Welcome to the next part of this story, and I want to apologize for the long delay it took to publish this chapter and work on it. I had a long time dealing with writers block, had so many ideas for the future of this story, watching anime and reading the manga, and because of 2020... I fell into a rut of sorts in my daily routine where I went through the same motions everyday and lost track of working on this story.

A lot has happened since I've posted a new chapter, and remembering all the words of encouragement that the reviews left for me by you guys, I couldn't let that be forgotten. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

After working for hours until the early afternoon trying to clear a part of the beach to begin their training, Ryu and Kenji were on their way back to Kenji's home to rest as they were tired from working on the parts of the beach they're allowed to work on. The two of them got off the train and were walking back to the home when Ryu began to strike up a conversation. "Hey, Kenji…"

"Yeah Ryu?"

"That was the most difficult thing I have done in years, and I ran from people who chased me when they caught me stealing an apple or some water." Ryu told him as he felt exhausted.

"Aside from your past and forgetting your minor offenses because of your history, I have to agree, that was tough." Kenji replied as he had a chuckle remembering what he saw Ryu do earlier. "Although it was kinda funny seeing you try to lift a lamp post that was supposed to be there."

"How was I supposed to know that, I thought it was really stuck in the ground." Ryu responded in his own defense as he legitimately thought it was garbage someone left on the beach. "Also, you could've told me that before I tried to pull it out. I was doing that for fifteen minutes."

"I didn't notice until you asked for help." Kenji smiled as Ryu turned his head to hide his embarrassment as he placed his hood over his head once more. It was a force of habit of Ryu's from his old days on the streets, but it made him feel calm and safe, so it didn't bother Kenji.

"Whatever Kenji," Ryu stated as they walked silently for a while until he said something else. "I did have this odd thought that popped in my head after that villain incident a few days ago."

"What's that?" Kenji asked in sincere curiosity.

"How come those Heroes battling the Sludge Villain didn't try to stop me or you when we ran in to help Izuku?" Ryu asked aloud.

Kenji was about to say something but couldn't come up with a response at all. "Huh, you make a good point. I mean seriously, we could've died, and they just stood there looking on like a bunch of idiots. If they were doing their job better, then they would've stopped us and rushed in to save Izuku and Baku-Baka at the same time. That must've been a blow to their popularities when that happened."

"How does that work exactly, Heroes and their popularity with the people?" Ryu asked him as it was a legitimate question.

"Well it's kind of hard to explain really, but Heroes gain popularity by being pillars of morality in a world where there isn't much or any. However, that all changed after the rise of Quirks in the world and amongst people. Nowadays, Heroes are looked upon like movie stars and other celebrities for doing a good job, they use this popularity to sell merchandise with their names on it and whatnot just to make more money outside of doing their jobs. If their popularity rises, they get more money, if it falls, well you get the idea. Not only that but they gotta make sure their brand name is safe from copycats who try to make a few extra yen from their copyright names, like All Might's. Does that help explain it?" Kenji tried to best explain it as there was more to it but didn't want to overload Ryu too much.

"I-I think so. It just sounds kind of odd." Ryu told him as he seemed confused.

"Well you're new to all of this so I understand," Kenji tells him as they stopped as they saw a crowd of people in front of his house. "Oh Kami, they're back…"

"Oh no… more people looking for me," Ryu observed as he hid behind Kenji as he tried to hide from the small crowd of people. Kenji saw how seeing the crowd of people freaked Ryu out, he still wasn't used to large crowds yet so Izuku and him will try to help Ryu become more accustomed to them slowly to make him feel better, like taking him to a restaurant or a movie theater.

It was better than teaching him to swim by pushing him into the deep end of a pool.

"I have an idea that just might work…" Kenji stated as he whispered it to Ryu.

*Kenji's home*

Mirei was starting to get annoyed by all the neighbors and some sketchy looking people in front of her home wanting to see Ryu. "Everyone, you need to leave right now!" Mirei ordered as the crowd argued with her.

"No way, we wanna see the blue kid."

"I wanna make it worth his while."

"You're just hogging him all to yourselves."

Mirei had enough as she slowly took a deep breath and prepared to unleash a loud screech as some neighbors held their ears for the inevitable. Before she could even scream…

"Ah, what a wonderful day to go for a jog in this residential neighborhood. AAH HAHAHAHA!" A bombastic voice stated clearly as the crowd recognized it as All Might's.

"Holy crap, All Might's here?" One person said as the entire crowd went chasing for All Might to meet or get an autograph from him. A few seconds after the crowd left, Kenji and Ryu made it home safely as Mirei welcomed them back.

