Dreaming of Stars

by Gushy48

Sanji Inochi, a selfless man who is unable to use his Quirk—Dreams, being considered Quirkless. Through luck and seemingly-impossible odds, he finds his way to U.A. High School in Class 1-B. With what Life brings to 1-B, the society that they live in—the Hero Society—will forever be altered. (x-posted on AO3 and Quotev/bi-weekly schedule)

37. Tragedy in Busan

Sasaki Kendo

"Ah—!" I ran up to a screaming woman who was holding her husband in her arms. She was yelling at me to help—even I could understand her pleas despite the language barrier. Her husband had his left leg blown off from the knee down, and his chest was cut open with shards of shrapnel. I could see parts of his ribs, and the organs that were underneath. That was how deep the cuts were. He was bleeding badly, but he was barely alive. He knew I was there, he knew he was being held by his wife, but it was almost impossible to save him. That didn't mean I leave him to die. I tore my sleeve to make a rag and tied it around his left thigh, acting like a tourniquet. For his chest, I couldn't do anything.

"Saki, I need you!" Nana yelled for me. I looked at the woman who was bawling. From her eyes, she knew that this was the only thing I could do. I bowed my head, gesturing that I was sorry. "Sasaki! C'mon!" Nana yelled again.

I got up and ran towards her. She was having trouble lifting a piece of debris that fell on a woman's arm. I moved beside her and hooked my fingers on the bottom edge of the concrete. A good samaritan was standing by, ready to drag the woman out. She said, "We lift on three! One! Two! Three—!"

"Grah—!" we grunted as we were barely able to lift the concrete off of the woman's arm. She was screaming in pain as the good samaritan pulled her out of the rubble. Nana and I dropped the debris, checking on her. Her arm was barely recognizable. It was a bloody mess as if someone threw tomato paste all over it. God, I didn't know if her arm was still attached to her body, but if it was, then it was only by a few tendons. Nana and I looked at each other. We both knew that this was terrible, but we couldn't stay here for long. Nana turned to the good samaritan and he nodded, signaling that he'll take care of her, so we took off.

"God, Saki…" she said as we stopped, looking around, "this is terrible. I never seen a Villain attack this bad before."

"That's what happens when someone drives a car full of explosives into a building," I replied. Core took a van, a black van like the ones from before, and just drove it into the building. We found out due to eyewitnesses and Bam translating for us. So right now, all of us were on rescue duty. Paramedics, firefighters, and police were coming onto the scene. From the police that was already there, we took their spare radios and got into contact with Hideyoshi again. He gave us a new objective—find out if Core was alive. But he wanted us to focus on rescuing civilians first.

She shook her head in disapproval. "Don't joke with me, not now. How could we let this happen? How did Core slip through our grasp so easily?"

"You know the answer, Nana. He would do something like this! All For One—"

"Killing hundreds?! Thousands?!" Nana shouted at me. I recoiled in response, flinching from her sudden outburst. "Why does he have a vendetta against the world?! He would slaughter every man, woman, and child to hurt me—one person! Why would he go through all that effort to hurt me?!"

She knew the answer to her own question, but I still said, "He's that petty! He slaughtered your master's relatives because he wielded One For All! He wanted to break you mentally, Nana! That's how he is!"

"How can a man be so evil then?!" Nana faced towards the destruction that Core caused. She was looking at it as if she blew up Busan herself. "I… I will never understand it. This is why I sent Kotaro away, Sasaki. I sent my own son away because of this man. Because of him, he will never see his mother again."

"Nana, I—"

"I'll never see my own son again. None of us will. You promised that, Saki. All of you did," she said, and she was right. We promised that we would never come into contact with Kotaro, but as you know, Sorahiko broke that promise once All For One began to slaughter Nana's family and relatives. He started with Kotaro and worked his way down the family tree. The branches got thinner, but he didn't give a damn. All For One was so despicable that I still get sick to my stomach today.

When I looked at Nana, I could tell she was on the edge of sending me away. And no, I didn't mean sending me way to rescue trapped people. I meant that...that she was about to cut all contact with my family. She wanted to pull me and Tatemi out of the war for our own safety, but she didn't have the heart to say it. By her own hand, she took away her son. If she lost anything more, then I was afraid that she might go off the deep end. Yet I couldn't say a damn thing to support her. What the hell could I say? I never held One For All. Never in my life would I imagine sending Hayami away. There was impossible for me to understand what she was feeling, so I stood there like a dumbass. I just wish that I was a better friend, y'know? I couldn't help Nana as much as I wanted to.

Anyway, we said nothing after that. We just looked at the chaos and the whining of sirens and people. Before we knew it, Qinglong approached us; he was out of breath. He said, "Mystic wants everyone to investigate the rubble of Baek Support Tower. He already fetched Gran Torino."

"Where's Bam?" Nana asked him.

I actually knew where she was, so I answered, "She's a block down trying to provide support. I can get her. You two can go on ahead without me." Nana and Qinglong nodded. They gave me a comforting look.

"If you encounter Core, radio in immediately," Qinglong told me.

"That's if I don't kill him first," I joked before I ushered them away. They ran towards the ruins of Baek Support Tower, only a massive pile of debris. There was dust still lingering in the air, but due to a Quirk of a Support Hero who blew most of it away, it wasn't a dangerous amount of dust. Thank goodness though, because you would get cancer from breathing a big chunk of it in. Anyway, I jogged down a block, trying my best to ignore the pain that was around me. I had to find Bam—that was my mission. When I went down a block, she wasn't where I last saw her. I went up to a police officer and asked where she was. Well, I couldn't really ask in good Korean, so I just said "Bam?" and that was that. He pointed towards the block to our right, so I went down there. All along the sidewalks were survivors of the explosion. They had blood all over their clothes, dust strewn in their hair, they looked so miserable. No doubt that some of them lost a few friends, coworkers, or even family. I even saw a little girl sobbing into her father's chest. The sight of that broke me a little. Remembering it now, after all these years, it hurts a lot more than it did then.

Eventually, I did find Bam. She was wrapping a bandage around a man's head. He had her jacket draped over him. I walked up to them. She noticed me there, acknowledging my presence. After she was done wrapping the bandage, she said something to the man in Korean before turning to me. "Master Kendo," she said, her voice breaking, "did you find Core?"

I shook my head. "We're about to. Everyone's at the Baek Support Tower, or where it used to be. C'mon, we need you there."

"Alright… We can't keep them waiting," Bam said, wiping her eyes with her hand. We started to go back towards the site of the initial explosion. Along the way, people began to call for her. Bam looked at each and every person, repeating the same thing over and over. I didn't know what she said, but it was probably something reassuring. She said it in a confident voice and with a smile too, trying to mask the fact that she was sobbing inside. As an idol, she loved her fans more than anything, I think. In this incident, she felt everyone's pain and sorrow all at once. It must have been overwhelming for her, but she had a cool head. Bam looked strong, which was all that mattered to the public. It took a lot of strength to do that. You might be sitting here thinking, "Yeah, I could totally stay strong in a shit-show like this." Well, you're always wrong. You have no idea how you would react in an attack like this. Seeing bodies was, and still is, a common occurrence for Heroes, but at this magnitude? Like hell you can stay strong. But Bam did, and that was admirable.

When we got closer to the site, we saw the news came in. They had spotlights and cameras everywhere, trying to broadcast this to the entire nation. Bam saw them and tried to walk up. I grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. I reminded her, "Bam, the mission. The news can wait."

"I need to reassure everyone, Master Kendo. I'm their voice," she told me, but her voice was cracking.

"Sing for them after you beat Core into a pulp. We need you right now, Bam. If Core's planning something—anything, then we need you," I tried to convince her, and reluctantly, she nods.

Finally, we met up with everyone else. They were talking to the firefighters and other Pro Heroes who were on the scene—well trying to anyway. We were in front of the initial blast zone which was taped away for the public's safety. All that stood of Baek Support Tower was now reduced to rubble. When Bam came up, all of the Pro Heroes turned to her for leadership, immediately shouting at her in Korean. They definitely said something about stupid Japanese people being stupid—and even Chinese if you think about Qinglong. I went up to Mystic and Sora, who were looking at the rubble. I asked them, "Find anything?"

Mystic shook his head. "Afraid not."

And so did Sora. "Nothing. The car is buried somewhere. Do you think Core survived?"

"I fucking hope not. If I see his face, then I'm punching him back to America," I answered, spitting in disgust.

Mystic scolded me, "We need him for the mission, Master Kendo."

"Fine, but give me a locked room with him for five minutes, alone. I'm not gonna kill him, but he isn't going to walk for a year or two," I told them. Sora scoffed, but I knew he wanted to hurt the bastard as much as I did.

"I know you're upset, Master Kendo…" Qinglong joined the conversation, looking at the debris with us. "But we ought to divert our anger into action, honorable action. Revenge isn't sightly to see in a Hero, especially in a man like you."

"Uh huh. I'm glad you can control yourself, Qinglong. For me, it's hard to control my anger when I see the littered corpses of the innocent around you. These were someone's sons and daughters. Some might even have children of their own. So yeah, I pissed. Y'know why? This reminds me that at any moment, Japan could end up like this! My own family included! That's why I need to take All For One down into a six foot grave. My family can't be happy when he's in their way."

Mystic shut his eyes and lowered his head. "You care for your family, don't you?"

"More than anything, Mystic. A family can humble you more than anything. That's why I need to be a Hero. It isn't a want or an obligation—it's a need. Ensuring my family's happiness is my priority."

