Alright, hi everybody! Finished NaNo and have returned with an interlude. It's ... very short if I'm honest, but I thought it was necessary setup and I didn't want to combine it with a different chapter, so here we go.

Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hiya! Cool. Nope, Harmonization is a group thing. Skies attempt to find at least a Full Set (one of each other Element) but powerful Skies can have doubles or even triples of certain Elements, especially if they are closer personality-wise to a certain kind of Element (an easygoing Sky might attract more than one Rain for example). Even so, multiple Full Sets are extremely rare (like, almost mythology level rare). As for Ochako's grandma ... maybe? Didn't think of it like that. Whether she had a prophecy quirk or not, Ochako's grandma got those stories the same way Ochako learned them: from her mother and grandmother before her back generation after generation, starting from when the Flames first started disappearing. I'll let you make of that what you will.

Dear Jaakusan, hello there! Don't worry, I'm not THAT cruel. Besides, Deku's too adorable to kill. Hope you enjoy!

Dear Wolfkun, greetings! Well thank you, I had fun figuring out how to incorporate Flames into BNHA's history and lore.

Dear Lascka, hi! Thrilled to hear it! (nods) Bakugo is actually my favorite POV to write for in this story (his chapter hasn't been posted yet, but I'll get there). There's just something so entertaining about a jerk with a heart of gold isn't there? So long as the jerk doesn't outweigh the gold heart too heavily. Hope you enjoy!

Author's Note: General info update for everyone - I finished a new chapter for AMOSC (still needs edits though), and for AUW (also still needs edits) during my spare time last month. Didn't finish Ballad's newest chapter yet, but I made a bit of progress (writer's block, why?). I also worked on a couple new fan fictions that I will be posting once they are edited to my satisfaction and I've prewritten enough on them to feel like people will be able to enjoy them before I inevitably get thrown off my update schedule. One of them is another BNHA AU (that doesn't involve Flames, but something else entirely), so hopefully you'll enjoy it when it shows up! One last thing, on my longer-running stories, I've noticed the Review Response sections are getting ... ridiculously long really, and they add well over 30 minutes to how long it takes to post new chapters. Therefore, as an experiment, I am going to switch to PMing review responses to the readers of this story who are members and keeping the Review Response section for guest reviews. I'll answer everybody's reviews from last chapter in this Review Response, but next time I'll PM a response to you. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to the PM unless you have another important story-related question or something, because I'll probably be busy with Real Life and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by accidentally forgetting to reply to a bunch of different PMs. Not that I don't love hearing from you, but on my longer-running stories I can get reviews from up to 20 different people and I just ... don't have the time to keep track of that many different conversations at once. The point of PMing responses is to cut DOWN on the amount of free time I spend not writing/editing/posting, and I would also really, really like to avoid treading on any toes by ignoring someone by accident. There, I think that's everything. Onward!

.

Interlude: Introductions

.

.

Izuku heard the door open and craned his head to peer around the fussing Kacchan. His childhood friend whirled with a snarl, his hands curling like claws while red sparks danced off his palms, "Oi! Who the f*ck are you? Get out! You got no business here!"

The person in the doorway hesitated at Kacchan's roar. Fear, nervousness, and stubborn anticipation thrummed faintly through Izuku from a foreign source and he laid a hand on Kacchan's arm, "It's okay, Kacchan. Let her in." Kacchan paused and one red eye sized Izuku up. A silent question flashed between them, accompanied by anger, worry, and protectiveness from Kacchan's end. Izuku gave his friend a slight smile and pushed silent reassurance back in response.

Kacchan's lips curled into a wolf-like snarl, clearly unhappy with Izuku's choice, but he grudgingly lowered his hands and shuffled a half-step to one side so that the person in the doorway could actually see Izuku. Wide brown eyes found Izuku's and his smile widened despite his own nervousness, "It's alright, you can come in. Kacchan's just overprotective."

Kacchan hissed, "Say that when you aren't in the hospital for broken ribs and a big f*ing hole in your torso, nerd."