"Your impressions are getting better Kenji." Mirei complimented her baby boy as she knew that was him.

"That was so cool, how'd you do that?" Ryu asks, never seeing someone do that before.

"When I was younger, I got bored one day and practiced doing impressions of Heroes and sound effects. You should see Izuku's impression of All Might, it's hauntingly accurate, he even does the face to go with it." Kenji states like it was no big deal, as he's seen Izuku do that impression from time to time.

He's just that big of a fan of All Might's.

After resting for a while and Kenji helping Ryu learn some general education he's been denied for years, a knock came to the door as Mirei went to see who it was and what she needed to do after seeing the person. At the door were 2 women, one of them was wearing a gray business suit and knee length skirt as her short brown hair brought the eyes to her white cat-like ears sticking out of her hair. The other woman was Ryukyu in her Hero outfit, which consisted of a traditional, flowing Chinese form-fitting dress with scale motifs, a headband adorned with a claw-like accessory and decorative wings on the back of her head.

"Hello, would you be Mrs. Matsuda?" The brunette asked politely.

"I am, and who are you?" Mirei kindly asked as she knew who Ryukyu was, she had seen her before in the news as well as other places, but she wasn't sure who the woman next to her was.

"Oh, my apologies, we actually talked on the phone yesterday. I'm Kari Kamiya, Miss Ryukyu's office assistant." Kari introduced herself as she gave her a small smile.

"It's very nice to meet you two, please come inside." Mirei let them inside, not only out of kindness, but to ensure her neighbors don't crowd in front of her house again as a Top 10 Hero visited her home.

"I hope we didn't catch any of you at a bad time, I realized that I forgot to set an actual time for this visit. So, I hope this isn't a bad time for visiting the young Hero." Ryukyu explained, and even though Ryu wasn't an official Hero by society or laws, his actions alone during the Sludge Villain made him worthy of that title by this Pro.

"Oh, not at all. In fact, my son and Ryu just came back from doing some training of sorts with their friend and my son's currently helping him with his education as we speak." Mirei explained to Ryukyu and her assistant as the timing couldn't have been better.

As the three women walked down the hall they heard Kenji and Ryu in the living room as Kenji tried to explain the subject matter, at hand, in an easier manner for Ryu to understand it. "Man, this writing lesson's hard, how can one word have so many different ways of writing it?" Ryu asks as he tried to wrap his mind around that.

Kenji chuckled as he had thoughts on that as well but came to accept them in life. "I'm not sure myself, it's just been that way for centuries."

"Well they should make it easier and stick to one way." Ryu pouted a bit as they heard Mirei giggle at the childish moment. The two boys turned to see Mirei and Kenji was shocked at seeing who was also with her.

"Hey mom, who was th-HOLY COW! Y-YOU'RE RYUKYU! Your ranked 9th on the list of Greatest Heroes!" Kenji freaked out a bit as he wasn't expecting someone like her to come to his home. Granted he has seen Pro Heroes come to his home in the past to help his parents with cases and such, but never someone in the Top 10 tier.

"Seems like someone's heard of my popularity, this must be your son, Kenji?" Ryukyu asked Mirei as she nodded yes. "And you must be Ryu," she asked that one directly to Ryu as he seem to freeze in place before trying to hide behind his hood. "A little shy, but I can understand that."

"Wait… are… are you the Hero that my mom mentioned about being interested in Ryu?" Kenji asks as this made Ryu curious as well.

"Indeed, I am, I caught that Sludge Villain Incident on my way back from a business meeting when I was in the crowd," Ryukyu began to explain as she walked closer to the teens. "I was worried and wanted to jump in when your brave friend here leaped into action and saved your life. I was very impressed by your actions young man, and I was wondering if you would like to have me as your sensei in training and helping you get stronger. But before you answer…" Ryukyu told them as Ryu was worried and confused as Kenji waited to see if he needed to save his new friend. "I'd like to get to know you better. We'll only talk over the week with Mirei or her husband to keep you happy and to make sure nothing bad will happen. By next week I'll ask if you want to be my apprentice and see if you want me to train you into becoming a great Hero." Ryukyu told them as Ryu tried to process this in his head as Kenji wanted to know something.

"Before Ryu answers, I wanna ask you a question Ryukyu-san," Kenji asked as he was being serious here. "If Ryu says no to you, what will happen then? We've had some sketchy people be interested in him and they didn't look like they were thinking of his wellbeing, so I want to know what you would do."

"Excellent question Kenji, if Ryu declines my offer to train him on his own power and right, I'll come to accept it and let bygones be bygones." Ryukyu answered the question in a serious, yet kind manner. "So, Ryu, what do you think?"

