[Kazashi McCoy]

Kazashi's life had been insanely busy lately. From graduating hero university, to getting a full-time job as a pro hero. A job which included tracking down the clues to the lost Kaneko children, her half siblings, which had somehow resulted in metal clones of her and Mochi emerging from some sort of strange quirk incident. On top of all that, an unknown criminal organization was putting out bounties on heroes AND she had just recently found out that she was pregnant. A tumultuous life to say the least.

But!

She was still keen to make time for her friends, particularly someone like Jun who she had known for years. While the circumstances of their first meeting was deeply tragic, Kaz had tried her best to remedy it since, inviting Jun out for a cup of tea, or lunch every now and then, even offer training in any way that she could. Anything to help Jun move past the darkness that threatened to drag her down into a pit of unending misery and despair. Kaz had seen firsthand how talented Jun was and she knew that it was her duty not only as one of the current young generations of heroes, but as a friend to help her in whatever way she could.

Today that help involved inviting Jun out to the Kiyashi Shopping Mall. One of Kaz's favorite lunch spots were located out here and in case Jun was eager to go shopping for something after they had time to do that too. She had already taken her seat outside of the main restaurant, having reserved a table that gave a great overlook of the mall, just in case she needed to jump into action. Hero careers were strange like that. Even when she wasn't on duty, she still couldn't turn off that part of her brain. With her phone laid out on the table, display facing up, Kaz kept an eye out for any incoming texts from Jun. Meanwhile she was also looking at her nanite-infused ring tattoo. Chuck didn't have the day off... Whatever job he was on, hopefully it was an easy one.

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... Haze. That's all she knew. Several goons were on her tail, the gem was broken and gone, and there was nothing that she could do outside of run as quick as she could through the brush, limbs whipping her face and cutting her legs. A trip, the smell of earth suddenly in her nose, and that was it. She was dead. She tensed, waiting for the final blow, until she heard conflict behind her. She looked back, seeing the men gone and in their place a horned figure, running over and asking if she was okay... She had come far from that incident. Those memories were locked away and she spent every day not thinking on them. But every time she saw Kaz or heard the name Apparel those memories came flooding back. It was awful, if she was being honest. Kazashi wasn't that much older than her, and she was incredibly nice. She helped Jun through some of her darker moments, but she couldn't help some of the emotions she had to deal with. So after having a round of smile practice before she left home she went up to the mall, moving to her lunch date with her savior. "Hey!" Jun says as she spots Kaz, letting the smile come naturally. It was surprising, considering she was still in excruciating pain from her endeavor at sea, but she didn't want Kaz to ask about it. "Thanks for asking me out, was getting cramped on campus. How's it going?" Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

''Jun-chan!'' Kazashi called out with joy in her voice. How long had it been since she saw her dear friend? She almost stood up and rushed over to hug her, but she knew Jun probably wouldn't like the physical contact, much less in public. Besides, Kaz still wasn't sure how to talk about the elephant in the room, or rather the small bump on her stomach. It still wasn't that big to others, but Kaz could feel it. ''It's so nice ta see ya again.'' She chuckled when Jun mentioned being a little cramped on the campus. ''How have they been treatin' ya? Yer in yer second year now, right? They better be lookin' after ya or Ah'll come after 'em.'' She flexed her arm jokingly, smiling back at her friend.

''Me? Ah'm doin' pretty great. Lots has been happenin' in my life. It's a busy livin'! Bein' a hero an' datin' too.'' She smirked as a thought crossed her mind. She hadn't heard about the incident at sea yet, probably because she had been less active in the hero scene lately, or maybe because it hadn't made the rounds yet. Still, she wanted to enquire. Women their age kept secrets, Kaz knew all about it. ''How about ya, found yerself a special someone?'' She teased with a little wink. ''Get yerself whatever ya want, Ah'm payin'.'' She gestured to the menus on the table. She was happy they were meeting under such normal circumstances. For the most part, when Kaz saw Jun's face she saw the talented girl who was hella gonna outclass her any day now, but sometimes, she saw the blood. That day, the screams, the bodies, the horror. Up until that day, Kaz had only ever really gone on patrols and whatever happened on those paled in comparison to the way she met Jun.

''New school year just started, right?'' She picked up her own menu and began glancing at it as she continued, ''Made any new excitin' friends?''

