Starlight: The Rise of a Hero

Chapter Six: Beautiful Evening

Tenko Shimura sat at the head of the table, his eyes affixed on his colleagues. They had rented a conference room in an out of the way building. Some of the guildmasters couldn't make the meeting, rather sending underlings in their place.

He noted the presence of five other signs, aside from himself.

"Any notes of significance, before we begin?" His question cut through the silence, and everyone turned their attention to Taurus, as his codename was.

"No need to be so tense. Today's meeting isn't so crucial that we need to be uptight." His smile almost seemed genuine, if a bit unhinged.

The woman at the end nodded her head.

"I agree. Does anyone have anything to say before we convene?" Her smile was much easier to believe. She wore a hooded cloak, but what was visible of her face was attractive. Some black hair was visible, coming out the front of the hood.

Tenko paused for a moment. Noting everyone maintaining their silence, he clasped his hands together in front of him.

"Well. Thank you for that, Virgo-chan. For the first order of business, we do have one rather pressing matter this week. The slave trade has seen a resurgence recently. I've been working with my sources to pinpoint its origin, but I've had limited success. I would appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Humans are not possessions, and to achieve true peace, this slave trade must be snuffed out. All in favor of investigation, say aye."

It was unanimous, aye's ringing out from all members and underlings present.

"This pleases me. I will be in contact, fellow guildmasters. For the placeholders present today, please relay this information to your superiors within the organization. If anyone knows anything about human exploitation, it is imperative you contact me. This is our utmost goal, for now."

There were soft mutters from around the table.

"Permission to speak, Taurus-san." A gruff-looking blonde said, his hair a classic military style. He wore a bomber jacket, and out from under his aviator glasses, you could see sparks of lightning.

"Of course, Cancer. You don't need to ask."

"Force of habit, I'm afraid. I have been investigating a criminal who seems to have ties to many underground organizations. If we got to him, we could probably find the source of the exploitation."

Tenko's eyes narrowed.

"And who would this man be?"

"His name… is Kai Chisaki."


Leon had met up with Nejire at the train station again, having woken up early just to have some time to spend with her.

She had her hair back to normal, and she seemed to be fine. She'd ran up to him, full of excitement. There was a roaring smile on her face. Looping her arm around one of his, they proceeded, both forward, and with their conversation.

"I'm so excited for dinner tonight! What is your mom making?"

"Well, actually, I'm cooking. My mom isn't the best at it, so I'm going to go shopping at the Mustafu market after school. You're gonna come with?" He looked over at her, speculative.

"Well, I don't really plan on leaving your side much today, so I suppose so. To reiterate, what are you making, then?"

"It's a surprise."

"Asshole."

"Brat."


They sat at their desks, waiting for Hawks to return from getting his morning coffee break. He was sitting sideways, looking at Nejire as she read some supplementary material. He'd never been one for academics, especially since getting into U.A., but he appreciated her drive. It was one of her best traits. No matter what she was doing, she was passionate and gave it her all.

Mirio and Tamaki stood off to one side of the classroom, talking to another student. He was the number two, at least academically. The smartest was somewhere in class 3-B, and Leon couldn't be bothered to remember her name. Her quirk was an amplification-type, in theory allowing her to work in tandem with otherwise not-so-powerful heroes.

The student that two of the big four were talking to was Benjiro Blackthorne, one of the less physically powerful members of the class. Leon didn't know him well, just knowing of him, really. He had a quirk that allowed him to telekinetically control and repurpose metal, which, while versatile, lacked in raw combat power.

He was about a centimeter taller than Leon, and was the only person with African heritage in the class. His hair was done up in long, dark dreads, tied back behind his head. He had tutored Leon on math several times, and had come in first place back in first year on written exams.

Mirio suddenly looked over from their conversation, gesturing Leon to come over. Narrowing his eyes, he got up, ruffling Nejire's hair.

"Yo. What's up?"

"Benji-san heard that you trained with Endeavor. He wants to know what he's like."

Looking at the dark-skinned boy, Leon asked a question of his own.

"Why do you want to know?"

"He saved me and my family. He's one of the best there is at fire rescue, being that flames don't really bother him. The high-rise we were living in caught on fire. I just remember him lifting a support beam off of my mom, and he made sure everyone got onto the rescue copter."

Leon was taken aback.

"Wow. I'm sorry that happened to you. Yeah, he might seem a little rough around the edges, but he loves his family. He told me that his reason to be a hero changed a few weeks after he reached the top. It wasn't really worth that much, being the number one hero. He realized that all he really wanted was to come home and see his wife and kids. He wants to create a world where his family can be safe, just like me."

Benji smiled, nodding a bit.

"So he is a good man."

"Without a doubt, how did you do in the exercise yesterday?"

"I was the first one knocked out, not gonna lie. But my quirk relies on me having metal to control and re-shape. All I could do was block his attack."

And with a buzz, Leon's phone was ringing in his pocket.

"Oh, sorry, I've gotta take this." He saw it was a call from Endeavor's personal number.

Exiting the room, he picked up.

"Endeavor, is everything alright? You don't usually call personally."

