Chapter 34
Living Together

"Hey, man. You sure you doing all right?" Mineta asked Darby, who was staring ahead idly.

"Yeah," Darby answered, resting his hands in his pockets as he looked around. Their class was one member short, but he knew that already. Part of him, deep down, thought he'd see that familiar perfectly combed hair of his best friend. That everything would be back to normal. It was foolish thinking, but he really thought it would happen nonetheless."It's just...never mind."

Mineta sat back on the couch they were sitting on."I think it's okay for you to feel sad. You guys were best friends and all. But come on, now is not the time to be all doom and gloom. Can't you see we'll be living together with gi-Damn it."

Darby smirked."You know, I'm glad to see you're doing some improvement. When Aizawa-sensei announced we'd be living under the same roof, you didn't say anything weird or perverted. You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"

"Hell yeah! You said you'd help me get a girlfriend!" He crossed his arms."In the long run, having one hot girlfriend is a lot better than keep ogling various girls."

"What's this about a girlfriend?" Kirishima asked as he finished tying a headband around his forehead.

"Nothing." Both boys responded. They remained silent as all the boys began coming in, tired of the gruesome task of unpacking.

"We all done unpacking?" Sero asked his classmates.

"Sure looks that way." Kirishima popped his neck."Took longer than I thought."

"Feels good, right?" Midoriya smiled."We finally got the hard part out of the way.

"I know we could have died, but it's kind of exciting living here." Kaminari exclaimed."It's like we're having one big field trip."

"A unified class..." Iida began moving his arms as he always did."It's the perfect way to increase our class's cooperation and discipline! How smart!"

"You never relax, do you?" Kirishima shook his head.

"Hey, boys! All done with your rooms?"

Darby looked over his shoulder, noticing the girls approaching them."Look alive, Mineta-san."

"Yup. We're just unwinding." Kaminari told them with a shit-eating grin.

"Well, the girls and I have been talking, so..."

"We came up with a great idea!" Hagakure chimed in.

Darby deadpanned."You guys came up with a great idea? Why do I not like the sound of this?"

"Hey! That's sexist!" Mina pointed an accusing finger at Darby."We were going to suggest going around and see who has the coolest room!"

"Yeah...terrible idea." Darby crossed his arms."I nominate Midoriya as our first sacrifice."

"HUH?! WHY ME?!" Midoriya panicked as the group made a break to his room, opening the door."NO!"

"Dude..." Darby sweatdropped at the amount of All Might merchandise."I knew you were like his number 1 fan, but shit...if your dorm is like this, I can't imagine what your room back at home is like that."

"I think it's cute." Ochako clapped her hands."Look at all of this...it's amazing! I wonder what sort of room you have, Nishikawi-kun."

"Come to think of it, I am curious to know." Jiro nodded."I mean, it's hard to get a read on you. What do you like, exactly?"

Darby shrugged, beckoning them to follow."Nothing special, really. Don't expect anything crazy, but..." He opened the door to his room. It was, as he said, ordinary. His bed was a mess. He had a high-tech computer on his desk along with different consoles and a huge t.v.

"Man, talk about a setup." Seto exclaimed in surprise."I never took you for the gamer type, Nishikawi."

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." He took a seat in his chair."I play with my friends back in America. It's how we usually communicate."

Uraraka noticed something on top of the monitor."Is that a camera? Hey! You should introduce us to them!"

"Yeah, that's a good idea! I want to see American hotties!" Kaminari agreed with a thumbs up.

"You'd be disappointed, but I doubt that they'd be interested in you." Darby shook his head, typing on his keyboard."The few girl friends I have are really...uh...shall we say, innocent. They can be pretty dense too."

"TRY CALLING ONE RIGHT NOW!"

"Fine. I was going to get in a call with one of my friends, actually." He opened up Skype and typed a few things before turning on his camera. He adjusted the volume of his speakers and fixed his microphone.

"Hello? Darby?" Said a groggy voice from the other line.

"Good morning, Asuka." Darby waited patiently for the camera to turn on. Once it did, it revealed the image of a girl with long pink hair with white highlights, emerald-colored eyes, and some freckles in the middle of her cheeks."Just woke up?"

"Yeah...I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up until late studying for a test today." She adjusted her shirt since it was beginning to fall off."Uh...Darby...who are they...?"

