Hey, sorry for the delay on this one - life can be a bitch and school is seriously kicking my ass right now. Still, I'm working on this story when able!

Nathaniabp: I'm sorry, but all I could do for a solid five minutes after reading your review was laugh xD I am kinda, sorry for all the heartache that will happen, but at the same time, I live off reactions like this, so, thank you! =D

Wonderland Tea Party: Heh, I know the feeling mate! I wanna do a Halloween Special to, but time isn't on my side, sadly. Also glad you liked the bit of backstory - I kinda, have, a whole "back in the day" story planned, featuring the teachers (mostly Shota and Hizashi) as they grow up and whatnot. Here's hoping I actually get to write it at one point xD (Also, sorry in advance for any heartache I might cause)

People seem to really be liking this, so I'm having a lot of fun writing! But please, do review - it's a lifeline of every writer! Those who already do, I love you to death and I really hope you continue to like the story!
Anyway, read, review and enjoy~

Chapter 3 Improvement

"Oi, Shinso, you look terrible! What happened?" Yukino called as soon as she saw him, and Hitoshi kept back a groan.

"Long night," he muttered, not in the mood to talk about it.

"You get bruises from sleeping?" Iba raised an amused eyebrow as his purple-haired friend knocked his head on the locker. It was too early for this…

"C'mon, can't you see he fell out of bed! Everyone knows Shinso and sleep don't dance!" Hondo hooked an arm around the sleep-deprived boy.

"That's fair," Hitoshi chuckled weakly. It was then that he slowly realized – he liked his classmates and they liked him back. They all got along and were friends. A first for him either way. But if he does well in that event and transfers, he'll be leaving all of them behind. And he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that just yet… He hasn't even told any of them.

"C'mon, let's go! We got English first class."

"Mic is probably going to be super energetic as always… How does he do it?"

"Maybe it's his secondary Quirk?"

"I wouldn't put it past him…"

The classes seem to fly by quickly as they day went on. Before he knew it, Shinso was waiting outside on the training ground, doing warmup exercises.

"Good to see you're taking this seriously," Shota spoke up as the boy turned. He actually had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The usually messy teacher had his hair in a ponytail and wore sweatshirt and pants. Very unusual.

"You're gonna catch flies with your mouth open like that," the amusement on the man's face couldn't be missed.

"And here I thought you didn't own anything other than your uniform. You even need to borrow suits from Uncle Mic," Hitoshi shook his head and finished stretching.

"I can buy stuff," Aizawa shrugged. "Now, you ready? We're going to do this a bit differently today."

"How so?"

"I'll show you the basics and you'll repeat after me."

"You're not gonna be jumping around all Ninja-style are you?"

"Maybe. You'll just have to wait and see."

This time, training was easier and seemed to last longer. Shota showed the kid proper stances and attacks, demonstrating and then practicing. Shinso actually picked up on things quickly, though he still lacked strength. Speed would be his biggest advantage, but he still needs to learn how to be nimble and his reflexes are a bit too slow. But they had time, they'd get to all of it.

"We're taking a break," Aizawa said, lightly out of breath as the boy panted.

"What – getting – tired – old man?" Hitoshi managed to speak in between pants, a grin making its way on his face.

"No, I just don't want to drag you back home again," Shota chuckled as his son plopped down to catch his breath.

"…You're making good progress you know," he added and tossed him a water bottle. "We can probably start with kicks next week."

"Can't wait," the way he said it, the hero wasn't sure if he just exhausted or being sarcastic.

"Something wrong?" he asked when the kid kept staring at the ground.

"Just… been wondering something," was the answer.

"And what would that be?" Aizawa sat down as well, resting his arm on his knee.

"…Did you get into UA through the entrance exam or…?" Hitoshi asked carefully, glancing at his father who seemed to be shocked by the question.

"…Why the sudden interest?" Shota sounded tenser now, as he looked at the sky.

"Just, curios… The way you spoke at the Sports Festival – figured it wasn't just on my and the others' behalf…"

"Tell you what," Eraser stood up, dusting himself off. "If you can land a solid punch on me, I'll tell you."

"…Deal!" Hitoshi was surprised, but willing as he got up and grinned.

