A/N: Ivan, here! Still trying to figure out if I wanna add more to the prologue or jump right into the story, letting you guys put the pieces together yourselves ;) It all depends on if I gather enough interest. Have fun, and please review!

"She's got eyes of the bluest skies

As if they thought of rain,

I hate to look into those eyes

And see an ounce of pain-"

"What the- for real? They still make ringtones like that?" Hitomi snickered behind her hand, listening to a few more lines of Sweet Child O Mine as the call went through. Her dad had always been a fan of classic rock, and to say the song he chose as her ringtone was fitting was an understatement. She wasn't sure if anyone else would even know the classic 80's hit from America. He had always been weirdly in to American culture.

"My darling girl! To what do I owe the pleasure? You're not busy right now, are you?"

"Hey, Dad! Nope, finally had some downtime so Nao-Senpai and I stopped for lunch at the convenience store downtown. It's beautiful today, the cherry blossoms are everywhere! Oh, we're listening to a show right now, too. Apparently, some group of thugs tried to rob the national bank in Shinjuku. Sounds like it was a real detailed operation. Thankfully though it's wrapping up now."

Naomasa leaned into her side, shouting a greeting to the man on the other line while Hitomi laughed and swatted him away. Her father greeted him with a hearty laugh in turn, before getting back to business once more.

"They don't need any back up, do they?"

"No, Dad, they don't. So, don't get any ideas. You're still recovering from your last surgery, you should be thinking less about work and more about kicking up your feet."

"Bah. You know I hate doing that. Besides, I'm fine! As long as I'm only working three hours a day I'm not pushing things too badly!"

"That's not the point. You shouldn't be agitating your stitches. Or your anything, really. I know it's hard to give up something you've loved for so long, but you should consider retiring now."

"It's not about me loving my job or not, you know I can't do that. Not yet, Hitomi. I need to find a successor first."

"What happened to UA considering candidates for you? Have anyone's names come up yet?"

"No... I just don't want to pass the torch to just anyone. I'm sure there are plenty of promising young individuals who will make equally promising heroes one day. But I want to bestow it upon someone who deserves it, at the right place, at the right time. Not because my hand was forced."

She sighed. 'With great power comes great responsibility' never held truer than it did in her father's case. Not to say she didn't understand, however, there were more pressing issues at hand. Ever since his accident four years ago, everyone closest to him knew his hero days were numbered.

"I know, Dad. But there's no such thing as the right time and right place. If you leave it up to chance... it might be too late."

"Humph. You sound like Nighteye."

"Well, Uncle would know better than anyone, now wouldn't he?"

There was a pause. It was the first time she ever acknowledged his mortality. Back when they'd first heard the news, Hitomi had rejected Nighteye's vision vehemently, arguing that they didn't know for sure when it would happen, that it could have been a long way off yet. Of course, prior to that she hadn't even known anything about his power or what he'd been working towards up until that point. She was younger then and thought her Dad, the number one hero, was indestructible. Learning the truth about his power changed a lot of things for her. Maybe knowing that even she was beginning to reconsider her stance, it would put things into perspective for him.

"...I considered giving it to Seijo, you know."

She laughed, the sound bittersweet. Seijo would have made an excellent hero, for certain. He had been the one who finally pushed her to join the police department and convinced her to take the detective's exam, as well as Naomasa. It had been three years since he passed. If not for Yui, she didn't know if she'd have been able to go on without him. Thankfully, he'd given her their beautiful little girl before he left. It was all thanks to her that Hitomi had the strength to carry on.

"If Seijo were still here to hear that himself he'd have a heart attack! To think, his hero, his inspiration passing on his legacy to him. That dork wouldn't even know what to do with himself if he suddenly gained a quirk!"

She heard bags rustling and a strangled noise, along with a clattering that, she assumed, was him nearly dropping his phone.

"Ah, Hitomi, shush! Don't say that in public!"

"Relax, no one even knows who you are other than Nao-Senpai. And anyway, its surprisingly dead right now for a lunch rush."

He grumbled.

"I suppose... I'm changing the subject now, did Yui get my present?"

Hitomi beamed. She imagined her adorable little girl with her curly chocolate pigtails, cute pink dress and shoes, dancing around happily at Mommy's feet when Pop-Pop's present came in.

"Yes! Oh my God Dad, she looks so cute in it! The pink Mary Jane's are her favorite, though. She insists on wearing them every day!"

"Ah, wonderful! It warms this old man's heart to hear!"

"Please dad, you're not even fifty."

