A/N: Sorry I put this one out a couple of days late, guys. If you didn't see the video from this week, I'm still unpacking my new house, which as you can imagine, has taken up a load of my free time. But I AM HERE now, so... let's see what happens when Kurai is presented with the chance to lose his crap with every and all rights to do so.

Phase 1: Chapter 19

Shattered Ideals

Kurai could feel the rage surging through his veins so clearly that his blood cells might have well been the carrier of the deadly disease called 'revenge' that threatened to tear him apart. Never before had he genuinely wished for someone to die, much less by his own hand, but it was all he could do in that moment to keep himself from ripping the villain apart, limb from limb, never mind all of the guns pointed at him and Gang Orca.

The subject of his hatred, the villain called 'Needle Mouse' was currently laughing himself silly. "You're that pig's nephew?!" he wheezed merrily. "Oh, this is too funny!" With a click of his needle-covered fingers, he pointed at Gang Orca, who had been staying quiet, and said, "Hey, I know! Why don't we see if you and your uncle die the same way?"

"Hikari, move!"

Before the metallic projectiles could be fired at the student, Gang Orca moved with a speed that belied his bulk and tackled Kurai to the ground, out of harm's way, while bullets and needles flew overhead. The boy felt something heavy cover his head right before a high-pitched sonar pulse disabled the villains around them. Well, all but one of them.

"Nice try, Orca!" Needle Mouse laughed while his men fell at his feet, numbed to the point of immobility. "You know the resonance frequency for a normal human, but with a heteromorphic quirk like mine, you can't use the right sonic waves to cripple me!" The pro hero slowly got to his feet, his wary eyes searching for any indication that the villain would be about to make a move. Kurai stayed where he was, but he had Energon going through his body at the maximum strength that his costume allowed, ready for the signal that he could put down this villain like a rabid dog.

You may have been angry, Kurai, but you didn't act on your impulses. Heroes aren't allowed to hold grudges, and by refusing to allow your passions to guide you, you've shown that you will be an honorable hero one day.

Kurai paused, shocked at the fact that such a memory had chosen now to resurface. He had no idea why Iida's words came to him in that moment. But with those words now planted firmly in his conscience, others came to him in the voices of his friends.

The best part is that you managed to hold yourself back when nobody was watching, which means that whatever you did or didn't do in that moment, it shows who you really are when it comes to dealing with your hatred.

Was Mina even right about him? He clenched his fist as he waited for the tense stand-off above him to play out. Some hero I'd be, starting my career with a revenge kill, he thought bitterly.

As we compete here today, I ask that we all… remember those that have gone before us, and remember the sacrifices that they made to give us the world that we have.

His own words echoed in his mind, taunting his fury with the irony of the moment. Kurai felt his face growing red with shame as he realized that his uncle would have never stood to see him murder someone for the sake of anybody. That wasn't what his family had stood for over the last three decades- it wasn't justice. Shutting his eyes in humiliation, he thought, Can I even call myself a hero after this?

"Hikari!" Gang Orca's shout snapped his gaze upward while the big pro moved in to grapple with the smaller villain, ignoring the metal briars that were cutting into his thick flesh as he sought to force the man to submit. "This is no time for an existential crisis! I'm guessing that this guy has caused you some grief, but you need to pull it together and be a hero right now!"

Needle Mouse, smaller though he was, was holding his own surprisingly well, though Kurai imagined that it would be hard to get a secure grip on a body that was covered in razor-sharp metallic quills. Grinning madly at the two of them, he cackled, "Get it together, pro! If you're begging a child for help, I find it hard to believe that you're really the number ten hero! Besides, what is he gonna do to someone like me, the man that killed his family?!"

Tzak!

A large bolt of yellow energy struck Needle Mouse in the face, causing him to stumble, and giving Gang Orca the purchase that he needed to grab up the villain and smash him into the ground with a suplex, winding up with a face-full of needles in the process. At first, there was no movement from either of the men, but then the pro hero let out a pained groan and released his captive, shoving the stunned man off to the side to reveal his face and chest to be covered in metal barbs.

