A/N: Happy Birthday to Your Hero Academia, everyone! I bring you this chapter as well as a video that works as a trailer/opening song for this next phase of the story. The link to this video can be found on my profile page because FF is dumb and won't let me post the link up here. I'll have it labelled so you guys know which link to copy and paste, as I have several of these videos on my YouTube channel, so you're free to check those out, too. It'll give some major hints as to what's happening next in the story, as things will begin to change more drastically for our characters from now on, for multiple reasons beyond what's in the OP, but I thought it would be fun to give you guys a visual. Hope you enjoy it!

Now, let's wrap up phase one of this story so we can get on to phase two, where I'm really gonna shake things up!

P.S. Who saw the trailer for the new movie? I won't post spoilers here, and I'll ask that you guys do the same, but I will say that I can't wait to see it in theaters so that I can plan out how to incorporate it into this story!

P.P.S. Have a good Easter, whether you celebrate it or not!

Phase 1: Epilogue

Two Pillars

"On a scale of one to dead, how grounded are we?" Kurai asked wearily as he stared bleakly into his phone's screen. It was the early afternoon, less than eight hours after the final battle atop the research and development tower had reached its explosive conclusion.

"That depends," his mother answered with thin lips. "Are you both alive?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Did you break any laws?"

"Bent, but no, not broken."

"Will your brother ever recover?"

Kurai paused here. He knew that his mother's anger was a veil behind which she was concealing her concern, but he didn't want to be the one to let her know how bad the situation really was. His parents had been alerted to the crisis and the fact that it had passed as soon as he and Akarui were admitted to the hospital, though they hadn't been given the full details just yet. That duty had fallen to Kurai when his mother video called him.

"Kurai, answer me," the woman demanded. "What happened to Akarui?"

"…He forced his quirk into overdrive with a device that he invented," Kurai answered weakly. "At first I thought he might not make it, but our hospital bills are being taken care of by Professor Shield, of all people. He's making sure that we receive the best care that I-island has to offer." He chose not to disclose the fact that the man was in the same hospital with a police detail stationed outside his room at all times.

"He did what?" his mother practically spat. "Does he have a death wish?!"

"He wanted all the rest of us to live, Mom," the boy said tiredly. "Without him, we might not have made it up to the top to stop the villains and free the other heroes. Look, I'm mad at him, too. The important thing is, he'll survive. But the tumor has grown, and it's going to cause him more problems in the future."

"Such as?"

"He lost his ability to talk," Kurai admitted, and his heart sunk as his mother's face fell. Unfortunately, he wasn't even done with the bad news. "He can move his hands and arms okay, but he can't walk, and he has trouble holding up his neck. To put it bluntly, his motor capabilities are severely diminished to the point where he's gonna need a wheelchair to get around."

"Oh my…" his mother gasped, her angry mask crumbling into despair. "My baby boy…"

"Mom, I'm sorry," Kurai said, tears stinging at his own eyes. "I told him to stay behind while me and the others went, but he wouldn't listen. Now I know I should have just knocked him out, or argued harder, but I…" His shoulders began to shake, jostling the phone as he cried in frustration and sorrow.

"Son, listen to me," his mother said, her voice trembling, but still coming through clearly.

Forcing himself to take in deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart and swallow the stone lodged in his throat, he waited until he was certain that he could speak without his voice breaking. "I'm listening," he mumbled as he stared at his mom through bleary eyes.

"I don't know exactly what happened over there, and this isn't the first time that I've been worried about the men in our family going into situations where they may not come back," she said, sounding as though she too was barely in control of her voice. "I made peace with the fact that you and your father would face peril in the field that you chose. I also know that I can't blame you for what has happened to Akarui- because our family is unfortunately aware of the fact that not everyone can be saved."

"But I'm a hero," Kurai protested as his eyes stung again. "I'm supposed to be there so that what happened to Uncle Shiro never happens to anyone in front of me, ever again!"

"Son, you can't think that you can save everyone," his mother told him sternly. "You will only be setting yourself up for failure with that mindset."

"But I-"

"Not even All Might could have saved your brother from his own choices," the woman interrupted. "You said as much yourself. But you cannot let your brother's sacrifice be in vain. If you begin to stray from that path that you set out on- the path that he made sure you would continue to walk- you dishonor his gift to you, and you disgrace yourself."

