Starlight: The Rise of a Hero

Chapter Five: Nova-Man

Across the river from his home, Leon Weitz stood in the middle of his old training ground, looking towards the horizon. It was dawn, and he was restless. The sun's rising was always enough to cull his anxiety, and today was a day to be anxious about.

Today was the first real day of his Third Year. Yesterday, Mr. Hawks had been exhausted, unable to teach or provide a coherent lesson.

He'd said something to Mirio about having all of them fight him at the same time, and while he was confident in his own abilities, he was worried about Nejire. Hawks's quirk was a complete hard-counter to hers. His mobility was the focus of his quirk, and she still had to work on the precision of her flight.

As the sun started to peek its head over the mountains, he felt the dregs of his reserves replenish. His reserve energy was the bottom ten percent of his power, which always circulated through his body. Overnight, his body used it up, leaving him exhausted if he woke before the sun rose. He had to consciously refill it each morning, whether it be on the train, in front of the window in his room, or where he currently stood. The only clue to his quirk being active was a faint glow of white around his body.

It felt like drinking hot cocoa after a long day trudging through snow. That was the only way Leon could describe it. His anxieties fading, he felt his reserves start to circulate throughout his body.

As Leon turned his back on the rising sun, he spotted his father pulling out of their driveway, and the two men waved at each other. His father was smiling, for once. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.


As Nejire's train pulled into Mustafu Station, she saw through the doors that Leon was waiting for her. "He must have taken the early train. That's not like him, he's usually late."

The train doors opened, and she exited quickly, power-walking towards him. "Leon! Hey there, cutie!" she shouted, her excitement at seeing him breaking through to her voice.

He heard, turning towards her, blushing. "You're the cutie here, and don't even argue. You are a cinnamon bun. A powerful one," he teased, walking up to receive her flying hug, "but a cinnamon bun nonetheless." Taking the full force of Nejire's glomp in stride, she quickly realized that he was holding her in the air.

"Hey. Let me down, please. We've got to get to class."

"I don't think I will, actually." Leon was grinning devilishly. Flipping her onto her side, he hoisted her over his shoulder. He didn't even care that they were making a scene.

He walked out of the train station with her on his shoulder, and she was grateful for the length of her skirt. "I'm sooo gonna get you back for this."

"Die mad about it, the baby goes wah," he said, putting her down. Seeing the annoyed look on her face, he had to stop himself from laughing.

"You're lucky that I feel the way I do, otherwise you wouldn't be having a good time right now. Now come on, we're gonna be late." Her voice had a hint of amusement behind all of the irritation. They took the right that would take them towards the school, good natured banter passing between them the whole way.


As the students filed into their homeroom, they were greeted by a note written on the board.

'To all my students. Please remain here, I'm just getting myself coffee. You all should be mentally preparing yourselves for the hardest battle of your life. -Mr. Hawks'

With Nejire and Leon being some of the last to arrive to class, they both sighed in relief when Hawks wasn't there to see them be late. Mirio called them over.

"Hey, Leon, bro!"

"What's up, Powerr-boy?" Their nickname for Mirio went back to when their friend group first formed in first year, when practically all he did was shout 'POWERRRRRR.'

"Nothing much. Mr. Hawks confirmed what we're doing today when we came in. We were the first people here, naturally. He said that he'll be letting us use our hero costumes today, and that we were going to need them."

"Oh, cool, that means I get to try my new costume out today." Leon's lips twitched up into a smile.

"What? What happened to your old costume? It was perfect for boosting your quirk!" Nejire's eyes were wide with shock.

"Well, when Endeavor and I fought that massive brute two and a half weeks ago, it got destroyed. And it used to be perfect for my quirk, but it isn't anymore."

Mirio's eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Isn't anymore? What's that supposed to mean?"

"All I can say right now, Mirio, is that all heroes should have an ace up their sleeves. Did the three of you really think that I trained with Endeavor for a whole year, just to increase my power output?"

Tamaki turned to face him.

"So you're saying that you've improved in more ways than one?"

"I can't say." Leon shrugged, a smile creeping back onto his face.

"And why not," Mirio asked, "you don't have to hide your new abilities from your best friends, do you?"

Leon turned to the doorway, which had been slowly opening.

"Because Mr. Hawks has been listening for a few moments now."

And indeed, their teacher's gloved hand revealed itself, opening the door wide to reveal himself. His eyes were trained on Leon.

