Chapter Text
[Eight Years Later]
The world had changed.
It had been eight long years since the world took its first steps into a new era of peace. One that was a far cry from what it used to be. The chaos that once danced through every alleyway and city block across Japan had vanished. And after the legendary battle between the late Mirio Togata and Tomura Shigaraki that nearly destroyed all of Shibuya in the process, one would be hard pressed to find anyone who would be brave enough to live up to that level of villainy ever again.
While the fearsome tide of villains had receded, the call for heroes had not. Instead, it merely shifted. These days, heroes weren’t just flashy crime fighters and borderline celebrities; they were now something a bit different. And though still essential, they no longer stood as the only wall between order and anarchy. They were now symbols of unity, protectors of the peace that people still looked to for inspiration.
After the deaths of both the greatest hero and villain that the country had ever seen, hero agencies all across Japan had shifted their focus. Instead of an endless battle against hordes of villains, their missions now centered on disaster relief, community aid, and proactive safety measures. But when danger struck, they still moved like lightning to keep the people safe from danger. And among the highest-ranked was the Blizzard Hero Agency, a pillar of the modern hero scene and one of the best rescue agencies in all of Japan. Especially when one factors in their two veteran heroes, Setsuna Midoriya and Reiko Yanagi.
“Setsuna, I just got word from Ember.” The silver-haired woman said in a calm tone after receiving her new marching orders.
Setsuna looked at the woman after turning her gaze away from the Saitama skyline. Her expression was attentive, but oddly stiff. “What’s up?”
“We've got a burning building on the south side of the city. High-rise apartment complex. Multiple civilians still trapped inside.”
“Then we don’t have any time to waste.” Setsuna muttered. Her voice was firmer than it usually was, steadier and not as chipper. “Let's get to it!”
-(o)-
Red-orange lights danced against the sky as flames consumed a residential tower in downtown Saitama. Thick plumes of smoke were turning the skyline into a murky silhouette. And civilians scattered below, herded by local emergency response teams. However, amidst the chaos, not everyone had managed to make it out.
The wind carried traces of smoke into the sky as emergency lights blinked all across the street.
Setsuna was the first to land on the ground in front of the still-burning building. And the woman couldn’t help but brush a few flecks of ash off of her green-and-yellow hero suit. The specialized material hugged tightly around her lithe frame, but it was still reinforced in all the right places. The new reinforced gloves, upgraded from her previous ones, fit snugly around her hands. And her striped waist accessory, once just for flair, was filled with a series of emergency tools, bandages, and fire-suppressant foam capsules.
Reiko descended behind the woman atop her long metallic surfboard, perfectly serene amidst the chaos. These days, the ‘poltergeist’ quirk user now wore a flowing white kimono with black trimming, along with a hem that danced slightly above her sleek collared boots. Her long silver hair cascaded over her back like a frozen waterfall. And she had an aura about her that most could only describe as “ghostly”.
“People are still trapped on the top floor!” One of the nearby firefighters shouted at the two women just before rushing off to his truck with an injured man on his back.
“I’ll start from the top.” Reiko calmly told her partner. “You take the lower levels.”
Setsuna quickly nodded, and without another word, they moved.
Setsuna’s body disassembled mid-air, her limbs snapping apart like clockwork. Arms, legs, even her head moved independently, darting through open windows and vents in a blur as her core body followed closely behind. And within minutes, her dismembered hands carried civilians to safety, all while catching falling debris and redirecting the oncoming flames with her specialized foam-loaded capsules.
Below, a little girl coughed in the stairwell, trapped behind a few large pieces of rubble. Before a piece of the ceiling could fall on her, a flash of green intercepted it, Setsuna’s left arm, reacting faster than sight.
“Gotcha!” The woman shouted while scooping the girl into her arms. “Let’s get you out of here!”
Meanwhile, a bit higher up, Reiko extended her arms toward the flames. A wave of telekinetic power pushed outward, coalescing into protective shields of invisible energy that protected those around her from the fire. She still may not have been as good as this as a certain green-haired man, but she was more than strong enough to keep people safe.
In one of the nearby apartments, a woman clutched her baby in the corner of the living room just beyond the open door.
“Please!” The woman shouted. “I can’t…my leg…!”
Reiko quickly rushed to her aid before taking a moment to kneel beside her. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”
The woman then used her surfboard, a neat little invention courtesy of one Mei Hatsume that had few special tricks installed on it, to safely move the mother out of the building and back down onto the ground where a team of paramedics was quick to secure both her and her child.