Ryu thought about this as he tried to play this out in his head and list the pro's and con's. He was being scouted by a Pro Hero and she was very kind and courteous with him as well as not seeing him as something to be used up and tossed out when he was no longer useful. He couldn't think of any con's as all he could think about was how nice she was with him. "O-okay, we can talk," Ryu pointed out as he agreed to this conversation as he poked his head out of the hoodie.

"Wonderful, so… how about I tell you a bit about myself to start?" Ryukyu asked as she and Ryu began to get to know one another in a polite and humble manner as Kenji smiled on as this was a step in a good direction.

This had gone on for the rest of the week as the Matsuda family supervised the visits Ryukyu had with Ryu as they did enjoy the talks. Even when Ryu explained to her how he has a fear of doctors, never going into why he was, she could relate to that as she divulged a secret of her own. Turns out Ryukyu was afraid of clowns, she had an encounter with a creepy clown pulling pranks on people as a kid and it traumatized her. They even talked about how Ryu seems more comfortable with a hoodie, he told her that since he had been living on the streets for a decade, it was one of the few types of clothing that helped bring some form of self-comfort. She understood that as she had her own choice in fashion as she did prefer more casual clothes and hoodies as well.

After the week of talking to Ryukyu was done and he had calm normality around her, Ryu agreed to train under the Dragoon Hero. It came as a shock to the Matsuda family that Ryu did that on his own volition, but they saw how comfortable he was getting around Ryukyu. It reminded them of how he was around Kenji and Izuku. They even helped Ryu packed when it came time to move to Ryukyu's place to help him train and keep up with his new diet, one from All Might when it came to training to get into U.A. and the other from his doctor to deal with his malnourished state.

Luckily both overlapped in a majority of what can help Ryu with his diet and building up muscle mass and strengthening him up in a healthy manner.

"So, this is goodbye?" Ryu asked as he had his luggage with him by the door as Ryukyu and Kari were nearby wanting to have him say his thanks to the Matsuda family.

"Well, it's not a goodbye goodbye, more of a 'see you later' kind of goodbye." Takayuki explained as he helped Ryu understand what this meant.

"Yeah, besides," Kenji said as he had a hand on Ryu's shoulder, "We'll still hang out and help you with social situations and education. Maybe even show you what it's like to go to the movies too."

Ryu smiled as he couldn't hide his happiness and hugged his first friend ever. If he was told a week ago that he would have such a great friend, an opportunity to become a Hero, and meet so many nice and wonderful people to look out for him… he would've thought an insane person was harassing him again.

"Thank you so much for helping me like this, not many would help a random homeless person like you guys have."

"Think nothing of it Ryu, after all you don't need a reason to help those in need." Mirei told him as she smiled at the young future Hero.

"Before you go, mind if I borrow your phone for a quick second?" Kenji asked as Ryu handed him his new smartphone he got from Ryukyu after the paper work needed to have Ryu be her pupil. Kenji quickly went to work on the phone adding somethings to it before handing it back to Ryu. "There you go, I added Izuku and my contact information and email. This way whenever you wanna talk or ask us anything, you can do that."

"Thank you so much Kenji, guess I'll catch you on the flipside. Did I say that right or…" he asked as Ryu was just learning certain phrases and idioms that are commonly said.

"You did buddy," Kenji confirmed as Ryu silently thanked himself before walking to Ryukyu and her car. "Take care of my friend and make sure he's in safe hands."

"Don't worry, he's in good hands and I'll make sure he eats properly." Ryukyu told them as she helped Ryu get his bag in the car. After waving at the wonderful family for all they've done for him, Ryukyu had a good idea, "How about a picture to commemorate the moment?" Everyone agreed as they decided to take some pictures to remember the moment, some with Kenji and Ryu alone, some with the parents and some with the Pro Hero with Ryu.

Once the pictures were all done, Ryu got in the car along with Kari and Ryukyu. Waving goodbye to Kenji and his parents as he had a huge smile on his face as they did the same to him too.

Months later after Ryu moved in with Ryukyu, he was on his daily morning jog as he came across a park. During his exercise routine and Quirk building, he thought adding weights could help him out to increase his strength and speed. Ryukyu did agree as she saw the workout routine All Might gave him as a guideline and added some things to the lesson plan with Ryu's health conditions in mind, including daily jogs to help him build up endurance. For his Quirk, she helped him bathe in the sun to build up his reserves, ways to use his [Ultraviolet Manipulation] and building up his [Armor] to take more blows and damage before worrying about it falling apart.

