I woke up before my alarm, just a bit after six. I had the rest and recovery alert showing, so I dismissed it and got up. As I went out into the main room, a light was on. Eri was already up. She was sitting at the table, coloring silently and precisely.

"Good morning, imouto," I said softly, not wanting to startle her. Her head whipped up despite my efforts, but she calmed when she saw me.

"Good morning, Izuku-nii-chan," she whispered back.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. She considered it for a moment, then nodded. I didn't have a cooking skill, even though I helped Mom as frequently as I could. But then, I guess I didn't know any recipes. I could clean and cut ingredients, but not much else without direction. But what I could do was make toast, cut up a pear and a banana, and reheat some precooked bacon.

A few minutes later, I set a plate in front of her, then sat down with my own breakfast. It wasn't a traditional Japanese breakfast, but it was good.

"Thank you, onii-chan," she said after she finished.

"You are welcome," I told her. I finished my last bite of toast, and pear wedge. Then I glanced at her again.

"Eri, I have some things to do today. I have to meet Principal Nezu again at nine. I'll come back for lunch, then I have to train with my friends for the internships. I'll be bringing back some of my things from the old apartment, but I'll be back for dinner and in the evening. So do you want to play a game before I have to go?"

She looked down for a moment. Then she raised her head and asked, "Can we read instead?"

"Sure," I smiled, "Let's go pick out one of your books."

"Can we read one of your books, onii-chan?" she asked.

"I don't have many books here now," I told her, "But let's look at what I have, and see if there is anything that interests you, okay?"

She gave me her serious look and nodded. She closed her coloring book, and I helped her put the crayons away. Then I offered her a hand, even though it wasn't necessary. She took it, and I led her into my room.

Like I told her, I didn't have a lot of books in here currently. Most were still in my other bedroom in our old apartment. I made a mental note to pick up some of my books that skewed younger. I mentioned I'd bring back things from there, because that is where we would be meeting up to dive into the other Knights' personal dungeons. It was a convenient place to gather, and I could start bringing things back in my Inventory.

As for the books I did have here... There was Speed Force, which Advisory-sensei had returned at the end of her class yesterday. A few of my favorite omnibus Jump and Marvel collections. And also the two unused skill books, the Lupin diary that I wanted to read before using it, and the spell book I couldn't use. At least not yet. I made sure to keep those close, given both their link to The Gamer, and how much they cost.

"Most of my books are still at the old place," I told Eri.

"What is that one?" she pointed at Elemental Magic Primer.

"That's a grimoire," I said. She gave me a confused look.

"A book of magic spells," I explained.

Eri's face transformed. She still did not smile. But there was a look of childlike wonder in her eyes, the likes of which I had not seen on my sister before. She looked up at me, amazed.

"Really? Really real magic?" she prompted.

"Yes," I told her, "I haven't been able to learn any magic yet. But I also have not had a lot of time to try. And I have it on the best authority that this is a real magic book."

"Can we read that, Izuku-nii-chan?" Eri asked excitedly.

"It is a little boring," I warned her, "But if you want to, we can."

"Yes, please," she said.

I shoved my pillow and blanket up against the wall as a makeshift seat back, and sat down again it. Eri curled up against me, and stared wide-eyed at the heavy book.

"Elemental Magic Primer," I opened it to the first page, "Chapter 1, Elementalism. Magic is the power to sense and manipulate the seventh fundamental force. Elementalism is using mana, the power of magic, to manipulate the elements..."

This might have sounded like sophistry, except the word Elementalism was written as the German 'Elementarismus', which I had needed to look up, while the rest of the book was in English. Most people would probably guess the meaning, given how similar they were, but I had double checked, in case the German word had a hidden meaning.

And I wondered about the whole 'seventh fundamental force' thing. I knew from the science classes at Aldera, plus my Basic Physics skill, that there were four fundamental forces. Unfortunately, the middle school course work hadn't gone much deeper, and my skill level was too low to fill in the gaps. I knew there was gravity, magnetism, and nuclear attraction, and... Okay, I didn't remember the fourth. But if magic was number seven, what were five and six? I guessed maybe ki and psionics, based on the way the Gamer treated those three.

Nuclear. There were two nuclear forces, greater and lesser. Or something.

Anyway, it was possible that these seven forces were not related to the physics ones. Or maybe it was just the writer trying to sound cool. Just because it was a real spell book, didn't mean everything in it was correct.

"... starting with the four basic elements; earth, air, water, and fire, which are covered by this tome. A master of elementalism can also combined the four basic elements into alternate, hybrid elements. However that is beyond the scope of this manual."

Eri, unaware of my mental mumbling (I hope, since I was definitely reading out loud), simply took it in, fascinated.


About ninety minutes later, Mom poked her head in. She had asked me over Party chat if Eri was with me. I confirmed that, and that we had already eaten. Mom took Eri to brush her teeth and clean up, mainly so I could also get ready to go.

We had completed both the introduction and the aeromancy chapter, and were into the first fire spell when we were forced to stop. Unfortunately, Eri's attempts to reproduce the spells, while adorable, were no more successful than my own.

After saying I would see them later, I hurried over to the UA freezer. When I arrived, Principal Nezu was already waiting for me.

"Sorry I am late," I said, "Good morning, sensei."

"You are not late, Midoriya-kun," he said happily, "You are three minutes early. I simply arrived earlier than you to prepare our lesson for today."

He gestured at the table, and instead of a cow or pig, there were two of the largest chickens I had ever seen. They were defeathered, but otherwise intact. Though, on second look, each also had a large y incision on the torso.

"We will be working on these turkeys today," he told me.

"Ah," I exclaimed, "I've never seen a turkey before. Just the sliced meat in the store."

"All Might picked up a taste for turkey in the US, so I brought some over," he explained, "But to help justify the cost, we will operate on them first."

He looked down at the birds.

"First, I would like you to repair the incisions on this turkey. Then, remove the stitching threads while also repairing the holes. Finally, I have implanted four large size paper clips within it. Remove them."

"And then the second turkey?" I prompted.

"No," Nezu-sensei shook his head, "Then you will take a short break while telling me what you have learned in gaining Skill Jockey. And I may have some more questions about Psychic Surgery. Then you will lend me Psychic Surgery and I will use it to operate on the second patient. And I may have a third patient, depending on how long this takes and how much of your Energy it drains. I don't want you exhausted before running Asui-chan and Cain-chan's Dungeons."

I nodded. Then I turned to the turkey. I activated Psychic Surgery, and kneaded the skin cells. They reconnected, but it was an effort. There was no motive force behind it. All of it came from my Energy. It took me almost twenty minutes to repair the y-incision. Then I noticed a second cut on the back, and restored that. I followed the instructions Nezu-sensei gave me, and removed the thread, restoring each hole in the flesh as I did.

Once the outside of the turkey was restored, I paused. I wasn't sure how to find the paperclips in the body.

"Ki Diagnosis," I mumbled. Which did not help. Ki Diagnosis told me, accurately but unhelpfully, that the turkey was dead.

"Ah," I had an idea, "Clairvoyance."

I pushed my psychic sight through the body. I found the foreign objects, one at a time, and removed them from the body.

"Very good," the principal told me, "Let me check. While I do, you can start explaining about Skill Jockey."

He took out his scalpel, and began to check for any damage I might have done in the removal.

"Skill Jockey," I began, "is a form of telepathy that allows me to lend skills to a willing person, or borrow the skills of a willing person. It only works one direction at a time, and on one person at a time. However it is possible to lend or borrow more than one skill at a time, if the level of Skill Jockey is high enough. That is why I put all my free points into it. At level 20 I can lend you two skills. I was originally planning to lend you Psychic Surgery and Ki Diagnosis. But now I wonder if Psychic Surgery plus Clairvoyance would be better."

"That depends," Nezu-sensei mused, poking at a muscle to determine what had torn it, "Can you use a skill you have lent? And would Clairvoyance help you in finding the exotic matter inside All Might's tissues?"

"For the first question, no," I said, "I can't use a skill I while I am lending it out. And if I borrow someone else's skill, they cannot use that skill either. And as to the second question... I don't know. I'm not sure I would know what I was looking for visually. And it may also depend on Shield-san's scanner."

"True enough," he agreed, "And sorry to interrupt. Please continue."

"Skill Jockey, like most psionic powers, also lasts longer the higher the level," I explained, "Which was another reason to spend the points. Basically it costs me ten Energy per skill lent or borrowed, and lasts five minute plus one additional minute per level. The other important thing is that while free or stamina based skills can be used normally, any ki, psionic, or magic skill still uses the original owner's Energy. Or Ki, Psions, or Mana if I borrowed a super skill."

