So I've been really behind on uploading on this site. The updated version is on Archive of Our Own under the pen name lightningstormtc along with a couple other stories. If you prefer to stay here on FanFiction, I'll be updating periodically. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 08 Changes and Preparation

Izuku groaned inwardly as he heard a knock on the door. Ever since he started UA, knocks on the door turned out to be disastrous for the young man. Inko had gone out early to get groceries, so Izuku won't have anyone to save him from whatever shenanigans Kuro had in store for him. He opened the door to see Kuro with two people. The first he recognized to be Todoroki Touya, as Endeavor's court case was televised nationally, and a blonde girl, seemingly around Izuku's age.

"Morning, little man. I wanted you to meet our new-" Kuro was cut off as the girl threw herself at Izuku, tackling him to the floor.

"Oh my god! You smell soooo good!~" The girl squealed, a maniacal grin on her face as she stared at Izuku as he started to blush. "Hey, can we be friends? Pleaseee?~"

"Hime-san, please don't get too close. He's shy with girls," Kuro winked at Izuku as he pulled the young lady off of him. Izuku shot Kuro a dirty look and Kuro chuckled and winked at his younger self. "Anyways this is Todoroki Touya and this is Himiko Toga. They moved in next door not too long ago, and Himiko is going to be transferring to class 1A as of today."

"Sup," Touya looked generally unamused as he stared at a wall, his hands shoved in his pockets. He seemed irritated about something, but Izuku couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"H-hey…" Izuku said nervously as the color on his face started to turn back to normal. "My name is Midoriya Izuku… It's nice to meet you…"

"Ne, Midoriya-kun! Can we be friends?" Toga asked excitedly. Izuku noted that Toga was excited of the prospect of having a friend as if she's never had one before.

"S-sure," Izuku forced a smile. It wasn't that he disliked the girl, he was just really nervous. As confident as he came off during the USJ incident, Izuku was still struggling with his anxiety. "I would love to be your friend, Himiko-san."

"Yay!" Toga squealed, hugging the young man tightly. Izuku yelped in surprise, his face turning tomato red yet again.

"Now, now," Kuro said, trying to deescalate the situation before Izuku fainted. "Let's get you two to school. I have to show Touya to his new job."

Touya scoffed as Kuro pulled Toga off Izuku, and with some gentle prodding, they made their way towards UA high.

"Starting today, as per a special recommendation, we will be having a new transfer student," Shouta said in a monotone voice as he wrote the student's name on the blackboard. Of course, Izuku knew who it was, as they had already met before. "I would like for you all the meet Himiko Toga."

"Hi!~" Toga waved her hand in an overly excited and cheerful greeting. "I hope we can all be friends!"

"Oh my god, she's so cute!" Mina exclaimed. "Of course you can be my friend!"

"Hey, if you want to hang out with us, you're always welcome!" Kirishima said enthusiastically. Kirishima was always one to make new friends, always being kind and inviting towards others.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Himiko-san!" Iida exclaimed in his professional and loud tone. "I hope we have a very productive school year together!"

"Don't forget we're in class," The class went silent as Shouta's eyes turned a threatening shade of red. "Himiko-san, please take the empty seat between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu please."

Izuku paled as Toga bounded over to her new seat, her eyes focused on the young man. "I'm so happy to be sitting next to you, Izu-kun~"

"Y-yeah…" Izuku stammered as he silently prayed for class to start. "T-that's nice…"

"Anyways, with that out of the way, I'm sure you all know that the UA Sports Festival will be in two weeks," Shouta said, handing out flyers for the event. "It's not unlike any other sporting event, but this is a very important one for you. Many pro-heroes will be present at the festival, and they will request internships for those who catch their eye."

Excited muttering swept through the class. A tick appeared on Shouta's forehead as he heard "Kuro-san" be mentioned more than once. "Anyways, the next two weeks, we will be preparing for the Sports Festival. We will be going to the training grounds every day and you will be practicing your quirks."

Izuku sighed in exasperation as he stared at the flyer. It was just one thing after the other, wasn't it? This was going to be an interesting next couple of weeks.

"Ne, Deku-kun!" Uraraka latched on to Izuku's arm, pulling him towards an empty table. "Let's eat lunch together!"

As Izuku's face turned red, he felt someone else latch on to his other arm. "Izu-kun~" Toga pulled his arm towards an empty table on the opposite side. "Won't you have lunch with me?~ I'll make it worth your while~"

"Hey, no fair!" Uraraka pouted at Toga as she pulled harder. "I asked first!"

"I don't care! I want to eat lunch with Izu-kun!" Toga pouted back, tugging on Izuku's hand.

"Now, now, let's not kill the little man before you take him out," Kuro walked over to them as he realized his younger self was about to get a nosebleed. "I'm sure you three can get along if you try hard enough."

"Or I can-" Toga started, but was cut off by the glare Kuro gave her.

"We talked about this," Kuro said. "Don't you do it or no TV for a week."

"Fine," Toga crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hey Hime, that boy over there looks a little lonely," Kuro pointed to Shoto, who was sitting in a corner, eating his food alone. "Why don't you try and become friends with him?"

"That's a great idea! Thanks, Kuro-nii!" Toga chirped before bounding off to harass the "lonely" boy.

"Sorry about that," Kuro rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Before she met Izuku this morning, she didn't really have any friends her age. She's just really excited."

"Oh…" Uraraka looked at the girl who was excitedly chatting with Shoto, who awkwardly tried to get a word in. "I didn't know that."

"It's okay," Kuro smiled and patted the girl's shoulder. "She didn't mean any harm in trying to steal your boyfriend."

"Kuro-san!" Izuku and Uraraka whined in unison. "We already told you it's not like that!"