Darby looked behind him, only to be met with the sight of predators looking at their prey.

"A real American girl..." Kaminari's eyes widened.

"Dude..." Sero instinctively grabbed Darby's shoulder."Introduce us, man!"

"Darby! What the heck?! At least tell me you have visitors! I can't believe they saw me in this shameless attire!" She shrieked, turning off her camera as he voice grew distant.

"Okay, everyone out of the room." Darby pushed them all away and shut the door."I'll explain everything later, damn it!" He walked back to his desk, taking a deep breath before resuming the call."Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I was just surprised, is all." She came back to view, now wearing her school uniform."So, having a sleepover?"

"It's...complicated." Darby trailed off."How do I put this? Well, we're all living together under one ruff. That's a thing."

"Oh, that's pretty neat." She perked up."Didn't you always want to go to schools like that? Where you lived in campus?"

"That was when I was a kid, and I got that from a game." He deadpanned."It's different now, though. We're doing it because it's safe. I'm sure you guys must have watched all that shit going on from back from, right?"

"Yeah...we watched that live. All Might stepped down as a hero." She scowled as she remembered that faithful night."I can't believe you were involved in that whole mess too. What happened?"

"A lot of shit. Bad enough that one of our classmates is locked up in a psych ward and I was hurt pretty bad. Also..." He contemplated whether he should bring up Ashe into the conversation."Point is, they want us to live on campus because it's the safest way to keep us secure."

"Seems like things have picked up ever since you moved to Japan." Asuka gave him a sad smile."We miss you, you know? Not a single day goes by without us talking about you."

"I miss you guys as well. But we'll meet again. Right now, I have to focus on becoming a hero. There's a lot I have to fight for."

"Ah, that's right. You have a girlfriend now, right?" Asuka grinned."When are you going to introduce me to her? You keep posting pictures of her on Instagram and we're dying to know who is the one who stole your heart."

"I haven't gotten the chance, honestly. A lot has been going on and I've been focusing on training." He rose his head, glaring at her condescendingly."In fact, you wouldn't even recognize me anymore."

She covered her mouth with her hand."Is that Darby being egotistical? What a change! What happened to all that humbleness of yours? But really, what can you do now? I assume you've gotten stronger. After all, you are attending U.A in Japan."

"Well, to put it simply, I can change my hair color."

An awkward pause followed after that. Neither of them made a move to speak.

"Show me."

Darby closed his eyes, crossing his legs in a rather awkward manner on the chair and harness the nature energy around him. After a minute, his skin had turned pale and his hair was now blue. To top it all, he had grown cat ears.

Asuka fell out of her chair, screaming in disbelief."W-W-W-W-W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

"Yeah. Like it?" He played with a strand of his hair."I think I like a bit girlie, especially with the ears. It's kind of like a sub-quirk. My mentor taught it to be. There's a lot more to it than that, though."

After calming down, Asuke sat back on her chair, drinking a whole bottle of water."Just so we're clear, you are going to let me touch your ears when you visit."

"Why is it always the ears..."

"By the way, I'm surprised your parents let you stay in U.A, considering everything that's been going on." She gave him a sympathetic look."They've always worried about you a lot. You're their little angel."

"Well, they think I'd be a lot safer at school. Which makes sense. In the odd chance that the Baron decides to target me too."

"That...doesn't sound very good..." She sounded concerned, which alarmed Darby.

"It's okay. We're surrounded by really strong teachers, like Aizawa-sensei. He's pretty scary, but he's a big softie. We're all safe here, as far as I can tell. True, All Might might have stepped down, but that doesn't mean there aren't other capable heroes out there. We're okay, really."

"If you say so." She picked up a brush and began combing her hair."I have to go. I don't want to be late again."

Darby yawned, rubbing his eyes."Oh, right. Timezones. Well, say hi to the others for me. Tell them we can play something after school. I got everything set up and the internet here is pretty good."

"If you're so eager to lose again, sure."

Before he could retaliate, Asuka left the call, leaving Darby by his lonesome."At least I don't have to see the others' room."

A light knock broke him out of his thoughts. He sighed, heading for the door at a snail's pace. Once he opened, he was surprised to see the familiar gravity-user girl standing in front of him.

"Hey, Uraraka-san. What's going on?"