"That is good to know," he said, "and well done. I only seen minimal damage from the removal of the foreign objects. And if there is nothing else, I do have one question about Skill Jockey."

"I think that was the main points," I mused, "So please, go ahead."

"What about skill experience?" he asked.

"Ah, right," I remembered, "Basically each person gets one third of the skill experience. The remaining third is lost. Except if it is a skill that requires some sort of prerequisite, like all of my Ki and Psionic skills, then the person who is using the skill can't gain any skill experience unless they also have meet the requirements that unlocks that skill."

"So I will not be able to personally learn Psychic Surgery for myself with Skill Jockey," Nezu-sensei concluded, "But if you were to lend me one of your martial arts skills, I could learn that."

"Yes," I confirmed, "Actually, make that maybe, instead of yes. Wing Chun Quan and Tai Chi Quan both had requirements for me to use the Skill Book, so the same limit might apply here."

"Still, interesting to consider," the dog/mouse said, "Either way, I have a suggestion for you."

"What is it, sensei?"

"During these Dungeon dives over the next week, you could use Skill Jockey to lend one of your martial arts or movement skills to one of the Knights. A skill they don't have, so that you can work on both your Skill Jockey level and a one of your other skills, and they can also unlock a new skill."

"I did have a similar idea," I said, "I was just thinking of lending Toru my Clairvoyance this afternoon, so she can see herself. But I could lend her both Clairvoyance and Kung Fu Fundamentals... And now that I say that, I can't help but feel I should do it for whoever's Dungeon we are in to be fair. Thought Tsuyu and Toru are going into each other's Dungeons, if I remember right. So they might be willing to swap. Also, I'm not sure what skill I could lend Cassandra, that she isn't already better at."

"The simplest solution is to ask her," he pointed out.

"Yeah," I felt silly. Then I remembered, "And you said you may have questions of Psychic Surgery?"

"Yes," Nezu nodded, "Have you improved your skill level since last Sunday? And what benefits does a higher skill level grant you for that skill?"

"No," I said, "I haven't had any more chances to use it, so it's still level 27. And Psychic Surgery is like most Psionic skills. It doesn't really get stronger as it levels up, it just gets more efficient. Power increases come from an increased Rank, or from specific Talents. Skill Jockey is one of the exceptions there, since it lasts longer and lets me lend more skills as it levels up, but doesn't gain anything from higher ranks."

"And your rank is based on the number of Talents in a specific discipline?" he prompted.

"Right," I said, "Like right now, I have Rank 6 Telekinesis; Basic and Intermediate Telekinesis, Focus in TK Aura and TK Attack, Tactile TK. And Mental Muscle also counts. The manual says some Talents count as two ranks. Except I can't see any yet that do. Anyway, I only have the one Psy-biology Talent, so that discipline is Rank 1. Psychic Surgery costs less Energy as I level it up. And each Rank counts as a plus one bonus to the medical skill used via Psychic Surgery, So not much of a bonus, but better than nothing. I'd go for the second basic Psy-biology talent, Psychometabolism, Intermediate. Except I don't qualify for it yet."

"Well, that helps to know," Nezu told me, "While building up your levels to have more time for the operation is important, my medical skills are more important."

"I'm somewhat surprised I didn't get a medical skill from last weekend, or even just now," I realized.

"Given you are not working with a living subject, nor are you learning about medicine, I am less surprised," Nezu countered, "Maybe if you had received a Butchering skill..."

"Yes, that would make more sense," I agreed.

"Well, let us get started on the second bird," the Principal said. I nodded. Cleared my mind, and brought my newest skill into focus. I extended my hand to Nezu-sensei, who took it.

"Skill Jockey," I said, "Psychic Surgery and Clairvoyance."

I felt a rush, almost like something was being dragged out of my brain, through my forehead. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant, either.

"So you choose Clairvoyance?" he asked.

"For this, yes," I said, "I used Ki Diagnosis earlier. All it told me is that the turkey is dead."

"That makes sense," he chuckled lightly.

After studying the fowl carcass for a moment, I felt a light tug on my Energy. He spread out his hands and the y-incision vanished. Then the stitching phased out of the skin. But since he didn't have Telekinesis, once the thread was free, is slid down to the table.

I noticed that his work was much more clean than mine. The skin of my turkey had uneven lumps where I had rejoined it.

Even while I was noticing that, the first two clips slid out of the back. Then the third. The fourth took a minute longer, but ultimately dropped to free, perfectly clean. All in all, the principal had done it in a quarter of the time, and much better. It wasn't unexpected, since he was a genius who studied things far above my level. But it was a bit disheartening.

"Well, that was simpler than I expected," he opened his eyes and brushed his hands off, despite not having touched the bird.

"You can stop for the moment, Midoriya-kun," he instructed, "No sense wasting your power."

I cut the mental connection. And in my mind there was a new understanding. I checked, and I had gained a point in Clairvoyance and two in Psychic Surgery. Though I think one of those points was from my own, earlier operation.

"Hmm, it is just after 10," he noted, "How is your Energy?"

"1,304 of 1,599," I said, "So over eighty percent."

"Do you feel up for one more operation?" Nezu-sensei asked, "This one will probably take me longer."

"Yes, let's do it."

"Excellent," he said brightly, "Then let's go to to my office."

I lent him my shoulder. It took us about five minutes through the underground tunnel to reach the main UA building, coming out in the cafeteria. From there it only took another minute to reach his office.

There was a largish cage sitting on the table in the middle of the room. Inside of said cage was a kitten. She was white with black splotches, almost a Dalmatian pattern. She was small enough that she would have fit in my cupped hands.

She was also missing half of her tail. Her back right leg was wrapped in bandages, but I could tell the shape of it was wrong. There was also a bandage over her head, covering her right eye and where her right ear should have been. There was also a notch out of her left ear, but I knew what that meant.

"I call her Skits," Nezu said, "Because she is 'skittish' around people."

He said the word that was the source of the kittens name in English to explain, and then continued, "For obvious reasons. I believe she was grazed by a car. She was taken in by a shelter, and given what treatment they could. I want to help her. And if she is practice and proof of concept, then that is both fortunate and unfortunate."

"I understand," I said softly. I had heard rumors of the principal's past. And I knew he was opposed to animal experimentation for reasons beyond just morals. But he was also a genius and a scientist, enough to accept the difference between 'random, amoral experimentation' and 'testing a mostly proven medical treatment'. Even if he didn't always like it.

He opened the cage. As he reached for Skits, she cringed. She hissed as he gently lifted her. But she didn't seem to have the energy to do anything else. He placed her on a pillow, closer to him. Then he carefully unwrapped the bandages. Without them the view of her damaged face and leg were... unpleasant. Disturbing, even. I was thankful for Gamer's Mind, even in it's diminished, non-combat mode. But I forced myself to look. Because if I was going to be a Hero, I would probably see much worse.

"If you would please lend me your diagnostic power this time, so I can test it," Nezu-sensei instructed, as he finished making sure the kitten was arranged and as comfortable as possible.

"Sure," I agreed, "Skill Jockey: Psychic Surgery and Ki Diagnosis."

Nezu-sensei raised his hands, rolling his fingers as if watching invisible water flow over them. He looked at the kitten, and then closed his eyes. Then he began to hum. After a moment, I recognized it. Since he had written Superman's theme, I had listened to many of Williams-san's works. This was a soft, contemplative theme called 'It Binds us Together', and it seemed to fit the moment.

He pointed his hands at her injured leg. I could feel the flow of Energy to Nezu-sensei increase. I could almost see the air flutter between his palms and Skits.

Her leg began to twitch and flow, as the bones were restored to their proper shape and position. Though I couldn't see it, I could feel the breaks and cracks mend and smooth. The cells reconnecting under my power and Nezu-sensei's direction. Then the torn muscles folded back together. The missing sections regrew. Blood vessels rejoined. Skin formed where it had been missing. Both fresh and old scars marking her skin, vanished. Finally, even her fur was restored.

Nezu turned his attention to her head. Skits' missing eye and ear regenerated. The notch in her other ear was also healed, but I wasn't sure if that was intentional or not. Next the dog/mouse restored the older, fully healed damage to her tail. The severed segments of bone, muscle, and skin regrew one at a time.

Then he paused.

"A survivor as strong as you deserves a chance to pass on your genes," he murmured softly, and then pointed his hands at her lower belly.

It may have been quick to describe, but it had taken just over an hour, all total. But the operation was complete. Nezu-sensei let out a harsh breath, and gestured to me. I ended Skill Jockey. And again felt fragments of knowledge flow back into my mind.

