Chapter 18: A Friend In Need

9 Days until the Sports Festival

Gentoku was relaxing in his office when his secretary called in over the intercom. Apparently, some police detective wanted to speak with him in person. He knew about the importance of keep up appearances, so gladly accepted the offer. It was a couple of minutes before a man in a hat and trench coat walked into his office.

"I'll take a shot in the dark and say that you are Gentoku Himuro." The man said, making Gentoku chuckle a little bit. He stood up and extended his hand outwards to the man.

"Yes I am, and I assume that you are the detective that wanted to see me?" Gentoku questioned as the man shook his hand.

"Naomasa Tsukauchi, a pleasure." He said as he sat down in a chair. Gentoku walked over to his wet bar and held a bottle of Whisky to show to the detective. "Oh no, I'm fine. Thank you very much though." Tsukauchi insisted. Gentoku shrugged his shoulders as he proceeded to pour a glass for himself.

"So…" Gentoku stated as he proceeded to sit down in his chair. "What is this all about?" Tsukauchi took a deep sigh as he pulled out a small notebook.

"There was an…incident recently with a kid that my friend knows. And well…said incident brought some serious allegations were brought your way." Tsukauchi stated. Gentoku chuckled at the statement.

"I'm sorry to say this detective, but you clearly haven't been keeping up with me at all, have you?" Gentoku remarked. "If you had looked at any tabloids, then you would know that a lot of 'allegations' have been thrown my way. Usually ends up being a case of mistaken identity and girls too drunk to even tell the difference." Tsukauchi looked rather unimpressed by what the Prime Ministers' son had just said.

"I don't think that they're that bad as what I'm about to question." Tsukauchi said with some hesitation in his voice. Gentoku got intrigued by the mans' body language.

"…What are you about to ask me?" Gentoku questioned. Tsukauchi figured it was just best to come out and ask the question.

"Are you the villain known as Night Rogue?" There was brief period of silence between the two men, before Gentoku started laughing.

"I'm sorry," Gentoku commented as he wiped tears from his eyes due to his fit of laughter, "It's just that me…a villain? Please I could never do any of the things this 'Night Rogue' is capable of. Let alone plan an attack on the U.S.J." Tsukauchi smirked and started having a small chuckle himself.

"I guess you're right. Besides, the Prime Ministers' son masquerading as a villain, I'm sorry but that's ridiculous." Tsukauchi stood up and proceeded to walk out of the office. "Sorry to have wasted your time." He stated as Gentoku proceeded to walk over to the officer and shake his hand.

"It's no problem whatsoever. If you're ever in need of a drinking buddy, my office is always open." Gentoku said as the detective left his office. Seeing that the situation was pretty much wrapped up with, Gentoku started to walk back to his desk. But he quickly stopped himself as he started to hear shuffling outside the doors of his office. He was about to check it out, but that was when he realized his mistake…No newspapers had reported that Night Rogue was part of the U.S.J. Attack.

The SWAT team breached through the office doors, just in time to see Gentoku smash through his window with his office chair and jumped out. Tsukauchi pushed through the crowd of heavily armed officers to said window. He looked out to see if Gentoku had hit the ground…but was instead met with the sight of a heavily armored figure with giant bat wings flying towards the distance.

(X)

"-And in a bit of recent news, police have asked the public to keep an eye out on Gentoku Himuro, the son of Prime Minster Taizan Himuro. He is wanted in connection with the attack on the U.-"

Misora turned off the news report. Yesterday, it was her father. And then the next, it was Gentoku. It was as if some sick person was playing a game on her and her friends. She looked to the refrigerator entrance to the lab. Sento had pretty much shut himself from the outside world ever since they got back to the café yesterday. She couldn't help but be reminded of when Sento first came to live with them.

The shy, very uncomfortable boy who refused to even speak to anyone for the first couple of days. But he eventually came around to the thought of being with them. She still remembered the first time that he truly smiled.

(X)

14 Months Ago

"So…what exactly is this supposed to?" Misora asked the boy as he put the finishing touches on the device. She was bored and Owner was out doing his part-time job, so she had nothing better to do as she watched the boy toil away.

"I-I'm not r-really sure m-m-m-myself." Sento remarked as he put the soldering iron down. "B-But I think it's designed to fight crime or something like that." He then stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Okay…Place onto waist." He said as he put the device on his waist. "Um…could you hand me those bottles over there?' He asked his assistant/sister. The woman simply rolled her eyes as she retrieved said items.

