MHA: Dragon's Pride

(Age 12)

"Here you are!" Nezu says happily, handing each of the three heroes standing in front of his desk a small laminated card. "I'm happy to say that all of you are now officially off of probation and are now allowed to return to hero work!"

The principal of UA lets out a sigh as the pros accept their licenses, each of who visibly brightens up when they have them in hand. "Truly, it baffles me how the three of you managed to obtain the ire of an organization such as DAB."

Aizawa raises an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? I would have figured you'd have hacked their systems to figure out all the details. Hell, we were there and don't know all the details!"

"At least you have details," Snipe huffs at the Underground hero, having suffered short-term memory loss regarding the incident on account of having his head slammed into concrete. Not to mention his memories of the previous week leading up to the event. Safe to say that he was utterly confused when he woke up in a hospital and was told that he'd be having his hero license suspended.

"I wish I didn't remember it." Yamada frowns, a shiver wracking his body. "You have no idea how emasculating it is for a little girl to utterly surpass you in every aspect."

Nezu looks at him curiously. "You were overpowered by a child? Is that why you have been spending such a large quantity of time training?"

"Of course! The only reason Sho and me aren't dead is because of luck!"

"And years of training," Aizawa corrects before his eyes narrow on his boss. "Wait, you don't know anything about the incident? I find that highly unlikely."

Nezu raises his paws helplessly, his true emotions carefully hidden. "Be that as it may, the DAB takes their security quite seriously." A note of annoyance manages to seep into his voice. "Their firewalls are even more secure than the HPSC, and their cybersecurity team is prompt and vicious. I've needed to replace three supercomputers and four large-scale data banks! All from my own personal reserve."

Aizawa's mouth drops open in shock, and he's not the only one. Yamada looks to be on the edge of fainting, and he drops from shaky legs into one of the chairs. Snipe's expression is hidden behind his mask, but the way he takes a step back is more than enough to confirm he shares the feeling of the other two. 

Nezu is arguably the smartest being in the world, even said to surpass David Shield, the leading scientist on I-Island! The fact that not only can he not get into their systems, but was also defeated in what can only be called the hacking match of the century? Three times!? What the hell kind of information does the DAB have!? The secret to immortality or something!?

"I hope nobody gets offended," Yamada's shaky voice seems to echo in the silent office, "but if I ever see that little listener again, I'm running in the other direction."

Aizawa huffs. "Considering that we were told expressly to avoid the kid? That should go without saying."

Nezu leans forward, his eyes gleaming. "Seeing as I finally have the three of you together, and you've been reinstated, perhaps now you can tell me more about this girl."

Aizawa rolls his eyes, having been expecting to get this demand at a much earlier point in the year. He'd almost hoped that the rat would have let it go for once. He has no idea why they needed to get their licenses back for him to get his explanation, but he can guess that it has to do with some obscure law that almost no one knows about anymore. Still, he knows better than to try and get away from the rat.

He can make his time teaching at UA pure nightmare.

"She looked like a kid, no idea if she actually was though. And even though she had enhanced strength and speed, could grow scales, and breathe fire, Erasure did absolutely nothing to her. Which makes me think that, somehow, all of that is from a mutation quirk…"

`~`

I hum to myself as I walk down the street, the safe in my arms clenched tightly to my chest while my eyes constantly scan the area around me. Sure, I could just fly to transfer my Hoard to my Lair, but then I run into the issue of a hero who can fly trying to knock me from the sky because of 'quirk use' (if they aren't Hawks). It wouldn't work of course, but they might make me drop the safe or damage it themselves. Then my Hoard might get damaged, and then I'd have no choice but to raze their hometown to the ground, then I'd have Ora and Kami calling to complain about 'excessive force' even though it's totally justified!

To think, my insistence on them being casual with me would backfire in such a way! I mean, their complaints wouldn't change anything anyways, but it's better to just avoid all the annoyance by just walking. Plus I get to see people do double takes when they see me carrying my stuff down the street, which is pretty funny. Luckily I'm almost to the edge of the city, so I shouldn't have to worry soon.

"That safe looks heavy. How about- AHH!"

The random idiot who tried to touch my Hoard screams while I continue walking, stumbling into the street and rolling on the ground in an effort to put out the emerald flames eating away at his flesh. After a few minutes of his screaming I roll my eyes and will the flames to go out, enjoying the silence as the screaming vanishes. Honestly, if you're going to do something suicidal then you should just get it done-

"If you're so set on getting killed as a hero, you might as well save us all the trouble and do it yourself before you waste everyone's time!"

My good mood plummets at the unwelcome memory of that little shit and my freshly grown muzzle scowls, my sharpened teeth reflecting in the window of a bistro I'm passing and causing a chubby cheeked brunette girl to flinch back.

"If I never see that prick again, it will be too soon," I growl to myself, idly contemplating flying by to burn down his house after I secure my Hoard. But then I'd have to leave my Lair, and it only just got finished…

That's not even counting how I need to install traps, figure out if there's any hair and skin products that go well with lava baths, rewrite my analysis books, and probably a ton more stuff that I can't remember right now! Really, do I even have time to do something…like…that…

My thoughts trail off as I come to a stop in front of a jewelry store, my eyes fixated on a simple gold bracelet displayed on a pedestal in the window. I do nothing but stare at it for a few minutes before slowly looking down at my wrist, bare of any decoration. I recall another set of bracelets. A pendant. A hair clip.