"My head knows that, Mom," Kurai replied bitterly. "But my heart still hurts, and I can't stop thinking about the 'would have's', 'could have's', and 'should have's'. I won't give up on becoming a hero, for reasons beyond our family's sacrifices, but this failure is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I don't know that I can be the same hero that I set out to be after this."

"Kurai," his mother said firmly. "Will the villain that caused this face justice?"

"…Yes," he nodded slowly.

"Then your job as a hero has been done," she asserted. "I won't bother telling you that you're not a real hero because you don't have a license, because I know that isn't true. You've been through more horror than even most pros will see in their careers, and you have emerged for the stronger each time. You will learn and grow from this, too. I believe that."

"But what will I grow into, Mom?" the boy asked with a trembling voice.

"Into someone that your father, brother, and I will continue to love and support," she answered him with a tiny smile. "Now, I need to tell your father the news, but I'll call you again tonight. Don't hesitate to call us if there is any change with your brother, or if you just need someone to talk to."

"Yes, ma'am," he mumbled. "Love you."

"I love you and your brother, both," she replied gently. "Say 'hello' to him for me." With that, the call disconnected, and Kurai let the phone fall into his lap, feeling utterly exhausted, despite his lack of activity for the day.

He was in his own room, having been admitted due to the fact that his quirk was registered in I-island's databanks as 'high-risk' for self-harm. The fact that Akarui's device had successfully altered his powers was not known, and Kurai figured that a few days under surveillance couldn't hurt anything, especially since it was his brain that had been messed with. Fortunately for him, though, he hadn't felt any negative effects from his quirk, and the scans on his brain had thus far shown nothing in the way of damage, physical or psychological.

Not too sure that I won't come out with some kind of chronic depression after this, but I suppose only time will tell, he thought tiredly.

Any hopes of being able to sleep were soon dashed when he heard a knock at the door, followed by Midoriya's voice saying, "Uh, Hikari? Is it okay if I come in? I've got a… visitor for you."

Huh, guess I can have visitors now. Based on the nervous tone that the boy was using, Kurai had a pretty good idea of who was with him. Grunting as he straightened himself on the hospital bed, he then answered, "Sure, come in."

The door to his room slid open to admit his friend, followed by the skeletal figure that he had seen wearing All Might's costume right after the defeat of the villain that had captured David Shield. Looking at the man and seeing his withered body, Kurai found it almost impossible to believe that he was still looking at the Symbol of Peace.

"Hello, sir," he said respectfully with an inclination of his head. "How are you?"

"All things considered, fine," the shrunken man answered, his breathing slightly ragged. "How are you, young Hikari?" His voice was like a hollowed-out, more brittle version of the booming tones that Kurai was used to hearing from his teacher.

"I'm actually doing well, but the doctors wanted to keep me for observation, make sure that there's no damage done to my mind from my quirk," he replied evenly. "Nothing so far."

"Good, good," All Might replied, moving to sit by his bedside, Izuku following him uncertainly. Looking at his student with sunken eyes, he cleared his throat before saying, "I'll get right down to addressing the elephant in the room, young Hikari. As you've probably guessed by now, I'm rapidly losing my powers- pretty soon I won't be able to be the Symbol of Peace anymore."

"And Midoriya is your successor," Kurai guessed, startling the green-haired boy. "He has a power like yours', and you're training him to replace you, right?"

"How did you-?"

"I've had some time to think while I've been sitting here," Kurai shrugged. "It was mostly stuff that I dismissed when it was happening, but now I realize that the hints were there. Asui saying that your power was similar to All Might's, you talking about how hard it was to control, the number one hero taking such an interest in you from the beginning of the year…" He shrugged again before saying, "I'm honestly a little disappointed in myself for not realizing it sooner."

"We've been trying to keep it under wraps," the weakened hero told him. "You're only half-right about his powers, though. His abilities aren't just similar to mine- they are mine, along with the power built up and compiled by seven others before me."

"Your power?" Kurai repeated, taken aback. "Are you saying that-? How does he have your power?"

"There many, many different kinds of quirks out in the world," All Might explained. "Before I tell you any more about it, though, I need to know something. That being, can you keep all of this to yourself?"

"Given how hard you've worked to maintain this secret, I don't think it'd be right for me to share it with anyone," Kurai answered quickly. "I haven't said anything to anyone so far- mostly because I've been trying to get my head around it in the first place."

"Not even to Ashido?" Midoriya asked nervously.