"Tsu said she had something important to tell you and the others." She began. She needn't to say more. Darby knew exactly what she was referring to."Like I said, it's really important and I know you might be tired from today, but if you-"

"Save it." He found himself saying. He didn't know why he said it that way but he wasn't about to stop."It doesn't matter at this point. We what did is done, so there's no need to keep dwelling on the matter."

"But, Nishikawi...You have to at least hear her out!" She insisted, trying to get the door open."She's our friend!"

"Yeah, she is. Is that why you're here to play messenger?" He rose a brow, causing her to shrink upon seeing his gaze. He sighed, grabbing his head."Look. I'm sorry, okay? It's been a shitty week for me as it has for the others. Right now, I don't even know if I mean half the shit I'm saying. Just...leave me alone, yeah? I'm at my limit here. I feel emotionally drained right now."

"Okay...sorry if I bothered you..." She bowed slightly, turning back and walking away. Darby closed the room, too tired to care about hurting her feelings. He didn't know why he was so mean to her. Was he simply tired? Or maybe he was still mourning? He just knew he wanted to be alone for now.

"Will everything go back the way it was? Before all of this?" He asked himself, rubbing his eyes."Or is this how it is? The harsh path to be a hero?"


U.A High School, Class 1-A, Morning

"I believe I've mentioned this already, but your objective this summer is obtaining provisional hero licenses," Aizawa told his students.

"Yes, sir." They chorused.

"Do not take this lightly." He continued sternly."A hero's license means that you're responsible for human lives. You can imagine that the exam to receive one is extremely difficult. Only 50% of students passed the test required to receive one each year."

"Shit...it's that hard to get a provisional license?" Mineta felt his confidence slowly deplete.

"In order to prepare, today you will concentrate on creating something new." He glanced at the door, revealing three of his colleagues."Two ultimate moves."

"Ultimate moves?!" Everyone exclaimed in glee.

Darby frowned, leaning back on his chair.'Shouldn't be a problem. Even without Neko Mode, I could think up of other ultimate moves to use. But this could be my chance to properly train that form...'

"I've had enough! I said we end this now!" He recalled the moment he had punched Takashi over a lake. While he was chasing after him, he had caught a glimpse of his reflection on the water. His skin remained as pale as ever, but his hair and eyes had turned crimson. His Quirk had been enhanced as well. He could use 10 Black SPheres.

He listened intently as Cementos, Midnight, and Ectoplasm made their explanations. However, he still had a doubt in his mind.

'Once you take in nature energy, you must pour your energy as well. Once that happens, you will adopt a different color, depending on your soul. It'll be a reflection of your heart."

'My color was red. But what does that mean? I should probably do some digging. But, red is usually the opposite of blue...blue is often characterized as tranquility. Wonder what that means about me. Maybe because I used it in a high-stress situation?'

"Hey, Nishikawi?" He looked up, noticing Jiro poking his hair."You okay? You're spacing out."

He shook his head, realizing everyone was exiting the room."Uh...yeah. Where is everyone going?"

"Ground Gamma. Come on, we should get going."

"Right." Darby nodded, following after the short-haired female.


U.A Highschool, Ground Gamma, Morning

"This facility was my idea." Cementos explained as he used his Quirk on the floor, creating a small platform of concrete."We can prepare unique terrains and obstacles for each student here. Here you will learn to serve up justice."

"That's pretty coo-"

"Please allow me a question!" Iida rose his hand, completely cutting Kaminari's remark off."What is the advantage of having ultimate moves for our provisional exam?! May we know your reasoning?!"

"That's two questions." Aizawa was unfazed by Iida's theatrics."Calm down. The job of a hero is to save people from all sorts of dangers. Crime, accidents, or natural/man-made disasters. Naturally, the licensing exam tests you on how you're capable of dealing with such things. It won't just be fighting. Your ability to gather information and make quick decisions will be judged. In addition to how you cooperate, communicate, and deal with others. Every year a new test is used to evaluate these qualities"

"One thing is especially important." Midnight rose a finger."If you want to be a Pro Hero, you must be able to prevail in battle. If you're prepared, you won't have to worry. And those with an ultimate move will have stronger results."

"Your circumstances should not dictate the results of your future battles." Cementos continued on."Learn to be consistent and you will be great assets to the front lines."