As the last of the civilians were evacuated and the roof began to collapse, Setsuna and Reiko met just outside the building’s base. In one synchronized leap, they both launched backward only moments before the building crumbled behind them. The move was timed perfectly, and all that was left were the clouds of dust and ash that billowed around their silhouettes.
As the smoke continued to swirl around her, Setsuna took a moment to let out a sigh of relief. No lives were lost today. That alone would allow her to sleep soundly at night. Sure, all of the possessions that these families once had were now gone, but at least they were all able to walk away from this with their lives. So, in the grand scheme of things, the rescue operation was a success.
About ten minutes later, after the final flame was snuffed out and all of the civilians accounted for, the two heroes stood in the gentle drift of ash outside the collapsed building. The world around them was relatively quiet now, the sirens were distant, and the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.
“Hey, are you okay?” Reiko suddenly asked Setsuna with a stoic look on her face.
“What?” The ‘lizard tail splitter’ user asked in confusion.
“You seem kinda off today. Is something on your mind?”
For a brief moment, Setsuna hesitated while tugging on a lock of her hair. As of forty-eight hours ago, the veteran hero had undergone quite a dramatic change from her usual style.
Instead of her normally wavy moss-green locks, Setsuna’s hair was now a brilliant shade of platinum blonde. Not only that, but she still held the same undercut hairstyle from her first year at UA that kept the right side of her scalp cleanly shaven. The woman decided to dye her hair out of impulse, more than anything else. But in all honesty, it was more of an impulsive stress reaction. Primarily due to what was on her mind.
“It’s noth- ugh….” Setsuna tried and failed to come up with a lie before simply deciding to come out with the truth. “I just have a lot on my mind right now. I need to tell Izuku something when he gets back. And it’s starting to eat at me.”
“Him and Fubuki are coming back tonight, aren’t they?” The silver-haired hero then asked. “That’s what Fumikage told me when his plane landed yesterday.”
Setsuna’s husband and Reiko’s long-time best friend had been out of the country for the better part of a month now. Both he and his sister had been called away by the World Heroes Association to help deal with some chaos in Europe. And even though the man had been a part of the collective for over five years now, the faux-blonde hated whenever he was gone for too long.
Don’t get her wrong, Setsuna was by no means a clingy wife by any stretch of the imagination. But any young woman would start to get antsy whenever her spouse was away from home for an extended period of time, with no clear indication as to when he would return.
“That’s what he told me.” Setsuna then replied.
“What’s got you so worked up, though?”
Setsuna debated as to whether or not she should tell the woman about what was bothering her, but after a couple of seconds of thinking about it, she chose to keep her words vague and simple.
“I just need to talk to him about something really important, that’s it.”
“Please don’t tell me that you’ve somehow convinced yourself that he’s cheating on you again.” Reiko replied in a joking fashion. “You know he’s not that kind of guy. And to be honest, I’m surprised that you’re still not totally embarrassed over making a fool out of yourself in front of everyone, only to find out that you were completely wrong.”
“Will you people ever let me live that down?!” Setsuna’s face was now red with embarrassment after remembering one of her more shameful moments that happened a year after they got out of school. In her defense, that lady who worked at the Fat Gum Agency was acting way too friendly toward her man. So, in her biased opinion, it wasn’t really her fault.
“Anyway, we should hurry and head back. You know how Lily gets when we drag our feet on filing our reports.”
“Yeah, yeah…” The faux-blonde waved off before the two made their exit and began the journey back to the Blizzard Agency building.
[Later That Night]
The evening air was soft with the hush of autumn rain misting against the tall glass windows of the Blizzard Hero Agency building.
High above the glowing sprawl of Saitama Prefecture, the quiet purr of the building’s main elevator echoed down the hallway. A moment later, the doors slid open with a chime, revealing a man in a green and black hero suit with his hood pulled down and a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. At his side, a beautiful green-haired woman in a long fur coat adjusted the strap of her own bag, yawning as they stepped out.
“I still say three weeks is too long for any mission.” Fubuki Katsuragi muttered while tiredly rubbing her neck. "Like, seriously…damn near a whole month of chasing down rogue tech smugglers across four different countries? I don’t know about you, but I need at least a week of nothing but bad TV and instant ramen just to recuperate!"
Izuku smiled as he scanned the hallway, already anticipating what waited for him after he left for the evening. “Tell that to Hawks. He’s the one who said we were only supposed to be gone for ten days.”
Fubuki gave her brother a teasing look. “Well, at least now you’ll get a chance to make it up to that wife of yours. Hey, you know what, you can just go ahead and head home for the night. I’ll deal with the paperwork.”