"As a Hero?" Qinglong asked me.

"As a father and a husband most of all."

"That's Sasaki Kendo alright," Sorahiko said. "When we were students at U.A., he used to be an egomaniac. But once he met Tatemi Kintawa, he got his head on straight. His ego is the last thing on his mind now. All he cares about is his family."

"You should try it out sometime, your ego's getting a little too big for my taste," I replied.

"A family isn't for me."

"Family…" Qinglong repeated, sounding like he was going into his own thoughts. The poor bastard was raised to be a Hero from birth. I'm not sure if he had any true family to call his own. And naturally, that reflected onto his son, and then his grandsons.

I asked Mystic, "You'll understand someday, Mystic. You're not a hopeless man like Sora, so you'll get to have a family."

He told me, "Hopefully, I do dream that I'll have a family of my own—sons, I would like. However, I won't live long enough to hold my grandchildren."

"You'll make it out of this alive. The only person here who would let you die in a fire is Sora."

("I am standing right here, you bastard.")

Mystic leaned his head back and laughed. I hoped he laughed because of my joke, but I was half-serious saying it. "In any case, after this mission, I hope to meet you again in Japan, maybe I'll have a family to speak about."

"Well, let's hope so. I'm afraid I can't give you tips for raising sons, since I got a little gremlin of a girl," I responded with an annoying little laugh before Bam finally made it back to us with Nana. Those other Heroes and rescue services took longer than I woulda wanted, but at least none of them wanted an autograph from Bam. That would've taken forever.

"Everything settled?" Sora asked them.

Bam nodded. "Yeah, emergency services and Rescue Heroes will search the site for any survivors—or for any bodies. One of the Rescue Heroes have a Quirk that detects heartbeats from a distance, so he's our best chance at finding Core alive."

"What if he's dead?" Qinglong asked next.

"Then we fail our mission," Mystic answered.

"We already failed." Sora looked out into the destruction. We could see blood staining some of the debris, even catching glimpses of a few bodies. Who knew how many else was under there? "Right now, all we're doing is damage control."

Emergency services and Heroes ran past us, going into the site. Nana gestured for us to join them, and so we did. We helped them lift up debris, carry out bodies, call out for anyone. I saw enough gore that it's better to skip past the details. A lot of people died horrifically, that's as far as I will tell you. Little by little though, the Rescue Hero that Bam talked about earlier went through the possible survivors. We were right there with him, seeing if one of them really was Core.

All we found were tears and blood. The survivors were so confused, disorientated from what happened. Some of them even had family in the area. The first thing they did was trying to run away, checking if their families were okay. We had to stop them and let the paramedics carry them off as they lay sobbing in their stretcher. Never in my life did I ever witness a horrific attack such as this. Yeah, some fuckers out there only want to kill or maim, but this? So many people at once? You aren't just attacking the public, you're attacking the entire damn country. Something like this won't be forgotten. It won't be a headline on the newspaper only for it to be replaced the next day. The current generation then was defined by the Busan Bombing, like during All Might's rise as a Hero, that defined his generation. Since then, things have quieted down. But Itsuka's generation—Sanji's generation too—they haven't been defined yet. And what they will experience, that's something that I'm afraid of.

Eventually though, something finally happened.

Mystic found a man miraculously untouched—relatively anyway. He had scratches and was bleeding, but compared to others, he was practically unscatched. Uhm, how did he find him…? Right, he threw off some blocks off and found him lying on a flat bed of concrete unconscious, almost like he was living inside a hut. Mystic called for some of us to help. Me and Bam scaled a small pile of rubble as Mystic lifted him up. We took him off of his hands and gave him to the Rescue Hero, who commented something in Korean. Another round of paramedics went in and we went down back to stable ground. The Rescue Hero said something, then Bam told us, "He said that there's another heartbeat right of where we found the man."

"Let's free them," Qinglong said, heading to the right. There was like a teepee of rubble, or a very skinny pyramid—however you imagine it—where the survivor was. Qinglong took a look at it, trying to think how to dismantle it without the entire thing falling apart. He suggested, "We might need structural support to remove the rubble safely."

Bam agreed, "Mhm, I'm no architect, but that thing's unstable as my love life."

"Do you really have to make that comment?" Sora complained.

"I take it back. Gran Torino's lovelife is a lot more unstable." Bam stood up. The Rescue Hero narrowed his eyes in disgust as everyone around him was talking in Japanese. Bam giggled and explained the situation to him in Korean.

Clatter…

The structure moved. We immediately snapped into focus. None of us touched the thing. There was wind, but it wasn't strong enough to take it down—else a lot more stuff would've collapsed already. It was impossible for any outside forces to bother it, so the cause had to be within the structure itself. Naturally, we would assume that a civilian who didn't know better was moving around, but the tensions were high back then. If there was a chance that Core was under there, then we had to take it seriously.

And the Rescue Hero, he said something to Bam, and she translated, "Whoever's in there is conscious, but their heartbeat's steady."

Nana said, "The average civilian wouldn't have a calm heart in this mess. Unless they're abnormally calm in situations like this, but that's pretty much impossible. The only answer is—"

"Core. It's Core," Mystic concluded.

Bam looked at the Rescue Hero. He nodded and ran away, calling everyone away from the site. At once, everyone started to yell, running away from Baek Support Tower. The structure started to shake and rumble before a hand emerged—a dusty and bloody hand. It started to fall apart as the man inside began to break himself out little by little.

Mystic formed a katana in his hand.

I brought out my naginata.

Nana began to Float herself a meter off the ground.

Sora prepped his Jets.

Bam put a hand on the hilt of her knife.

Qinglong brought his hands together.

Then in an instant, Core leapt out. I saw a flicker of red hair—Irish descent—dashing towards us. What little time I had to react, I put up my naginata to guard any possible attacks. He would close in the distance to touch us with his Quirk, burning us alive. Qinglong stepped in and yelled, "Get back!"

ASTRAL THIRTY: HEAVENLY PALACE - TWIN DRAGONS!

From the palms of his hands, two azure-colored dragons shot out with terrifying speed, as if they were shot from a gun. With ferocity, they moved towards Core, circling around each other with such power that the entire block rumbled and moaned. The twin dragons roared as if they were alive. A brief wind came out that shook our costumes, almost seeming like they were about to be ripped off our bodies. They hit Core before he was able to touch any of us. We heard a scream, then the sound of a body being sent backwards before a loud crash. The dust quickly settled as Qinglong's dragons dissipated. Core had his back against a bed of hard concrete against the building next to where Baek Support Tower used to be. He moved slightly, and that prompted Sorahiko to jet forward with his Quirk. He spun around in the air and smashed his foot against his face; it was so hard that he knocked a tooth out of Core's mouth. Sora bounced off of him, flipping backwards and landing in front of Core. Sora grabbed him by the collar, yelling, "Give up, Core!"

Nana yelled, "Get away from him, Gran Torino! He could use his Quirk—!"

"You're too late, Nana Shimura..." Core muttered in Japanese. Sora's eyes widened in anger as he threw him against the slab of concrete he was laying on, breaking it in half. To punish him further, he threw him over to us, flying over and putting his foot on Core's back as he laid on his stomach.

Pressing on his spine, Sora demanded, "What was that, Core?! Spit it out!" Nana continued to Float, glaring down at Core.

Core cackled, writhing on the ground. "Nana Shimura, you lost from the moment you set foot in Busan."

Sora pressed harder. I heard Core's back cracking. It wasn't becoming for a Hero to do this, but all bets were off here. Besides, no one had any qualms seeing this bastard in pain. Mystic asked him, "You have another bomb, don't you? Is it with that other henchman of yours?" Once he said that, my blood turned cold.

"You think I'll tell you, Mystic? You're not even a real Hero," Core replied, glaring at him, practically confirming that there was a second bomb out there—somewhere. Each of us gave worried looks—no, it was more than that. The looks we had...there was absolute dread in them. There was this terror I didn't know that anyone could feel until at that very moment. I remember that I felt like puking my guts out from the possibility of failure—it was that bad.

Mystic's face tightened, just trying to process how the situation got even worse. He got out his radio and started to talk to Hideyoshi. Bam just started to run towards the emergency services, who were trying to evacuate the survivors. Sora gritted his teeth, pushing his foot down harder. Qinglong and Nana were the only ones whose face didn't change, but I could tell how they reacted through their eyes. They were furious. Out of the six, I was the only one who managed to speak, "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Core replied.

"The bomb. Does your shit-for-brains of a minion have it?"

"What bomb? What minion?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you motherfucker—"

"I'm not playing dumb—!"

"Oh shut the hell up! Where the hell is the bomb?! If not, a broken spine will be the least of your worries!" As soon as I threatened him, Sora emphasize my point by putting more weight onto Core's spine. He gasped in pain, writhing like a pathetic worm.

"That's enough, you two," Nana told us. She gestured to Sorahiko that he had to take his foot off. He did, and she hovered over Core. Her fury was silent, we all felt it. Feeling her anger made my body go weak. Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled her signature smile. It was utterly terrifying. "Core, why does All For One want to destroy Busan?"

"Heh, you don't know?" he said, lifting his head up slightly. "He's looking into South Korea, simple as that." All For One had direct control over the shadows of Japan. With the Busan Bombing, he wanted a hand in Korea's stakes as well. This was meant to show to the Villains in Korea what All For One could do—forcing a country to its knees. He was a powerful man, but with this addition, he'd be even more powerful. The entire world was—and probably still is—within his sphere of influence. With more direct control, that sphere of influence would become an empire.