"No, not even her," Kurai answered, a little annoyed. "You haven't told Uraraka, have you? Or Iida, or Todoroki?"

"Well, no…"

"There you go," he muttered. "Just because she's my girlfriend, it doesn't mean that I tell her everything."

"All right, I believe you," All Might said peaceably. "I'll tell you the rest of the story, so you know why it's important to keep this a secret."

So the hero told Kurai everything as quickly as he could. He told him about All For One, and the power that he had unwittingly created through his brother, One For All. He told Kurai about how the villain ruled by stealing the quirks of others, and creating mindless drones when he forced weaker people to take on more than one quirk.

He spoke of the fight that had lasted for generations, and the sacrifice that his master had made for him, and how he had finally emerged triumphant against the old foe- or so he had thought.

Despite his best efforts, and the wound that it had cost him, All Might had not truly defeated his mortal enemy. Even now, All For One moved in the shadows as the puppet master of the League of Villains, seeking to destroy hero society, and return control of the country to the hands of darkness. Soon, he revealed, it would fall to Midoriya, as the ninth holder of his power, to stand up to All For One.

Here at last, Kurai spoke up. "You're expecting a high-schooler to face off against a guy that's been around for nearly two hundred years, put a hole in your gut, and survived your best attempts to pulp him?" he asked in disbelief. "Forgive my impertinence, All Might, but this is crazy. You can't actually expect Midoriya to be able to beat this guy as he is- no offense." The last part was aimed at his friend, who shrugged in response.

"None taken," he answered. "But that's why I'm training as hard as I can. I have to master One For All before this guy comes back to power. I have to become a pillar of justice, like All Might."

Kurai frowned and said, "There's an old proverb about fighting that I think fits here. 'He who stands like a pillar in battle will crumble. The one who bends like a tree will be triumphant."

"What does that mean?" Midoriya asked.

"It means that if you stand alone, you're gonna end up just like All Might," Kurai said with a frown. "You'll end up like Akarui. Both of them tried to do everything on their own, take everyone's burden onto their shoulders. Look where it got them."

Now Midoriya was mad. "Don't talk about All Might like-!"

"He's right," All Might conceded wearily, surprising his protégé. "I tried to stop All For One on my own, but I couldn't. Even with the power handed down to me from the men and women that gave their lives to safeguard it, I couldn't fulfill my duty. Now there are Nomu and the League running around, causing pain and suffering for you, the next generation, all because I tried to defeat him alone."

"But, All Might…" Midoriya murmured. "You couldn't have known things would turn out this way. It's not your fault."

"That may be, but you and your peers are paying the consequences for my mistakes," the older man replied in kind. "Which is why- even though it wouldn't have been my first choice- I'm glad that young Hikari knows about all of this. He's already helped you gain control of One For All better than I could have- now, maybe he can be even more help to you."

"Oof," Kurai muttered with a wince. "You would've been better asking Akarui to help. Sure, I know how to punch stuff, but with all of this insanity…" He shook his head in despair before saying, "I'll keep your secret, and I'll even help you if you ask it of me, but I can't help but feel like I'm in over my head."

"Join the club," Midoriya laughed nervously. "But it's not like we'll have to fight All For One right away."

"He's right, the man rarely moves in a direct fashion," All Might nodded. "The only reason I was able to face him in open battle was because I took out so many of his operations that he had no choice but try and stop me himself. And…" Here, he locked his deadened blue eyes with his student before adding, "People have been saying that you could be the next Symbol of Peace, young Hikari. I didn't think much about that until now, because I was so fixated on helping young Midoriya, but after last night, I can see it. The quirks All For One and One For All aren't the end-all, be-all in terms of strength- your power is remarkable, make no mistake. With the proper training, you two could finally defeat my old enemy. I truly believe that."

"…Well, one of us has to," Kurai grumbled.

"Hikari?"

"Look, like I said, I'll help you if you ask me to," he told them both. "I understand that the stakes are too high for me to walk away from it. But don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of fighting what All Might has described, especially given what happened to him. I've dedicated my life to becoming a hero that people need, and if this is what they need, I will do it. But I nearly lost my brother, and it's eating me up. I can't imagine what it'll do to my family if I die fighting All For One."

"I know it'd kill my mom if I died," Midoriya said sympathetically. "But the world needs us, Hikari. It needs us to be the symbols of hope and peace so that we can stand up to evil like this, and win- just like we did with the villain last night."