"Yes, everything's fine. I was about to ask you the same thing, actually. I heard about what happened. I had a free moment, I just stopped to get a burger. Figured I should ask the future number one if he was alright."

Exhaling loudly, Leon answered.

"Yes, I'm alright, Endeavor-san. I appreciate your concern. I was thinking about coming back to work next week."

"OH! Excellent! I'm pleased to hear you're doing alright, as well, but this is terrific news. We'll have to talk about your raise, then."

Leon blinked, confused.

"Raise?"

"Yes, you're getting a raise. You defeated Gigantomachia, an incredibly powerful and durable opponent. If I didn't give you a raise, Burnin'-chan might slap me, buhahaha." The man's obnoxious laugh was a rare occurrence, with it bringing a small smile to Leon's face.

"You're in a good mood today. I presume you're keeping busy, with me gone?"

"Yeah, I am," the man said, clearly having received his burger, only speaking in between bites. "Since you've been out, my productivity has jumped by forty percent, according to Burnin'-chan! Okay, I've gotta get going. Keep training, and keep in touch. Remember, you're welcome at the agency anytime!"

The man hung up, and Leon turned around to the sight of Hawks, making him jump, almost dropping his phone.

"MOTHERF- You know, it's not always a good idea, sneaking up on people like that, Hawks-san."

"I apologized to Nejire. In front of everyone. Are we even now?"

Leon chuckled, tucking his phone into his pocket.

"You actually did it? Yeah, we're cool. What are we doing in class today?"

Hawks straightened his visor, brushing back his hair.

"Well, the majority of the class is doing some physical training today, but you and Nejire-chan have had your presence requested by Thirteen. You're going to be mock villains, fighting against Aizawa's Class 1-A as part of a USJ exercise. You're expected to be there at ten o'clock, and I don't care what the two of you do until then. The rest of your day is booked out, and you'll have to fight multiple groups, probably. But I'm sure the two of you can handle it."

Leon seemed to enjoy the prospects of that.

"I get to tag-team with Nejire all day instead of doing PT? Where do I sign up?"

Hawks raised an eye-brow. "You do know that the kids in 1-A are strong, right? Today is going to be tiring for you, too. But yes, you do get to spend time with your precious Nejire-chan. I'll be sending the two of you on your way in a moment, so come in and gather your things. Make sure to go to the support department, Power Loader has been working on something special for you."

"Okay."

They both re-entered the classroom, Leon crossing the room, greeting Nejire.

"Hey. We get a super-fun assignment today, instead of staying with everyone else and doing PT, and doing other classes. Thirteen is having us be mock villains for Class 1-A's first USJ experience."

Her eyes lit up.

"Holy crap, that should be fun. What are you going to do about your hero costume?" She asked, knowing that the majority of it had been destroyed.

"Apparently Power-Loader has something for me to try out, instead of me constantly disintegrating my hero costume. I'm actually pretty excited. We have until ten o'clock to get to the USJ, you wanna head over to the Development Studio now?"

She nodded, shrugging her backpack over one shoulder, and then the other. He followed her out of the classroom, waving to his other friends.

Benjiro gave him a nod from his seat, Mirio giving him a knowing look, Tamaki giving him a thumbs-up.


The Development Studio was, as always, uncomfortably loud at their approach. With Leon knocking on one of the open doors, the noise ceased, after a moment, and Hatsume came to the door.

"Oh. It's you two again. Come on in, Power Loader left stuff for both of you." She beckoned them in, putting down the gigantic, red socket wrench she'd been carrying.

Referring to the two white bracers sitting on Power Loader's main workbench, she turned to Nejire.

"These are yours, Nejire-Chan. Please come back here if they ever need fixed." Nejire's eyes sparkled comically.

"Yes! I've been waiting for new bracers for so long! The old ones always chafe my wrists…"

Sliding one on, she found it was a perfect fit.

"Now that is much better," she said, shooting a small spiral out of her hand, the bracer leaving her palm exposed. Looking over at her, embroiled in her passion, his heart warmed. Hatsume looked to the small, black square of metallic fabric on the table.

"Now, this, Leon-san, is yours. It's nano-tech, modified to withstand physical expansion, like what you asked for. It's made to go over your...unmentionables, and it should ideally be placed on your chest somewhere. I'm going to ask you to test it out, so you should go into the office over there. You can pull the blinds."

Leon's expression was awkward as he took the odd square from her. It felt incredibly cool, and was impossibly smooth to the touch.

"Okay. I'll be back out, then."

Entering the office, the first thing he did was pull the blinds after he closed the door.

Removing his shoes, and then his clothing, he folded it neatly, stacking it on a chair present in the office. Picking up the square from the desk where he'd put it down, he placed it on his left pectoral muscle, and watched as it crawled over his skin, climbing over his skin, until it had covered halfway down his shins, leaving his feet exposed. It seemed to thrum for a moment, before expanding over his arms, wrapping around his hands, sealing in his body. There were two openings, or vents, rather, on each side of his wrists.

He felt naked, but the bodysuit didn't appear to show anything important, so he exited the office. Hatsume and Nejire both appeared to examine him.

"It fits, for sure. Is it comfortable to move in?"

