3 Minutes Until All Might Arrives

"So… this is the final boss?" Shigaraki looked over the plaza unimpressed. The lackeys he brought with him were disposed of so it was just him, Kurogiri, and Noumu versus two hero students. "The son of Endeavor and some no name girl? It seems underwhelming to me."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Kari snapped "Us hero students have been kicking your ass all day!"

"He did just take out Midoriya with his own attack." Todoroki reminded her. "And that Noumu monster is supposed to be the real threat."

"Jeez shows what you know." Kari sighed "Rule number one of being outmatched is fake it till you make it. At the very least you could pretend like we're confident."

"I never said I wasn't confident. You offered him that information yourself." Todoroki pointed out.

Kari's eyebrow twitched "Alright then some friend you are."

"I already told you I'm not here to make friends."

"They're ignoring me…" Shigaraki muttered, annoyed. "Kurogiri take care of them."

"No way I'm falling for that again!" Kari snarled "Now that the CO2 levels are back to normal I can show you jerks what I'm really made of!" Kari extended her arms out and needles sprung from the back of her hands.

Todoroki stomped the ground and his quirk froze Noumu's and Shigaraki's feet in place. Meanwhile, Kari's needle barrage sprang forwards. Noumu was easily able to break out of his icy foothold and protect Shigaraki from the needles. They pierced his skin, but his regeneration fixed the tiny cuts within seconds. Kurogiri wasn't so lucky, a few of the needles managed to slip through the cracks of his neck armor and pierce his true body.

A ghastly wail echoed through the plaza, leaving everyone in the USJ incredibly unnerved. "I told you not to make light of us, didn't I?" Kari asked smugly.

"Lucky shot…" Shigaraki mumbled "Besides… I'm unharmed…" Shigaraki touched the ice and watched it turn to dust with his quirk "And Noumu is still standing."

"That's correct." Todoroki nodded "Kari's power would never be enough to defeat the Noumu."

"Hey! Rude!" Kari snapped.

"It's just a fact." Todoroki sighed "His regeneration means that your quirk is completely useless."

"You didn't have to phrase it like that." Kari whined.

Todoroki ignored her complaining and stomped his foot on the ground again "From what I understand that beast can only act if you give it orders. So all I have to do is freeze you solid and it's good as neutralized."

"And don't even think of trying to run!" Kari smirked "I can have your warp gate on its misty knees in a matter of moments."

"Annoying…" Shigaraki muttered "Okay fine… I'll take on another Side Quest…"

"Master Tomura, shouldn't you be using the Noumu for this?" Kurogiri pressed.

"No…" Shigaraki denied "These kids are just stalling for time… the real final boss is on his way isn't he?"

Todoroki narrowed his eyes and four spires of ice surrounded Shigaraki creating a makeshift prison. A single touch was all it took for Shigaraki to destroy that minor annoyance "See? That flimsy cage wouldn't hold anyone… but it took me 8 seconds to escape from… You're trying to… buy time for All Might… I'll keep Noumu at full health… until he arrives."

"Why are you so sure he'll be alone?" Kari asked. And despite standing right next to her Midoriya was only now noticing the strange motions she was making with her hands. As if maneuvering a metal ball with a magnet.

"Because he is here…" Shigaraki rasped "All Might wouldn't wait around for other heroes to show up… he'd run ahead on his own…"

'But…' Midoriya thought 'He must not be coming here in his buff form right away… he must have overdone it already… if he hadn't he would have been here in seconds. If he's really conserving all his remaining energy… there's no guarantee that Noumu won't just catch him off guard and kill him.'

"Great speech." Todoroki deadpanned and ice spread off from his feet once more, it barreled towards Shigaraki, but this time Noumu was prepared to intercept. It stood in the way of the ice prison and allowed itself to get frozen over in place of Shigaraki. Of course, that was inconsequential since mere milliseconds later Noumu had freed itself.

Shigaraki however was much less concerned with Noumu and more concerned with how Kari had reacted to the Noumu's sudden movement. Her strange hand gestures became much more rapid as if she were trying to fix some mistake.

Once her movements slowed again Shigaraki decided to pace a bit to the left. Todoroki moved to freeze Shigaraki again but Noumu was too fast. Once again as it moved Kari's hand gestures sped up. Shigaraki hummed in thought.

"Noumu… jump around a bit for me."

"Master Tomura what are you-"

"Shut up Kurogiri." Shigaraki commanded as he watched Noumu do what was requested of him. He scratched his neck in contemplation "Noumu… jump from side to side."

That piqued his interest as Kari's face noticeably paled. The Noumu jumped from side to side for a few moments when the seemingly impossible happened. It coughed up some blood. Kurogiri seemed the most dumbfounded out of all of them "What… in the world did you do?"

Kari didn't answer, her face was white as a sheet as she frantically moved her hands about. Todoroki answered in her stead "He must be sick."

Kari's hand movements slowed down as she seemingly fixed whatever the Noumu jumping about had broken. Her relief didn't make her any less annoyed at Todoroki's response though "Really?"

