This campus was a lot bigger than what I had previously believed.

Like, I knew it was big, you can't have a training area the size of a baseball field pluss wiggle room, and have a "small" campus.

But having multiple basement floors is cheating.

We stepped into an elevator, a regular, run of the mill elevator. I walked in, stood calmly, and waited for Nezu to push whatever button would take me to my apparent "dorm".

And by button, I meant the ones on the panel, where all of the buttons are supposed to be.

Nope.

The little rat just hopped up and tapped the insignia of UA above the panel, speaking clearly once he landed.

"Echo, take us down."

"You're sure? it's pretty far." Came a very real voice from all around me, and I tensed, my eyes darting and widening as I felt absolutely no presence whatsoever. This wasn't like Toru, who was just invisible, she was still there…this person simply didn't have a presence.

"But of course, faraway places yield the best rewards." Nezu said, fixing his necktie, and there was a small ding.

"Accepted" came a sudden robotic voice, and I frowned, staring at the rat as he glanced at me.

"What?"

"You realize people stopped doing silly codes like that after world war two?" I said flatly, and he huffed, turning his head.

"You young people and you opinions."

"You old people and your role-play."

He turned away, hiding his embarrassment from my immediate retort, and I just rolled my eyes. yeah, I was young and probably stupid, but their old.

They have no excuse.

Though I suppose being childish once in a while couldn't hurt.

"I don't have to say that every time I get in the elevator do I?"

Nezu just snorted, "No, all the kids just greet Echo before they can go down."

Oh, thank god. I cant imagine me retaining my sanity if I had to do that every time I wanted to use the elevators.

"So, why the secrecy here anyway? It's a student dorm no?"

Nezu shifted on his feet, weighing his responses, and selecting one, "While that is true, it isnt the whole truth."

"Um…so…?" I said slowly, waiting for his explanation, and I recived it with a dose of nervousness as he turned and smiled as the doors opened behind him. "Well, this is a dorm for Quirk users who are still learning to control their quirks."

You fucking what?

We stepped out into an opened area, really giving off that "secret lab" vibe as all the surfaces were a metallic gray instead of a polished white. I didn't see anyone, but there were plenty of small noises coming from up ahead…were those tinted windows?

"You'll be staying here, though I do encourage you to be careful, accidents do happen."

I immediately voiced my thoughts, "your telling me I'm living with a bunch of kids?"

He tilted his head to the side, "We do organize this place by age and threat level, so you'll be with people only slightly younger than you, no younger than 12. The children require constant supervision and a guardian."

Oh…wait.

"Does that mean this is where all of the lethal quirk users learn to adjust and control themselves before entering society? I'm talking the super lethal, like 13?"

"Or the ones that cause disturbance with little effort, yes."

Well, I can't really be mad…I mean, I would have gone here myself if I didn't live in another area.

"So, where too? I only plan on spending my time here in my "dorm"." I said nonchalantly. I was fairly confident I could survive if I simply didn't bother anyone. If these people were…life threatening, then it was probably his request that I didn't fraternize with them anyway.

"Oh, don't be like that! All these kids could be good friends!" he said cheerfully, almost with a taunt, and I was genuinely confused.

"You mean the same ones that are extremely hazardous to their environments or other sources of life?"

He swatted my arm, "Don't be mean!"

I rolled my eyes, "So, what do you actually want me to do down here."

Nezu stopped, before turning on his heel, and tilting his head at me, "you don't think I brought you here for your own safety? It's a risk exposing this place to a stranger you know."

"And yet, somehow, you felt the need to not only include me, but endager all these kids to the villainous group that currently wants my head…don't play dumb with me."

He stared at me for a small time, before he smiled, "A clever one I see, excellent."

He turned, and resumed his walk, but with more purpose as his stride picked up the pace, "You are correct. I want you to do something for me while Im down here…and I believe that this will benefit the both of you greatly."

…should I take that as an insult or…actually, how else can I take that!

"Are you saying you brought me down here because you thought I was unstable?"

"Well, that's what you're here to correct." He said, arriving at a large metal door. I grimaced, looking at all the mechanisms that connected together along its surface, and my mind raced. I know I wasn't stable all the way to my max, something that we haven't even identified yet, but surely my successes shouldn't warrant confinement! And if someone as bad as me was in here, then arent we both about to just kill eachother?

