The train ride back home was, as always, packed. Yet, thankfully, it was also as uneventful as always.

When they got back to Chisuke's place, Deku and Uraraka marveled at just how different the lawn was. A wild lawn with equally wild flowers was very different to what the norm was. Although he didn't tend to the veritable garden himself, Chisuke was still happy his friends found it fascinating.

When they got inside, Deku and Ochaco were welcomed by his parents with open arms. They were happy to see him and Himiko had made friends, and they were even happier to treat them to dinner. They said it was a good opportunity to show people some food from his dad's homeland. Naturally, that meant meat, specifically, rather large steaks. Far from the wagyu of Japan, it was a lot… more.

It was nothing like wagyu, really, although wagyu was playing a different ball game. Chisuke learned that much from his parents talking about it. Not that that mattered, he was going to enjoy the food anyway, and Himiko loved steak. In general she was a big meat eater, maybe that was due to her Quirk, maybe not, all Chisuke knew was that Himiko had sharp teeth and she was very eager to use them.

'In more ways than one, but I told her she can't use them that way. Not yet…'

His neck was safe, for now.

While they were eating dinner, his parents led the conversation mostly by asking questions to Izuku and Ochaco. Stuff like what their hopes were for the future, what kind of Hero they wanted to be, that sort of thing. Although, eventually, Izuku had a question for Chisuke, "Hey, Chisuke. I've been meaning to ask this question for a while now, a-and I'm sorry if it's a bit… personal, but… How'd you discover your Quirk? Seems like it'd be hard to discover naturally…"

Himiko and his parents looked at him, a silent question of if he'd like to answer that question. Chisuke nodded and then began to explain, "Well…"

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Chisuke POV, Ten years ago…

I'd been waiting eagerly to discover what my Quirk was. It was that time, for all of us in my school. Some people got cool Quirks, others got pretty mediocre ones. I was worried about getting something totally worthless, or weak. Mom has the ability to tell when someone is hurt within five feet of her, and Dad… Well, he doesn't have a Quirk.

We had a family dog back then called Suki, and he was normally very nice and relaxed. However, one day, he got injured. We still don't know how exactly it happened, but his leg was cut open, and the wound got infected. We didn't have a lot of money back then, so we weren't sure if he was going to make it. We couldn't really afford a vet.

I wanted to see him, and comfort him, so even though I was told to be careful around him since injured dogs can bite even if they wouldn't normally, I went to do just that.

He looked docile enough, but being a five year old, I naturally stepped way too much into his comfort zone. I touched his wound, and that caused him to bite me. It hurt a lot, but that was when I noticed the red energy for the first time.

I bit my thumb to try and keep from screaming, and that was when I learned that it worked on me, too. Before long, we were both healed.

It was my first time using my Quirk, however, and the strain was a lot, so I ended up passing out.

I didn't come to until ten minutes later, when Mom found me. Suki was licking my face and whining, so between him and Mom, there was no way I was going to stay out for very long.

It was great that I discovered my Quirk, but… At the same time, I knew that it was going to cause problems at school.

Oh how right I was.

/-/

Third Person POV, Present Day

Deku and Ochaco were somewhat surprised by his story, although not in a bad way. Ochaco smiled, "That's a cool story! I mean- Not the 'you getting bitten' part, but, how you found out about your Quirk."

Deku nodded in agreement, "Yeah! Although," he looked at Papa Sato, "You're Quirkless?"

Chisuke's dad nodded and smiled, "Yep. It doesn't bother me these days. When I was a kid, it sucked, I was ostracized in school, didn't have a lot of friends…" He shrugged, "But that's all in the past. Now? I've got my family, and I don't need much more than that." His smile turned wry, "Shizuko's the best wife I could have asked for, Chisuke the best son, and Himiko the best daughter-in-law!"

That got Chisuke embarrassed, he turned red and looked down at his plate, "Dad, please."

Himiko grinned and threw her arm around Chisuke, "Thanks, future Dad!"

That drew a laugh from the rest of the table. Chisuke couldn't stop himself from smiling, even if it was embarrassing. He agreed with his dad, after all, Himiko would be the best daughter-in-law he could have asked for, once they got that far. Yet, Chisuke knew they wouldn't be doing anything like that until they were out of high school.

Ochaco sighed dreamily, "It must be great to know who you want to spend the rest of your life with already." She smiled brightly, "I'm still thinking about that myself! I guess you two don't have to worry, huh?"

Himiko nodded, "That's right~ We don't have to worry about anything like that! As if we'd ever separate." She giggled, "It's about as likely as the world blowing up tomorrow!" Even if the world did blow up, she felt, the two of them would probably find a way.

Chisuke had to agree, he couldn't really see a life without Himiko. That just wasn't in the cards for him. That being said, he wanted to move the conversation forward, "So, Deku, how'd you discover your Quirk?"

The other boy got really nervous and waved his hand dismissively, "O-Oh, ya know… I'm kind of a… late bloomer, I guess? I didn't know I had it f-for a while, and then one day, boom! I… broke my arm." His laugh was just as nervous as his expression, "A-Anyway, Ochaco, what about you?"

Ochaco perked up, "Oh, that's easy! I accidentally made Dad float in the air! It made me really tired, luckily we were inside." She laughed, "He was so proud!" She looked at Himiko, "What about you, Himiko? Discovering your Quirk had to be interesting, considering what it can do."

Himiko suddenly got sheepish as she scratched her cheek and averted her gaze, "Y-Yeah, uhm… It's a funny story! Aanddd very loong, too. I'll tell you guys later!" She yawned, "I'm starting to get tired, anyway."

Ochaco looked like she wanted to ask more about it, but Deku yawned and stretched, "Yeah, so am I… Today was intense. I think I'm gonna head home." He was finished with his dinner anyway, his plate was completely clean, "Ochacho, wanna come with me? I know it's getting kind of late, so it might be better for us if we travel together."