"What's the magic word?" Misora asked as she was essentially holding the bottles as hostages. Sento gave a look that was questioning if she was serious or not. He gave a short sigh.

"…P-Please." Sento said with an annoyed tone of voice. She relented as she handed the bottles over to the boy. He took the bottles and tried to remember what way they went into the device. He then remembered the blueprint saying organic on the right, inorganic on the left.

RABBIT! TANK!

The device announced. Sento and Misora raised their eyebrows at the device. "Now what?" Misora questioned.

"Um…I think it then goes…" Sento muttered as he turned the lever on the side of the device. The two were shocked as giant tubes materialized out of the device and hardened into giant runners of a model kit.

ARE YOU READY?

"…R-Ready for what?" Sento questioned. That was all that was needed for the runners to close in around him and encase him into a very elaborate red and blue suit.

FULLMETAL MOONSAULT!

RABBITTANK!

The two that were in the lab were in shock at the sudden development. Sento looked at his arms, amazed by what he was currently.

"This…This is…THIS IS THE BEST!" Sento exclaimed, his excitement was apparently contagious as Misora couldn't help but smile.

"You look awesome!" She stated as she rushed to his side. "We need to come up with a name for you! Armored Warrior! The Helmeted Stranger! The…I'm not sure, but we'll figure it out in time!" Sento nodded along in excitement, but something hit him as he took off the device. His face had a bright smile on it.

"I-…I could be a hero!" He said as smile only got bigger. "I could go to U.A., become a hero, and then…" He stopped himself short, making Misora wonder what made him stop. "…Then I could find who I truly am…" His smile became a lot smaller, but it was still there. Misora, not knowing why, started to rub the top of Sentos' head.

"We'll find out who you are. And we'll do it together." She stated with a small smirk.

(X)

Present Day

The memory was a good one, as it was one of the first time she started accepting being a sister to the boy…A role she was going to have to take a lot more seriously. She usually played herself as the type of sibling who constantly messes with the younger of the family, but with her father gone, she would learn how to grow up into that role. She needed to…To help him. Her train of thought was disrupted as the door to the café opened.

"Hello?" She heard a voice call out. She turned to see Momo standing in the front entrance of the building.

"Hi…Momo, is it?" Misora questioned to the girl. Momo cautiously walked towards her. "Relax, I'm not going to bite or anything." Misora reassured her.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Momo started to say, but Misora kind of knew what she was about to say.

"Yeah, I guess I really didn't give off the best impression to your class the first time we met, huh?" Misora asked, to which Momo gave a quick chuckle as a sign of relief.

"No, you really didn't." The girl responded. A thought suddenly entered into Misoras' mind.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training for the Sports Festival?" Misora questioned

"Oh, um…I wanted to see…" Momo looked really timid about what she was about to say. "…I wanted to see how you guys are holding up after…I don't want to say it." Misora knew what she was talking about.

"It's…It's been really hard. It's…still something that I can't believe happened." Misora admitted. "When I got the call, I didn't know what to expect…And then…" She felt herself start to tear up. Momo created a box of tissues and handed it to her. "Thank you." She weakly said as she gratefully took it and proceeded to blow her nose.

"How-…How's Sento?" Momo asked. Misora let out a small sigh as she looked towards the refrigerator, Momo following her eyeline.

"He hasn't been out since yesterday." Misora confessed. "I-…I haven't seen him eat at all. I've tried talking to him, but he just won't talk to me. I haven't seen him like this since he first came here." Misora then once again started to tear up once again. "I don't know what to do…" Momo took a deep, shaky breath and looked to Misora.

"Let me try talking to him." She said as gave of look that asked for approval. Misora was a bit hesitant, but she eventually gave a sign of approval. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, Momo went into the hidden laboratory. Walking down the stairs, she wasn't sure what she would come across, but she needed to be able to keep her composure if she wanted to help. As she entered the main area of the lab, she saw Sento working away at some device that contained glass tubes and other components she really wasn't familiar with. "Sento?" She asked. The boy turned around and instead of being met with his usual smile, she was met with a face of confusion.

"Momo?" He asked. "Wh-…What are you doing here?"

"I-…I came to see how you and your sister were doing after yesterday…" Momo stated to the boy as he walked past her to check his computer.

"I'm fine." Sento commented. Momo could tell that he was lying through his teeth.