Skits blinked, as if suddenly realizing something was different. She lifted her restored leg and licked it tentatively. Then she looked at us, and mewed softly.

"She doesn't really understand what happened," he told me, "But she knows we were responsible for it."

"You understand her?" I prompted carefully, not sure if it was a secret part of his Quirk or of his nature as a non-Human.

"Not in the way you are thinking," he sounded amused, but also contemplative, "But yes."

"What will happen to her now?" I asked.

"I will keep her until I can find her a home," he said, "Why, are you interested?"

"I asked my parents for a cat when I was five or six," I remembered, "I got baseball cap with a cat mascot instead. I think one of my parents might be allergic. I'd have to ask Mom. If it is my dad, she might be willing. But there is also Eri to think about. Until she can control her Quirk, having a pet could be..."

I trailed off and he nodded his understanding.

"I know you should probably head back," he said, "But there are two things I want to talk to you about first."

It was just after 11. I had to have lunch with Mom and Eri, and the Dungeon meeting was at 1:30. It would take me about 20 minutes between the train and walking to get to our old apartment. But that did leave me a little time.

"Okay," I said.

"Excellent," he said, while preparing bowls of water and soft food for Skits.

"The first thing is a question about The Gamer in general," he said, "Though it is related to the test we just completed. Do you have a sort of respec ability? Many games let you reclaim and respend your various points. It is not particularly realistic, though I recently have learned reality is far less realistic than I ever suspected..."

"No," I told him uncertainly, "From everything I've seen in the menus and read in the manual, there is nothing like that. I can't be sure there isn't some hidden Talent, far down one of trees for that. Or I could get a Quest with that as a reward. But so far, nothing like that. Why?"

"Because when I was healing Skits, I almost gave her cancer. Twice. Psychic Surgery is a very... sensitive power, especially when regrowing lost tissue. Without Ki Diagnosis I would not have noticed. Without my extensive medical knowledge, I would not have been able to fix it. And even knowing that from the first time, I still did it again. And almost a third time, but I caught myself."

I nodded, but also shuddered.

"While I understand and appreciate why you have spent time and points on Psychic Surgery," he continued, "It is a dangerous and precarious power. I suspect the other Psy-biology powers are the same. If you intended to focus on them, and on medical knowledge, becoming a doctor rather than a Hero, you may be able to match and exceed the medical, chemical, and biological knowledge I have now. In that case, I would be comfortable with you having these abilities. Except I do not believe that is your intent. Nor would I think that was the best choice for you, knowing what I do about both your personality and abilities."

"I've never really thought about being a doctor," I agreed, "Like I kinda told Ami, I'd rather keep people from getting hurt, or at least make sure they make it to a qualified doctor. So what should I do?"

"Well, lacking the ability to reclaim the points you put into Psy-biology after we save All Might," he mused, "I would suggest you simply do your best to seal away those powers, mentally if not literally. Because cancer is not the only potential issue. Arthritis, malformed or fused bones... I can easily think of a dozen issues one could cause."

"Okay," I agreed, "I'll think about it, and see if there is something I can do. But if not, I won't use Psychic Surgery myself and be very careful about who I lend it to."

"That is for the best. Even just removing foreign objects could be troublesome, given how the cells shift in the process."

I sighed. I never expected to be a healer, but I was hoping Psychic Surgery might be useful in an emergency. At least I still had Ki. Maybe I could focus a bit more on that form of healing.

"Now, for the second matter," Nezu-sensei said, "Based on the success of our test here, I would like to try to heal Ingenium next Saturday, before you leave for your internship."

He gestured with a laser pointer, and Skits jumped at the red dot. She was moving far better than anyone who had gone through conventional surgery would have.

"Really?" I blurted in surprise. Then Gamer's Mind calmed me, and I added more evenly, "I thought you wanted to wait. Give us both more time to study."

"That was before you both unlocked Skill Jockey, and went overboard in dumping your spare points into it," he teased. I blushed.

"But there are three reasons I want to do it as soon as possible," he set aside the pointer and steepled his fingers, "The first, and least important, is the political."

"Politics?" I asked, confused.

"Social reasons might be a better way to put it," he admitted, "But Stain forcing Ingenium to retire is having an impact. The public is scared. Villains are getting bolder. Especially on the heels of the USJ Incident, having such a prominent Hero defeated and taken out of play has rattled people. In addition, people have started to notice that All Might is less active. Most just attribute it to his work at UA. But there are rumors that he is hurt, or getting old..."

"Does someone know?" I interjected nervously.

"Actually, I suspect the League may be the source," he reassured me, "and the injuries they are talking about are the ones the Nomu inflicted on All Might during the USJ attack. But still, if we could have Ingenium stand up, literally, and say that rumors of his retirement were greatly exaggerated, it would be a great help."

"Twain?" I recognized, and his eyes twinkled.

"The second reason, is the medical reason. The longer we let him heal, the more scars. The more muscles tighten. Tensei-san's body will become accustomed to his injuries. And that will make the future procedure harder. And potentially extend his rehabilitation time afterwards."

"Will there even be a recovery time?" I looked at the kitten.

"Humans have to learn to walk," Nezu-sensei pointed out, "Even if his muscles and nerves are fully restored, the longer he goes without them, the longer it will take to relearn."

I inclined my head in understanding.

"The third, newest, and most important reason, is that Iida Tenya has accepted an internship in Hosu City."

"That's where Ingenium was attacked," I said.

"And also where Stain is still believed to be," the mouse/bear agreed.

"You think he is going to try to find Stain?" I prompted.

"Iida-kun had a number of internship offers," he explained, "Not as many as you or some of the others, but he still had his choice of Heroes. I don't mean to badmouth Manual. He is a mid-ranked Hero and an excellent mentor. And he has worked with Ingenium in the past, so he can offer Iida-kun outside insight as to what it is like to work with a speedster. But given that Iida-kun turned down multiple high-rank Heroes, who have similar Quirks or more experience working with speedsters, to select the highest rank Hero in Hosu... It is fairly obvious what he intends."

"And you think if we can heal Ingenium before Iida-kun gets to Hosu," I deduced, "It will make him less likely to go after the Hero Killer."

"I am hoping if we restore Ingenium, Iida-kun will spend most of his free time in the hospital with his brother," Nezu-sensei told me, "But yes, at the very least I hope it will cool his ire and make him less likely to do something unfortunate."

"Of course, if you end up needing next Saturday to complete the Knights' Dungeons," he added, "That would take priority."

"The quest will be over by then," I reminded him.

"But the quest is not the only reason to do that," he countered.

"True, the Knights are and should be the main reason," I agreed, "But even if I don't know him as well, I wouldn't want to prioritize our training over Iida-san's safety."

"Which is commendable," Nezu-sensei nodded, "However, I would point out that the Knights' training is guaranteed to produce results, while we can only hope healing Ingenium will help Iida-kun. Also, I would like us to improve at least a little more before we attempt it, which is why while you are Dungeon diving, I intend to shore up my knowledge of neurosurgery. If you can further improve your Skill Jockey this week, that would also be preferable. We don't need to decide today. I think we should readdress the issue on Wednesday. If you have cleared the first level of the first 8 Knights on time, and have improved Skill Jockey, we will move forward with Saturday. If not, we will postpone it until after the internships."

"That sounds reasonable," I agree tentatively.

"Excellent," he clapped his hands, and Skits jumped, "Then I should let you get home and rest a little before this afternoon."


Lunch was a quick affair, and then Mom, Eri, and I played one round of Machi Koro before I headed out again.

I did surreptitiously ask Mom, and it was my dad who was allergic to cats. But she was worried about adopting a cat, for the same reason I was.

I made it to our old apartment early, and started packing a up some books. I had to be there first to let everyone in.

I also stuffed some shirts and pants in the box.

Tsu was the first to arrive, at only ten after one, making me glad I got here early.

"Hi, Tsu," I told her after I opened the door.

"Hi, Izuku," she said happily, and then stepped inside. After I closed the door, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"I want to thank you for doing this for me, kero," she explained, "I mean for everyone, really."

"I'm happy to," I told her, "I want us all to be the best Heroes we can be."

"So were you packing?" she asked, noticing the pile of empty boxes and remembering my stated plans.

"Yes," I confirmed, "But I'm going to leave the boxes here for now and put them in my inventory after we complete the Dungeon runs."

"Can I help?" she offered. I considered it for a moment. I wasn't sure I wanted her seeing if I ended up packing my socks and boxers, yet. Then something caught my eye.