"That," the large man rumbled tiredly. "He'll do that to you." Glancing over at Kurai, he added, "Make sure he stays down."

'With pleasure,' he wanted to say, but instead, he went with, "Yes sir. Sorry I lost myself for a moment, sir."

"It happens, even to the best of us," the large man grimaced as he began to pull at the needles surrounding his mouth. Fortunately, he had avoided getting stabbed in the eye, but one look told Kurai that the man was going to lose a serious amount of blood before the day was over. "You never told me that your family had a history in crime-fighting, Hikari."

"It didn't seem relevant to my training, sir," Kurai replied as he prodded the older villain, who remained still. "And I had no idea that any members of the Penta-gram family were loose, much less that I would run into the one that killed my uncle." Some of the other villains groaned pitifully, but Kurai knew that they wouldn't be moving for a while, either- Gang Orca's sonic blasts were far more potent than a lot of anesthetics that were used to numb a person's body, even with modern-day science.

"Fair," Gang Orca replied as he pulled out another bloodied needle with a frown. As he stared at the tip that was covered in his blood, he muttered, "These are barbed- not good."

"I'll radio for a medical evac," Kurai volunteered as he tapped his com button. "Hello, anyone on team Beta? This is Hikari, I've got a situation here." Gang Orca nodded slightly and stopped pulling on the metal pieces embedded in his skin.

"I read you, Intern, what's happened?"

Recognizing the voice of a sidekick codenamed 'Hermes' for his winged feet, Kurai replied, "I'm in the southwest quadrant of the building, and I need a medical evac for Gang Orca."

"Wait, the boss is down?!" Hermes all but shouted, sounding alarmed. "How did that happen?!"

"One of the more experienced villains got the jump on us," Kurai explained. "Orca got stabbed by a lot of metallic needles, and they're barbed, so we can't pull them out clean. He's conscious for now, but he's losing blood."

"Got it, I'm on my way with backup," Hermes replied. "Don't move from your position if you can help it, and keep him talking. If he falls asleep from blood loss, it's gonna be a lot harder to wake him up again."

"Understood," Kurai said, right before the communication ceased. Turning to Gang Orca, he said, "They're on their way."

"Good," the large man replied, moving his mouth as little as he could. "Restrain Shibuya and his lackeys, then keep an eye out for any others that come this way."

"Yes sir."

"And Hikari?" The boy turned around before he could move to use a restraining device that he had been given before the start of the raid, looking at Gang Orca, who was smiling slightly. "I know you could have made that a kill shot. You did well to exercise restraint."

The rest of the raid was completed without too many problems. Since Gang Orca was Kurai's direct supervisor, he had retreated along with the pro hero once the med team showed up. From there, he was instructed to stay with Banshee and Mina, where he did what he could to help the wounded and frightened children.

For a little while, he almost forgot the moments where he had come close to crossing the line between hero and villain, but even so, he was more subdued than usual. It feels like I should have a weight lifted off my shoulders, he mused tiredly in between administering burn medicines to a couple of kids. I helped bring my uncle's killer to justice. So why do I feel so empty inside? His melancholy must have showed, because as soon as he and Mina were allowed to take a break in one of the transport vans, she walked up to him with a water bottle and a concerned look on her face.

"Here," she said as she handed him the drink, which he accepted gratefully. "What happened in there?"

He drank deeply from the plastic bottle, trying to put off answering for as long as he could before he was forced to reveal his weakness to his girlfriend. He didn't bother trying to hide that he was rattled, or deny that anything was wrong- he knew that Mina would figure it out eventually.

When he had swallowed as much water as he could in one go, he lowered the bottle from his mouth and stared down at it, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I crossed a line, Mina," he said in a subdued tone. When she said nothing for a moment, he sighed and elaborated by asking her, "Do you remember what I told you about my uncle? How he died?"

"Yeah, that's not something even I can forget in a hurry," she said with a forced laugh. "What does that have to do with today, though?"

"The guy that did it is the one that put Gang Orca in the hospital," he said numbly. "We ran into him out of sheer, dumb luck. And I crossed a line that heroes should never go near."