Kurai sighed as he leaned back into his pillows and muttered, "You're probably right, but… Just, give me some time to take all of this in. Yesterday was bad enough, and now I have to get used to the idea of quirks that can be transferred, monsters that used to be people, and immortal madmen that'll do anything to get back their empire."

"I understand," All Might nodded as he slowly stood up. "For now, I'm just grateful that you're agreeing to keep our secret."

"Speaking of which, who else knows about this?" Kurai asked. "Or is it just us?"

"The principal, Recovery Girl, a friend of mine from the police force, and Gran Torino," the hero answered. "He was a friend of my master, and he helped me gain control of One For All when I was a student at U.A."

"Got it," the boy sighed tiredly. "I'm surprised that Professor Shield didn't know, though. Explains why he made that device, I guess- he didn't want you to lose your power, right?"

"That'll happen one day, no matter what I do to try and hold it off," All Might shrugged. "Until then, I'll do my best to keep you both safe. So that when the time is right, you can both tell the world that you will be there, as twin pillars of justice to uphold the peace."

"A pillar crumbles beneath too much weight," Kurai reminded them in a dry tone.

"But two working together can hold up what would crush one," All Might countered as he reached the door. "Get some rest, young Hikari. You're gonna need it before you go on the training camp next week."

"Yes, sir."

Since he had apparently been cleared for visitors, he texted Mina to let her know that she could come and see him. However, he was surprised when she bolted into his room less than five minutes after he had sent the text.

"Thank God you're okay!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tightly, running her fingers through his hair as if to reassure herself that he was real. "When you got airlifted with the others in the medical helicopter, I was worried that Akarui's gizmo must've gone wrong!"

"No, I'm okay," Kurai said in a muffled voice, his face currently being smothered by his girlfriend's shoulder. "Whatever he did, it worked. There's no recoil from my quirk like I would have had before. Also… can I breathe?"

"Sorry," the pink girl said as she stepped back just far enough to let him inhale fresh air. "I just needed to hold onto you for a sec." As she looked the tired boy up and down, she added in a more subdued tone, "How is your brother?"

Kurai lowered his gaze and gave her the same report that he'd been forced to give his mother. After he finished summarizing the situation, he added, "Because the tumor has grown so fast, we don't know how long it'll be before his motor functions are completely crippled. That's not even taking into account that he probably won't live past his early twenties, and that's if he's lucky."

Mina's caramel eyes watered as she looked upon the defeated young hero before she embraced him again. "I'm so sorry," she told him. "I didn't keep him safe like I was supposed to… I let you both down." She looked like she wanted to throw up when she added, "Oh man, what am I gonna say to your parents?"

"I already talked to my mom to tell her how everything happened," he replied as he gripped her arm for comfort. "She won't hold you accountable, nor will Dad. And for what it's worth, I don't blame you, either."

"I know," she sniffed. "But I'll still blame myself, anyway."

"Just promise me something," Kurai told her, knowing that it would be useless to try and talk her out of such a notion, especially when he was feeling the exact same way. "Don't let this stop you from becoming the hero I know you can be."

"I won't," she promised swiftly. "I gotta get even stronger, so I don't have to rely on people like Akarui to save others… people that'll get hurt because of a mistake I made."

Relieved, Kurai nuzzled her cheek with his own as he murmured, "I hope you'll still rely on me, though. I get the feeling that I'm gonna be leaning on you for support a lot more from now on."

Mina kissed the top of his head before answering, "I'll lend you my support for as long as you need it. I promise."

With Akarui still in intensive care, Kurai wound up receiving most of his classmates as visitors once word got out that he was allowed to have guests. They could only visit in pairs, as Mina refused to leave his side, but by the end of the day he had been given well wishes from everyone in their class, with the exception of Bakugo, who declined to visit.

When Iida came in, alone, Kurai mentally braced himself for a lecture, as he knew that the class rep had been against the plan to alter his quirk. However, much to his surprise, his old friend simply sat down on one of the guest chairs and said, "I heard that your health remains in its prime, despite the exertions of your fight on the rooftop."

"Yeah," he answered cautiously, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Iida must have picked up on this, though, because he held up a hand and said, "I've learned by now not to argue with you about events after the fact. I'm just glad that you're okay, and that Akarui will live. For amateur heroes, we could have done a lot worse for ourselves."

"That's true," Kurai admitted, relaxing just a little bit. "Everyone is alive, and other than my brother, there's no lasting injuries- right?"