"Good observational skills, Weitz-san. I look forward to testing them today. Listen up, everyone." All of the students turned in their seats to hear what their teacher had to say. "Go find your hero costumes, and meet me at the TDL at eight o'clock sharp. That's in about forty or so minutes, so that should be more than enough time. Make sure to bring your A-game, because I'm bringing mine."

Noting a distinct lack of dissent from his class, he waved them off to the Development Studio, the bathroom, and anywhere else they needed to go to change into their costumes.

His eyes were trained on the four of them, the intensity held within a welcome surprise to Leon. As his friends stood up, he remained seated. Reassuring them that he had his costume on him, he gave Nejire a hug and her hands a squeeze. To the guys, he gave a thumbs up.

"We've got this, you two. Tamaki, make sure to go to the cafeteria. You're gonna need all the power you can get." The classroom slowly emptied out, until it was just student and teacher.

Seeing that Leon had stayed behind, Hawks spoke up.

"So the number one in the class stays behind for some one-on-one socializing. Very cool. I'm assuming you have your costume with you?"

"Yeah. It's in my bag, don't worry. I stayed behind because I wanted to ask you something." There was an odd look in Leon's eyes. He was focused in on him, almost as if he were already in the heat of combat, and Hawks was impressed. Most students, at least back in his day, didn't have the courage to display their emotions so outwardly.

"Ask away, my most intense student." His eyes narrowed, and the two made eye contact.

"Are you going to be using deadly force today?" Leon's voice was unwavering, but Hawks could tell that he was afraid, somewhere underneath it all.

"No. I am not going to be going for kill-shots. You're students, and I'm teaching you."

Leon sighed in relief, and as he was about to say 'thank god,' Hawks raised a finger, cutting him off.

"But some of you will get hurt. There are going to be broken bones, cuts, and the like. I'll be coming at you like a villain intent to kill. But I will not mortally wound anyone, that would piss off a bunch of people, I'm sure. The lesson today is how to work together in the face of a villain who cannot be taken down in a one-on-one fight."

"And who would that villain be?" Leon remarked, though he inflected it as a joke. Hawks's expression twisted into an amused smirk. Crossing his arms and leaning back against his desk, he gave his retort.

"I know about your work with Endeavor's agency. He and I spoke over the phone yesterday, actually. He confirmed for me that you fought him to a standstill," Hawks inferred, his voice speculative. "I hope you understand, though," he intoned darkly, "that Endeavor and I are dangerous for very different reasons."

Leon's face had gone blank. "Oh, I know. I know plenty about your quirk, but it's been a while since I've updated my file. I hope you're not going off of my mid-year assessment from last year," he quipped, "because it's missing some details."

Hawks frowned, his face appropriately hawk-like in the moody lighting of the classroom.

"It may be true that I'm walking into this fight blind to certain unknown aspects of your quirk, and its further evolution. But I know plenty about you. The number two in our class, you're rather fond of her, are you not?"

You could hear a pin drop.

Leon's eyes sharpened. "What about Nejire?"

"Well, I'll be fighting against her today, too, won't I?" There was a sinister edge behind Hawk's calm voice.

Leon's face lit up in understanding, his eyes widening with outrage.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would dare. I'm not holding back. There are no feelings when you're up against a villain. Value one team-mate over another for irrelevant reasons, and the entire mission can go up in smoke. You understand that the only way to stop me from hurting her is to subdue me, yes?"

Leon nodded, and stepped forward, an odd aura filling the room. His face was blank, indifference finally hiding his emotions.

"I'm glad that you're not using deadly force. Because if you were using it, so would I."

He leaned down and grabbed his backpack, unzipping it, removing a parcel marked with some government logos on it. He closed the door gently on his way out.

He walked out of the room without saying another word, and Hawks felt the aura he carried with him linger, for just a moment. It was like something unspeakably large was staring at him from the shadows.


Cementoss left the room, perturbed by his fellow teacher's lesson plan. He didn't know what to think, but Nedzu had signed off on Hawks's curriculum, and specifically on this lesson, as well.

He had done as Hawks had asked, and he was going to remain on standby, as was Recovery Girl. Hawks said that there was no way he'd be able to pull off a lesson like this one without her presence. She'd only agreed because she didn't want anyone to get hurt too badly.

The structures he'd been asked to make weren't all that complicated. .There were about fifteen cylindrical pillars that shot from the floor of the gym. Each was about five meters in diameter, and they were varied in trajectory. They were spaced apart evenly, and came up about halfway to the ceiling. It looked like a perfect killzone for a hunter like Hawks.