“You mean it?” The green-haired man asked. This was out of the ordinary for the typically efficiency-focused hero beside him.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” The woman shrugged. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything better to do. Well, not unless her husband, Steven, decided to pay her another surprise visit. “Now, hurry back home before Setsuna launches a rescue mission of her own.”
Izuku gave his sister a brief side-hug before quickly rushing over to his office and tossing his equipment down on the floor near his desk. The moment that was done, the green-haired hero clad in a cyberpunk-themed costume very similar to his old ones, wasted no time leaping out of the nearby window and making the journey back home.
-(o)-
[Thirty Minutes Later]
The door to the penthouse apartment unlocked with a soft click, and before Izuku could even take a step inside, Setsuna was already there, arms around his neck, and lips pressed firmly against his.
“Welcome back!” Setuna breathed, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. Her long, blonde hair was now tied up in a messy ponytail, but still failed to keep a few strands out of her face. “I missed you.”
“Yeah.” Izuku said softly while wrapping his arms around her waist and closing his eyes. “I missed you, too.”
The woman leaned into him again, resting her forehead against his chest. It still baffled her how tall he had gotten over the years.“Three fucking weeks! That was the longest mission you’ve ever been on.”
“I know.” He kissed her once more. “And I missed you every single day.”
Setsuna chuckled while brushing he man’s hair back affectionately with one of her hands. “You better have. I nearly ripped the step-mom of yours in half when she delayed your flight again. Seriously, that woman needs to stop dragging you into everything just because she can.”
It was only then that Izuku finally registered his wife’s new look. “So…what’s the change of style?”
“You like it?” Setsuna then asked with a devious smirk. Her arms were now folded over her chest in mock impatience as she waited for a reply. But her eyes still glimmered with relief over the fact that he was here in front of her. “I think it works for me. And Nemu said that it really ups by sex appeal .”
For a brief second, Izuku was tempted to mess with the woman a bit, but he quickly decided against it. He could save the jokes for later, after he was comfortable and settled in.
“I do.” He then said with a smile. “It makes you look cool and hip…that’s what all the kids are saying nowadays, right?”
“Sure, freckles, let’s go with that.”
A little while later, the two sat curled up on the plush sectional couch in the middle of their living room, the glow of warm lighting spilling over the hardwood floors. After taking a bit of time to shower and freshen up, Izuku had changed into a soft green hoodie and sweats, while Setsuna wore one of her old UA t-shirts and a pair of shorts. In the background, a kettle steamed in the kitchen, forgotten for now while the two enjoyed the comfort of each other’s presence.
“So…” Izuku asked the faux-blonde while nudging her foot with his. “What did I miss? Tell me everything.”
Setsuna snorted. “Well…let’s see. The neighbor’s dog finally learned not to bark at me every time I walk by the door. I helped stop a flood in Yokohama with Tetsutetsu and Mt. Lady last week. Oh, and Yosetsu both tried and failed to deep-fry ice cream in our kitchen a few days ago.”
Izuku blinked. “Did… did it work?”
“It exploded.” The woman replied. “I’m still finding batter on the ceiling. You should’ve seen how pissed Ibara got when it happened.”
The man laughed before leaning back against the sofa. “Sounds like I missed all the good stuff.”
“What about you?” She asked. “What was Belgium like?”
Izuku let out a breath and rested his head on the back of the sofa. “Cold. Complicated. Fubuki handled most of the negotiations with the EU heroes, but the smuggling ring we cracked down on had connections back to Japan. That’s why it took so long.”
“Did you get hurt?” The woman asked, a whisper of concern now flaring in her voice.
“Couple bruises. Nothing you need to worry about.”
Setsuna narrowed her eyes. “You always say that. Then I find out a week later that your arm was dislocated or you almost drowned, or something.”
“Okay, okay….” The man relented with a slight grin. “Fine. I dislocated my shoulder during a fight with a villain who had a teleportation quirk. Fubuki had to pop it back into place. But I’m all good now.”
Setsuna sighed and crawled over to curl into his side. “I hate that I wasn’t there.”
“I’m sure that you’ll get a chance soon enough.”
“Oh, hell no!” The faux-blonde waved off the notion with a grin of her own. “I’m perfectly fine right here in Japan. Galavanting all over the world with you lunatics is certainly not in my future. Besides, if I’m not here, who are all these youngsters going to look up to whenever I save the day in spectacular fashion?”
The following laughter eventually faded into a gentle silence as the sound of the city beyond their window gave them space to breathe. In that time, Izuku took a moment to study Setsuna’s face as she continued to watch the show that was currently on television. The man couldn’t help but admire her sharp eyes, her soft features, and the way she always tilted her head slightly when she was relaxed.
