[ikki mizuno]

Seemed pretty cut and dry, really. Really straightforward. The exact kind of case adults could leave to the students, really. It wasn’t even advertised in the building. A kid their age, about 20.

His deal was like that of a lot of people of their generation, the newest freshman class at UA. Went by “Café Racer” online, gave away the game with pictures geotagged in places where he was suspected to have been, alleged string of thefts and petty assaults. Stanced up with arms folded, big motorcycle style exhausts jutting out of his elbows, vest and shorts on. Black hair spiked up with stubble and amber eyes.

Right by the gate to the school, if Zaya got the memo and went out, she’d see someone who looked kinda like the guy. Ikki stood there, red button-down and jean-shorts, both cuffed to reveal motorcycle style exhausts, multiple small pipes jutting out of his calves and elbows. Little hello kitty band-aids all over his face and neck, one amber eye and one black one. Black eye-mask a la Robin.

His voice came out young and slightly deep, lowest you could get as a tenor. Smelled of vanilla and chestnut. "... I’m the new transfer student, Ikki’s fine, Two-Tone on the field." Ikki tugged at his collar comically, glancing at his phone and back at Zaya. He had a lot of explaining to do, and didn’t say a whole lot. He looked a little embarrassed by the whole thing. "…I know what it looks like."

zaya

I’m not who they approachin’

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

Taking on another villain wasn’t a prospect Zaya was too thrilled about, but it was one that she felt she had to do. If she was going to be a hero, she couldn’t just run from every fight; And this Café Racer seemed like a far easier first step than the Kollector was. Didn’t seem that intimidating; Looked a little charming even.
Not to mention she was going to have backup for this, so she wouldn’t even have to face him alone. Getting to the gate of the school, she quickly spotted Ikki, and waved to him.
“Zaya; Nice to meet you. On the field I’m…Also Zaya.” She stated, feeling a bit awkward that she hadn’t officially chosen a hero name.
The girl was wearing casual clothes; A sleeveless grey tanktop with a black sports bra underneath, black athletic shorts and sneakers. Her attire almost seemed a bit too casual for stopping a villain, but he wouldn’t be too much trouble, right?
Looking over Ikki’s appearance, Zaya figured it’d be best to not ask, not make things awkward between her new partner. “Hey, I’m not going to pry if you don’t want me to.”
Even if her curiosity did compel her to try and ask about his ruffled up appearance…

“Anyway…This Café Racer guy shouldn’t be too hard to track with him posting about everywhere he goes, right?” Zaya asked, already pulling out her phone to check social media for their foe. “Kinda sucks that we have to bring in one of our own though…”

[ikki mizuno]

Checking her phone was a smart move. Zaya could see right away, a few pictures geotagged in Shinjuku. Smallish shops, their mark trying on clothes. Ikki looked too, but it looked more like he was ogling a nice Boro jacket he wore. He thought for a moment. Yuu... I’m taking your coat AND your sneakers.

He lead with one foot, starting to turn. ¥57,000 jacket. A chance to see his cousin again.

Ikki smirked as Zaya introduced herself. His arms folded, and his eyes lit up. He looked impressed. "... Zaya? Is that your name? It’s awfully bold to not hide your name or identity." The eye mask was barely even trying. But it looked like the fig-leaf of the idea he was presenting.

"... The pictures tell us where he was, they’re all recent. Let’s start by getting into Shinjuku." Ikki fully turned, walking from the gate to the campus, towards the nearest stop on the Shinkansen. They’d have time to talk, sure, and trains came fairly often. ”—I hate to say it, but I’ll be happy to see him. If you have any questions, I’ll answer them."

zaya

I’m not who they approachin’

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

Zaya just shrugged at his suggestion to hide her identity. Maybe before she’d hide herself a bit more, not want to get associated with her father’s hero group…But the more she went out, the less people seemed to recognize her; Maybe she was starting to look more mature?