The girl flinched at Kacchan's words as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Turning back around to face them, she braved Kacchan's murderous look and advanced until she was by Izuku's bedside. Once there, she bowed deeply, "T-thank you so much for saving me back then! I … I can't even- I can't-" She sniffled and Izuku felt a moment of intense panic. He had no idea what to do with crying girls. He could barely speak two sentences to the girls back in middle school that always seemed to want to talk to him, and those girls had almost always been smiling.

Some instinct niggled at the back of his mind, cutting through his panic and Izuku reached out with the amber side of his quirk, just like he would when trying to soothe Kacchan, "It's alright. Y-you didn't do anything wrong."

Relief and awe and something akin to hero worship whispered through Izuku from a foreign source again and he felt a weight settle in his stomach. So I really wasn't imagining it. I really did somehow bond with this girl like I did with Kacchan. But how…? "A-ah, it's nice to meet you…?"

The girl straightened up from her bow, her eyes glistening with something like wonder, "Uraraka Ochako! Thank you! Thank you so much for what you've done! I promise I'll be the best Sun you could ever ask for! I promise! I'll train really hard to master it and keep up with you and-"

Kacchan cut through her ramble, his death glare taking on a confused edge which only Izuku could see, "Wait. You're the thing?"

Uraraka-san blinked at Kacchan, "E-eh? Thing?"

Kacchan took a step toward her, invading her personal space as he growled, "The thing. The thing connected to Deku's quirk that's been there since the entrance exam."

At the increasingly baffled look on Uraraka-san's face, Izuku piped up, "What Kacchan means is that ever since the entrance exam, I've felt an extra bond attached to my quirk. It's you, isn't it? Though I'm not sure how…"

Uraraka-san gave him a shy smile, "Oh. Oh! Yes, that's me. We … we Harmonized right before you were taken to the hospital. I-I've been trying to find you ever since to thank you. For everything. I promise I won't let you down! I'll be the best Sun a Sky could ask for!"

Izuku blinked in confusion, "Sun? Sky? I … I don't think I understand. I have a multicolored fire quirk. Not … not a Sky quirk."

Uraraka-san stared at him in disbelief and Izuku could almost hear pieces to some puzzle falling into place in her mind, "You mean … you don't know?"

Izuku and Kacchan exchanged glances before Kacchan muscled in on Uraraka-san's personal space again, "What the f*ck are you talking about? What do you know about Deku's quirk that we don't?"

Uraraka-san looked vaguely stunned at the question, "Izuku-kun is a Sky, or at least partially is. He has two of the First Quirks. Didn't you ever hear the stories?"

Kacchan's lip curled and Izuku hastily cut off an impending shouting session, "I don't believe we have, Uraraka-san. Would you mind telling us?" Uraraka-san agreed readily —though she also insisted Izuku call her Ochako-chan— and soon regaled them with her Obā-san's stories about the First Quirks and the Legend of the Last Sky.

For Izuku, it was mind-blowing. He had done intensive research into his quirk —and Kacchan's adapted one— over the years since unlocking it, learning what they could do and what the side-effects were. The thought that they had accidentally unlocked two parts of some kind of ancient symbiotic quirk set was borderline unbelievable. Except … Ura- Ochako-san's story outlined things about their quirks that only the two of them knew. Like how Izuku could diffuse situations with his amber fire. Or how his purple fire could propagate things at Izuku's will. Or how when Kacchan turned his explosions red, they didn't so much burn things as they disintegrated them.

Even their personalities were outlined a bit in Urara- Ochako-san's stories. Kacchan's raging temper and secret obsessive compulsive tendencies. Izuku's dislike of violence, the unconscious way he took control of the situation when he was motived enough to not be shy, his possessive streak toward the people he cared about, and his sudden urges to just … wander.