Shinso put all he learned that day into action as he and Shota fought, but the teacher was mostly defending and telling him how to be better. In the last few minutes, Hitoshi managed to get behind the man's block, but suddenly hit air as Aizawa was in the air, grinning.

"So not fair," the boy grumbled, swallowing and wiping the sweat off his face.

"As an underground hero, you don't have to be fair," Eraser said and landed neatly back on the ground. "I do hope you realize you'll be best suited for that line of work."

"…Yeah, I figured as much…" Shinso sighed and grabbed the towel nearby, setting it over his neck. They were done for today it seems. Maybe he'll have a chance to find out next time.

"If villains know what your Quirk is, they can learn to work against it and then you're not going to be able to do anything. Your Quirk, like mine, is very powerful as long as the enemy doesn't know about it, because it's easily countered."

"I don't mind, I just… I just want to be a hero. A good one. Even if people don't know much about it, I'll know and that'll be enough for me," the boy clenched his fists and stared at the ground, determine.

"And that's all that matters," he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, seeing his father smiling. "C'mon let's go – Hizashi probably has dinner ready."

"Well, as long as you don't go near the food, it'll be alright."

Days turned into weeks and weeks quickly became months. Hitoshi was getting stronger and better each time, and was learning fast. Right after the first week, Shinso would stay up late at night, doing some workout routines. He was exhausted quickly, and sometimes had trouble getting into bed or slept in his training clothes. But he didn't give up.

He forced his body too much some days, but hid it well, even during his training with Eraserhead. It was all a new kind of world he hasn't thought of much – it wasn't his strong point or his greatest quality, but he'd make it.

Part of him wondered what Mic or Eraser would think of they ever saw him training, but he imagined they already knew. Sometimes, he could faintly hear the door opening and closing when he was working, or when he knew he fell asleep on the floor but woke up on the bed. They knew, but pretended not to. He didn't say anything either, but would at times make some coffee or tea in thanks.

When days got warmer, he took his training outside, in the area around the house. It was well out of sight, so he didn't have to worry about neighbors or bypasses seeing him. He still got exhausted sooner than he'd like, but there was considerable improvement – he could feel it.

It was at the start of the third month, and Hitoshi was doing combo hits on a training dummy, imagining it was Shota and how the man's own movements would go.

"Remember to keep your arms close to your face," he heard and spun around, sweat trailing down his face, neck and back. He panted, blinking, before giving a small chuckle.

"I know – I'm working on my balance," Shinso said as he caught the towel thrown his way. "You're home sooner than I expected, Uncle. Don't you have a podcast today?"

"Got canceled unfortunately. I see you clearly would have wanted some more time," Hizashi walked closer, his hair falling down and tucked under a coat. It was at his radio work that Mic didn't have his usual long, pointy, banana-looking hairstyle, so it was not strange to see him like that at this hour.

"I wondered how long it'd take for either of you to say something…"

"Shota thought it best to let you do it on your own – clearly it means a lot to you."

"…I want to advance on my own strength to, not just his," the boy said, looking away, the towel on his head now.

"Understandable," Yamada was standing next to him now, looking with sympathy. "But you don't have to. Accepting help isn't something you ought to be ashamed of. Then again, Shota was the same…" the man sighed as the kid looked up, eyes slightly wide.

"I swear, you two are somehow related by blood," Mic smiled kindly, patting the boy on the head over the towel.

"…You've fought him, right?" Shinso tilted his head a bit, grinning.

"I have…" Hizashi returned the grin, his eyes knowing.

"…Got any tips?"

"So glad you finally asked."

With Hizashi helping him, Hitoshi learned some new forms and a slightly different style of fighting, even if it didn't go too well with his way just yet. Still, as his father usually says, no hero is a one trick pony.

Shota found the two sparring one evening and watched for a bit, happy that Hitoshi was doing and advancing so well. He didn't care if Yamada was telling the kid a secret in how to defeat him – that's actually the point. And in seeing how much the boy had advanced in these three months, he decided to hold a little test to see just how much.

"Alright, let's see how far you've gotten," Aizawa readied himself, staring at the kid. "Knock me over." They were back at the school field, both dressed in their training outfits. For the past hour, they practiced some more, but now it was getting real.