She saw the logic in that, "Yeah! Sure. Eating that steak made me feel super sleepy anyway… I might end up in a food coma." She smiled wryly, "Although maybe I'll start buying some American steaks myself, I could get used to them! If they're not too expensive, anyway."

After everyone bid farewell to Deku and Ochaco, Chisuke and Himiko helped his parents clean up before heading upstairs.

They were actually tired, and so sleep came easily to them in their respective rooms.

/-/

The next day, school began normally enough. Morning classes were standard non-Hero courses, things that, while Chisuke understood their importance, he silently wished weren't. Almost every student felt that way, though, except for Deku and Momo. Those two were on a different level.

What everyone, regardless of their feelings on civilian subjects, was excited about, was what they would learn in their Hero course. It wasn't supposed to be a very active day, but it was supposed to prepare them for what was going to come tomorrow. It seemed that UA didn't really have any brakes on their train, and Chisuke was all for it.

They all needed to do their very best if they wanted to be Heroes after all.

Lunchtime was a welcome way to wake them up and get energy into their bodies for what was to come, regardless of what it may be. Chisuke was enjoying a simple meal of white rice with some seasonings on it. It was simple, but it was as Lunch Rush said, white rice warms the soul.

He was sitting with Himiko, Ochaco, Izuku, and Tenya while they talked about the class rep vote that had happened that morning. Chisuke and Himiko both voted for Deku, as did Tenya, as he revealed. Izuku was incredibly apprehensive about taking on a role like that.

Eventually the conversation shifted as Tenya explained how he felt he wasn't fit for a leadership role, at least not yet. He had a lot to live up to, being the younger brother of Ingenium, and being next in line in a storied family of Heroes. Learning about all of that helped Chisuke realize more about who Tenya was as a person. Far from being just a living embodiment of a Japanese salaryman, he looked to live up to the expectations placed on him, and to make his family proud.

That, Chisuke felt, many of them could relate to.

Eventually, however, a shock. The alarm sounded, warning students of an unidentified threat that breached the perimeter. The result was immediate as students got up in a rush to leave the building. None of the group of friends could have properly accounted for just how the rest of the students would move as a panicked mob, rather than UA students.

The hordes were difficult to navigate, and it was all Chisuke and Himiko could do to stay close to each other, hand in hand, as they pushed towards the glass. They found Izuku in a similar situation, and they noticed the same thing he did. Chisuke exclaimed, "I-It's just the media?! We need to let everyone know!"

Himiko agreed, "Yeah! I'm not going to die by getting trampled after coming this far!" She looked at Izuku, "Do you have a plan, class rep?"

Izuku was already looking around, "Uh… Tenya!" He called out to the other boy, who was near Ochaco in the middle of the horde. He looked over, and Izuku continued, "It's just the media! We need to let everyone know, somehow! A-Ah, I dunno how though…"

Tenya gasped and, thinking quickly, called out to Ochaco, "Ochaco! You have to make me float!" while extending his hand towards her. She nodded and reached her hand out to him. It was difficult, they almost didn't make it, but luckily she was able to activate her Quirk by touching his hand.

What followed was something that would no doubt be remembered and talked about for a long time in UA. Tenya used his engines to fly him to the wall and ended up hitting it while posing like a man on an emergency exit sign, "Attention, everyone! It's okay, it's just the media! There's no threat! You all need to calm down, and remember that we are UA students! We're supposed to be better, we need to be better! We need to live up to our school's reputation! Please, relax!"

Miraculously, the panic died down. Everyone was too busy looking and listening to Tenya to worry, and eventually, everyone did begin to return to wherever they were before. Especially as an announcement came on and corroborated what Tenya said.

Emergency Exit Iida became talk of the school for the rest of the day, and by the end of it, Izuku gave up his role as class rep to Tenya. His reasoning being that Tenya knew what to do, and he executed his plan while getting everyone to listen to him. Izuku felt he couldn't do that, and he felt that Tenya was better suited for the role overall.

All in all, the day was eventful in a very different way to the previous one. They were informed that they would be going to the USJ the next day, which was getting everyone excited all over again. After all, it was more Hero training, this time more focused on different situations where they'd have to rescue people.

When the day finally came, they were all told to dress in their Hero uniforms and gathered outside while waiting for their bus. Tenya was trying to direct everyone to stand in an orderly fashion so they could enter calmly and efficiently. However, nobody seemed very interested in listening to him. Especially once the bus came and was revealed to have an open layout.

Most of the focus was on people asking Deku about his power, while Chisuke was checking his satchel to make sure he had all of the medical supplies he needed, even in a hypothetical scenario. Himiko was sitting next to him and humming a tune while tilting her head left and right. Chisuke had noticed that her outfit had a new addition to it, a belt that had a strange, slick, series of capsules lining her left side. There were tubes attached to them, and it seemed there was an exit path for something to leave the tubes, although Chisuke wasn't sure what. Himiko said it was a late addition to her gear because it took the engineering team extra time to get it ready.

The conversation moved on to people ribbing on Bakugo for having such a terrible personality. However, eventually Kirishima asked him from where he was sitting, "Hey, Chisuke. What's with all the supplies? This is just a training mission."

Chisuke smiled, "It's a training mission, but you'll never know when you need medical supplies. If we're to treat this as the real thing, then why wouldn't I bring my stuff? Besides," he pulled his hand up, revealing he was holding a Pez dispenser, "I have these."

Kirishima grinned, "Woah, hey! Mind if I have one of those?" Chisuke shrugged and so Kirishima held out his hand, retrieving one of the snacks, "Sweet, thanks!"

Chisuke didn't realize his terrible mistake until Denki, who was sitting next to Kirishima, asked, "Woah, you got Pez? Can I have one?"