He was worried for the students. This environment was perfect for Hawks's quirk, and he was going to be attacking them with intent to injure?

It didn't sit well with Cementoss, but he didn't like interfering with things he didn't understand.


Leon caught up with Nejire and the others right outside of Gym Gamma, with them all shaking with nervousness.

"We're the Big Four, you guys. The strongest people in this school. We need to think smart, and think fast. There's four minutes left until we have to be through that door. Hawks, despite all his shit-talking-"

"Shit-talking?" Nejire was incredulous. "That doesn't sound like Mr. Hawks."

"I'll explain later, to all of you. As to what I was saying before, Hawks has a weakness. He's not as strong as any of us, and his defenses are weakened when he's mid-air. Tamaki, Nejire," Leon noted, "you two should not be flying. He'll pick you right out of the air. His top speed is in excess of a thousand kilometers per hour." He made sure both of them understood, before moving on. "Mirio. If you see him coming at you, don't freeze. Remember, he's a glass cannon. If he's moving too fast, use your quirk, full-body. Let him slam into the ground."

Mirio scratched his chin. "Alright. What are you going to be doing?"

Leon subconsciously looked at Nejire for a moment, with Mirio's gaze following his. His eyes widened for a moment of confusion. He motioned for the two of them to separate from the group. The other two stayed put. The time was 7:58 am.

After walking a few meters away, Mirio spoke quietly, but with urgency.

"He's gunning for Nejire, isn't he? He's trying to bait you." Mirio was too observant for his own good. "That's what the two of you talked about. You wanted to make sure she wouldn't get hurt."

Leon's face must have said it all, because Mirio's eyes narrowed, before he continued.

"It's okay. I'll do my best to keep her safe, too. I'll let Tamaki in on the plan. I don't want to see any of us get hurt either. Whatever this ace up your sleeve is, I hope it's good enough to take him out."

They rejoined the others after a moment

Leon put his fist forward, and the other three did the same.

"Big Four, on three. One, two, three!"

"BIG FOUR!" The four shouts exploded into their surroundings, echoing for some time.

They steeled themselves, and Leon pushed the doors open, arms subconsciously crackling with energy.


Keigo Takami smiled, as he stood at the top of one of the pillars. The last students had arrived. The ones whose abilities had the most power, to be certain. The so-called 'big four.'

The Weitz boy was wearing an odd, dark grey bodysuit, which exposed the boy's lower legs. It had a thin grey-blue stripe going up the center of it's torso, with a zipper in the middle. A belt of the same color as the stripe went around his waist.

He wore no covering for his head, and Keigo noted that his normally well-groomed hair was in a wild state. The boy had a physical aura around his arms and hands. It glowed the same color it did in the recordings he'd watched.

The two that stuck together were Tamaki and Mirio. They were good kids, but they relied heavily on their quirks in a fight. Tamaki was altogether too much of a chicken, from what his past teachers had said. Mirio was potentially the most difficult person to beat out of the entire class. If he couldn't hit him, eventually, Hawks would run out of stamina.

And then there was Nejire. She was the most well-rounded out of the four. She also seemed to be the only way to get into Leon's head. They had feelings for each other, that much was obvious.

The main problem Hawks kept running into internally was that they were each incredible powerhouses in their own right. If any of them got him stuck on the ground, he'd be toast.

Looking down at the students again, he gave them one last out.


"If anyone wants to back out of this fight, you can take a zero for the day." Hawks called out from somewhere within the room, causing the majority of the students in the gym to flinch. Nerves were running high, and many of the ten students outside of the big four seemed to be considering Hawks's offer.

"However! Today's lesson is worth about five percent of your overall grade for this class. Anyone who wants to back out may do so now. To back out, please leave the room! Also, I am currently located at the top of the furthermost pillar to the north of your location. This is the only time I will be handing out my location, so use this information wisely."

"Today's lesson is about working together when facing an enemy who is insurmountably stronger than you! Anyone who isn't eliminated after five minutes will receive a 'B'! Anyone who survives ten minutes will receive an 'A'! IF you successfully eliminate me before fifteen minutes is up, everyone's grade is automatically a one-hundred percent!"

Many people in the crowd of fourteen seemed to be hesitating. Leon had spotted Hawks, and was looking right at him. He was in for a long fight. He could tell, it was something deep in his bones.