"Seems to be. How do I take it off?" He asked, gesturing to the suit.

"Put your hand over where you originally applied it. There should be a button, made out of the nanobots, if you press it, the costume should shrink back to its original form. Please, don't do it now. I don't want your girlfriend over here to fillet me like a fish."

Nejire blushed, but she didn't deny anything this time.

"Get your stuff, and let's go to the cafeteria. I'm starved, I forgot to eat breakfast today." Nejire said, putting the bracers in her backpack, with the rest of her costume. The old bracers had been given back to Hatsume, as she could repurpose the electronics for one of her 'super cute babies.'


Enji Todoroki had been working all night, and after his stop at the 24-hour American-style diner, he had decided to go home.

Opening the front door, he extinguished the fire on his face and costume, unzipping it and removing his gauntlets. He was a powerful man in his prime, but night-shifts were always the hardest on him.

His wife was probably just waking up, as it was just after nine o'clock. She stayed home with their toddler, Aki. His little girl was admittedly his favorite, aside from his oldest boy Toya, who'd moved out, trying to make a name for himself.

Walking across the courtyard in the middle of the large home, Enji entered his youngest's room. She was still asleep in bed, and seeing her sleep so peacefully made him happy.

"This is what makes things worth it," he whispered, lifting her out of bed, carrying her in his massive arms. He carried her out of her room, closing the shoji door quietly. Using the engawa to avoid the sunlight waking her up, he carried her to the other side of the home, where the kitchen was located. As he entered the space, he noted the presence of his oldest daughter, Fuyumi.

Pointing to her younger sister, he put a finger across his mouth, mouthing "be quiet, she's asleep."

She rolled her eyes at him, clearly exhausted. She was the only one of his many children that deigned to work at his agency, with her other siblings trying to break out of their father's shadow. She had got home around the same time he had, and she was reading the paper, a steaming hot cup of tea on a saucer in front of her.

As he carried Aki across the open-concept space to the living room, he laid her down on the couch, and covered her with a blanket which had been laid across the top.

Moving back to his kitchen, the man greeted his daughter.

"Morning. Your shift go well?"

"As well as one could expect, activity has been up for the last few days. I caught someone selling some weird drugs last night, I referred their case to the authorities personally. He claimed that they could enhance quirks."

Enji turned around from where he stood in front of the fridge, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Quirk enhancement? Was it true?"

"We don't know for sure yet, but the man I arrested said that he was affiliated with the yakuza, or something like that. I just told him to shut up as I called the police."

"The yakuza? I thought all we had left to deal with was that anarchist group?"

Taking a sip of her tea, she sat it back on the saucer. Shaking her head, she replied.

"Apparently not. The guy was willing to flip on his boss, and you should be getting the report when you go in tonight."

"Wait. He actually knew the name of his boss?"

"Yeah, I caught him distributing the drugs to some lower-level associates, who all scrambled and ran. This guy is slightly more important, so he knows who his boss is, and was more than willing to give us his name in exchange for being offered protection by the government."

"Sounds like a good lead. Thanks for the heads up. What do you want to eat? Bacon, ham, and grits sound good?"

Fuyumi perked up slightly, noticing her mother standing in the doorway, and meanwhile Enji didn't notice her until she was upon him, closing the fridge door as he opened the meats over the sink.

"That sounds great, dear. Did you get Aki up yet?"

He jumped at the sound of the refrigerator closing, placing the partially opened package of ham-steak on the counter, facing his wife.

"She's asleep on the couch, I wanted to keep an eye on her. You can wake her up after we've both had our coffee."

"Enji. You need to go to bed, you shouldn't be drinking coffee."

He rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his face.

"Yes, darling. Let me get breakfast going, and then I'll get going to bed."

"No. Now, Enji Todoroki." Her voice was scary. "Before I gut you like a goddamn fish. You have work tonight, you need to be at your best."

Fuyumi watched the exchange between her parents with amusement.


As the two students arrived at the USJ, they were greeted by Thirteen, who called them each by name.

"Leon-kun, Nejire-chan. Thank you for coming out today, I greatly appreciate the help. Eraserhead and Present Mic had planned on being the villains today, but they felt that their powers didn't really "threaten" anyone. We felt that you two have that sort of "threatening" power to you. You're going to be stationed at the Central Plaza. Your job is to combat the students. From what I heard, Hawks performed a similar exercise with your class yesterday, and Leon-kun beat him."

"Yeah, he did. It didn't go as well as he might have implied. Do you want us to fight at full capacity, or do you want us to pull our punches?" Leon asked, slightly perturbed at the job at hand, remembering the exercise from yesterday. Nejire, noticing his discomfort, held his hand with one of her oversized bracers.

"The students have been told to try and take a flag from the front door of the USJ. Being stationed at the base of the stairs, being pretty far from them to start out, your job is to stop them from getting to the doors. Only one group of five students at a time will be trying for it, so you shouldn't be overwhelmed. And no, don't hurt them. Your full strength would destroy the whole USJ, Leon-kun. Just make sure that they feel intimidated. Use your full speed, as it were, but pull your punches. A lot of these students can't take a hit too well, being so young and inexperienced. However," the hero said, her voice amused, "if you are to come up against anyone who seems to be a cut above the rest, the two of you can raise the amount of power you're using accordingly. Don't be pushovers."