Of course Chisuke gave him one. He was worried that maybe the others would all steal his Pez, but thankfully they arrived at their destination before anyone else could ask. He was a fool for forgetting what it was like to have something like that while in class, because it was inevitable that people would ask for some, and he was too nice to tell them no.

They all piled out and were met by Thirteen, the Space Hero who had saved thousands of innocents over her career. She welcomed everyone and, as they walked in, said, "It's important to remember that having incredible powers walks a fine line. My Quirk has saved a lot of people by putting out fires or sucking away debris, but it can just as easily be used to kill. In scenarios such as the ones you'll be facing inside the USJ, you need to remember that great power brings great responsibility."

As they entered the USJ and saw the various rescue scenarios, the students marveled at the various locations that were available to them. Chisuke was reminded of why UA was the best Hero school around. Sure, there were other Hero schools, and they could get you licensed, but none were as comprehensive and successful as UA.

Aizawa was there as well, ready to guide them deeper into the facility. However, as they prepared to walk down the stairs, everyone paused. There was a chill in the air, a feeling that Chisuke had never felt before. A feeling of pure malicious intent.

That was when a strange purple warp appeared in the middle of the USJ, and out of it walked dozens of people, each one looking like some sort of criminal or Villain, before a guy walking with a giant monster exited.

Aizawa raised his goggles and grabbed his binding cloth while saying, "Stay back! This isn't some act, or training. Those are real Villains. Thirteen, stay with them, I'll take care of this." Thirteen nodded before Aizawa leapt forward, jumping down the stairs before landing and going to engage. All Chisuke could do was watch in awe and fear.

Then, as Thirteen tried to lead them out, they were stopped by the portal Villain, who appeared before them, "There is no escape for you." After he fully formed, this strange black and purple formless void of a man, he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello. And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the symbol of peace, to take his last breath? I believe he was supposed to be here today, and yet I see no sign of him! There must have been some sort of change in plans we could not have foreseen…"

He extended his formless body out, "Ah well, I suppose it doesn't matter… I still have a role to play."

What followed was Bakugo and Kirishima rushing forward to try and engage with the villain. Yet, it seemed all they succeeded in doing was making him upset, as he tried to engulf everyone in his warp. Chisuke was able to escape, alongside Shoji, Uraraka, Sero, Mina, and Tenya. Everyone else was teleported somewhere else.

Chisuke grasped at his binding cloth and stared at the circling void, his eyes wide. He gritted his teeth and listened as Thirteen instructed Tenya to flee and alert the rest of the school. All the while, he could only think to himself, 'How much worse is this going to get?'

/-/

Himiko was falling.

She had barely oriented herself and realized she'd been teleported before she hit the water. Deep in the ocean, she was terrified, worried, and so much more. That Villain had separated the class! These villains were threatening her and her friends!

'They're threatening Chisuke.'

There was no way in hell she was going to let that stand. They'd pay for what they were doing, and it all started with her orienting herself and started to swim towards the ship.

However, she didn't get far before Tsuyu appeared and took her, along with Deku, up to it. Once they were there, Himiko frowned and looked as the water Villains encircled them. She shook her head, "These Villains are in our way! We gotta beat them, somehow…"

Deku agreed, "They're not coming on board… Probably because they have no idea what our Quirks can do. We're going to need to use that to our advantage, here, but…" He looked at the two girls, "Can you guys tell me about your Quirks? I know the basics of yours, Himiko, but…"

They both nodded and Tsuyu went on to describe her Quirk. She could do everything a frog could, which was no doubt going to be a big help to them. Tsu remarked that she felt it odd that she was transported into the water area, and Izuku concluded that meant that the warp guy had no idea on who had what Quirks either.

Ultimately, that brought the question to Himiko's mind, "So… What do we do? My Quirk isn't exactly a big help here." She pouted, "Not like there's anywhere I can sneak around right now, anyway." That was saddening to her, she really wanted to make them pay herself.

Izuku took a few moments to think before coming up with an idea, "Himiko, how far can your knockout gas reach?"

She blinked a few times before looking at it, "Pretty far, I'm not sure on the exact numbers, but… It could reach the guys out in the water."

He grinned, "Great! Okay, so here's the plan, guys…"

Really, it was simple.

Tsuyu was going to leap towards the shore while carrying Himiko in her arms and Deku using her tongue. Then, Deku was going to use his Quirk to create a vortex to draw together the water Villains. Following that, Himiko would blast them all with knockout gas to make sure they wouldn't threaten them anymore. If necessary, they would have to go back and rescue the Villains to stop them from drowning, but by the way Izuku figured it, they should end up on the shore anyway due to the tide tossing them all there.

The plan began just before the water Villains started to move to attack. Tsuyu did as she was supposed to, while Deku prepared an attack and unleashed a vortex, finally Himiko took great pleasure in turning up her knockout gas settings and range to deal with the Villains.

Tsu declared they cleared the water zone, and ultimately, Himiko could only hope that Chisuke was having as easy a time as she was.

/-/

Chisuke was… facing difficulties.

The others had devised a plan to fight the warp Villain which didn't need his help. That left him free to slip away, down the stairs, while none of them were paying attention. He snuck behind a bush and watched as Aizawa took on the villains. He wanted to be nearby, in case his teacher needed his assistance. He was deathly afraid of him being killed, and these Villains meant business. Yet, Aizawa was holding them off, which made Chisuke wonder if he really needed to be down there to begin with.

That was, until everything started to go wrong all at once.

Aizawa came to blows with the guy that seemed to be the leader, a strange man with a hand over his face. The Villain started to decay Aizawa's arm, sending a terrible chill through Chisuke's body as he saw Aizawa's clothes and flesh give way to muscle and bone.