"You're making fun of me aren't you?" Shigaraki accused "You think this is funny?!"

"Todoroki, why did you say that?!" Midoriya whisper-panicked.

Todoroki furrowed his brow "Is that not a logical conclusion to come to?"

"This whole time you've been making light of me!" Shigaraki yelled, his neck was actually bleeding from how hard it was being scratched "I'm done being made into a joke character! Noumu! I want you to-"

Interrupting Shigaraki's rant and command to the mindless beast was a powerful wave of sound. Even if he had managed to finish giving the order there was no way the Noumu would have been able to hear it.

"Phew…" Jiro wiped the sweat off her brow as she looked at everyone in the plaza "Just in time."

"Jiro!" Midoriya sighed in relief.

"You bitch!" Shigaraki roared.

"And… Done!" Kari clapped her hands together.

"Done what?!" Shigaraki whipped his head around to glare at the hero students.

His question was somewhat answered as the Noumu began to twitch violently in every direction. But Kari explained anyway "Noumu's quirks are super regeneration and shock absorption. The perfect combination to take on All Might sure… but it comes at a price. His skin isn't thick, because he's supposed to be able to recover from any injury."

Aizawa's eyes widened as he realized what was happening "Kari you didn't!"

"That guy explained the Noumu to me as a walking corpse, a nonsentient creature that could only follow orders." Kari continued "I could never use this technique against a person… but against something like that?"

"What did you do to my Noumu?!" Shigaraki demanded as the beast began to twitch and shake even more violently than before.

"That initial wave of needles was never meant to hit you." Kari explained "My real objective was to get one in that monster's mouth. Then those weird hand gestures I was doing before was me navigating the needle down the wind pipe and into the lungs."

"Which is why it coughed up blood when moving from side to side!" Midoriya realized.

"That was the needle tearing into its windpipe." Kari agreed "And once it was in the lung…"

The Noumu exploded, and needles popped out of every orifice. Eyes, nose, mouth, needles came out of the monster like an acupuncture session gone wrong. Needles popped out of the palms of its hands, it's arms, its legs, its exposed brain, nowhere was safe. It was the most horrifying thing any of them had ever seen… but Kari swallowed her bile and kept talking. "Once it was in the lung! It had all the CO2 it needed to expand. And there was only one thing left!"

Noumu fell to the ground, but unlike when Bakugo attacked it… it couldn't heal or get back up. "Why isn't it working?!" Shigaraki asked in a panic "Why won't he get back up?!"

"Because!" Kari declared "The only thing left to do! Was to trust our sensei!" Aizawa laid on the ground, in incredible pain but still managing to stare at the grotesque monster, a task that not even Kari, who had caused the injury, or Shigaraki, a psychopath, was capable of. "Shock Absorption! Super Regeneration! Both quirks have been erased!"

"And with that." Todoroki said calmly as ever "Your Anti-Symbol of Peace." The Noumu let out one final wail before its head fell limp to the ground Kari willed the needles to fade away, but the injuries persisted "Is dead."

"No! No! No! No! No! No!" Shigaraki yelled "This is impossible! It was supposed to kill All Might! All Might! How did it?! How could it?! How could it be killed by bastard hero students like you?! I'll! I'll! I'll!"

"You'll what?"

0 Minutes

The doors to the USJ flew open with a single mighty punch. All Might standing in the newly open doorway looking pissed as hell.

"You assumed…" Kari smirked at Shigaraki "That because we were students none of us would be willing to play dirty…"

Jiro, Todoroki, and Midoriya looked at Kari as All Might descended the stairs. Shigaraki meanwhile seemed equal parts pissed and terrified.

"But… that's naïve." Kari continued "Because in everything… heroics, schooling, even just living day to day… I've had to play dirty my whole life in order to get by… I'm better at it than playing by the rules, you know?" Kari pointed at Shigaraki with a dead look on her face. "Heroics to some people is jumping out onto the street, with a smile on your face and yelling I am here. To others it's about taking down the biggest and nastiest villains, and to others it's about doing things to help the community. But my definition of hero is different. To me! A hero is someone who looks at the ugliest parts of the world! Someone who can get their hands dirty in order to protect as many people as possible! That's why you lost today! It's because you were facing heroes! Heroes who are willing to do something ugly to create a beautiful future!"

Shigaraki was silent, as was everyone else. Then the blue-haired man started to laugh, a genuine laugh different from his earlier more psychotic laughs. And honestly that was even more unnerving.

"Come on Kurogiri… let's go. It's Game Over."

"I won't let you!" All Might jumped forwards from the stairs, intent on delivering a smash straight to Shigaraki's face, when a portal opened in front of him, sending him off in the other direction.

"Doing something ugly to create a beautiful future…" Shigaraki laughed, "I think I fit your definition of heroism quite well… I wonder how long it'll take you to agree."

'I think that was the moment…' Midoriya thought back as Shigaraki finally left the USJ. 'That was the moment that the line between heroes and villains first started to blur.'

