[3 months ago]
While Gray and Shoto's second year started off uneventfully, Natsu's was anything but. After the warehouse incident, Natsu, Itsuki Shou, and Glowl scoured the outskirts and smaller towns on weekends, hoping to find trouble before the pros cleaned it up. Natsu even tried his best to stay out of trouble at school, so he could focus on his "training".
Unfortunately, most of the time, they arrived too late, with the villains already apprehended. They could only watch as they moved the perps into a police van. There were a large number of heroes already working so it was really difficult for Natsu to find a decent villain to fight. Additionally, the trio usually went away from the cities so Natsu couldn't be caught. They knew he was reckless, so the best thing to do was minimize any ways he could get caught. Although these remote towns usually didn't have that much trouble as big cities, his friends made sure it was still safe to operate.
Between trips, Natsu also had to buckle down on studying. Exams loomed, and there was no way he was going to fail. He grumbled through textbooks, muttering about "pointless algebra" and "hellish kanji," but he passed. He heaved a sigh of relief when he received his grades. Solid C's throughout, except in PE, which he aced.
He had rushed home that day and slammed the report card down on the kitchen table with pride, beaming ear to ear. Everyone was surprised.
–
Endeavor was home for a small break before needing to head out. He was drinking tea in the living room when a figure burst in. He slammed something on the table. Endeavor looked at his youngest, who looked the most like him, except his fiery crimson hair was unkempt and wild. He had his mothers gray eyes, which always shone with excitement. He didn't understand how they were even related.
Shoto was the strongest, most disciplined and most talented of all of the triplets. He had the best grades and had the potential to surpass him. He also worked extremely hard during their training sessions. Even at home, he spent time studying other heroes and watching them work. He was determined like himself.
Haise was calm most of the time. He was reserved and hard to read. But, he did get good grades despite not studying much. He stayed out of trouble even since he began middle school. Endeavor remembered seeing him working out and training in the back yard. He didn't see it much in middle school and figured Haise wanted to focus on his studies, knowing he wouldn't be as strong. If only he got rid of that damn stripping habit.
But, Yakuto was completely different from them both. He didn't get good grades and got himself into trouble without trying to. It was like a storm passing every time he entered the room. He didn't care what others thought and always did what he wanted. It always made him annoyed. He looked at him to see him smiling smugly at him. It made Endeavor want to beat him up.
"Whats this?" Rei asked as she finished cleaning up. Fuyumi came over and picked up the paper.
"Oh, is this your report card?" Endeavor finally set his tea down. 'Report card? Did he finally start working hard?'
"Read it and weep." Yakuto said proudly.
"Oh! Amazing!" Rei praised as she looked over the report card. "I'll make your favorite dinner tonight!"
Fuyumi took the report card and hung it on their fridge.
Endeavor picked it up and was less than pleased when he saw Natsu's report card. He really felt like weeping. He was even more stunned at his family's response. He didn't realize how out of touch he had been. How could such a shabby report card be anything to celebrate? Even though they didn't have the best of quirks, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Haise's grades were excellent.
"You, you-" Endeavor stuttered. He didn't know what to say.
"It's okay. You don't have to be amazed. I've turned over a new leaf. You can expect this kind of excellence going forward."
Endeavors eyebrows twitched and the fire around his beard flared. But there was nothing he could do, his grades were below average before and now they are average. Technically, they were an improvement. He looked at the comments his teachers left.
-Made slight improvements.
-Doesn't doze off in class as often.
-Stopped throwing things out of the window.
-Stopped picking fights as much.
The only consolation he had was that Natsu wasn't causing as much trouble. He wracked his brain for any method to improve his youngest's behavior, but there was nothing. He wasn't even afraid of him as the rank 2 hero. He even dared to fight him when he was five. Now he was bigger and stronger. He slumped back on the couch in defeat.
"Congrats…" was all Endeavor managed to get out.
But clearly the rascal didn't care much about what he thought. He ignored him and went off.
—
The only consolation for Natsu was that he managed to fight two villains during the first three months of his second year.
The first was on the outskirts of Musutafu when Natsu, clad in his turtleneck and ski mask, landed in front of a half-demolished warehouse. Inside, flashing lights and muffled police chatter warned that the villain was still active, and dangerous. Natsu's eyes narrowed. He was excited. It took a month but they finally got someone. A radio chatter Glowl picked up.
He slipped through a shattered window and came face to face with the enemy: a tall, lean man wearing a tattered trench coat, his arms raised defensively as several glowing, translucent energy panels hovered around him like hovering glass shields. One officer lay unconscious at his feet.
"So, what are you? Another Hero wannabe?" the villain sneered. "These shields are top-grade constructs. You'll break your fists before you break through."
"I am the Great Demon Lord Dragneel!"
"Who? I don't care who you are, but you're going down next." The villain said.
Natsu rolled his shoulders, a small smirk curling on his lips beneath his half-mask. "We will see."
The villain made the first move, sending a barrage of razor-edged shields spinning through the air like buzzsaws. Natsu ducked, twisted, and leapt, his body weaving through the incoming projectiles. His flames only flickered briefly beneath his feet, small bursts to maneuver with speed but nothing flashy.
He closed the gap fast, landing a punch that dented one of the shields but didn't shatter it. The villain laughed.