"Only the villain that Akarui maimed," Iida replied. "Due to the lack of physical evidence, and the fact that the man was further injured while his boss was tearing up the tower, the authorities are labeling the whole thing as an accident, despite the villain's protests to the contrary."

Kurai raised an eyebrow at the older boy before asking, "And you're okay with that?"

"I think that Akarui did what he had to do out of self-defense," Iida answered him. "And even if he were somehow found guilty by a jury, he will already be suffering more than enough for the rest of his life- more than I would wish on anyone."

Kurai looked into the eyes of his peer, and saw Tensei reflected therein. He sees his brother in Akarui, now, he realized.

"You're already a better hero than I'll ever be," Iida said suddenly, surprising the couple.

"Iida, what are you-?"

"When this happened to my brother, all I could think about was revenge," the tall student said to interrupt Mina. "I felt as though not even a lifetime in jail would be enough to make Stain pay for what he took from my brother. In my anger, I forgot the principles that make a hero, and even all of the other people that the Hero-Killer had hurt and killed. But just from talking to you, Kurai, I can tell that the thought of revenge hasn't even crossed your mind."

Kurai blinked in surprise a few times before he shrugged and asked, "Who would I take revenge against? The villains are all in jail, and Akarui more or less did this to himself. And I'm definitely not about to whale on him anymore than he's already been beaten."

"But you could have chosen to blame the villains alone," Iida pressed. "The fact that you haven't means that you truly have the heart of a hero… unlike me." Before Kurai could say anything on the matter, the young man straightened out his spectacles and mused, "Since I lack the genuine heart of heroism, I'll just have to work even harder to mold myself into someone that is worthy of the name 'Ingenium'."

Kurai regarded him quietly for a moment before he said, "Based on what you're saying, and what I know about you, that name might fit you sooner than you think."

Iida blinked in surprise before he reached out a hand to the other student and asked, "Are we good, then?"

"Good as we're gonna get for a while, I think," Kurai answered as he shook hands with the other boy. "Thank you for looking after Akarui when I couldn't."

"It was my privilege and pleasure, even if I feel as though I failed, in the end." Looking over at Mina, Iida then added, "Please take good care of him, Ashido. He's irreplaceable."

"Don't gotta tell me that," she replied with a grin as he stood up to leave. "But I'll make sure he's okay while we're here. Thanks for coming by, Iida."

When the visiting hours were over, a nurse came into the room to tell Mina that it was time to go. Before she could leave, however, Kurai said in an exhausted voice, "I want her to stay." She and the nurse looked at him with no small measure of surprise, causing him to add, "I don't want to be alone tonight- not after what happened this morning."

The nurse held up her hands in gesture of helplessness as she said, "Sir, the hospital regulations state that only family can spend the night…"

"Well, one of my family members is up in the ICU, where I can't be, and the others are an ocean away," Kurai said irritably. "I'm not spending the night alone, so unless you override the 'family-only' crap, I will march myself right out of this hospital and refuse further treatment and observation."

"Sir, calm down, please," the nurse said nervously as Kurai's brow furrowed and his fists tightened. "What you're asking for is above my station. I can't authorize her stay."

"Then get his doctor to make it happen, please," Mina said in a more reasonable tone before Kurai's sleepless irritation could get the better of him. "If he needs someone to stay the night with him so that he feels better, I'm more than happy to do it."

The nurse hesitated, but then she moved toward the door and said, "I'll be back in a little while. Since these are extenuating circumstances, we should be able to arrange something."

As soon as the door closed, Kurai leaned back in his bed with a tired sigh, causing Mina to turn toward him with concern on her face. "Have you gotten any sleep since we came here?" she asked him.

"No," he replied in a low voice. "I tried to a few times before my mom called me, but…"

"But?" she prompted him gently.

"Each time I closed my eyes, I saw Nomu, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, the villains from last night…" he mumbled. "I have nightmares every once in a while, but nothing like this. I feel like I'm not allowed to rest until I know for sure that they won't be able to hurt anyone like they hurt me." He let out a bitter bark of laughter at the thought before adding, "Of course, that'll never happen, will it?"

"Do you think that chronic nightmares are part of the way your quirk got changed?" Mina asked.

"I don't think so, but I'll ask Akarui the next time I see him," the boy mumbled tiredly.

"Wait, he can't talk."