"Misora said otherwise…How long have you been down here?" She asked with genuine concern in her voice. "You have to talk about it at some point. What Soichi did-"

"The Soichi Isurugi that I knew died the moment he revealed his true self." Sento said, barely paying attention to her, more focused on the computer. "…I don't even want to say or hear his name ever again." He stated as he went back to his machine.

"Sento…" Momo said under her breath. He tried to give a look of confidence, but Momo could see the look in Sentos' eyes. She could see there was pain in his eyes. A pain that he didn't want to show to the world, but it was clear that he was slipping. And if he didn't express that pain, there was a chance that he would never be the same person. And right now, she knew she had to help with the one thing that her mother would always do whenever she was down. She hesitantly took a step forward. She quickly spun Sento around and proceeded to hug him.

"What-" Sento began to ask, but he was quickly cut off as she started to speak.

"It's okay." She whispered as she continued to hug him. "It's just us." She could feel the slightest of trembles from Sento. "We're alone, and I've got you." She felt his arms wrap around her body. "…It's okay to cry." That was when she heard him start to cry. What started out as small whimpers quickly became cries of desperation. She just kept ahold of him for what felt like an hour or so, eventually, the two had found themselves sitting on the floor against one of the walls. Momo had created another box of tissues and proceeded to give it to the boy.

"Thank you." He said as he gratefully took it. The two sat in silence, not knowing what to say. "…Everywhere I look, I just get constant reminders of his presence." Sento admitted. "The memories I have are just forever tainted knowing that everything was a lie." Momo put a hand on his shoulder. "It's even gotten to my sleeping habits. I think I had a lucid dream where some guy was in here saying that he was from a different universe, and he…he said that I must have faith in myself and that I got to let my friends help me heal. That they are much a part of my family as I am to them…That was the only part I can really believe."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through right now." Momo stated. "But maybe that dream was right. For the little time we have known each other, there a lot of people in our class that would try their hardest to help you out…You can't just shut people out. You have to let them in." Sento just shook his head.

"I know you're right, it's just…" Sento bit his thumb, trying to find the right words. "…I haven't had the best of luck with people in my life. And my life has been…complicated to say the least. I'm just scared that they'll judge and reject me." He felt a hand on his cheek guide his head to look at his classmate.

"Nobody is going to judge you for being adopted." She reassured. Sento was quiet for a few seconds.

"That's not what they'll judge me for…" Sento then shook his head and let out a sigh. "…It would be how I got into his care. I-…Around two years ago, I woke up in an alleyway with now memory of how I got there or what I was doing before then…Or who I was. And the next thing I know, a stranger found the kindness in his heart to take me in and give me a place to live…only for him to just recently show his true colors." Sento confessed, knowing that he would have had to tell her at some point and figured now was a good time. He half expected to be repulsed at what he just said…but instead, she was concerned more than anything else.

"I-…I don't even know what to say." She admitted, the words seeming like something out of television show. "I'm-…I'm sorry." Sento raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Momo would be apologizing. "I'm sorry that you went through that…I…How many people know?"

"Um…Not that many…" Sento admitted. "But the ones that I have told…I trust them more than you could imagine…It's Misora, Banjo, Sawa, Izuku…and now you…" Momo was stunned by that declaration. The fact that he put her into this circle of trust, it…she didn't know how to describe the feeling. She once again pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

"No…Thank you." Sento whispered back. "For…For being a good fr-…classmate." Momo pulled away with a small smile on her face.

"I-…I think were past classmates. How about we try being friends?" The girl commented back, which caused Sento to smirk as well. He then got really nervous.

"Um…I think I remembered seeing the group chat that some of the others are coming here tomorrow…I think I'm going to tell them…Can you be there when I do?" Sento asked the girl. Momo replied with a small smirk.

"I'll be there. After all…What are friends for?" Momo responded, causing Sento to give a sigh of relief as he smirked. As the two exited the lab, they were met with the familiar guise of Misora. "I guess I should give you two a moment." Momo commented as she made her way to the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she left for the day. The two siblings stood in an awkward silence, not really knowing what to say to one another.

"…Sorry." Sento muttered out. Misora gave a look to him that basically asked him to go on. "I'm sorry that I shut myself off…especially when you needed me the most." Sento waited for her to act like her usual self…but he was shocked when she didn't overreact, but instead, she simply smiled.