As Ryu stopped his jog to get some water, he heard an animal give out a cry of pain. He followed the noise to find the black and red stripped cat he met earlier that year having rocks thrown at it by three teens. The teens in question were friends/classmates of Bakugou, he didn't know their names, but he knew their Quirks: [Wings], [Fingers] and [Rock Head]. He saw them pull small rocks off [Rock Head]'s hair and throw them at the little cat, laughing at giving it pain as Ryu couldn't take seeing such a thing happen to a nice animal.

"Hey assholes! Leave that cat alone!" Ryu shouted as he stormed to the trio and caught their attention. "Why are you hurting that cat?"

"What's it to you, jackass?!" [Wings] exclaimed.

"Yeah, that stupid cat had it coming." [Rock Head] added on.

"It's ugly looking and an easy target." [Fingers] told him.

Ryu couldn't believe how such people were able to exist in this world to harm an innocent and small animal like that. But his memories came back to remind him of how much he was beaten up for no reason whatsoever and at random as well, so he saw his old self in the cat. He pushed them out of the way to check in the injured kitten, ignoring the insults and anger they were spewing.

"Hey little guy, you okay?" Ryu asked the kitten as the cat hissed at him. Ryu couldn't blame the cat as he had the same mentality not that long ago. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I wanna help you." Ryu told the cat as he wanted to help him out like how his friends helped him out from his own dark place. The small cat gave him a cautious look before a shadow started to grow over him that Ryu noticed as well.

Luckily, he turned around fast enough to catch a rock the size of his head before it landed on the cat. "What the hell is wrong with you morons?! Are you trying to kill him?!" Ryu shouted at the three teens as he obliterated the rock in his hands with his [Ultraviolet] Quirk to pebbles.

The teens panicked when they saw the look on Ryu's face as they received an angry glare from Ryu, intimidating them even more as he had a ball of blue light form in his hand once again. The teens ran in fear as they ran with their metaphorical tails between their legs.

Ryu watched as they fled, he calmed himself down as the energy in his hand returned into his body. He felt bad that he had to do that, it didn't feel right by him doing that, but he did it to save a life. "I'm sorry you had to see that little guy. I've been left for dead and beaten within an inch of my life too many times to let an innocent soul feel what that was like." Ryu turned to the cat as it had a curious look on his face at seeing Ryu look sad and worried. "Here, let me try to mend your wounds little guy," Ryu softly told the cat as he checked its wounds and used his water bottle to wash away the blood in its fur.

The cat looked on and was amazed that someone it met before helping him out once again. Living on the streets as a stray without a home, it made the cat skeptical of random humans, but this one… this one made something inside the cat feel, warm and happy.

"There you go, that should help." Ryu said as he even tore some parts of his clothes to use as makeshift bandages to treat the cat's wounds for now. "I know it's not much, but I'm not that smart in treating other people or animals, so I hope this was helpful enough." Ryu explained as he made sure the cat could stand on his own paws before four sets of footsteps came rushing towards him.

"There he is officer! That's the criminal that tortured my cat and tried to hurt us!" Ryu turned to see [Wings] and his friends return to the park with a police officer.

"Okay come with me punk," The officer rushed him and tackled him to the ground as he was hurting Ryu trying to cuff him. "You're under arrest for animal cruelty, assault on civilians, and using your Quirk in public. You're going to jail, you villain."

Ryu froze up in a panic as he was afraid of this, being seen as a Villain, framed for a crime he didn't commit and being sent to jail. 'Why… why is this happening to me?' Ryu began to think as none of this made sense to him. 'I'm just trying to help, and I'm being punished for doing the right thing… is this what society has truly become… I'll forever be labeled as a freak and a Villain!' Ryu was able to look at the teens who are framing him as they all had smug looks on their faces as [Rock Head] glared at the cat. He tried to block their view of the cat, but the officer applied more pressure onto his back to keep him from fleeing.

"Stop resisting you punk!" The officer shouted as he applied more pressure as he pulled out his taser to use on Ryu. Before that could happen…

"What's going on here?" A loud voice roared as a literal Angel landed in the park. The Angel had six wings and what appeared to be a white body-hugging shirt on as well as a golden bowl-like pad on his left shoulder, a blue loincloth that went over his angel-inspired white pants designs and shoes. Everyone couldn't see his eyes behind his half mask that only covered everything from the nose up as some blonde hair came out from behind the mask. This was the Angelic Hero of the People, Angelus.