Mystic nodded and put the radio away. "Hideyoshi said to detain Core. Bam and I can restrain him."

Qinglong volunteered, "I'll help you—"

"Aye, don't think either of ya will be doing that."

FWMP!

From the ground, he launched himself into the air with molten concrete following his hands and feet, both of them red like lava. We jumped back, avoiding the molten concrete from splashing on us. Sorahiko countered by jetting up to Core, swinging his leg around to kick him. Core put his hands up and blocked his kick. He pushed his leg aside and tried to grab Sora's face, hand still red hot, but Sora smacked his hand away before he could.

"Sorahiko!" I yelled. There wasn't any time to change my naginata into a bow, so I held it like a javelin and threw at Core. He did a backflip in the air, avoiding getting impaled. Out of his feet, he blasted magma out of it that seared the ground below, using it to propel himself further into Busan. An ability like that was impossible with his original Quirk, which only could dramatically increase the temperature of anything he touches.

That was why Nana exclaimed, "Core has two Quirks! All For One gave him Magma Propulsion!"

"Gotta be kidding me!" Sora yelled before he chased after him, using his Jets to chase him through the buildings. Nana immediately began to fly after Core using Float, being slightly behind the two.

"Astral Fifty—!" Qinglong yelled.

"—Set!" Then Mystic.

Then at once—

ASTRAL FIFTY: CELESTIAL STAIRS - SURGING FOOTSTEPS!

MYSTIC ARTE: LIGHT SPEED!

They left me behind. Much like Core, Qinglong sent an energy blast through the soles of his feet, launching him into the air. He left behind a crater large enough to fit a car. I was pushed back from the shockwaves that came afterwards. I watched him lean his body forward to minimize the air resistance, flying towards Sora and Core like a missile. Mystic performed the same technique from earlier when he chased after the vans like a speedster. His hair grew bolder and in an instant, he ran forward, sprinting after the others.

And I was alone, completely unable to catch up. All these people were capable of moving from one end of the city to the other in minutes. Lucky bastards. I was standing there with a Quirk that only accumulates force and energy, nothing else! I couldn't channel energy to give me something like Full Cowling, or blast me to space like a rocketship. All I had was my two God-given feet which was completely useless in this situation. Out of the six, I was the least agile. I was a good sprinter, I could run marathons in my sleep, but I was out of my league here.

Luckily, I had a friend. Bam joined me and yelled, "You have to be kidding me! I left for three freaking minutes!"

"Got any bright ideas? We can have K.A.M.I. call us a car or something," I suggested, my tone near defeat.

Bam shook her head and put her hand on my shoulder. "I got a better idea."

"What are you—?"

Everything stopped. I mean it, everything stopped. While this mess was going on, there was constant blaring of sirens and people yelling at each other. Once Bam touched me, every single noise stopped. The only thing I could hear was my own breathing and the beating of my heart. I looked around the block. I saw fires that were standing still, static like they were made out of cardboard. I turned to look at the nearest person—a man. He was running away from the blast site with his face full of panic and fear. He was taking small strides with his legs, trying to run away, but he didn't see the piece of concrete that was in his path. The man stood in that exact position like a statue. He wasn't moving an inch.

I turned back to Bam, asking her, "What did you do?"

"Stopped time, what do you think I did?" she retorted before running towards the street that everyone barreled down in. I didn't have a choice but to follow her. Along the way, I picked up my naginata that I threw at Core, which missed.

"Hold on a second! Your Quirk doesn't let you turn invisible?!" I asked another question, which annoyed her. We were both fast runners, thankfully. When we went into the street, we saw Mystic on street-level while a little further done from him was everyone else including Core. The only difference was that… Well, they were in the air. There were civilians cowering inside buildings and on the sidewalks, trying to find cover. Having so many people there wasn't comforting in the slightest.

She answered, "Nope. When I first used Lightless, people thought that I was ridiculously fast when I was invisible. It wasn't true, but I didn't want to reveal the true function because keeping it a secret would give me an upper hand against Villains. Really, the true name of my Quirk would be 'Timeless'."

Bam had a Chono-type Quirk, which had the same rarity as Warping and Creation-types. Chrono-type Quirks allowed the user to access time; by "access", that could mean a ton of different things. In Bam's case, she could control time by stopping it. However, Chrono-type Quirks like Foresight, which belongs to Sir Nighteye, allows for a greater perception of time—hence his ability to see into the future. And Mystic—of course I gotta mention him—his Limited Foresight, if it was a Quirk, would fall under Chrono-type.

I let out a dry laugh, still having my focus on Core and the rest of the gang. "One of your 'company secrets' then? What's the other secrets? Lemme guess, you use autotune."

"Oh shut up, who's the world's greatest Idol Hero? Yeah, not you. Besides, J-Pop got nothing on K-Pop, just the facts." Bam sighed, knowing that we needed to stay on topic. "But since you're here, you could probably guess that I can pull others into Timeless with me."

"Wait." I perked my head from a sudden realization. "Your Quirk stops time right? Under that umbrella, sound is stopped too. So how in the hell can we hear each other?"

"Don't ask me. I'm a singer, not a metaologist," she said. Then suddenly, to our right, I saw a woman's head moving. It was in-between two positions, flickering between both of them—one looking at the flying men above everyone and one looking at the girl beside her. That was not normal.

"Bam, what the hell is going on with her?" I asked.

"Oh, that was faster than I expected," Bam muttered.

"Bam!" Little by little, more people started to do the same thing—moving between two states of time. That was really far from normal. Being the man I am, I naturally expressed my concerns, "Tell me what the hell is going on!"

"Well, you know how the universe is pretty cool?"

"...Oh God."

Bam winced. "Yeeeeah, that's an oops from me. Look, long story short, I pulled us out of the natural state of time—"

"You did what?!"

"Lemme finish! Imagine if there's a line right? Humanity lives on one line, but Timeless pulls us off that line, entering a plane unfit for human comprehension! The universe saw us and said, 'You weren't supposed to do that!' Being a buncha dicks, they're trying to forcibly pull us back into the plane of time where we, mere mortals, are meant to exist in—or they're pulling that plane to us. Either way, we're in a little trouble."

"We haven't ran for even a minute—in our time plane or whatever the shit it is! The universe acted that fast?!"

"Normally, they would pull this stunt around two minutes. Of course, they had to be overachievers tonight!" Bam said before she stopped right beside Mystic. His arms were freaking out. He was stuck in-between two very amusing expressions—angry, angrier, angry, then angrier. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to laugh at him too much. We had a Villain to deal with.

I looked up at the rest of the high-fliers above. I pulled out my naginata and morphed it into a bow, nocking an explosive arrow. I asked Bam, "You can pull us back out of Timeless, right?"

"Yeah, but we have less than twenty seconds judging from how everything's freaking out," she replied, watching me.

"That's more than enough."

THWISH!

When I released my arrow, it was frozen still right in front of me. The shaft of the arrow was bent slightly due to the archer's paradox, but that wasn't something to worry about. On the other hand, my arrow was stiff. It wasn't going to travel in Timeless, but it was going to travel in Time. I aimed the arrow where it would hit Core exactly.

And then I fired another explosive arrow behind the first one.

And another, behind the second one.

And another, behind the third.

Four arrows total. They weren't going to hit Core at the same time. No, that wasn't my intention. The first arrow would hit him while he was in the air. Due to the explosion and my masterful aiming, he would be knocked downwards to the spot where the second arrow would hit him. Now that arrow, it would knock him down some more, where the third hit. For the fourth, you can assume it was the same. It was a staircase of explosions.

Being impressed, Bam whistled. "Ready for me to send us back?"

"Ready."

She touched my shoulder again and sound came back into my ears. I heard everything at once—screams of the innocent, sirens of ambulances, and most importantly...the whistling of arrows. Mystic ran a few steps forward before he saw my arrows, stopping to watch them fly. They approached the four, the first one weaving just through the gaps between Nana, Qinglong, and Sora, hitting Core in the back. It exploded and an uproar of civilians cried in terror. (Yeah, that was a bit of a mistake. These guys knew that there was another bomb and I raised their anxiety tenfold with each explosion.) Anyway, Core went down a few meters before the second arrow hit him. Another explosion happened, and he was sent down more. You know the gist, don't need to explain what happened with the third and fourth arrow. From the constant attacks, Core went down like a truck, slamming into the road and definitely into a couple of cars.

Qinglong and Sora looked back at me from above, and Mystic turned to look at us in shock. I saluted them, smiling. Nana laughed and waved, asking Bam and I, "How did you get here so fast?"

I jokingly said, "Oh, I stopped time and the universe flipped its shit. Bam tagged along too like a stray cat." Bam rolled her eyes at me.

"Funny!" Nana replied before gesturing us to hurry the hell up to Core. They started to fly towards Core with us three—me, Bam, and Mystic—being behind them. Core decided to go to sleep with a car as his bed. Wasn't the most comfortable mattress, but it was gonna be softer than the shit they give him in prison. Core saw the predictament he was in and jumped off of the car, using Magma Propulsion as jets to shoot him into the sky once again—the absolute motherfucker. He shouted in English, "Come on out, Big Guy!"

