Hey so i just realized i didnt post this friday sorry work is busy right now and my work load tripled now. It's gonna be busy next week too but after that it'll relax so I'll go back to posting normally. My bad lol
Anyyyyy who hope yall enjoy the chapter.
Ps. yall never answered if you want to see a whole oc america arc or stick to cannon. (im leaning towards ill maybe do omakes or something) let me know please.
Chapter 48 America
(insert song or eagle screech)
…Can you explain that please?" she asked. Not accusing. Just careful, and visibly unsettled by what she'd heard as it went against her very core beliefs.
————
Cid didn't answer right away. He looked down at Yui's hand still wrapped around his.
"I don't hate All Might," he said quietly. "Not as a person. Not as a hero. Everything he's done… the people he's saved, the way he's carried that weight for so long… I respect that. I respect him. I want to make that clear."
He took a breath to order his thoughts then continued.
"What I hate is the system that got built around him." Cid's voice stayed even, but there was weight under it. "The Symbol of Peace. The idea that one person can stand at the top and hold everything together. It made people too comfortable. Complacent. They see something go wrong and think someone else will handle it. That he will handle it. So they look away from bigger or more difficult issues."
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
"But we're only human. Building an entire system on any one person is just setting a timer for when it fails. It doesn't matter how strong they are. People get older. Their bodies wear down. Even the strongest person alive can't stay at their peak forever. Eventually they slow down, or they break, or they just can't carry the same weight anymore… and then everything that was leaning on them starts to collapse with them."
Yui's grip on his hand tightened slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
Cid glanced up at Stars again.
"That's why I went along with Nezu's plan. Not because I want to replace All Might. Because the way things are set up right now can't last. Someone has to be strong enough to help change it before it breaks completely."
Stars didn't speak for a long time. The usual brightness in her expression was gone, replaced by something much more serious. She wasn't angry. She wasn't defensive. She was actually listening and thinking his words over carefully, testing them against everything she believed.
The longer the silence stretched, the clearer it became that she wasn't dismissing what he'd said. And the more she did, the more the discomfort in her expression shifted into something heavier… something closer to reluctant understanding.
Then her brow furrowed slightly as if she realized something..
"…You mentioned Nezu's plan earlier," she said. "What did you mean by that?"
Cid glanced at her, slightly caught off guard then gave a small shrug, as if it wasn't something he considered all that important.
"Before the training started, he told me that society has leaned on one person for too long, and when that pillar falls, everything built on it starts to collapse with it." He looked down at his hand still joined with Yui's. "His plan is to have more than one pillar in place by then. He said he was placing his bet on me being one of them and a few of my classmates."
Stars' eyes narrowed just a little as the pieces lined up in her head. Nezu put this particular student in front of her. The way the conversation had unfolded. The exact problems Cid had just laid out, the same structural flaw Nezu had apparently already been planning around.
'That sneaky rat… he planned this as a way to get the idea to change the system in my head without him even lifting a paw'
She exhaled through her nose and leaned back in her seat, some of the heavier tension in her shoulders easing as a familiar smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Well," she said, voice lighter than it had been a moment ago, "that's a lot to drop on a girl mid-flight." She glanced between the two of them, the usual energy starting to return. "So let's talk about what you'll actually be doing while you're here…"
They talked for the next few hours about what to expect from training and just daily life in general
-Later-
The jet began its descent a few hours later.
Cid glanced out the window as the ground came into view, expecting a normal airport runway or maybe something else. What he saw instead made him sit up a little straighter.
Wide runways. Military vehicles parked in neat rows. Uniformed personnel moving with purpose near the tarmac prepping vehicles and doing maintenance.
Yui leaned closer to the window as well, eyes widening slightly.
"…Is that a military base?" she asked.
Stars didn't even look surprised. She just grinned as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Sure is."
Cid gave her a deadpan look. "You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?"
"Where's the fun in that?" she replied, already standing as the jet taxied toward its stop. "Welcome to the United States." she said, throwing her arms up as if presenting it.
The door opened as if on cue and the stairs lowered, the difference in atmosphere between countries was obvious immediately. The air was warmer, drier, and carried the faint smell of fuel and sun-heated concrete. A small group was already waiting near the bottom of the stairs.
A few base personnel stood at a respectful distance, but closer in were several men in work out gear or uniforms. The second Stars appeared in the doorway, their postures shifted.
Stars whole demeanor brightened as she jogged down the steps ahead of them.
"There you idiots are," she called out. "Miss me?"
One of them snorted. "You were only gone a week."
"A whole week without me is a tragedy and you know it."
Cid and Yui followed down the stairs at a more normal pace. Up close, the men looked experienced, solid builds, relaxed but ready posture, the kind of people who had clearly been in plenty of real combat before. They were military for sure; it just felt different from the feeling heroes give.
Stars turned back toward Cid and Yui with clear pride in her expression.
"These are my bros," she said. "We've been working together for years. I'd trust them with my life and have, more than once."
She gestured to the man at the front of the group first.
"This is Ethan Drive. Bravo Leader. He's been with me the longest and keeps the rest of these idiots in line."
Ethan gave a short, solid nod. He had a buzz cut and a calm, steady presence.
Stars waved a hand toward the others.
"The rest of them are... she went on to introduce them one by one.
Their call signs are Bravo Two, Bravo Three, and so on. They're the ones flying the jets that are actually able to keep up with me when I get serious."
A couple of them offered brief nods and quiet greetings.
Stars clapped a hand onto Cid's shoulder hard enough to make him shift his stance.
"This is Cid Kageno and Yui Kodai. They're the one I told you about that will be interning with me for the summer. Try not to scare them off on day one."
Ethan looked at the two of them over once, assessing without being rude. "So you're the one who gave stars a run for her money in a test."
Cid shrugged slightly. "Something like that."
Yui offered a polite nod to the group, staying close to Cid's side.
Stars looked satisfied with the brief exchange and jerked her head toward the deeper part of the base.
"C'mon. I'll show you around a bit before we get you settled."
She led them across the tarmac with her Bros falling in loosely around them. The base was larger than it first appeared, it was clean, organized, and clearly used to house both military and hero-related operations. Restricted areas were marked off clearly, but Stars moved through it all with complete familiarity, occasionally tossing casual greetings to people they passed.
Eventually she brought them over to a separate section where several heavily modified jets were parked in a row. They were sleeker than standard military aircraft, reinforced in places, and fitted with custom weapon systems that screamed top secret.
"These are ours," Stars said, walking between them with obvious pride. "X-66s. Custom work of the gearheads in charge of my support gear. Fast, durable, and built to keep up." She glanced back at Cid and Yui. "You'll probably see them around a lot while you're here. These guys live in them half the time."
Ethan rested a hand against the side of one. "She's not exaggerating."
Cid studied the nearest jet in silence, eyes moving over the reinforced plating and modified systems. Yui looked more openly interested, taking in the design with quiet curiosity.
Stars watched their reactions for a moment, then smiled.
"Alright. That's enough standing around in the heat. I'll show you where you'll be staying." She started walking backward toward one of the larger buildings, still facing them. "After that we'll handle the temporary license stuff so you two are actually allowed to use your Quirks without someone filing a complaint."
She turned fully around and waved them along.
"Try to keep up."