[Yanai Yoko]

Between accruing injuries during training, and her standard umbrella not being able to hold up against all the use she put it to, it was clear that something needed to change. That something was definitely not her training, because working out meant more effort on her part and she wasn't seriously trying to become a hero. Do enough to stay afloat in the course sure, but she wasn't one of those hero types like the rest of them. Just because they went to the same class didn't mean she was going to stoop to their level.

She had noticed that some of the other students were using specialized equipment, and after picking out the most timid one from the group Yoko threatened them for information. Apparently the support students didn't mind making stuff for hero students. The girl she had confronted said she got her bat from someone named Ana, but that Kei Hada was a solid alternative too. She only had good things to say about this Kei, yet hadn't commissioned anything from him herself. Talk about a secret paid shill. Still, it wouldn't hurt to swing by the support labs and see his work for herself. She was working part-time too so it's not like she couldn't spend money on getting some more sturdy gear.

Coming around the corner she was walking a lot more slow than usual thanks to her recent ankle injury. Using a crutch with her right arm while she had her old umbrella resting over her left shoulder. ''Hey, is this Kai Hata's place? Can I smoke in here?'' She was already grumpy before she walked in, the pain in the neck nightmare customer no one wanted to deal with.

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

Kei dusted his hands off and sighed. Another hard day's work but he got through it with only a couple thin scratches. Bandaids not even necessary. The number of days without robots going haywire or rooms ending up in vibrantly coloured messes were beginning to rack up and the junior was thankful.

He was using his quarms to put all the equipment back in their proper place when an unfamiliar voice entered his ears. Brows furrowing in confusion, the arms paused as he answered. "Kai Hata? Never heard of 'em. I'm Kei Hada though?" Either they were mistaken with his name or someone on campus had one that was very close to his. He couldn't even cross out the possibility. The place was pretty big.

The support major turned from his table as the metal arms reeled into the pack on his back. "And sorry, you can't smoke here. They'd set off the fire alarms and sprinklers which would not be good- oh." He finally registered who spoke. And how the poor person had a broken ankle. His face was quick to morph to concern. "Hey, you okay? What happened to ya?"

Yanai Yoko

[Yanai Yoko]

Her attention immediately went to the quarms. What kind of a quirk was that, having multiple arms? No wait, was it an invention? She could only imagine how handy it would be to have an extra set of arms, but it probably wouldn't be compatible with her quirk. Besides, she wasn't here to ask for her own set of quarms. ''Yeah something like that.'' She brushed right past the fact that she got his name wrong. ''Did you make those extra arms?'' She frowned when she wasn't allowed to smoke but figured as much. Putting the pack of cigarettes away she instead took out a pack of chewing gum, popping one in her mouth before handing one to Kei. ''Here take one, they're sour.'' She didn't really care whether he took one or not. Not unless his supposed violent girlfriend was around and took this gesture as flirting with him. That is if Jun had been telling the truth and not just messing with her.

When Kei noticed her ankle and brought attention to it Yoko looked at him, grumpy as ever as she opened her umbrella. Barely a second later a small rain cloud formed over her head and began pouring on the umbrella, though some water slipped through the small holes in it. ''Nothing happened. Training stuff, I'm fine.'' That was a good enough excuse, right? Hero department students were training all the time and it wasn't uncommon for someone to get hurt in the thick of it. What she didn't want to bring up was it was her own clumsiness that landed her the injury she was limping around with now. ''You make things, right? Can you make me something?'' She didn't care that some of the water from her cloud was also dripping onto his floor and just continued to stare at him while quietly chewing away at the piece of gum in her mouth.

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

Kei blinked at the question but the smile came quick afterwards, nodding with enthusiasm. "Yeah! Made these myself!" One metal arm would jut out of his pack and mimic the wave his human hand was doing. "They're convenient for the projects I do, especially when reaching high shelves since I'm not- that... tall..." Ah. He was actually looking down at someone for once, having exceeded their height. And people don't like being reminded of their shortness, oh no gotta change the subject-

Which the gum offer helped with thank god. It was random but welcome, and the support major was quick to take it. "Oh- thank you!" Kei spent no time replacing his toothpick with the snack, chewing as she was looking mad at him. Oh god. Did he offend her with the tall thing?