Quirk LineBreaker

Saying that Aizawa was tired would be an understatement. Aizawa was usually tired after three cups of coffee and 8 hours of sleep. But this level of exhaustion was something else. Recovery Girl had healed him up as much as she could, but she couldn't heal everything unless he wanted to die. That and her quirk could only heal so much and there was hardly anyone in his class who wasn't injured in some way. Somehow those closest to the plaza this whole time were the safest among them.

"Thinking about your students?" Hizashi asked. The two of them were driving to the hospital to see if there were any major complications that Recovery Girl didn't heal.

Aizawa nodded unthinkingly, Hizashi was his husband after all, if he was going to admit this kind of stuff to anyone it would be him.

"They're tough aren't they." Hizashi noted, "I mean, first major Villain attack and they handled it like Pros."

"They shouldn't have had to." Aizawa argued. "They've only been here for a week…"

"Of course, they shouldn't have had to Sho." Hizashi agreed, "But it's good that everyone survived."

"But some came close!" Aizawa snapped "Three of them held off the Ekitani Kidnapping Gang! Todoroki and Kari fought someone with Four Quirks! Some of my students fought that monster in the plaza! My students were the ones to kill that monster!"

"Jesus…" Hizashi breathed "I didn't realize things got that bad. But I thought All Might killed the monster."

Aizawa shook his head "It was Kari… she used her quirk to tear apart its organs from the inside out. She just… took one look at the body and decided… she didn't want anyone to know she could do something like that. So she asked All Might to take the credit and he agreed."

"That's metal as hell…" Hizashi muttered.

"Zashi!" Aizawa snapped

"Sorry! But seriously?!"

"She said she did it because she trusted me…" Aizawa whispered "She trusted me to keep its quirk erased so it couldn't regenerate. I spied on her house and family even though she trusts me."

"Sho your freaking out." Hizashi said placatingly "We're heroes. You deal with those types of moral dilemmas all the time. What's the real problem?"

"If one of those kids died I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Aizawa admitted, "It would be Shirakumo all over again…"

Hizashi sighed, he had a feeling things were going in this direction. Shirakumo was a weak spot for all of them. But Aizawa had always taken it the worst. "Okay Sho… how many students do you have?"

Aizawa already knew where this was heading as he answered robotically "Twenty"

"Out of those twenty how many survived?"

"Twenty"

"How many were injured?"

"Seven"

Okay, that was more than he was expecting, he had thought there were three or four injured.

"How many of those injuries were serious?"

"Seven"

"Go from worst to least worst." Hizashi commanded.

"Midoriya has a broken arm and fractured ribs." Aizawa answered clearly.

"Will any of that be permanent?"

"No Recovery Girl is fixing him up now…" Aizawa relented.

"Next person then."

"Ojiro had bloodied knuckles, frostbite on his feet, a nasty burn on the tip of his tail, and a concussion he didn't even know about until Recovery Girl healed it."

"Next person."

Aizawa glared at Hizashi "You saw Kari's injuries for yourself so it would be illogical to go over them again, especially when there wasn't anything past the obvious. After her the worst off was Hagakure. Electrical burns littered her body, not that we could see them."

"She brought back the comms I heard?" Hizashi mused.

"Villain wasn't anything special but got off a lucky shot." Aizawa agreed "Then we have Shouji, bloodied knuckles, bruised ribs, broken nose, and extreme exhaustion. After him is Kaminari with third degree burns on both his chest and shoulder, both are going to scar, and finally Sero who is suffering from an extreme case of quirk overuse. Both he and Kaminari have frostbitten feet as well."

Okay wow. That was a lot more than Hizashi expected. But the point of this wasn't to drive home the fact that Aizawa's class got fucked up "And out of those seven how many do you think are going to quit the hero course."

"Zero." Aizawa answered instantly.

"And the uninjured ones?"

"They wouldn't dare."

"Then there's no problem. Things will be hard for a bit, but they'll bounce back." Hizashi assured him.

"Kari said something else." Aizawa mused after a moment. "She said that her definition of a hero was someone who does the ugly to secure a beautiful future."

"Sounds like you." Hizashi quipped.

"It reminded me more of Koichi." Aizawa admitted, "At least… the way she was talking reminded me of him."

"The Cruller right?" Hizashi remembered.

"Something like that."

"I thought he was more like, be an upstanding citizen and break the law on the side."

"Personality-wise I suppose they aren't so similar." Aizawa relented "It was actually their mentality that caught my interest. They both had the mindset of 'I know what needs to be done. So who cares how I do it'."

"Think she'll turn out to be a Vigilante."

Aizawa shook his head "She only would have done that if she didn't make it into U.A."

Hizashi laughed, "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

Aizawa let a ghost of a smile onto his face. Ken really had his work cut out for him if he wanted to compete with his class this year.

Quirk LineBreaker

Only half of the bus was actually awake when they set off from the USJ. Everyone's parents were waiting at U.A. To make sure everyone was alright and most of them would have to bring home passed-out sacks of potatoes.