"If you really want to," I said, "you could start packing the games and movies in the entertainment center. And maybe focus on ones that would be okay for Eri. Things for kids, but also nothing with kidnapping or kids in danger."

"Sure, sounds good, kero," she agreed. Tsu grabbed a box, and pulled a stack of discs off the shelf. She looked through them, putting some in the box and others back. I headed back and resumed packing books padded with clothing.

Cassandra and Mordred arrived next. Cassandra having been both here and to Mordred's home before, the silent martial artist led the swordswoman here. Ami appeared shortly after, and the three of them set to helping Tsu without even asking me. The ladies ended up having an animated discussion about which of our movies were their favorites and would be best for Eri. For some reason they also mentioned Setsuna and Momo's house.

Momo, Ochako, Kyoka, and Toru all arrived together just before one thirty. I closed up the box I was working on, as did Tsu's team. With nine of us present, we had to spread out between the kitchen chairs and the couches. Ami, Momo, and Mo-chan stayed in the kitchen, as the three of them were going to study while the rest of us entered Tsu's Dungeon.

'I was talking with Nezu-sensei earlier,' I told all of the Knights over chat, hoping I wasn't bothering Mom and All Might, "And he had a suggestion that was similar to an idea I had, only broader. Namely, he suggested I use Skill Jockey to lend a Skill to whoever's Dungeon we are in. That way each of you can learn a Skill that I have but you don't, while I gain levels in that Skill and Skill Jockey."

'So we can learn Telekinesis?' Ami asked hopefully. For a moment I pictured her surrounded by floating books.

'Unfortunately, no,' I said, and then explained the mechanics and limits of Skill Jockey.

'I was thinking more of a martial arts Skill, or maybe a something like Parkour,' I said once I was done, 'Though I'm not sure what kind of Skills I have that Cassandra could practice in a Dungeon.'

'We could go the other way,' Cassandra suggested, 'I could lend you one of my melee skills instead.'

'If that's okay with you,' I said dubiously, 'I mean, you won't gain a new Skill from it.'

'No, but I will help you and will level up a Skill,' she countered.

'Okay,' I agreed. Then I added, 'Oh, and I wanted to ask Tsu and Toru if they would be willing to swap. I'll lend Skills to Toru today in Tsu's Dungeon and to Tsu on Friday in Toru's Dungeon.'

'I don't mind,' Tsu sai readily, 'But why?'

'Well, my original idea was to lend Toru my Clairvoyance today,' I told her, 'So she can see herself. And even if we are planning to do this for everyone of all of your Dungeons...'

'Toru has waited long enough,' Momo said for me.

'That's...' Toru sounded genuinely moved, 'I don't know what to say.'

'Thank you sounds appropriate,' Mikoto snarked, but with little heat.

'Thank you, Izuku,' InvisiGal said, bowing to me as well.


Tsu's Dungeon had two main components. Neither one would have been unexpected alone, but together they were definitely unique.

We were in a pond. Even though it was large enough to be called a lake or even a fresh-water sea, it still looked and felt like a pond. Especially since the six of us were standing an an extra large lily pad, floating on the surface of the water. Very frog like, and expectable.

One hundred or so meters in front of us was a school. The name over the door said Danchuin Middle School, which I knew to be Tsu's alma mater. Given mine, Mom's and All Might's Dungeons had been schools, or at least the first levels were, seeing Tsu's school made sense.

The oddity that Danchuin was somehow also suspended above the pond by a series of even more gigantic lily pads. The idea of the water grass holding us up was a stretch, but supporting three stories and multiple thousands of tons of cement, steel, and glass seemed impossible. But I guess after a castle inside a barbeque grill, it wasn't that out of place.

"So what have I got?" Tsu asked.

[Dungeon Entry - Tsuyu Asui
Sub-bosses: 9/9 (unspawned)

Mid-boss: 1/1 (unspawned)
Bosses: 1/1 (unspawned)]

"What's a sub-boss?" Kyoka asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, "My guess would be it is the opposite of the swarm mooks that were in Mom's Dungeon. Not as strong as a mid-boss, but stronger than a normal enemy."

'That makes sense given the count,' Cassandra agreed.

"But why are none spawned?" Toru asked, "That's strange, right?"

"We haven't seen it before," Ochako confirmed, "What about you two, you've been doing this the longest and have gone into the most Dungeons?"

Tsu shrugged.

"I haven't seen this before, either," I told them.

"So what do we do?" Ochako asked.

"Ki Detection... I sense something. Since there aren't an enemies yet, it must be an NPC. We probably need to talk to them."

"We should get moving," Tsu said, "we don't want the others to have to wait too long."

"Toru?" I held out my hand to her. She reached out tentatively, and a moment later I felt the soft warmth of skin I could not see against my fingers.

"Skill Jockey: Clairvoyance and Kung Fu Fundamentals."

For the third time that day, I felt the increasingly familiar pull of knowledge leaving my brain.

"Clairvoyance?" Toru said cautiously, and I felt my Energy dip in response. Operating on Skits had dropped me below half, but lunch and a bit of rest on the train had me back up to almost sixty percent. And I had downed a sports drink as soon as we were in the Dungeon.

Then Toru dashed forward and hugged me fiercely.

"Thank you," she cried into my chest, "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much."

Tsu hugged us both. Then Ochako hugged the three of us. Cassandra didn't hug us, but she did gently pat Toru's head. Kyoka just rolled her eyes at us. But she was also hiding a small, sweet smile.

"Okay, we really should get going," Tsu said again.

We separated, and took off across the lily pads.

"Where is the ki you sense?" Tsu asked me.

"Up there," I pointed.

"I thought so," she said, "That's probably in my old class. Follow me, kero."

She led us to the stairwell, up to the third floor, and further down the hall to a specific room. Then she hesitated. I touched her arm, and she nodded. Tsu opened the door, and we walked in. The room was mostly populated by shadows. Not the grayed out enemies we had seen in mine and Mom's Dungeons. But only vaguely humanoid blobs of darkness. That included the teacher at the front of the room. One chair was empty. And the chair kitty-corner behind the empty chair held the source of the ki reading. And the only normal looking person in the room.

It was a girl in the Danchuin uniform, above average height and average build, with a bright shock of wild, orange-red hair. But what stood out was that her head and neck were those of a snake. She had scales patterned in two colors of grey, and slitted yellow eyes.

"Habuko?" Tsu walked over to girl, and called out to her. The girl's eyes stared ahead blankly, and she did not respond.

"You know her?" Toru asked.

"Mongoose Habuko. She was my first friend," Tsuyu said, "My only friend, until I met Izuku."

"So why isn't she answering?" Ochako waved her hand in front of the NPC's face.

"I don't know," Tsu said.

"We might have to do something first," I said.

"Maybe I need to sit down," Tsu looked at the empty seat. We followed her gaze. Then she stopped over and around the desk, and sat. As she did, the class seemed to come vaguely alive. Habuko's eyes focused, but not entirely, and she looked to the front of the class.

"Sensei, I am not feeling good," Habuko said. And Tsu's eyes widened.

"Hmm," the ghostly teacher said, "Asui-chan, please help Mongoose-chan get to the nurses office."

The snake girl turned to look at Tsu. And then...

[Mandatory Dungeon Quest Alert
A First Meeting
Take Mongoose Habuko to the nurse's office. Do not let her HP fall below half.
Rewards:
[none]
Failure Penalties:
Reset the Dungeon, begin the Quest from scratch.
Repeated failures will reduce the benefits of completing the dungeon.
(Accept)]

In spite of my best efforts, I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ochako asked.

"An escort mission," I said, "They aren't all bad, but most are. I guess at least Tsu knows where we're going."

"Unless this school suddenly twists up the way you said yours did," Kyoka pointed out helpfully.

'So what do we do?' Cassandra said.

"Take the mission," Tsu said, "I've done this before."

She turned to the teacher and said, "Okay, sensei," even as I hit the button.

"Thank you," Asui-san," Mongoose-chan said, rising unsteadily to her feet.

"You're welcome," Tsu answered, offering her arm to the girl, "And call me Tsuyu."

I went in front, opening the door. The others former a protective ring around Tsu and Mongoose-chan. As expected, as soon as we were out in the hall, the door to another classroom opened, and three people stepped out. I recognized them. Not specifically, but the dull grey tone said they were Dungeon enemies, and their expressions said they were enemies in a different way.

"Bullies?" I prompted evenly.

"Yes," Tsu croaked.

The first was a slightly overweight girl with short hair and flames surrounding her hands. The second was an average boy, except the muscles around his jaw were huge, and as he grinned evilly, his teeth were metal. The third was an enchantingly beautiful girl with eyes of literal sapphire.