"I should point this out, but your ultimate move doesn't necessarily have to be an attack." Ectoplasm picked up the explanation."Take Iida's Recipro Burst or Nishikawi's Neko mode for example. These sort of temporary speed and strength are valuable that evolves into the category of excellence we're looking for."

"So I've been doing an Ultimate Move all along?!" Iida seemed to be...proud? It was hard to tell with his helmet on.

"Makes sense. So, these Ultimate Moves are key to help us win in a fight. Our last resort strategy to ensure our victory." Darby surmised.

"Smart cookie you are." Midnight winked at the American."For instance, Kamui Woods is able to use his Lacquered Chain Prison to capture opponents in an instant. That's exactly what we want to see."

"Although the training camp was interrupted, you got some practice in developing your Quirks, which are needed in creating these refined abilities. Now that you're caught up..." Aizawa stepped aside to show Cementos creating massive pillars and Ectoplasm creating clones."You'll be working hard to develop powerful moves of your own for the next ten days or so. This is how you'll spend the remainder of your summer vacation. Prepare for intensive training. Additionally, you should be thinking of ways of how you can improve your costumes. Especially now that you have a better understanding of your Quirks."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, a piercing glare upon his students."I expect each of you to go Plus Ultra. Do you have it in you?"

"Yes, sir!" They all cried out with energy. Everyone got in positions with their respective Ectoplasm clone to begin their training. Darby stayed behind with Aizawa, waiting for the others to be out of reach.

"Did you have something to say?" Aizawa eyed the blonde-haired teenager.

Darby folded his arms."Well, sir, I remember you restricting my training back at the camp to only my regular form and not Neko Mode. You said I couldn't depend on it during tough times due to how long it takes to charge it up."

"That's right." Aizawa said."The way I see it, you are wasting precious time you could be using for something else instead. Villains won't give you the time of the day to just let you sit there and power up. Natural disasters don't wait around for the hero to prepare either. It might take you a minute or less, but that's a huge window of time for something to go wrong."

"Right. I realized that when I was fighting Takashi." He gazed at the numerous explosions going off in the distance."I was overshadowed, completely."

"You're too modest, kid." Aizawa shook his head."They found traces of drugs and all types of body enhancers inside of his body. It also explains his second Quirk. You were fighting a losing battle and still came out alive."

"Yeah...maybe. But still, it was a battle nonetheless. I wasn't strong enough and yet I was a dumbass to try and take it on myself." He scratched the back of his head."Though to be fair, I couldn't exactly just bail either. Neito was unconscious at the time and I doubt Takashi would have let us go just like that. I was only able to enter Neko Mode after he thought I had drowned. I want to try something, Aizawa-sensei. I want your permission to use Neko Mode for my training."

"You have something in mind?"

"I do. I ran out of Neko Mode while fighting Takashi, but I didn't let that stop me. I used all the skills I'd learned and applied them to buy myself some time. I believe I can do that under any circumstance."

Aizawa seemed to contemplate on his words."All right. Though it's not up to me whether you can use that form or not."

"I don't see a problem either." Ectoplasm said from atop a pillar."I won't go easy on you, Nishikawi. You are allowed to use Neko Mode, yes, but only if you find the opening. Don't expect me to leisurely let you do it."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Ectoplasm-sensei." Darby manifested his four Black Spheres, shooting one up in the air to land on the platform."I'm ready."

"You sure you don't want to come up with an Ultimate Move in your base form first?" Asked the masked teacher."It could prove to be useful, especially under circumstances where time is minimal."

"I have one already. I'll show it to ya." Darby sent his spheres towards his teacher while also coming head-on. The man easily evaded them and watched as Darby jumped in the air.

"Predictable." Ectoplasm kicked Darby in the stomach, sending him up in the air as he coughed up saliva.

"Is it?!" Darby said between chuckles.

Ectoplasm gasped, remembering having seen that move in the footage of the Sports Festival. Before he could react, the spheres knocked him off his feet while one of them hit him in the back, taking him up in the air.

"GO BEYOND! PLUS! ULTRA!" Darby spun in the air before delivering a devastating kick on his chest, sending the clone crashing into the ground before dissolving.

"Nicely done." Praised another clone."Normally, your opponent wouldn't fall for such tricks, but you voluntarily taking damage in order to distract them by providing them a sense of assurance is what gives you the opening."