"I think we both owe each other an apology." Misora stated, which kind of surprised Sento. "I'm sorry that I wasn't as good of a sibling as I could have been. But I think that this…This is a changing point. We may not be related…But you are my brother. And we know have to rely on each other, especially now." Misora said as she wiped a tear from her eye. The two siblings found comfort as they properly hugged for what felt like the first time of them living with each other. "Your favorite for tonight?" Misora asked. Sentos' eyes widened

"Cut and dried horse mackerel?" He asked. "Do you even know how to cook that?" Misora shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sure I can figure it out." She said…which made Sento nervous about eating tonight.

(X)

8 Days until the Sports Festival

As Momo once again traveled to the café, she was in a rather happy mood. Why shouldn't she be? She helped her friend out of a slump. She also helped him start to open up a little bit more, and he…He also put her into a circle of trust that he rarely let few people in. That-…It meant that she now has a closer bond with him. A bond where he confided in her. For some reason…That meant the world to her, but she wasn't sure why it meant that much. As she opened the door, she was met with faces that she expected.

"Ah, Yaoyorozu! It's a pleasure that you are here!" Tenya said as he gave his signature hand motions. Tsuyu, Jiro, and Ochaco were discussing something the item that Ochaco was holding. Izuku and Kamanari stopped their conversation to see her walk in.

"Hey! You here to help cheer up Senbro as well?" Kirishima said as he and Banjo were hanging out by the bar.

"Yes I am. I must say, I was expecting a couple more people to have shown up." Momo commented to the crowd.

"Don't look at us." Jiro replied. "It was Minas' idea. She said it would be a good idea to 'overwhelm him with a crowd'."

"Speaking of which, where is she? You think that the person who organized a party would have been the first one to show up." Kaminari joked. But he quickly shut himself up as the door to the café flew open, startling everyone in the place. Their fears were alleviated as they saw that the being that stood in the doorway was nothing more than a giant stuffed teddy bear with a certain pink girl standing behind it.

"Hi Yaomomo!" Mina said as she tried desperately to hold up the giant stuffed bear in her arms.

"Um…Hello Ashido. What exactly is that for?" Momo asked as Mina tried her hardest to get the bear into the café.

"Well, I felt really bad for Sento, and there really isn't a card that says, 'Sorry your dad turned out to be a secret villain watching from the shadows.' And I-" She grunted as she finally entered the café. "Went with the next best thing."

"Your gift makes mine look bad." Ochaco shyly admitted as she held her gift.

"What did you get him?" Kirishima questioned. The girl felt anxious as she unfurled her gift.

"It's a poster with a cat on a branch that says, 'Hang in there.' I just wanted something that would help him get motivated, but it was the only thing I could get that was in my budget." Ochaco sheepishly confessed. Izuku could tell that she felt really bad about that.

"I-I-I think h-he'll l-l-l-like it. I-I w-w-would." He said to try to make her feel better. The girl just blushed at the statement, which peaked Minas' curiosity, but that would have to wait.

"Alrighty people, 'Operation: Cheer Sento Up' begins now!" Mina cheered to the posse. But one of them had a question on their mind.

"Um, Mina? How are you going to get the bear into the lab?" Banjo asked. The girls' eyes shot wide open in realization as she had no idea either.

"He has a point." Jiro added in. "You had a hard time trying to get it through a regular doorway, so I can't see how you are getting it through a doorway smaller than that." Mina squinted her eyes and stared at the refrigerator.

"…Elbow grease and determination." Was all that Mina said as she opened the entrance and started ramming the bear through the entrance. She eventually needed the combined might of Kirishima, Banjo, Izuku, and herself to finally get the oversized bear through the entrance way. Mina bounced with joy as she made her way down the stairs with the item in hands along with the other students. "Oh, Sen-"

"Help!" Sento shrieked as he frantically took his shirt off as it was currently on fire. There was slight panic from the rest of the students as they stomped on the flaming shirt to try to extinguish it. Once the task was done, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one!" Kaminari stated to the group.

"I would say!" Tenya chimed in. "Kiryuu, why exactly was your shirt on fire in the first place?"

"Well, it's kind of-" It was at that moment that Sento realized the state of his clothing…and that he was currently shirtless in front of the majority his girl classmates. There was a majority of different reactions from said girls. Jiro stared at him rather blankly, Ochaco turned her head to not look at him, Tsuyu stared at him wondering why he was in that state of undress in the first place. But the two that got to him the most were the from the two other girls.

