Happy 2020 to you all. I trust your New Year is being spent however you wish. Here I am with chapter 9. And as the title infers, you get to meet Daddy Hatsume.

Quick note: the canon states Mei's birthplace as Kyoto, and there is a part where she has an accent slip. Bringing voices and accents from another language to life in English through written words is a bit tricky, so just as a reference, I want you to imagine the Kansai dialect and Kyoto accent as a mix of received pronunciation slightly heightened and the Brummie accent from Birmingham.

Izuku felt his legs turn into jelly, unable to support his upper body weight, falling flat on his ass with his back against the wall of the Design Studio. Straddling his lap was a petite girl in coveralls, though her figure that he could feel through each other's clothing was anything but petite. She smelled like something fresh out of the oven, the intoxicating aroma of coffee and burnt chocolate filling his lungs with every breath. Her fingertips ruffled his hair, massaging his scalp while her lips lightly pressed against his forehead. She whispered him things, though they were in incomprehensible tongues.

But it didn't matter. This girl's very presence made every vein in his body pulse with base hunger and pleasure. It made him whimper. Or was it a growl? It didn't matter, because it felt amazing. Her hands felt like they were melting his brain, and they could've leaked out of his ears for all he cared. His hands found its way around her waist, resting on the small of her back, pulling her closer. She reciprocated, giggling as her hands twisted Izuku's hair in her fingers. There was this playful, endearing expression of rebuke akin to one cast towards a spoiled pet, longing to be indulged further.

He gave her a hopeful glance, and soon felt his face nestled in her generously revealed cleavage thanks to the low-cut tanktop she was wearing. More whispers and more scalp-kneading followed, coaxing the heat in his gut to travel lower. This was utter heaven.

Soon, another whisper in tongues tickled Izuku's ear. It was a single word, a word of permission, of admission, for further intimacy. Tracing her arms up to her shoulder, he gently pulled the straps down her arm, freeing them, baring her naked body for him to see, a look of pride and sultry smugness curling her lips. She in turn tore the shirt off his body, the smile now a face-splitting grin of a predator. Her hands closed around his face. God, her lips looked ripe as――

"Ow!" The familiar walls and ceiling festooned with All Might memorabilia snapped into view. "Whe-what….." He was breathing hard, his manhood pulsing harder still at that dream. A lucid, wet dream. With him and a girl in coveralls at UA's Design Studio. It most certainly was a pleasant dream, and it ended right as the kiss was about to happen, leaving him frustrated and embarrassed. The alarm clock with All Might's antennae-like hair acting as the hands pointed 5:38 in the morning. Wasting no time, he grabbed a towel and headed for the showers, muttering primary numbers in order under his breath.

There was no way he could go to sleep after that dream.

"Today's class…..will become a joint study with Class A and will be taught by a guest lecturer." Power Loader began. "Very few are gifted enough to make it as a freelance inventor of support items. Most of you will work at a company, others may work for a specific agency as their exclusive mechanic, go on to further your education at a college or even I-Island, or maybe even go on to teach the know-hows that you pick up here." He paused, his eyes unbeknownst to his students flicking to the door leading to the hallway uncomfortably. "But for any of that to happen, you need to brush up on your observation skills of Quirks held by Pro Heroes and semi-pros with provisional licenses, which is what you'll be working towards today. Take notes on what they can do, both with and without their Quirks as well as the support items they're currently packing. Now I'd like you to draw your attention to the files on each of your desks. Go ahead and open them up."

Mei's lips immediately curled into a smile as she found a school ID photo of her freckle-faced partner in crime. She silently thanked her teacher for the consideration with a slow nod towards him.

One of the students raised their hand. "What exactly are we supposed to do with these people, sir?"

"That's where our guest lecturer comes in. Whenever you're ready." But there was no answer and the large, barrier-free door remained shut. Another ten seconds passed in silence. Power Loader walked up to the door to open it, only to find an empty hallway. "Wai-what….?"

The air shimmered a pale blue, the light forming an outline of a humanoid figure, eventually revealing a man with magenta-colored hair in beaded dreadlocks, whose attire looked like a cross between an infantry soldier and a mechanic. He was wearing a black field cap, an olive-drab boiler suit with a hexagonal pattern and combat boots. Bandolier-shaped tool belts were slung across his chest, and another around his waist.