Surprise flashed on his face as rain began to pour on the other student. He stepped back as he watched the strange event with wide eyes. "I- are you sure you're okay?" He knew the hero course was tough - he assumed she was a hero student at least - the infirmary existed for a reason

She seemed the type to lie about her wellbeing though. And she was here for something after all. So whether she answered his question or not, Kei crossed his arms to force himself not to press further. "But I do yeah. What do you need?"

Yanai Yoko,

[Yanai Yoko]

The way he made the metal arm wave was oddly cute. For a second she even considered commissioning a pair again if it wasn't for her transformation quirk being so destructive. ''Yeah, I can only imagine they would.'' Was this guy who she had to look up at really talking about being short? She didn't take it personally, but because of her always grumpy face it might look like she was. ''Smoking indoors is disgusting anyway.'' She said, quietly chewing on her piece of gum, happy to move on from the topic of height.

She had no reason to suspect he was lying, so if he really built that arm backpack, maybe he could create what she needed? In terms of technical skill and all that she imagined her request was far simpler than maneuverable arms. ''It's nothing, just having a bad day.'' It was the easiest way to deflect from the fact that the cloud directly correlated with her emotions, or at least it had become her go-to excuse. Then again, maybe for the first time ever her rain cloud actually became helpful in explaining her plight. ''I carry an umbrella everywhere I go for obvious reasons.'' She gestured lazily up at the cloud. ''The problem is, hero training sucks and it's hard and umbrellas weren't made for that.'' She pointed at several holes in the fabric and other marks that showed how worn the umbrella was.

''So, I was curious if you could make something like an armored umbrella.'' She was about to reach for her cigarettes, but resisted the urge and just pretended she wanted to put her hand in her pocket. ''The type that can take being thrown around, or maybe even stop a punch or bullets from a gun.'' She glanced at her shoulder as her hoodie was getting progressively more wet from the bits of water that slipped through the cracks in her umbrella. ''And rain, of course. Something like that.'' She took a stack of money out of her hoodie pocket and held it out towards Kei. ''I can pay for the materials or whatever. Is this good enough?'' If his rates were too high she might have to resort to haggling or bullying, but which strategy would help her get what she needed?

Bullying was easy. Kei wasn't the hardest person to read at least not on a surface level. It was low-hanging fruit but she could make fun of his height. Then again, bullying ran the risk of angering the supposed violent girlfriend that Jun had mentioned. She wasn't really keen on picking fights where she didn't have to, and she didn't know a thing about his girlfriend or her quirk. For all she knew it could be invisibility or a shapeshifting power, and she had been watching this conversation go down all along. Hell no, that was too big of a pain in the neck.

Haggling? Maybe she could play a sympathy card? Kei seemed like a kind person, so maybe if she played up her quirk struggles he would feel sorry for her? No, that would be annoying too. It might work, but then he might worry about her going forward and she always hated lies like that snowballing out of control. ''I don't know what you usually take for your gear...'' She held out the cash insistently. She was about to say she had never commissioned custom gear before, but she refused to outright say it no matter how obvious it was at this point.

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

Kei shouldn't be staring but he couldn't help himself; his eyes were definitely set on the cloud that continued to pour rain down her head. That had to be highly convenient. What if it happened during a written test? Do all her assignments get soggy? Though she did mention a bad day, maybe that's how it gets triggered-

Oh. Umbrella. That made sense though the holes were probably not helping- wait she's talking about it. He really should listen to that.

With some effort the support major finally peeled his eyes away from the mini storm to look at her directly. Good thing too because he didn't miss how the girl wanted her tool to be improved, moreso than just patching up some holes even. He nodded in understanding. "I can do that yeah! It'd be similar to some armour I made for another student- it was fireproof and could deflect bullets." He was proud of how well it held up despite the guy wearing it all the time. "I should be able to make an umbrella version of that that you can also use offensively."