The door opened, and I clenched my fist. Maybe I could bust my way out of here. I could probably jump up the elevator shaft with a few leaps. It wouldn't be pretty, but it beats being locked inside a metal cage in this little runts basement.

The door opened all the way, and my shoulders twitched as I was ready to leap back, when I stopped…my mind going blank as I thought I was seeing things.

Inside this massive metal door…was not a prison cell.

It was a massive, massive training room.

My head turned left, and right, walking in absently as I forgot all about escaping, seeing kids my age, younger, and even older within their own stations. A child, no older than four, trying not to freeze glasses of water when he touched them. A woman old enough to be a mom across the room was stacking wine glasses, carefully and slowly placing them one on top of the other…at first, I thought it was pretty normal, until I saw her reach to scratch her leg, and tore a hole right through her sweatpants leg as if it was wet toilet paper.

There were dozens, hell, there was probably near 60 people in this large space dotting the area.

But the one I found the most impressive, and eye catching, was the blonde girl in the back corner. She was in a cordoned off room, with hammers, swinging like pendulums like that old science thingy with marbles and string. A hammer would swing down, and she would catch it in a single palm, before the hammer that was resting on her other palm would suddenly take off, as if all the force had transferred from one hammer to another. There were a total of 4 hammers, two on each side, and alternating as to which came down. She turned, focused and concentrating, beads of sweat rolling off her lightly muscled arms. Her tank top was practically soaked as it showed she had been at this for a while, and a small amount of blood was crusted above her lip.

Probably missed and got nailed by one.

Nezu led us over to her, something that surprised me slightly, and we stopped by the entrance to the space. He pressed a small button, and the hammers suddenly stopped, before slowly rising back into the ceiling. The girl in the center huffed a heavy breath, before making her way over to the door, snagging a water bottle on the way off of a shelf near the door. She opened it, and nodded to Nezu, before looking at me in surprise.

"Hey Nezu…who's this guy?"

"Same question, on her though" I said, pointing at her and Nezu prompting an explanation. Nezu just sighed, "introductions are needed it seems, walk with me Kate?"

"Sure." She said, eyeing me, before walking off.

Hmm, dunno if I like this chick, arrogance isnt a very attractive trait.

Nezu padded over to a small seating area outside a window to…Kate's?...training room. He gestured for me to take a place at his side, and I shrugged. I was pretty sure I could beat him to the door if I needed to, and he is obviously too important a person to leave down here forever. Someone will open the doors eventually.

"Kate, this is Ikari, Senshi Ikari. Ika-chan, this is Kate Rose, an American transfer."

We stared at each other for less than a second, before looking back at the well-dressed rat. He sighed, "Kate, I believe that Ika-chan here can accelerate your training to the next step."

"The next step huh?" she said, examining me again, but I wasn't paying her a smidgen of attention to the moment. I was more focused on something else.

"Ika-chan? Since when have you ever called me that…don't do it anymore, its creepy." I said with a small shiver. A cutesy name like that? On me? a psycho rage monster?

Yeah, no. Ikari will do just fine for a first name thanks.

"Don't like it? Awe, I thought it was cute."

I grimaced, that would be the issue, "Pass on it, anyway, how does this help her…or me for that matter?"

Nezu smiled widely, "Because your quirks cancel each other out!"

…

..

.

. . . . .

I was a bit skeptical.

"…Ok." I said slowly, "she can stop big swinging hammers…yay? You realize that I have complete control when I hit that hard? How does this benefit me?"

"In the beginning, it won't." He admitted, "But when she grows, so will you!"

"I'm only down here until the whole issue with the criminal underworld wanting me dead is over with. That shouldn't be too long you know. I'm down for a good training session, but I don't see how this could really-"

"You don't think I can stop you?" Kate said suddenly, cutting me off mid thought-speech, and I slid my eye over to her.

"Look." I said, trying to be as simple and firm as possible, "It's cool that you can do what you were doing earlier, stopping falling hammers, that's awesome…but I hit a lot harder than a hammer, and I won't even be at full power. If this is training, I am gaining none of it."

She stared, her cerulean blue eyes slowly turning into a glare, and I ignored her for the time being. She was such a beauty too, shame it turned out this way.

"Ikari-san." Nezu said, and I returned my attention to him. "While it's true what you say, in the future, she is the key to your further development. Do you want to lose control every time you reach your uncontrollable state?"