"Yeah...to be honest, I never thought it would work. First time I used it was against Neito. Turns out I'm good with coming up with things in the heat of the moment. Now, onto the next one?"

"If that's the case, then let's see you under pressure. Try to use Neko Mode." Ectoplasm rushed towards his student, dodging the incoming spheres. Before he could connect a kick, Darby passed a sphere through his palm, creating a Black Umbrella that stopped the attack from connecting. Ectoplasm quickly maneuvered around that, kicking Darby against his one umbrella. He called forth two spheres from above, barely missing the man as he crashed against the concrete.

'I need at least a minute.' Darby gritted his teeth as he tried connecting a blow, however, his teacher proved to be quick on his feet. 'I have to empty my mind, but...' Ectoplasm landed a solid kick against Darby's belly, causing him to roll on the floor.

"I'm not getting any openings..."

"You have your two ultimate moves. Why not try to refine your Neko Mode some other time?" Ectoplasm suggested as he walked towards the fallen hero in training.

"Because this is what I need, sir. A real fight to sharpen my senses. If I do it at the commodity of my house, would I really learn anything?"

Ectoplasm hummed to himself, seemingly content with his answer.

"Young Nishikawi." Darby and Ectoplasm turned to the former Number One hero.

"All Might!" Darby exclaimed in surprise. It was his first time seeing his teacher in that form."What are you doing here?"

"Wel, I'm going around providing some wisdom to my students." The man scratched his head sheepishly."Seems like you need help out of this pickle. Trying to access that blue form of yours while under pressure?"

"Yeah..." He sat on the floor, rubbing his stomach."Ectoplasm-sensei is fast. But that's the kind of opponent I need to face."

"Very well. Recall the time you fought young Kachidoki. You mentioned that your mode ran out, correct? What did you do afterward?"

"I fought him off as long as I could. Of course, there was a lot of running, but the terrain made it possible for me to get a few hits on him."

All Might nodded."I see. So depending on where you are, the easier or harder it is to transform. I can see why fighting in this platform would prove difficult then. Honestly, the best thing I can say is...recall back to your training with Ashe. I'm sure you can get a hint on what to do. Also, consider that maybe you're not in the best position to call forth to that power and that's fine. But in a real event, you'll have to make do with what you have at hand."

"I see..." His shoulders slumped."Since we're practicing on this platform, which has no hiding places or anything I could use, then it's impossible for me to access Neko Mode. Dang."

"Not to say it's impossible. But it'll be difficult." All Might patted him on the head."You've come out of tougher situations than this, young Nishikawi I know you can work something out."

"Right. Thank you, sir." Darby nodded, watching as the slim man made his way over to Yaoyorozu's side."I remember my training with my dad before the Sports Festival. Ectoplasm-sensei, I want to try something, if you don't mind." He sat on the floor, crossing his legs."Feel free to attack me."

"Very well. Let's see what you have in mind." Ectoplasm leaped over to him, only for him to be attacked by two spheres. He was forced to jump back, noting that the remaining two spheres were circling around Darby as he concentrated.

Ectoplasm ran in circles around him, thinking of a way to attack. He rushed in behind him, but Darby's spheres went in his direction.

'I see.' Ectoplasm narrowed his eyes.'He's blocking out everything but the sound of my footsteps. When he hears me going in one direction, he sends his spheres at me.' The clone easily evaded the spheres, but was now facing two more while the others were going back to Darby's side.'He keeps two spheres to himself in order to stay protected at all times.'However...' Ectoplasm stepped on the spheres, using them as a footing to jump in the air.'Let's see if you can pinpoint where I'll attack you from when I'm not touching the floor.'

Darby's sphere began spinning around in circles, closing in on his head. His body began turning pale as his hair slowly turned blue.

"Got you!" Ectoplasm cried out as he grabbed Darby by his robe and throwing him off the platform. Darby screamed away as he landed harshly on the floor.

"Ow..." He wheezed out, feeling the wind being knocked out of him.

Ectoplasm landed beside him, helping him up."I have to say, you are making good progress, Nishikawi. The way you were maneuvering your Black Spheres was incredible."