While Kei wasn't privy to the other student's inner struggle - he didn't even know she knew who Yaoyao was - he did see the money in her hand and how she was offering it to him. And his first reaction was to wave his own hand at it. "Oh no, you don't need to pay me! The materials are actually provided by the university, so while you're a student here the gear you request is free. At least from me, since I'm also still learnin' how to make said gear myself."

With her insistence he couldn't help but add on to his statement. "If it helps I also get commissions from people outside the school. And they pay me quite a bit." Hopefully then she wouldn't feel she needed to do the same.

Yanai Yoko

[Yanai Yoko]

''Strong enough to deflect bullets would be nice.'' All the more reason to spend her hard-earned cash on it without feeling bad. She could totally make all this back by working on the weekends. If she had to really work on this hero business thing, then why not shill out on some expensive and flashy equipment if it also made her life easier?

When he told her she didn't need to pay she just stared at him. Was she getting this for free? What kind of business was he running here? ''Huh.'' She put the money back in her pocket and looked around the workshop awkwardly. It made her sense when she thought about it, but she had assumed the support students were a little more greedy, or just plain needed the money given how expensive getting materials could be. ''...I knew that.'' She added after a pause, definitely not trying to save face for looking like an idiot just then. ''Then I won't pay you. Not because I need the money that badly, just because that's the standard practice here.'' Way to save face! Now she just needed to shift the topic a bit so their conversation wouldn't linger on her dumb assumption that she needed to pay. ''Do you get a lot of 'customers' here? Is it mostly other students or people from outside?'' He was basically the first support student she had ever spoken to. ''I figured the whole support student deal was basically the same as the hero course, but with more math and worksheets.''

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

"Then why were you givin' me money?" was the question that popped in Kei's head at her reply. And also out loud. He didn't mean to do the latter actually.

Shocked by his own statement, it was his turn to save face as his eyes widened in alarm. "I mean- yeah you knew that!" His grin grew strained. If they dwell on this for too long she was definitely going to be mad at him- So he was saved again by her changing the subject. "Oh yeah, more math and worksheets for sure." That was his cue to wander back to the tables so he could start drafting the project.

A sheet was pulled and Kei began to sketch, continuing the conversation all the while. "Clients if you wanna be accurate! They're mostly other students but lately word of my work's been spreadin' to other businesses and even heroes." There was a rare sense of pride in his words, the support major thinking back to a hero showing interest in his work and formal letter from a restaurant owner of all things. The gear he made for the latter may just be a pool stick but it was a good pool stick as far as he was concerned.

He was still drawing when he asked his own question. "Do you want me to patch up your umbrella or make a whole new one?" He had to ask. It could be a sentimental piece for all he knew, given the student still had it despite all the holes. "I could even do both so you're not carryin' a hard umbrella all the time?"

Yanai Yoko

[Yanai Yoko]

She felt a pit in her stomach when he asked that question, she hadn't expected someone like him to call her out so directly. She didn't even have a quip or comeback prepared, she just stared back at him, unblinking and repeated his question back to him as her brain went full panic mode. ''Why was I giving you money?'' Oh shit, she was going to look like a complete idiot loser, she didn't know because she didn't socialize with support students. Not because she couldn't!! She was totally too cool for that crowd, people were easy to deal with she just didn't like them!

She held back a small cough as he played along, pretending like she knew all along. Was he the type of guy to gossip? Could she expect her reputation at school to be ruined now? What if his violent girlfriend was actually some kind of secret assassin too, and now she had just made the hitlist? A terrifying thought for another time. Kei swiftly moved the conversation along which she appreciated deeply.