His heterochromatic eyes of yellow and red scanned the room, the monocle on his left eye telescoping in and out every so often and his mechanical right hand whirred, both of which had a gothic, steampunk aesthetic. "Morning, ladies, gentlemen, and those in between. My name is Akito Hatsume and I will be teaching you for a while. Pleasure to meet you all. And to answer your question, Ms….?"

"Hana. Hana Bansen."

"Well, Ms. Bansen, I simply wish to broaden your perception of what it means to be working with a hero. Some of you may think it only requires long hours toiling away tirelessly in a lab to perfect whatever project you're assigned. And it can be, but not necessarily. If Power Loader has yet to tell you, allow me to tell you now: strike that assumption from your mind. Immediately, if you value your lives." The sudden spike in his voice made many of the students sit up straighter than a y-axis. Turning to the board, he picked up a piece of chalk and began writing.

"As you all know, Heroes are targets. Their families are targets. Their coworkers, meaning you, are also targets. And I want you to know, Heroes won't always come to save you in the nick of time, which is why you all require preparation to save yourselves and others in a sudden crisis. And who better to learn from than your own peers? For the next week starting tomorrow, you will work with the people in the photos, learn from them, and teach them a thing or two about what you do and exactly how capable――and thereby frightening――you can be, when push comes to shove." He clapped his hands together, grinning from ear to ear, motioning the students to the door. "Now then, let's move onto the studio. I'm sure you've all made amazing things, prototypes and otherwise. My primary interest for this class is versatile antipersonnel babies. To the south, quick march! Single file! GO! GO! GO!" Chasing the students down with a chuffed laugh as he skipped down the hallway, Akito rapidly clapped his hands, but stopped when he realized Power Loader had yet to move.

"Akito, I….how's…" Power Loader bit the inside of his cheek as he inhaled. He was relieved that he had his costume on that day, the rectangular helmet shaped like an excavator claw hiding most of his face.

"I'm doing alright. Thanks for letting me do this on short notice." He bit back a yawn, rubbing his eye. "Oof, sorry. My internal clock is still on Munich time and customs was an absolute bitch to get through. So, I heard my little genius almost 'naded a kid in the face, but everything's still alright."

"Well, in the sense that both parties have no lasting injuries and nobody's pressing charges, yes. I called you, but it went to voicemail so I called Nariko. And I'm sorry that it happened under my watch. It shouldn't――"

"――Have happened in the first place, I know. She filled me in. I'll give Mei a talking-to as well. You needn't stress over it any further, unless you wanna go bald before you reach fifty." With a clap on the shoulder, he headed towards the Design Studio, pushing Power Loader from behind.

The place was already bustling with activity, the students building, rebuilding, advising, and arguing over various gadgets, blueprints, and calculations. Many of the machines were running at top gear, the cacophonous grinding, whirring, buzzing, and the chorus of barking instructions flying left and right.

"Any questions, comments, queries and conundrums, bring to your peers, and then to your teacher or me. You will have thirty minutes, and then we'll go test them out at the TDL." Picking a corner of the studio, Akito laid out his own set of small tools, pulling out a pair of pliers and a flathead screwdriver which he began using on his right arm, gently pulling the metallic plates that covered his arm off. Gears whirred and clicked with every movement of the wrist and fingers, the hand swiveling in a way no appendage of flesh and bone could be capable of. Its movement was smooth, as its master craned his neck to listen for anything irregular within the mechanism. Once he was satisfied, he quickly reassembled his arm with a satisfied smirk and turned his attention to the students bustling about.

He saw his daughter working on a pair of mechanical gloves while she had a harness on that was familiar. It was the one she used at the Sports Festival in conjunction with hover boots. A revolver-like gadget with a bell-shaped muzzle lay next to it. Like watching her mother at work, watching her keep herself busy was never boring. But there was something….off about her presentation. Her goggles. They were missing. He quickly moseyed over to her side. "Hey little genius."

"Hey, dad. Welcome back." She gave him a quick hug. "What do you think?"

"The design is certainly….different from your usual babies. What are these, again?"