[Status ailment Charm resisted.]

Okay, her eyes were still literal gems, but the rest of her was only attractive, not 'enchantingly beautiful'. Frankly, freed from her Quirk I thought all of the Knight were just as good looking, if not better.

The three of them blocked our way, but hadn't attack yet.

"Are you okay, Izuku?" Tsu asked cautiously.

"I just got a Charm Resistance notice," I told her, "What about the rest of you?"

"Tanaka's Quirk only works on boys," she said, "So we're all fine."

'So do we fight them?' Toru asked over Party Chat, 'Or do we want to try to slip past them?'

They all looked at me.

'Best case scenario,' I said, 'They aren't specifically connected to the Quest. Then we could run past them and get Mongoose-chan to the nurse, and afterwards turn back and fight them. But I doubt that. More likely, they are part of the Quest, and if we finish it without fighting them, they will vanish. And then Tsu will be out the kill bonuses. And worst but also likely case, we won't be able to finish the mission without fighting them. The door will be locked or something. And then if we rush past, we will either have to turn back, or we will get overwhelmed and surrounded at the nurse's office.'

'So we fight,' Cassandra stated.

'Okay, just making sure,' Toru said.

'Kei can't shoot or control fire,' Tsu offered, 'It just covers as much of her hands and wrists as she wants it to. And Derek's Quirk is pretty obvious, really powerful bites.'

'Doesn't sound that hard,' Kyoka said, 'Ochako and I will take eye girl, Cass and Toru take flame girl, Izuku takes the guy, and Tsu guards her friend and makes sure no other enemies spawn.'


The first two sets of three sub-bosses were slightly more difficult than a normal group of five to seven mooks. But we managed to take them out without Mongoose-san getting hit. But now in the final stretch, with the sign of the nurse visible, there were four enemies. The last three sub-bosses and the mid-boss.

The first one had three arms. The second one looked just like the girl Tanaka, except her eyes were emeralds instead of sapphires. The third sub-boss had four, seven cm long, bone spikes growing out of each of his eyebrows.

The mid-boss was a girl with short black hair and elf-like ears. She had a large metal hammer in her left hand, and was tapping it against her right palm.

We stayed back around the corner, out of sight, to figure out our plan.

"I thought it might be her," Tsu said darkly, "Even though she got better in her third year, that senpai was really mean to us in our first year, her second year. She can make hammers out of thin air, just by touching her back. But Kanata is even more dangerous. Like her twin we fought before, she can charm people, but her power works on girls instead of boys."

"How does their power work?" Toru asked, "If she can't see me, would it still work on me?"

"I don't know," Froppy answered regretfully, "They never talked about it. I know what it does, but not how."

"Let me see. Analyze..." I scanned the sub-boss, "Sorry, it doesn't say anything more. Maybe because they are copies based on Tsu's knowledge."

"Too bad," Ochako sighed, "So what do we do?"

"I have to take her out," I said, "I don't want to put any of you at risk. And I'm the only one with long range attacks. But I do have an idea."

After a few minutes of discussion, I run out into the hall. I howled like a madman and charged them.

"Asgard SMASH!" I fired the strongest Ki Blast I could at hammer girl. She countered by throwing the hammer she was holding at the energy ball. It passed through, weakening my attack without stopping it. I caught it, and threw it back at three arm. Then the orb hit hammer girl. It knocked her back but didn't do as much damage as I had hoped. Similarly, the flying bludgeon hit three arm's should and put him on the ground. But his HP only dropped by five percent. Spike brows cringed, and I slammed into Kanata. I wrapped my arms around the sub-boss's waist. Picked her up and kept going. I continued past them and turned. I kicked open the door to the teachers' lounge, which was opposite the nurse's office. Then I slammed the door shut behind me.

Kanata gulped.

"I won't hurt you if you don't make me," I told her, "I know dungeon enemies can surrender."

"Why would I do that?" she bluffed. Poorly.

"Because your Quirk won't work on me," I said, "Even if I hadn't already broken free from your sister's. And right now..."

There was a loud clang, from either Tsu or Cass throwing the fire extinguisher Ochako made weightless. Then a second clang as Toru, who followed me sans her track suit, unexpectedly grabbed said extinguisher out of the air and brought it down on someone's head.

"... my friends are taking out your allies, so there's no help coming."

She tensed, and then slumped.

"I surrender," she held up her hands. She turned into a shadow like the ones in Tsu's class, and then disintegrated. One of her eyes dropped to the ground, and Analyze identified it as a 'Small Mental Gem'. When I touched it, it vanished like the other odd loot.

I returned to the hall. Tsu, Kyoka, and Mongoose-san were all bleeding from multiple small cuts, but spike brows was gone. Kyoka, Tsu, and Ochako were trying to keep hammer girl from hurting Mongoose further. Hammer girl was fighting rather expertly with a bludgeon in each hand, occasionally throwing one and manifesting a replacement. Cassandra was fighting three arm. And I think Toru was helping, given how the boy would occasionally grunt or lurch for no visible reason. He wasn't very skilled and his HP was nearly depleted. Unfortunately, hammer girl was still mostly unharmed.

'Toru, get back,' I warned.

'Clear!' she called out.

"Double Gondor Smash!" I swung both arms up, and the twin blades of ki carved into three arm's back, emptying his Health bar.

"What happened to Kanata?" hammer girl demanded.

"She surrendered," I answered simply.

"Coward," she growled.

I healed the three of them. And watched the mid-boss. Her Quirk was fascinating. She had only created hammers, so that seemed to be a limit. But she had made both claw hammers and one-handed sledges. Could she create warhammers? Or ball peen hammers? And where did they come from? Was she creating them from her body tissues like Momo? Summoning them somewhere? Pulling them from a pocket dimension like Mo-chan? Or could che actually create them from nothing?

I guess it didn't matter, since this wasn't the real version of this person, just a duplicate shaped from Tsuyu's memories. And most, if maybe not all, of the hammers would vanish when we defeated her.

Cassandra moved in, and had a sledge thrown at her face. Cass... no, Spoiler easily caught it. Instead of throwing it back, she just dropped it.

Tsu took advantage of the bully's distraction. She caught hammer girl's empty hand with her tongue. Froppy yanked the limb forward hard, preventing hammer girl from rearming and doing a small amount of damage. Though it was hard to tell with Danchuin's uniform, our opponent seemed to have more arm strength than any of us, except for if I used TK Aura or Ki Reinforcement. I guess have a Quirk that made heavy bits of metal would do that to you.

Hammer girl swung the back end of the claw hammer she still had at Tsu's tongue. Tsu released her, reeling her tongue back in. Kyoka's earlobes swung out, again in their samurai mode. The tiny blades sliced hammer girl's bicep. Her arm jerked suddenly from the vibrations in the jacks. She nearly lost her weapon, but was able to pull out another one.

Only for the arm holding the new tool to suddenly drop.

'Don't hit her right arm,' Toru chatted, 'I'm hanging on to it.'

Hammer girl looked confused and tried to lift her arm again. She tried to swing her free hammer at Toru's approximate position. Only for Ochako to step in and tap her. Without weight in her body, the still weighted hammer dragged her around as she brought it up. InvisiGal took that as an opportunity to let go and roll away. Hammer girl tried to right herself; the weight of the hammers held her down, but her body wanted to drift wherever momentum took to. She managed to get mostly upright, but couldn't quite stand.

Unfortunately for her, that left her completely open. Ki blast to the back. Tongue slap to the neck. Vibro jacks to the arm again. An expertly executed jumping snap kick to the sternum. Uravity then dropped her, and some part of InvisiGal hit her in the spine, accelerating her drop.

"Ow," she rolled over. Her nose was bleeding, as was her left arm. Her right wrist looked broken, and she had dropped that hammer. Looking up at us, she released the other hammer and held up her hands.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll see the nurse now," she said dryly. We stepped back. She stood up. Opened the door to the nurse's office. As she stepped inside, she disappeared. As did all but one of the hammers littering the hallway. It was a simple claw hammer. I picked it up, and offered it to Tsu.

"Actually, you should take it, Izuku," she shook her head, "I don't have any use for it, and I wouldn't want to carry it."

"Okay," I said, "Inventory."

Tsu lent her shoulder to Mongoose-chan again, and helped her the rest of the way to the nurse's office. She opened the door and stepped back. As she did, a phantom of 12 year old Tsuyu was left behind, still supporting the snake headed girl.

"Thank you, Asui-san," Mongoose-chan said gratefully.

"You are welcome," young Tsu said, though my Tsu also mouthed the words, "And if you want, you can just call me Tsuyu."