No one left the room. Hawks smiled, his eyes narrowing. It was always nice to have a big hunt, after all.

"Well. Let the games," he said, crouching down, "BEGIN!" His shout echoed throughout the room.

Everyone tensed. Leon stepped protectively in front of Nejire. His eyes seemed to challenge Hawks, who said nothing.

The only answer he received was Hawks diving right towards them. He whirled in the air, re-directing at the last moment to bounce off a pillar, back into the maze.

And then he was right next to Mirio, before Leon could even move. He thankfully didn't have to, as Tamaki was in range to intercept him. Hawks saw the gigantic tentacles coming at him, and ducked under them, knocking out Mirio's legs anyway. Mirio reacted in time, permeating and flashing back through the ground, fist directed at Hawk's face in what would have been a harsh uppercut. Hawks jerked his head back before it connected, catching the air under his wings again, using his momentum to pivot around and fire himself at another student.

A crack echoed throughout the room as the young man took the impact of Hawk's kick with an X-shaped guard of his arms. The sheer speed that he had been moving at still provided enough force to send the student hurtling into a wall.

He fell to the ground, coughing up blood. He was eliminated after he failed to give up, and a bulge of concrete carried him to the safety that was outside. A young woman with an ice storm quirk fired a lance she conjured up at him, and he had to give her credit, it was pretty fast.

Hawks kicked off the front wall of Gym Gamma, shooting towards her, spiralling around her lance in the showiest way possible, kneeing her in the midsection, and shooting back towards the pillars. She was hence eliminated, bringing their total down to twelve.

"EVERYONE! Head towards the pillars, we have to use the terrain to our advantage!"

As the big four ran in a group, the other students were targeted relentlessly. Another student, one with a muscle enhancer quirk, fell to one of Hawks's blows. He hit the floor, cut shoulder to hip. The cut wasn't deep, but it bled profusely after he broke out of the shock.

He was too fast for most students, and when a student almost got a hit on him, he spun, hardening his wings, sending her own energy blast back at her. She fell, also eliminated, as was her friend, who she slammed into. For a second, it looked as though he would hit the ground, but he flipped himself retrograde to the ground and spiralled up into the air.

The big four had just made it to the pillars. "You two, stay together!" Leon shouted. He started to power up in earnest, grabbing hold of Nejire's hand.

"Nejire! You're with me, and we're gonna get to the top of a pillar the best we can. Let's give him our all!" His shouts were covered by the sound of Mirio roaring "POWERRR!" and the sound of a pillar cracking. She still understood his meaning, giving him a nod and a thumbs up.

The number one and two students started kicking off pillars themselves, slowly gaining altitude.

Hawks had twisted in mid-air to avoid Togata's blow, and he slammed the boy across the face with one of his wings. Tamaki responded to Mirio skidding back past him with a gust of powerful wings. It knocked Hawks into a pillar, but he quickly oriented himself and shot away from the two boys.

Nejire saw him coming as the two of them were about to land on the top of the middle pillar, the one that stood straight up.

Charging a blast in her hands as quickly as she could, she backflipped, orienting her hands so that it would discharge right at her enemies' face. Leon made a landing onto the pillar, and he turned around to see her fire it off. "Gring WAVE!" Her shout was made inaudible by the sound of her roaring energy blast spiralling out of her hands. It clipped Hawks's legs, making him flare his wings out. Snarling at her, he forced his wings downward with as much power as he could, creating enough upward force to launch himself toward the ceiling.

As he dodged, Leon was roaring and concentrating on pulling the sun's rays through the windows of the complex. From the top of the pillar, his ability to see all of the windows meant he was quickly climbing past sixty percent, the pillar cracking under the immense pressure and energy he was giving off. He saw the teacher shoot upward, his visor gleaming in the light of Leon's aura. As Nejire righted herself, the recoil from her blast ended up pushing her upwards past the top of the pillar Leon was on. Hawks saw this, pushing himself up against the ceiling, wings unfurling fully and spreading out to their full span.

She was right beneath him, and Leon saw it.

"NO!" His shout crashing against the eardrums of everyone in the room, he launched himself forward, his hand reaching towards her.

And all he passed through was empty air, speckled with spots of blood.

He gasped, hearing something wet slam against the ground. His momentum carrying him to the top of another pillar, he managed to stop himself, turning around in horror. He saw Hawks, longest feather fully extended, and he saw her.