“I don’t have a hero costume picked out yet anyway. And we’re licensed to do this sort of thing, so its not like we’ll get in trouble with the law.”
Following Ikki to the train station, Zaya was already starting to feel a bit fatigued; As always, her quirk was draining her, making her feel lethargic; But she was slowly learning to power through it.
“So…”
Pausing for a minute, Zaya struggled to think of a topic to chew Ikki’s ear about. Small talk wasn’t her strong suite, but talking helped keep her active and awake. “Um…What kind of quirk do you have?” She finally settled on. “Going to guess it has something to do with those thrusters on your body?”
If Ikki was kind enough to share his quirk with her, or even if he didn’t, she’d return the favor.
“Mine is a poison lightning emitter; Toxicity incarnate. If I hit someone with it, or get physical contact, I can infect them, slowly drain their strength. Downside is that it eats away at me, too.”
After sharing her quirk, Zaya would go a bit quiet, feeling tired from her quirk’s side affect. In the process, she’d begin to stare at Ikki’s face, unconsciously. “So…You sound like you know this guy…” She asked, yawning a bit and resting her chin in her hands.
“Old friend or something?”

[ikki mizuno]

Ikki’s costume, meanwhile, was a departure from those of their mark, and frankly anyone in his family she could find. Anyone with him or his mother’s last name had clear biker influences. Exhaust pipes on their joints of various sizes, their costumes inspired by motocross jumpsuits, or classic leather jacket and blue jeans fare.

"... I don’t just mean that, I mean being targeted when you’re off the clock and you need to rest. We’re safe because we’re at UA, that’s it."

Ikki led the two of them to the train station. As per usual, the Shinkasen came within minutes, and Ikki swiped a metro-card in his wallet. Zaya looked a bit tired, and he couldn’t help but look a little concerned. "I move fast, that’s it. —My uncle could even run on walls and water. I was a late bloomer, I’m not there yet." He said, looking at her up and down.

"... Sounds really strong. Look… if you have “too much”, I wouldn’t mind if you zapped me, or whatever. Just do it before we get there." The train came to its stop, letting the two off at the platform. It was cavernous, with stairwells and escalators going up. The walls were covered with ceramic tiles and concrete, in soft pastel blues and off-whites.

Ikki dug out his phone, pulling up an old picture. He was fifteen at the oldest, already sporting his dyed hair, and little eye-mask. He had a skateboard under his arm, with those Black Flag four rectangles painted on it. On either side of him were an older and taller man, with pipes going around a bare, barrel-chest with a denim vest loosely fit over it. That, and a boy maybe 17 years old. They both had black hair, and defined features like Ikki’s. Off to the side was what seemed to be his mom, in a full tracksuit with her dark hair cropped short in a wolf-cut. ”—That’s my cousin Yuu. We used to patrol with “Full Throttle”. Someone got the jump on us, and I got sent to the emergency room. Old man retired and started a podcast with the other boomers, Yuu and I went our own way."

zaya

I’m not who they approachin’

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

Zaya had never really given her physical safety much thought until after the fight with Kollector…That guy made it clear that she wasn’t safe just because her father was a powerful hero.
“I’m already going to be kinda well known anyway thanks to my dad…” She stated, sighing.
“He’s a popular hero. Whenever I have to make my big debut, our connection will be obvious.”
Her father had her quirk; Without the downside of the poison, which was given courtesy of her mother. ShocK-King had the full blessing of the lightning, and could use it as he saw fit.
Zaya essentially had his power with a handicap; Almost as if her body was taunting her, not being strong enough to handle such a fearsome quirk.
“If I need to drain you, I’ll let you know. Hopefully it won’t come to that, right?” The girl tried to force a smile, contributing to her ongoing efforts to come off as more ‘friendly’.
It was tempting to take Ikki up on his offer, but she knew her quirk better than anyone. Draining him now would mean he’d feel the affect slowly burn through him for a while; Not worth the risk.
As Zaya departed the train with Ikki, she’d lean over to get a better look at his phone. Looking at the family, she felt bad for Ikki; All it takes is one bad mission to put some people out of commission permanently.
“Hey, you’re still here at least.” She said, trying to offer condolences. “A lot of people would quit after something like that.”
It turned out Yuu was his cousin; Seeing a family member turn villain was not something she ever wanted to experience. “So…I’m guessing the two of you aren’t on the best of terms anymore if we have to take him down, right?”