"Wait…" Mina asked as she took a step back with wide eyes. "You didn't waste the guy, did you? Please tell me you-"

"No, I only knocked him out," Kurai said with a slow shake of his head. "He's back in police custody, along with the other members of the smuggler's ring."

"Wait, then how did you-?"

"Mina, I wanted to kill him," Kurai interrupted her, his voice bitter. "I wanted to rip his arms off and scorch the insides of his body with my energon. I wanted him to suffer for every minute of my uncle's life that he stole, and then some." Burying his face in his hands, he mumbled, "What kind of hero wishes for something like that?"

There was a long silence before he heard Mina move, and he was surprised when he felt her arms go around his back as she told him, "You're human before you're anything else, and that includes being a hero. I can't say that I know what you're going through, but I know that if a villain ever did anything to hurt my parents, or even my stupid brothers, I'd probably feel the same way that you do about that guy. It's not evil to feel these things, Kurai. It would be evil to act on them, but you didn't, and that's what counts. At least, that's what counts in my book."

"But what if someday-?"

"Don't think about that right now," she told him as she squeezed him a little tighter. "I know you're all about planning for the future, but you can't account for everything that might happen, ya know. Maybe Akarui, but definitely not you or me." There was a smile in her voice, and despite himself, her declaration made him laugh just a little.

"You're absolutely right," he said with a weak chuckle. "Akarui knows everything, as he likes to remind me so often. We should totally ask him what I should do if I start holding grudges against villains."

"Well, I might not be a super genius, but I think I know what he'd say," she giggled back. "He'd say that you're silly for wasting your time worrying about what might happen, and to start learning from what you've already done."

"You portray him a lot more politely than he actually is," Kurai said as he lifted his head to look at Mina while she pulled back from him a little. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked him with a big grin.

"For being patient with me," he replied with an embarrassed smile. "And for cheering me up."

"If you wanna say thanks, then I know what you can do," Mina said with a sly wink that made Kurai pale again.

"Please no," he begged.

"Say it," she said with an evil grin.

"Do I have to?"

"Hey, I have to be cheerful for the both of us, this is the least you can do," she told him. "Come on, do it. Do it. Doiddoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoit!"

"You enjoy this way too much," he grumbled as they both stood up, his face flaming red as he looked down at the floor. "Mina… You are the bestest… most prettiest… urgh…"

"Come on…!" she laughed. "You gotta finish, or I'm gonna make you say it louder!"

"…Most plus ultra girlfriend a guy could ask for," he concluded, feeling like he might just die of embarrassment, a feeling that was becoming more of a constant in his life.

"Aw, thanks," she giggled again. "Now gimme a smooch, buster."

"No way!" he protested as she leaned toward him with a mischievous smile. "We're on a job right now, we gotta be professional!"

"No one's looking."

"That doesn't make it okay!"

At the end of the day, the three hero agencies went their separate ways, Mina and Kurai sharing a hug before they parted, which the girl was less than satisfied with, but Kurai's stubbornness had won out in the end. Kurai went to visit Gang Orca in the hospital, along with a few other sidekicks that had been wounded in the fighting. He was a little nervous to see the pro hero, despite his words of affirmation back in the warehouse, but in the end, he found his fears to be groundless.

"Ah, Hikari," the large man said as his intern was admitted into his room. "I heard that you made it without any further injuries." The big hero was covered in bloodied bandages, but he looked well enough, considering everything that they had been through.

"Yeah, my shoulder got a little messed up, but it should heal before too long," he replied as he looked down at the sling that his left arm rested in.

"Yes, Banshee informed me of your actions to save the children in the cages," Gang Orca nodded. "You did cause the destruction in the first place, but you worked to correct your mistake, and saw to it that none of the hostages were harmed. You also gave us a large opening to get into the warehouse without many injuries to our forces. You were reckless, yes, but I believe that the knowledge of when to apply restraint to a situation results from experience. For your first raid on a villain's HQ, you persisted admirably."

"But I did allow a grudge to cloud my judgement for a moment," Kurai said glumly. Despite Mina's reassurances that he was not an ill-intentioned person, he still harbored some guilt over the murderous rage that had possessed him. "If I had better control over myself, I doubt that you would be lying in a hospital bed right now." Bowing deeply to the hero, Kurai added, "I apologize for compromising the operation and causing your injuries, sir. I understand if you wish to send me back to U.A."

