Suuupperr short Chapter tonight, sorry about that, but I promised you're getting some good stuff soon!


They watched the car vanish just below the surface, bubbles and ripples retaining the only memory of the vehicle as it vanished below the surface. All Might raised and dropped his hand, at the moment he began the stopwatch. At that exact moment, Tsu jumped in after the vehicle. It was no surprise when three minutes passed and she turned up with the dummy strapped to her back and the baby mannequin in her arms. Her quirk made it quite easy to perform the training task, and she continued on to demonstrate her knowledge of CPR and assessing the vitals of the mannequins. When the teachers were satisfied with her demonstration, she returned to class to be met with high fives and pats on the back.

The class continued like that, resetting the scenario and watching one by one as each student went after them. No one had been able to beat Tsu's time, of course. A few had to come back up for air. All Might's timer ran out on a few of them - some by a little, some by a lot - indicating the student hadn't been able to save the dummies in time. Mineta had gone just before Kairi. He had reached mannequins and had missed the benchmark for the average time the average non hero person could hold their breath. Even so, he continued to carry through resuscitation procedures, All Might reminding them they should always carry through on the slim chance their lives could be saved. Mineta smiled proudly anyway, being met with applause for the work he had done.

Shoto patted Kairi's back just as she shook her arms, stretching them around her front and behind her. Anxious adrenaline began to flow. She scanned through her memory regarding every note and every lecture they had during their rescue and medical response training. Slowly, she muttered the basics of what she would need to focus on. She had become better at holding her breath and keeping herself calm underwater, but her doubt was heavy. She still was not where she had hoped she would be, even if she had been able to break three minutes.

"If there's anyone who can challenge Tsu on this, it's you," Shoto reminded her, his voice soft and warm despite the chill it caused to roll over her spine. She watched another of their prop cars get pushed into the curated lake once more. Her throat tensed, spiking her anxiety for a moment. No, she couldn't focus on the dread and the doubt. This was just an exercise and those were dummies, but it was vital to treat this as a real mission. Those could be real people, later on. Those could be people she knew. People she loved. She balled her fists, energy pulsing through her. She forced herself to will away the shakes in her nerves.

"It's no longer a question," she whispered back to him. "It's not a competition. However, this is meant to demonstrate a real life scenario. I have to treat this as if it were real, meaning I have to do this as fast as I possibly can. I have to imagine those are real people. I have to rescue them."

"Kairi, this isn't the only time we'll have to practice this. Especially not you. You're still working with Thirteen. Do the best you can now, but don't try to push yourself through this simply because you feel you need to be a great rescue hero at the moment," Shoto advised carefully.

"I have to. The media recognized me as this great new hero, and that little girl... she looked up to me. Someone like her could be needing my assistance somewhere down the line. I need to be good. I need people to know they can rely on me and I'll save them. I have to do this." Shoto furrowed his brow, looking with concern. Kairi took her stance.

"Don't burn yourself out, Kairi."

"Shoto, I need to concentrate..." She carefully said to him. Her eyes shut as she took in a deep breath. He watched, eyeing her calming pose. It was one she took in class when she was trying to calm her mind and dispel her emotions. He frowned, discomfort rousing in him. This was the opposite of what would help. Emotions are what helped to carry Kairi's heroic actions. Her strong emotion is what helped to save that boy. Being a hero was a balance between using emotion and logic. In Kairi's case, her emotions invigorated her adrenaline and caused her to power through. Emotions were the key to unlocking her decisions making and correct procedure. They powered her movements, made her move much faster than she would otherwise. He watched her open her eyes, as he still frowned.

"I think you're wrong," he said. She took a moment to look at him. "There's a time and place for you to quiet your mind in order for you to act as a hero would. But for you, you need that emotion to guide you in situations such as this."

"What are you talking about?"

"We've discussed this before - the compassion and care, the desperation you feel in the moment of saving someone gives you a superpowered fight response. While many may not be able to operate feeling such strong emotions, it's what helps to make you operate effectively. Knowing these are just dummies, I don't think you will respond to them as quickly as you would in a real situation. You know no one is really going to get hurt if you don't do anything. The only thing that is in danger is your own self need to do well. You're putting the pressure on yourself and the pressure is not on the lives of others." Kairi placed her hands on her hips, scowling at Shoto. Confusion met with her mellow anger.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"You need a way to connect to this. This needs to feel real to you. I don't think you should find your calm right now. You need your emotions. All of them at this moment. Those mannequins need to feel real to you."

"So you don't want me to be calm right now?" she repeated, lost by his words. He nodded.

"Yes. It's obviously too dangerous to put real people in there, but..." He tapped his chin, thinking. "What with crime climbing in Japan, and your... family coming to visit." Her body clenched, waiting for him to continue his sentence. "What if they encounter something? What if something happens and you need to jump in...?"