Kari had fallen asleep on top of Hagakure and Mina had teased the blushing mess until the invisible girl had fallen asleep herself. Kaminari, Ojiro, and Sero had all passed out on each other as well, as had Shouji and Kirishima. Honestly, the back of the bus was just one giant pile of resting bodies.

Uraraka looked around to see who was still awake. All seven injured, along with Kirishima and Bakugo were passed out. They had both overused their quirks throughout the day so while they didn't have Recovery Girl's healing to suck their energy they were already pretty tired.

Iida was asleep as well. Turns out that even with a speed quirk running from U.A. and back was hard work. He hadn't even bothered trying to assign seats before he passed out on the bus. Looking around only her, Kouda, Tokoyami, Mina, Aoyama, Jiro, Tsuyu, Yaoyarozu, Todoroki, and Satou were able to stave off exhaustion.

But Jiro and Todoroki were being weirdly quiet, or Jiro was being weirdly quiet. Todoroki was as quiet as always. Mina and the others however… were more than content to start chatting it up.

"All Might is so cool!" Mina gushed "I mean our Ultimate attack didn't do anything! But seconds after he shows up the monster is dead and the Villains are gone."

"I can't believe All Might killed someone though…" Yaoyorozu whispered.

"Non, he did not." Aoyama denied "All Might did not kill anyone because the Noumu was not alive."

"He's right, kero." Tsuyu nodded "The hand guy said that he was made in a lab. So he was more like a robot with flesh."

"Ew- that's a disgusting thought." Satou cringed.

"Still it was kind of strange." Uraraka mused, "There were holes in the body. Doesn't All Might just punch people?"

"You looked at it?" Jiro whispered, distraught.

"Yeah…" Uraraka turned away "It was… pretty gruesome but… call it morbid curiosity."

"I took a look as well." Tokoyami nodded "But I averted my eyes when my stomach decided to protest."

"He means that he's a big chicken that was gonna throw up!" Dark Shadow laughed.

"I don't remember seeing you staring at the body either, kero." Tsuyu pointed out.

"Details!" Dark Shadow whined.

Todoroki shook his head "All Might killed the Noumu. Me and Jiro saw it. So did Midoriya and Kari."

"Yeah I guess it's hard to argue with four witnesses." Uraraka relented "Even Aizawa sensei said it was him."

"Yeah and he… he saw everything…" Jiro muttered.

"Are you okay Jiro?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"I'm fine!" Jiro said a bit too quickly "I'm just… really put off by everything… I think I might try and get some sleep too."

"It's only a few more minutes back though…" Todoroki pointed out. Mina slapped his arm and smiled at Jiro "Okie-dokie! Happy resting!"

"And then there were nine." Satou sighed.

Kouda coughed and nodded. Tokoyami handed him a lozenge to which the Rock headed boy was very appreciative of. "Hey, I have a question." Todoroki said suddenly after a period of silence.

"What is it?" Tokoyami asked.

"Kari said something about a true hero being willing to do something ugly for the sake of the future." Todoroki explained "What do you think she meant by that?"

"I'm not sure." Tsuyu admitted "If she means breaking the law for the greater good I can't say I agree."

"I'm not sure about that though." Mina admitted "I mean it depends on the context I guess. Like stealing is wrong but… stealing so you don't starve to death is different right?"

"But that's why there are Soup kitchens and stuff." Satou argued "So stealing is just plain wrong."

"I wouldn't say that." Uraraka cut in "I mean sometimes people are just too poor to afford food. I don't think they should make a habit of it, but nobody deserves to go hungry."

"Wait, why are we talking about starvation? I wanted to know about Kari's hero philosophy?" Todoroki said, confused.

"Well I mean… I guess the premise can kinda be taken as a general question." Uraraka explained "So I can only really think of it in that way."

"You'll probably have to ask Kari yourself." Tokoyami explained "Only she knows the truth of that riddle."

"Yeah good point, she's a hero student." Satou nodded "Dunno why I ever assumed she would be a thief or something."

"It's bothering you too then?" Jiro whispered.

"Weren't you going to go to sleep?" Todoroki wondered.

"You were right. It's only a few minutes away." Jiro shrugged "But what Kari said… It was bothering me too. Like I understand what she was trying to say but at the same time… I didn't. It was weird… and then with what she did to that monster. I'm just conflicted."

"She is weird." Todoroki admitted.

"That's not what I said." Jiro snapped, annoyed "I just… I want to understand what she means. Especially when she said that she's had to play dirty to get anything in her life…"

"Yeah that is a long story." Todoroki nodded.

"You mean you know it?"

"I'm not telling you."

Jiro flinched "Yeah I guess you wouldn't. Why did she tell you though?"

"I blackmailed her."

"Wha?!"

Todoroki nodded "After I saved her life I blackmailed her."

Now Jiro really wanted to figure out what the heck was going on.

Quirk: LineBreaker

There was exactly one thing that every principal in the world had in common, and Nedzu was no exception. They hated dealing with parents. Admittedly these concerns were more valid then 'How dare you put little Timmy in Gen Ed.' But they were still a pain in the ass to deal with.