And the Big Guy? Well, guess who that was? That's right, the final henchman. From ten or so blocks away, a man with a Gigantification-type Quirk emerged from the deep. He didn't look like the average man. No, the bastard was ugly. He had hair all over him like he was a grizzly bear, but he didn't have the head of one. It was like a crow's head mixed in with a dog's mouth. He was absolutely horrifying to look at—honestly, it was one of the worst Gigantification-Quirk I seen appearance-wise. I mean, I always hated these guys anyway, so much of a hassle to deal with.

With the Big Guy's appearance, we were distracted for a few seconds. This gave Core ample time to propel himself away, but unbeknownst to him, it woke us up from the surprise. Nana yelled out orders, "Gran Torino, Qinglong; you're fighting the Gigantification Quirk!"

"I'll come with them! Don't worry about me!" Bam volunteered before disappearing. She went off stopping time and destroying the fabric of the universe, normal Idol Hero things—sounds like a shitty anime if I'm being real with you. Once Bam jumped into Timeless, Qinglong and Sora took Nana's orders and flew off to the Gigantification Quirk, already engaging in combat, specifically Qinglong.

ASTRAL FIFTY: PRIMORDIAL REALM - WHEEL OF FORTUNE!

He spun vertically in the air with his right foot out, using Astral to increase his momentum. An azure-colored wheel was created with him as the center, bright enough to be one of the stars. His heel collides with the Big Guy with an impact strong enough to shake the nearby buildings, even shattering the windows. They had this covered.

MYSTIC ARTE: LIGHT SPEED!

Mystic was already gone; he was chasing after Core. Nana flew down to me and took my hand, warning, "Hold on tight, Saki!" She immediately took us into the skies where the wind was clashing against our bodies. I tried to look ahead with the wind trying to blind me, and I barely was able to see Core leaving our sight. I swore under my breath as Nana flew us after him and Mystic. She kept flying, and flying, and flying. We flew for such a long time, so long that I was getting sick to my stomach.

Nana yelled, "We're almost there, Saki!" The only reason we knew that because of the noise. Despite the howling winds, I heard fighting nearby. We finally heard fighting after God knows how many blocks and streets. However, we were deeper into Busan, entering an area that was populated and wasn't blocked off by the police. It was far from the Baek Support Tower after all; they wouldn't have to worry about any further attacks. Like what I said earlier, the first explosion woke Busan up, so they went outside wondering what the hell was going on. That, in turn, gave Core the lives he wanted.

But Mystic wouldn't let Core take them.

Nana and I chased after them for five minutes—a long time. But Mystic was done chasing after Core, and Core was done running.

They were fighting.

BLAST!

Each sound they made.

—SET!

MYSTIC ARTE: ORION'S BELT!

Each small explosion I heard.

BOOM!

Everything that they did.

—SET!

MYSTIC ARTE: SILENT NIGHT!

It drove me nuts. The anxiety in my chest felt like it was gonna pull my heart out and crush it into pieces.

But somehow, we saw them after two minutes. We were flying into a long triangular plaza with skyscrapers all around us. There was a large TV on one of the buildings, flickered to a news broadcast. The anchor there was trying to explain what happened while we looked down below the clear plaza, a swarm of people surrounding Mystic and Core. These idiots didn't have the mind to run away. Nope, they stood around and watched, filming it with their phones. They were filming Mystic and Core's fight.

Mystic looked awful; his hair was more blood red than white. He wasn't wearing his haori anymore. Instead, it littered the ground in burnt tatters, barely recognizable. His kimono and hakama were damaged. In fact, half of his kimono was torn diagonally, revealing his bare chest underneath, toned. There were several cuts on his chest, and plenty more I'm sure. He had his hands gripped around a white katana that was burnt, the blade bloodlied. His head was lowered. He was unspeakable pain, yet he didn't scream at all. Nana and I, we saw him. She flew forwards, trying to reach him as soon as possible. Then, before we knew it, he activated his Quirk.

—SET!

MYSTIC ARTE: MOONLIT DISTANCE!

We kept flying towards him.

"Arrogant shit!"

BLAST!

But you should know something…

—SET!

MYSTIC ARTE: LIGHT SPEED BURST!

There were thousands of people.

"Mother—!"

MYSTIC ARTE: MOONLIT DISTANCE!

Core could have killed all of them within less than a minute.

BLAST!

MYSTIC ARTE: LUMINARY AEGIS!

BLOCK!

Yet…

"Just die already—!"
FWMP!

There was no bodies.

"I won't—!"

DODGE!

For seven minutes, Mystic fought Core. For seven minutes, he didn't let him take a single soul away from this world. Mystic wasn't Korean; he wasn't a Pro Hero; he was just an agent for the United Hero Nations. In movies, you would think men like him would be a villain—hell, today, you would assume he was evil.

"Die—!"

SLAM!

That was wrong.

"Here—!"

COMBINATION MYSTIC ARTE: CRACKING AEGIS!

BOOM!

It was wrong. Mystic teetered on the brink of death, yet he still fought. When I saw him fighting Core...

"Guh—?!"

"—Set!"

What I saw was a hero.

MYSTIC ARTE: STILL MIDNIGHT'S PIERCE!

BLAST!

With his right hand, Mystic drove his katana towards Core in a stabbing motion, faster than what the naked eye could process. It was a technique so fast, elevated through the channeling of his Quirk, that it could be near-impossible to follow with my eyes—even then, it was only because my reflexes were so honed. Core thrusted his arms forward, spurting magma through the palms of his hands.

CLASH!

Blade met fire. The boiling magma was enough to melt Mystic's katana, having it shatter into small shards of glass-like pieces. Mystic's right arm was engulfed in the magma, burning his entire arm up to his shoulder. He screamed in pain as Core grew a wicked grin. Nana yelled, "CORE!"

She looked at me and I nodded, and without hesitation, she dropped me twenty-five meters from the air. Core saw me coming and decided to focus on me instead. He kicked Mystic away, letting the flesh on his right arm melt and blister. From the soles of his feet, he boosted himself up to meet me, faster than the speed of my descent. I spun around in the air with my naginata ready, using the momentum of the spin to aid in my strike; Core thrusted his left foot forward, aiming for my head.

We flew towards each other, our attacks primed. But at the last second, when he least expected it, I pivoted to my right. Core's eyes went wide from the suddenness, probably thinking, Why the hell did he dodge? He had a chance to kill me.

While he was focused on me, he wasn't focused on Nana, who was right behind where I was. Nana screamed out in fury as she drove her right fist into the left cheek of Core, having her attack boosted by not only her speed, but also by One For All. The impact of the punch created a gust of wind that shook the clothes of every bystander there, even making me tumble in the air. Core himself flew back into the ground, making a crater where he laid. I landed too, a bit roughly in my opinion. I hit the ground hard, back first. I recovered back onto my feet, gripping my naginata tightly.

I saw Nana soaring towards Core, who was only begun to pick himself up. He saw her coming and blasted a spew of magma towards Nana, forcing her to weave out of the way. Core changed up his attacks, instead of blasting beams of magma, he shot small bullets, fast enough to give Nana a hard time. All of them hit the buildings behind Nana, none of them making the mark. It gave him the chance to finally stand up and walk out of the crater, recuperating a little.

But I wasn't about to let him give him that chance. I ran up from behind Core, sliding on my knees with my naginata back. He saw me right as when I sliced the back of his left knee, forcing him to go down on it. He yelped in pain as I spun around, swinging the staff end of my weapon into his head.

CRACK!

The blow was hard enough to fracture his skull. Core lifted his head up and gave me a dirty glare, one that set my hair on end. He picked up his left hand and sent a blast of magma towards my direction. I put my naginata up, using it as a shield against it. It wasn't very damn effective, I tell you, but it worked for the first second. The metal and wood of my naginata was melting, bending in on itself—not to mention how fucking hot it was when my hands were literally gripping it. My instincts told me to let go, but I forced myself to hold on for just one more second.

I yelled like hell, before… Well, before I tossed my naginata off to the side, spinning around the beam of magma and closing the gap between me and Core. He shut off his magma and with his other hand, he tried to fire another round at me, but I jumped over his attack, spinning around and letting my heel contact with him.

But, Core grabbed me with his left hand. His original Quirk, Core, activated. Within a fraction of a second, my foot felt like it was melting off my bones. I screamed and fell to the ground, and like the bastard he was, Core grabbed me, wrapping an arm around my neck. He managed to stand up despite the cut I gave him, facing Nana who finally was able to react. She saw the situation I was in, which wasn't that bad, and landed. We both knew that I was his hostage. She said, "Core, let him go."

"Why would I?" he replied, "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill Master Kendo."

"What do you want?" Nana asked him. I shook my head, but she didn't care. She was willing to give him anything if it meant saving me.

"Bitch, that's a question, not a reason!" Core, with his other hand, pressed his finger against my cheek. My skin started to burn, smelling like burnt flesh. He started to press harder, trying to tear a hole in my face.

"Guh—?! —Gah!" I screamed.

Nana screamed, "Stop it!"

We were ten meters away from each other. If she flew, it would take her three seconds for her to each me. It wasn't fast enough where Core couldn't react, he could.

So when Nana did fly towards me, Core immediately reacted. He pulled his finger away, stepping back, and then wrapping his disgusting fingers around the top of my head. Nana extended her hand towards me, screaming, but she was too far away.

Within three seconds, Core would kill me.

Within three seconds, Nana wouldn't be able to save me.

It was rigged from the start. Core wanted to further demoralize Nana by killing one of her best friends in front of her eyes. Taking me hostage, that was a mere formality—an appetizer before the main course. He wanted to give Nana hope before he replaced it with despair.