"You really need to work on that self-deprecation, Hikari," Gang Orca rumbled, surprising the young man. "I told you that you did well, despite your mistakes- I'd suggest you take my word for it."

"Y-Yes, sir," Kurai answered as he straightened up. "I just thought that I'd make my apologies anyway."

"Word of advice, Hikari?" Gang Orca chuckled. "Live and act honorably, as a hero should, but don't get so caught up in trying to make amends for every single mistake that you ever make. Otherwise, you'll never accomplish what needs to be done."

"I'll… bear that in mind, sir," Kurai promised. "Thank you for your wisdom, sir."

"By the way…" the pro hero said as he reached for a phone at his bedside. "Come stand over here, next to me."

"Okay?" the boy said as he moved to do as he was asked.

"Kota, catch," Orca said to the sidekick that had accompanied Kurai to the hospital. He tossed the phone, which the other man snatched up nimbly before holding it up horizontally.

"This good, boss?" Kota asked.

"Perfect," the big man replied. "All right, Kai, big smile. You're only getting one shot at this."

"Huh?"

Later that night, Kurai was getting ready to go to bed when he received a text message that confused him greatly. "Midoriya?" he muttered as he read the notification. "What's happening?" He frowned as he opened the message, which only displayed a location, somewhere in Hosu City.

Isn't that where Iida went? he thought. There's not a message attached to this… Maybe it's a pocket-text. It was entirely possible, but something about that didn't sit right with him. I hope that he's all right…

Still, it wasn't like he could do anything about it, other than shoot his friend a text asking him what was happening. Replying with a simple message that asked his friend if he needed something, he waited a few minutes to see if anything would happen. When his phone neglected to give him an answer, he shrugged and put the phone on his little nightstand, where a new photograph- signed by Gang Orca- had been framed and set to stand.

Once he had cleaned up, he changed into his night clothes and rolled into bed. Hopefully he can tell me what that was about in the morning… I'm too tired to figure this out right now.

Despite these thoughts, he went to sleep with a troubled spirit, and his rest was a disturbed one, filled with phantoms and unease that left him feeling even more tired the following day.

It was at dinnertime the next day that Kurai saw it on the news- Endeavor had been recognized for bringing the hero-killer, Stain, to justice. Apparently the villain had tried to kill a pro hero called 'Native', but had ultimately failed when the number two hero had arrived on the scene.

At first Kurai was happy that Tensei's attacker had been taken down, even if it was by Endeavor's hand, and he joined the other sidekicks in a moment of revelry to celebrate the removal of a blight on hero-kind. Then he saw a map that displayed the area where Stain had been found- a map that matched the place that Midoriya had texted him the previous evening. When he learned the incident had also occurred around the same time that his classmate had sent the message, and the media mentioned that there had been U.A. students that were nearly taken by the villain as hostages, he started to connect the dots.

Iida, tell me you didn't…

The last day of his internship, Gang Orca informed Kurai that he would be learning how to handle a media circus as a pro hero. Word had spread about the capture of the human smuggling ringleaders, and the man was scheduled for an interview that evening, in which he insisted that Kurai join him. The boy had balked at that, protesting that he had hardly done anything noteworthy during the raid, but his supervisor was adamant.

"As much as some heroes like Eraserhead dislike the media, it is a fact that they play a significant part in the hero world," the pro had told him. "Taking into account your quirk, your performance in the Sport's Festival, and the school that you are scheduled to graduate from, it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to escape the limelight. Better start getting experience on how to conduct yourself."

"But sir, UA doesn't teach on this subject until later in the year," the boy protested. "I'm not even sure that I'm supposed to be on a camera yet."

"Then think of this as your chance to get ahead of the curve, Hikari," Gang Orca told him. "You must always be planning ahead, if you want to be a good pro." With that, the two of them had dressed up in their hero costumes and taken a limo to their interview, where the paparazzi were already gathered outside, eager to take pictures and get a comment from the hero and his new intern. Despite his dislike of the media in general, Kurai did his best to appear pleasant for the cameras as the sidekicks kept the journalists and reporters back.