Leon nodded, seeming to rise to the challenge.

"Well Nejire, looks like you'll be getting a look at my new powers today."

Thirteen turned toward him, curious. "It'll be interesting to see what new developments you've made with your quirk, Leon-kun. You two come in whenever you're ready, the first group will be ready at your signal."

Nejire let go of his hand, pulling him into a quick hug.

"Let's do our best today. It's gonna be a hard fight."

He pulled away, brushing his hands through her hair.

"I know. Hawks said these kids are powerful. That's why I'm going to power up straight out the gates. I can only hold my power for so long, but you should be more than powerful enough to hold off a few kids while I replenish my reserves. I can only use Nova-Man twice in a row, after that I have to wait about an hour, unless I want to sunburn literally my whole body."

"That sounds fine. Could you use it three times in a row if you waited fifteen minutes in between?"

"That would be pushing it, though I haven't tried using it like that yet. I'd probably hurt myself pretty bad."

She winced. Not wanting him to get hurt, she was thinking about ways to keep things moving along while he was down for the count.

"Let's take care of our stuff, before we go inside. I think they have lockers right inside the doors, here." She gestured to the doors, and he followed her.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm gonna scare the fuck out of these kids when I transform. They're gonna be shitting themselves. I'm gonna say the transformation's full name, and I'm gonna be all dramatic and shit, it's gonna be great."

She giggled, taking his bag from him, stowing it in a locker.

"And Nejire, don't get too close to me while I'm transformed, the aura I have about my body could seriously burn you, and your hair."

She flinched. "You know how long it has taken me to grow this hair out," she said, referring to her hair, which hung down to cover her admittedly nice ass.

"Yes. I do know how long it took you to grow out your hair, that's why I'm warning you to be careful."

"Okay, Leon-kun. How about a kiss for good-luck?"

He was more than happy to oblige her.


The first of four groups had assembled towards the front of the Central Plaza, having been selected randomly. It was composed of Iida, Izuku, Katsuki, Tsuyu, and Shoji.

Tsuyu and Shoji were talking off to one side about how Shoji could use his quirk to aid them in their mission.

Thirteen approached from the front doors, having confirmed the presence of the two that they'd be fighting.

"Listen up. Your opponents today are the number one and two prospective heroes in the country. One trains at the Endeavor agency, the other at the Ryukyu agency. Take that as you will. They will be holding back. However, they will not let you get to the goal, without a fight. They will not hesitate to hit you, and have been informed of how powerful you are."

Turning to the annoyed looking Katsuki, who didn't seem to be enjoying Izuku's excited presence, she spoke.

"If you don't work together, I can tell you now that none of you stand a chance. As a group, I give you fifty-fifty odds. But by yourselves, you face two incredibly powerful foes, who have much more battle experience than you."

"Did you say the number one and two students here at U.A.?" Izuku said, his face stretching into a look of horror?

"Yes, Midoriya-kun. You'll be facing the heroes Starchaser and Nejire-chan today. I hope you've all been training hard, this past year. Because these two are more powerful than most pros. Now, the two of them will signal you as to when you can start, I'm going to be watching from afar with Aizawa and Recovery Girl."

"Oh fuck," he whispered. "You guys, this is not good. I could maybe think up a strategy to defeat one of them, but we have to fight both. At the same time. We really are lucky that they'll be holding back. Starchaser alone could evaporate us, no joke. It took Cementoss's full power to block his super move, Starlight."

Bakugo stood alone off to one side, seemingly unaccepting that he would have to work with Izuku, a foul expression on his face. Tsuyu appeared thoughtful, and Iida seemed to share Izuku's worry. Shoji spoke, the giant man seeming to have a few ideas.

"Why not just focus on one of them at a time, surely they have weaknesses? Batter them down?"

"Shoji-san, I don't think you quite understand our predicament. I would rather fight Aizawa than face either of these two. Our only advantage comes with knowing that they have to pull their punches. They can't injure us, at least not beyond a few bruises."

"Why is that an advantage?" Shoji asked, confused.

"Because that means they'll always have to concentrate on limiting their attack's potency, and that means that they won't be fighting to their full potential today. When you see one of them hesitating, feint them as hard and fast as you can, because beyond a full-power attack, I can't see any of us even leaving a mark on either of them."

Bakugo suddenly walked over to Izuku, his eyes furious. The green-haired boy quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't get in my way today, you nerd. I'm gonna prove myself stronger than all of you."

Izuku seemed to be holding in laughter.

"Katsuki, if you can even land a hit on either of them, I'd be surprised."

Bakugo looked like he was going to hit the other boy, and he was shaking with anger. "You're seriously doubting me, you geek?"

Tenya walked over, towering over the other boy. Putting a hand on Bakugo's shoulder, he leaned over.

"Your refusal to work with Midoriya-san is absurd. Our grade for the day will be affected by how we perform here. If your piss-poor attitude reflects on my grade, I will not hesitate to make your life as difficult as possible. Now please, try to have some tiny degree of maturity, for once."