Chisuke was about to move to join him, but then he caught a glimpse of what was happening above. Thirteen enacted a plan to buy Tenya the time he needed, but clearly wasn't prepared to face an opponent like the Warp Villain. He opened a warp gate behind Thirteen and began to tear apart her body, and Chisuke's eyes widened. He wondered if he should go back…

Then, as Aizawa dispatched the last remaining thugs, the strange monster from before appeared. The Decay Villain called it a Nomu, something designed to kill All Might himself. The sight of the monster gripped Chisuke's heart in cold fear, but he began to leave his hiding place and hurry to try and ambush the Decay villain.

Before he could get very far, Nomu grabbed a hold of Aizawa and smashed him onto the ground face first, sending blood splattering everywhere. Chisuke sped up, and as the Nomu broke another of Aizawa's bones, he tossed his binding cloth forward towards the Decay Villain, who was busy monologuing about destroying All Might and didn't notice his approach.

What he did notice was the cloth wrapping around his waist, and how he was thrown back by the same cloth. He hit the ground, and Chisuke was about to follow up, but before he could, his vision was blocked by Nomu. His eyes widened as the massive brute of a villain let out a strange wheezing groan before it grabbed him by the arm. His bones were crushed like twigs and caused him to scream in pain before Nomu tossed him away like he was a piece of trash.

He landed on the ground and rolled back a couple feet before coming to a stop. His whole body screamed at him, yet he still gritted his teeth and looked towards Nomu, who was going back to Aizawa. Chisuke's binding cloth had been released and was now strewn across the ground, the Decay Villain stood and chuckled a warped, deranged chuckle, "A level one trying to take on the game master and his final boss? You're pretty cool, for a brat. Tell you what… You leave me and Nomu to our work, and I won't kill you like the pest you are."

He took Chisuke's silence as an affirmative and turned his attention back to Aizawa, who looked at Chisuke with gritted teeth and spoke words that Chisuke heard clearly, in spite of how far apart they were, "Y-You… Dumbass…" before Nomu slammed his head into the ground again, causing Chisuke to gasp.

'No, no… I'm not going to let him die!'

He struggled to move his arms, one was completely shattered, the other was sore and felt sluggish. Yet, he moved that one all the same, he put it in front of him horizontally so he could bite into it while still seeming out of action.

The way his bones snapped back into place and repaired hurt, but he bit harder to stop from screaming. Eventually, the pain subsided, and he was strong enough to start to move again. He was careful as he reached into his satchel and produced a metal syringe, one he prefilled with morphine, entirely because he wanted to prepare as if he was going to be in an emergency before they arrived that day.

'I didn't expect to be in a real emergency…' He pushed the syringe into his arm, in a vein he saw, and injected it. Then, he dropped the empty syringe and began to stand. The medicine would dampen the pain he felt now, and the pain he felt later. He gathered up his cloth in his hands as Nomu again smashed Aizawa's head into the ground and yelled, "Hey! I didn't say we were done!"

Nomu stared at him, but didn't move. Decay Villain scratched his neck, "You didn't want to take my deal after all? But I was so generous…" He shook his head, "Fine… If you want to play Hero, then," in a burst of speed Chisuke wasn't expecting, suddenly the man was closing in on him, "Die like one!"

Chisuke's eyes widened, and he heard Himiko and Izuku call his name. His vision was filled with the man's hand as it closed in on him, the Villain grabbed his face, and…

Nothing.

In the background, Aizawa's eyes glowed red as Nomu held his head up. Decay Villain chuckled, "You really are so cool…"

Before Aizawa's Quirk could wear off, Deku bolted forward, "I won't let you hurt Chisuke!" he moved quickly, closing the gap at speeds Chisuke would have been shocked by if he had the time to be. Deku connected his fist with something, and the powerful wind blasted the Villain away, along with Chisuke, both in separate directions. Chisuke ended up landing in the dirt a few feet away, while the Villain went further.

However, when the dust settled, all saw that Nomu had taken the hit, and it had done nothing to it. As Chisuke stood, he saw the Decay Villain not far away doing the same, "Man… This Smash of yours is pretty strong… You must be one of All Might's disciples. Ah well… I'm done with you."

Nomu moved to grab Deku.

Tsuyu, who had moved closer, shot her tongue out to grab him while Himiko readied her knockout gas to hit Nomu.

The Decay Villain jumped at Chisuke, reaching out to grab him again, while Chisuke braced himself and prepared to throw out his cloth in a desperate attempt to stop the man…

Then the doors to the USJ exploded open, and from the entrance, came a powerful, booming baritone, "Have no fear, students… I am here!"

The Decay Villain looked in the direction of the voice, seemingly not interested in Chisuke anymore, "Well… Looks like our game is getting a continue!"

All Might moved faster than anyone could see. In a blink, he had taken out what thugs had recovered from Aizawa's attacks, saved the man himself, then grabbed Chisuke, Izuku, Himiko, and Tsuyu. He took all of them back to the steps and set them down, laying Aizawa down carefully while saying, "I'm sorry, my friend… I should have been here. All of you, get to safety, take Aizawa. He needs help."

Chisuke nodded and immediately took Aizawa into his arms, the man was drifting in and out of consciousness while Chisuke began to hurry up the stairs. He heard Izuku talking to All Might, but he didn't pay attention to it. His ears were ringing, he could only hear the pounding of his own heart, and his mind was racing a mile a minute as he acted on instinct and instinct alone. He could only focus on the man in his arms, and the woman that lay almost torn apart near the entrance.

He thought he heard someone calling his name, but he didn't pay attention. Instead, once he reached the top of the stairs, he set Aizawa down gently next to Thirteen and turned her onto her side. He then, with some effort, pulled her helmet off and revealed her unconscious visage. She was a fair skinned young woman with short, blonde hair with lighter bangs on the top, reminiscent of a spiral.