Nejire Hado, the woman he loved, laid out on the ground, her back cut shoulder to hip. His eyes started to fill with tears, Hawks landing on the pillar he'd been standing on, skidding to a halt.

Focusing on her body, lifeless on the ground, Leon didn't understand. Why was she on the ground? Why was the exercise not over? Why was there something hot and wet on his face? He raised his hand to his cheek, and he pulled his hand away to the sight of blood. Her blood.

And the world around him exploded, light flooding through the windows toward him as he screamed, tears flowing upward on the force of his energy. His fists clenched tight enough for his fingernails to cut into the palms of his hands.

The windows of Gym Gamma shattered, all at once, as a storm of light and heat spiralled around Leon, slowly shrinking. The top of his bodysuit blew off, disintegrating, along with his shoes and socks. His upper body expanded, his muscle mass growing. The storm of energy started to become more concentrated, rippling and swirling, its color slowly changing. By the time it wrapped closely around his body, it had turned a pale blue color.

As it spiralled up around him, some of the energy wrapped about his shorts, covering them in an omni-present blue flame. The storm of power twisted itself around and into his chest, and as he opened his eyes, his hair stood up on end. Its texture changed, flowing not unlike fire, constantly rippling. A shiver seemed to run along its length, and it changed color at the same time as his eyes, both becoming a violent, electric blue.

Breathing out, his aura ignited to life around him, a two-metre sphere of swirling, transparent blue energy. His feet left the ground as he started to hover above it.

Leon was silent, but the desire to kill was written in his eyes, narrowed right at him. He positioned himself into his fighting stance. There was only hatred in his electric-blue eyes.

His teacher spread his wings out wide, a defensive stance being shaped by his body, preparing for Leon to strike.

With Leon's whole body tensing up, Hawks knew he was about to attack. But he didn't know what was going to happen. Emitter-class quirks occasionally had advanced applications, granting their user something like a transformation. But it was a one-in-a-million occurrence, at best. For a student, no matter how gifted, to manifest such a form…

Leon landed on the pillar, before kicking off of it. His single step caused the pillar to crack. He shot forward, Hawks narrowly dodging his straight left by ducking under it, his wings tucked in to make himself a smaller target. The blow shook the air, creating a powerful gust of wind.

Leon's eyes stayed on him the whole time, narrowed and locked on their target. He was aiming to kill. That blow would have caved in Hawk's chest, and the fierce-winged hero knew it. Leon jumped up, in a measured way, bringing his right leg around in a kick that was almost too fast for Hawks to see. Hardening a wing to the maximum, he blocked the blow, but was still fired backwards by the force of the blow. It was like being fired out of a cannon. The kick sent him slamming into a pillar with enough power to crack it.

Disoriented and stunned, the young teacher only snapped out of his pain to see Leon's fist coming right for him. Moving his head to the right at the last moment, his student's fist made contact with the pillar instead, shattering it, and sending the pieces flying to slam into the far wall. It was all Hawks could do, was dodge. Leon was astronomically more powerful than he was.

"If he hits me, even once, I'm dead." Even being close to Leon, as he was right now, in the space in between attacks, was slowly burning his feathers. That kick had burned away half of one of his wings.

Giving it his best shot, Hawks clocked Leon across the face, the strongest right hook he could manage. It did nothing, and Leon's eyes just smoldered.

Hawks knew he was finished, the uppercut coming for his jaw, it was going to blow his head clean off.

But the air shifted slightly, Leon's eyes and hair returning to their normal color, his aura fading, muscle mass shrinking. The flames around his shorts disappeared, and he started to fall to the ground.

Hawks looked toward the ground, where a concerned looking Aizawa was supporting an injured, but alive, Nejire Hado. He kept his quirk active until Leon hit the ground with a thud, the last of the energy fading from his body. He collapsed, exhausted beyond belief.


Leon woke with a jolt, his mind racing. His heart rate increasing, as the one thought in his mind roared at its surface.

"NEJIRE!"

A hand on his chest calmed him. He smelled her before he saw her. She always smelled like citrus and vanilla. She spoke, coming into his field of vision. "Hey. I'm right here, everything is alright. You were out for a while. School's out for the day, but she let me stay." She sat by his bedside, reading some material on the quirks of the first heroes. Her hair, normally styled meticulously, was in a frizzy ponytail.