Katsuki flinched away from the other boy's touch.

"I'm going to go for the flag by myself. Don't get in my way."

Midoriya just shook his head in frustration. "I'm sorry Shoji. But we're about to get demolished."


Leon and Nejire entered the room, the doors closing quietly behind them. Discarding his sandals to the side, he gestured for Nejire to step back.

"You don't want to be close to me when I do this, you could get seriously burnt. Fly up."

"Roger that," she replied, doing as he asked, flying up and sitting on a ledge in front of a window, the spiral energy fading from her feet as she watched him eagerly.

Leon walked toward the stairs, stopping about twenty meters from the door. Settling into a wide horse stance, Leon put his arms out, starting to draw in light from the windows all around the USJ, causing the students, who had been standing in front of the fountain, to look up at the odd phenomenon.

Pulling the light energy in, wrapping it around his arms, he breathed in deeply, concentrating. A windstorm gradually whipped up around him as he concentrated the incoming energy around his arms and hands. The powerful gusts of wind caused the students to shield their faces.

As he hit seventy-five percent, Leon smirked, his face alight with mischief. He didn't get the chance to show off often, so he figured that he'd go all-out.

Suddenly forcing all of his power into an explosive aura around him, the entire USJ was filled with a brilliant, white light, a shockwave shaking the giant room. The windstorm was almost too much for the students by the fountain, having to hold onto something to avoid being blown away.

Nejire was pressed a little uncomfortably into the glass. She was confused.

"This is just his power at seventy-five percent, what gives?"

And as he breathed deeply once again, he started to pull the power in, the windstorm slowly diminishing. It twisted around his body slowly, the storm of energy slowly changing tint from a brilliant white to a pale blue.

Obscuring his body, it twisted up and around him, his hair changing texture, becoming fiery and flowing. His upper body expanded visibly, the bodysuit doing its job.

Veins of flame ran up and down the suit's arms and legs, forming cuffs of blue flames at the ends, constantly flowing.

His eyes snapped open, changing color. As the last of the energy wrapped itself around, and into his chest, his hair shivered, turning the same electric blue as his eyes. Pulling the aura out, but keeping it close to the skin, the cuffs of blue flame around his ankles and wrists grew substantially, the pale blue energy growing to wrap around his feet, forming a protective layer and obscuring them from his sight.

"Holy fuck this suit is so cool, I'll have to thank Power Loader later," Leon thought, clenching and unclenching his hands.

He gestured for Nejire to come down, and she blasted over to his side. Landing softly, she gave him a once over.

"Damn, you're hot. And I don't mean literally. I could get used to this…"

"Don't get too excited, you can't touch me while I'm like this. You think they're ready to take us on?"

She looked over to the group of students by the fountain, who seemed shaken up, but were standing.

"They seem intimidated, good job. Let's take the fight to them, alright?"

"Sounds good to me." Leon's eyes fell on the boy in the center of the group, who the others seemed to be rallying around.


Izuku Midoriya swallowed as the two older students made their way down the steps.

"Everyone, I don't know what Starchaser just did, but I have a feeling he's even more powerful now."

"No s-shit, you fucking nerd." There was fear in Bakugo's voice, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Iida was cracking his neck, preparing for a difficult fight. Shoji formed fists on the ends of his arms, following Iida's lead.

Tsuyu crouched next to Midoriya, and she looked toward the stairs, uncertain.

"Kero. I understand why Thirteen said we'd need to act as a group, kero."

"All we can do is do our best. I'm going to try and engage Nejire-chan, she's going to be the one to try and distract. She can fight many people at once, Starchaser prefers a close-combat approach. He's never transformed like this on camera, though, so I don't know if his fighting style has changed, too."


Leon and Nejire reached the bottom of the steps, and Leon held out his hand, motioning for her to head back up the stairs.

"I'm pretty sure that at least one of them will be able to fly. Go back to the doors, and beat them down there. I'll handle the rest of them. Remember, the sooner we subdue all of them, the sooner I can exit this form. That'll make it much easier to use more than twice." Giving her a thumbs up, he smiled.

"I love you. Do your best, okay?"

She grinned.

"I love you too. Now go get 'em, honey."

Leon turned away as she blasted off back towards the doors. Speaking loud enough for the group by the fountain to hear, he gave the signal.

"Whenever you're ready, group one."

The weird blonde kid of the group seemed to explode for a moment, before shooting off into the air, towards the doors.

He left a few of his group coughing, and Leon shook his head, disapproving. The green-haired boy seemed to shake for a second, before flames shot up from his forearms to cover his torso. He struck a fighting stance. It occurred to Leon that his quirk might be similar to Endeavor's.

The frog-looking girl and six-armed giant seemed to stay back as the green-haired one and the Ingenium family-member shot forward towards him.

He cracked his neck, preparing to move, himself.

The green-haired boy reached him first, as he put altogether far too much weight into an easily dodged jab. Leon responded with a measured jab of his own, his superior reach allowing him to rock the young man's right cheek with the impact, sending him flying backwards, a gust of wind accompanying him. The younger boy seemed to catch himself, preventing his head from hitting the ground.