The sight made his heart beat just a little faster.
“Hey…we haven’t been out in a while, have we?” Izuku said suddenly after stretching his arms out over his head. “On a real date, I mean.”
Setsuna looked at him with a surprised expression. She certainly wasn’t expecting him to say something like that completely out of the blue.
“I know we’re always busy, and I’ve been gone for a while, but when was the last time we just relaxed and spent a night out on the town?” The man continued. “I want to take you out. Just you and me. Somewhere nice.”
For a moment, Setsuna’s mouth opened in a smile, but her eyes flickered, just for a heartbeat, with hesitation.
“Izuku…”
“We could go to that place in Minato. The one with the rooftop view you like.” He added quickly. “Or something quiet. Whatever you want.”
Her smile softened. “I’d love that.”
Still, something lingered behind the woman’s eyes. She curled a piece of her long hair around her finger and nodded. “It sounds perfect!”
Izuku then reached over and closed the distance between them, lacing his fingers with hers. “Then it’s a date!”
The night drifted onward. And the hero couple enjoyed a nice dinner ordered in from their favorite sushi spot, along with a bit of imported wine that they still had yet to finish. Once they were done with their food, the faux-blonde woman decided that she needed a bit of fresh air.
On the balcony, Setsuna leaned on the railing as she observed the city lights while Izuku stood behind her, his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. The woman had almost forgotten how nice it felt to have him close to her like this.
Even so, she could feel the weight of it in her chest, the secret that she still had yet to tell him. The thing she’d been debating on how to say since the moment she watched him walk through the door. It tugged at her heart in a way that was both insistent and uncertain.
She could feel the pressure pressing against her chest like a second heartbeat.
She’d taken three tests.
All positive.
And she had already seen a doctor about it.
There was no denying it.
“Izuku?” Setsuna then turned her head to get a better look at his freckled face.
“Yeah?” Izuku replied in a calm tone.
Once again, Setsuna hesitated. Her fingers then found his and held them tightly. She wanted to tell him what was on her mind, but she ended up getting cold feet at the last second.
“I’m…I’m glad you’re home.”
In response, the green-haired man kissed her gently on the shoulder. “I’m glad too.”
The words that the woman actually wanted to say hovered on her lips. But the joy in his voice, the peace in this rare night between big battles and chaotic rescue operations, made her pause. This wasn’t a good time.
Not tonight.
Not yet.
Instead, Setsuna leaned into him and closed her eyes, content, for now, to keep the secret close.
Her next chance will come soon enough.
[The Next Day, Blizzard Hero Agency]
"So what's the deal with this new intern of yours? Nemu told me that she asked you to do her a solid and take this girl on." Setsuna looked towards her husband as they rode down the elevator.
The hero couple was currently making their way to the front lobby of the Blizzard Agency. It was only Izuku’s first day back in the office, and already the man was getting saddled with a bunch of extra work. Granted, stuff like this wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary, but even Setsuna had to admit that this was starting to become an annoying trend.
"Apparently, she's one of Kan-sensei's students. She has a telekinetic quirk like I do. And get this, she can even fly too!" Izuku looked at the woman with a smile as they rounded the corner.
"I guess that makes her like what, the fifth person in history with your quirk to be able to do that? Don't tell me that she's one of Fubuki's cousins or something?"
"No, nothing like that. Honestly…I'm kinda nervous, though. I've never had an intern before. And Reiko is way better at teaching than I am."
"Eh, you'll be fine." Setsuna said with a casual shrug.
Barely a couple of minutes later, the two heroes arrived in the agency’s reception area. Upon entering, they were greeted with quite an interesting sight. Standing there, a couple of meters away from the front desk, was a girl. One with pale skin, bright red hair, and green eyes who was also wearing a UA uniform. The girl was very obviously not Japanese; in fact, she looked like she was an American.
The young woman was visibly nervous as she clutched the handle of her familiar-looking suitcase. So, without wanting to prolong the inevitable, the hero couple quickly made their way over to her.
"So…you must be the intern." Setsuna said to the girl while placing her hand on her hip.
"U-Uh, yes ma'am! I'm Jennifer Greyson! It's a pleasure to m-meet you!" The young redhead's voice rang inside their heads as she bowed, catching the woman off guard for a moment.
"What the hell, telepathy?" The faux-blonde hero questioned. "I thought you were supposed to have telekinesis?"
"I have two quirks, ma'am. Telekinesis and telepathy."
"Really?"