"Would it kill you to smile, kid?" Banshee asked as she walked alongside him, behind Gang Orca. "This is your first interview- you gotta make a good impression to the public if you wanna get the ball rolling on your career." She was also going to be a part of the televised special, and her boss knew that this was where she planned to announce her decision to go solo under a new agency. It was a prime opportunity for her declaration; having just helped to capture a gang of very nasty villains would be a solid selling point for the start of her career.

"Sorry," he said as he forced himself to smile into the flashing lights. "My family hasn't exactly had the best relationship with the media, so this is a little new for me."

"Oh yeah, your dad's the head honcho for the police department in Musutafu, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, just do your best to remember that you're here as a hero instead of a negative media magnet, okay?"

"Trying."

The three of them were seated in a set of comfy chairs that made it difficult to sit up straight, but they all made the effort anyway. They were going to be interviewed by an anchor named Yuri, a young woman that seemed friendly enough to Kurai when they met backstage. The session was set to last an hour, and Kurai hoped that he would be able to make it through that time without incident.

When they first went live, the interview mostly focused on Gang Orca and his efforts to disable the smuggling ring, but inevitably, the attention became fixated on Kurai, just like had feared would happen.

"Now, Mister Hikari," Yuri began when she turned to him. "You're a first-year at U.A. high, yes?"

"That's correct," he managed to answer readily enough. Keep it together, man. Try to ignore the cameras and just look at this like a normal conversation…

"You've already received some acclaim this year, having been involved in the USJ incident, and your performance in the Sport's Festival," Yuri continued with a friendly smile. "Has it been difficult to adjust to so much attention? I can only imagine how stressful that would be at your age."

He hesitated before answering with the words, "I think that after you've had a monster villain come at you full force, everything else just doesn't seem as scary." He even managed to crack a smile while he spoke, which he hoped didn't look too fake.

"I suppose so," Yuri laughed good-naturedly. "It seems like you have a good handle on keeping perspective."

"My teacher places a lot of emphasis on keeping a level head, even in the most trying of situations," Kurai grinned, relaxing just a little bit. "I'm very privileged, being able to study at Japan's most prestigious Hero Academy, and to be interning under a great hero like Gang Orca."

"You're quite the polite young man, Mister Hikari," Yuri told him as she folded her hands in front of her. "My sources also tell me that you handled yourself quite well during the raid that we just spoke with Gang Orca about, despite being a first-year. Can you tell us anything about your experiences during the battle?"

This time, Kurai looked to his supervisor before answering the question. When the big man nodded slightly, he turned back to Yuri and said, "It was a lot to handle, but I think that this was much less stressful than the USJ, since I knew what I would be getting myself into." Indicating Banshee with a small smile, he added, "She actually did most of the rescue work while I ran around like a panicked chicken."

"Hikari does himself too little credit," Gang Orca asserted, surprising Kurai. Without taking his eyes off of Yuri, the large man said, "He saw to it that many children were saved from harm, as well as accounting for a couple-dozen of the villains that we captured with very little help from myself or my sidekicks. He'll make a great hero one day, and I feel privileged to have had a hand in getting his hero career started." Looking down at the awestruck teen now, he smiled slightly and added, "I think that it won't be too long before he's one of the greats, himself."

Yuri nodded, looking impressed as she said, "Very high praise from the number ten hero, folks. I think that Mister Hikari's future in the hero world is looking very bright. Which actually reminds me of another question that I had…" Looking straight at Kurai again, the woman asked, "Do you have a hero name yet, young man?"

"I do," he said with a genuinely broad smile. "I am Kai, the Guardian Hero."

"Well, you heard it here first, folks," Yuri said with a matching smile. "The hero 'Kai' made his debut this week in explosive fashion by helping the number ten hero in the busting of a major crime syndicate. When we return from our commercial break, whispers about Gang Orca's best sidekick leaving his side to strike out on her own have been running through the rumor mill for weeks, but do they have any validity? Stay tuned to find out!"

