A few hours ago…

"Daichi is strong. His exoskeleton is tough and when he's in his mantis shrimp form, his punches are dangerous", Mitsuji told Kai anxiously.

"Don't worry. I'll beat him and be the champion. I'll be a great hero", he replied with calm confidence.

Kai walked out of the corridor and into the arena. He heard the cheers of the crowd as he walked.

He saw Daichi standing in the arena and Kai stood across from him.

"Now! The student who bagged the 1st place in the obstacle course with his formidable Quirk, from the hero course: Daichi Hisakawa! A person who brings light to those in the dark, from the hero course: Kai Hikari!", Present Mic announced.

The two students were silent as they looked at each other. Tension was in the air. Kai already knew that Daichi was strong. He could turn into a dragonfly and be fast in the air or be a crab with a tough exoskeleton. Kai knew he was a formidable foe.

"START!"

Kai immediately shot lasers from both of his hands but Daichi turned into a crab. His lasers didn't even leave a scratch. Kai continued shooting his laser as a stall tactic until he felt his hand heating up. Daichi then transformed into a dragonfly and flew towards Kai.

No time to cool down!, Kai panicked.

He shot lasers from his hands again and tried to hit the dragonfly but it avoided the attack. However, it couldn't get close to Kai so it flew back. Kai continued shooting even though the dragonfly dodged his attacks. He then stopped when his hands heated up again.

Daichi watched him from a distance. He already knew Kai's weakness. All he had to do was overheat Kai's hands and he would be able to get close. The question was how much was needed to overheat his hands.

Daichi flew towards Kai and Kai started shooting lasers again. However, the lasers didn't last long as Kai stopped shooting and clenched his fist. Daichi felt that it was his chance so he flew close.

"Gotcha!", Kai shouted and lasers shot out from his eyes.

The dragonfly barely avoided it and flew away. His wing was mere millimetres from being disintegrated, and it gave him a brief shock. However, he wasn't fazed for long.

I see. He can use other parts of his body other than his hands, Daichi analysed.

He decided to change his tactics. Daichi transformed into a human-sized scorpion. Kai gritted his teeth. All he could do was shoot lasers but it wouldn't do a thing to the scorpion. His hands still felt hot and he couldn't risk heating his eyes.

Kai shot laser from his hands but it didn't scratch the scorpion. He then thought of another technique. He raised his hand and a flicker of light expanded and expanded, until a ball of compressed plasma had been formed in the palm of his hand.

"Take this!"

The plasma shot made its way towards Daichi and exploded upon contact. Cracks appeared on the scorpion's armour.

"It worked! Hikari's attack had an effect on Hisakawa's exoskeleton!", Present Mic shouted. The crowd cheered excitedly. There had been a breakthrough.

It was fortunate that it worked but if his plasma shot could only crack Daichi's armour, then he was in quite the predicament. Unlike the laser beams, the plasma shot required concentration and heated his hand faster.

What should I do?

The scorpion crawled its way towards him. It was slow so Kai had time to think. But no matter how hard he could think, the only possible way for him to win was to use the plasma shot. But would he reach his limit?

I want to be a hero!, he heard her cheerful voice.

What?, Kai thought, his mind a disarray.

Be the best hero you can be, he heard her voice again.

"Of course… how could I even try and give up" he mused emotionally. He thought back to that fateful day.

(His story…revealed)

Kai Hikari lived a nice life. With a loving father and a caring mother, he lived a relatively nice life as a 4-year-old kid could have. However, he didn't have that many friends…except for a certain Quirkless girl named May Lilac.

His Quirk appeared when May was being bullied. After all, life was unfair for those who didn't have power. Kai couldn't accept that and when he punched a bully, a small burst of light shot from his fist. No one picked on her after that, and May was grateful for Kai's friendship.

For the next seven years, they became close and Kai even developed feelings for her, although he was still quite young to recognise this. They would hang out after school almost every day, go to the arcade machine in town, and they even had their own secret "headquarters" that no one knew about. She told him of her dream: to become a great Quirkless hero. Her smile captured Kai's heart for real and he told her that he would support her in her harsh journey in every way he could. Kai and May would often act out heroic scenes, with May being the Pro Hero and Kai being her faithful sidekick. After all, he didn't have any clear aspirations to be a Hero. When asked the classic "what do you want to be when you grow up" question in class, Kai had said an electrician. He had gotten a few laughs from his classmates since everyone knew only Pro Heroes were allowed to use Quirks outside of emergencies, but his teacher seemed impressed that he had thought of integrating his Quirk into a daily, respectable job. Still, his life was certainly blissful with May around, almost like a fairy tale.

But reality was different and not everything had a happy ending.