Ryu wanted to say something but [Fingers] lied and told him what they said to the officer. Ryu tried to hide his face from the Hero, unaware of who he was and not wanting to meet a new face to see him as a Villain. The Angelic Hero walked to the officer and Ryu, as he showed the officer his license, and ordered him off the "criminal". After the officer complied with the order from the Pro Hero, Angelus gently picked Ryu off his stomach and had him sit on the ground to get a better look at him.

What came next shocked everyone in the immediate area.

"Ryu, why don't you tell me what really happened here?" Angelus asked politely as everyone was confused, but not more so than Ryu.

"H-How do you know my name? Who are you?" Ryu asked as he never met the Hero, and no one mentioned his name before and he certainly didn't say his name out-loud.

"I know your name Ryu…" Angelus stated as he took his mask off to reveal his face. Ryu saw his short blonde hair and blue eyes before seeing him give a cheerful smile. "… because my fiancé has told me so much about you whenever she has the chance, she is your sensei's assistant after all."

Ryu paused as he suddenly remembered hearing about him from Kari, "Y-Your Kamiya-san's fiancé? You're Takeru?"

"Yup, and I think I know you too much already to know you wouldn't just attack people for no reason. So how about I hear your side of the story." Angelus, aka Takeru, told him as Ryu smiled and teared up a bit before explaining everything that happened. As Takeru heard the entire story and seeing how the cat was bandaged up by Ryu's clothing he ripped off, he was able to understand what really happened. "Thank you for speaking the truth, good sir. Officer, please release him." Takeru ordered as the teens were furious.

"What!? He's a freak and tried to kill my cat!" [Rock Head] barked as he tried to keep the lie going. Ryu flinched at being called a freak out of an old habit.

"This little and injured cat is yours?" Takeru sincerely asks as he turned to him. "Well if that's true, why don't you call him to you? And where is his collar for that matter?" The teen froze as he wasn't expecting this at all. In a panicked moment, he threw the rock in his hand at the cat like a fast ball going around 65 mph. Ryu saw this and leapt in front of the cat and took the hit as it landed on his right eye, giving him a shiner. Takeru rushed the teens and used his Angel Staff to sweep them all onto the ground and pinned them there as the cop arrested all three of them.

As the teens were being hauled off to the police station to call their parents, Takeru went back to Ryu to check on him. "You okay Ryu?"

"I-I'm fine," Takeru freed Ryu of the cuffs as Ryu rubbed his wrists and held his face while fighting back tears, after he made sure the cat was safe. Takeru saw this and smiled as he saw how much of a good person Ryu was for others when he took the blow for the injured animal. "Nothing I haven't felt before, beside this is my fourth time being hit in the eye so hard." Ryu told Takeru as he understood what Ryu was talking about, seeing him try to fight through the pain.

"Let me bring you back to Ryukyu at least and explain what happened, is that okay Ryu?" Takeru asked as he wanted to make sure Ryu was safe and not too injured from what happened.

Ryu tried to get up but felt a shooting pain in his ankle. "Argh! Crap that hurts!" Ryu stated as he held his left ankle. Takeru checked it and didn't see any damage, so he concluded that his ankle was sprained.

"I'll bring you back home Ryu." Takeru said as he picked up Ryu and placed him on his back, just as the cat jumped into Ryu's hood and curled up inside it, which Ryu didn't notice but Takeru did. The black and red cat was thankful for Ryu and wanted to make sure he was fine as well after the kindness it received. Takeru smiled as he flew into the air and carried Ryu and the cat back to their home where Ryukyu and Kari would be located.

*Ryukyu's condo*

Ryu sat on one of the dining room chairs as Kari tried to apply a bag of frozen veggies on his right eye. "Hold still and keep this on your eye, it'll help with the pain and speed up the healing process." She told him acting like a mother/big sister to him. Takeru meanwhile was in the living room telling Ryuko about what he saw and what happened to Ryu.

"After that, I flew him back here to tell you the situation." Takeru told her as he finished his story to the mentor. She looked at Ryu with some worry at what he had experienced and knew she had to say something to him.

"Ryu," Ryuko stated as she approached him, he was a little afraid that she might yell at him for not doing something correctly or handling the situation differently, but that faded when he saw the concerned look upon her face. "I'm sorry you ever had to deal with something so vile and disgusting like that. No matter what people say, you did the right thing saving that kitten."

"B-But…" Ryu teared up a bit as a flood of emotions filled his head, "Why did they lie? Why did those guys lie and say I was the one hurting that cat? Why were they giving me such a look when I was about to be arrested for doing the right thing?"