"And just look at me! You'd never know otherwise!"

"...Seriously, that's depressing. Stop that."

He guffawed, then stopped and erupted into a coughing fit. Hitomi bit her lip, waiting patiently for him to get the wet hacking back under control.

"Are you okay? That doesn't sound any better than it did last time."

He didn't say anything at first, likely cleaning his mouth. He had begun coughing blood since his accident, and each time she saw him it got worse and worse. The doctors said it was common, given the extensive surgeries he'd had on his stomach, and that it wouldn't affect him too much. Coughing blood, in her humble opinion, really didn't seem like a 'common' symptom, however.

"Never better! The last surgery went remarkably well. And I've been taking my medicine, yes, Mother."

"Haha, well I am a mother. Worrying is what I do best."

"Any who, I would love to see Yui again. Are you free tonight? I bought enough ingredients for sukiyaki. We still haven't celebrated your promotion yet, Detective Sato!"

"Excuse me sir, Detective Sato was my husband and a great man, but my friends call me Hitomi."

"Bahaha! Well, it's an honor to be considered your friend. But take the title, you've earned it. And I'm sure Seijo is just as proud of you as we are."

"I sure hope so, Dad."

"I know so! Now, Sukiyaki, dinner, your place, six o'clock? Invite your mother too, we'll get the whole family together!"

"Of course, Dad! That'd make me and Yui both very happy! And I'll leave you to call Mom, you've been avoiding her lately and she's getting anal about it."

"Eh? Who's avoiding who? I've tried to call her back but it's like playing phone tag with a ghost! Honestly if that woman is so worried tell her to drop by the apartment anytime, since she wants to use you as a liaison. It's not like we're strangers."

"Man, are you sure you guys were never married? Cause you certainly bicker about one another like a married couple."

"Your mother is a wonderful woman, Hitomi, but dear lord if we'd ever actually gotten married we would certainly not be as friendly as we are now."

"Ha, you make a good point. Anyway," She started, dragging out the word, "sukiyaki at six sounds great. Hang on-"

She tucked the cellphone into her shoulder. "Senpai, we're having sukiyaki as a sort of belated celebration tonight. Wanna come?" Hitomi asked, turning to her right to see that Naomasa had moved to the driver's side to fiddle with the radio.

"I don't have anything going on tonight. Are you sure it's okay though? I don't want to intrude on your family time."

"Oh please, Senpai. You're already family, otherwise I wouldn't even offer. I'll make a spot for you."

He smiled brightly. "Alright, I'll drive us back after work."

Hitomi returned the gesture before returning to her phone call.

"Nao-Senpai will be there, too!"

"Excellent! It's been a while since I've seen him. Last I spoke with him he was starting some sort of investigation into the rising villain activity in the area?"

"Yeah, something like that. Nothing concrete, just speculation, but I'll let him tell you more himself."

A muted noise behind her caught her attention. Turning to face Naomasa again, she did a double take when she saw the look on his face. His eyes met hers, wide and panicked. "Hitomi, you need to hear this."

"Shit, hold on Dad there's an emergency coming through- let me call you back-"

But before she could hang up, Naomasa turned up the volume as a distinct message sounded over the radio that made her blood run cold.

"HOSTAGE SITUATION AT ACORNS TO OAKS PRE-SCHOOL IN MUSUTAFU. SUSPECTS ARE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS."

"...Christ... shit, Dad, don't-"

The line clicked over and disconnected. A sense of dread pooled in her stomach. There was no way he hadn't heard it, and that meant there was no way he was going to just ignore it. This wasn't any random screwed up hostage situation.

That was Yui's preschool.

As if that weren't bad enough, another message came through. This one made Hitomi shout out a curse and bark at her senior to get in the fucking car and haul it. In any other situation, Naomasa probably would have been a little put off by this, but as if her mother bear instincts kicking in weren't bad enough, the message felt like a punch to the gut to him, too. Something wasn't right, and they both knew that not just any ole criminal off the streets would have the information, resources, or sheer gall to make a demand of this caliber.

"HOSTAGE NEGOTIATORS ON SCENE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE SUSPECTS ARE DEMANDING THE PRESENCE OF ALL MIGHT. I REPEAT, THEY ARE DEMANDING THE PRESENCE OF ALL MIGHT."

Somewhere on the other side of the city, citizens were suddenly knocked aside when a sudden shock wave hit the ground, leaving it its wake a large crater, as well as a pile of what used to be an old flip phone and groceries for sukiyaki.