Mongoose nodded. Then she stepped through the door and vanished. The Quest complete alert appeared, and I banished it.

"So that just leaves the boss, right?" Kyoka prompted. A tone rang out of the loudspeaker as if in answer.

"Asui Tsuyu, please report to the gymnasium," a harsh voice emerged, "I repeat, Asui Tsuyu, report to the gymnasium immediately."

Tsu shuddered.

"Of course it would be her," Froppy sighed.

"Not your favorite teacher?" Ochako tried to sound hopeful.

"Doshaburi-sensei," the greenette answered, "Our sports teacher. She was as much of a bully as any of my classmates."

"So the boss," Toru said, "Then we probably shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Right," Tsu agreed nervously.

We waited a moment for Toru to get dressed again. And Ochako collected the dropped cash and handed it to me. Then Froppy led us quickly to the gym. We opened the doors. Then we let them close and stepped to the side.

"She didn't look like that in real life, did she?" Ochako asked, trembling in fear.

"No," Tsu confirmed, "She was a normal woman with a Quirk that let her change her legs into leopard legs. I don't think she liked that I could jump further and kick harder than she could."

The reason Uravity asked that, is because about half the space in the gym was taken up by a giant, eleven headed lizard. Basically a hydra, except instead of snake or dragon heads, its heads were the ten bullies we had previously fought, plus one I didn't recognize but had to assume was the teacher.

"So, hydras?" Earphone Jack looked at me, "I mean, I know cut the head off and two grow back. But how do you beat them?"

"Well," I mused, "The original story said Heracles cut off the heads and cauterized the stumps so they couldn't grow back. Then, when it was down to the last head, that head was immortal. However by then, the hydra was so weak that Heracles was able to bury it alive. Only we don't have a source of fire. Well, I could spend my last two talent points and unlock Elemental Ki, but I'm trying to save those points. And I'm not sure the fire would be hot enough."

"Is there another way to beat them?" Ochako asked.

"Yes," I said slowly, "There are a couple of potential ways. One way is to keep cutting off the heads until it defeats itself."

'How does it defeat itself?' Spoiler asked.

"One idea is that there are so many heads they get in each others' way and start attacking each other," I told them. Then I couldn't help but grin as I added, "The other, which was actually more of a joke, was that if you made it grow too many heads, the hydra's heart and lungs wouldn't be able to support it, and it would go into a torpor."

"And the last way to defeat a hydra is to ignore the heads, and just attack the body until it is so bruised and battered that it passes out," I settled myself, "And really, those only matter if it is the classic, plosion spewing, immortal hydra. Modern versions that aren't immortal you can generally just kill like any other monster."

'What if we crush the heads but don't cut them off?' Cassandra said.

"That might be a bit harder to do with the Bullydra," Kyoka said squeamishly.

"There are some stories about hydras smart enough to bite off their own heads, if the head is injured or they just decide they need more," I answered.

"What should we do, Izuku?" Ochako asked.

"My first idea is that Froppy and I should distract the heads," I said, "While we do, Spoiler, Earphone Jack, Uravity, and InvisiGal can all go around side and attack the torso."

They perked up somewhat from my use of their aliases.

"Why?" Kyoka asked.

"I'm basically the tank," I said, "And I'm used dealing with bullies. This is Tsu's dungeon, her past. They are more likely to focus on her. That should give the rest of you the chance to take it down."

'Tsuyu, can you coat these?' Cassandra took out her tonfas, and extended the ends towards Tsu.

"Do you want paralysis or lethal?" Tsu asked.

'Paralysis,' Cass decided immediately, 'Since I will have to wash it off later.'

"Oh," Toru exclaimed, "Why don't you give me that hammer, Izuku? And Tsuyu can put her lethal poison on the head and claw. That way, we can use both on the boss, and I can be more effective."

"Sure," Tsu agreed. I took the hammer back out of Inventory. After Froppy finished coating the top third of the two tonfas with her paralysis oil, she coated the striking surface and claw of the hammer, and then handed it over to Toru, handle first.

"Okay, Froppy and I will go first," I said, "We'll dart around it, and try to get it to turn to follow us. That way, you guys can hopefully attack without it noticing you, and won't have to work your way around behind it."

The other four young women nodded.

"Ready to go? Decade?" Tsu seemed to enjoy calling me by my Hero name. I guess she was the first.

"Ready."

We exchanged a look. Then with matching jump kicks, we burst into the gym. And let the doors close behind us.

"Asui," the bullydra snarled in eleven part disharmony, "You are late."

"Asgard Smash," I ignored it. I hit the head with Kanata's face with unsharpened Ki, on the off chance the monster could use the component bullies' Quirks. Tanaka's charm hadn't pinged on me, yet, but better safe than sorry.

"I apologize. I had to help Mongoose-chan get to the nurse," a phantom of younger Tsu explained stiffly. I could hear the nervousness that most people would have missed in her voice.

"Again?" the creature said darkly, showing that its mouth did not have human teeth.

"As many times as she needs it," the real Froppy said angrily. She slapped bullydra's teacher head with her tongue and darted past it. I followed beside her, and threw a shoulder into its side, giving us more space.

"Gondor Smash!"

We got behind creature and I sliced into its tail. Part to aggravate it, part out of random curiosity if both ends would split. Either the attack didn't cut deep enough, or it wasn't going to split.

The monster started to haul itself around after us. Froppy and I both peppered its side with kicks as it turned. Once all of its heads were focused on us and not looking at the door.

'Clear,' I reported, 'And it doesn't appear to be breathing or spitting poison.'

Spoiler cracked the door silently, and they slipped in.

'Ocha... Uravity,' Earphone Jack prompted, 'Can you make it fly?'

'I don't know?' Ochako answered doubtfully, 'It looks like it is under three tons, but maybe not. Should I try?'

'I would ask that you don't,' Cassandra said, 'We won't be able to reach her if she's on the ceiling. Well, except Izuku's Ki attacks.'

'And the fall wouldn't be far enough to sky juggle her,' I added, 'Maybe if we get in trouble. But I would agree, not yet.'

One of the heads snapped at me. I stepped to the right and when it shot past, grabbed it's neck. I punched it in the... throat, I guess.. twice before letting it go.

"You damn, croaking freak," the head of the bully from the second group told Froppy, "No one will ever like you."

"gondor smash," I whispered furiously. The head fell to the floor. And as expected two grew back, though these were not faces from among the enemies we fought previous.

"Still worth it," I said.

InvisiGal lifted the hammer, claw down, and slammed it into the bulldra's flank. Scales cracked, but she didn't draw blood. I hoped it was enough for the contact poison to work.

One of the heads started to look back, but Froppy's tongue wrapped around it. She hauled it back. Except, like the trees in her early training, the monster had too much mass, so she was also pulled up. She released it and flipped over in air, so her heels both drove into its chin. Another head tried to bite her, so I hit it with a quick, weak Ki blast. The attack pushed it just far enough that it took a chunk out of the neck of the head Tsu had just attacked.

"Watch it, ass," the injured head barked at the attacker.

"It wasn't my fault, moron," the other head countered after spitting out the mouthful of scale and flesh.

'Maybe it won't take a lot of heads to get them to turn on each other,' Ochako sounded slightly amused.

Another head went for me, even as Cass battered the open wound on the tail. The attack fell short, and the eyes looked somewhat glazed. Then the back legs of the bullydra went limp.

Kyoka took the chance to jab her jacks into the haunch. A moment later, I heard the sharp crack of its femur shattering. Also a ringing in my ears from the frequency.

"You know, back at Danchuin, especially in first year, I worried you were right, kero" Tsu told the monster, "Even after I became friends Habuko, I worried that most people would accept me. But now I have a lot of friends, and even a guy I like who likes me back. I can be myself and people will still like me. I don't know why your life sucks so much that you need to attack others, but it doesn't matter. I already beat your beliefs."

"Who, him?" one of the head demanded, 'pointing' at me.

"I don't know, he's not bad," Kanata's bruised face said, "Tanaka, talk to him for me?"

"Why should I hit on guys for you," Tanaka countered, "When you won't hit on girls for me?"

"Because it will hurt frog freak?" the green-eyed twin argued.

"You know, I never hated her like you," the blue-eyed charmer countered, "She's kind of cute."

"Will you idiots knock it off?" the teacher head demanded, "We are supposed to be killing them, and we can't feel anything from the waist down. And... outh, dat fuching herse."

She slurred the declaration of pain as Tsu kicked her jaw and made her bite her tongue.