Ryuko and Takeru knew where these questions were coming from as they too had such questions in their heads whenever they hear the news at times, or encounter it in person. "Sometimes… people try to throw others into the mud or under a bus just to save face Ryu." Takeru explained as he had seen it all too much of a good Samaritan doing the right thing and get screwed over by the person who did the horrible deed.

"That's true, but for every bad person trying to escape judgement, there are those out there who try to make life better for everyone else. One small act of kindness at a time." Ryuko told him, as he did look down in sadness and acceptance.

"Thank you, but I'm still worried about that cat I helped. I've seen him before on the streets and he doesn't have a home like me, so I'm worried he might get hurt again. Heck I don't even know where he could be right now." Ryu stated with concern as he was worried about the cat getting hurt after trying to treat his injuries.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that Ryu," Takeru said as he got confused and concerned looks from everyone in the room. "In fact, I think he's closer than you think." Takeru smiled as a small 'mew' noise filled the air.

"Wasn't me," Kari stated as she had a small habit of meowing or purring at times, something Takeru found adorable with his fiancé.

Another 'mew' filled the air as Ryu felt something move in his hood. He was shocked to see the same cat he treated earlier, hiding in his hood as the cat licked the tip of his nose. "What? I-I don't understand? How long was he in my hoodie?"

Takeru chuckled at seeing Ryu's confused, yet happy face. "He leapt into your hood when I picked you up and before I flew you back here." Takeru explained as the cat responded with a 'meow.'

"Looks like you have a new animal friend Ryu, and a cutie too." Ryuko smiled at seeing Ryu become happy once again as he held the cat close and rubbed his face against it. "And since you said he didn't have a home, why not adopt the cat as your pet?"

Ryu was surprised by the idea as he hadn't thought of that. He looked at the cat right in the eye as the animal smiled and 'meowed' in acceptance to the idea. "Well then, since he likes that idea, why not?" The cat let out a happy 'meow' as a small fireball shot out his mouth and into Ryu's face, covering it in patches of soot. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Looks like this cat is very special and has a Quirk too." Kari had already told him about rare cases of animals having Quirks like humans and how they get snatched up quickly by bad people who only want it because it has powerful Quirks, just like child custody cases turning bad from Kenji's stories.

"Now that you have a very special and needed animal buddy Ryu, what would you like to name him?" Ryuko asked him as all new pets need names and they can't just call him kitty all the time.

Ryu began to think it over a bit as he placed the cat on the chair next to him. He couldn't think of one off the top of his head as he looked at the cat again, more precisely, his stripped black and red fur. "I think I know a good one, how about Tora?" Ryu asked the cat as the cat was happy to hear the name and laid in Ryu's lap in approval.

"Tora huh? Naming him after the word that means tiger, not a bad name Ryu I like it." Takeru stated as even Kari thought it fit him perfectly too.

After that day, the group went to the Matsuda home to help draw up the paperwork for the legal pet adoption of Tora for Ryu. After that they had to go to the vet's office to give him a checkup and have him up to date on his vaccinations, the adults had a small chuckle seeing Ryu and Tora react the same way to the needle, panicked and even imitated the same pose and facial expression. They then went on to a local pet store to get all the necessary items for a cat: fire-proof cat toys, treats, food, cat bed and litter box. Tora couldn't be happier as his life had such loving and caring people to live with and love him. A few nights he slept in Ryu's room and on his bed with him, Ryuko found it quite cute that they had such a close bond so quickly and couldn't be happier for them both.

It was a week after the incident with those students and adopting Tora, as Ryuko drove Ryu somewhere that he needed to be. "Ryu, after what happened when you met Tora, I think it's time I took you somewhere that will help you along the way in your training and future Hero work. I'm taking you to a trainer." She explained as they came down a road.

"Why can't you teach me?" He asked her curiously.

"Because my Quirk allows me to change into a dragon. I've always had to deal with huge threats like helping in rescue operations, like buildings collapsing or dealing with giant villains, so I had to learn mostly capture type martial arts like Dragon style kung-fu. The guy I'm taking you too is more geared to CQC, or close quarters combat, and this is something you will need to know if you're ever cornered." She explains as she parked the car, having reached their destination, a simple building with a store front for a fighting lesson that can be seen in some strip malls in America.

"Is this person really good? Can I learn some moves from him?" Ryu asked as he was worried what kind of teacher he would be dealing with.

"Indeed, he used to be a pro Hero before he retired and did some… other work," Ryuko stated as she knew what the man used to do in his time after retiring truly after he was forced into the situation. Both mentor and student exited the park car.

"Really? Cool!" Ryu felt excited by this as he wanted to meet a former Hero, and maybe tell his friend Izuku about this guy.