He sighed with relief, sitting up. He noticed that he was still shirtless, and covered up with the sheet, wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape. He leaned over, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm so glad you're safe." He started to cry, letting out his emotions onto her shoulder. She hugged back, holding him close.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Everything is safe now."

They separated, and Leon moved to the other end of the bed, inviting her to come sit, which she gladly obliged him, and they faced each other, criss-cross applesauce. Leon grimaced.

"Did you see what happened? After he attacked you?"

The question hung like a bag of bricks on the air. She gave him an odd look.

"No. But I did hear about it from Mirio."

His head dropped into his hands, his anxiety skyrocketing. He started to hyperventilate.

"Hey! Hey hey hey hey," she said, scooching closer, pulling his hands from his face, "what's wrong. I'm not mad at you."

He shook, the tears rolling down his face. "You don't want me anymore, do you?"

Her eyes widened, and she blinked in confusion.

"Why wouldn't I want you? You reacted the same way I would've if you got hurt." He looked at her, vulnerable and afraid. He was bare to her, like a book with a ripped page.

"Really?"

"Yeah, silly. You're just stronger than me, that's the only difference. Come here."

She pulled him towards her, laying his head down onto her lap.

Running her hands through his hair, she cooed; "It's okay now, because I am here."

Hearing a cough from behind them, they both jumped.

"As adorable as this is, I'm going to need Leon for a bit. He needs to talk about what happened today. Nezu has been waiting for you, Leon." Aizawa stood in the doorway, his eyes seeming to be drier than usual. "You can go home, Hado-chan."

She seemed uncertain about leaving him alone. He got up out of the bed, and gave her a nod. She pointed under the bed.

"Okay, your stuff and clothes are down there. They couldn't find the upper half of your hero costume, or your shoes. I'm going to go fly home, but I swear to God, if you do not call me, I will be very displeased."

She stood herself, giving him a tight hug, her hair in his face. She looked up at him, seeming to be hesitating.

"Save it for another time, Hado. God, are all of you love-struck teenage girls the same?" Aizawa's voice was annoyed, the sarcastic vitriol rolling off his tongue.

Nejire flinched, letting him go and quickly gathering her things. There seemed to be tears in her eyes. Leon's gaze turned to Aizawa as she rushed out of the room.

"You are incredibly lucky that you can hard-counter my ability. Not many people want to piss off someone who can defeat Endeavor." He stepped towards the taller man. "And for the record, if you so much as look at her wrong again…"

He stopped moving. He was no more than a meter away from the quieted Aizawa.

"I will make you understand the difference in power between us."

Aizawa was the first to break eye contact, looking to the side.

"Get dressed. As I said, the principal wants to meet with you."


They approached the principal's office, and Leon trailed Aizawa closely.

The office doors were open, and Aizawa knocked on one anyway.

"We're here, Nezu-san."

"Ah, young Leon, Shota-kun. Please, do enter," the mouse-chimera-man remarked cheerfully.

They did so, and Leon was greeted with the sight of Hawks, one wing still smaller than the other, sitting next to him, on the other side of the desk.

Leon's expression grew stormy as they made eye contact, with Hawks quickly looking away. Looking towards Nezu, his eyes dark with anger, Leon spoke.

"Why is he here?"

Aizawa sighed as he sat down, pulling Leon down into the seat next to him.

Nezu responded cheerfully, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Because, young Leon. You two need to come to an understanding. Now please, do your best to put your emotions to the side for just a moment. Would you like some tea? It's Longjing, I find it to be rather calming."

Leon's eyes smoldered, and he barely brought himself under control.

"No thank you, Mr. Nezu. What do you want from me?"

"I just want to hear your side of the story, and I want you to explain why you were so angry that every move you made was an attempt to kill your teacher."

Hawks grimaced, seeming to sink down into his chair.

"Well. I suppose I can explain, if that's what you need. The exercise was going well, the four of us sticking together. Other students were being eliminated rather quickly, so I led our group towards the cover of the pillars, which seemed to be the only way to combat Hawks effectively. I made the unfortunate decision to split us up. Nejire and I gained some good height, kicking off of the pillars. I landed on top, starting to charge my power up. She was a little behind me, being a little slower without straight-up flying."

Aizawa leaned back, seemingly bored, but Nezu's interest and attention was absolute.