And, he would've gotten away with it. But then—

"Rrrraaah—!"

SHINK!

"Uguh—?!"

Behind us, Mystic picked up my naginata and stabbed Core through his chest, almost stabbing me as well. Core immediately let me go and I couldn't do anything but fall. Nana tumbled onto the ground and lifted me up, on the verge of tears. We turned our eyes to Mystic, the man who saved my life.

Core looked down at the blade that pierced his heart, blood pouring out of his mouth. Then Mystic pulled the blade out and let Core fall to his knees, staring up at the sky with smoke blanketing the moon.

Mystic dropped my weapon, his right arm barely recognizable—he stabbed him using that arm. He looked at us and smiled, blood covering the whiteness of his teeth. It was a smile that despite the pain he felt, he was happy that everyone was alive. But then, seeing what he did, he frowned. "Forgive me, but I wasn't about to let… Core kill you… Master Kendo…"

"Mystic…" I said, but I didn't have the strength from saying anything more than that.

Nana looped my arm around her shoulder and lifted me up. "I don't blame you, Mystic. Not at all." That was one thing we conflicted on, honestly—killing Villains. Sometimes, it was a necessity, but Nana truly wanted it to be a last resort. In my opinion, I didn't have any qualms killing Villains. These bastards wanted to ruin lives, wanted to kill others for the sake of killing, so having them out of our lives permanently was better for the world. But Nana didn't see that way.

"I don't believe in killing Villains; we should knock 'em out. 'Cause, as a Hero, our biggest priority is becoming the beacon that others turn to, and we can't be that beacon with blood on our hands. When the tough gets going, the people we save needs to see that we're saviors, not killers. Heroes should be remembered for saving lives, not taking 'em." That was what Nana said.

In the end, it doesn't matter. She's dead.

"I'm sorry…" Mystic apologized, bowing his head. Slowly, on the verge of collapsing completely, he approached us step-by-step.

"Mystic…" Nana said his name. "I'm—"

"Heh…" Core chuckled, coughing up blood. I was really annoyed that he wasn't dead yet, but at the time, I was more shocked than annoyed.

"Why aren't you dead yet?!" I shouted.

Core laughed, blood streaming down his mouth, "Haha…"

Mystic stared at him, then his eyes went wide. "Everyone—!"

"—Hahahaha! Hahahaha—!"

"—Run! You have to flee!"

"Mystic?!" Nana tried to call for him, but he stood in front of us with his arms out.

But we didn't run.

"—Hahahahahahahaha!" Core continued to laugh. That was when I saw it—his body was glowing a burning red.

Mystic formed a rectangular shield in his left arm, just as tall as him. He slammed the bottom against the pavement, embedding it into the ground.

—SET!

FINAL MYSTIC ARTE: ACHERNAR - SEVEN SNOWFLAKE BASTION!

In front of Mystic, seven walls formed in front of his shield, with him as the eighth layer. I didn't have the opportunity to take in his technique, because by the time he completed it, Core exploded.

It was a deafening sound.

The earth shook.

And we were blinded.

I didn't know what happened, but Mystic saved us once again.

Being the durable wall, he protected us from the explosion.

But the same couldn't be said for the civilians, who were watching the fight from the very beginning.

Nana held me close, telling me that I'll make it back home.

Then there was nothing.

When the dust cleared, there was nothing.

Mystic stood there; he survived the explosion as well with his arms shattered and a bone sticking out of his left leg.

He looked into the ruins of the plaza, his eyes wide with horror.

Core was the second explosion—a suicide bomber.

I don't know what went on in his head, but he just ran.

With his body broken, both physically and mentally, he just ran.

And that was it.

I'd…

I'd rather not describe what I saw.

Because Mystic saved my life, he ended up being the indirect cause of the deaths of over five thousand people.

Because I needed to be saved, I was the indirect cause of over five thousand deaths.

Because Nana couldn't save me in time, she was the indirect cause of over five thousand deaths.

Because none of us did our job, we doomed seven thousand people.

This… This was a victory not for the Heroes, but for the Villains. We're still reeling from the aftermath to this very day.

---

Shindeka Oji

"After the second explosion; Qinglong, Sora, and Bam was thankfully alive. They took me and Nana to the nearest hospital outside of Busan. Chiyo, Tatemi, Toshi, and even Hayami flew out to meet us in South Korea. I never forgot how much Tatemi cried. Chiyo told me that she just wouldn't stop crying. Hell, even Toshi was in tears. Chiyo herself couldn't make a snarky remark, and my little Hayami… She was worried about her stupid dad.

"Anyway, Hideyoshi greeted us, saying that the mission failed and what not. But he wasn't angry. He knew that we did all we could. For our troubles, the U.H.N. would pay us a lot of money. Nana declined and so did I—everyone did. We all agreed that it should be spent towards Busan.

"We asked about Mystic, who wasn't in the hospital with us. Hideyoshi said that he was tending to a woman who was buried under rubble. She was the sole survivor of the second explosion. Because of the incident, Mystic retired as an agent of the U.H.N., and it was because the U.H.N. wanted to deny involvement and for Mystic's health. I couldn't be mad honestly. I didn't have the strength to. So, in the end, Hideyoshi said that Mystic would go back home and live a quiet life, right in Japan."

Master Kendo looks at me. "Grandmaster, he might be out there somewhere. I haven't thanked him enough for saving my life."

"He very well may be," I say, standing up and bowing. "Thank you for recounting the details even though they are very traumatic."

"Don't mention it. Anything to help the fight against All For One," he replies with a small nod. Gran Torino stands up as well with his cane in hand. He has a solemn look. It is quite clear why he has that look. An incident such as the Busan Bombing would be incredibly traumatic even to the most strong-willed individuals. I can only imagine how Nana Shimura felt during this. It's a shame that Master Kendo did not go into too much detail of how she felt, but then again, he isn't Nana Shimura. I won't pry further anyhow. Most men would be broken from those events, but at least master Kendo had his family. Without them, then I would expect a very different man today.

Let's see though, six individuals…

Master Kendo.

Nana Shimura.

Gran Torino.

Qinglong.

Bam.

Mystic.

The first three, I know their stories already. I'm speaking to two of them at the moment while the third is deceased. For Qinglong, after the Busan Bombing, it seemed that his reputation took a massive hit in China. It was one of the reasons that he lost his spot as the No.1 Pro Hero, if not the reason. Because of the Busan Bombing, he wanted his family to retake their "rightful" spot. As a result, Hiryu Rin is now studying in Japan. I need to find an opportunity to speak to him.

For Bam, after the Busan Bombing, she devoted her time to rebuilding Busan. She donated millions to its recovery, uplifting spirits through her career as an idol. To South Korea, she was still the same Hyun Yeong-ju that everyone adored. However, the incident left mental scars. She ended up retiring as an Idol Hero five years after the event, striving to become a mentor to future Korean Pro Heroes.

Ah right, let's not forget Fujiro Hideyoshi. On the U.H.N. website, Hideyoshi became the director of the International Villains Affair block, the entire department. He still is the director today. If I could get a chance to speak to him, then I need to ask him for information—a lot of information.

Finally, Mystic… His real name unknown. When Master Kendo described him, something clicked within my mind.

"Grandmaster," Gran Torino gets my attention, "you really think you could find something? Mystic was just an agent, he wasn't important."

I correct him, "He wasn't just an agent, Gran Torino."

"What was he then?" Master Kendo asks.

"How did you describe him, Master Kendo? Appearance-wise, I mean," I answer, asking a question. He huffs, straightening his lips to showcase a slight annoyance and frustration.

"A samurai that came out of the Sengoku Period," he says.

I finish his answer, "Wearing a white and gold haori."

Gran Torino raises his head, realizing the conclusion that I came to. He looks at me, then at Master Kendo, then back at me once more, surprised by the result. "Wait, Grandmaster, are you saying—?"

I nod. "I am. Mystic is the descendant of the Winter Samurai, a supposed myth that came from the Origin of Quirks—or the Vigilante Era, however you describe the period. With his existence, we can confirm that the Winter Samurai is real. Mystic's family had justice and goodwill running in their blood from the sounds of it, so it is a mystery as to why none of them became Pro Heroes. Additionally, I have a reasonable suspicion that the Winter Samurai and One For All—"

"One For All? The Quirk?" Master Kendo asks.

"No, the original creator himself," I correct him.

"What does he have to do with any of this?" Gran Torino inquires.

I sigh and cross my arms, tapping my shoulder. "Please let me finish. It is a theory that is barely rooted in evidence. The only evidence I have is the fact that the Winter Samurai and One For All were active at the same time. Given the Winter Samurai's status as a powerful Vigilante, there is a high chance that he would have encountered One For All eventually, or even All For One. Given Mystic's nature and how Japan adores traditional values, it would not be a stretch to believe that the Winter Samurai would help One For All in his endeavors. However, I need proof to back my thinking."

"Is that what you'll be doing then? Becoming a history buff?" Master Kendo says, joking just a little. I laugh and nod, gesturing it so.

"Indeed. It should be an interesting task given the lack of concrete history, yet I will try nevertheless." I bow once more. "Yet anyhow, thank you for having me here. I hope to bring you results soon."

"Take care of yourself first," Master Kendo tells me.

Gran Torino agrees, adding, "Yeah, you aren't alone. After all, it's not all for one, but one for all."

I smile, lowering my head in the corniness of what he said. It's an admirable comment though, something that would stick with me for a long time. "Of course. If either of you need me, either call or come to my agency. Have a good night."