He silently apologized to both her and Aizawa before he pulled their mouths open gently. He stuck a thumb into each of their mouths and closed their mouth as carefully as he could, allowing his Quirk to activate.

Crimson energy pooled from both his hands, and entered their bodies. Aizawa's bones began to repair, his skin began to regenerate, the injuries Thirteen had sustained from the warp villain were mended the quickest, as Chisuke muttered, "Come on, come on…"

Thirteen stirred first, her eyes blearily blinked open, revealing that her irises had rings around them. They reminded Chisuke of black holes, but he couldn't focus on that. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and noticed what he was doing, he could only smile at her, "It's alright now, Thirteen!" Though he was growing more tired by the moment, he grinned, "I am here."

He removed his thumb from her mouth when she began to move, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Himiko, worry clear in her eyes as she said, "Chisuke, don't strain yourself too much…"

Chisuke could only shake his head, "Get Thirteen out of here, go with the others. I'll be there after Aizawa regains consciousness." She didn't move at first, so he reiterated with a stern edge to his voice, "Go!"

Himiko steeled her gaze and nodded before hurrying to help Thirteen, who was still delirious and not at her full strength, exit the building. Chisuke could hear the sound of battle raging not far away as All Might engaged with Nomu, but Chisuke kept his focus on Aizawa. He gritted his teeth before muttering, "Come on, come on! I'm not gonna let you die!"

The bones righted themselves, the skin was healed, his nose fixed itself. Aizawa was slowly put back together, but there was still a lot wrong, and Chisuke's vision began to blur. He had to stop healing and pull back his thumb, an action that made tears begin to stream down his face. Yet, all the same, Aizawa began to wake, causing Chisuke to gasp. Aizawa blinked blearily a few times and looked at him, "Wha… Chisuke…" He looked out at the USJ and then back before tiredly saying, "You really are… a dumbass."

In spite of his teacher's words, Chisuke smiled in relief, "Mr. Aizawa, I'm sorry, I just- I couldn't stand to see you hurt!" He tried to wipe the flowing tears he had away, but they kept coming.

Aizawa stared at him wide eyed for a moment before returning to an annoyed, if tired, expression, "...Are the others okay?"

Chisuke nodded, "I think so… I know some are still in the USJ, but… The main threat…" He looked out just in time to see All Might knock his opponent into the air, "...Is being taken care of."

The ground shook as All Might threw the Villain into the ground, and again when he landed. Even though it was so far away, Chisuke could hear what All Might said, "Now for a lesson! You may have heard these words before, but now I'll teach you what they really mean! Go beyond…" He clenched his fist and reeled back for a punch before striking, "PLUS…

UUUULTTTRAAAA!"

The entire USJ shook as Nomu shot out of the building, crashing into the ceiling and going further, into the sky and away, far away.

Chisuke tore his attention away from that to scoop up his teacher, "Come on, we need to get outside." Aizawa was clearly not happy with that, but he had no room to complain, especially as Chisuke said, "I know, but… You're still too weak. I couldn't heal you all the way. If you tried to walk, let alone fight, it'd undo a lot of the work I've done."

Besides, Aizawa's stamina was shot due to his body regenerating that much, even if Chisuke knew his teacher would never admit it, Aizawa was far too tired to fight anymore. He was so tired that he ended up passing out again on their way out.

He carried his teacher out of the building just in time to see the rest of the faculty running towards the building. Himiko was sitting against a wall, while Thirteen seemed to have lost consciousness and was propped up against the same wall. Himiko gasped as she saw Chisuke and stood up to help him with Aizawa, "Chisuke! You shouldn't have exhausted yourself so much, you've been through enough…"

Chisuke smiled tiredly at her, and as the teachers grew closer, he felt himself able to relax. Aizawa wasn't in danger anymore, everyone was going to be okay, he didn't need to keep fighting.

His vision began to blur and he wasn't able to stop the encroaching darkness from taking hold of him.

As he fell, Himiko reached out to grab him. Luckily, Present Mic was faster and grabbed him while saying, "Don't worry, Himiko." In spite of looking worried, he smiled at her, "We've got this." He moved Chisuke to sit against the wall next to Thirteen before hurrying to join the rest inside.

Himiko could hear the sirens of emergency services in the distance, and it was all she could do to set Aizawa down against the wall as well. She then sat next to Chisuke and rested his head in her lap, "Get some rest, darling… It's all going to be okay thanks to you."

She just wished that she could have done more to help. Himiko was ready to jump in to fight Nomu and his handler the second they put their hands on Chisuke, but Tsuyu held her back. She said that if Himiko went in, all she'd be doing is risking herself. Ultimately, though, it was Deku who started to rush ahead, and Tsu wasn't fast enough to stop him.

Deku and Chisuke were alike in some subtle ways, Himiko noticed. At least, subtle most of the time. When the chips were down, their similarities shone brightly, like the sun in the sky. Chisuke rushed in to save Aizawa, Deku raced in to save Chisuke… Both were willing to throw away their own lives to save someone else. It was admirable, but…

Himiko hoped they'd learn to outgrow it. It was heroic, sure, but it was also suicidal. If things had gone just a bit differently, both of them could have died. Himiko had never actually had a brush with death before, and she didn't like it, not one bit. She normally found injuries fascinating, and normally they would never bother her, but seeing Chisuke that injured, stroking his hair while he slept…

It scared her, it scared her to her core, and she wasn't sure what to do about that. All she could do was hold on to what she was feeling, and remember it. Maybe remembering it would help her learn to prevent it, and maybe it would help her when she talked to Chisuke about… all of this, later.

For the moment, however, emergency services were growing closer. She could see the sirens, and she saw some of the other students leaving the USJ. They joined her against the wall, but she found it hard to smile or be glad they were okay when Chisuke was so vulnerable.

