The Iida Household, Early Evening...
Tenya Iida was in his usual unusual form. Which basically meant that he was pacing, gesturing wildly and speaking at 300 kilometers per minute.
“This—this is OUTRAGEOUS!” Tenya declared, arms chopping through the air like his body had just activated ‘power mode.’ “These vigilantes are undermining the very foundation of our hero society!”
He spun on his heel so sharply the carpet curled beneath his shoes. And through it all, his older brother—Tensei Iida— just sat calmly on the couch, tea in hand, face unreadable.
“I mean—Vixen?” Tenya continued, jabbing a finger toward the TV, which now played yet another replay of Vixen leaping from a rooftop in slow motion, his whip trailing behind him like a sash of rebellion.
“He wears a tail, Brother! A fox tail! That’s not proper combat gear—it’s a TRIPPING hazard! Not to mention his uniform violates every article of Quirk-Era Regulation for visibility, movement, and tactical minimalism!”
Tensei slowly sipped his tea and said nothing.
“And don’t get me started on Hex!” Tenya snapped again, flipping through the latest news headline on his tablet. “Arrow-based combat? That’s a Class B Offensive Quirk Add-On! Where is his license? Who approved this? Do you know how many applications it takes to be permitted a ranged weapon?”
He tossed the tablet down dramatically. “Answer: Five. Five full applications, not counting psychological evaluations!”
Tensei finally looked up, blinking slowly behind his glasses. “...Do you breathe when you speak?”
Tenya frowned. “Brother, this is serious! These vigilantes are destabilizing the system. How can civilians trust regulation when these wild cards are becoming overnight icons?”
He pointed dramatically again at the screen where Vixen had now been paused mid-air in a backflip.
Tensei sighed, placing his cup down gently.
“Well,” he said lightly, “he does have excellent form.”
Tenya’s jaw dropped. “You—you’re PRAISING him?”
“I’m observing,” Tensei corrected. “That flip was textbook aerial redirection. And if you look closely—he’s redirecting momentum off an ankle torque. That’s difficult, even for trained acrobats.”
Tenya’s hands dropped to his sides, defeated.
“This… this is corruption of the highest order…” he mumbled.
Tensei stood and walked over, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder.
“You’ll make a good hero one day, Tenya,” he said with a smile. “But maybe not all the rules are built to handle the kind of chaos this world creates.”
He walked away, calm and smiling, leaving Tenya to stew in quiet, scandalized horror.
“A fox tail,” Tenya muttered as his brother's figure disappeared. “He wears a fox tail.”
------•------
The breeze shifted faintinly but for a trained pro hero like Tensei Iida, it was enough. He turned his head slowly, muscles already tensing.
He wasn’t alone.
He turned with his fist clenched and that was when a hand grabbed his arm.
Tensei’s eyes narrowed as the figure was framed in silver moonlight. The sharp lines of a fox-themed vigilante suit clung to the boy’s frame like a second skin. A whip at his hip, half-masked face revealing familiar, calculating blue eyes.
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Can We Be Heroes?
FanfictionLife has always been unfortunate, unfair and unkind. Especially for three particular boys.
