Accidental Reveals

Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated characters, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi

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"Empire State University," Toshinori whispered to himself, staring up at the university's main building. This was it; a fresh start after…after All for One personally destroyed his life in Japan.

Toshinori suppressed the urge to growl, settling for thinning his lips into a line and clenching his fists. He…he wasn't running away—Gran had beat that into his head—no, he was recovering. Learning. Of course, the older Hero had some choice words over his chosen recuperation destination.

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"Are you insane?!" Torino Sorahiko—otherwise known as the Jet Hero Gran Tornio—shouted, chopping Toshinori's head for emphasis.

The younger Hero scowled, batting away the limb. "You're the one who told me to move out of the country! Instead of staying here and—"

"I know what I said!" Toshinori flinched back at the man's roaring response. Gran maintained her sneer for another moment, before stepping back, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "But I meant somewhere where Heroes have unconditional government support, not the practically lawless United States. And even then, not New York City!"

"What better place to learn?" Toshinori calmly replied. "I need experience, Gran. I—" he gulped harshly, looking down at his hands, "…Nana was the strongest person I knew, and All for One struck her down like she was nothing!" He lifted his head up, willing himself to ignore the pain and sorrow shining through his mentor's eyes. "If I even want to think about avenging her—avenging every life that monster has destroyed—I need to go beyond her strength." He took a deep breath, calming his fraying nerves, "And what better place to burst past my limits than the land gods tread?"

Gran turned away with a wordless snarl, clenching his fists. Just when Toshinori started to fear for his health, Gran sighed, the tension leaving his body. "I'll give you a year," he said. "If it becomes too much, I'm dragging out of there by the ear."

Toshinori just smiled gratefully.

/+/+/+/+/

"Whoops!" Toshinori jolted as something bumped into him, shaking him free from his memories. "Sorry about that!" Toshi managed to keep his footing, quickly reaching out to keep his suitcase from tipping over.

Toshinori looked up to see himself in a mirror. Well, not quite. Indeed, the man before him was blonde, had blue eyes, was fairly tall, and solidly built. But this man's jaw was squarer than Toshinori's own, and his hair not nearly as messy. And now that he looked closer, the man's eyes were a darker blue than his own. Still, weird to see someone with looks similar to his own, (but he wasn't in Japan anymore, so he should get used it sooner rather than later).

"Are you alright?" Toshinori blinked, the man's accent markedly not an American one.

"Yes," Toshinori replied, "I am fine."

The man grunted, "You're an exchange student as well?"

A nod, "I am Ya—" he caught himself, "rather, Toshinori Yagi, from Japan."

"Brian Braddock, the United Kingdom," the now-named man replied. He then furrowed his brow, "Wait, Japan?" He gave Toshinori a once over.

The Japanese Hero (albeit in-training) chuckled lightly, "I know, I know. I'm a little short." Brian snorted, lips twitching into a smile.

"Brian?" a new, American, voice spoke up from behind them.

"Over here…er," Brian trailed off.

"Peter—we're only living together." The now-named Peter came into view. He was a touch shorter than Toshinori, and far slimmer, with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a lazy smile on his lips. "Wow," he turned to Brian, "didn't know you had family in the states."

"I don't," Brian smirked.

"Hello," Toshinori nodded, "I am Toshinori Yagi."

"Peter Parker," the man jovially replied, holding out his hand. Toshinori smiled back, shaking the offered limb. "So, where're you from?"

"Japan."

"Really? Cool," the American shifted his gaze to Toshinori's luggage, "just landed?"

"Yes. Actually," Toshinori blushed lightly, "could you help me? I'm supposed to head over to…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Edison Hall." He turned around, pointing to a short, but long, red brick building on the other side of the campus. "Just over there. Who's your dormmate?"

Toshinori hummed, reaching into his pocket for the small slip of paper with the pertinent information. "Uh…David Shield."

"Oh!" Peter's smile returned, "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! You live right next to us!"

"Really?"

"Yessir!" Peter looked down at his wrist—where an old-fashioned analog watch as attatched, "Yeesh, is that the time!" He pat Brian's shoulder, "I still need to show you the most important place on campus!"

"The cafeteria?" Brian asked.

"The library," Peter shrugged, "though it is next to the cafeteria." He nodded at Toshinori. "Head over to the tables marked 'Exchange Students', David will be nearby. See you around!"

"Goodbye, Toshinori," Brian inclined his head, following behind Peter.

"Goodbye," Toshinori called after them. Nice guys.

He made his way to the building, easily finding the marked table, a young woman in some sort of gothic ensemble sitting behind it and holding a clipboard.