So far, Hitoshi hasn't been able to really beat his father, but he was getting closer and closer. He's managed to hit and deflect him many times now, but defeating him was another thing entirely. Still, he figured after all this time, and with Uncle Mic's training, he'd be able to do it now. Only one way to find out.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

It was Shinso who threw the first attack, only to have his fist grabbed. He followed up with a kick and Aizawa raised his knee high to block, never releasing the kid. He knew what'd come next and prepared, as Shota tried to trip him. Hitoshi used his raised leg to lock it around his father's knee and keep himself balanced as he was tipped. Eraser looked presently surprised before he released the boy's hand and used his other hand to push him back.

Hitoshi stumbled, but with his leg still locked, nearly tripped if he hadn't reacted fast enough to grab the teacher's wrist and pull himself up. Shota finally released his leg, but the kick which followed knocked the student back. Still, he didn't fall.

"How am I doing?" Shinso asked, panting slightly but smiling.

"Pretty good-," Aizawa said and a moment later, froze, arms falling to his side.

Hitoshi took action immediately and ran forward, swiping his legs under Aizawa's and making the man fall on his back, landing with a thud and bringing up dust.

"…You used your Quirk," Shota sounded impressed and shocked, looking at the kid. There was a mixture of shock and pride in his tone. He had to admit, he was completely caught off guard by that. And it was his first time really experiencing his son's Quirk – not something he'd care to repeat however.

"You said underground heroes don't fight fair," the boy shrugged and offered a hand, which his father took. He hoped it wasn't too much or too wrong. Using his Quirk on his father… it felt wrong. For a moment, he felt like the power could consume him – it scared him actually, just what he'd be able to do.

"That's good, well executed," Shota nodded with a smile, proud that his son thought it through. "Though there are three problems with this." He wanted the best for the kid, so he had to focus on his mistakes as well.

"Figures, yeah," Shinso knew at least one – when he does hit someone after using his Quirk, they'll snap out of it.

"One is probably that as soon as you'll use it, everyone else will know and figure it out. Save if for when you really need it. Two, there probably won't be many who'll even speak to you – remember, you were on the Sports Festival, so someone will probably know. Three, unless you can knock your opponent out, you won't gain much," Aizawa listed the things off, but he wasn't scolding – he was explaining.

"But didn't you say I don't have to win?" Shinso narrowed his eyes a bit.

"You don't have to, but you need to show potential. Can't do that if you can't use your Quirk."

"Three months left… Can I really learn something new that fast?" there was frustration in his voice as he looked to the side.

"Not with that attitude," at Shota's words, he looked at the man, annoyed a bit even. "Lucky for you, I've been thinking on how to improve it. But I can only give some starting points and ideas – the rest is up to you." The smirk on the man's face made the kid excited and anxious at the same time.

"…What did you have in mind?"

"Right now, you can control five people through verbal answering of your questions," Aizawa started off, grabbing a towel and tossing one to the kid.

"Six if I focus hard enough," Hitoshi quickly added in, trying not to sound too offended as he caught the towel and wiped his face.

"We'll try and get you to control people through any kind of vocal answer or even none," the shocked expression the kid gave him made Shota laugh.

"…How?" Hitoshi's voice was low and weak as he couldn't believe any of this. They only had three months to do this.

"Practice. It might keep you only on two maybe three people, but you'll be able to keep it stronger and somewhat secret if they aren't sure what's the reason."

"And you want me to learn all of that in three months?" Shinso wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry – maybe both. This was crazy!

"No, I don't. It's what you are capable of reaching. But you need to want it and work for it," the steadiness and almost assurance in the man's eyes put the kid at ease.

"…Does that mean my combat training is finished?" Shinso asked, a hint of weariness in his tone.

"No, but it'll have to do. We can work on it when able, but we should focus on your Quirk. Oh and one last thing," Shota grinned as he looked at the kid. "You need a costume, preferably with a weapon as well."

And cut! A bit more of how training looks like and how Hitoshi is improving! Sorry if it's kinda slow still, hope I won't lose too many of you! Promise to try and spice things up a bit soon!
Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed! If you did, please leave a review! It means a lot and gives me more motivation to work on the story! Thanks!
Till next time~