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... Jun offered a polite bow before taking a seat, keeping that perfect smile on her face. It was nice to have someone that respected her boundaries, a lot of people didn't get that about her. She laughed a little at the comment, shrugging. "So far so good," she says, taking her seat slowly. She was still in the process of recovering from her injuries, and she figured the less she showed the better. She didn't need another person worrying about her. "Second year, yeah. It's been going good and all that. Nothing too crazy so far." Something was a little off about Kazashi, though. Did she...gain weight??? She picked up the menu, blushing a little as she tried to put out the thought of dating yet again. "There's no one there. I don't have time for dating, anyways. Not important." It wasn't too far off the mark, even if she was a little distracted. "No new friends yet, but have been starting to mentor a few people. That's...a new experience and all that...um, I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but uh. Maybe lay off the sweets a little today...? You look like you've gotten a little pudge. I mean, you are keeping up with your training in weaving all that other stuff in, right?" Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

She smiled patiently as Jun took her seat. Relieved to see that the girl she found in the middle of what felt like an apocalyptic battlefield was doing better. She would probably never recover from all the things she experienced and saw that day, but Kaz believed Jun could become all the stronger for it. At least she hoped so, trying to see a silver lining in it all. ''Ah'm glad ta hear that. Don't hesitate ta ask for help when they hit ya with one of those sudden tests that'll test yer meddle! Not that Ah don't think ya can handle it yerself of course.'' She believed wholeheartedly in Jun, seeing her as a shining example of the next generation of heroes that was going to overtake her in no time. Still, part of her couldn't help but be a little protective. Perhaps it was the future mother in her spilling out.

''If ya say so, Ah won't pry! ~'' She teased, knowing that Jun would come to her about that sort of stuff when she was ready. Which might be never, whether she dated or not. Either way it was Jun's business. ''Yer mentorin' now?'' Her eyes lit up, look at how far Jun had come! From hero prep school hopeful to actually mentoring her peers and she was only in her second year! It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she didn't want to cry in front of Jun so she quickly blinked them back. ''Ah guess ya are officially a sophomore now, so that'd make ya a senpai to some.'' She smiled, before cracking and letting out an amused laugh at Jun's comment. ''Not at all, Jun-chan, yer right Ah have been eatin' too many sweets! ...But that's not why Ah put on a little weight.'' She grinned, guilty as charged! Might as well tell Jun the truth before the media runs rampant with stories of Apparel settling down. ''Ah'm pregnant.'' She smiled, leaving a pause for Jun to react.

Meanwhile, a stranger sitting just a few tables down from them had been eyeing not just Kaz, but Jun too. He approached with hasty steps, nervous, maybe even a little starstruck? ''E-Excuse me, you're Apparel, right? Can I get your autograph, I'm a huge fan!'' With no hesitation he pulled out a book for her to sign in. ''A-Are you famous too? You look familiar somehow..'' He turned to look at Jun.

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... Wait, she was? Jun was just making an observation, how was that- Oh. Ohhhhh! She knew Kaz was married, but like. Didn't know...actually, things were now more confusing than ever. Or...clear? There was no sense in trying to think about it. "Con...graduations? Riiiight?" Was that something to give congratulations on? She didn't know this was the kind of thing she'd never been exposed to. As the stranger approaches and starts to ask for an autograph Jun buttons her lip. She wanted to keep going, but there was no telling what kind of private detail she might accidentally slip, or something. Jun would shake her heads, giving a shrug as she shifts uncomfortably away from the man. "I'm no one, don't mind me," she says, wincing a little as her muscles shrieked a little at her. She'd hope that whoever this is would get his autograph and go on. It was one of the things that she hoped she didn't want to deal with once she was a hero. She wanted to be an inspiration to others and lift people up, but she also didn't want the publicity or the autograph or the pictures to go along with it. None of that was vital to being a hero, she thought. Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

Kazashi couldn't help but chuckle at Jun's response, it was priceless, cute. A very Jun response. ''Thank ya, thank ya!'' She smiled, pushing a stray lock of hair back behind her ear with her finger. ''Yeah. It's somethin' Ah'm very happy about.'' Maybe the happiest she had ever been in her life, and that was saying hella lots considering all the happy moments she had experienced!! Meeting and dating Chuck, graduating hero school and becoming a pro hero... Now she was about to become a mother too.