"You too."
"Yup."

I leave, walking out the door. Outside, Hayami Kendo is standing a few meters from her home, leaning against a light pole. She has her head down, surely having a hundred thoughts running through her mind. I approach her and bow my head as a simple greeting. "Miss Kendo, I didn't expect you to be out here. Your father—"

"I know, he's still inside, thanks," she replies with a hostile tone. As I thought, she isn't in a good mood.

"Don't you want to talk to him? He cares about you deeply," I suggest. Master Kendo said it himself—the only reason he was fighting All For One was to ensure a happy life for his family. In a way, he did everything just for his daughter. However, I don't know how Miss Kendo perceives it, whether it be in a positive light or a negative one.

She scoffs. "Isn't that obvious? Sasaki Kendo is a stupid man. He just sits, y'know? He sits and he sits. He lets the kids do whatever they want. He's their self-proclaimed, yet he isn't doing enough. You wanna know why, Grandmaster? He stands for absolutely nothing, so when he falls, he'll fall for nothing."

"He stands against a greater threat," I say, automatically coming to his defense, yet Miss Kendo scoffs again.

"Yeah right, he's retired. So is Uncle Sora, but Dad refuses to fight. He just sits, teaching at our Dojo everyday. Some of the kids he teaches, they're absolute demons. 'Master Kendo' this, 'Master Kendo' that. They think that being taught by him is a ticket to becoming the next All Might, or hell, from the whispers I heard, some of them are only in it for my daughter."

Inochi wouldn't be pleased, but nevertheless, I understand her point. "He hasn't sold his integrity—"

"No, he gave that up once he stopped fighting. The Dojo was once a place where future Pro Heroes were being taught, where Toshinori Yagi was being taught at. Now, we got rich kids from who-knows-where coming in. We're only teaching four kids, four kids who will be Heroes—Itsuka Kendo, Sanji Inochi, Izuku Midoriya, and Ojiro Mashirao. That's it. Our students used to be comprised of just Heroes-in-Training, and now it's not."

"Miss Kendo, I must insist that—"

"Insist nothing!" she yells at me. I take a step back from her sudden outburst. Miss Kendo realizes that she shouted. She shrinks herself as if she is apologizing. "Don't say a word. As much as you insist, you won't convince me of anything. Damnit, I wish that Dojo never existed at all!"

"You don't wish for that," I tell her, firm in my words. "There's something else that's troubling you. How do you think I know? I have to deal with Claude. You'd think he's an easy man to handle, but he's far from it. Heh, anyhow, what's your issue? It's better to tell me rather than your family, considering that they are the cause of your grief."

Miss Kendo sighs, realizing that my words are right. I can see it in her eyes. Much like her father, Hayami Kendo is a family-orientated individual. She is a mother after all. In a world of Pro Heroes, women like her are often overlooked. With what she had experienced, I'd say she is one of the strongest women in the entire city. She says, "Us Kendos, we're a heroic family. Heroism is our blood. We pound it into our marrows everyday. We were always meant to be a family of Heroes. No matter what, whenever we see an injustice in the world, we just have to fix it—make it right, better even! That's what we're made to be."

"However, you're not content with it, are you? In the past three generations, you are the only one who isn't a Hero, but your career still falls within heroism."

"Of course I'm content with it! What makes you say that?! Why would I be saying that—?!"

"Miss Kendo, you're a mother, not a Pro Hero."

"..."

"No matter how much you may convince yourself, you simply don't believe that heroism is the right answer. Frankly, I see where you're coming from. Living with a family of Pro Heroes, seeing how heroism enveloped their lives, you started to believe that it became the absolute answer. Then, you became a mother and your entire world changed."

"..."

"I was trying to say, well, you had your daughter, Itsuka—"

"She was a baby," she says, interrupting me. I don't believe she interrupted me intentionally. Her tone changed and so did her posture, becoming meek and withdrawn. "She was a tiny, chubby little baby—so adorable and sweet. I never had to worry about her going off to fight Villains—what would she fight them in? Diapers? Heh…" Miss Kendo dryly laughs, trying to cheer herself up.

I keep listening to her.

"God, I need to stop lying to myself. Look, when Itsuka was growing up, we had a few years of peace. Itsuka was my little girl and that was it. I didn't have a little Hero, I had her, a child. She was everything, then heroism indoctrinated her—thanks to All Might and especially Kaito. He is the reason why my daughter is in that cursed school. I never told him that, whenever I associate Itsuka with heroism, my heart had this ache—an ache that's practically saying, 'This is wrong.' For years, I had no idea why I felt this way, but when I saw Itsuka yelling at Dad—her grandfather—about I-don't-know-what, I knew why.

"I hate heroism, yet I had to accept it."

"So it seems."

"Yeah, I hate heroism, but like you said, Grandmaster… Heroism is the absolute answer. Poverty? Heroism. Disease? Heroism. Crime? You bet it's heroism. It's the ultimate answer for everything! If I don't accept it, then my family will suffer! If I accept it, then my family will still suffer! This is the world's cruelest ultimatum!"

Ah, the Heroism Ultimatum, a philosophical concept coined by Edmund Wahrmann. He was a philosopher who criticized heroism, creating terms such as "Hero Syndrome" and the "Heroism Ultimatum" that Miss Kendo surprisingly came up with on her own. The Heroism Ultimatum states that heroism is the definite and final answer to the world's miseries. Accept heroism into your ideals and you shall expect suffering from its toxicity. Decline heroism and society shall admonish you, treating you as a pariah. Whichever path you take, you will always find pain in the end.

"There is no God, only heroism." That is the quote that Edmund Wahrmann is most known for. (Unfortunately, some nihilistic teenagers like to use this quote without knowing the original context nor the author himself, which is a disappointment. Sometimes, Claude would like to "choke the ever-living hell" out of these teenagers.)

I chuckle, turning my attention to the singing birds above us. I barely catch a glimpse of their silhouettes in the night. "'Tis the world we live in, I'm afraid."

Miss Kendo replies, "Don't be an indifferent idiot! The worst thing you can do is be indifferent! Do you know how heroism ruined every life it touched? It killed my mother and made my father depressed! He's only helping Toshi and everyone else just because it was his obligation to! Aunt Nana gave up her own son in order to be a Hero! What about Kaito, my husband?! He went out on that patrol and never came back! I don't even know if he's dead! Heroism can't even give me a dead body to mourn!"

She's in tears.

"And my kids, dear God my kids! Itsuka's following Kaito's footsteps, believing that she could find him or something stupid like that! And… And Sanji, who the hell knows what he's been through! Everyday, every night; I see him push his body further and further! Further and further until his muscles turn into dust! Can you imagine the pain he feels?! Can you even notice his obsession with heroism?! Heroism is forcing him to hurt himself! And everybody, especially Toshi, praise him for it! They praise him for hurting himself! Am I supposed to stand by and let that happen?! Am I supposed to cheer when he's suffering?!

"I want my family happy! That's all I want from this world! All… All I want. My kids, Dad, everyone. But, why does it have to be through heroism, the one thing I'm powerless in? Why am I so powerless in general? I tried and tried to make my family happy, yet they are going to fall the same way as before—through heroism."

I hear her. Her pain comes from a motherly heart, it's clear. She has first-hand evidence of how heroism negatively affects the ones she loves. Miss Kendo is truly, very much so, stuck between Hell and war. Personally, I believe that Hell is where sinners and the vile go to suffer, where in war—everyone suffers. Between the grand war of All For One versus One For All, the battle is heroism versus villainy. With Miss Kendo, she stands against heroism. She never grew up watching brave Heroes on television. Instead, she grew up with Heroes around her, and eventually witnessed their downfall. She never broke free of the chains of heroism. And by her own words, Hayami Kendo hates heroism.

Yet, you would be a fool thinking she supports villainy. The world is not so simple, I'm afraid. Things are never black and white as the public makes it out to be. When Heroes came about, it became easier to categorize every action into "heroism" and into "villainy". Evil is evil, good is good, that is the world. There are oxymorons such as a villainous Hero or a heroic Villain, but the result is still the same—a Hero is a Hero, a Villain is a Villain. Admittedly, it's a shame that today's people are so narrow-minded, dividing their thoughts into these two sections, so quick to judge. Heroism is the entire feast, yet they want a single meal. I guarantee that, if they heard Miss Kendo's words right now, they would say, "So you approve of villainy?"

That is never true.

Miss Kendo doesn't believe in Option A and doesn't believe in Option B. Not A nor B. That is a valid answer.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Master Kendo watching us through the window with Gran Torino in the back. I tap my cane against the pavement and bow my head. I answer her dearly, "I'm not the one you should ask. I am The Detective Hero, Miss Kendo. From that very epithet, I am the epitome of indifference."

"Why did you become a Hero in the first place?" she asks, wiping her tears away.

"To solve mysteries, of course. I am a prodigy! A man of genius-level intellect! But, I am a fool. It's a folly, you know. The wisest men in the world are the world's greatest fools, and frankly, I don't deserve to be called the greatest fool just yet."

"Grandmaster, you're a lot of things, but a fool isn't one of them."

"I beg to differ. I want to see the world prosper under great Heroes, so through my mind and body, I shall solve any mystery that comes in my path. However, I am utterly doomed. The task I brought upon myself is so terribly large that I might as well crumble from the weight of it alone. It is a weight that no man could carry."