"Like I said-"
Natsu's follow-up was a feint, a low sweep that baited the villain into shifting his shields forward. But Natsu pivoted, launching a spinning heel kick into the same spot on the shield once again. The impact was precise, damaging it even further. The villain was surprised at Natsu's precision. He expected it to be just another amateur based on his shabby costume.
Natsu flickered forward, moving towards the villain.
The villain's smug grin faltered. "Wait!"
Too late.
Natsu burst forward, hand pulled back, his fist was slightly red.
His fist collided with the Shield. This time, it exploded, the fragments dispersing into the air with a sharp crackle. The villain had just enough time to register the shock before Natsu's punch slammed into his face, the hit lifting the villain off his feet and sending him crashing into the wall with enough force to crater the concrete. The shield fizzled out immediately. The man groaned once, then passed out cold.
Natsu stood over him, cracking his neck slightly. "That was lame compared to the crab guy. It only took three hits. Maybe the animal quirk people are a better fight.." He didn't wait too long before making his escape. The police arrived shortly after and apprehended the man.
It took almost 2 months after the shield villain to find Natsu's next target.
The chase began on the outskirts of a shopping district, early evening, after three stores had been hit in succession. Reports claimed the attacker wore a mask and emitted dense clouds of toxic gas. Civilians had been rushed to hospitals with breathing issues. Heroes were en route no but not there yet.
Natsu didn't hesitate for even a second.
He darted over the rooftops at night, scanning for movement. His eyes caught the swirling plume of green mist drifting toward the alleyways behind a supermarket.
"There you are," he muttered, pulling his mask tighter and dropping down into the mist.
Immediately, his nose stung and eyes watered. He held his breath and trudged on. Then he heard it, footsteps.
He shot forward in bursts, flame bursts propelling him through the alleys. Out of the mist came a tall figure in a strange bird mask with large goggle-like eyes. The villain turned mid-run and hurled a grenade-like device into the air, which popped and released another thick plume.
"You're going to choke in that cloud, Idiot!" he called, voice echoing through the gas.
Natsu narrowed his eyes, launching up onto a rooftop briefly to catch his breath. "Then I just won't let it catch me."
He jumped down, using the burst of fire beneath his feet to clear another corridor of gas. He found the villain just ahead, turning a corner, too slow.
Natsu lunged and slammed a kick into his back. The villain tumbled forward, releasing another gas bomb in desperation.
The mist surged again—but Natsu was ready.
A medium burst of fire from both arms blasted outward, clearing the smoke and singing the villain's coat. The man tried to scramble away—
But Natsu was already in the air.
"Fire Dragon Talon!"
He spun in the air, his foot on fire as he dropped an axe kick over the villain's head. The villain slammed into the ground.
Groaning, the villain tried to get up.
But Natsu landed in front of him, crouched low. He rose slowly, cracking his neck and letting a bit of flame dance around his fingers.
"I told you," he said, smirking, "it's the Great Demon Lord Dragneel."
WHAM—a rising uppercut knocked the villain out cold. Natsu suddenly started coughing. The poison the villain used was entering his lungs. He concentrated internally, something he wasn't able to do before his quirk awakening and began heating up to extremely high temperatures, slowly burning off the poison. A few minutes later, the steam around him subsided. But his clothes were now charred. He quickly exited the scene.
–
Each time Natsu defeated a villain and left, a strange man appeared.
Smoke rose into the night air, curling above the area where the villains were. A black spiraling portal appeared
From the void stepped Kurogiri, calm and composed as ever. His golden eyes glinted from beneath his smoky form as he surveyed the damage.
"This is the second one I see." he mused, observing the unconscious mist criminal. "Imperfect. But useful as bait. He might be of great assistance to Tomura Shigaraki. I wonder which hero knocked him out."
The strange man mumbled something before bending over, a black mist releasing from his palm.
The mist expanded and swallowed the alley in an instant. When it cleared, the body was gone.
He reappeared in a bar later. The unconscious body of the poison villain laid in the bar.
At the counter sat Tomura Shigaraki, hunched over a tattered arcade controller, furiously tapping at the buttons. His fingers twitched against the plastic, five digits carefully separated on each hand. His crimson eyes flicked up at the newcomers with barely veiled irritation.
Another game over screen blared from the small TV.
He sighed, scratching his neck until flakes of skin drifted down like ash.
"Kurogiri…" he rasped. "Again? More trash?"
Kurogiri gave a slow, respectful nod, gently setting the unconscious bodies down near the wall.
"I encountered him shortly after another vigilante incident. No pro heroes nearby. A fortunate window. I don't know who defeated him but it does help us out a bit, no?"
Shigaraki stood, stretching his back with a crack. He circled one of the bodies and gave it a slight kick.
"They're weak."
"Perhaps," Kurogiri admitted. "But I believe they're malleable. Beaten down by society. And more importantly… they hate heroes. With proper pressure, they may become useful to you.."
Shigaraki paused, eyes narrowing.
"Hmph. Whatever. If they get in the way, I'll dust 'em myself. The other guy you brought in already accepted to join, but in return he wants us to help him hunt the guy that did him in."
He turned back toward the bar, dragging a chair noisily across the floor before slumping down in it.
"Let's just get this over with."
Kurogiri nodded once more.
"They will assist in your rise, Tomura Shigaraki."
And in the flicker of the neon lights, the League quietly grew.