[ikki mizuno]

Ikki felt her eyes on him. He shrugged his shoulders, before going back to flexing his tongue with his mouth shut, to make his jaw pop out, model-like. The amber light of the station hit them both as they debarked from the train. He looked weirdly fired up, all this family talk coming to the fore.

"...We're not our parents. We don't even look like 'em. So you're gonna get your name out there."

Ikki raised a hand gently, as if asking for permission. He'd hope for a chance to emphatically clap her upper back to try and get her amped up, but he wouldn't press the issue if she declined. "We're gonna start doing that here and now."

"...If you think you need my energy, just do it. I'll understand." The two made their way up the steps, the amber late-afternoon sky greeting them. Zaya's comment gave him pause. "We kinda like fighting eachother, at this point."

Street lights slowly hummed to life, and what looks like a mall nearby had hard footprints leading into its grey tiles, something between a person's stride and tire-marks on concrete.

Ikki walked through the automatic doors, seeing their mark down the end of the hall, wearing a patchwork white denim jacket with matching shorts. It looked like Yuu was wearing TV static. His black hair fell around his face in a bedhead style. He stood with arms folded, watching the two. A voice just a hair lower, a baritone, came out. "I see. I see. Rally here can't do anything by himself. Did she pick your clothes out too?"

zaya

I’m not who they approachin’

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

Zaya nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah…Not just going to be my dad’s replacement.” At least, she hoped that’s not all she would amount to. It wasn’t exactly going to be easy to get out of his shadow once she sprang into the hero world in full force.
When he raised his hand, Zaya didn’t resist, letting him give her an enthused clap on the back, blushing a bit as he did. It was nice to have someone believe in her like this.

“Wait, you LIKE fighting him? Not sure I understand, but as long we’re making sure he doesn’t cause any more mayhem…”
She just shrugged it off; Maybe it was a guy thing, and they just enjoyed one upping each other in their rivalry. As they walked through the doors to the mall, the girl started to look around at the mostly abandoned stores, letting her mind wander a bit before the taunts of the ‘villain’ caught her attention.
“Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Zaya asked, annoyed at the assumption he was making.
The culprit already looked far scarier than the last villain she fought, and he didn’t (seem to) have telekinetic powers. Still, a villain at large is one that has formidable powers.
Charging up a bolt of violet lightning in her right hand, she took aim at their target. Maybe she’d get lucky, and they could take him out quickly?
No, she knew better than that by now. Stopping her charge about halfway, she prepared a weaker blast to fire at the villain, one to just test what he could do.
“Ok Ikki, get ready to tag him!” Using her free hand to steady her aim, Zaya fired out a burst of lightning that raced towards the Café Racer, daring him to outrun its trail.

[ikki mizuno]

"...You're you. And while we're at the mall, I want you to keep in the back of your head, what your first costume is gonna be. I've gone through a million."

The two stood, facing off against Café Racer, maybe 20 meters away. It was clear, Ikki was getting flustered too. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"...I said you can't do anything by yourself because I want you to retire." Yuu paced back and forth for a minute, before stancing up, as if he were to run. He stood, maybe, a head taller than Ikki, and his wild coat seemed to wave in. the wind, despite the three of them being indoors. "Do you know what your "accident" did to our family? Did you even ask?"

That breeze was his engines kicking on, Yuu flexing his elbows to prepare to take off running. Ikki did the same, more or less. Zaya's bolt roared to life, shooting down the length of the hall. Yuu saw the thing coming. He sidestepped it, before charging at the both of them. What he didn't see was its homing ability. Just a hair slower, that purple wad chased him and crackled. Ikki ran forward, catching Yuu's arm and swinging both of them at Zaya's bolt.

They came away with each an arm twitching and numb, shouldera usable but hands struggling with even clenching into fists. Ikki winced and inspected the damage, while Yuu took this chance to cock a leg back and shove him against the. ground with a front-kick, hard enough to crack the tiles. He clenched his teeth with pain before looking up. "I'm fine now. Better than ever. Me and my. friends are gonna take on the world. And you're in the way."

zaya

!!!!!