"Yeah, yeah keep telling yourselves that," Kuro waved his hand dismissively. "Anyways, little man, I have some errands to run today, so can you keep watch on Hime-san and Eri-chan for today? I'll pay you when I get back."

"Fine," Izuku grumbled. Kuro smiled at the boy and walked off.

"What was that about? Who's Eri-chan?" Uraraka asked curiously.

"Eri-chan is Kuro's adopted daughter," Izuku stated honestly. "He has me babysit whenever he's out on hero duty."

"That's so cool!" Uraraka exclaimed. "I wonder what it's like to babysit for a pro hero."

"Trust me," Izuku said, shuddering. "Babysitting for Kuro-sensei is anything but cool."

Spinner had spent the day hunting down fakes in the name of his idol, Stain. He had seen his message and was instantly hooked. Society had always treated him like some sort of mutant freak, and he was sick of it. He needed to get rid of those fakers and let the true heroes of society reign. He dashed through another alleyway before widening his eyes. Today was his lucky day. Right there, with his back facing him, was Black Lightning. The number 5 hero. Ever since Endeavor's arrest, Black Lightning had started going up in the charts, and people were saying that he would soon become the new number two.

Spinner dashed at the man, swinging his sword with the intent to slice the hero in two, but Black Lightning spun around, blocking the attack with a shield that appeared on his wrist. "Ah, Spinner," He said, a smile on his face. "I've been looking for you."

"What would the number 5 hero want with a C-Class Villain like me?" The lizard mutant sneered. He probably just wanted to humiliate Spinner and call him a mutant freak in public. Just like everyone else.

"I'll cut the crap," Kuro said, pushing force into his arm, causing Spinner to fly backwards. He landed gracefully on his feet, narrowing his eyes at the hero. "I want to provide you with a new place to stay and funds to go to a mutant support group."

"Why the fuck would you want to do that?" Spinner asked suspiciously. "I'm a fucking villain, last time I checked. Aren't you supposed to arrest me?"

"Spinner, the law isn't always right," Kuro stated. "Look, right now, I'm going through the databases and trying to reform any villain that I can. I know you're not a bad person, Spinner. It was never your fault that society is so bigoted. I want to help you, Spinner, laws be damned, because that's what a hero does."

Spinner froze. This was it. This Black Lightning was willing to help a villain shrouded in darkness because he can see the goodness in him, even when no one else could. Black Lightning was a true hero. One that embodied Stain's ideals. A truly good hero. So All Might wasn't the only one. That was a relief to Spinner. The world wasn't so messed up as to have only one person fighting for good.

"All right," Spinner sighed, sheathing his sword. "I'll trust you. It means a lot that someone would go so far for me just based on a hunch."

"It's not a hunch," Kuro said, looking into Spinner's confused eyes. "I can see it in your eyes. You're not evil. The resolve in your eyes. The need to be accepted. That's enough to get me to trust you."

Spinner held back tears. Someone was finally treating him like a person. After all these years, someone was finally reaching out to him. Someone was finally trusted him. Kuro smiled as he held out his hand. Spinner smirked as the two shook hands.

Miruko was perched on a building, looking to see if there was any trouble going on in the city. It was surprisingly empty. It had been months since the city was this free of crime. Something was off, and Miruko knew it. She narrowed her eyes as she thought about what could be happening.

"Yo," A deep voice made Miruko jump. She turned around and glared at the man before realizing that it was Black Lighting, the number 5 hero. The man that was quickly catching up to her on the charts, and one that was said to be surpassing her soon.

"What do you want?" Miruko asked. "You don't usually patrol this part of the city."

"Is there something wrong with me waning to make a couple friends?" Black Lightning asked her, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyways, I'm Kuro. Kuro Gisei."

"Usagiyama Rumi," Miruko shook the hand that Kuro extended to her. "Are the clean streets your doing?"

"I thought that someone like you could use a little R&R," Kuro shrugged. "I didn't have anything to give you, so I thought I'd cover your shift as a sort of gift."

"Some gift," Miruko scoffed. "Thanks, anyways. I haven't been doing well on sleep."

"Tell me about it," Kuro sighed. "I adopted a child not too long ago, and now my sleep schedule is all over the place."

"You? A child?" Miruko asked. Kuro was nothing like what the media portrayed him as. To the media, Kuro was some stoic badass who didn't care for any relationships that weren't professional. "I didn't see you as the type."

"I get that a lot," Kuro shrugged again. "I know I'm supposed to be some stoic hero and all, but I just can't resist that adorable face."

Miruko laughed out loud at that. The undefeated hero being defeated by a child? "You need to tell me more," she said between laughs. "I'm very interested in the child who managed to best the great Black Lightning."

Kuro laughed a little and smiled a warm, genuine smile. "I you would've never asked."

Kuro yawned as he drove Eri to school. He had stayed up all night chatting with Miruko and doting over his daughter. It was really fun for him, since he didn't get many opportunities to talk about his child. He parked his car and got out, opening the door for Eri.

Kuro grabbed Eri's hand as the two walked over to room three and knocked on the door. A couple crashing sounds could be heard before Fuyumi opened the door, looking a little ragged. "Ah, Kuro-san!" She exclaimed happily. "Don't mind my appearance. I just tripped over the wire over there."

Kuro giggled and smiled at her. "It's okay. Thank you for taking care of Eri-chan."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Fuyumi straightened her glasses and looked at Kuro with a serious look on her face. "I'm going to be visiting my mom after school tomorrow. I wanted to introduce you to her. After all, you are the one that saved us from Endeavor."

"Of course," Kuro smiled softly as he patted Eri's head, ignoring her whines of protest. "I would love that."