Spectre - (MHA x OC)

Chapter 43: Parallel Processing

That night, Aiko and the boys decided to get some training in, mostly on combat, and thankfully some sidekicks agreed to help them. Aiko continued to surprise everyone (except Bakugo), as she was one of the best at hand-to-hand combat.

They all took turns sparring, Aiko winning against Midoriya and barely losing against Bakugo. Then, as Midoriya and Bakugo started a spar, it was Aiko's turn to fight Todoroki. "You sure you want to do this?" Todoroki asked.

Aiko smirked and said, "Of course. We both know I'm going to win."

Todoroki rolled his eyes as Haru said, "Alright enough flirting, get fighting."

Aiko blushed and shot him a glare before she ran toward Todoroki, feigning a kick and instead hitting him with a right hook. Todoroki stumbled a bit before he dropped down to swipe at Aiko's legs. She fell to the ground and swung her legs around as she got up, pushing him away to keep him from pinning her. They both stood and rocked back and forth, waiting for the other to swing first. Todoroki grew impatient, running and swinging his fist at her, but Aiko was too quick and grabbed his arm, forcefully bending it and swinging it behind his head, kicked out his leg, and knocked him down, quickly pinning him. "You need to get better at dealing with feints," Aiko criticized as she hovered above him.

He nodded as he caught his breath, the two staring at each other for a moment, their gazes feeling magnetic to each other. Everything around them seemed to vanish, and it was just them. Only them. However, Aiko was broken out of her trance when she heard Haru cooing beside them. Aiko cleared her throat and got off of him, lending a hand for him to take. "Oooooooo," Haru cooed, causing Aiko to blush and glare at him.

Todoroki smiled slightly and took Aiko's hand to stand. Unbeknownst to them, Endeavor watched the exchange and scowled, now knowing where his son had gotten a lot of his confidence from. 'But... to atone... for him to be his own person instead of a masterpiece... maybe this is a good thing...' he thought to himself, a battle raging in his mind.

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.

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The next morning, they were off. Racing through the streets, Bakugo, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Aiko all struggled to keep up with their mentor. Endeavor's words raced through her mind as she struggled to even keep up with her friends. 'We need to catch a villain faster than he does? I can't even go faster than the boys!' she thought, frustrated.

"It's not a need of pride. It's a necessity. This isn't like school where if you mess up, you get a failing grade," Endeavor stated as he slammed down on a bus, preventing it from hitting two innocent women, "If you mess up out here, people don't go home."

Aiko and Midoriya ran to the women, kneeling beside them and making sure they were okay, Endeavor giving Bakugo and Todoroki notes to focus on. 'I need to improve. Like he said, it's a matter of not failing the citizens that I have sworn to protect,' she thought to herself.

When they stopped for lunch, Aiko was quietly munching on a bun when she listened to Endeavor speak about parallel processing. 'Drivers don't think about changing their foot to a different pedal,' she thought as she tried to apply this to her own thinking. He then spoke to Midoriya and then turned his attention to her. "Spectre, I want you to balance using the energy you steal with the energy you have. I also want you to work on the parts of your quirk you are weakest with, such as your poltergeist and possession abilities."

Aiko nodded, turning the ideas over in her head as she and the others finished their lunch and continued their trek. Then, like a lightning bolt, an idea struck her, taking inspiration from her classmate, Uraraka. As they ran, Aiko took control of her gear with her poltergeist powers and started levitating, albeit awkwardly. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Haru exclaimed as he followed behind with his vines.