Momo was about as red as her costume as she took in his physique. She tried her hardest to look away, but her eyes would always somehow find their way back to staring at the boy. As for Mina, she stared at him rather calmly…as she then proceeded to pull out her phone and started to take photos. Realizing what she was doing, Sento got really embarrassed and tried his hardest to find a spare shirt.

"Mina…What are you doing?" Tsuyu questioned her friend. Mina turned to the frog girl.

"It's for…the yearbook committee." The girl hoping no one would call her out for her lie.

"There's a yearbook committee?" Kirishima asked. "I'm surprised that they would pictures this early in the school year. And also that they would put a shirtless pic in the yearbook as well!"

"W-Well, you know…" Mina stammered. "I-I like to get an early start on things!" Kirishima apparently bought it as he shrugged his shoulders. Mina then leaned a little closer to Momo. "…If you want, I can send you a copy. You know, for…'personal reasons' and the such." Momo was simply quiet as her blush got a little bit redder. Sento, who now had a shirt on, let out a stifled cough.

"Um-…How are you guys?" He asked, trying quickly to change the subject.

"We're good…Now, can you tell us why your shirt was on fire?" Jiro chimed in. Everyone' eyes made their way to Sento wit quizzically looks on their faces. Sento glanced over to the machine that sat in the middle of the room, to which everyone did as well.

"Oh, what does this do?" Kaminari asked as he was about to poke the center beaker. Sento quickly rushed over and stopped him from performing the task. "Dude, what the hell?"

"That is the reason." Sento quickly said, making everyone curious as to what he was talking about. "Okay, time to do some explaining. You see the gray bottle down at the bottom? It's filled some kind of energy that I believe is able to make a new upgrade for myself. I figured out that it is able to use the energy from best matches. I tried the Harinezumi and the Syoubousya as a goof…turns out they're a best match…and that they aren't capable of the energy as water and fire spikes shot out." Sento reminisced on the event with a dower look on his face. "…But at least it didn't hit my pants! Any questions?"

"What's a best match?" Kaminari questioned. Sento was about to answer, but Banjo stepped in.

"It's two fullbottles that pair well together and create a powerful form for Sento to use…Did I get it right?" Banjo asked as he looked to Sento. His friend gave him a so-so hand motion.

"What kind of energy is the bottle giving off?" Tenya inquired as he stared at it.

"Y-Yeah, that's a good question." Izuku chimed in. "Because depending on what kind of energy it is giving off, then it could either be helpful or dangerous if it's not used properly." Sento joined the two as they looked over the fullbottle.

"It's energy from Pandora's Box." Sento said in a rather relaxed tone. He then noticed that the room got suddenly quiet as the rest of his classmates.

"Like the Greek myth?" Momo questioned. Banjo quickly rushed to his friends' side.

"You sure you want to tell them about it?" Banjo whispered into his friends' ear. "I mean…I thought we agreed to wait until we thought it was the right time. Is it that time?" Sento gave a small nod.

"Yeah…I think it's time." Sento remarked as he sat on the platform of the fullbottle purifier. "It's time you guys learned somethings. About this place…About us and what we did before we came to U.A."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Jiro questioned as they all gathered around the boys. Sento let out a small sigh.

"It happened 16 years ago…"

(X)

16 Years Ago

"That's one small step for man…" Soichi began to say as he put one foot onto the red soil. "One giant leap for-"

"We know how the saying goes, care to focus on the mission?" Kengo Ino stated in a rather annoyed voice. Soichi let out an annoyed sigh.

"You certainly are a buzz kill." Soichi commented to his comrade. The two astronauts gazed out to the vastness that was the surface of Mars. A small team was sent to the planet after assigned to head to the planet for research. A quick burst of static came over the intercom, before a voice came through.

"How does it look out there?" Gobara questioned as he and Saiga were the ones that volunteered to stay on the satellite orbiting the planet.

"Well…I can see why they named a candy bar after it." Soichi commented as he continued to stare out into the vastness. He heard a snicker come over the intercom. He knew that Saiga would have certainly got a kick out of that.

"Alright people, enough joking around. We have a job to do." Ino commented as he shot Soichi a look.

"Right, sorry. We need soil samples, photographs of the terrain, and-…" Saiga stopped herself, raising concerns with those on the planet. "…That can't be right."