"Yeah, but the nurses said that he's able to move his hands well enough to write stuff," Kurai replied. "He can still communicate, to a degree."

"Any idea when he'll be allowed to have visitors?" she inquired worriedly.

"Hopefully tomorrow, as long as he remains stable," he answered as she sat beside him on the bed again. "Is that too much to hope for? Or does everything I'm involved in turn into a disaster?"

"Not everything," Mina giggled as she bopped his head with her horns. "I'm still here, and you're gonna have a hard time getting rid of me, buster."

"Good," he said with a peaceful smile as he closed his eyes. Without opening them, he asked, "Promise you'll be here when I wake up?"

"They'll have to get past my acid to keep me away from you," she said, causing him to smile again. "Ashid Queen is here to keep the mean nurses from getting you."

"Now you're just patronizing me."

"Am not!"

That same night, All Might sat alone in the open air, deep in thought as he gazed out at the dark ocean from the balcony of his hotel room. I wish I didn't have to involve children in the war that I failed to finish, he thought miserably. Especially when young Hikari has already suffered at the hands of villainy from so early on in life…

Looking up at the stars that shone brightly, he murmured, "How did you do it, Master? How did you bear the burden of knowing that you were training a child to fight a battle that you were destined to fail?"

The stars, of course, gave no reply, and the weakened hero felt more alone than he had since he met Izuku Midoriya.

Kurai stirred in his dreamless sleep, slowly becoming aware of a sensation outside the normal range of feelings that his body received whenever he returned to consciousness. It took him a minute, but he realized that it was three senses in particular that were being triggered- touch, sound, and smell.

There was a faint scent of strawberries coming from a source of soft warmth pressing on his left side, accompanied by a gentle whiffling sound that tickled his ear. It was dark in the hospital room, so it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and when they did, he went very, very still.

Mina was asleep next to him on the hospital bed, snoring softly from a cocoon made up of her own blanket. He felt his heartbeat accelerate, and his first instinct was to bolt upright out of bed. As he prepared to do just that, Mina's snoring stopped, and she mumbled drowsily, "Move and I'll melt you."

He froze in place before whispering, "Uh… How long have you been here?" Based on the lack of light, he guessed that it was sometime in the middle of the night. No one besides the skeleton crew of the hospital would be up for a while, so it seemed that they were being left to their own devices for the most part.

"Dunno," she grumbled as she shifted a little closer to him, causing his face to heat up rapidly enough that he thought he might pass out. "Doctor gave me the green light to stay, though. Now go back to sleep. You're comfy."

He wanted to protest, but he was really too tired to argue. Especially when he realized that her presence had more or less caused him to enter a deeper sleep than he'd had in quite a while. There had been no pleasant dreams to speak of, but there were no nightmares haunting him, either. He had been able to enter a state of true rest for the first time since the USJ incident, and he didn't have it in him to deny himself that kind of slumber.

Besides, she was really cute, and she was going out of her way to make sure that he had peace of mind for the evening, so who was he to stop her?

Gradually, his heartbeat slowed down as he relaxed back into his pillows and allowed himself to enjoy the present company. At least we're under separate blankets, he thought with relief just before sleep claimed him again. And we're both too tired to do anything…

"Hey, Kurai?" Mina mumbled, jerking him back from the brink of sleep.

"Yeah?" he grunted, annoyed at having been kept from his rest.

"…Am I crazy for thinking that I'm falling in love with you?" she asked, hints of fear blended in with her own exhaustion.

For a second, Kurai expected himself to panic, pass out, or fall out of the bed. When the moment had passed, and he had done none of those things, he found himself seriously considering her question, his sleepiness temporarily forgotten.

"I don't think it's just the relief of surviving talking, if that's what you're thinking," the girl continued when he didn't answer, her nervousness seeming to grow. "And it's not the fact that we're sleeping in the same bed, either. Not by itself, anyway. We've been through so much together, and I like who I am when I'm with you. I know you prefer to move slow, but I need you to know how I feel right now, or I think I'm gonna explode."

He let the silence stretch out for only a moment longer before he reached out from under the blanket and stroked her warm cheek with a fingertip. "You're not crazy," he replied softly. "And I don't care if it is the relief talking- I like who I am when I'm with you, too. I think I'd be crazy not to fall in love with a girl like you, Mina."

"…Am I dreaming?" she whispered after her breath caught. "I've gotta be in a dream. The guy I fell for is saying that he loves me?"