"Flight stabilizers. Feet and arms that can do so would lessen accidents. Plus, I could add on some more things as I come up with them. And this is the new and improved capture gun. I overhauled the design for easier operation. It's modeled off a revolver and now holds eight shots, with some extra variations to the shells: standard capture net, a bean bag filled with lead shots, bird lime, phosphorous, and flechettes. I was thinking they could be dipped in a cocktail of tetracaine and bupivacaine. They're uh…..sensory and motor blocking agents to bring down….heftier villains. Super cute, right?"

Akito raised an eyebrow at the explanation of the flechette rounds. "Definitely. And who, pray tell, gave you that idea?" She was more a mechanic, someone who mostly worked on hardware and some software. While she most certainly knew more chemistry than any average high school freshman, she was not a chemical engineer. And yet her selection was…..some of the choicest.

"Oh, um…..a-a friend. A Partner. From another class." Mei's weight shifted from one foot to the other along with her gaze averting from her father's.

"Care to elaborate a little further, little genius?"

"An analytical savant of heroes and designing that's in the same grade as me. We've…..been working together every now and then."

"Hm, you don't say. And….this savant is in another class of the Support Course?"

"Mm-mm," Mei shook her head. "Heroics. Could you pass me those wire strippers?"

"Sure. Heroics, you say? And this student…..gave you the idea for the flechette shells? Does he have an intelligence-based Quirk?"

"Nope, strength-based. But it might as well be a Quirk on its own. You should see the headwind made so far. Here." Without even looking up from her work, Mei pointed towards the open notebook that was on the stool. Picking it up, Akito leafed through the pages, his scrunched brows rising higher and higher.

"Well, goodness gracious me. Nariko wasn't kidding. What 'n god's name is that partner of yours doing at Heroics?"

"H-hero stuff….." And looking positively stunning while doing it.

Akito's left eye signaled her rising body temperature as well as an elevating heartbeat.

Izuku had a puzzling look on his face as he stared at the text message from Mei, curtly asking him to meet at the TDL. Not much had changed since his last visit there, with rocky terrain shaped like skyscrapers surrounding the entire area as always. His partner was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was about to call her, another text came. Only two words were there: Sorry. Dodge. "Wha-holy smokes!" Just as Izuku had drawn his foot back, an arrow sank right where it was a split second ago, releasing thick smoke around him.

Immediately activating One For All, the warmth of its power enveloped him as he began to run for cover. Another arrow whizzed past his head and blasted a small chunk of the wall it hit. A mechanical whine from above instinctively had him pick up a rock, flinging it towards the source of the sound, but the projectile found no purchase.

Another barrage of bullets were fired upon him from an open flank by a drone, but Izuku tapped his fist, deploying a circular shield on his left arm. They kept them at bay as he fell back further. Finally finding some cover, he took a breath, quelling the questions boiling over in his mind. He needed to get out of here. Also, where was Mei?

This ambush was done using her phone. The realization was like someone broke a giant chunk of ice over his head. They had her. Growling in anger, Izuku raised the output of One For All, sprinting back towards the entrance of the training grounds. Another arrow came sailing through the air, but stopped right at his feet, this time loosening a blinding flash and a high-pitch screech that brought Izuku to his knees while he blindly groped his way out of the area, the temporary tinnitus making him stumble and lose his balance. As he leaned against the wall to find his way, he bumped into someone, raising his shield immediately.

Whoever it was took him by the shoulders and sat him down against the wall. Their voice was muffled and incomprehensible, but the pitch was high enough that he could discern it belonged to a girl. "Wait, no! Don't! You'll get shot!"

The girl replied, again with muffled words. His vision slowly returned to see a pink-haired girl in the wire arrow harness, hover boots, flight stabilizers and holding what appeared to be a large revolver. His hearing soon followed, and he could hear Mei yelling at the top of her lungs seemingly at nobody in an unfamiliar accent. "What 'n the bloody blue blazes is wrong with you, you senile git!? Yes, he's a boy, the majority of his class is! NOT A FUCKING TERRORIST!"