One night on their way back from "headquarters", a creep followed them, and he was easily noticed. Knowing they were in danger, they ran and ended up in an alleyway. The man had them cornered, and his breathing was unnatural. He wouldn't say anything but was muttering under his breath. They could barely hear "All Might, All Mig…Stain" in ragged chopped breaths, and the man was getting more panicked, which just scared them more.

Kai tried to fire a warning shot using his Quirk but before he knew it, a knife was on his neck. The man had sprinted forward and actually dodged his blast with surprising speed, pulling the knife from his pocket. May tackled the guy which made him release Kai. Kai was knocked to the ground, but then he saw a spray of scarlet streak the air.

Kai shot a concentrated ball of light at the man and knocked him out. His hands burned but he didn't mind as he ran towards May who was lying on the ground. The knife was embedded deep near in her side. It may not have been fatal for an adult but this was just a child, and a frail one at that. Desperate for help, Kai called an ambulance and the police.

"N-no…someone will come. You'll be fine…I'm…sorry!" he panicked. May just looked at him calmly, causing him to stop.

Be the best hero you can be… I love you… Kai…", she smiled weakly and closed her eyes for the last time. Those words were like poison to him. He finally understood, but it had been through the worst way possible, and it affected him deeply.

When the police arrived, May's parents broke down. Kai couldn't even bring himself to face them as he answered questions. Apparently, the murderer had no prior offences, but had severe schizophrenia. He also had many posters of both All Might and Hero Killer Stain when they searched his residence, seemingly having immersed himself in the world of heroes and villains. Unfortunately, these children bore the brunt of his mental collapse. He was to be admitted to an asylum given proof of insanity.

Miraculously, Kai bore no ill will towards him though. He was downtrodden and defeated. He felt it had been his responsibility to protect his friend. His childhood love. May Lilac.

Months passed and Kai was still mourning for her. He thought that if he was only stronger, he could have saved her. His Quirk was wasted on him. A certain night changed him.

He was walking around the park where he and May met for the first time. A shooting star went by and he made a wish to see his friend one last time. And as if by some miracle, she was standing next to him.

Kai broke down and cried as he apologized countless times. She told him that it was her choice to save him and that she didn't regret it for even a second. She hugged him and told him to be a hero for those who are weak. Like the same person who saved a Quirkless girl from bullies, she wanted him to be the light for the lost and weak people. She then faded away.

His eyes opened and he realized that he fell asleep at some point. Whether his encounter with May was a dream or not, his resolve hardened. He trained hard with his Quirk and soon applied for UA.

When he saw a boy faint in the practical exam, he was reminded of May for some reason. And when he saw how nervous and weak-looking he was despite his powerful Quirk, he felt that he should be his guiding light until he was able to stand on his own.

"I'm Kai Hikari!" he said with confidence.

"Mitsuji… Saiga…" the other boy muttered.

"Let's be great heroes!" said Kai with a smile on his face.

Like May would've wanted…

Present day

"That's right… How could I forget? I'm a guiding light! A light that never wavers!" Kai thought.

Large balls of light appeared in both of his hands. He felt his hands burning up but he didn't care. He would fight to the end. He would no longer regret things. The large balls of light continued growing forming formidable plasma.

"So, this is your power… Amazing", Daichi said after he returned to his human form, acknowledging Kai's potential.

May… I'll do my best!

The huge balls of light shot off as huge laser beams from Kai's hands, surprising everyone who expected the concentrated shot. The light blinded everyone. Kai felt burns appearing on his hands but he still went on until he could no longer raise his hands. His arms were badly burned and he felt pain in his shoulders.

However…

"WHAT A SPECTACULAR ATTACK BY HIKARI! BUT… WHERE'S HISAKAWA?", Present Mic asked.

Kai looked around. He didn't see anything insect-like going towards him. Silence filled the stadium as they waited for Daichi's next move. Kai watched the field and the sky. How could Daichi disappear?

An answer formed in his mind as he looked down to the ground. He saw a tiny ant.

Don't tell me!

The ant transformed into a human-sized mantis shrimp.

Kai couldn't raise or even shoot out lasers from his burnt hand. If his hands were of no use, then his eyes would do the work.

His eyes glowed but before he could attack, he got a straight punch from Daichi. Kai almost fainted but he fired lasers from his eyes. Daichi transformed into a dragonfly and avoided the attack. He got behind Kai and transformed into a mantis shrimp again.

Daichi landed a blow to Kai's back and knocked him unconscious. He then transformed into his human form.

"You have a strong resolve. And for that, I respect you", he said as he looked at Kai's burnt hands.

"HIKARI IS UNCONSCIOUS! HISEKAWA IS YOUR WINNER!" Present Mic screamed and the crowd erupted. The battle had been decided.