"How the hell did this happen?!" Mitsuki Bakugo growled for what must have been the fifth time. "Aren't you supposed to have the best security in the world?!"

"Some of the best, yes." Nedzu assured "But even the most secure systems can be taken off guard by a communications jammer coming through a warpgate. It's a trick that'll only work once though. I'm already thinking of ways to remedy the issue."

Mitsuki's husband came to drag his wife off before she could make another snide comment "Thank you Principal Nedzu… we're just all on edge at the moment."

"Nedzu…" One of Ectoplasm's clones approached "I just got a call from Recovery Girl."

"Please tell me it's good news?" Nedzu groaned.

"It is, everyone is going to make a full recovery, and there were no outstanding injuries." Ectoplasm assured him "A few of the students are going to be tired but that should be the extent of it. They're on a bus home now."

Nedzu let out a sigh of relief and he cleared his throat looking out at the sea of parents "Attention Everyone! I just got word from Recovery Girl that everyone is going to be okay!"

There was a collective sigh of relief among the parents. Before a black haired woman stepped forwards "How much longer until we'll be able to see them?"

"It takes about 20 minutes to reach the USJ by bus." Nedzu told them. "They're getting packed up now.
Most of them will probably be asleep when they arrive however."

"H-How are you so sure of that?" A green haired woman stammered.

"There were a few injuries." Nedzu admitted "But Recovery Girl has already healed them. When they arrive I doubt you'll even be able to tell."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. But then again Nedzu was fairly certain that no response to that would have put their minds at ease.

"Attention everyone!" A blue haired man stood at salute "I know you're all nervous, I myself was worried sick for my little brother's safety. But as a U.A. graduate myself I must vouch for the School's safety. What happened today was unfortunate! But we must also remember it is the sole incident in U.A's history. If anything this was a fluke, a fluke that All Might himself had already handled."

"O-Oh my! Your Ingenium aren't you?" Inko recognized.

Tensei blinked "Why yes I am. I'm surprised you noticed me out of costume."

"My son is a huge fan of heroes." Inko explained "He has a figurine of you without your helmet in his room. I'd be more surprised if I didn't notice you honestly."

"Let me guess?" Tensei laughed, "You want an autograph don't you?"

"If you wouldn't mind?" Inko agreed "Izuku's clearly had a rough day and I hope that something like this will make it a little better."

"Ooooh Izuku? That means your Mama Midoriya right?"

"Oh!" Tensei was signing Inko's handkerchief when a girl with blonde hair and buns came hopping up behind her, with her was a man in a full bodysuit, and another man with a clear lizard mutation. The rest of the parents had given them a wide berth due to their appearances and strange attitudes. "Yes I am. Who are you if I may ask?"

"Himiko Toga." She hummed happily "I'm here for Kari."

"Ah! You must be sisters. And these two are…"

Jin and Shuichi looked at each other and kind of just shrugged. "Guardian? Dad? Brother? Landlord?" Jin answered all at once.

"Family Friend I guess?" Shuchi assumed.

"It's complicated." Himiko admitted at Inko's questioning stare.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter." She easily accepted "I'm sure she'll be glad just to see all of you."

"Course she'll be." Himiko quipped "She's really good at putting up a strong front, but once she actually-"

Jin smacked her upside the head "Don't go telling people that, say as much as you want I don't care, Stranger Danger!"

Shuichi sighed at Inko's startled look "It's a side effect of his quirk. Only ever take the first thing he says seriously."

"Ah…" Inko sighed "That poor man…"

"Excuse me." Tensei walked over to Shuichi "I couldn't help but notice your backpack."

"Huh? Oh!" Shuichi paled as he remembered the Stain figurine he had made for himself. And here he was looking at a Pro Hero in front of a school for Pro Heroes.

"Ah you seem to have already noticed what I was going to say." Tensei laughed "Don't worry you're not in any trouble. Just maybe put it away before the media gets here. It's a pain but it could cause a huge scandal."

"N-No it's fine I understand!" Shuichi quickly removed the Stain figure "B-But you really aren't bothered?"

"Well as a hero it concerns me that people look at a murderer as someone to be admired." Tensei admitted "But as a human I can understand that everyones lives different lives. As long as you're not out there spreading hate and violence I have no right to tell you what you should and should not like."

"I've never heard anybody say that so plainly before." Shuichi admitted.

"Well I've had a bit of experience." Tensei chuckled to himself "You know the Crawler?"

"The Vigilante turned hero workin' in the States?"

"The very same." Tensei nodded "You know I've worked with him before. He was mentored by this crazy old guy, one of those violence isn't just the answer, it's the question kind of people. So I've learned better than to assume things about people based solely on who they look up to, especially since you seem to like heroes just as much."

"Ah yeah…" Shuichi muttered "Not all of 'em but… the cool ones. The ones that Stain would probably spare… if that makes sense?"

"It does." Tensei admitted "Some heroes are glory hounds. I hate to say that about my comrades in arms but we all have our flaws as people."