"Nejire thought it would be a good idea to fire off a blast at close range. It would have worked if Hawks wasn't the fastest person alive. Good dodge, by the way," he said, looking towards his teacher with something akin to begrudging respect, "her Gring Wave is no joke, and difficult to avoid. After he dodged, he launched himself towards the ceiling. I could see that he was targeting her, as the recoil from her blast launched her into his sights. I tried to push her out of the way, but I wasn't as fast as he was. He cut her across the back, and she fell to the ground."

He seemed to be emotional, tears forming in his eyes. Nezu was confused.

"And?"

"I thought she was dead. She wasn't moving."

Understanding flashed across Hawks's and Nezu's faces. Nezu leaned back. Nezu's mouth seemed to mouth the words "oh fuck." He sat his cup of tea down on the saucer.

"Please. Continue. I understand now, and you're not in any trouble from this point going forward."

Leon wiped the tears from his eyes, nodding and exhaling loudly.

"I saw what I thought was her body on the ground. And I decided, in that moment, that there was nothing left for me here. Not without her. All of my emotions were in overdrive. I saw no reason to hold back, so I ascended."

Aizawa's interest seemed to be piqued at that word.

"Ascended?" He asked, squinting at the young man.

Leon nodded.

"Yeah. About nine months into my training with Endeavor, I figured out how to stabilize and recycle seventy-five percent of my full power, granting me an advanced application of my quirk. Endeavor called it an Emitter-class transformation. I call it 'Nova-Man.' When Endeavor and I last fought, using Nova-Man gave me the upper hand, and I ended up winning."

"That was only seventy-five percent?" Nezu asked, incredulous.

"Yes. And if Hawks hadn't been so fast, he'd be dead. Each one of those blows held enough energy to vaporize a city block, by my own estimates. Nova-Man, Endeavor said, makes me a strong contender for number one hero, in the near future. He even said he was proud of me." Leon had a small smile on his face, before it soured. He looked Hawks dead in the eye.

"You need to apologize."

The teacher's eyes narrowed briefly, before he nodded.

"I'm sor-"

"Not to me. I don't care what you say to me. No. What you're going to do, is apologize to Nejire. What you did was unnecessary. I know that she was being reckless, but so were you, in not understanding your opponent. I could have very easily killed you. You're already a glass cannon, and you knew that I was powerful before the fight even started. Why would you enrage a lion while trapped in its cage?"

Hawks held his hands up.

"I have no problem with apologizing to Nejire-chan. I wasn't made aware of your feelings for each other until after you tried to kill me, when your friend Togata-san pulled me aside. He made me aware just how angry I'd made you. I…" he said, looking away from Leon's disappointed gaze, "have regrets about how I handled the situation. I'm sorry that I let you down."

"Apology accepted."

Everyone's eyes snapped to Leon, a small smile on his face. He stood, and offered his hand to Hawks, who rose to take it.

"I may not like what you did, but it's obvious that you're a good person. Make sure to apologize to her, and I'll consider us even."

He sat back down.

"Now, is there anything else you need? Because I wanna go home."

Nezu shook his head.

"No, go ahead and go home. I'll let your parents know you're on your way, but it's up to you if you want them to know what happened today."

"Don't bother. I'm making an extra stop on the way."


"I never actually thought that I'd need the flying license, but here we are," Leon said, stowing his things in his notably fireproof backpack. He'd removed his shirt, and removed his emergency sandals.

Breathing in deeply, he concentrated on his reserves, beginning the process of light absorption. Since he was standing in the courtyard, he had relative privacy, and could power up however quickly or slowly he wanted.

He let the energy flow in, like metal moving towards a powerful magnet. The sun being bright in the sky, despite it being late-afternoon, allowed him to fill himself to the necessary capacity rather quickly, the storm of light wrapping around him once more.

He'd never done it more than once in a day, but when he wanted something, Leon Weitz knew what needed to be done.

As the light faded, Leon's Nova-Man form was visible once again. Spreading his arms out wide, he shook, deep in concentration.

"Nova-Man: Wing."

The sphere of his aura was slowly compressed even further yet, as he pushed at his power, directing it towards his back. He felt something push out from his shoulder blades, and with the aura all concentrated behind him, he let the power loose.

Two sets of wings slowly formed themselves out of his shoulder blades. Picking up his backpack, he looped his right arm through its straps, lifting off the ground with a mighty flap of his wings.

"Now which way is Nejire's house?"