The bullydra's HP was about half by that point, and wasn't regenerating. Other than the one head I deliberately cut off, all the wounds remained. Even when the two heads grew back, it hadn't recovered as much health as it had lost in the initial attack. I guess it was a lesser species of hydra. And really more of an object lesson on bullies and how Tsu had grown.

With its rear legs disabled, it could turn effectively. Especially not with me and Froppy punishing any heads that ignored us.

In the end, the boss went down in about ten minutes. And we all made sure Tsu got the final hit.


[Tsuyu Asui Dungeon Progress!
Defeated 1 sub-boss: +1 Affinity
Defeated 2 sub-bosses: +1 Affinity
Defeated 3 sub-bosses: +1 Affinity
Defeated 5 sub-bosses: +1 Affinity
Defeated 7 sub-bosses: +1 Affinity
Defeated 9 sub-bosses: +1 Affinity
Defeated mid-boss: Attribute Balancing
Defeated boss: Bonus Random Talent
Level I cleared: Bonus Random Talent]

[Congratulations!
Boss defeated in your Reflective Dungeon. Please select a bonus Talent.

Focus: Prehensile Tongue
Limit Break, increase growth, and decrease Stamina used for Prehensile Tongue.

Focus: Wall Climb
Limit Break, increase growth, and increase weight supported for Wall Climb.]

[Congratulations!
Level I cleared in your Reflective Dungeon. Please select a bonus Talent.

Quirk: Frog Girl III
Increased tongue length, leg strength, and add Sleep Oil.

Focus: Basic Cooking
Unlock and Limit Break Cooking, Basic.]

"You already Limit Broke Prehensile Tongue with Tongue Cannon," I remembered, "So the Focus for it isn't as useful."

"Well, I'm nowhere near 100, more or less 140," Tsu told us, "And the other elements might be useful."

"You can only Limit Break a skill once?" Mo-chan prompted.

"So the rules say," I confirmed, "Though there might be some advantage to having double Limit Breaks. The Gamer likes to dole out information like that only after it is relevant, and I don't have any double broken skills either."

Tsu considered it for a moment, and then hit 'Focus: Wall Climb'.

"If I can carry other people while I climb walls, that would be really useful," she explained. Then she selected the third level of her Quirk and said, "The other one is obvious."

"I'm surprised you hadn't taken it already," Ami noted, "I take my Quirk Talents as soon as a I can."

Momo and Kyoka both nodded.

"I would have," Tsu agreed, "But I didn't have a Talent point when I met the prerequisites, ribbit."

"Ah," the bluette said.

"Yeah, it is hard to save them," Ochako sighed, "so many options."

I took another sip of my potion laced sports drink. We had been in Tsu's Dungeon for about ninety minutes, or half that to Momo, Ami, and Mordred. We were taking a short break before Cassandra's Dungeon. I was at about a quarter Energy. Ochako and Kyoka were both a bit winded, though Kyoka wasn't in the second group. So we rested, had a snack. Divided up the seventeen million and change yen Tsu's enemies had dropped. I bought a mana drink with my share. And then moved the rest to my Gift Card account for the Guild Hall. I had just recently learned I could put money from my Wallet into the Gift Card, but not the reverse.

We were almost 14% of the way to the Guild Hall. It was a decent pace, but with two perks already unlocked, I was getting a little anxious to see what the Hall would look like. Like waiting for the latest Final Fantasy game after an amazing looking trailer drops.

I removed Tsu, Kyoka, and Toru from my Party. And also ended the Skill Jockey. Toru sighed.

"It was nice while it lasted," she said sadly. Then her voice brightened, "But truly, thank you, Izuku. And also for these five Kung Fu levels I can start to build on now."

"You are welcome," I said sincerely, "And if we can't figure out a way for you to control your Quirk, we can set up other times for you to borrow Clairvoyance."

'What Skill do you want to borrow from me?' Cassandra asked.

"I don't know," I said, "Party Add: Ami. Party Add: Momo. Party Add: Mo-chan. What would you suggest?"

They all accepted the invite while Cassandra considered it.


[Dungeon Entry - Cassandra Cain
Mooks: 144 (120 unspawned)
Bosses: 1/1 (unspawned)]

"That's odd," Ami said, "I thought the total number of enemies always added up to a multiple of ten, and usually a multiple of twenty."

"Tsu's didn't," Ochako said, "But they were all like mini-bosses."

"Skill Jockey, Borrow: Krav Maga," I said holding Cassandra's hand. It was a different sensation from lending a Skill. It was similar to using a Skill Book. But not exactly the same. It was a more nebulous knowledge, like it hadn't fully sunk into my brain. Before entering the Dungeon, Cass and I had discussed my options for Skills of hers I was able to learn, and this was her ultimate suggestion.

'That feels weird,' the silent girl commented.

"Where are we?" Mordred asked, looking around.

We were on a rooftop. One amidst a virtual sea of rooftops. Some where connected by skyways. Others hand planks between them. Most were not connected. And they were various heights. But most importantly, between them was an inky darkness. There was no visible street below, or even lights of any kind. It was like the rooftops were just floating in an infinite abyss.

"Gotham," I answered.

"What makes you say that?" Ami... Mercury asked, dubiously. But Cassandra nodded. And I pointed.

Visible a few hundred meters away, there was one building that towered above all the others. And on the side of the skyscraper was one word. Wayne.

'This is the place I've spent the most time, traveling with my father,' Spoiler told us, 'This is where I got my Hero name, remember.'

"So where are the enemies?" Creati asked, "Or maybe I should ask, what are the enemies?"

I started to activate Ki Detection, but before I could, Spoiler picked up a chunk of brick from the floor. Then she sidearmed it a speed most pitchers would have envied. It struck the chimney. Except instead of the sound of rock on rock, it was the sound of rock on paper, followed by a grunt of pain. A section of the wall peeled away, revealing a person in a full, traditional shozoku. Except that this person's eyes were covered by tinted lenses instead of a loose weave cloth mesh. They moved to attack, only to find Clarent in their ribs. The mook bled black instead of red, but vanished like other Dungeon foes.

"Ninjas?" Uravity exclaimed, "In America?"

'Not real ninjas,' Spoiler shook her head, 'Fakes. Wannbes.'

"There is no rule that says a fake can't surpass the original," Mordred said thoughtfully. I studied her face for a moment, thinking that statement meant something to her.

'Don't underestimate them,' Cassandra agreed, 'This 'league' of assassins are still well trained and willing to kill. My father clashed with them more than once. But that narrows down who the boss is.'

"I hope this won't be tough for you," Mercury told her, catching the hitch in Spoiler's mental voice.

'It depends on who it is,' the mute girl smiled in thanks, 'But lets find out first.'

"Right," Mo-chan's bright tone sounded a forced, "Let's see what these imposters have."


We were on the tallest building next to the Wayne Tower. The ninjas hadn't been much of a challenge. In fact, the more of them there were, the weaker they seemed. It was probably just because the stronger and more skilled ones ones lasted longer. And Uravity's power proved critical. I could jump far enough to get between any of the buildings. At least when I enhanced myself. And Spoiler was close behind. But Mercury, Creati, Mordred, and Uravity herself needed the boost.

Which made me think of something.

"Can you fly, Mo-chan?"

She frowned at me. So did the others. Except Ami, who may have guessed what I intended.

"I know you can't fly," I qualified, "Not directly. But looking at your swords got me thinking. Originally, Marvel's Thor couldn't fly. He just threw his hammer and let it drag him along. Until that felt a bit strange and they changed it. And I also read this book about a young girl who found an intelligent sword. The sword could float, but needed a user for most of its powers. And eventually the girl learned to surf on the flying sword."

They seemed to get it, but I kept going, because I was on a roll.

"I'm not sure how much you can lift with your swords," I said, "But I remember it's not nothing. So I was thinking, maybe if you can't lift yourself with just one, you could with all three. You could surf on Clarent, and strap the other two to your back, for extra lift and control."

"I mean, I do know you like snowboarding," I added suddenly, trying to sound funny.

"Okay," she considered it, "I might be able to do that... But then what if I needed to fight?"

"Well, you couldn't really fight in the air," I said, "But if you landed, you could just store your katana and kukri and resummon them, so you wouldn't have to unstrap them. In fact, depending on how precise your summoning ability is, you could have the fixed sheaths in your costume, and just summon the swords into the sheaths when you intend to fly... Sorry, this probably wasn't the right time for that. I was just thinking about it, jumping and climbing around all these roofs."

"Well, now that I can see my Quirk in real, solid numbers, it is something I could work towards. Thanks for the idea, Izuku."

"Of course," I bobbed my head happily.