"Yup, just follow me." Ryuko told him as she led the way. Ryu followed behind her as they entered the building, he was confused at first by not seeing a dojo, but only seeing office spaces instead. As he followed his mentor up the stairs, Ryu began to think they might've been in the wrong place until they reached the top of the staircase leading to the roof. Once they got outside, he understood that he was at the right place.

On the rooftop of this building, was a single mobile home built on the roof and some people learning how to fight from one burly and intimidating guy. He had short black hair, some beard stubble and a huge scar that went diagonally across his face. He wore a tight black shirt with jeans and boots as he had practice gloves on while training with some scrawny guy who looked a bit older than Ryu. "Th-this is the fighting dojo?" Ryu asked as he saw the muscular guy giving the smaller figure some pointers.

"Indeed, and he's gonna teach you some fighting techniques Ryu," Ryuko pointed to the bigger gentleman as he knocked the other person down a bit too hard. Ryu looked a bit worried as his appearance made him think of hired guns mob bosses would have for protection.

"But don't worry, he's a big softy," a voice stated behind Ryu, causing him to freak-out and scream a bit, drawing attention from the people on the rooftop and the mobile home as a woman stepped out as well. The person who snuck up on him was a teenage girl, older than he was as he saw she had brown hair in a ponytail and has a green eye. What caught him by surprise was her eye patch covering her left eye, he never met many people with eye patches before. She wore a simple schoolgirl outfit and had a guitar case on her back. "Oh, how embarrassing to scream so girly like that," the girl said with a teasing giggle.

"Tamao, what have I told you about scaring new students like that?" The burly man scolding the young woman.

"Sorry Otou-san, it was just too easy," Tamao said as she walked over to the trailer to grab a drink of some soda.

"Seems like your daughter likes messing with your new students Takeshi," Ryuko stated as she approached him.

"Yeah, I gave her my blessings to pursue her dreams of being a musician, but she still wants to be a bit rebellious with me. Scaring my new students like that is just the latest thing." Takeshi was happy to have his daughter back after almost losing her to a Villain and couldn't help but smile seeing her practice her instrument. "So, who's the kid my daughter freaked out?"

Ryu, panicked as he was on the spotlight after such an embarrassing moment, tried to regain some composure. "G-good afternoon sir, my name is R-Ryu Soshi. I would l-like for you to train me, p-please." Ryu tried to control his nervous stutter as he introduced himself to Takeshi.

Takeshi wasn't one to take just anyone as a student, let alone one who had a Pro Hero mentor. He approached the young man and looked at him with a more intense gaze, Takeshi looked for anything that would make him turn the kid down. He saw the calluses on his hands, small scars on his arms, the thin frame he had and then he looked into his eyes. Takeshi saw someone who looked intimidated by him and worry about failing Ryuko, but he also saw something else inside him, the spirit of a survivor. Someone who has seen and fought his way just to stay alive, and in this world of Heroes and such, he was excited to meet someone like him.

"Alright then, show me what you got Ryu." Takeshi said as he went back to the sparing area he had as Ryu was shocked and followed him, after getting a nod from Ryuko.

As the spar went underway, Takeshi looked more for openings, what needed improving and the drive Ryu had to learn. He noticed many openings and even tested Ryu's reflexes towards his attacks. Takeshi was beginning to be impressed with some of Ryu's reflexes in how he avoided some of the punches or kicks, almost like he did this every day, he saw much potential in Ryu whenever he tried to land a blow. They were very amateur, sloppy, and he recognized a few from anime that his daughter watched, but Ryu didn't even think of giving up. He kept going, even when he was knocked down, he got back up and continued the spar.

Takeshi saw all that he needed to see after five full minutes of sparing, "Alright, I've seen all that I wanted to see." He stood tall as Ryu was panting and slouched over his knees. "You got promise, I'll give you that. But why do you want to be a Hero and why should I train you?"

Ryu was caught off guard by the questions as he didn't know what to say. "W-well, I wanna be a Hero, but not like any other Hero." This caught Takeshi's attention. "I wanna be the Hero that helps everyone, not just those in an emergency but…" He paused not only trying to come up with the right words but also deal with his memories. "… I wanna help those who are homeless, sick and look for help when no one is willing to help them. I wanna be the Hero people look up to and inspire change when it's needed. Even if I never become a Pro Hero, I'll still follow my dream to help out those who feel like the world hates them for no reason."

Takeshi looked him in the eye and saw that the burning desire never left or diminished in Ryu's eyes. He was standing before a man who was headstrong and determined to follow his dream. "Not many have said the same thing you said kid, and not many who have the balls to back up their claim either. What makes you different from others?"