"Greyson-san is also mute." Izuku interjected. "She has to speak through her quirk."
"That is correct, s-sir."
Although she was doing a good job of maintaining a cool facade, on the inside, the young hero student was having a bit of a mental breakdown at the moment.
'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, it's really him! I'm actually standing face-to-face with Skywalker himself! And Lizardy too! They're practically the most famous hero couple in Japan right now! Oh man, I think I'm going to pass out!' The young teen made sure to deactivate her 'telepathy' quirk so that the two adults couldn't hear the rambling going on inside of her head. After all, this was the one hero she had looked up to her entire life. She even learned "Midoriya-style" -as she so eloquently named it- combat moves to be just like him.
"So, you can communicate and move things with your mind? Man…kids these days sure are powerful." Setsuna laughed.
"Thank you for agreeing to take me on as an intern, Skywalker-san. When Principal Midnight and Kan-sensei told me about this, I found it a bit hard to believe. I look forward to learning everything that I can from you!" The redhead teen bowed once again.
"Well, I'm looking forward to it as well. I saw a bit of your performance in the Sports Festival this year. And I was really impressed." Izuku then said. Unbeknownst to Setsuna, who didn't bother watching the Sports Festival, Greyson-san actually took home the gold medal. And by a pretty wide margin of victory.
"That means a lot coming from you, sir, thank you!"
"Hey, kid, you don't need to be so formal with him. You can just call him Izuku if you want to."
"I-I couldn't-"
"It's fine, Setsuna's right, though. I'm not really into that kind of stuff."
"Oh…well, in that case, sir, you can just call me Jean . That's what my friends and family call me."
" Jean-san , it is then." Izuku smiled while turning on his heels. "Let's head up to the office. We can work out our schedule when we get up there. You don't mind if Setsuna joins us, do you?"
"Not at all, sir!"
And with that, the trio quickly made the short journey to the top floor of the building, where Izuku and Setsuna’s shared office was located. It was a pretty spacious area compared to the others, one with a series of large windows that Izuku routinely used to fly out of whenever he got called for a job.
Once the trio entered the decently-sized office decorated with all sorts of hero-related memorabilia, pictures, and awards, Greyson practically froze in place when she laid eyes on the woman wearing a black and green tracksuit who was casually lounging about on the large sofa.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot that you were getting your intern today." Fubuki commented while looking at the girl. "How's it going, young lady?"
"Hello Blizzard-san! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Greyson then bowed for what felt like the tenth time in the last five minutes. Luckily, Fubuki was already aware of the girl's abilities, so she wasn't surprised by the telepathic response. 'Oh my god, it's really her! I'm actually standing in the same room as Blizzard herself. The number five heroine and the woman who trained Skywalker!'
"What are you doing here, onee-chan?" Izuku asked his sister.
"I was hoping that you could cover my patrol route for me on Wednesday. Lily-chan and I have a meeting that day, and it's conflicting with my schedule."
Izuku seemed to think about it for a moment before giving the elder greenette a shrug. "I'm pretty sure that I can handle it."
'Wait, did he just call her “onee-chan"? So all the rumors are true? Skywalker really is the third 'Psychic Sibling'?' The girl silently wondered.
Over the years, there have been more than a few stories and fan theories that her new mentor was actually the illegitimate younger brother of the 'Psychic Sisters' . But they've never actually been confirmed. And the two telekinetic heroes always dodged the question whenever it was brought up. Not only that, but Setsuna, Reiko, Tetsutetsu, and all of their known friends have done pretty much the same thing. Did she just get confirmation on something that tabloids have been wanting to know for years?
"We can talk about the details later when you get the chance. Come find me when you're done." Fubuki then stood up from her seat. "Have fun, Greyson-san. I look forward to hearing good things about you while you're here. And feel free to give my baby brother here a hard time."
"I won't disappoint you, ma'am!" The girl bowed at a near-perfect ninety-degree angle.
Once the eldest of the green-haired heroes was finally out of the room, the trio took a moment to sit down and get comfortable. Setsuna really had no reason to be here, but she was trying to avoid running into Lily right now so that she wouldn't have to deal with any more job-related paperwork. So, this was a good enough excuse to use to her advantage.
"So…what are we supposed to call you?" The faux-blonde woman then asked right after lying down on the sofa. "Kan-sensei should've already had you guys pick out hero names before coming out here, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!" The girl nodded before letting out a smile.
"So, what is it?" Izuku was the next to ask.
"I'm still not one hundred percent committed to it….” Greyson admitted with a slight blush on her face. “I was having trouble picking one out, to be honest. But for now, my hero name is Phoenix ."