But … I still don't understand how this is possible. No one has ever manifested two quirks at once, and very few people ever manifest a quirk past the age of four. For the three of us to have manifested these quirks —secondary quirks in the case of Kacchan and Uraraka-san— then there must be some kind of additional requirement beyond genetics. Unless throwback genetics are involved, but the chances of that triggering the development of new quirks at the precise moment of highest stress is implausible. Unless the trigger is stress, which would explain why Uraraka-san's Obā-san's stories put such emphasis on willpower and near-death experiences, in which case these quirks could be some kind of-

A hand landed heavily on his head, startling Izuku out of his thoughts. Kacchan was giving him a bland, irritated look that gave no hint to the faint amusement Izuku could feel over their bond. Izuku glanced at Urara- Ocha- —nope, he couldn't be that informal to someone he'd just met— Uraraka-san and recognized the overwhelmed, slightly freaked out expression on her face. Izuku gave them a sheepish smile, "Ah … I was mumbling again wasn't I? My apologies."

Uraraka-san blinked, then waved off his apology, "No, no! That was kinda amazing actually, you're very analytical Izuku-kun."

Kacchan rolled his eyes, "Deku's just a nerd. That's what nerds f*ing do." The words were mean, but they had no real bite to them, so Izuku just laughed softly. His torso twinged a moment later and Izuku winced, causing Kacchan to growl at him. Apparently deciding that lecturing —read: snarling threateningly at— Izuku yet again about not hurting himself wasn't going to do any good, Kacchan crossed his arms and grunted, "So, how are you going to explain Sunny here to your mom?"

"Explain me?" Uraraka-san shot Kacchan a puzzled look, though thankfully she didn't appear to be insulted over the nickname.

"Well she's gonna wanna know why Deku's keeping a girl in the guest room. Unless you wanna say your dating and sleep with-"

Izuku felt heat rush to his face and shouted, "Kacchan!"

Uraraka-san's face turned a tomato shade and her hand lashed out to slap Kacchan, "Pervert!". Kacchan just leaned away from the slap, utterly unashamed of his suggestion. Uraraka-san continued to flail in Kacchan's direction, sputtering about perverts and how she already had her own apartment and why would he even suggest-?

Irritation grew over his bond with Kacchan and Izuku swallowed his embarrassment as much as possible so he could intervene, "What Kacchan means is, we have to figure out a way to spend a lot of time together until the bond settles." Uraraka-san stopped sputtering in order to eye Izuku and he pushed on, "You've been feeling really agitated ever since the entrance exam right? T-trouble sleeping, nausea, random bouts of panic?"

She nodded slowly, surprised that he knew about all that and Izuku fiddled with his fingers as he continued, "I-it's a side-effect of … what did you call it? Right, Harmonizing. Kacchan and I couldn't stand to be out of each other's sight for weeks after we Harmonized, I even had a few panic attacks if we were separated for too long."

"It … it doesn't feel quite as bad being separated from you, which may be because I already have a bond with Kacchan or because you're a different type of fire -sorry, Flame-, but it would still be a good idea to sync up our schedules as much as possible until the bond settles down. We also need to figure out how to train your, ah, Sun quirk and stuff and we don't know if we'll be in the same class so figuring out how to spend time together outside of school would probably be best…"

Uraraka-san was still blushing, though she didn't feel as angrily embarrassed anymore, "Oh. Right. That … that makes sense." They compared schedules and worked out a tentative system of how to meet up as often as possible outside of school after that, with the hopes that they would end up in the same class to help increase their time together.

Izuku wasn't sure what he would do if they weren't in the same class, because he was fairly certain that both he and Uraraka-san would both have a terrible time paying attention to their teachers if they were not in the same room. And if Izuku had trouble concentrating, Kacchan usually picked up on it and became extra crabby. Maybe he could talk to the school staff and ask to be placed together with Uraraka-san and Kacchan if it got to be too distracting? He had read about U.A. having some of the best programs for accommodating quirk-based living and study difficulties, though the re-emergence of a symbiotic quirk set would probably be a new one for them and how was he going to explain that anyway-?

Kacchan brought Izuku out of his thoughts and back to the conversation with Uraraka-san with a light bop to the head. The nurse came in not long after to shoo away visitors —Kacchan only left without setting fire to the nurse's hat because Izuku had asked him to keep an eye on his mother on Izuku's behalf— and Izuku was left alone with his spinning thoughts.