"Well excuse me for testin' him out." The air shimmered as Akito materialized behind Izuku with a compound bow in one hand and a knife in the other with a condescending smirk of unremorseful humor. "Also, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence, love. You know this as well as Nariko and I. And his situational awareness is better than I thought, by the way. Even with rubber bullets. Nice job, boy-o."

"Oh, for-he went through a background check before even setting foot on campus for classes! Like I did! And he was with me during my checkup when mum picked me up the other day! He's fine!"

"…Huh. Sweet thing failed to mention that. Really?"

"Yes."

"And this is the one you almost――"

"Yes! Not every heterosexual male is lookin' to jam a hand up my skirt! Or mum's! Put the bow down or I'll put you down!"

"Alright, alright, pipe down, Mei-by." The compound bow curled up on its own and he jammed the knife back into the sheath hanging from his chest, showing he had no other contraption in his hands. "Just wanted to see what I'm pitting your class against. Wasn't too worried, and I don't see much that'll change my mind. But…watch out for anyone who ends up on his side. And his bad side. Maybe."

"Um…..w-would it be alright if I get some clarity on the situation?" Izuku asked, his adrenaline subsiding and collapsing his shield back into the gauntlet. "You are…..her father, correct?"

"Where'd you think she gets the eyes, hair, and half the brains from? Name's Akito Hatsume. And you are…..Izuku Midoriya, the analytical savant of anything hero-related?"

Izuku began flailing his arms around widely in a hodgepodge of embarrassment and fear as his mouth began to run. "S-sav-I'm-I wouldn't go so far as to be a savant, it's just…..something I've considered a point of interest since I was smaller and that kept expanding on and now I'm branching out into studying how to maintain and possibly develop some support items, though my main function is designing rather than actually crafting."

"I see. Well, I believe we'll be seeing each other a bit more for the next week. Looking forward to it. And I'm sorry for the surprise attack. I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

"Dangerously close, but I'll be fine. A little tinnitus never hurt anybody. Shows me I've still got leagues of work ahead of me."

Akito chuckled at that. "Good man. See you tomorrow."

Mei had her arms crossed, staring in any direction but her father during the whole ride in the side car of his BMW, maintaining her silence until she reached the front door of her secondary residence. Her mother had just closed the hood of the car as they pulled up to the garage, the drone appendages packing away the tools as she wiped a bead of sweat off her face. "Nariko, I'm home."

"Hey, babe. Welcome back." Wrenching the helmet off his head, her lips latched onto his before pulling away and nuzzling his face. "Thank you for coming back to us in one piece."

"Thank you for keeping our home safe." Re-positioning his wife's glasses, Akito planted another kiss on her nose, to which she responded with a giggle and a light, playful slap to his chest.

"Mei, you look….grumpy."

"He shot my friend." And it hasn't been that long since she almost took his eye. She had every right to be angry.

Nariko's endearing look immediately shifted into a frown. "Is this true?"

"I shot towards him, not at him. He dodged most of them either way. Besides, they're less lethal ammunition and I aimed below the shoulders. If I wanted to hit him, I would've on the second if not the first shot. He had a collapsible shield, which I honestly wasn't expecting."

"You still tried to shoot him." Mei repeated indignantly.

"Which friend are we talking about?" Nariko asked.

"Freckles, green poofy hair."

"Oh him?" She smiled, shrugging. "Never mind then."

"What!?"

"Mei-by, if he can take an explosion, he can take a bullet. Plus, he had a shield. Bruises and welts aside, he'll be fine. Breakfast will be served for dinner by the way."

"Oh my dear, sweet Nariko, what would I do without you?" Sweeping his wife off her feet, Akito walked back into the house.

"Work and not much else. And go take a shower, please?"

"Will you make pancakes if I do?"

"With choco――" They were already through the front door before she could finish the sentence.

"You….you two are unbelievable." As much as she was angry about her father trying to shoot Izuku, chocolate chip pancakes did sound enticing. Fishing her phone out of her pocket with a sigh, she called Izuku, who picked up before the third ring.

"Hello?"

Her phone almost slipped out of her hands with the sweat. "H-hey, um…..it's….it's me."

"Mario?" Mei guffawed at that. "Sorry, i-it was….it was a dumb joke. Thanks for laughing though. Something wrong?"