It's a tragedy. There is no possible way that the Heroes will come out unscathed. The League is growing by the day. These peaceful days we have left, we should admire the cherry blossoms that glide in the wind. When they fall, that will be the day when peaceful days died, and the great war will emerge. Not all of us will come out alive, I'm afraid. We could very well see the strongest individuals die before our eyes. Thousands, perhaps millions will be casualties in this war. But I shall uncover the mysteries, the ones that will save lives. However, some will be so horrifying that we should have left it as a mystery. Being the fool I am, I will never forget it and it will always haunt my memories. And through discovery, I shall attract the attention of the Villains' wrath, surely dooming my fate to a horrible death. That is my folly, a madness even. Yet if it would lead to a brighter world, then I shall gladly embrace that madness. What is one life to a million?

"I'm insisting—"

"Please do not insist. That is the truth, Miss Kendo. Remember that I am the man of indifference! I do not travel left or right. Why would there be a left or a right when forward is the best path? Occam's Razor is it not? So forward I will go," I say before I turn around. I overstayed my visit now. The best course of action is having Miss Kendo reconcile with her father and her children—it's the only reasonable thing to do.

Miss Kendo sighs, realizing that I'm leaving. She tells me, "Heroism is the only way, so please, I'm putting my kids' fate in your hands, Grandmaster—The Count's too. I'm counting on you to help my kids find happiness."

"I'll be sure to guide them," I say, leaving. My footsteps click against the pavement as I start my trip back home where Claude is waiting.

---

Itsuka Kendo

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!
BAM!
BAM!

"Show him some mercy, Itsuka. He's black and blue," Sanji says, sounding like he's standing in the doorway. He's been watching me for awhile, hasn't he? Ugh, I just noticed him when he spoke. I bet he's here to get me to calm down. He took it upon himself to chase after me, I guess. I turn around and I'm right. Sanji's standing there with a small, reassuring smile like he's saying, Sorry that I interrupted you.

I start unwrapping the binds on my fists. "Sanji, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be at home."

"You know why I'm here. Don't try to push me away," he replies, taking a few steps forward. He has his arms at his side, his fingers fidgeting a little. Sanji's nervous.

"Hmph," I huff. "You wanna talk about it, don't you?"

Sanji shifts around before nodding with a small sigh. "Well, we can't end the night sour. We have to talk about it, no matter how painful it could be. And, you have to reconcile with Master Kendo—"

"I'm not apologizing to him," I declare—well, "declare" is a strong word. But my word holds, I won't apologize to Grandpa. Something as big as this, I can't ignore it like how Mom has for her entire life. I just can't be ignorant anymore. This war Grandpa's involved in, it stretches to our—me and Sanji's—generation. He nearly died already. One of these days, I'll witness him lying in a pool of his own blood. I don't want that day to come.

"Never said that you need to apologize, just reconcile. Itsuka, the Kendos are a prideful family. I know how you guys operate," Sanji corrects me, crossing his arms with a cocky little smirk.

"Don't smirk like that. You're too good for smirking, leave that for Monoma," I scold him, throwing my unwrapped binds over the dummy I was punching earlier. "Seriously though, I'm not backing down. Grandpa needs to tell us what's going on."

Sanji frowns. "No, he doesn't. Itsuka, he doesn't need to do anything—"

"He does. For me, this is a need," I say, approaching him. I hate that he's way taller than me, but differences in height won't get me to back down. "Our friends are involved in this war. Shojo's involved, Manga, Setsuna, Kamakiri, everyone. Why aren't you just as worried as I am? Grandpa, he's being selfish."

Sanji's face stiffens. He lets his arms fall to his sides, his eyes staring down at mine. "Master Kendo lost his wife, Itsuka—your grandmother. I don't know how she died, but I have a feeling he was there when she died. Can you imagine the trauma that he experienced then? The pain? Knowing that you failed at protecting the ones you loved? That you were useless?"

"Do you think I want to end up like him? That's why I'm doing this, Sanji."

"At your grandfather's expense?"

"His expense or ours?"

"Now you're being selfish."

"Don't go down that road. Every time you bring that word up, I want to punch you," I say with a threat lined behind my teeth, enunciating every word. Sanji isn't intimidated though, just annoyed.

Sanji shakes his head, disappointment flashing in his eyes. He shoves his hands in his pockets and approaches the dummy I was wailing on earlier. "It's a valid point, Itsuka."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah, 'course it is. You're basically saying that you're willing to put your grandfather in pain just to have some relief for yourself. If that isn't selfish, then I don't know what is."

"Just shut the hell up, Sanji."

"Itsuka—"

"I had enough of you ranting about me being selfish any time I do anything you don't like! Don't you see that I'm doing this for our friends?!" I walk up and grab his shoulder, spinning him around so he could face me. He looks down at me, his eyes appearing like blanks. Is this asshole even paying attention?

He asks, "...How?"

"How?"

"Yeah, how will this help our friends?" He steps forward, forcing me to take a step back. His voice is quiet—this is different from usual.

I say, "It'll—"

"Will it give us magical powers?" He steps forward again; I step back.

I keep pressing, "Don't—"

"Will it save our friends' lives?" Again.

I can't back down. "Sanji—"

He yells, "Will it give me my Quirk?!" I shrink from his outburst, my breath leaving my lungs. His voice bounces off the walls with a quiet echo coming afterwards. I try to find the words to say, but I can't. "Itsuka, tell me that this secret is worth everything, right?! It's important enough that our friends' lives hang in the balance because of it! This is more important than anything else in the world!"

"You're being dramatic!" the words come out of my mouth, and my arms move on its own. I push him back a quarter of a meter. Sanji's eyes widen for a brief second, then they narrow. He's glaring at me with those gray eyes. "I want to know the truth to protect our friends! That's my goal here! That's always been my goal! This mystery has been gnawing at us ever since we were accepted into U.A.! Ever since the U.S.J. Incident!"

"I know! I understand Itsuka, but—!"

"No you don't! You never understood! Damnit Sanji, you are supposed to be on my side! You promised me that you'll help me solve this mystery!" At the carnival, some time after his fight with Catharsis, he promised that. This stupid idiot promised that he'll help me. We figured out that the League is being controlled by the same man who hired Catharsis, and this man is the World's Most Dangerous Villain. Why isn't Sanji worried about this? Why isn't he worried about anything?! He was supposed to be on my side, not Grandpa's! We need to solve this mystery together!

"I'm not taking anyone's side!" he says, shouting even louder.

"You're taking Grandpa's side—"

"This isn't an argument that you can win!" He takes me by my shoulders. "This isn't about sides, this isn't about who's right and who's wrong! Itsuka, I want to protect everybody just as much as you, but this isn't how we can do it!"

"Then how can we do it?!" I shout back as my eyes water.

"I… I don't know!"

"How do you not know?!"

"Just because I don't know, doesn't mean that there isn't a better way! If we cut straight to the heart, then the only thing we'll be doing is bleeding all over!"

"Sanji—!" My voice breaks. "—this is for our friends! For everybody! I-I need to protect everyone!"

"You don't have to do it alone! You…" Sanji pauses. He loses the angry look in his eyes. "You… We… We're fighting for the same thing; all of us are—you, me, Master Kendo, Hayami, everyone."

I can't believe it… I feel tears running down my cheeks. "I-I know… I know! I can't stand by and let the League destroy Japan! I can't let these bastards hurt the people I care about…"

"Itsuka, I—"

Before I know it, my arms go around his back as I press my head against his chest. Sanji lets out a small gasp as I use his shirt to dry my tears. It won't be the only tears that needs to be dried, because I'm… I'm crying. "I-I don't wanna see you hurt… My heart won't be able to take it…"

Without hesitation, Sanji brings his arms around me, placing one hand on the back of my head. He gently holds me close. I can't see it, but I feel a soft smile coming from him. He says, "I'm sorry, Itsuka… For yelling at you, I mean…"

"I'm sorry too... " I say, sniffling. "I didn't mean to yell at you so much… I'm pretty stupid person, aren't I?" I laugh, turning my head and pressing my ear against his heart. It's beating. And he's warm, he's really warm. Just by being in his arms, my heartbeat slows down, and I'm not crying as much anymore.

"You aren't stupid, don't say that. You're one of the smartest I know, way smarter than me," he counters with a small, cute laugh in his voice. His chest puffs with each little laugh. "I mean, I don't know how to program the cable box."

This dork. "But still Sanji, I'm not—"

"Oh be quiet, take my words as facts."

"I'm trying to depreciate myself here, and what do I get? A load of—"

"Compliments."

I pull my head back, just enough so I could look up at him. Heh, why does he always look so cute? "Jeez, you jerk… If you're gonna do that, then I'll say that you're just as smart as I am."

"I appreciate the effort, but that's gonna be a 'no'."

"I'll go beyond and turn that 'no' into a 'yes'."

"Then I'll go further, turning your self-depreciation on its head."

"You're way too humble, y'know? It's annoying…"

Sanji blows air out of his nose, can't help but smile the smile he always uses with me. He always has that pretty smile. It makes my heart race—in a good way, not like before. I don't think I'll ever get bored of it. With that silly smile, he says, "Yeah, I know. Itsuka, can you promise me something?"

"As long as it isn't stupid," I reply, smiling back.

"Let's protect everyone, alright?"

"Of course, dummy. Why would you say something like that?"

"Don't attack me! I'm just…" He pauses. "I'm just… How do I say this? You guys are… You guys are my only family."