Ryu, not backing down responded quickly, "My best friend told me this: 'I'd rather get hurt helping someone then stand by and do nothing'. Besides, isn't that what being a Hero means, helping those who need it and setting a good example?" Ryu smiled at Takeshi as he saw something in the young teen.

Takeshi couldn't help but laugh at what he heard as Ryu looked worried and a bit concerned by this. "Hahaha, you got spunk and stubborn determination kid. I like that." He responded as he placed his hand on Ryu's shoulder in acceptance. "I'll help you refine your skills and teach you some Close Quarter Combat moves, maybe even some other things I've picked up on the streets." Ryu had a joyful expression as he found a new teacher to learn from in his training. "Next time though, make sure you take those weights off and show me what you really got behind those punches."

Ryu looked confused until he remembered he forgot to take them off. "Gomenasai, I forgot I still had them on." Takeshi couldn't help but laugh more after hearing that as Ryuko looked on with a sense of happiness for her pupil finding a new teacher.

*November*

During the autumn month, Ryu was hard at work looking over some of the school work he had to review before he would have to take a general placement exam. Considering Ryu didn't have a formal education, for him to be possibly accepted by any Hero School, he has to take a test to make sure he has the general knowledge and skills to handle a high school environment and work load along with an understanding of general studies that his potential future classmates will have. His test was scheduled for next week.

Outside of the intellectual training, his physical training was going smoothly, as he worked mostly with Kenji and Izuku to help clean the beach of junk and garbage. Since there was more than one person working on the beach, All Might did have to give each of the teens a section of the beach they had to clear out. It made sense as if they all worked in one area it would make the training and rigorous body and muscle building be pointless if they used teamwork that early in the training. It was difficult with his added weights, but he thought it was a good idea at times.

"Ryu, can you come out here?" Ryuko asked as she called him from the living room.

"Sure thing, sensei." Ryu replied as he walked away, he was about to get a drink of water to quench his thirst. He enters the living room and sits in the chair right by the couch.

"Ryu, I've been helping you train you physically, mentally and even with your Quirk. And you've grown so much in these months since you've been living with me that there's one important thing that I want to consider with you." Ryuko told him as she said it in a nice, calm manner that held no animosity whatsoever.

"Is this where you tell me you've fallen in love with me and want me to be your boyfriend?" Ryu asked innocently as that question made Ryuko look at him in owlishly and shockingly.

"No, no, this isn't what I was gonna ask… also no more daytime soap operas with Kari. They aren't the best representation of how romances workout in the real world." Ryuko explained and told him as he had been joining Kari in watching some of them when he took his breaks.

"Aw, but next week we were gonna find out who was the perp who put Sanji in a coma and why." Ryu complained.

"I'm putting my foot down, besides that show recycles their plot twists so much you can see them coming." Ryuko defended her actions as she had just remembered why she asked him to come out of his room. "The reason why I asked you to come out is that when I look at the pupil I started training, I see someone new with more confidence than when we first met. Someone who has more confidence, someone who was willing to save his pet from those who would do him harm without a second thought. Ryu… you're more than a pupil to me. You're… more like a younger brother in my eyes."

"Y-younger brother?" he asked as he wasn't sure where this was going as she handed him a new form. One that made his eyes go wide in shock when he saw the top of the form in bold writing.

Adoption.

"Yes, I was wondering, if you wanted to become a new member of my family and be my younger brother." Ryuko told him clearly as she saw his eyes welled up with tears.

"A-a-adoption… you want to a-adopt m-me as your brother? Is that even possible?" Ryu's mind was going a mile a minute as he tried to process this information.

"It is possible, some CEO's of companies who never had children do adopt people as their children to give them the company when they retire. So, it's not that far to have someone want to adopt another as their siblings." She explained.

Ryu started to gain a smile on his face, the tears becoming ones of joy and newfound happiness as he got up and hugged Ryuko, repeatedly saying 'Thank you' to his new onee-san. She smiled and hugged him back as she helped him where he needs to sign as she had filled out some of the form with the help of Mirei and Takayuki when she came to them first about the idea.

Ryu was the happiest teen in the world at that moment, he has a family in his new onee-san and she was the best older sister he could ever ask for. And while he had to have the Matsuda's help them file the form at the proper government building, his general education exam next week, his loving pet Tora and the U.A. entrance exams in three months, his future was looking much brighter.

Bet non of you guys saw that coming, don't forget to leave a review at the bottom. And for those curious about Tora, that was a pokemon refenece I made there as he's a Litten.