As the cameras went dark, Kurai looked over at Gang Orca once more, still surprised by the praise that he had received. Seeing it, the pro hero smiled and told him in a low voice, "I've heard some of the teachers talking about you, Hikari. Some of them think that you could be the next Symbol of Peace after All Might retires. At first I didn't pay much attention to them, but after seeing you in action, I think that they just might be on to something."

Kurai's words failed him, then. To receive such recognition from his favorite hero was like a dream come true, and he felt like anything that he could say would only ruin the moment. So he just smiled, trying to keep himself from jumping up and down like a child excited about a gift on Christmas morning.

He was still smiling when he returned to class and started to swap stories with the others. Bakugo showing up with a perfectly groomed head sent him and half of the other guys into hysterics, and in that moment, Kurai felt as though all was as it should be in their lives. He had friends, comrades-in-arms who knew what it was to face death and still stand with their heads held high. He had a very cute girlfriend that he was growing to adore, despite- and perhaps because of- her eccentrics and peppy attitude that so contrasted with his own outlook on life.

Then his oldest friend, Tenya Iida, walked into the room with a haunted look on his face, followed by Midoriya and Todoroki, both of them still looking a little banged up from their experience in Hosu. Officially, they had been wounded fighting Nomu monsters, and Stain had tried to attack them, but that hadn't sat right with Kurai.

He knew his friend, and he knew how he had a habit of getting tunnel vision whenever he wanted to see justice done. He also knew that Midoriya was loyal to a fault, and would do anything to help keep his friends safe. He suspected that Todoroki was the same, even if he wasn't as loud about it as their green-haired classmate. All of these attributes, coupled with Kurai's suspicion about Iida's choice location for his internship led him to one conclusion.

There's no way that he just happened to be targeted by the villain that took down his brother.

When Iida saw him, the haunted look in his eyes was replaced with a friendly spark as he walked over to Kurai's desk with a wave, Midoriya following him with a similar expression on his face. "Kurai, I saw your interview the other day," Tenya said as he stopped in front of his friend with a smile. "You must have performed well to earn such praise from a high-ranking pro."

Kurai forced a stiff smile onto his face as he replied, "Thanks. I saw you guys in the news, too. Must have been pretty crazy, getting tangled up with a villain that took Endeavor to subdue." He saw Iida's eyes widen slightly as he realized that something was off, so he added, "You guys should tell me all about it after class."

Deku: And for a minute there, I thought the tension was going to be in the past.

Kai: Ho no, he's just getting started.

Deku: What do you mean by that?

Mataras: Let's just say that from now on, our readers can expect the stakes to keep rising- even more so than the original story.

Deku: Wait, are we getting close to Hikari's death? Already?!

Kai: No! ...I think.

Mataras: Who knows?

Deku/Kai: You do!

Kai: What I can't figure out is if this story will continue on beyond my death!

Mataras: I suppose that'll depend on at what point in the story you bite it.

Deku: Wait, have you not decided when to kill him?

Mataras: Oh no, I have.

Kai: Stop misleading us!

Mataras: No.

Kai: Gah!

Deku: Next time- Talk With Your Fists

Mataras: We'll finally get answers about why Yaoyorozu doesn't like Hikari very much. Expect some straight shots to be thrown during the chapter.

Kai: I'd expect 'em right now! Hyah!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

It was at lunch when Kurai was sitting with Mina and their other friends when Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida sat down at the table next to them, the two boys looking a little apprehensive when Kurai quirked an eyebrow at them. "Why so serious, guys?" he asked them in an even enough tone.

"Er, no reason," Iida said as he took his seat. "I suppose I've just been a little rattled since Hosu."

"I'm sure anybody would, getting jumped by Stain out of nowhere like that," Kurai replied as he turned his attention back to his food. "But other than that part, I'd imagine that you guys learned a lot from studying pro heroes in action, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah!" Midoriya said with a bright smile. "Gran Torino was kind of… unorthodox, but I learned a bunch of good things from him!"

"Hey, that's great," Kurai said with a slight smile. He looked back at Iida, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his food untouched. "What do you say we have a little spar, then?"