Emergency services arrived, and the attack on the USJ was officially over.

/-/

Chisuke saw darkness.

At first, that was all he felt, as well. Just the dark nothingness of unconsciousness. Yet, soon that was replaced with dull sounds, barely heard through noise. Noise not unlike rushing water, and the dull roar of an open cavern.

"Is he…?"

"Yes, he'll be…"

"...Take him…"

"Must see…"

"...No, I won't-"

Then the voices fell away, and he was alone again. Had he been moved? Was he still at the USJ?

'...The USJ!'

He sat upright with a gasp and looked around, at first he only saw tangible darkness, like he could reach out and pull it away. He rubbed his eyes, and after blinking away remnants of exhaustion, he started to make out shapes. Familiar shapes, a familiar feeling, the sound of a ceiling fan with its metal 'ropes' jingling against each other every so often, soft moonlight peering through a curtained off window…

Finally, he knew where he was.

He was home.

A breath he didn't know he was holding escaped from him, and he got out of bed.

He was still wearing his Hero costume, albeit without his satchel, and he knew he was going to have to return that, his case with the number '10' on it said as much. He felt sluggish and weak, but he still headed to the door after slipping his boots back on, because he could change later. He needed to let everyone know he was okay.

He heard them, down in the kitchen, before they heard him. He walked down the stairs, and it took a few steps for their conversation to die off. Once Chisuke had reached the bottom of the steps and rounded the corner to the kitchen, he saw his parents and Himiko, and he smiled, "Hey, guys." His voice was weak, so maybe it sounded worse than he actually felt.

It didn't matter, because all three of them got up and hurried over to him, at once they said, "Chisuke!" while Himiko wrapped him in a careful hug and said, "You've been out all day, we didn't think we'd see you until tomorrow…" She huffed, "I wanted to sit in your room and wait, but they said it'd be best if I let you wake on your own."

He returned her hug, while his parents closed in and joined the now group hug. Mom was clearly restraining herself from hugging too tightly as she said, "We were so scared when we heard what happened at the USJ. You and your classmates had to fight real Villains! And at first we didn't know if you and Himiko were okay…"

Dad patted his back, "We got a call from Himiko that you both were okay. Since you only had exhaustion and some minor bruising, the hospital let us take you home. Himiko's parents came around for a bit, but…"

Himiko shook her head, "I wasn't going to go back now! You were hurt, and I didn't want to leave you alone."

Mom added, "School is canceled tomorrow, everyone needs time to recover and the school needs to up their security. Though since none of 1-A sustained any serious injuries, I imagine it won't be long before you guys are back at it." She sighed, "I knew you were going to run into risks even as a student, but… I didn't expect it to be so soon."

Dad let go first as he smiled, "You were a real Hero, I hear. Healed two teachers and stood up to a powerful Villain to keep people safe. I always knew you had it in you, Chisuke."

Mom let go second, "You must be hungry… I'll get you something to eat." Then, she left, clearly there was more she wanted to say, but his mom always had trouble putting into words how she felt. That was okay, he would talk to her about it later.

Himiko let go last, "Yeah, let's eat, then you need to get back to resting!" She huffed, "You took care of the teachers, so it's my turn to take care of you."

There was no arguing with her on that, he knew, so he just nodded and agreed.

While they were eating, his parents had questions for both of them. What was it like, what did they do, were they scared, that sort of thing. Both Himiko and Chisuke answered as honestly as they could, although in Chisuke's count, he avoided recounting the worst of what he experienced. He didn't need to make his Mom pass out, nor did he want to relive the memory himself.

After getting something to eat and drink, he felt stronger than he had before, but he was still tired. Before he went to bed, he decided to get a change of clothes and a shower.

The water on his skin was refreshing, it washed away a lot of the tension still within him. Once he was clean, he shut off the water and started to go through the routine of getting dressed. However, as he was, he ended up staring at the mirror, which was covered in fog.

He took hold of a hair dryer and used it to clear the condensation, and was greeted with his own visage looking back at him.

His build was athletic, but his skin was pallid, as it always was. As if any color or luminosity that might have belonged was drained from it. The bags under his eyes were perpetual, revealing how little he got good sleep, how often he stayed up late, how even if he slept eight hours, it was never enough. His irises were large and blood red, they almost seemed to glow, and he wondered if maybe it was to compensate for having the skin tone he did.

His black hair hid his eyebrows, falling over his ears and reaching his neck. He remembered Mina said he looked creepy. He felt he couldn't disagree, if not that, then he might call himself eerie. That was a word he'd heard used to describe him before.

He stared into his own eyes as if he might discern something from them, but instead his mind just ended up wandering to the USJ. A real life or death situation, and Nomu… It could have killed him without even trying. Yet he still tried to fight it, to save Aizawa, and he wondered what came over him.

He wasn't thinking, because there was no room to think in that situation. He moved, he acted, and he did what he felt was right. Maybe that was what being a Hero really was about at the end of the day, but he couldn't escape the fact that he almost died. He really, truly, had come close to losing his life.

There was a knock on the door, and he heard Himiko, "Chisuke, are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

He pulled himself away from the mirror and went to finish getting dressed, "Y-Yeah, just a minute."

Once he was dressed, he exited. Himiko was there, wearing a simple pale pink T-shirt that covered her whole body. She smiled, and then the two of them returned to his room together.

They sat on his bed, the only light in the room being from the lamp on his nightstand, and that was the moment that Himiko clung to his side and whispered, voice filled with anxiety and sorrow, "What were you thinking, Chisuke?" She rested her head on the crook of his neck, "Facing off with those Villains on your own, ignoring me when I called to you, that look in your eyes…"

She pulled away just enough to look him in his eyes with her own amber ones, like his, sometimes if the light caught them right, they appeared to glow. Now, however, they were filled with overwhelming concern mixed with a torrent of other emotions Chisuke had trouble placing, "I've never seen you look like that before, it worried me, I was afraid you'd go overboard trying to save them."