"We're friends, bound by the Hoard instead of blood. For gold is worth far more!"

I blink away the sudden tears, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly as the memory hits me harder than any of Bakugou's explosions ever did. They're fine. I'm fine. It's been so long already that just showing up is… As long as they're not in danger, then it's fine.

Even though I repeat those words in my head once again, I can't stop myself from going inside, the bell above the door making a tinkling sound when the door opens. I approach the counter, ignoring the other people in the store as I look up at the person who has a shocked expression standing across from me. "How much for the gold bracelet in the window?"

The pink woman blinks at me, seemingly having trouble processing my question. Maybe she has a medical condition? Sure, I look a bit young to be buying jewelry from a dedicated store, but I'm tall enough that it shouldn't be too surprising!

Her eyes glance at the generic brown-haired man standing next to me, who's also looking at me with a confused expression. He glances down at his hand, which is transformed into a metal spike, before looking back at me. Slowly, uncertainly, he moves the spike to point at me. "Uh, don't move? This is a robbery."

I glare at him, my anger spiking. "Did you just say you're trying to take my Hoard?"

He looks at the other two people in the store uncomprehendingly: a man with his eyes on stalks and a rounded shell on his back and a woman with an unhinged jaw that sways with every movement, the corners of her mouth stretching all the way to under her ears. The spike-handed man turns back to me, shuffling his feet a bit before giving a tentative answer. "Yes?"

My glare sharpens and a growl builds in my throat before I glance towards the presumed shop employee. "If I deal with these three, can I have the bracelet in the window?"

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" The spike man shouts, jabbing his spike at me without it even getting close. The woman pales a bit, which makes her pink skin look a bit faded.

"I-It's ok. I-I'd rather you n-not get hurt! Please leave her alone!" She shouts the last part at the spike man, who glares at her, his anger starting to overcome his bafflement towards me apparently walking into his robbery without a care.

"Shut up! Did I ask you!?" He jabs at her with his spike, and this time I see that he actually means to hit her. Can't have that until I have my answer.

I reach out and grab the spike with one hand, carefully shifting the weight of my Hoard into my other arm so the contents stay immobile. Sure, I secured each piece individually before padding the shelves as much as I could, but I'm still worried!

While Mr Spike tries -and fails- to pull his spike free I speak to the woman. "I didn't ask what you thought about me getting hurt, I asked if I could have the bracelet if I deal with these three."

She looks shocked at how easily I'm holding the grown man who's started hitting my wrist with his free hand. That's about as effective as him trying to pull his spike free. "Y-yes please! But not if you're going to get hurt!"

I scoff, tightening my grip and cracking the spike, causing the man to scream in pain. "As if weaklings like these are enough to hurt me." I say as scales grow across my arms, claws popping out of my fingers and digging furrows into the man's hand.. I swing Mr Spike into the snail-adjacent person, causing both to go crashing into the only wall that doesn't have shelves of jewelry on account of them having already shoved them into a bag, causing me to huff in distaste.

Honestly. Who do they think they are, not properly caring for valuables! Maybe getting beat into comas will make them have some common decency.

The woman with the unhinged jaw leaps at me, her mouth trying to engulf my head. I grab her by the throat, as I turn around, wrinkling my nose at the smell coming out of her mouth. I grow my tail, spinning as I raise it so that it smacks her jaw closed, throwing her up and embedding her head into the ceiling where she hangs limply.

I raise an eyebrow when I hear a shout, turning to see the snail man rolling towards me at high speed, the man himself seemingly able to retract inside it for safety. Fascinating.

My interest doesn't spare him of course, my free hand shooting out and breaking through the shell, my claws digging into the soft flesh within and causing blood to spurt out. He screams and wiggles, but doesn't leave the shell. Not for lack of trying though, he's just getting caught on my hand.

I look at Mr Spike and make eye contact before he bolts towards the door. Rolling my eyes at how he thinks that will work, this time I throw Mr Snail at Mr Spike, smiling at how it feels like bowling. Mr Spike barely manages to get the door open before he gets run over, Mr Snail continuing to scream as he keeps going before slamming into the building on the opposite side of the street. His shell almost explodes on the impact and he falls silent as he lays limp and bloody on the ground. Apparently I stuck my hand into his back. Mr Spike, meanwhile, groans on the sidewalk just outside the jewelry store, partially crushed.

I look up to make sure the woman hasn't managed to get free, nodding happily when I see she's still stuck. And not moving, but it's not really an issue if she's dead or unconscious. It's not like I'll have to deal with it later. I happily skip over to the window, gently grabbing the bracelet and sliding it on my wrist. I turn to the store employee who's staring at me with her mouth hanging open and give her a bright smile and a wave. "Thanks for the bracelet!"

I skip out the door, with my Hoard clenched in both hands once again, humming a cheery tune. One that grinds to a halt barely a building down from the jewelry store when a cloud of dust envelops the street, causing the crowd that gathered during my business to start coughing. A glance down at my wrist has a snarl on my muzzle. My brand new bracelet is dirty. When I hear a set of words that bring hope to the majority of Japan's population, my eyes flash and flames trickle out between my teeth. I whirl around with a growl and see just who I expected to see.

"NO NEED TO WORRY, CITIZENS! WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!"

All Might is standing there with his hands on his hips as he looks at me, his teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

I'm going to wipe that fucking smile off his face.