Oh… Damnit, I'm such a dumbass. I forgot that he's a foster kid and he doesn't remember his family. He never had one growing up. To say something like that… It means so much to him. I respond, "Sanji…"

"It's true. Having this life, I'm… Jeez, I really am blessed." He shakes his head, blinking his eyes a lot. No matter how much he tries to hide it, his eyes are getting watery. "I—"

"You don't have to say anything more than that. I understand completely, don't worry," I assure him. Sanji breathes in and nods. We hear two sets of footsteps going down the hall—I recognize them. It's Mom and Grandpa. I break away from the hug and trying my best to compose myself. Sanji snickers a little, which I promptly respond by elbowing him in the ribs. He yelps a little, rubbing the spot where I hit him.

Mom and Grandpa walk inside. They see us and they immediately look happy; they look happy seeing their kids goofing around. Grandpa walks in front of Mom, his eyes red. He says, "How are you two doing?"

"Better," Sanji answers, and I nod.

"Good… That's good… Your mother—well, your guardian in your case, Sanji—and I talked about you-know-what. I'm not gonna bother saying it because that's hell and a half," Grandpa explains, laughing at his own joke. "But yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Itsuka, sweetheart, every time I look at you, I wonder why I'm gifted with such an amazing granddaughter."

That's all Grandpa says for a second or two, which leads to Mom clearing her throat, probably reminding him that Sanji is here. Grandpa stands up straight… Yup, he forgot about him. Sanji scratches the back of his head. "So Master Kendo…?"

"Yeah yeah, I know. Sanji, when I look at you…" Grandpa genuinely looks at Sanji, but then, for some weird reason, his eyes widen. He sees something that shocks him, or maybe it's confusion? I don't know. Either way, he shakes his head to get whatever thoughts out of his mind. "You're a good guy," Grandpa finishes.

Mom and I share the same look of disappointment. Grandpa raises his hands, trying to pull the innocent old man persona. Yeah, I'm not falling for it. But jokes aside, we need to talk about what's important. I say, "Grandpa, what did you and Mom decide anyway?"

Mom says, "We decided—"
Then Grandpa. "I said that—"

Mom and Grandpa look at each other.

"You can explain, Hayami."

"You can say it, Dad."

They straighten their lips. Grandpa puts his hands together and sighs. "Okay, I'll explain what'll happen. Itsuka, I won't tell you and Sanji the secret, not yet anyway."

"Why not?" I ask him. I don't have the energy to yell again, especially not at my own grandfather. "Gran Torino said it himself, we can't be treated as teenagers anymore. We're ready."

"That's what we all say, honey. We're wrong. This is something that you can never be ready for. Once you know, you'll be involved in something greater than your two selves combined," he warns us.

"A war for Japan?" I ask.

Grandpa answers, "For the entire world."

"Then I'll give life to it," Sanji declares, standing tall besides me. "After all, we're training to be Heroes. It's what we're meant to do."

Grandpa shakes his head again. "You're way too enthusiastic Sanji, but at least you take heroism to heart."

Mom comments, "A little too much honestly." She pouts at him, and Sanji scratches the back of his head again. Yup, that's the one thing unique to Sanji, I guess.

"Let's get back on topic," Grandpa says. "I'm not finished. Look everyone, I'll tell you in due time. I promise you, you will know. In fact, I'll have Toshi and Midoriya be there when it happens. They're more involved than us."

I sigh, crossing my arms. I figured that they're involved. I mean, it's All Might after all. He's the prime example of a Pro Hero. If it involves him, then he's definitely the center of this mess. And Midoriya, he'll inherit his mess. One way or another, Sanji and I will help Midoriya become All Might's successor. That's what we're fated to do, I guess. I sound a little disinterested—it's a little rude I know—but I'd rather focus on helping Sanji become a Hero. After all, I like him. More importantly, I treasure his dream as much as I treasure mine. When cherry blossoms bloom, I hope I'll see him as the best version of himself—that's my hope.

"Grandpa," I say, getting his attention, "I just wanna say, uhm, I'm sorry… I'm sorry for yelling at you and everything, Gran Torino too. I wasn't a good granddaughter then, but I hope you'll forgive me."

"Of course I do, sweetheart. I understand your pain. And if you ask me, Sora always needs a good scolding. He deserves it," Grandpa jokes, and Mom slaps him across the head. He doesn't even react to the pain—Sanji does by wincing.

"We'll tell him you said that," Mom says, acting like nothing happened. "Besides, some of the fault lies with us too. None of us are completely blameless." Guess that's true, but I feel a tiny bit guilty still. Sanji would scold me, I know, that's how he is. But, everyone forgives each other. Our family dynamic isn't ruined, and we'll know the truth in due time. Until then, we'll move through life.

Sanji stuffs his hands in his pockets. He says, "Let's head home then. Tomorrow is still a thing."

"Oh God, don't remind me," Mom complains, leaning her head back. "I have to meet with a few Pros who are absolutely obnoxious. Don't tell them I said that."

We laugh.

"At least they're more tolerable than me," Grandpa says, making us laugh harder. He starts to leave. Mom follows him, and then Sanji. I follow behind them as they idly chat. Once we're out of the room, I grab the door, but I take a good look inside first.

"Yeah…" I mutter. "We have tomorrow."

I slide the door shut and follow everyone back home.

---

Okay, Busan is over with and done! For the next chapter, we are finally heading back to Class 1-B!

And, the next Chapter is called: Put Your Hands Up

---

Post-Chapter Discussion:

Busan Bombing: The Busan Bombing is meant to shed a realistic light on heroism. Because heroism is basically a prettier version of law enforcement, and they deal with a ton of crap on a daily basis. Heroes *can't* save every life and they *can't* prevent every tragedy. This would be an example of that where seven thousand people died and thousands more injured. It would set in stone how much chaos a Villain could do given the right resources. Even though MHA paint heroism in a positive light, Dreaming of Stars is a bit more serious than that. Lives are actually being lost and we see that effect on the characters, especially Nana Shimura. And know that this is only Master Kendo's POV too! This isn't even the main characters' POV, so imagine tragedy that they will experience.

Mystic and The Winter Samurai: Chapter 28 is when I first introduced The Winter Samurai, a Vigilante who wore a white and gold haori. With Mystic being confirmed as TWS's descendant, we're starting to go through Mystic's plotline as the story continues. Like most of the currently developing plotlines, it'll sit in the back until I bring it up again. And I guarantee you, you will find out most, if not all, of the Mystic Artes, including the Combination and Final Mystic Artes. But in the mean time, Mystic will sit in the back. (And damn, I like his character. He's dignified, honorable, and willing to do the hard thing. Mystic is a good guy.)

Hayami Kendo: Here we go! In my opinion, Hayami is a very underrated character given what she went through (and that she's literally a blacksmith). Her mother died, her father depressed, and her husband is missing. Sanji and Itsuka, they're going down the same path as them. So, wouldn't be natural if she loathed heroism this entire time? She saw what happened to her own family! Her anger is justifiable! She values her family, as a mother, over heroism, a concept she had to embrace by birth. However, she is a bit of a hypocrite. She condemns Grandmaster for being indifferent while she was being indifferent when she ignored the secret of OfA. However you take this, it's up to you. You can see it as her lashing out unfairly, or her trying to change herself in order to properly support her family.

Itsuka and Sanji: Oh boy, they're fighting. Here, Itsuka is focused on the short-term benefits while Sanji is more focused on the long-term. We see that out of the two, Itsuka's a bit more impulsive than Sanji, which makes sense given that she's willing to throw hands with anyone who insults her friends. We even see that she was willing to hurt her own grandfather in order to get the truth, which is selfish in my opinion. But realize that Sanji almost died from Catharsis, so in that sense, she was justified in her anger. She didn't want him to get hurt further and to an extent, her friends as well. Sanji, on the other hand, is more sympathetic to Master Kendo. He's the mediator that eventually calms Itsuka down and helps facilitate reconciliation. It shows just how close they are, and considering that if you look at the pairings... Yup, makes sense.

Put Your Hands Up: The next chapter stars 1-B again! And Shojo Fukidashi, she's an honorary student of 1-B. The title is a hint to what the main scene will be about. If you don't know, Present Mic's radio show is named "Put Your Hands Up".

Super Moves:

Mystic:
Orion's Belt - Mystic fires three arrows simultaneously that explode upon impact.
Silent Night - When faced with an incoming attack, Mystic immediately dodges/parries the attack and counters with one of his own. The counterattack is so fast that only ones with masterful reflexes could see it.
Moonlit Distance - Mystic dashes across a long distance to deliver a single slash to his target.
Luminary Aegis - Mystic creates a shield that's able to protect him from harm.
Cracking Aegis - A Combination Mystic Arte. Mystic detonates his shield to both blind and force his target back.
Still Midnight's Pierce - Mystic thrusts his katana forward so fast that it is near impossible to react.
Achernar—Seven Snowflake Bastion - One of the Final Mystic Artes. Mystic creates a wall of seven layers that act as the ultimate defense.

Qinglong:
Heavenly Palace-Twin Dragons - Well, Qinglong shoots a couple of dragons out of his hands. They are capable of destroying a small building.
Celestial Stars-Surging Footsteps - A movement-based Super Move that allows Qinglong to traverse even the toughest of terrain.
Primordial Realm-Wheel of Fortune - Qinglong spins vertically in the air, delivering a powerful heel kick that could send even a Gigtanification Quirk back.

---

By the way, formatting suuuuuuucks. There are some things you are missing out because of the poor formatting on this website, and I don't know how to fix it. Honestly, I'm too lazy by the time I publish my chapters.