"Thank you, sir..." Darby dusted his clothes off."Before the SPorts Festival, my dad and I did some training regarding how to control my spheres subconsciously. It's still a work in progress, but when I empty my mind, I can hear my surroundings clearly. I listen to nearby footsteps to determine where my enemy will attack, but I guess it leaves me open for enemies that fly or are jumping around. Hard to predict."

"Let's give it another try." Ectoplasm encouraged him."I'm with more practice, you can improve on that."

"Yes, sir!" Darby exclaimed, fist in the air.


U.A Highschool, Support Building, Evening

Darby sat on the floor, his headband off, and instead, he had a can of cold soda against his forehead."Man, I'm fucking dying."

Iwari ruffled his pink hair, taking a seat next to him."You know, Nishikawi-san, you keep surprising me. You hero course people are nuts. But I guess it takes a bit of crazy to decide to be a hero. I guess that applies to you more than anyone."

"Hey!" Darby was ticked off by that comment."What is that supposed to mean?!"

Iwari just chuckled in amusement."You know, compared to when we met back then during the first days of school, you sure have changed. Speaking of changing...you came to do some changes in your costume?"

"Oh? Nah, not really. I'm okay with what I have right now." He shrugged, opening his drink."I don't really have that much necessity for other gadgets right now. My Quirk is pretty straight forward, so I don't see a need for anything too extravagant."

"Ah, so you're okay with the little things? I guess that makes us alike in a way. See, I'd love to stand out as much as my cousin does. But I don't want to change or do anything that I wouldn't do. I want to do things my way. It doesn't matter if people do better or outshined me. I want to keep up my own pace."

"That's good." Darby shot him a grin."I think it's okay for everyone to take things their way. Otherwise, life wouldn't be as enjoyable. I guess...that's what makes us free. We are free to choose how we can reign over ourselves and how fast we want to go. Some of us want to enjoy the ride while others just want to get to the finishing line..."

Iwari noticed Darby wincing at his words."I take it that Kachidoki fella wanted to reach the finishing line."

"And look where that got him. He took a lot of shortcuts." He recalled Takashi's sudden increase in strength."Still though...it's not too late for him. I hope he makes a quick recovery and gets back to our class."

"You blame yourself?" He bluntly asked, earning a yelp from Darby."Sorry. It's just...well, it's written all over your face."

With a sigh, Darby massaged his temples."I could have done more to help him. I'm always asking myself this...what if things had gone better? So many things went wrong that night. I thought that maybe...that was the best possible outcome. It could have been worse. But still...it just eats me away."

"Yeah, it could have been better. But also, it could have been worse. Listen, it's impossible to know what the right choice is. To be able to determine what will get the best possible outcome. Humans just don't have that luxury." He wagged his finger."I heard something about multiverse theory in a movie. It goes something like this. When we make an impactful decision, we derive into another timeline. Maybe there's another universe where Kachidoki didn't go rogue."

"What's your point? You wanted to talk to me about movies?" Darby deadpanned, clearly frustrated at his rambling.

"S-s-sorry! My point is...we don't know for sure if anything could have changed. But what we can know for sure is that you can learn from that experience. You'll be able to make better decisions and protect the people you care about. It's rough, I know...I don't think I could handle it myself. But you are different. You chose to be a hero and you knew the burden it might bring."

"Maybe...it's a hard thing to get used to, I guess..." Darby hugged his knees."I know I have to be tough...but...it just gets to me sometimes. I don't want to make a mistake that I'll regret my whole life. It scares the shit out of me. I lost Ashe-san. What if I lose someone else...?"

Iwari put a supporting hand on his shoulder."It's true that we don't know if we'll lose someone today, tomorrow or in the future. But life is all about mistakes. That's how we learn. I'd say you've gotten stronger not only physically, but mentally as well. Everything is built up on experience. That's what the pros say." Iwari stood up, taking his bag."I have to go help around with your friend's costumes."If you wanna talk about anything, you know where to find me."

"Right. Thank you, Iwari-san." Darby nodded, forcing a smile as he watched his friend go inside the studio. He sighed, tossing his empty can in a nearby trash can."Shit. I forgot I have to think of an Ultimate Move for Neko Mode..."


U.A Highschool, Ground Gamma, Noon

"All right, Nishikawi. We've been practicing your reflexes for a while now." Ectoplasm stood in front of his student."This is it. I want to see you change the tides of our encounter. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Darby said as he sat on the floor, crossing his legs. However, this time he crossed his arms, his right hand pointing to the side while the left one upwards. Manifesting his Black Spheres, he commenced their training once more.