Kazashi remained alert, but calm as the 'fan' approached them. She knew to be cautious when someone she didn't know approached her in public, even if it was with good intentions. Especially since lately, someone influential from the criminal underworld had started placing bounties on the heads of heroes. ''Sure. Just a quick one.'' She replied calmly, looking over at Jun. She was glad the girl didn't give anything away, that she was cautious too. As easy as getting swept up in the excitement of being recognized was, it was also a major red flag to be recognized in public outside of your costume.

As she had expected, most likely owing to her past experiences and high level of awareness, the man suddenly swung for Kazashi's head with his fist. At the speed of which he was punching it was no problem for Kaz to dodge and weave around it, even at such a short range. However, before she could launch her own counterattack, some kind of thick, black substance sprouted out of the man's chest, forming into another arm that slammed Kaz in her left arm and sent her flying backwards through several tables.

''I'm born under some kind of lucky star.'' He said, satisfied with having tagged Kaz before turning to Jun. ''Did you know that? To find the both of you here,'' he raised his fists and Jun and tried swinging at her as well. ''I truly am the luckiest man in Tokyo.''

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... "-Kaz!" Jun leapt from her chair upon seeing the action starting to take place, something she immediately started to regret as the moment she was on her feet her chest started throbbing. Weird people was one thing, she was like a weird person magnet and figured she'd be one for the rest of her life. But this was weird in a dangerous sense, and seeing that this guy could form multiple limbs was something that didn't bode well. Seeing him starting to turn towards her, she preempitvely got on the opposite side of the table he was on, ducking to avoid the punch and flipping said table with all her might. The burning sensation in her chest throbbed as adrenaline began to pour into her bloodstream, fear beginning to take root as she hoped her barrier stayed up long enough to give her time to get to Kaz. "Hey, you alright?" She was legitimately worried for her friend, as fighting of any kind combined with pregnancy couldn't be good. At least, that was what she gathered from all bits of fiction she read. There was also another problem: she was unlicensed. It was possible Jun could take this guy on, but she could get in trouble for it. Did she really want to risk something like that? Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

''Hmpf, your reputation precedes you.'' He scowled at Jun as she flipped the table and avoided his punches, buying herself some time to get to Kazashi. The pro hero who had been sent flying back was just getting up from the ground, thankfully pretty much unscathed. She wasn't concerned for herself or the kids, seeing as her quirk could protect and heal them, but Jun? All she could think about was the blood that was shed that day, how she couldn't let Jun succumb to any villain or criminal. ''That shit hurt ya bastard.'' She grumbled, before flashing Jun a quick reassuring smile. ''Jun-chan, no, Mood Ring-chan, help me arrest this guy.'' Kaz didn't care that Jun wasn't licensed or anything. She was more than capable and as the pro on the scene she could surely take all the responsibility if any fallout came out of this.

''Three Stars. Apparel. Real name, Kazashi Kaneko.'' He held up three fingers. He was using her dad's last name which was no surprise, Blaine Kaneko was an infamous villain after all and it was well-known that she was the one that took him down. ''He's a bounty hunter.'' She whispered to Jun without taking her eyes off him. ''Some sickos in the underworld started puttin' bounties on the heads of heroes. Sorry yer gettin' caught up in this.'' It was her fault, meeting up with Jun when she knew she was taking a risk like this.

Then he raised his other hand.

''Two Stars. Mood Ring. A student named... Jun-chan, was it?'' Kazashi felt a chill run down her spine. A bounty on... Jun? But she was a hero student, that couldn't be right, so far they had only been targeting pros. ''Mood Ring. We have ta capture this man.'' She pushed her fear back down and locked it away. After the fighting was over she could cry and decompress as much as she needed to, but for now it was about survival and minimizing damage.

The entire time, something that resembled a black tumor had been growing on Kazashi's back. Animated and writhing, the sludge-like substance continued to grow, shaping itself into the likeness of Kazashi herself, like a tangible shadow growing on her back. Before Kaz could back up her friend, the sludge struck her in the ribs and sent her tumbling to the side, crying out in pain. ''Look out!'' She called out to Jun as the man dashed her way. ''Let me tag you, Mood Ring!'' more and more arms started sprouting out of his body as he hurled a barrage of punches her way, hoping to try and overwhelm her quickly.