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

Watching as the duo’s biological engines revved up, Zaya quickly redirected her lightning, having it chase Yuu down; She landed a hit on his arm, but only thanks to Ikki’s intervention; And it had cost him an arm, as well.
Not only that, but Yuu had taken the chance to land a devastating hit on her friend. Watching as bits of tile flew up from the impact, Zaya’s mind left her, returning back to her encounter with the Kollector, the destruction he’d been able to cause; This was starting to feel eerily similar, down to the location of the fight being in a mall.

But she couldn’t run. Not again, not this time.
“Damn right!” The girl let out a yell of comradery, clenching her fists.
Maybe if she told herself she wasn’t scared, that she could do this…
Thinking hard over a plan, the first thought that came to her instinctively was that of her father; He was able to surround himself with an aura of lightning that would be hell for anyone to touch. She’d never tried it before, but was confident she could at least do a weak replication; Not to mention it would likely ward Yuu off from attacking her.

But what would that accomplish? All that would do is throw Ikki right into the villain’s sights, only protecting herself.
He’d already taken a bad hit, it wouldn’t be right of her to make him take another.
Taking a gambit, Zaya charged directly at Yuu, hoping he’d try and attack her. If he did, the young hero would try her best to time her lighting aura, only letting it surround her if the speedy villain took a swing…
It'd hurt, but if she could trade a blow with him, she might be able to immobilize the guy.

[ikki mizuno]

"..."

Ikki’s clothes looked dirty, slightly worn. Little tears in the shirt showed. That façade, that attempt at looking grown and distancing himself from his family was starting to falter. All his cousin needed to do to fully send him back to square one was call his mom, or give him a skateboard. He looked visibly shaken. "It’s over."

Yuu kept that foot planted firmly on Ikki’s chest, the weight of his body including his thrusters, and the heft of his boot keeping it in place there to pin him to the ground. "You didn’t even need to be here right now."

Nonetheless, out of the corner of his eye, Ikki could see Zaya start charging in. His eyes lit up, and he dug his thumbs into Yuu’s ankle to try and keep the heat on himself for the time being, even gripping his leg as a whole and trying to twist it to cause an injury. He didn’t have the muscle to pull it off, but it worked as a distraction. At the last second the Cafe Racer glanced aside and tried to shove Zaya aside, his leg held firmly in place and keeping him from dodging. A flash of green light came out.

To that end, Yuu was thrown off to the side. He and Ikki both laid there, still conscious, but twitching. Even the act of planting their elbows down to prop their heads up and look at eachother looked labored, as if they were lifting weights. "…Checkmate."

zaya

!!!!!

[/a][/div][/div]

[zaya]

It had worked; Her crude plan to turn herself into a human cannonball had actually taken out the Café Racer; It knocked her down too, but at least they’d caught the criminal, right?

One thing Zaya hadn’t expected was all the energy coursing through her now; She thought only direct physical contact could recharge her, but it seemed like her lightning aura did the trick too. She was now full of energy, nearly overflowing; It felt good, but it also felt wrong. After all, some of that strength had been harvested from Ikki.

And all because of that villain. It was because of him that her new friend was on the ground, barely able to move.
Without even thinking, Zaya’s body moved on her own. Stepping over to Yuu, she’d kneel down, and place her palm flat on his chest. Using her quirk, she started draining as much energy as she could. After what he put them through, she was going to make sure he couldn’t move for hours.

Purple electricity flowed around Zaya as she sucked every ounce of energy Yuu had in him. “You still feel like causing problems?” She scolded, not satisfied with physical punishment alone.
“Still feel like you can move around as fast as you did?”
It was only when her built up strength felt like it hit a peak when she stopped, realized what she was doing, and snapped back to reality.
What was she doing? The battle was already over…Breathing heavily, Zaya realized the magnitude of what she’d done. Sure, her power wasn’t going to leave any lasting damage aside from tiredness, but she was still kicking someone while they were down.
“I…I’m sorry. I got too heated.” Rubbing her arm nervously, she’d stand back up, and go to Ikki to offer him a hand. “But…At least he’s down now, right?”