"No no, just…..I'm just checking in to see if you're okay. My dad tends to not pull punches when it comes to combat situations."

"I figured as much," Izuku chuckled. "Your dad is, uh…..I can see the family resemblance. And where you get the brains from."

"Thanks. I'm sorry about what happened. I'm his only child, so….. a father with a daughter, you know how it can get."

"I guess. One more thing, i-if I may?"

"Yeah?"

"Before I knew that was your dad, the way the text was phrased, I honestly thought that….that someone had abducted you. It happened before during the summer bootcamp, and just entertaining the worst case scenario――it scared me. That you might…..that you might have be taken too. Or even died."

"I'm sorry," Mei whispered, feeling her heart being wrenched out of her chest. "I….he didn't mean to hurt you. Not like that." A rather uncomfortable and heavy silence fell between them. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to hang up. Or better yet, go on a tirade. At least that would give her some closure. She could then distance herself and wouldn't have to risk hurting him. Again.

"S-so, uh, on-on a separate note, I noticed you had a-an interesting accent at the TDL."

"What? Oh, I-y-you heard that?" Mei let out a nervous, dry laugh, surprised by the sudden shift in subject. "My dad and I are originally from Kyoto. Mom insisted on being able to switch between one and another, as you can tell."

"I….I actually kinda like it. No-not in a weird way or anything!" He added quickly. "It's new, and…..I-I dunno. It jus-I like how it sounds when you use it."

"Thanks…." She mumbled. "So….I….we'll see each other again tomorrow, I guess?" Maybe. Hopefully. If her face hadn't melted off from the heat.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." As the line disconnected, Mei buried her face in her hands, squealing into them as her cheeks turned a shade of pink deeper than her hair, her heart aching with each throb. He likes the Kyoto accent. The Kyoto accent spoken in her voice. It was a variant of a corny line, and it didn't take away the corniness by any stretch of the imagination, but God dammit, it was working! And he probably doesn't even know or realizes he was passive-aggressively hitting on her.

Mei only knew because her father would shamelessly flirt with her mother whenever and wherever he felt like it. She'd take it in stride, sometimes brushing him off, but it was clear she enjoyed the attention and affection since she leered at him every now and then. And why else would she permit herself to quite literally eat out of his hand?

Izuku screamed into his pillow as he flipped and flopped around in utter mortification. He must have sounded like a sleaze, an utter fool! Kaminari attempted to placate him, though he was too busy catching his breath from all the laughing the conversation caused. "Dude, Midoriya, you silver tongued player, you! You were totally hitting on her just now. So naturally too! I-I don't even want to imagine the headwind you'd make in relationships once you gain a bit of confidence!"

"You….are not….helping." Izuku mumbled through the pillow coherently enough to be understood. First ogling her in public, the lucid wet dream, and now this. It felt so wrong, seeing her as an object of desire.

"Midoriya, allow me to give you a piece of advice: teenage the fuck up. You're a hormone-addled teenager, like me and many of the other guys in this world. Maybe more so considering what we're trying to become. You're allowed to be selfish and put yourself before others, granted it's not for anything illegal or immoral."

"I-I know that. I just…..have a hard time figuring out what I want for myself." And more importantly, whether he should want it. Sure, he had friends now since he got into UA, but it was because he had One For All then. He could never shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, his friendships were predicated on the fact that he even had a Quirk in the first place. Hell, even his own flesh and blood didn't believe he could be a hero without a Quirk. It was well-warranted, but that fact still remained.

"Dude. Dude, Midoriya. You alright man?"

"Hm? O-oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm-yes, I'm okay…..I think."

"I beg to differ. You just…..you had a very scary face on just now. Like, not angry-scary, but unsettling-scary."

"Really? That bad?"

"I'm no psychoanalyst, but yeah. You looked like you were contemplating either shoving someone off the rooftop or jumping off it yourself."

"Damn," Izuku muttered, a dry laugh escaping his lips. "Guess I'm not sleeping enough then." Standing up, he left his room to go to the bathroom while Kaminari decided to turn in for the night as well. Izuku stared into the mirror, and it seemed like for the first time in his life, his brain and the nerves connecting to the corners of his mouth were malfunctioning.

For the first time in his life, he found smiling to be…..challenging.