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... The word reputation echoed in Jun's mind, a red flag waving as she got to Kaz. She at worst seemed mildly inconvenienced by the whole endeavor, so that was good at least! And being called 'Mood Ring'...that both excited and scared her at the same time. And being told about the whole bounty thing didn't help the slightest. "Kaz, I'd love to help, but...uh. I'm still recovering from an injury from the Inazuma..." It was unfortunate that Kaz hadn't heard about that yet. Even the short amount of exertion Jun had made caused everything to ache and burn. And then the man mentioned her name, and her blood ran cold. There's a bounty on my head? But...why? How?! And before Jun could even react the tumor had taken Kaz out of the fight, making things even. Something that was never good when it came to fights like this. Oh, and this weirdo now had a lot more limbs! Jun had amazing threat identifying skills and was capable of recognizing and reacting to attacks...but as the man closed in her body failed to respond to what she was perceiving. She put up a defense, but it was paltry and several blows managed to sneak in, and she struggled to utilize her quirk in the process. "How do you even know who I am?! Apart from the ship thing, I haven't done much of anything!" Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

Jun was already hurt from a previous incident? It pained Kaz, even more so that she hadn't noticed. No, maybe she had just never thought to look for signs of it, or misread it as Jun simply being tired from the rigorous schedule UA put her through. ''How are ya feelin' now? If ya think it's too much, run an' call for backup.'' She was serious. If Jun was ready to risk it all, it would be foolish of Kaz to not ask for her help in this very sudden crisis, but endangering a bright student like her for no reason when her heart wasn't in it, that was something she couldn't do.

Each individual blow that hit Jun stung, but a lot less than one might expect when looking at the man. In fact, if she was sharp she might get the sense that his quirk wasn't about inflicting direct damage, but rather to get the tumors to manifest and let them deal the brunt of it. ''You're a hero student, are you not?'' Once he had gotten what he wanted and a sludgy tumor had been placed on Jun, the arms he had grown out of his own body retracted and he began to back off slowly. ''Do you think yourself safe behind the walls of your wretched school? The truth is that bounty on your head just makes you another payday to me. I'll become infamous taking the life of a hero student before she could become a full-fledged hero, and Apparel too in the process..'' He grinned, but the moment he looked over at Kazashi again a fist came sailing right into his face, causing him to fall through a coffee table.

''That's enough out of ya..'' She panted, having split one of her arms into five scarves and tied up her own tumor around her back. With one arm free she had been able to extend her range with another scarf arm and give the villain a good sucker punch, at least enough to make him back off of Jun. ''I-It's too late for you two, my power is already on you-'' He wiped some blood from his nose before turning to high tail it out of there. Rather than try to grab him, Kazashi turned her free into a raincoat and tried to wrap it around Jun to protect her from the punches from her own tumor clone. ''Are ya okay? Ah'm sorry Ah didn't realize ya were already hurt.''

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... That was...awfully generic. The fact this guy was after infamy by killing the both of them was despicable. That and his attacks didn't hurt all that much. Why in the- She felt it. Right on her arm, and beginning to grow. Her stomach churned and her anxiety went into overdrive, threatening to take over her as an arm started to appear. "No touch, no touch, notouchnotouchnotouchnotouchnotouchNOTOUCH!" She began to swing her arm wildly, trying to force the tumor off as quickly as possible. It made her sick to her stomach, her face turning green as she was forced to dodge this way and that, and Kaz wasn't helping matters as Jun felt her embrace wrap around her. Sure, she was as an inanimate object, but there was still a level of human warmth that sent Jun to her knees, letting out a long wail. "GET IT ALL OFF!" she screamed, her rings popping as fear took over, chains flashing into existence and thrashing about uncontrollable, knocking over tables and chairs. Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

It was taking all her strength and concentration to focus on protecting herself and Jun. Normally Kaz had the luxury to be in a position where she could switch between offense and defense and put more pressure on her opponents, but unfortunately that wasn't the case here. She also felt a lot worse about taking risks when it came to defending a student. Another pro? She could more or less trust them, but another student, especially one she had a personal connection with? She couldn't allow any harm to fall on Jun.