"What's going on up there?" Ino questioned to those on the satellite. They heard mutter over the intercoms as Gobara and Saiga were discussing something.

"I thought there was a technical problem, but everything is fully functioning…which makes what I'm seeing really curious." Saiga explained.

"What are you seeing?" Soichi questioned. That was when he noticed something that he didn't notice the first time.

"There's a strange energy reading not too far from you guys." Gobara chimed in. "If we had to guess, it's-"

"Yeah, I can see it." Soichi commented as he stared at what appeared to be ruins of some kind of building. It was old…Something he certainly didn't expect to see on the journey. Ino came up to his side, staring in awe at the majesty before them.

"Oh my god…" Was all that Ino said as the two astronauts began to walk towards the ruins. The duo finally reached the entrance of the building. There was a certain sense of dread that emanated from the inside. Ino had an audible gulp. "I'm-…I'm going to gather the soil samples. You-…You gather the photographs." Was all he said as he walked away.

"S-Sure…" Soichi said as he walked inside the ruins. The halls were filled with the sands of Mars, the remnants of what looked like a battle still marked the walls with scorch marks and slashes. Eventually, the hall ended in a room with a pedestal at the very of the room. On it, was a cube that was somehow…calling out to Soichi. He slowly took steps forward as he reached the pedestal. Not knowing entirely why, Soichi grabbed ahold of the cube.

As soon as he touched it, a bright light emerged from it, causing its' exterior to shift from an old, dusty object, to one that looked pristine as if it was created just yesterday. The item was…Soichi didn't know how to describe it. But he didn't have the time to take in the sight as the ground beneath him started to rumble. Acting on instinct, Soichi ran as fast as he could away from the ruins and back to the safety of the ship. Once inside, Soichi took long and hard panicked breaths as he had no idea what happened. Ino entered the ship a couple of seconds after Soichi.

"What the hell just happened?" Ino questioned his fellow astronaut. Soichi was about to answer, but something caught his eye. As he looked out the window, he was shocked to see what was outside…As a giant wall was erupting from the ground.

(X)

Present Day

"Wait…Aliens exist?" Mina questioned in a very excited tone. Tsuyu looked at her in confusion.

"That's what you focused on the most? I mean, it's starling news, but that isn't what I would focus on." The frog girl questioned.

"Yeah, not the fact that a giant wall erupted from the ground once a weird box was touched?" Jiro chimed in. Mina just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I like to focus on the positives on life. Plus, I've always wanted aliens to exist since I was little, so this is a big moment for me!" Was all the pink girl said before turning back to Sento. "What happened with the Box thingy?"

"Well…It's kind of hard to say." Sento admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The rumor is that the government put the Box into a vault after they found out what happened on Mars. But…Nobody really knows." Tenya raised a hand. "Iida, this isn't the classroom, you can just asked the question." Sento explained, but Tenya was persistent in keeping his hand up. "…Yes Iida?"

"Thank you. Now, how do we know that this story is even true? If this was told to you by Owner, then why should we trust a word that he said?" Tenya raised a good point as the rest of the classmates looked Sento for answers.

"Well…I had an experience with it just a couple of days ago. The bottle was created when Own-…Blood Stalk pulled out this panel that just…I don't know how to describe it. It shot out this beam of energy that was able to cancel out my transformation. And then the bottle turned into…this!" Sento explained as he stared at the weird bottle. "And the only type of energy the bottle holds is from-"

"Those weird monster things?" Jiro questioned, which shocked some of the students. "What were called again?"

"Smashes."/"Smashes." Both Banjo and Sento calmly said.

"Yeah, we've been fighting those for a while now." Banjo said. "There's this weird organization called Faust. They perform experiments that turn people into Smashes. I should know, I almost got turned into one." The group stared at him rather blankly. "…Really? No, like, overreaction or anything like that?"

"Dude, we just found out that there were apparently aliens living on Mars, a box that was able to make a giant wall appear out of nowhere, and one of our friends' dad was a secret agent for an organization that turns people into monsters." Kaminari calmly explained.

"And we can assume that you two have been secretly been fighting them due to that comment." Tsuyu added.

"Which honestly makes you guys even manlier than I thought!" Kirishima chimed in.

"As well as add to the mysterious factor of you two…which just makes Sento even hotter." Mina added…as everyone just looked at her in confusion. "…I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" Sento blushed in response, trying to turn away to not show his embarrassment. Banjo was just extremely confused.