"You're really down to earth, you know that?" Shuichi realized "I mean, when you think of heroes I usually think big and bombastic. Not a friendly jogging buddy."

Tensei had to physically hold back his laughter "It's strange how often people make that comparison."

Nedzu looked a bit more at ease as everyone seemed to follow Inko and Tensei's example. The parents and guardians continued to mingle amongst themselves instead of deciding to hound Nedzu with more questions.

"Nedzu we have a bit of an issue." Midnight whispered to him.

"Yes, of course we do." Never a moment's rest around here is there?

"It appears that Kaminari doesn't… have anyone to come pick him up? And he's one of the more injured students that most likely can't make it home on their own." Midnight admitted.

"Right and we can't exactly leave an injured child home alone." Nedzu sighed "Where is Conductor that she's unable to pick up her son?"

Conductor was the number 28 Pro Hero and Kaminari's mother, her quirk Conductive Attraction allowed her to pull objects that conducts electricity towards her like a magnet. It was the perfect quirk for swift Villain captures and hostage retrieval.

"Out on patrol it seems. Her agency seems pretty set on keeping her in the spotlight. And when we called her directly she didn't seem to care all that much."

"Of course she didn't…" Nedzu groaned "Make my life harder, why don't you. I'll call Naomasa. He has to perform an interrogation on Kaminari tomorrow anyway, so it would be convenient if we could just drop him off at his apartment."

"An interrogation?" Midnight asked "Will all of the students be undergoing them?"

"Just a select few." Nedzu denied "I just want to get all the facts straight."

Quirk: LineBreaker

Kari was tired, it was easy to see why considering that it had only been a day since the USJ. She scratched her itchy red skin and sat alone in a light grey room. The principal had asked her to come down to the police station in Musutafu and an aggressive looking man led her to where she was now. She wanted to believe that she wasn't in any trouble but when had she ever been that lucky?

Proving her luckless streak right was a face she knew all too well. Or well, not a face she knew personally but one she had been warned of more than once. Detective Tsukauchi walked through the door, a smile on his face as he sat in the chair opposite her. A detective well known for his lie detection quirk and affinity for catching criminals. She had always been told one thing very clearly, if you come face to face with him try and end the conversation as quickly as you can.

"Hello Kari." He said pleasantly "I heard you prefer it when people use that name. Is it alright if I do the same."

"It doesn't bother me, no." Truth Kari admitted and Tsukauchi nodded.

"Alright then Kari. I'm going to ask you a few things about the USJ." Kari physically sank in relief when she realized that was all this was about "Do you mind if I do that?"

"Not at all. But um… my classmates probably know a lot more about the Villains than me…" Truth

Tsukauchi wrote something down in his notebook "Don't worry so much. I understand if you don't feel comfortable talking about your experience, I just want to get some more information."

"I don't mind talking about the USJ sir." Truth

The detective's eyes narrowed. She clearly wasn't comfortable talking about something, now he's curious. But that curiosity will have to wait. "Now, this is a bit of a silly question. But you had no idea about the USJ, correct?"

"Definitely not." Kari scoffed. Truth

"Of course, it's just good to have that on the record." Tsukauchi explained "Now this next question may be a bit strange. Have you ever encountered the Ekitani Family?"

"The who? Never heard of them." Kari asked with a raised brow. Truth

"Ah so you were unaware." Tsukauchi sighed "The truth is, during the USJ their primary objective was to kidnap you. Fortunately Kurogiri must have given them the wrong students because you never encountered them."

"Kurogiri didn't make a mistake…" Kari muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothin' important." Lie

Tsukauchi rubbed his temples, he'll go back to the later "Right, well, you seem to be taking the fact that you were a target for kidnapping quite well."

"It's… not all that surprising." Kari admitted and Tsukauchi was horrified when his quirk identified that as the truth. "I've upset… a few people. And where I live the response to screwing someone over… isn't pretty."

"Can you elaborate some more on that?" Tsukauchi pressed.

"I'm not sure what there is to elaborate?" Kari asked, confused. "You piss someone off, and then they live in sad acceptance or hold a lifelong grudge."

"No… I mean could you elaborate on how you… found yourself upsetting so many people." Tsukauchi pressed.

"No." Kari crossed her arms "I thought we were here to talk about the USJ."

'So this is why she was nervous to come here…' Tsukauchi mused. "You're right. I crossed the line there didn't I? We didn't even manage to learn the name of their employer."

"What? How?"

"I'm afraid that once the Pro Heroes found them… they all seized and died of heart attacks." Tsukauchi admitted "Are you aware of anyone with a quirk that can cause that?"

"If they had a quirk like that, trust me I wouldn't have been the one to see it." Kari denied. Truth "Sorry if that was supposed to be classified… I um… thought that if I heard a name I might remember something."

"I had hoped the quirk would jog your memory… but you appear clueless."

"Gee thanks…" Kari muttered.

"Now then. You said 'if someone had a quirk like that, you wouldn't have been the one to see it.' Can you explain what you meant by that?"

"No."

