I got a question that I can't answer individually, so I'm answering it here. Honestly the title 'Liar Liar' was chosen completely on a whim. But it kinda stuck so I chose to follow the theme and then chose titles for the other works I ha planned for the series by randomly pulling lyrics out of context from the 80s (?) song Liar Liar.

Also a couple of heads-up: a) manga spoilers in this chapter. B) I added an outtake to Shinsou's and Aoyama's chapters!

Torino Sorahiko groaned softly as he reached up to massage the bridge between his eyes; this newest case that Tsukauchi had requested his help on was going to drive him to actual senility. He'd been staring at black on white for far too long, and still had about three more files to go through.

Not to mention he'd run out of taiyaki about an hour ago.

Grimacing through the irritation, he set aside the file labeled as 'Kizuki Chitose' and picked up the one marked by the name 'Yotsubashi Rikiya' again.

Yotsubashi Rikiya, the current CEO of the Detnerat Company. He had always been a popular public figure: friendly, kind, energetic, and outspoken about creating a better world. Then, about a week earlier, Tsukauchi had found a USB drive on his desk at the station one evening, marked with the initials 'MLA'. It wasn't the first time this had happened; at least a dozen corrupt pros, politicians, and members of the HPSC had been exposed by anonymous tips left on Tsukauchi's desk in the last two years or so. It was only ever his desk, though, and nobody knew how any of the information got there. The USB drives were fairly new though. Before, it had been hard copies of documents or printouts of Excel sheets, usually labeled by dozens of sticky notes in multiple styles of handwriting. Now, they often got data sticks of dozens of digital documents or CCTV footage that was most likely illegally obtained. But they couldn't prove that, so their anonymous benefactor got the benefit of the doubt every time.

Anyway, after checking the device over, Tsukauchi had found that it contained several files of security footage and documents implying that Yotsubashi had ties to the black market, and was using the Detnerat Company as a front to fund his illegal activities. Furthermore, one of the pieces of footage showed a group of similar public figures in a meeting of some kind, Kizuki and Yotsubashi being two of them. There didn't seem to be anything strange about the meeting except for its occupants, though. (Well, and the weird two-fingered 'L' salute that one of them did when they entered the room.) All of the attendees were businessmen or politicians, but none of them worked in overlapping fields. What kind of reason would they have to meet? And why would the anonymous tipper have left that piece of footage in the file if it wasn't somehow connected to these supposed black market deals? Most pressing of all, what or who on earth was MLA? All in all, it seemed much more vague than their informant's usual treasure troves of evidence.

So, here Sorahiko was, going through files of information on the various members of the mysterious conference and trying to determine what was connecting them. His gut sense was that this went beyond just a supply of illegal equipment sales. MLA and by extension these people, whoever they really were and whatever this mysterious salute was from the footage, were up to something much bigger than simply lining their pockets with extra cash, and he needed to figure out what it was before they made their move.

When Sorahiko's phone screen lit up, he reflexively reached to swipe 'ignore', when he noticed the Caller ID out of the corner of his eye. After that, he just sort of stared at his phone in disbelief for a few more rings before hitting 'answer' right before it went to voicemail.

"Well now, this is a surprise," he said before his caller could get a word out. "What's the emergency? Or have you finally decided to make a social call for once?"

"Oh… erm… Is…? Is this a good time, sensei? I'm sorry, I should have considered that you might have a case; I can call back later if you-"

"Oi, quit stammerin' and get to the point Toshinori," the old pro rolled his eyes with a fond smile. Not that his former student could see it.

"Oh! R-Right, of course, sir!" Toshinori stuttered back, and Sorahiko could imagine him bowing awkwardly to an empty room. "Well, erm, it's just that… Well, I…" A sigh crackled over the phone. "Forgive me, sensei, I just… I'm not sure how to say this without being incredibly blunt."

"So then speak up, boy!" Sorahiko barked back, privately enjoying the responding squeak of alarm.

"I've chosen a successor!"