The older boy felt a rush of air next to his head, and his body flowed out of the way of an extremely fast axe kick. It came down where his head would have been.

"Not bad, freshman, not bad," he said, blurring forward, his left foot cracking the ground as he stepped off. He made sure to put more power into this blow.

Slamming a powerful right into the young man's chestplate, his fist caved it in, as the blow launched him backwards, like he'd been fired out of a cannon.

The frog-girl was hesitating, looking to the green-haired boy, who seemed to be the leader. She shook her head at the other student that had stayed behind, and the tall boy turned to Leon.

"It's pretty clear that fighting an opponent like you is out of our caliber. Just how strong are you, Starchaser?"

"I'm not quite sure anymore. I would say physically that there's very few people that could match me."

Tsuyu went pale, and Shoji took a step back.

"Yeah, man, I don't wanna get my ass blown thrown through the air, I'm gonna surrender."

"That is by far the less fun of the two choices, but fair enough. And you, frog-girl?"

"I'm with him, my close combat skills aren't the best."

They both looked to the leader of the group, and he shook his head, too.

"I don't think that we can do this without all of us. Katsuki going ahead just means that we can't accomplish this goal."

Nejire's voice echoed out from right behind Leon.

"Well, it looks like you guys lose, because the arrogant piece of work is out cold back there. Unfortunately for him, he thought that he was in the clear because he was fighting a girl. I knocked him out cold."


The next two matches went about the same way, with the students never getting past Leon, who didn't even need Nova-Man for one of the groups.

Nejire and Leon sat at the bottom of the stairs during their break from the fighting.

He essentially forced a water bottle into her hands.

"Stay hydrated."

It was down to the last group of students, and as they walked up, Leon put down his bottle of sunscreen, having just re-done the layer on his face and ears. He noticed a familiar face in the new group.

"Ah. Ochako-chan. How's my favorite cousin?"

She turned towards him, walking up. "I'm alright. A little afraid to be fighting you, but what can I do about it? And...are the two of you dating?" She said, pointing to the two upperclassmen.

"Shhh. It's a secret. I hope your group does well today, only one person has gotten past me yet, and Nejire kicked his ass."

"Oh. So we're screwed."

"Yeah, I think that we're probably a bit too much for you guys to handle at this point. None of you are all that great at teamwork, so it's just the combat types rushing me all at once. Not really a challenge."


Leon pressed the button on his bodysuit, and it popped back to its square form, falling into his hand. He had waved to Nejire as she had gone over to the girl's shower room. They had the showers on hand for when staff stayed overnight, or had to stay late, grading papers and the like.

Unzipping his bag, he tossed his fancy new costume inside. He had been satisfied with his cousin's performance, and planned to tell his Uncle how well she was doing. Placing his bag against the wall, he stepped into the stall, and he took a very well-deserved shower. Thankfully, he hadn't sunburnt himself.


They met up outside the shower rooms, their uniforms perhaps a little more wrinkled than usual. Neither of them minded.

"Damn, those kids were sorta tough, huh," Leon remarked, taking her hand in his as they moved along. It was the end of the school day, and Thirteen had given them special permission to leave a few minutes early.

"I only fought the one, remember? You did most of the work, I was so bored watching you one-shot most of them. That form makes you absurdly powerful, you know that?"

"It's not the form that makes me powerful," he said, shaking his head, "it's the fact that the form allows a stabilization of my power that allows me to utilize it better than without the form. You see, the form doesn't actually increase my strength, it just allows me to maintain seventy-five percent for longer."

She looked thoughtful as they reached their favorite courtyard.

"So it really just allows you to be more efficient with your power? That sounds really mundane for something that's so flashy."

He smiled, nodding his head.

"Yup, it does sound a bit more mundane when I explain it. I'm sorry that you were so bored, by the way. I had a lot of fun, actually. I don't get to strut my stuff like that often, I think I left a pretty strong impression on some of them."

"Yeah, I was talking to one boy after the day was done, he had green hair? He was super smart, and he asked for my autograph, he was so sweet. He said that you were even more powerful in person. I think you have your first number one fan, Leon-kun."

Leon chuckled, shaking his head.

"God knows that I'm such a great role model, right?"

He leant over, pecking her on the cheek. The blush that spread across her cheeks was more than worth the trials and tribulations of the day.


The two had made it to Mustafu Market, and had gone straight for what they needed, knowing that they still had a train to catch.

They stood in front of the butcher's stall, and Leon caught the owner's attention.

"Hello there, young customers. What can I interest you in today?" The man was a tall, red crocodilian, with three sets of human arms.

Leon spoke for the two of them, fishing his wallet out of his pocket.

"How much for three filet mignons, say about 150 grams each?"

The tall crocodilian turned away, checking a clip-board, and looking back up at the boy speculatively. His tongue flicking out of his mouth, he appeared to be wary of the two.

"That's going to be quite a bit, fourteen-thousand yen, but I do have the stock on hand, if you want me to package it up for you."

Leon nodded, pulling the necessary notes from his wallet, and sitting them on the table.

"Price isn't a problem, I appreciate the fair pricing. I work as a side-kick at the Endeavor agency, I make plenty of money, and don't spend much of it."