"Kari I'm sorry but this does relate to the USJ." Tsukauchi tried again, "I'm going to need you to answer."

"I refuse." Kari said stubbornly "I know what your quirk is. Everyone knows who you are where I live. I don't want to talk about it, so I won't."

Now that's concerning… Tsukauchi thought "Is the problem that you aren't willing to talk, or that you don't want to tell me specifically?"

Kari looked away, "I just don't trust you." Truth

"Is there anyone you are willing to tell?" Tsukauchi tried instead.

"Sensei…" She answered after a moment of thought "He's an underground hero… so I'd be willing to talk to sensei about it." Truth

"I'm afraid that Eraserhead is still in the hospital." Tsukauchi sighed "But we can get President Mic down here instead. Would you be willing to talk to him?"

"Why was he your next choice?" Kari asked.

"He's a close friend of Eraserhead. They even live together. Chances are that whatever you told your sensei would be told to him eventually anyways."

Kari sighed and nodded slowly "O-Okay then… I'll talk to Mic sensei about it." Truth

"Great. I'll call him over now then. Please don't go anywhere until then."

"Sorry sir…" Kari said softly "I- I don't mean to cause any trouble… I just… have to be careful…"

Tsukauchi sighed before he left the room "Actually… why don't we continue the interrogation at my apartment instead? Mic might take a while."

"H-Huh? Are you allowed to do that?" Kari asked.

"Anything said there will be off the record. And can't be used in a court of law." Tsukauchi explained "Besides, your classmate Kaminari is staying with me for a few days anyway. I'd rather you be more relaxed before delving into such a sensitive topic."

Kari wiped some of the tears away from her eyes. "Th-Thank you sir."

Quirk: LineBreaker

Hizashi never understood what Shouta meant when he said that his class was full of Problem Children. 'It's just the first week Sho.' He had said 'You're just being negative.'

He wasn't. He wasn't being negative. This was the most troubled group of children he had ever laid his eyes upon. Midoriya had a lack of regard for his own life and safety, Todoroki and Kaminari had clear familital issues, Yaoyorozu had self worth issues, Bakugo and Iida had inferiority complexes, and that was only what he could see on the surface.

Now Kari, who was already her own can of worms, had refused to talk to Tsukauchi about some sort of sensitive topic, and had requested for Aizawa specifically.

Hizashi didn't know exactly how he felt about being 'The next best thing' but he was a bit thankful that she was willing to speak with him at all.

When he finally got to Tsukauchi's apartment he was a little too relieved to find that Kari wasn't in any distress. Instead she was watching Kaminari play pokemon on whatever the latest console was. "I'm gonna slap Shuichi." She huffed "I do not look like a Quilladin."

Kaminari let out a laugh next to her "Yeah, yeah, what you think you're more of a Sandslash don't you?"

"Or a Qwilfish! Bring the nickname to life!"

"You like the name Pufferfish?" Kaminari asked incredulously.

Kari puffed up her cheeks in response and Kaminari couldn't help but snort.

"Ah President Mic, I thought I heard the door open." Tsukauchi said from the small kitchen attached to the living room.

"Hey Mic sensei." Kaminari said easily.

"H-Hi Mic sensei…" Kari however was a lot more nervous about his presence, which was fair enough considering why the two of them were here.

"Hey little listeners." Hizashi said easily "Now I hate to interrupt you both but I'm pretty sure I was called in for work."

"R-Right…" Kari hid her head in her jacket.

"So uh… should I…?" Kaminari eyed the door.

"Yeah, as much as I enjoyed your company Kaminari, it's about time you got back home." Tsukauchi said easily "I'll drive you so that Mic and Kari can have some privacy."

"Alright yeah, We have to feed Curry anyways."

"Feed Curry?" Kari asked.

"My cat." Kaminari answered.

"Well get on outta here then!" Mic pressed "That poor kitty is probably starving by now!"

"Yeah! Why were you hanging out here!" Kari huffed "Feed your kitty you monster!"

"Jeez…" Kaminari sighed "Alright I see how it is…"

Mic and Kari shared a smile as the detective and Kaminari left the room. "I can see why Shouta likes you so much. He's a cat person too."

Kari blushed "Himiko says I like them a little too much… not my fault that the strays were all fond of me."

"Shouta- Aizawa brought home a stray once too." Hizashi admitted "He's got a huge soft spot for cats."

"Next time I need a favor I'll be sure to meow."

"Cheeky kid." Hizashi ruffled her hair and Kari lit up. "But I am here for an interrogation. Do you mind telling me what you didn't want Naomasa to know?"

"Um… yeah but… can you promise me something?" Kari asked. "C-Can you promise that I won't be expelled for this? I- I promise I want to become a hero! B-But in the past… I was forced to do some… not so great things…"

"Kari…" Hizashi smiled, "As long as you're earnest in your ambitions nobody is going to hold the past against you."