I sighed, "She doesn't have an quirk that would calm me down, all she can do is take the hits…and as someone who can level a small town in a few minutes, that isn't a good spot for even All Might to be in."

Kate's eyes widened slightly at that info, "So you're an Enhancement type?"

I tilted my head from side to side, thinking of a way to simplify what it really was…well, when it doubt, be blunt.

"I get stronger the angrier I get." I said, raising my hands up, palms up, "on the low end of the scale, I'm what you would consider "low enhanced", where I'm only stronger than an average adult. On the other, I become "high enhanced", where I really don't know how strong I get, but it's enough to stand on even footing with All Might."

I just looked her in the eyes, and said it will full seriousness, "I don't believe that you will survive if I come at you with that kind of force. My power, speed, endurance…I honestly believe that you wouldn't make it."

I snatched a random thermos from under the seat, an unfortunate soul leaving it behind. "Even if you take the first punch…"

I poked the thermos, giving it a small dent.

"Maybe the second."

Another poke and a deeper dent.

"And a third."

"and a fourth.

"And a fifth."

"And finally, the sixth."

On my final poke, the thermos caved in, and folded on itself.

"Even if you could absorb my punches, the fact of the matter is you cannot take them all, and further to the point, you won't be able to catch all of them. I'm not just as strong as All Might, I'm just as fast, if not faster. I don't hesitate, I don't think, I don't stop. I lose control, and that's it."

To further illustrate my point, I held the bottle on the top and bottom, palms facing it.

"And regardless of how tough you are…"

I crushed the thermos flat, what little liquid remained popped out of the creased side as it spewed across the table, the smell of fruit punch and the actual red color further demonstrating my claim.

"If I can push back All Might at the end of my timer, at my limit, and powering down, then you can't stand in front of me. Not now, and not in a few years' time either." I said finally, and I tossed the flatted drinking bottle over my shoulder, letting it ding and roll as it found itself at the bottom of a garbage bin.

"Nezu, do you at least see my point here? She may have a strong quirk, a counter to my own in your own words, but at the present time, she might as well be trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose."

"Are you done?"

I blinked, turning to see Kate looking at me almost…bored, "So your strong, stronger than I am…so what? Principal Nezu said to help me ,and by helping me, you will help yourself. All you have done is boast. Walk away, or get in the ring." She said, jutting her thumb over her shoulder to her training room, and I stared at the room unimpressed.

"Nezu…as I have said before, why should I take time out of my own training, for someone who already has control over their quirk?"

"Her Quirk allows her to manipulate Kinetic energy." Nezu said, and I nodded with a small appreciation, "That's pretty cool. I can see where "negating" would come in, but I'm guess from the blood in her hair that there is a limit."

She quickly wiped at it, trying to disperse of the evidence, and Nezu nodded, "Yes, currently, she can nullify vehicles with relative ease, however, her ability to manipulate the energy leaves her an issue. Because she is essentially absorbing it, she needs to disperse it. We are currently working on her speed."

I rubbed my brow, "Just admit it, I wont get anything out of this."

"A friend?"

I looked at her in curiosity, and she just huffed.

"Not buying it." I said with a cynical glance towards Nezu. "You're asking me to compromise my own time for someone who will most likely be a victim of the next villain she faces at her current level, something that will only happen sooner the closer she is too me, and more likely be worse as I wasn't afforded the time to prepare. What exactly do you hope to achieve here?"

"A victim!" she growled in fierce anger, and I ignored her, "I'm waiting Runt."

He stared at me, "Are you sure you want to be a hero?"

"Are you sure you want to be a teacher?" I countered off handedly, "You can make comments on my lack of compassion or linguistic brutality and harshness, but you cannot deny that you have caught me at the worst time possible, and want me to take on more responsibilities."

Kate had enough right then and there, standing up with a harsh clatter and heading back into the ring, slamming the training start button on the way through, and getting back too it. I didn't break my stare from Nezu.

He needed to stop treating me like an asset.

I was a weakness in this system, I critical hit spot.

"She needs a friend." He said quietly, watching her train, "I know this isn't something I should say, but perhaps a push is needed."

He looked at me, square in the eye, "Ikari, you've killed before, haven't you?"

I blinked in surprise…that was not what I was expecting. My mind flashed back in time, the town in ruins, flames and smoke…I was alone.

"What of it." I said tersely, monotonously. I can't lose my temper, this is a touchy spot.