"You do love to examine Quirks," Mercury said fondly. Reminding me I needed to have a private talk with her. Everything with Eri and the yakuza and our internships had distracted me.

'Is everyone ready?' Spoiler asked, 'Whichever boss this is, I don't think they will go easy on us.'

I had kept up with healing whatever hits we had taken. A punch here, a shuriken there. Thankfully, no poisons. Other than that, and the TK Aura to leap tall buildings, I had been fighting mostly normally. Trying to use Krav Maga in its purest form, to gain as many level as I could. And add to Spoiler's already impressive level 54.

"Yes," I answered.

"Ready," Creati said.

"I don't know about floating so far," Uravity looked quesy, contemplating the three hundred meters up we had to go. Even I couldn't jump that far.

Spoiler smiled and pointed a fire escape.


There was one person waiting for us atop Wayne Tower. A woman of average height and build faced away from us. She had short black hair, and under her fitted, long sleeve shirt and pants, I could tell her muscles were tight. Corded. Strong. She was probably on the high end of Peak Human tier for all of her physical stats. Maybe even low end Super Human tier.

\I thought it would be you,/ Spoiler sighed.

"We finally meet," the woman said, and her voice was oddly familiar. She shouldn't have been able to see Cassandra's hands. Until I realized the letters of the Wayne sign were mirrored, and the boss was carefully studying all of us. And her face was also somewhat familiar.

"Though not exactly like your father promised," the boss continued, "It is too soon, and I am not real. But perhaps it will be better to kill you now. To spare the real me from the disappointment you have become."

"Cass, who is this?" Mo-chan asked angrily.

\My mother,/ Spoiler answered, \Sandra Wu-San, better known as Lady Shiva./

"Sandra Wu-San, the prima ballerina?" Creati looked star struck.

"Lady Shiva, the underground fight champion?" Mordred looked disgusted.

Then the two of them looked at each other in surprise.

Shiva turned to us, and bowed deeply. But a smirk played on her lips.

"What promise?" Mercury also seemed upset, water playing over her hands.

"When David Cain came to me and asked me to bear his child, to blend our Quirks, I made him make me three promises," Shiva told us. And Momo and Mordred both reacted again to the name of Cassandra's father. But this time they had the same reaction.

"The first was that he would track down and kill the man who forced my sister and I to duel to the death," Shiva continued, "The second was that once he had the child he wanted, he would leave me alone. I did not want to see him again, or be part of our child's life. At least, not until it was time for the third promise, that when our child turn nineteen, David would send them to me. That we would face off in the ring, and I would determine if the contract was worth it. But as she is now, this daughter of mine is too foolish and too soft. A Hero? Bah."

"Cass," Mordred tried to comfort our friend. But Spoiler's face did not show any hurt. Just determination.

\Like you said, you are not real. Just a reflection. A figment made up of what I know of Sandra Wu-San. What my father told me. What I have found online. Even if I fight you here and beat you, all you would be is a composite of my and Izuku's skills. I have no way of knowing if you are at all an accurate representation of how she fights./

"I suppose that is true," Shiva allowed.

\And whether that is how she really thinks, or just my worst fears, I don't care. I have chosen my path. I will be a Hero and I will be stronger for it./

"Show me."

"No," Mordred said. Mother and daughter both looked at her.

"We're here to," Mercury stated, "And Spoiler is our friend and comrade. We won't just sit back and watch her fight."

"I mean, you both acknowledge this isn't real, right?" Uravity piped up, "It's a game, sort of. Enemies in dungeons don't exactly act like real fighters in the real world. Just look at Tsuyu's boss."

Shiva raised an eyebrow.

\Ten middle school bullies and one teacher fused into a hydra like monster,/ Spoiler explained to her mother.

"There are Quirks that can do that," Shiva countered.

"There are," I resisted the urge to name some, "Just like there are Quirks that can give the real Shiva the power ups and resistances you get as a boss. But would she accept them? Would she consider the duel she wants with Cassandra valid if someone else interfered, especially to make Shiva stronger?"

"You have made your point," the boss admitted, looking down at her hands in something resembling disgust, "What do you propose?"

"The simpler solution is we treat this like a normal boss fight," I said, summoning a ki orb above my hand. Mercury and Mordred took my meaning, and exhibited their abilities to attack at range. Creati formed a slingshot and ball bearing.

"Or if you want to test Cassandra, we treat it like a normal, legal, martial arts contest," I said, "No hard contact, no intent to kill. Fighting for points. Showing off your actual skill and control."

"That seems fair and honorable," Shiva admitted, "Things I am not opposed to. However, if Cassandra loses, she forfeits the bonus for defeating me. All of you forfeit the Dungeon rewards for beating me."

'What do you want, Spoiler?' I asked her silently, 'Do you want to spar with her? Or should we all fight her? It is your dungeon, your soul.'

'Even though I know it's not real,' Cassandra said softly, 'I want this. A chance to see her. And an idea of how far I have left to go.'

\I agree,/ she signed.

"And if we think you are cheating," Mordred threatened Shiva, "We will step in."

For just a moment, a smile touch Sandra Wu-San's lips.

"I would expect nothing less. Boy, you are the only other one with skill..."

Creati and Mordred both bristled. Uravity looked unexpectedly depressed.

"So you will be our judge."

Suddenly the skyscraper's roof changed. It was a padded mat, with the circle and starting positions marked. Spoiler and Shiva took their positions, and bowed to each other. I lined up between them and raised my arm.

"First to seven points wins," I decided. Both fighters nodded.

"Begin!"


"7 - 5. Winner, Shiva," I announced neutrally. At first the match seemed equal, Spoiler matching Shiva in speed and skill. However with each point, they took it up a notch. And in the end, Shiva had more gears than Spoiler. I wondered if it might have been closer if I had not had Cass's Krav Maga Skill. But she never asked for it back, and to be honest, I'm not sure I could have judged as well without it.

Spoiler bowed to her mother. This time, Shiva did not return it.

"Disappointing," the former assassin said. Then her expression eased slightly, "But perhaps not so much as I was expecting. As we agreed, this boss fight is complete, but you children get nothing for it."

Then, she vanished. And as she said, there were no drop items.

Cassandra turned to us, and signed, \Thank you, for indulging me. And I am sorry./

"Don't forget, this is about each of us getting stronger," Creati said, "If you think this was the best way to clear your Dungeon, it was."

"Dungeon Exit," I announced, "End Skill Jockey."

[Cassandra Cain Dungeon Progress!
Defeated 20 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 40 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 60 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 80 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 100 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 120 enemies: +1 Affinity
Defeated 140 enemies: +1 Affinity
Level I cleared: Bonus Random Talent]

[Congratulations!
Level I cleared in your Reflective Dungeon. Please select a bonus Talent.

Focus: Jeet Kune Do
Limit Break, increase growth, and increase damage with Jeet Kune Do.

Focus: Krav Maga
Limit Break, increase growth, and increase damage with Krav Maga.]

After a moment, Cass decided to take the one for Jeet Kune Do.

"That's odd," Tsu looked at the progress screen before I cleared it.

We told them about the Dungeon, but Cassandra did not explain who the boss was, just that 'it' challenged her skills. Momo glanced at Cassandra for the omission, but then looked at Mordred, too.

After that, I collected the boxes in my Inventory, expect one. And we split up for the night.

"Good afternoon, little sister," I greeted Eri warmly when I got home, "Did you have a good day?"

"Hello, Izuku-nii-chan," she hurried over but stopped just short of me, "I did. Did you?"

I set down the box, opened my arms, and gave her a firm yet careful hug.

"I think I did," I told her.


Health: 896 → 897 (Plus Ultra penalty -27)

Attributes:
(S)trength: 57 → 57
(A)gility: 57 → 57
(E)ndurance: 59 → 60
(C)harisma: 45 → 46
(L)uck: 33 → 34

Skills:
Analyze (W) – Battle Scan: 60 → 61
Dodge (A/Q) LB – Catch: 44 → 45
Boxing (S): 40 → 41
Parkour (A/Q): 40 → 41
Physical Resistance (E/D): 77 → 78
Climbing (S): 20 → 21
Telekinetic Armor (I/E): 39 → 40
Kung Fu Fundamentals (Q/E): 26 → 28
Ki Diagnosis (D/W): 13 → 14
Clairvoyance (I/W) LB: 37 → 39
Jump (Q/S) LB: 14 → 16
Intimidate (C/I): 2 → 3
Heat Resistance (E/D) 4 → 5
Psychic Surgery (I/D) 27 → 29
Skill Jockey (I/C): 20 → 22
Krav Maga (A/S): → 8
Martial Arts Etiquette (W/C): → 3