"Okay… I'll hold you to that. I guess I should start with the fact that my parents were both quirkless…" Kari swallowed some saliva "And having quirkless parents meant they expected me to be a quirkless child… but I- ended up different. I had a quirk. They tried to love me… but they couldn't. So they put me in an orphanage. The problem was… I hated it there. I was going to get adopted eventually, sure… but I tried my hardest to delay it… every time someone looked at me I felt so angry… it wasn't fair that I was going to get to leave after a few weeks when everyone else had been suffering for years."

"Let me guess? You ran away?" Hizashi figured.

"There were some Hero Commission guys." Kari explained and that piqued Mic's interest. "They said they wanted to make me into a hero… but… they only saw me as a strong quirk! I wanted to be a person, you know?"

Mic nodded sadly and motioned for Kari to continue. "I- I had to steal… I had to steal everything I've ever owned… This jacket? Stolen. My phone? My sister bought it with stolen money. My Entrance fee? Jin told me that he saved up from the bar but… it could just be stolen too. My education was made up of stolen workbooks… a-and I can't help but feel that… that maybe I don't deserve to be in U.A… I- I want to help people… b-but I'm just a thief aren't I?"

"Kid no…" Mic sighed "You… you and your whole family were put in a shitty situation. Me and Sho already knew that things were being stolen for you. We just didn't know that things were that bad."

"Y-You did?" Kari sniffed "B-But why am I still allowed at U.A?"

"Because… and well… this is going to sound bad for a Pro Hero to say. But you've never been caught." Mic said slyly "Not that I'm encouraging you to steal again… just that you won't be punished for what happened in the past."

"I don't plan on stealing again." Kari admitted "But there… there is something else that I'm still doing… and this is the thing I didn't want to tell the detective."

"I can't give away his name, because then he would probably… have to take care of me… But I am in contact with a Broker… he was the man who gave Jin the bar… b-but as you know they don't give things out for free a-and so I had to… I mean I didn't know what he was offering at the time… s-so I said yes to him and I-"

"Kari." Mic took her shoulders. She hadn't realized that she was shaking until he made her stop. "You have to take some deep breaths. You're having a panic attack. Close your eyes… and imagine a feather in front of you. Breath in and let it fall, breathe out and let it rise, in… and out… in… and out…"

"I'm sorry…" Kari stammered "I bothered you after your friend got really hurt and now I'm wasting even more of your time because I can't just SAY what I want to say and I have to get all weird and useless and I just waste everyone's time and it's my fault that people got hurt to begin with!"

"Kari… it's okay… stop talking. Just breathe in… and out… in… and out…"

"I-in… a-and out… in… and o-out… in… and out… in and out…" Kari repeated to herself as her breathing slowed and the shaking stopped.

"Okay? Now listen. I'm a Pro Hero." Hizashi said seriously "Not only that but I'm a Pro Hero with a radio show. Do you know how many people call in just to ask me what they should do when they're feeling down? Or if they think they aren't worth anything? Tons of people do, and I can't talk all of them down. But I am still good at calming people down. You were having a panic attack, you do not have to apologize for being scared and overwhelmed right now. A lot happened to you yesterday."

"I'm still sorry…" Kari muttered "I- I had to… meet with people. Dangerous people… b-because they didn't pay him back…"

"How old were you?" Hizashi asked.

"E-Eight… I- I didn't know what I was agreeing too..." Kari sniffed "I just… I just knew… that if I did it we would have a roof over our heads… and we wouldn't have to run away anymore…"

"You and your sister right?" Hizashi assumed.

"W-We had met Jin at that point." Kari smiled "H-He's a bit weird… but he means well. H-He really tries his best to take care of us…"

"Okay… now little listener…" Hizashi smiled "I'm glad that you're okay. And I'm sorry that that happened to you. But please tell me you aren't still talking to the man who did that to you."

"H-He can get me things…" Kari whispered "A-and it's technically legal… s-so I talk to him from time to time… I don't like to… b-but it's nice being able to buy things with information…"

"Okay. So you're going to stop seeing him." Hizashi said sternly "I have a feeling I know where Hagakure got that quirk absorbent bodysuit now. If you really need something you can talk to me or Sho about it okay?"

"B-But-"

"No buts." Hizashi denied "I know you mean well. And I know that you've had to do things on your own for a while. But this guy is only going to hurt you. Please. Please do me a favor and stay away from him."

"O-Okay… I promise…"

"Now. You said that the USJ was your fault? Why in the world would you believe that?" Hizashi asked.

"B-because those kidnappers were after me…" Kari admitted "A-And that other guy… h-he was only there because I had… I had hurt him in the past… h-he hated me so much… and he said so many a-awful things… he said I was a Villain… a-and I bet if I wasn't at U.A. Nobody would have gotten hurt as bad…"

"Kari." The girl straightened as Hizashi called her name "You're panicking again."

"Sorry…"

"Don't be sorry." Hizashi brought the girl into a hug "You've been through a lot. But none of that matters now… you're allowed to be a hero… nothing that happened yesterday was your fault."

Hizashi didn't know it… but those words lifted a weight from Kari's chest. A guilt that had been sitting there for nine years, finally seemed to loosen.

END OF ARC