Himiko rested her head on his chest, "Please don't do anything like that again. Don't start a fight you can't win… We need to make it together, and show the world that we're not bad together. I can't do it alone. We both need to live long enough to become heroes."

Chisuke felt guilty for making her worry like that. He wrapped his arms around her while thinking of how best to respond, "I… I was acting on instinct. My body moved without me telling it to, on its own… I didn't think when I stood up to face that thing, Nomu, again. I just acted." He sighed, "Deku saved my life. I owe him a lot for stepping in, otherwise I might have been killed. Mr. Aizawa, too, I… wanted to save him, but he saved me right back…"

She giggled softly, "I think Mr. Aizawa owes you just as much… You stepped in and stopped that thing from killing him, you kept it and that Villain distracted until All Might could come. Still… don't make a habit of doing stuff like that, okay?"

He couldn't promise her anything, because he knew what he was like. That instinct was hard to ignore, it was in his blood, and he was bound to it as much as he was his Quirk. He hugged her tighter and whispered, "I'll try." because, at the end of the day, that was really all he could do.

Himiko understood that, he knew she didn't like it, but she still understood. She sighed softly, "Good." Silence reigned over them for several moments, the ambiance of the fan turning above kept the room from being too quiet, and it also made Chisuke feel tired.

Yet, Himiko only snuggled closer to him, "I'm not going to sleep in my room tonight, so don't even bother asking. I'll stay here with you, so you don't forget. Don't forget that I'm always here for you, and you don't need to do anything alone… I'll never leave you." Chisuke felt Himiko was telling herself that as much as she was telling him.

She reached out and turned off the lamp, returning them to darkness as she guided Chisuke to lay down. Then, she snuggled into his side, though space was small, so she was lying almost on top of him. The covers went over them, and she continued, "Don't forget our promise, the promise that we made that night…"

Of course he remembered, how could he forget?

As the two of them began to drift off to sleep, he remembered.

/-/

Nine years ago

They had been friends for a year at that point, yet Himiko still didn't know what her Quirk was. She laughed it off and changed the subject anytime it came up, but he knew it bothered her. What if she was Quirkless? The doctors didn't think she was, but, then, what was her Quirk?

They found out together, one day.

They were both sitting on the couch and had been playing video games together. His parents were out, getting groceries for dinner that night. Even back then, his parents had already accepted her as part of the home.

Once they beat the level they were on, Himiko lowered her controller and hesitated before saying, "Chisuke… I… Do you promise that you won't judge me?" Even back then, she knew what it was like to be misjudged, and the anxiety was clear in her eyes.

Chisuke nodded several times as he lowered his own controller, "You know I won't, Himiko… You're my best friend. I won't ever judge you!" He saw the concern in her eyes and could tell she had something to say, and so he asked, "What's up?"

"Well…" she started, "I… I have a thing for…" she looked away, "blood. I like looking at it, and… I want to try tasting it. I wonder if, maybe you'd let me try some of yours? Like… from your finger?"

He was shocked at first, of course he was, but after a few moments, he nodded, "Okay."

She looked at him in disbelief, "Okay?"

He nodded, "Okay. Get a knife or something, but we should go upstairs… I dunno how Mom and Dad would feel if they saw this. I don't think they'd judge you, but… They might think I got hurt and worry about me."

She agreed, and so the two of them made their way up to his room, after Himiko found a knife to use. It was incredibly sharp, and so, once they were in his room sitting on his bed, he held out his index finger and let her carefully prick it with the knife. It hurt, but he was able to deal with it.

After she drank some of his blood, something extraordinary happened.

Strange gray slime covered her in a blink, and suddenly Chisuke was staring back at himself. His eyes widened and he yelped, "Himiko! You- You look like me!"

She looked at her hands, then pulled out her phone and looked at herself in its reflection. Then she dropped it and screamed, which caused Chisuke to scream. Luckily, nobody was around to hear that.

After a moment, the disguise began to melt away, the slim fell away and got all over the bed and ground. They were both left sitting there in shock, until Chisuke smiled brightly, "Himiko, you found your Quirk!" He was elated, but she looked down and sniffled, which caused him to frown worriedly as he scooched closer to her, "What's wrong?"

"My Quirk would be weird like that, I need blood and I turn into people?" She closed her eyes, "Everyone's gonna hate me, I know it. They'll call me a freak." The sorrow and fear were clear in her voice, she knew how a Quirk like hers would be treated. A Quirk like that could easily be used for evil, and so people would assume that she's evil.

And yet, Chisuke just reached out and pulled her into a hug, much to her surprise. He held her close and softly said, "No they won't. We don't need to tell anyone else about it, except maybe our parents so you can get it registered…" he shook his head and squeezed her, "I think your Quirk is really cool. You're not a freak, and I'll never hate you. People don't like my Quirk, they call me weird for it, but… We can prove them wrong, can't we?"

Himiko sniffled, but hummed in agreement, "We can… show them that they're wrong. We can make them see that we're really great, and not evil freaks. If we're together, we can do that…" She pulled herself out of her slump and hugged him back, "I wanna make a promise with you, but… It's gotta be really special. We can't just say it."

Chisuke hummed, "Well… What should we do?"

She pulled away first, "I read this book once that had a really cool thing the characters did, and I've always wanted to try it. They cut their hands and shook them, so their blood mixed, a blood pact. They talked about being brothers, but… I don't want to be siblings. I want us to get married one day!"

Neither of them even really knew what marriage was, back then. Yet, he agreed anyway. She took the knife and said, "Okay… We promise that we'll always be together, and if we're ever lonely, we'll be lonely together! And… we'll get married, and… show the world that we're heroes. Okay, now you repeat the promise, then we cut our hands!"