"Why wouldn't you say I was hot as well?" Banjo questioned. Mina shrugged her shoulders.

"I just call it how I see it." Was all she said.

"Can we get back on track?" Tenya interjected. "Two of our friends have been masquerading as vigilantes! That's against the law! What would have happened if you two were caught by a Pro Hero?"

"Hawks was cool with it." Banjo replied, but somehow, the group didn't hear him.

"More importantly, what happens if the teachers find out about this?" Tenya questioned. "You two could be expelled!" All eyes once again fell to the pair of boys. There was an anxious silence that hung in the air as the group waited for an answer.

"…I don't know…But if it means that I got expelled for doing the right thing, then I'm not ashamed of it." Sento admitted. He then shot Izuku a short little look…which raised Momos' curiosity.

"Um-…W-W-Well, m-maybe All Might w-w-w-would be a l-little more u-u-understanding." The green haired boy stuttered out. The others looked at him with a new found sense of assurance.

"Yeah!" Kirishima stated with a toothy grin. "All Might's the top dog! If anyone would understand, it would totally be him! He helped that vigilante during that Sky Egg incident!"

"If you needs us there to support you, we're there for you buddy!" Kaminari stated, making Sento smirked a little bit.

"Thanks, but I think it would be better if it came from me." Sento clarified. "…There's also something that I need to tell you guys about…about me and how…I guess I kind of ended up here." Sento felt Momos' hand rest on his shoulder as he told the story of how he ended up in the care of Soichi. The room once again fell silent as the information that was told sank in. There was a mixture of emotions from the group. Izuku, Kirishima, Kaminari, Tenya, and Banjo were silent as the information sank in, with Kirishima trying his hardest to not punch something. Jiro wiped away a slight tear. Tsuyu and Ochaco were about ready to bawl their eyes out. As for Mina…she took a different approach as she wrapped him up in a tight hug.

"You poor thing." She whispered into Sentos' ear. There was a blush present on his face, but he slowly accepted the hug.

"Those guys are going to pay." Kaminari stated. "If you ever want us to break the rules and help you beat the shit out of those guys, I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I said that we would do that." All eyes fell on Tenya.

"Well, I would say that it is very unbecoming of heroes…but a part of me wonders if I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes." Tenya pondered, which made Sento let out a stifled laugh. He gently broke the hug from Mina and smiled.

"Thanks guys…for not rejecting me." Sento admitted bluntly. Kirishima patted him on the back.

"What makes you think we would do that? You're our friend. We wouldn't do that to you." The red head proclaimed. An idea suddenly came to him. "I know what would cheer you up! Let's help you finish this new gizmo of yours!"

"I would argue that it's goober, but that's just that's just me." Kaminari interjected. Leaving some of the others just started to giggle. Sento looked rather shocked by the proposition.

"I-I can't ask you guys to do that." He said. "You guys saw what happened when I tried it out by myself."

"Well, we'll just be more careful." Mina said as she gazed over the fullbottles laid out on the table. Eventually her eyes came upon two that she thought would work the best. She then looked to Sento for confirmation on if it was a best match or not, to which he nodded. Her grin was wide. "Panda because it's cute, like me! And Rockets, because of my love for space!" She exclaimed, making everyone realize that she only picked them because she thought it related to her. Her eyes glimmered as the energy from the fullbottles traveled through the tubes, hitting the weird bottle, and then for it to reach the glass dome at the top. But that wonderment was destroyed as a miniature explosion went off in her face, causing her to go flying. Once hitting the ground, she made her annoyance very well known. "How could something so cute, be so dangerous?!" She pouted.

"Maybe the Pirate Train combination would do?" Tsuyu suggested as she was about to step up . But Kirishima stopped her before it could happen.

"Sorry, but I don't want you to get hurt." He stated as he put the bottles into the device. "But I get where you're coming from! Because a train hits hard, and pirates are man-" He was cut off as a lime green train hit him square in the stomach and then circled back to hit him in the face. He didn't say anything as he quite literally crawled his way back to the safe zone of the lab.

"Stand aside! Let my sixth sense do the work!" Banjo said as he strolled up to the machine as he inserted the Dragon and Lock fullbottle into the machine. "The best combo rig-" He stopped himself as he got a face full of smoke as a result. Coughing heavily, he walked away from the machine…just in time a billow of blue fire sprouted from it.