The udon noodles were simmering, the scent of the pork ribs broiling in the oven masking their own smell. Nejire opened the oven, oven mitt covering her right hand, as she inspected her and her mother's dinner. Ms. Hado was usually home late, being a single parent with long hours. Nejire looked a lot like her, but that was about where the similarities ended.

Nejire didn't mind, as she loved cooking. Making a new recipe was always so exciting to her. She loved learning new techniques, and while she often found herself eating something less than perfect due to her lack of experience, she didn't really care. It was a learning experience, and cooking got her mind off of the things she was really worried about.

Closing the oven, affirming that the ribs were indeed not up to the proper temperature, she looked at her phone. She had been waiting for almost an hour, and while she knew that he would call her eventually, it still didn't stop her from worrying.

"I know I can come off as annoying sometimes, I don't know how he puts up with me." She said, sitting at the table and twisting the egg timer once again.

"STARLIGHT! STARLIGHT! STARLIGHT!" Her phone started to ring, her ringtone being from when he'd launched Mirio out of the ring at last year's sports festival. It was just a loop of one word, but it always made her smile to hear it.

Picking it up, she answered.

"Nejire-chan speaking, who is it?"

"Didn't you look at your phone? It's Leon. Now, you have to promise not to be mad."

Her expression growing awkward, she responded.

"Hey cutie. Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I'm standing at your front door?" She heard a knock from down the hall, affirming his presence.

"Oh god damn it. You are not at my house right now."

"Oh yes I am."

"..." she sighed from her end. "I'm coming to let you in. How did you even get here so quickly?"

He hung up, and as she walked down the hall, she could literally feel his presence on the air.

Undoing the deadbolt and answering the door, she was greeted by the sight of her Leon. His uniform was a bit disheveled, like it had been crumpled up. His hair was wind-blown, all over the god-damn place.

"...Can you fly?"

"No comment," he said, pulling her into his arms. She spoke into his shoulder, after a moment in the pleasant embrace.

"I am accepting this hug, but I need an answer. Motherfucker you can fly, and you didn't tell me?"

"Well if that's the only thing you wanna know about," he remarked, "maybe I might just tell you."

He pulled away, shrugging his backpack onto his shoulder. "Now, can I come in?"

"You're lucky I fucking love you."

She turned away and walked down the hall, dress flowing about. Leon was in the middle of kicking his sandals off onto the genkan when he realized what she had said.

He blinked, shaking his head. He almost felt tears start to flow. Shaking his head even harder, he blinked away the sensation.

"Motherfucker you will not cry. Not now."

He followed her back down the hall. Entering the kitchen, the home was how he remembered it. Spartan and plain, a reflection of her mother, it was...almost charming?

He sat his backpack down on the chair closest to the wall, sitting himself down in the chair across from Nejire.

"What did you say?"

She looked back up at him. She was blushing, having been cornered emotionally. No backing out now.

"I love you."

And looking into her eyes, he knew it was the truth. Steeling himself, he said the most important words of his life.

"I love you too."

And like that, Nejire started to cry, her face torn between being overwhelmed and smiling. She reached over, and she pinched herself.

Flinching at the pain, her eyes widened.

"I didn't think you'd say it back. I thought… that you and I just wouldn't work, after all that time. We didn't see each other much last year, but by then, I was already head-over-heels in love with you. You didn't say it at the beginning of last year, what changed?"

He smiled in a small way, reaching over the table, and taking her hand in his.

"I loved you then, too. You've always been there, since day one. When I was beating myself to death with overtraining my body, you were there. When I beat Mirio, you were at the edge of the ring after the fight, helping me concentrate on something other than the pain. When I was fighting that villain with Endeavor and thought I was going to die, you were there with me, in my heart. I was the one who defeated that villain, not Endeavor. He might have taken credit for it, that's true. But when he'd fallen in battle, and I knew that I was about to die, I thought of you, and I lived. I lived, Nejire."

He looked at her, unafraid.

"And a life lived without you, is worth nothing to me. Now, we can talk about this more tomorrow, okay? I still need to catch the train home. I'll tell you about my new powers tomorrow night, and I'll call you when I get home."

He stood, pulling his hand from hers.

"Thank you. For everything, Nejire, my love."

Walking around the table, he raised a hand to her face, wiping the tears from her eyes. And he leant over, tilting her head upwards.

They kissed, and it was truly beautiful.

A/N: Ah. Yes, that's much better. Please review, or don't. To all of the followers of this story, I'm sorry for changing this chapter so drastically, but the original just didn't feel right. This is much more satisfying.