The man squinted for a moment, looking between the two high-schoolers.

"Are you two…"

"Starchaser and Nejire-chan? Yes. It's still a bit weird to get recognized in public, so I try to not talk about my job too much." Leon put his wallet back in his pocket as the man took the money with a nod.

Nejire took the hand he offered to her, as the man spoke again.

"My name is Goro. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I just have to get your cuts wrapped up, and I'll see you two on your way. Please wait just a moment."

As he packaged the steaks up, he smiled and called out to the two of them.

"You two make for a cute couple, by the way."

Both of them laughed a bit, through their own blushes. As Leon looked over at her, she grinned at him.

It had always been her. And he almost couldn't believe how happy he was, now that they were together.


The train was crowded, the evening rush in full swing. Nejire had wanted to fly to his house, but Leon had insisted on taking the train.

"If I use Nova-Man again today, I might hurt myself. Especially with the 'wing' variant."

He had begun to regret his decision, but she held his hand, which made it easier. Leon hated crowds, they made him anxious.

"You're fine. I'm right here, focus on me." Looking into her eyes, he tried to focus on her. It didn't really quell his anxiety, but it made the last few minutes of the train-ride bearable.

When the train finally came to a halt, they both breathed out sighs of relief. It was only a twenty-minute train ride, but it often felt like forever to Leon.

Taking a right straight outside of the station, he led her down a lane lined with traditional-style houses, and at the end of the lane was a staircase. The staircase led them up the mountain, and when they reached the top of the mountain, the stairs turned into a well-weathered foot trail, paved with gravel. It led to the river, and they passed through a dead, scorched patch of earth on the way, several hundred meters around.

"This is where I train, when I'm at home."

"I couldn't tell, not at all," she joked, the sarcasm dripping through the words.

They passed over the stone bridge, and the path led straight to Leon's home from there, continuing on down the riverbank, presumably to where the neighbors lived.

"You didn't tell me your home was so western looking."

"It didn't come up in conversation, now my mother is very excited that I'm bringing you here, so be prepared."

"Well my mom was happy that we're finally getting together, too," she said, surprising Leon, who stopped on the porch to look back at her. The afternoon sun framed her face.

"Really? I thought your mom hated me."

She shook her head.

"She knows that you're good for me, she's just worried about me being in a relationship. She trusts you, Leon."

Smiling as he turned back to the door, he used his house key to undo the deadbolt, before opening the door, letting Nejire walk through first.

"Oh, and a gentleman, too. God, you're such a sweetheart."

She got on her tiptoes, pecking him on the cheek.

"That's payback for earlier. Thank you for holding the door for me, come on. Don't just stand there looking 'extra quispy.'"

He had been standing in the doorway, shell-shocked. Leon wasn't used to physical affection. His parents weren't really the most touchy of people.

Picking his backpack up off of the porch, he followed her inside. Slipping off his sandals, he left them on what could be called an engawa, but was really just a big doormat.

She had slipped off her own flats, and was waiting for him, not knowing where anything in the house was.

"Mom! We're here," he called out, walking down the hall.

Stopping in his room, he put his bag on the floor by his bed. Nejire poked her head around the doorframe, before stepping into the room.

She put her bag next to his, before pulling him into a hug. They just stood there, for a moment. His mom coughed from the entryway of the room.

"Welcome home, Leon. It's nice to meet you, Nejire-chan."

They separated, their private moment interrupted. Nejire walked up to his mom, offering her hand. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

Liv smirked.

"Do not call me that. I'm Liv, or Olivia, if you prefer. Now, come here."

She pulled Nejire into a hug. Jason might not be one for physical affection, but his wife was American through-and-through.

"You're already part of the family, so welcome home, Nejire."


Leon finished basting the finished meat, cutting the heat. The caramelized butter had made a pleasant looking crust on all three of the pieces. They were a little small, but the insides were indicated to be perfect by his thermometer.

He seemed pleased, Nejire noted. The oven dinged, and the potatoes inside were perfect when Leon pulled them out. Nejire helped him plate the entree and side, carrying them to the table.

His mom was outside, talking to his father on the phone, as they did every night that he wasn't at home.

Leon thought that he could hear a snippet or two of their conversation.

"...yes, she's a wonderful young woman, I can't find any fault with her. But think about their children, they'll be so powerful…"

Leon blushed violently. Nejire gave him a weird look.

"My mom is talking about how powerful our children are going to be."

"I mean she's not wrong," Nejire said, making Leon blush even harder.

"I...you… you've thought about this?" He was incredulous. She'd thought about having kids...with him?

"Yes," she said, giving him that confused look again, "haven't you? Don't you see a future with me?"

He smiled, chuckling.

"That's a lot of what I've thought about this last year, actually."

The timer rang. The steaks had rested the perfect amount of time, now.

"We can talk about this more after dinner, alright? I'm gonna get my mom off the phone, they usually talk for forever."

She shook her head in amusement, turning to the sink to wash her hands.


They all sat around the table, meals finished, Nejire fondly talking about how she had first met Leon.