"Shoto-"

"There's a baby in the car. You have a baby brother, right? What if that was him, in the car seat?"

"That's-" Her chest flipped, considering the possibility. She looked at the bubbling lake, then over to All Might, who was just beginning to drop his hand to signal her start. Her esophagus twisted, the sensation plummeting down into her stomach. Fire burned under her feet. The images of her siblings flashed through her mind. What if something did happen to them? Family she didn't even know she had. More people she had a responsibility to protect - her own flesh and blood. Electric waves circulated through her whole. She recalled their faces, their eyes. Never had she wanted to see her mother ever again, but these new revelations... they were something else entirely. As the older sister, she felt duty fall on her shoulders. Her gut gurgled as she considered her kid siblings, the baby... if they had been met with evil. If they were ever attacked, of course she would immediately jump in after them. All Might's arm dropped.

In seconds, Kairi had plunged into the water. She kept the images of her siblings faces in their mind. She would need to be the best rescue hero she could, for their benefit. If there was a situation they needed her, she would need to be everything. Kairi kicked and spun her legs, drawing her arms out and in to get better speed on her movements. The car came into vehicle and her hands flew to her belt. Since starting the rescue courses and first responder training, she had equipped more items to her belt - first aid gear and small utility tools. Her right hand removed from her side a small tool that looked like a large tactical pen. Reaching the car she was already holding the tool above the window, pushing down on its spring. A hole punctured in the center, a web of cracking spidering out from the hole. Kairi swung her foot towards the hole and the window fell away. Water began to seep in quickly, so she took the opportunity to take a break in the small pocket of air still in the car. Hands reached for the emergency release button the car seat thankfully had. She knew the mannequins were high tech and outfitted to have a censor that could read if any resuscitation was performed on them. Even if that weren't the case, it was important enough practice and she blew into the mouth of the baby mannequin. Kairi burst back out from the car, laying the baby on the bank of the lake. She didn't even pause to make contact with her classmates - she jumped back into the water and sped after the car, retrieving a knife off her belt. She wove effortlessly back into the now fully flooded care and used her sharpened tool to cut through the seat belt. The girl pulled the mannequin to herself, pausing to give it a deep breath. Holding tightly onto the dummy, she powered through the water. Her legs pulse with urgency as she launched through the surface and rolled back out onto solid ground. She dropped the mannequin and began to perform the ritual of CPR on the baby, using two fingers to press under the sternum. All Might instructed her to stop on the baby and she returned to the adult mannequin, beginning chest compressions. She continued on, waiting once again for All Might to tell her to stop. Kairi retreated from the scene, looking at All Might expectantly. Water poured off her suit. Her hair clung to her reddened face. The thrumming of her heart beat wildly in her ears as she started to come down from the adrenaline that flowed through her, being replaced by the edge of worry as she watched All Might. It was hard to remain patient, her body shaking with apprehension. All Might's surprised eyes did nothing to help as she looked up at him.

"3:05," he whispered, leaving his mouth agape.

"But... that's... Tsu's time," Kairi whispered, left in the same aghast shock as him. The world still spun around her as her energy calmed, leaving her in a small mess of bewilderment.

"Exactly. I'm saying you matched Ms. Asui's time." As if to add evidence to his answer, he turned around the stopwatch. Three minutes, five seconds, fifty-two. Tsu's was Three minutes, five seconds, thirty three. Tsu had only surpassed by mere milliseconds. Their time was almost completely exact.

"How...?" was the only question her mind considered. Dumbfounded, she remained on the floor while he class looked on.

"Kairi..." Shoto whispered, dropping to help her stand.

"You did it!" Tsu shouted, jumping over to her side. She allowed her friends to jostle her slightly as she stared at her teachers. Aizawa looked across her with a mixture of pride and surprise. All Might's shock lessened as a big grin took its place. Her friends climbed onto her, giving her hugs and patting her back. It felt like the whole exercise happened so much slower than three minutes, and yet she had finished it in second place so far. Only Tsu had bested her. Frozen surprise melted and gave way to a torrent of joy. It erupted from her in the form of an exuberant laugh, and she reached to squeeze her proud friends.


Some of you may be sad to hear this, but I'm sure there's many of you that are okay with this - this is a very very very long story already and it obviously can't go on forever, but it is coming to an end soon. Don't worry, there are still plenty of chapter yet to come, but it's probably going to end before it reaches chapter 100. Giving you fair warning in advance, but there are plenty of goodies to come! :) There's some fluff, and one last arch and that will be it for this. Stay tuned for more, and thanks for all your love, support, and reviews!