"So, sticking two keeping two spheres as a backup?" Ectoplasm noted, jumping back and avoiding the incoming two spheres in front of him. He jumped on top of one, using it as a foothold to jump onto the next one and then jumping higher in the air. He kick-dived down at Darby, but this time he was prepared. Darby had passed a Black Shere through his left hand, creating a black Umbrella to the side.

'What?!' Ectoplasm gasped, not expecting such a move. He leaped back, quickly jumping to his side, only to be stopped by a second Black Umbrella.'He's covering his side and his head!'

"Got you!" He heard a voice behind the umbrella. Darby called back his spheres, surprising Ectoplasm and punching him in the chest, sending him skidding on the ground.

The masked teacher chuckled, rubbing his aching chest."You did it. You actually managed to pull it off. Faster than before too. I take it you've been meditating? Still, I am curious. What if I had come in your other direction? The one where you didn't have a Black Sphere prepared?"

Darby simply grinned at his teacher before answering."Honestly...I have no idea."

Ectoplasm fought the urge to roll his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief."Unbelievable. Well, for now, that should suffice."

"Great. If you don't mind, I'd like to get my Ultimate Moves done with." Darby said, his eyes showing great determination. He waited for a nod from his teacher, then spread his arms to the side.'I have to remember...gotta mix my own power with the nature energy stored in me. I have to make a balance...'\

His body began glowing, earning the attention of several of his classmates who stopped what they were doing to look. His hair changed from blue to red as well as his ears. His normally black and red robe changed to blue, adorned with black flames. His black sweater underneath also changed from red to black. As his transformation finished, he now had a total of 10 Black Spheres behind him.

"I did it...I managed to access Chaos Mode." Darby stared at his hands in disbelief."I did it, Ectoplasm-sensei! And I'm ready to show!"

Ectoplasm took another moment to admire the change in appearance his student had just gone through."That is a peculiar power. Nonetheless, I'm curious to see how strong you've become."

Darby wasted no time and passed 5 spheres in each of his hands, creating two Black Arms."Ultimate Move: Blackend Gatling!" He jumped in the air and as he descended down, he began punching the platform repeatedly, destroying it with ease with his Black Arms. Ectoplasm had to jump out of the way due to the speed and power making it unable to properly stand. As Darby finished destroying the platform, he recalled all the Spheres in his left arm and passed them through his right, enlarging his fist to ridiculous degrees."GOLIATH!"

With a battle cry, Darby punched the ground so hard, it creating a shockwave that made everyone around collapse from the tremor.

"What was that?!" Kirishima cried out as he lost his footing.

"Nishikawi?" Yaoyorozu, who was closer to Darby's pedestal, observed in awe.

Bakugo's eyes twitched in anger."That damn show off! Who does he think he is, making a scene?! Damn, Yankee!"

"I don't know how long I can keep Chaos Mode active, so I'll just go ahead and show you my final move," Darby called back all his spheres, taking a step forward and slightly behind his knees. He aimed upwards with his arms as his 10 spheres lined up in front of him.

"ULTIMATE MOVE: IMPERIAL ONYX CANNON 20%!" Darby's spheres fired white energy and combined them into one, forming a white beam of energy that crashed against the ceiling of Ground Gamma and flew over to the sky.

"Holy shit..." Was all that Sero could say.

Aizawa's eyes widened slightly, a small grin gracing his expression."Impressive."

Darby sighed, releasing the form as he collapsed on the ground."Well...that was a trip...So, how did I do?"

"Could use some improvement in the not-collateral-damage area." Ectoplasm chided him."But other than that, you did great. Continue with your hard work."

"Yes, sir." Darby mocked saluted, sitting up slowly."It's too bad I'm still not used to this form yet. It's like it constantly drains my energy reserves. Maybe it's because I haven't mastered it yet?"

"Hey, Eraser! It's our class time to use this place! Get your kids and yourself out of here!"

Darby shifted his gaze over to Vlad King, who was accompanied by Kendo and Monoma.

"I hope you're not seriously trying to kick us out while we still have 10 whole points left." Aizawa responded."You'll have to wait."