''Nice. You're making it big.'' For once she wasn't sarcastic or trying to belittle him, but she didn't show any excitement for his successful, budding career either. As he talked she was unsure whether to focus on looking at him or what he was sketching- how was he doing that while holding a conversation? Heightened awareness quirk perhaps? That would explain his unique eyes. When he asked about her old umbrella she looked at it. ''Can you make a new one? It's not like this one is important to me I just got it at the convenience store.'' For a moment she did consider accepting just so she wouldn't be carrying the harder umbrella around, but the inconvenience of two umbrellas bothered her more than one catch-all umbrella. ''I'll be fine. I'm a transformation user so carrying an armored umbrella around is nothing to me.'' She figured she could reveal that much about her quirk. It made sense for someone making gear for her to know.

''How long will it take to make it? Should I go buy another normal umbrella in the meantime?''

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

Kei paused on his pencil flailing at the other student's comment and he looked up at her for a while. Him? Making it big? A smile slowly formed on his face at the thought. "Huh. I guess I am." Fame wasn't his goal in life, but he wouldn't deny that seeing others trust his work did make him feel better about himself.

He turned back to his paper for a few more seconds before placing the pencil down and returning to the girl with sheet in hand, showing her the project in drawn form. There were lots of measurements and arrows pointing to what he deemed important, but an open umbrella was the main piece of it all. "If this looks good to you I can get started on it. Should only take a few days if you can use your current one for a lil longer!"

The support students peeked his eyes over the blueprint. "Is there a way to contact you? Usually people give me their number so I can text 'em when it's done, but I can also do email or you can drop by whenever and ask for updates that way." Then his eyes widened in realization. "I don't even know your name, I'm so sorry."

Yanai Yoko

[Yanai Yoko]

She narrowed her eyes at the sketch and leaned in just a bit closer. ''That's what a sketch looks like?'' She had a hard time seeing how it became the final product, but as long as Kei could make sense of it that was all that mattered. ''Oh yeah, I can use my current one for a bit longer, it's whatever I just won't use it for practice.'' A few days with a shitty umbrella wasn't a bad price to pay, especially not when she didn't have to part with her savings after all. ''Oh yeah, can you make it look like a kanabo while it's closed? So it looks like a weapon while I'm beating the shit out of some guy, but I can open it and it's an umbrella too.''

She paused, realizing how out of nowhere that was. ''It's for my hero image theme or whatever, you know what I mean, right?'' She wasn't the best at words, maybe she should have brought someone along who could explain it better? ''Hey, don't be sorry, stupid. I said your name wrong before.'' She responded harshly, ticked off by the unnecessary apologies. If anything she probably needed to apologize for being so harsh, except she didn't because that meant having to apologize and that was a pain in the neck. ''I'm Yoko. Phone works fine. I can also drop by but I work most weekends. Whatever time works best for you, you're the one who's going to be working on this after all.'' She shrugged. ''Let me know. Not like I can really train with an injury anyway.''

Kei Hada

[Kei Hada]

Kei nodded at her question. "Yep! Bit on the messy side but it helps me not forget anythin'- oh!" Kanabo! So she did have a preferred weapon after all. He took the pen from the table and quickly sketched out the kanabo, showing it to the other student afterward. It was a lot less refined than the open umbrella due to him not drawing on a surface but it did look like the club. Hopefully. "Should be easy to do! I'll even keep the studded appearance once it's opened- now that would look really cool."

Folding the blueprint up for safekeeping, he snorted in surprise at her 'acceptance' of his apology. "Sorry- I mean-" He should not be this amused at how her way of telling him not to apologize reminded him of someone else. He took a deep breath. "Nice to meet ya Yoko! Let's do phone then, I wouldn't want ya to walk here so much with your leg bein' injured." Having only one crutch so she could hold her umbrella could not have been comfortable. "I'll aim for weekdays after class then so we can meet when your gear's ready for final tests."

With phone numbers and goodbyes exchanged, Kei rubbed his hands together. Another project under his belt. His name really was getting around.

Yanai Yoko

[Jinx]

☆ MISSION SUCCESS ☆

With two quirks that can make water an umbrella's a good choice~
Great thread you two!

+ 5,000 EXP!!

Kei: 7,500 // 12,500
Yoko:30,250 // 35,250

tag: Yanai Yoko,Kei Hada