Sorahiko blinked slowly, staring at the far wall as his lips slowly parted in shock. "Who?" was all he managed to ask in anything resembling a steady tone of voice.

"Uraraka Ochaco. Her natural quirk is called Zero Gravity. She was in the finals in the first year UA Sports Festival this year. I know it wasn't broadcasted, but her performance was truly remarkable-"

"I do hope that wasn't your only criteria when you picked the girl."

"No, of course not sir!" Toshinori exclaimed, and he at least sounded appropriately scandalized by the thought of such an arbitrary reason. "Uraraka-shoujo is one of my students; I've spent a considerable amount of time getting to know her prior to this point."

"So what about the kid caught your eye?"

"Her selflessness primarily, and her insightfulness."

"Oh?"

"The first time I really paid attention to Uraraka-shoujo was at the USJ. When most would have assumed that I could take care of myself given my reputation, she realized I was in trouble and jumped in to save me. Since then, and looking back on previous interactions, I've noticed that she's also quick-thinking, innovative, and very self-aware, with a good handle on her own strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention she's self-motivated, optimistic, and incredibly hard-working."

"Well if even half of what you've described is true, then I suppose she'll do my sworn friend proud. So why are you calling me? You usually send letters on the rare occasion that you have anything significant to tell me. Couldn't wait to share the good news?"

"Well… In fact, I wanted to ask you a favor. Would you be willing to take Uraraka-shoujo on as an intern? I'd rather not draw undue attention to her considering that she's only just obtained One for All and you're the only other pro hero who knows my secret, so-"

"Eh? What about Mirai?"

"Ah… Well, if you'll recall, Sir Nighteye already has an intern and I'd hate to overwhelm him-"

"You haven't told him yet, have you."

"Well… no, sensei."

"It'll only get worse the longer you wait, you know."

"…Yes, I know. I'm just… not ready to face him yet."

"Well, fine then," Sorahiko sighed. "I suppose I'll take your brat on."

"Thank you, sensei," Toshinori sighed in obvious relief.

"Do I need to send a request or can you just put the girl on a train?"

"It would be better if you sent a formal request for UA's records."

"Alright. When should I expect her? I want to be ready for when your brat arrives."

"…Please don't scare Uraraka-shoujo right off the bat, sensei."

Sorahiko allowed a wicked grin to curl his lips. "I make no promises, Toshinori."

Sorahiko spent the rest of the week leading up to the ninth's arrival reviewing training videos that he had Toshinori send him. It was honestly a refreshing break from the mountains of files on sketchy-but-not-enough-for-a-full-investigation businessmen he had been buried in. Up to the Sports Festival, he could see some of the traits that his old student had seen in the girl, primarily in terms of her resourcefulness and innovativeness. She had a good handle on her quirk, worked well with others in training, but was also able to hold her own pretty well, fluidly incorporating martial arts moves into her fighting style. Even the few clips that he'd managed to send him from the Festival itself were pretty impressive. Her last fight in particular was remarkable, although it was a shame that she'd reached her weight limit there at the end. All in all, she seemed like a nice brat, as brats went.

But then Toshinori had sent a few clips of training sessions from after the Sports Festival.

"Holy crap, Uraraka are you okay?!" some kid with bright blond hair was yelling on the screen, his arms flailing in panic as he rushed to the brown-haired girl's side.

"I… I don't think so?" she managed weakly in turn, practically collapsing onto a piece of rubble about the right height to be a seat as pink light faded from around her hand and gasping in pain as the movement jarred her right arm, which was bruised purple from fingertip to elbow and dripping blood in a few places. "Oh my God; Bakugou-kun!"

"Calm down, Round Cheeks," another voice grunted as an ash blonde boy-the same one that beat her in the Sports Festival-pushed his way out of a pile of shattered cement. "I'm still alive. What the hell just happened?"

"I… I think that was Ochaco's quirk…?" a girl with black hair tied in a ponytail and a skimpy costume ventured cautiously, glancing towards the brunette while offering a hand to help 'Bakugou' to his feet.