"Class A" Monoma walked up to meet with the students from the rival class."Glad to see you guys are training hard. It wouldn't be fun if you guys didn't give us a competition."

"Hello to you too, Monoma." Kaminari deadpanned, walking over to where the ginger-head girl was standing."Say, is that really Monoma's hero costume?"

"Well, he did say his Quirk is Copy. So he thought he wouldn't need anything too eccentric." She glanced around the room, finding Darby waving at her."Nishikawi!"

"Yo. Kendo-san." He wasn't standing all the way when he was engulfed in a hug."Kendo-san?"

"I'm glad you're okay...I hadn't seen you since that night and well...you weren't looking so good when they carried you to the hospital."

Darby returned the hug, patting her gently on the back."You shouldn't worry about me. I failed to keep my promise. I wasn't able to return him to your side. I'm so pathetic." He pulled back, fighting the tears from coming off."I was such a damn idiot. I barged in ahead without a plan, and because of that, Hoshi, Neito, and Tetsutetsu were hurt."

"Come on, man. That wasn't on you at all." Monoma shook his head, his smile never wavering."I screwed up too. I hadn't realized that Kachidoki's Quirk stores power. So when I copied his Quirk, he had drained all the neon in his body."

"It's no one's fault." Kendo glared at both of them, pinching their cheeks."What you did was reckless, yes, but...I guess I'm not any better. I did ask you to go after him. But I'm not upset. You did keep your promise." She grabbed Darby's hand."Thank you. Thank you, so much."

"Why would you...I don't deserve that, Kendo-san." Darby frowned, his gaze dropping to the floor."I-"

"Just shut up, and listen." Kendo silenced him by covering his mouth."Gosh. No wonder why Yui says you're a handful. No one blames you for what happened. We're all kids. We don't know any better. But if it wasn't for your interference, Takashi...he would have..."

"Go on and become a villain." Monoma finished for her."It wasn't optimal, but we did what we had to. It could have gone a lot worse. But it didn't and that's what matters. You have to focus on what you still have. You have us, don't you?"

"They're right, Nishikawi-san." Midoriya said from afar."We all noticed something has been troubling you lately. Sorry if we didn't come for your aid."

Darby looked back at his classmates, watching as the majority gave them a smile."Guys...? You too, Uraraka-san? Tsu-san? Even though...I was such a jerk to both of you?"

Tsu and Uraraka made their way over to Nishikawi, their smiles calming his heart."Of course, we're not upset. We know what you're going through. You didn't mean the things you said back then, right?'

"No. Of course, I didn't." He frantically shook his head."I was just so stressed out...Everything fell like it was closing down on me. Yui tried to help me but...still...it lingers in my mind. Ashe-san and Vermillion Ray's deads...Takashi's path to his own ruin...I know I couldn't possibly have done anything more than I did. But I wished it turned out better, you know?"

Without warning, both girls engulfed the blonde boy in a tight hug, causing his eyes to shot wide open."It's okay to mourn, ribbit." Tsu patted his head gently."You don't have to carry all that pain by yourself. Let us help you. We're all friends, right? Friends should help each other."

"Yeah, man." Kirishima gave him a thumbs up."When you rely on your friends to help you out, you're making a manly decision. For a man, it's not easy to swallow your pride and put it aside. Right, Bakugo?"

"Shut up, shitty hair." Bakugo snarled."Yankee. Stop whining already and get ready. I want to go against you soon and I can't do that if you keep feeling sad for yourself. Focus on at least giving me a competition to be the number one hero."

"Woah, even Bakugo said something nice?" Hagakure giggled."I've seen it all."

"I think they've all changed in their own ways. Isn't that right, Todoroki?" Shoji glanced down at the half-and-half user.

Todoroki nodded, his face expressionless."You're not at alone, Nishikawi. Always remember that."

"You guys..." Darby chuckled, wiping off the tears streaming down his face."Thank you...thank you so much..."

Aizawa, who stood next to All Might, sighed. He had decided to let this drag on, wasting whatever time they had left.

"All's well that ends well, eh, Aizawa?" All Might asked his colleague.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Aizawa looked over his shoulder, meeting Vlad King's own gaze."I know what you're gonna say."

"Good. Then get out."


Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and enjoyed it with your families or friends. Next chapter we start the provisional license exam arc.