"Well, first year, we were put in the same class, right? He didn't really talk to anyone unless you spoke to him first, totally shy," she said, looking right at him and smirking, "but the second he sets eyes on me, he can't get enough of talking to me. It might have been because I sat next to him, too."

Leon laughed.

"That is not fair, I was not that shy."

"You were, too! You only talked to Mirio on the first day, you didn't even say hello to the pretty girl sitting next to you until the second day, and that was after she kicked your ass during battle training! Oh, and every single time you used more of your power than you could handle, you'd say that you were 'extra quispy.'"

"The only reason you kicked my ass is because I hesitated, and you know it! I could have slammed a whole lotta power across your face, because it was wide open! But I didn't, and I'm glad, you've become even more beautiful."

His mom raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you two. I'm gonna go into town, I can still get some grocery shopping done while it's light out. Leon, make sure the place doesn't burn down while I'm gone. That being said, I prepped the fire-pit for you two, it should light up right away."

She had since stood from the table, and walked away.

"Okay, have a good time, you two," she said from the front door, before closing it.


They had done the dishes, and generally cleaned up after themselves. It was only seven p.m., and Leon walked back to his room, gesturing for her to follow.

"They keep the outdoor blankets in my room, because believe it or not, I camp outside a lot. When do you have to be home, by the way?"

"My mother joked about me staying the night here, but I think that my normal curfew of midnight still stands."

"Oh, that's fine, then. The trains run to Mustafu until ten, so we have a few hours, yet," he said, pulling the softest outdoor blanket off the shelf, and closing the door.

"Are you okay with sitting in a double chair? I'd have to get it from up in my crawlspace, but I'd only be a moment."

"That should be fine, if I get to sit next to you."

"You're a dork," he said, climbing into his closet, pushing aside the opening to the crawlspace.

"Your dork."

"Touche," he quipped from the inside of the crawlspace. "Thankfully, the chair is right here."

He lowered the canvas bag that contained the camping chair down out of the square hole, and she took it from him. He climbed back out of the hole, down his sturdy, wooden shelves.

"Okay, I think we're all set. Shall we?"

Walking through the kitchen and onto the back patio, the fire pit was out in the middle of the yard, and the two of them walked out onto the grass.

"I bet you get a great view of the stars, out here in the wilderness."

"Better than you would imagine, really. The view doesn't compare to you, though," he remarked firmly, setting up the chair.

"And you talk about me being a dork? You're even worse sometimes."

He turned to face her, the setting sun showing how light his eyes really were. He drew her into a hug, and he sighed.

"You don't know how long I've been dreaming of this."

"I think I do."

He let her go, and referred to the chair.

"Go ahead and sit down, I'm gonna get the fire started." He pulled the box of matches that he'd grabbed out of the kitchen's utensil drawer out of his pocket.

Striking one, he threw it onto the lighter-fluid soaked pile of wood.

An intense orange light was cast upon his face as the pile caught all at once. Smiling to himself, he turned back to Nejire, who was already snuggled up under the blanket on her half of the chair.

"Sorry, I like watching fire. There's something about it that makes my monkey brain happy."

She shook her head.

"Of course the guy I choose is a pyromaniac."

Sitting down and getting under the blanket himself, he poked her in the side.

"I think I have plenty of redeeming qualities, right?"

The question hung on the air for a moment.

"Is that even a question? I thought you were the coolest guy on Earth before you went ballistic on Hawks. I was already in love with you, but I think that sort of cemented it. And that showed me how much you really care about me, so… I think that I'm ready for us to be together, now, if you are."

He smiled, looking at the flames. She looked at him, seeking an answer.

"I'm ready, too. This last year, I've been thinking about a future with you. I don't think I've told you this, but the reason for me wanting to be the number one hero has changed. I still want to be the strongest, but for a different reason. I want to be the strongest, so that you'll always be safe. You don't need my protection, but I will always protect you."

She smiled, responding in kind.

"I've been thinking about you a lot, this past year. I haven't changed why I want to be a hero, but I do want to be by your side through it all, now. Do you want to be my boyfriend, Leon?" Her voice was hopeful.

He didn't answer right away, instead deciding to put his arm around her. Kissing her forehead, he gave her his answer.

"Yes. I love you, Nejire."

Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed in relief.

"I love you too, Leon."

"Did you think I'd say no, after setting up this romantic evening for the two of us?"

"Well, no, but I wasn't completely sure you'd say yes."

He ran his hands through her hair. "I haven't really talked much about your appearance. Does that bother you?"

"I mean," she said, raising an eyebrow, "you do find me attractive, don't you?"

"Overwhelmingly so, sometimes. You're so beautiful, and honestly, your body… well I can tell you that a lot of guys are going to be jealous of me, come tomorrow. But you are so much more than that. I love you, Nejire Hado. That is so much more than finding you attractive."

She almost didn't have a response for that.

"Are you going to kiss me now?" She said, making him turn towards her. He raised an eyebrow sarcastically, before he wrapped a hand around the back of her head, pulling her in.

When they separated, it was only because they had run out of breath.

Looking at her in the firelight, he spoke.

"Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome, my love."

A/N: Holy fuck this took forever to get right. Thank you for reading, have a nice day.