"It was an accident, I'm sure." Nezu said sadly, "People with enhancement quirks never really understand their difference from others until someone else is in pain. Intellect, ability, strength, it's always some form of suffering that clarifies the difference."

"Get to the point."

"She has also."

I slowly turned, looking at her again, her? Killed?

Kinetic energy…

Kinetic energy was basically motion. If she could stop and start motion on demand…I could see how that would lead to a fatality.

"Her mother died on the table while giving birth. Her last few heartbeats started her own."

I rolled my eyes, "that hardly-"

"And since then, she has claimed three more, all close family."

I stopped…a mother dying in childbirth, while sad, wasn't an unheard of occurrence…but three more.

"Her oldest brother, her grandfather, and her first friend." He said sadly, "All of them died of sudden heartattacks. Unable to move, unable to breath, their heart unable to beat…they died. She had no way of knowing, they would give no sign. They would die in her arms."

Well that's pretty heavy.

"And you think I can befriend her because I can relate?" I said softly, "Her pain and mine, while similar, are different. While hers might have been accidental, I…am a murderer."

He looked at me softly, facing me fully and knitted his fingers, tilting his head to the side. "Will you tell me?"

I snorted as I shook my head, "So you can tell someone else just like you are right now? Not a chance, my demons are mine to carry." I said firmly, "Though I will tell you this."

"It was no accident." I said firmly, before standing up and walking forward with a rather strong aura, "Perhaps she needs to understand the difference."

"Ikari…" Nezu called after me, but I did nothing to respond. I walked up to the door, and tried to open it. I got a loud red flash, telling me it was dangerous.

Cute.

I kicked the door directly off its hinges, something that had the entire facility stop and watch what was happening. Kicking in a lab safety lock-out door was like head-butting a building and seeing it fall over. It was possible, it was built to withstand attacks like that!

I walked in without a care for the falling hammers, and it was obvious I had Kate's attention. She was still practicing, while watching me come closer. "I'm busy."

I didn't respond, instead, I stomped the ground, and launched forward, clearing the distance between us in less than a second, and batting a falling hammer away with enough force to warp the metal face, and bend the "handle" that allowed it to swing straight, embedding it in the ceiling at the height of its axis. I stared at her dead in the eye, seeing her obvious shock, before she attempted to school it away in vain.

"I was never good at dealing with people like you. your Confidence and Self-Assurance are a suicidal brew, even if fake." I said slowly. The hammers stopped swinging, retreating back into the ceiling after taking damage to its system, and Kate was staring at me with narrowed eyes, thought I could see her shoulders tense and her vein in her neck increase in size as she was put on air.

I stared at her intensely, squared off and definitely not looking happy as my rage powered me up, "Get Ready."

She immediately kicked out a back leg, and raised a hand. I stared at her longer, before I pulled my own fist back, un-blinking, and unleashed a medium sized blow to see if she could handle it.

Needless to say she did her best.

And it was enough…barely.

She skidded, something I didn't think was possible considering her "mastery" over her quirk, and managed to successfully output the absorbed force into the air behind her.

She was not expecting it to boom like thunder, blowing her hair wildly as the blond curls flew in front of her face. I stared at her, readying another fist, "Get Ready."

She was not ready.

She quickly swiped her hair out of her eyes, before bringing forth both arms in reflexive defense. My punch connected, with much more serious force, and she left the ground. I could see the kinetic energy roll off her arms like a golden fog, and blow out behind her as the pressure took it to even greater heights.

She flew.

She slammed into the wall of the training room behind her, falling to the ground soon after. Two feet free fall might not be steep, but after a blow like that, it might as well have been twenty. She fell hard, on all fours, and definitely looking a little more honest with her emotion.

Fear.

I stared at her from across the room, watching her movements, I walked forward, my fist clenched, and my eyes flaring an angry red as I drew closer. She stood up hastily, trying to prepare herself, and I sighed, my rage fleeing me as my angry aura died down slightly.

"Would you believe it if I only told you that was Stage Two?"

She huffed, her resolve slackening.

"Two out of four, though technically five."

She froze, staring at me in numb realization.

I turned, and left. I didn't need to say it, she was smart enough to understand the situation. Her ability was promising.

But for what she wanted, it was nowhere near good enough, or even close to passing…it had no value for me.

I stopped by Nezu, "Where's my dorm?"