cliff hanger right before class started was hilarious.'
From there, the school day passed in the blink of an eye. During breaks, Mina and Eijiro crowded Tatsuo's desk, wanting to hear the details about his meeting with All Might. Meanwhile, the rest of his class listened in excitedly.
After the school day ended, Tatsuo returned home. On his way, he received a text from Alfonzo stating that Toshinori and Izuku would be showing up soon. He also received a text from Akatsuki stating that she would be bringing Sakura by to train, as well.
Reading the two text messages, Tatsuo sped up his trip back home, arriving in time to prepare a few snacks for the guests. By the time he was done in the kitchen, the doorbell rang and he made his way over to answer it.
"Good afternoon, Young Soramoto." Toshinori, in his skinny form, said enthusiastically as soon as Tatsuo answered the door. "I assume Alfonzo is still out on patrol."
"Yeah, he won't be back for another hour, or so." Tatsuo replied. "Anyway, why don't you all come in. I'll show you to the gym."
Hearing that, Toshinori nodded, his wide smile still on his face as he leaned down to enter through the normal-sized door. Akatsuki, Sakura, and Izuku, who came together after school ended, followed closely behind.
"Thanks for having us." Sakura said politely as she changed into a pair of guest slippers. "I hope we're not intruding."
"Don't worry about it." Tatsuo replied while waving dismissively.
The other two also gave their greetings while changing into guest slippers. Then, once they were all ready, Tatsuo lead them towards the stairs leading up to the gym. When they finally arrived, Tatsuo pointed towards the changing room.
"We only have one changing room." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "So, you'll have to take turns to change. While you guys do that, I'll go change in my room. I didn't have time to change before you guys got here."
"Oh, what were you doing?" Akatsuki asked, a slight glint shining in her eyes.
"I made some refreshments for us after we're done training." Tatsuo replied. "You'll need the calories after we're done. I'm sure no one wants to go back home on a completely empty stomach."
When they heard that, everyone nodded in understanding. But while Toshinori and Izuku were just grateful that Tatsuo was being such a gracious host, Akatsuki and Sakura, one who had heard about Tatsuo's skill in the kitchen and the other who had actually experienced it for herself, were both looking forward to the refreshments he prepared.
After that, everyone went to change. Then, when they were all ready, they started their workouts. And all their workouts would have been considered brutal by normal standards. However, when Akatsuki, Sakura, Toshinori, and Izuku saw just how hard Tatsuo pushed himself, they were all in awe.
"Does is [Quirk] enhance strength?" Izuku asked his voice shaking in dumbfounded amazement.
"He didn't say anything about that yesterday." Akatsuki replied.
"But he's lifting over 360kg." Sakura said while knowing that all their bodies had been weakened since they arrived in the MHA Universe.
"Yeah, that's insane." Akatsuki added.
"It's clear that Young Soramoto has pushed himself quite hard on his path to becoming a Hero." Toshinori said while nodding in approval. "Hs dedication is admirable."
While Akatsuki, Sakura, and Izuku nodded in agreement with Toshinori's statement, Tatsuo had tuned out everything going on as he continued his high-intensity workout.
Eventually, the time came for Alfonzo to arrive. And to his surprise, everyone in the gym, other than Toshinori, was working out like they were trying to reach their limits before bursting through them.
"Looks like their all dedicated." Alfonzo said as he touched down in the middle of the gym.
"Well, since you're back..." Tatsuo said as he reset the squat machine. "We should probably end it here."
"Thanks." Alfonzo said with a deadpan. "I appreciate the warm welcome, oh cousin of mine."
Rolling his eyes, Tatsuo picked up his towel and wiped off the sweat on his face and neck.
"Anyway, let's get you guys some food." Tatsuo said, ignoring Alfonzo's sarcasm. "Then, you should probably head home. We still have school tomorrow."
Akatsuki, Sakura, and Izuku nodded in response with Izuku barely capable of remaining standing after his grueling workout.
"Oh, by the way, Alfonzo." Tatsuo said casually.
"Yeah, what's up?" Alfonzo asked just as nonchalantly.
"Did you get around to cleaning up the beach today?" Tatsuo asked.
"I did, actually." Alfonzo replied. "Just gotta wait for someone to come pick up the trash. Then, it will be completely clean."
"*Sigh* If I could use my quirk, I could just open up a rift to send all that junk to a junkyard." Tatsuo said while shaking his head.
"Wait!" Izuku exclaimed in surprise. "You can actually do that?"
"Sure." Tatsuo replied as he formed his right hand into a claw and raked it through the air in front of him.
Then, to Toshinori's and Izuku's surprise, the space in front of Tatsuo tore open. At the same time, the space in front of Izuku, who had been using a different workout machine on the opposite side of the gym, tore open, as well. And when Izuku looked through the tear, he found himself only a few feet away from Tatsuo.
Tatsuo found the dumbfounded looks on everyone's faces rather entertaining, even though he knew the ones on Akatsuki's and Sakura's faces were fake. A moment later, he stopped exerting his power of space and let the tear close.
"Alright, you all can get cleaned up." Tatsuo said as he started walking towards the gym's entrance. "When you're done, snacks and drinks will be downstairs."
With that, Tatsuo left the gym with Alfonzo following shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Izuku took turns using the changing room before they headed downstairs with Toshinori. After that, they all had some of the snacks Tatsuo prepared, and they could not stop complementing his skill. Meanwhile, Alfonzo was in the kitchen making dinner for himself, Tatsuo, Akatsuki, and Sakura.
Then, after everyone was done with their snacks and drinks, the four guests left the apartment. However, not long after Akatsuki and Sakura split up from Toshinori and Izuku, a tear in space opened in front of them and they returned to Alfonzo's apartment to have dinner with Tatsuo and Alfonzo where the two boys explained more about the world of MHA to the inexperienced young ladies.