Izuku settled back against the pillows after the nurse had checked him over and disappeared out the door. Despite his injuries, the panic he had caused his mother, and the mind-blowing information dump he had received, Izuku felt himself smile. His quirk —or should he call them Flames now?— were purring softly at the addition of another bond, swirling contentedly in his core despite the temporary separation.

His Flames curled tighter and something whispered in the back of his mind, an intuition Izuku had learned to trust ever since awakening his Flames. His intuition settled and solidified and Izuku realized that there were other First Quirks out there, other Flames.

And somehow, someway, he was going to find them.

This was a beginning. Of what, exactly, Izuku didn't know for sure, but he could sense that it was going to be big.

He had no idea then, but his intuition was right. It was going to be more than big.

It was going to change the world.

.

Preview: The villain regained his balance and from behind the creepy hand clamped to his face, she could see insanity-sharpened red eyes bore into Midoriya-chan, "Woah there, if I hadn't dodged in time, that could have killed me. That's not very heroic, now is it? That's not playing by the rules of the game, kid. That's cheating."

His fingers snapped and the huge villain that had pounded Aizawa-sensei into the ground was suddenly in front of her, Midoriya-chan dangling by one arm from a meaty, bone-crushing hand, "And I hate cheaters."

.

.

Also, because this chapter is so stupidly short, here's a preview for my other BNHA one-shot collection that I'm dabbling in. Let me know if you'd like to see more!

Preview:

.

It is said that true heroes, the ones who become legends in their own lifetime, are the ones who first discovered their heroism in a time of great peril. The ones who would later say that their bodies moved on their own to save an innocent. Instinctive heroes, who protect because it is in their very nature to protect, who rush in without thinking in order to save the day because their very heart demands it.

No one ever talks about what that moment of rash, unthinking courage will cost. The price the hero will spend the rest of his life paying.

.

.

Until the day he died, Izuku would never remember how he got loose of his mother's death-grip. All he could remember was watching the horror unfold one moment, then plunging into the flow of the mob the next with the singular thought of his friend's name ringing through his head.

.

Izuku broke out of the crowd somehow, his feet carrying him on-on-on even before his mind could fully register the sight his body had already processed as dangerous and unacceptable. the sight of Kacchan trapped with his back to a wall, hands desperately sparking in an effort to ward off the villain's reaching fingers.

It was the work of adrenaline, of desperation, to weave under the villain's outstretched arms, grab his friend-bully-idol by his shirt, and fling him out of the way just as large hands closed over Izuku's scrawny shoulders.

.

.

.

People speak often and glowingly of the popular heroes, the ones who act without thinking, whose very instinct is to protect. What they don't know is that most of those heroes do not have that instinct naturally. That a lot of the bravest heroes did not start out with that instinct, but had it imprinted on them by one singular moment. They are the ones who rush headlong into danger seemingly without fear because the alternative is to stand aside and let that moment happen all over again, and that is something they cannot allow. The moment could be anything, from the loss of a parent to their first villain attack. Even just a moment where they experienced what it was like to be utterly helpless while someone else paid the price on their behalf. Whatever the moment, it is what drives them. It is what they hold tight to their heart and remember even as the public lauds them as fearless.

It is the truth that reminds them that they are not heroes. They are cowards, too afraid to risk letting something like The Moment happen ever again. Even if it costs them their lives.

.

.

For Bakugo Katsuki, that moment was when he went from staring death in the face to landing roughly on the pavement from where he'd been thrown to safety by the boy he'd bullied relentlessly for years. It was the moment, the eternity in time, when he watched helplessly as Midoriya Izuku -the boy he had called useless, quirkless, stupid, weak- took the attack meant for Katsuki and screamed.

.

.

End of Preview. Welp there you go, and, before you ask or decide not to read the story because of it DEKU DOESN'T DIE IN THE NEW STORY. He just has to live with some ... interesting repercussions for his recklessness.