What she had intended to be a way to shield Jun and help her calm down had backfired spectacularly. In the heat of the moment she had underestimated her discomfort of physical touch. ''A-Ah'm sorry!'' She backed off, swiftly turning her other arm into another set of scarves, dodging one of Jun's thrashing chains in the process. It took some effort, but she managed to tie up Jun's sludge copy too. She definitely wouldn't be able to hold the both of them back for long, though. ''Mood Ring! It's gonna be okay, ya hear? Can ya shoot the villain down before he escapes? At this rate he's gonna run-'' As she was talking, the villain in question casually sat down by one of the tables near the entrance to the cafe as a nervous waiter served him a fresh cup of coffee. ''What the hell?!'' She blurted out in disbelief. Did it have something to do with his effective range?

''At this rate, you're both gonna kill yourselves or each other. All I have to do is watch. You've already been ensnared by my quirk.'' The villain confidently leaned back in his seat and started sipping on his coffee, putting his boots on the table and everything. Jun used gemstones to power her quirk, didn't she? Kazashi could feel the sweat build on her forehead as she morphed parts of her scarf arms into being not just scarfs, but scarfs with gemstones encrusted into them. ''Ya can do it, Mood Ring!'' All she could do was comfort and encourage Jun.

junsuina

[junsuina]

[attr="class","bmsk"] in blackest night... With the tumor being tied down Jun began to take in slow and deep breaths, at least begin to. She struggled as Kaz backed off a little, trying to grasp with this awful sense of reality that now something was growing on her, and to make matters worse her chest hurt all over again. The burns there were still in the process of healing, and on top of the muscles aching everything hurt all over. Any chains she had constructed faded away, her body shaking as she glanced up at Kaz's request. The bounty hunter had settled far out of reach, and a part of her was irked. This guy was no threat, and the only reason why any headway was made at all was the fact he got the drop on them, and the fact her anxiety acted up. She found it hard to focus her emotions through her ring, especially having to pull back after the tantrum she had just unleashed. Seeing the gems on the scarves she realized that Kaz was trying to provide an outlet for her, both as a security blanket but also as a mentor. She did keep falling back to Kaz, didn't she? An intensity would travel through Kaz as the gems she created would leave her with a burning sensation as Jun channeled her emotions through her, eyes set on the man as a construct began to form next to the duo. "Attention any citizens within ten meters of the poozer who thought he could kill a hero and get away with it," she says, a small turret with two guns poking out forming next to the pair, no bigger than a car. "It is advised you step away now." She was giving a warning, but it was more for the waiter and anyone near him. With people moving out of the way, she let out a pair of shots that upon impact would no doubt incapacitate the hunter. Kazashi McCoy

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[Kazashi McCoy]

Kazashi put all her trust in Jun, not out of desperation, but because she genuinely believed in her abilities and her talent. Perhaps more than she had ever let her know. Some heroes might view this attack back and deem that Apparel was in the wrong for handing this much responsibility to a student in her sophomore year, or that she should never have let it come to this in the first place. That was a fight for another day, and one she would gladly take up with the privileged idiots leading the Heroes Association.

She flinched as she felt a burning intensity course through the scarf-arm that was fitted with gems, biting down any groan or cry of pain. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t hurt that much either, not to Kazashi who had a shielding quirk and had been conditioned through years of training to not back down from pain. “Ya heard the woman! Get outta the way!!” Jun’s warning had come just in the nick of time, as the waiter or anyone else in the villain’s vicinity bolted before he could grab any hostages. She grinned a wicked one when Jun conjured up the turret, knowing that her trust hadn’t been misplaced, it never had.

“Hmpf. You think you can hit me from over there? You’re nothing but a UA lamb, you’re not even a rookie.” Remaining seated with his cup in hand, it became very clear that his arrogance became his downfall when Jun delivered perhaps the swiftest karma ever witnessed in all of Tokyo. With the shots slamming into the villain he was immediately thrown into the far end wall and the tumors soon withered and disappeared from Jun’s and Kazashi’s backs. Turning her arms back to normal, Kaz flashed her a grin and a thumbs up, her aversion to touch still on her mind. “Nice shot, Mood Ring! Ya said yer hurtin’ from yer recent incident but ta me ya look better than ever!”

The villain had been knocked out so clean Kaz could be fooled into thinking a pro did it! Soon enough, the police arrived on the scene and properly detained and took him away.

junsuina