Toshinori walked up, clearing his throat. "Hello," he said, "my name is Toshinori Yagi. I'm supposed to meet a man named David Shield?"

The woman hummed, peering at the clipboard. "Yagi…Yagi…ah!" she smiled up at him, "Here you are." She turned over her shoulder, "David!" she called.

Toshinori followed her gaze, just in time to see a young, lanky man with slicked back brown hair and dark blue eyes look up from a thick book. He caught Toshinori's gaze, smiling as he rose to his feet and strode over.

"Hey!" the man said as he reached him, "Yagi, right?"

The foreign student nodded, "You can call me Toshinori."

David blinked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

David's smile returned, "Okay then. Let's head up to our dorm."

David lead the way through Empire State University's campus grounds, pointing out various buildings and landmarks, and maintaining a largely one-sided conversation. The talk was light and didn't delve any deeper than favorite foods and the courses they'd signed up for—something Toshinori was grateful for. He may have gotten used to lying due to the nature of One for All, but he never liked it.

"And here we are," David said, holding open the door to their shared living space. It was a modest arrangement—the entryway leading to a living room, connected to a small kitchen, a shared bathroom, and two separate bedrooms. "I've already claimed that one," he gestured to the bedroom to the left. He clapped Toshinori's shoulder, "Feel free to start unpacking. Or rest. Whichever." Nodding, Toshinori entered the room, closing the door behind him.

The first thing he did was look out his window. They were on the top floor, luckily, so it would be easier for him to sneak in and out to do Hero work—something that put butterflies in his stomach. The only times he'd done anything close to true Heroism in Japan was under an elder's watchful eye. Now he'd be alone…

Shaking his head free of those thoughts, Toshinori walked over to the bed, setting his bags on it.

He unlocked his suitcase, taking out the clothes and opening the secret compartment underneath.

He sighed deeply, taking out the costume he'd hidden away. One of the only things he had linking him to Nana.

/+/+/+/+/

"Well," Toshinori beamed at his mentor, showing off his costume design, "do you like it?"

The older woman hummed dramatically, swiping his notepad holding it up close to her face. "Not bad, not bad," she teased. Only for her features to grow genuinely perplexed.

Toshinori's good mood dropped, "W-What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing!" she quickly reassured him. "Solid design! Just…the red and white suit combined with the blue cape…awful western, isn't it?"

Toshinori flushed, "Oh…well…I've always admired Captain America…"

Nana scoffed, "Couldn't pick someone local?"

"Who? You?" Toshinori sucked in a breath, frantically waving his hands, "Not that there's anything wrong with your outfit! I just don't think I should copy you; you know?" He relaxed when she giggled.

"Well, what about Sora?" she asked. Immediately, Toshinori blanched, paling lightly. "Okay, never mind…Sunfire?" she suggested, only to immediately gag along with Toshinori, "Ugh, why'd I even say that?" Finally, she shrugged, handing him back the notepad, "Well, end of the day, it's your choice." She playfully ruffled his hair, "Can't wait to see how you look in it!"

/+/+/+/+/

Toshinori smiled, basking in the memory of his beloved mentor.

Thud

Toshinori jumped, whirling around. His heart stopped upon seeing David, eyes wide and mouth agape, his book having fallen to his feet.

"Uh…" Toshinori trailed off.

"That's a Superhero costume," David said breathlessly.

"No, it's not," Toshinori squeaked.

"That's a cape, and spandex, both brightly colored." David nodded, "Yup. Superhero."

"…Nope," Toshinori whimpered.

"…I'm gonna sit down in in the main room. You," he chuckled breathily, "you…finish cleaning up." Then, slowly, David exited the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

It was only when the doorknob clicked that Toshinori started to breath once more. Oh no, no, no, no, no! How could he be so careless? He hadn't even been in the country for twelve hours!

He forced himself to take a deep breath—it wasn't so bad. Not like David had caught him in the middle of changing. So…he could…say it's a fetish thing? He shuddered, but really, what other choice did he have?

Hastily placing his costume back in his suitcases secret compartment, Toshinori strode out of his room. David sat where he said he would be, a pensive frown on his face.

"I don't recognize the costume," David suddenly said, forestalling any attempt on Toshinori's part to deny everything, "so you're new. Although," the American shrugged, "you are from Japan, I suppose. Why did you come here, anyway? I thought Japan had this whole 'government Heroes" think doing on?"

Toshinori gulped, "…I don't suppose you could just forget everything that happened in the last five minutes?"

"Sorry but, no dice." He then blinked, frantically waving his hands in front of his face, "That wasn't a threat!" he shouted, forcing Toshinori to take a step back. "Really! Actually," David blushed lightly, "I think it's kind of cool, rooming with a Hero."