"Relax you guys, I got this!" Kaminari stated as he grabbed the Lion and Soujiki fullbottles and inserted them into the device…only for him to get hit with a bunch of electricity. After a couple of seconds, the storm stopped, and the blond just stood still.

"…Kaminari?" Jiro asked. "You okay?"

"…Whey~" He said as he turned around. Jiro instantly broke down in laughter while Banjo and Kirishima helped their friend away from the machine. Tenya tried the Ninjya and Comic combination…only to receive a face full of ink as a result. Jiro hesitantly put the Hawk and Gatling combo in the machine and ducked as soon as she did. She evaded a being hit with a bundle of feathers, which made all of the others jealous as they looked back on what they had to endure. Izuku muttered to himself as he inserted the Octopus and Light bottles in. The mutters turned into screams as he was blinded by the equivalent to that of a flash bang. Sento, realizing that there may be no end in sight for this, let out a sigh of dejectedness.

"I appreciate all the you guys did for me," He began to explain, "But I can tell that thi-" He was cut off as an unfamiliar sound was heard behind the group.

"It's glowing!" Momo exclaimed as she stared at the circular beaker. Everyone rushed to her side as they stared at the device in wonderment. The swirling red and blue energy glowing in a spectacular motion, captivating the students. Sento looked down and was shocked at the combination Momo chose.

"RabbitTank?" He questioned. She just looked at him.

"It was the only one we've had yet to try…plus, it's kind of your signature form. So I figured why not?" Momo explained, as she had a small smile on her face. It was at that moment that the two realized how close together their classmates were inadvertently pushing them. With a nervous chuckle, both of them turned away with a nervous chuckle.

"How long do you think it would take you to complete this new device?" Mina questioned, breaking Sento out of his trance.

"Oh! Well, I'll have to extract the energy, create a suitable housing component that has enough space to hold said energy while also being compatible with the Driver, then making the design for the front of it. So…probably a couple of hours." Sento said with a shrug. Mina just smiled.

"Cool! You can do that tomorrow! Cause as of right now…" Mina then went to the center of the lab and pulled out a Bluetooth speaker. "Now, we celebrate!" She exclaimed as she pressed play on her phone.

Mina started dancing as Blinding Lights by The Weeknd began to reverberate throughout the lab. While at first she got some confused looks, eventually those looks turned into ones of enjoyment as one by one the students started to dance alongside her. They recognized the motion as not just a celebration of a new invention, but as well as the students developing a bond that would undoubtedly bring them closer as friends. And for once they weren't being forced to act as heroes in training.

Instead, they were allowed to act as kids. And they loved every moment as more songs played one after another.

(X)

Gentoku stormed into the office rather angrily. Soichi and Rikiya turned to look at him in confusion.

"Well, if it isn't-" Soichi began to say, but he was cut off as he caught a left hook straight to the face.

"YOU LET THEM KNOW MY IDENTITY?!" Gentoku shouted as he was about ready to punch to Soichi again, but he was stopped as Rikiya stepped in between them.

"I would advise you not punch him again, do you how much I have to pay the cleaners to keep quiet about the blood stains?" Rikiya stated to the heated man. He then looked to Soichi. "Did you release his identity?" Soichi let out a stifled laugh.

"Well, if you ask me, he kind of had it coming." He remarked as he steadied himself. "He's had a lot of screw ups lately. The U.S.J., the attempt at getting the drive of Takumi, and let's not forget the fact it was him that said those soldiers would be good fits for that project, leading us to lose our only Scla-" He was once again cut off as Gentoku pinned him against the wall, choking him with his elbow.

"GIVE ME ONE REASON WHY I SHOULD KILL YOU!" Gentoku shouted. Soichi realized that if he truly wanted to live, he might have to divulge some secrets.

"If you do…then you'll never know…what happened to…Takumi Katsuragi!"

I would like to start off by saying a big thank you to PhantomKnightPercival for including my story as a cameo in his story "One Rider for All"! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of that and I wish the best of luck in the stories that you write! I should also mention that I am back at my college, so the uploads may or may not be a little bit slower as I get used to my schedule. With those two announcements out of the way...

Next time on Hero of Love & Peace: The long awaited Sports Festival is finally upon us! What obstacles lay in the path of our Heroes in Training? What Pro Heroes will be keeping an eye on these students? And what declarations while this students make to this world?