He did so, he repeated her promise, making it his as well. Then they cut their palms and shook them.

In that room covered in gray slime, they made a pact. A pact bound by blood, by the promise of two naive children who wished for a world that would accept them forevermore. If they couldn't find it in others, then they would find it in each other. They would be home to one another, and one day, they would make a home together. A promise of home, a promise of love, a promise of innocence, a promise to weather the worst storm…

And it was a promise that neither would ever forget.

/-/

Present Day

They spent the next day doing nothing.

After the USJ, neither wanted to even train. They stayed home and watched TV, and when they couldn't escape talk of the USJ, they started to play video games instead. They ate dinner with Chisuke's mom and dad, and though she clearly wasn't happy with it, Himiko did go to sleep in her own bed after that.

Chisuke wouldn't admit out loud that he missed her warmth, if he did, she'd never want to sleep in her own room again. One day they'd be able to sleep in the same bed all the time, but for that moment, it was something that needed to be kept rare, for special occasions.

The next day they were back in class, and to everyone's shock, Mr. Aizawa came to class to teach just the same. He was bandaged up, but not as bad as Chisuke felt he would have been. At least he could be happy with that, instead of being bound in casts, Aizawa just had his face and hands mostly covered in bandages to keep him from accidentally reopening a wound.

There was talk of the Sports Festival on the horizon. In spite of the attack on the USJ, apparently the faculty felt that holding it anyway would present a united front and show that everything was okay. They also beefed up security, in Aizawa's own words, so there was no real reason to worry.

Chisuke went through the rest of the school day and had honestly thought that Mr. Aizawa just decided to not talk about what happened at the USJ.

Of course, he was wrong.

The final class of the day had let out, and he was prepared to go with Himiko back home. Yet, he was approached by All Might and told that Mr. Aizawa wanted to speak to him in a conference room nearby. Himiko said she'd wait at the front of the school and left Chisuke to fend for himself.

He made his way to the conference room, and once he opened the door, he saw Mr. Aizawa sitting there. Chisuke swallowed a lump in his throat as he walked in and shut the door, "Mr. Aizawa?"

His teacher said, "Sit down." while nodding towards the couch across from him. Chisuke did as he was asked, and then Aizawa asked, "Do you know why I called you here, Chisuke?"

Chisuke fidgeted in his seat while he answered, "Uhm… The USJ?" He kept his response short, because he knew Mr. Aizawa wouldn't take excuses.

Mr. Aizawa nodded, "Yes, the USJ. Specifically, what the hell were you thinking? I told you and the others to stay back! And it's one thing that the others had to fight that Warp Villain, it's another to take it upon yourself to sneak down to the fight below and pick a fight you knew you couldn't win."

He sounded angry, very angry, but it was tinged with… concern? "You're a student and you had never faced a Villain prior to that. You could have been killed, or worse, kidnapped. You're not going to save anyone by getting killed, you're just going to be another body in the count. You have to be smarter!" He let silence reign for a few moments, before he asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Chisuke took a deep breath. He knew Mr. Aizawa was right, and he'd already gotten a talking to by Himiko in a similar vein. Yet, it was different this time, because he could say exactly why he did it, "Mr. Aizawa, I did it… because…"

Suddenly, he found the energy to meet his teacher's gaze as he stood up, "Because I couldn't stand the idea of watching you die!" That got his teacher's eyes to widen, but he wasn't done, "I told you before that I didn't want to see you hurt, but more than that… you saved me before, and… I've always looked up to you. That thing… It was going to kill you, I know it would have."

He shook his head, "I know I could have died. I might not have been thinking about it at the time, but I knew. When that thing hit me the first time, I almost didn't want to get up again, but… Then I thought about you! You were going to be killed, so… since I knew I couldn't win against Nomu, I targeted its master! And you know what? It stopped hurting you! That… I just…"

Finally, he sat back down and finished meekly, "I didn't want you to die."

Aizawa remained silent for a full minute before he chuckled and muttered to himself, "This kid…" Before looking at Chisuke, "I appreciate your concern, you're a rare breed, Chisuke. Not many students would do something like what you did… It was stupid, and reckless, and I forbid you from doing anything like that again, but… You have guts."

He stood up, "Tell your 'friend' to go home without you, then change into your Hero costume and meet me at the training field."

Chisuke was confused, but his teacher didn't elaborate, he just left. So, Chisuke got up and sent Himiko a text letting her know not to wait up, that he had to stay to work with Mr. Aizawa on something, then went to change.

After donning his Hero gear, he made his way back to where they had previously had their Quirk Apprehension test. Mr. Aizawa was there, and once Chisuke drew closer and opened his mouth to say something, his teacher threw out his binding cloth with incredible speed, wrapping it around the boy's leg and pulling it out from under him, causing him to fall on his back.

"Get up. We've got a lot of work to do." He watched as Chisuke got back up, then explained, "You want to fight like I do? With Binding Cloth? Then you need to learn right. It took me years to develop my fighting style, but I didn't have anyone to teach me. I'm offering to teach you, but I'm not forgiving, and I won't go easy on you. You'll need to work hard, harder than most, to make the most out of what you have. Your Quirk has no use in combat, but with the right training, you can still become a fearsome fighter. What do you say?" He grabbed a hold of his cloth, "Are you going to back out at the last minute?"

Chisuke's eyes were wide, and he could hardly believe what he was hearing. Mr. Aizawa was offering to teach him, personally, how to fight with Binding Cloth. He wouldn't have to rely on his own self-taught and sloppy fighting style anymore. Now, he could improve, and maybe next time he faced Villains, he would be ready.

There was only really one thing he could say as he grabbed his own cloth and steeled his gaze…

"I won't back down!"