Toshinori blushed in turn, "Not a Hero, technically."

"Oh!" David shrugged, "Yeah, guess you need to make your debut."

"Yeah…" Toshinori belatedly agreed, not wanting to bring up Japan's intricate path to becoming a Hero—a path he's strayed from by a wide margin. When he finally returned to his home country, he could only hope that Gran would be able to smooth out the rest of the process as he promised.

David rapidly shook his head, "Never mind the semantics." His leaned forward, lips spread into a wide smile, "What's your codename? What are your powers? Do you plan on trying to join the Avengers? Are you here as part of some sort of international Hero work?"

Toshinori blinked at the rapid, enthusiastic questions. "Um…I'm here on my own. I did study at U.A.," he paused briefly at the flash of recognition in the young man's eyes, "but I don't have the backing of the Japanese government."

"Oh," David leaned back, "is that…allowed?"

The Japanese Hero-to-be shrugged, "There's nothing against it." Not to say that he didn't expect any friction from Japanese officials in the future. But that was far in the future. He then thought on the other questions, and keeping a straight face, he lied. "I just have a simple muscle-enhancement Quirk."

"'Quirk', right," David said slowly, "Japan's got its own source of powers."

"We do," Toshinori agreed. He didn't know all the specifics, but of the two different 'superhero genes'—the X and Quirk genes—most powered individuals in Japan owed their power to the latter than the former. "But, I'm just here to…learn, I suppose."

David nodded, "Makes sense. What better place to learn than Hero central?"

Toshinori nodded, a bashful smile on his lips, "Those were my thoughts exactly."

David laughed, "You know…I'm, uh, something of a Hero admirer." He looked down, blushing, "I've got a police radio in my room and I, uh, scan the frequencies for local sightings."

Toshinori grunted, "That's awfully dangerous."

"I know—hell, my mom didn't want me to even come to ESU on account of everything that happens in Manhattan," Toshinori could relate. "But," David paused, sighing deeply, "there's just something…inspiring, about Heroes, you know?" He scoffed, "What am I saying, of course you do."

Nodding lightly, Toshinori hesitantly asked, "Do you…want to be a Hero?"

"No!" the man emphatically replied. "I, uh, I know my limits. But that doesn't mean I don't want to help!" He cleared his throat, "I don't know if you've heard, but Horizon Labs has started reaching out to Heroes in an effort to help them."

Toshinori hummed—he'd never heard of this Horizon Labs. "What about Stark Industries? Tony Stark is a Hero himself."

David's face scrunched up. "Nah. I've seen the man out of his suit. Not a fan." Toshinori blinked—wasn't Tony Stark one of the premier Heroes of America? He worked with Captain America, for goodness's sake! Ah, but he didn't have time for any of that.

Clearing his throat, Toshinori asked, "I don't suppose you could…keep quiet about all this?"

"Oh, hey, no worries!" David vowed. "I wouldn't dream of trying to get in a Hero's way!" He bit his lip, "But, uh, if I could ask you something?" Toshinori nodded hesitantly, "If you ever meet Spider-Man, could you get me autograph?"

"You want me to ask one of New York's most notorious vigilantes…for an autograph?"

David frowned, "Hey! Spidey's a Hero!"

Toshinori stepped back, holding his hands up. "I never said he wasn't!" He furrowed, his brow, then realized what had occurred. "Oh, I see. In Japan 'vigilante' is used to describe people that work outside the government's purview. Although," he chuckled sheepishly, "I suppose that does also hold a negative connotation." When David's glare returned, Toshinori hastily added, "But I agree!" He cleared his throat, "I mean, someone that works with Captain America can't be all that bad, right?"

"Of course," David grumbled. He looked like he wanted to say more, before shaking his head, "Anyway, if you ever, I don't know, need…help? Let me know."

Toshinori nodded hesitantly—it'd be good, he supposed, to have a New York native in his corner. With that in mind, he asked, "Any…advice, as to where a Hero might be most needed?"

David set his face into a heavy frown, rubbing his chin, "Well…anywhere, I guess? Most superheroes have their own 'zones' but everyone kind of just goes wherever." He snapped his fingers, "Avoid Hell's Kitchen," at Toshinori's blank stare, he elaborated, "It's a neighborhood directly north of the Lincoln Tunnel— and you don't know where that is either, do you?" The foreign student shook his head in response. David chuckled, rising to his feet, "Why don't I take you down to the library to check you out a map of the island." He blinked, bashfully rubbing his neck "And actually do my job and show you around campus."

"Sounds like a plan," Toshinori smiled.

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A/N: It's come to my attention that I don't have a lot of stuff about David. Hoping to remedy that. Be sure to leave a review. Later.