"Well, it's a very nice dream, then," Kurai chuckled drowsily, his weariness beginning to return, despite his best efforts. "And if it is, I'll be sure to tell you about it in the morning."

"You promise?" she asked him hopefully.

"Yes," he answered with a faint grin on his lips as he closed his eyes again. "But only if you let me go to sleep."

"Gladly," she whispered as he heard her move. He then felt her lips on his brow before she settled back down and told him, "Good night, Kurai."

"Night, Mina."

The next morning, as the rising sun crept into the boy's half-closed eyelids, he made a vow to himself. I'll stand as a man of justice alongside Deku so that Mina and Akarui can live in a safer world, he decided. All For One, League of Villains… You'll regret the next time you decide to cross paths with the rising Pillars of Peace and Justice.

Mataras: And that's phase one.

Deku: So, do these phases work in accordance with the movie placements? Because if that's the case, phase two is gonna be really long.

Kai: I'm guessing more that it works by the year.

Mataras: Not quite, but phase two will end with the results of the provisional license exams. This next phase will actually be shorter than this one was by a few chapters, provided everything works out as I've scheduled it.

Kai: So how is this the end of the first phase? I would have thought that the USJ would be phase one, and that this was phase two or three.

Mataras: Nope. The phases correlate with your involvement in the story, actually. Phase one was you struggling with a quirk that could kill you. Now it's time to move on to another challenge.

Kai: Oh, goody.

Deku: At least you made up with Iida, right? And your quirk won't ever hurt you again, so you can really cut loose when you need to.

Kai: True. Mina and I also moved on to the big 'L-word', so that was cool.

Mataras: Oh my- What are you, high school?! Just say that you love each other!

Kai: We are in high school.

Mataras: Oh. Right, forgot about that. I'm just glad that I was able to line that up with the one-year anniversary, cos I thought it was an important thing to cover, and it should be done on a special occasion, you know?

Deku: Can our readers get any more specific hints for what's coming in phase two?

Mataras: Let's see... New characters (not necessarily OC's)-

Deku: Heroes or villains?!

Mataras: ...Yes.

Kai: Oh boy.

Mataras: We'll also get a couple of mini-arcs of my design again, sprinkled throughout the story, so I hope people like those.

Kai: What about Akarui? Will he be returning.

Mataras: Oh, absolutely. I was actually surprised at how well he was received- kinda reminded me of how people grew to like Loki so much when Thor was the MC.

Deku: Akarui's not a villain!

Mataras: I know, I'm just talking about his crowd reception. So yeah, he'll definitely be back. How long he'll be around, I'm not gonna say, but he certainly has more to contribute to this story, especially considering he figured out (at least, in part) Deku's connection to All Might.

Kai: Now I'm really intrigued for what you have in mind- provided you don't endanger his life again.

Mataras: Nah, his days of jumping into the action with you guys were meant to be short-lived. It's all to you guys, now.

Deku: Next time on Your Hero Academia- Surprise Exchange! Be sure to go check out the video that Mataras prepped for you guys!

Kai: Go Beyond!

Mataras: Plus Ultra!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

"Exchange students?!" most of class 1-A yelped as they stood in front of the bus that would take them to their summer camp.

"Yes," Aizawa answered simply. "Four students from the U.S. were approved by Principal Nezu to join this class for the next semester, possibly longer, depending on how well they perform. Even though classes haven't officially resumed, I decided to have them come along for the trip so that you can all get used to one another."

"He doesn't even know how long they're gonna be here?" Kirishima said in an aside to Bakugo, who simply grunted.

"He did tell us that U.A. isn't exactly known for doing things traditionally," Kaminari reminded them.

"Cool!" Uraraka said excitedly as she turned toward Midoriya. "This'll be great, getting to know student heroes from another country!" Around them, the other students were chattering among themselves, wondering just who they would be accepting into their group.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what kind of quirks they've got!" he agreed, her vibrant energy infecting him.

"How about that?" Mina told Kurai. "You've thought about going to be a hero in the U.S., right? Maybe you can learn from these guys."

"Maybe," he replied absently as Aizawa turned to face away from their class. That's assuming All For One and his goons don't kill me and Midoriya before I graduate.

"Class 1-A," Aizawa said as he turned back around, flanked by four new faces that came from the other side of the bus, all of them wearing the U.A. uniforms. "Meet your new peers, from the Second Amendment Academy in Austin, Texas."