"The hell? I thought her quirk was gravity something-or-other?"

"It's not unheard of for a quirk to evolve after a high-stress scenario," a cold voice interrupted and a man with scraggly black hair stepped on screen. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Sorahiko couldn't be expected to remember the names and faces of every hero out there. He was old, plain and simple. "Still, I'll admit this seems a bit extreme. Uraraka, head to Recovery Girl. Yaoyorozu, go with her. We'll review and discuss the match later."

"Yes sir."

The clip ended there. Sorahiko rewinded it, munching on taiyaki as he watched the moment when everything had gone wrong. For the most part, Uraraka had been using her quirk the same way that she had in the Sports Festival, relying primarily on this Zero Gravity power of hers. But then, in a moment when she got super heated in a fist fight with that Bakugou kid, One for All just kind of exploded out of her, completely instinctively and entirely emotionally. That was something they'd have to work on: keeping a cool head in battle. There were a few other things he could see, too, a few other ways he might be able to help her adjust the way she thought about her new quirk and control its overwhelming power.

But first, he was going to get a few kicks in.

.oOo.

"H-Hello?" a girl's cautious voice called as his front door creaked open. "Hello! My name is Uraraka Ochaco, from UA High School? I'm excited to- Ohmygod!" It was all Sorahiko could do to keep from snickering at the sudden yelp. He prepared himself to pop up, eager to see the look of confusion on her face when he suddenly revealed himself as alive, when suddenly he felt gentle, calloused fingers press against the back of his neck, and a strange sensation, like he was stuck at the peak of a roller coaster, swept through his entire body.

Sorahiko's eyes flew open in surprise when, at the same time, he could hear a phone dialing and felt those hands quickly maneuvering his body, lifting it and supporting potentially injured areas, such as his neck, back, and stomach as he was turned over in midair.

"911, how can I help you?"

"Yes, hello, there's someone here who's really badly hurt-"

"Oi, calm down kid, I'm just fine!" Sorahiko barked, and it was at least gratifying to see the brunette girl yelp in surprise flailing backwards at this sudden show of activity from someone that she had assumed was unconscious and injured.

"You-?! You're-?! What the-?!"

"Hello? What is the nature of your emergency? Is there a villain nearby?"

Sorahiko grumbled and reached down to grab the discarded phone-simple model; he could appreciate that-fumbling a little bit as he adapted to the zero gravity environment he found himself in. "Everything's fine; my granddaughter just saw me fallen over and got a little more worked up than she should've," he sighed to the operator.

"I see, sir, but we need to hear confirmation of that from the original caller," the woman replied calmly.

Damn all those new laws and regulations for hostage situations.

"Here, kid," Sorahiko grumbled, tossing the phone to her, and in the process sending himself floating slowly away from her.

She fumbled as she caught it, still looking a little dazed and bewildered by the sudden turn of events, but before long she had the phone off of speakerphone and held up to her ear. "Y-Yes, hello? Yes, I'm very sorry for the confusion. It… It looks like he just spilled a plate of sausages and ketchup, but when I first entered the room, I thought it was blood. Yes, thank you for your concern. We'll be fine, now. Thank you. Goodbye."

She closed her phone with a satisfying snap, biting her lip uncertainly as he slowly floated further away. "Well brat? You gonna let me down, or what?" Sorahiko sighed, deciding the skip the senile act lest she try to call another ambulance.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I should do right now," Uraraka admitted. "Frankly, an introduction like that doesn't make you seem all that trustworthy."

"Alright kid, fair point, but we don't really have time to mess around, ya' newbie." He thought that the girl might have snorted a little at that, but he didn't exactly have the energy to debate his own fun with her. Instead, he activated his quirk.

Uraraka watched in open-mouthed amazement as Gran Torino propelled himself from one side of the room to the other, (mostly) unhindered by the effects of her own quirk as he bounced off the walls, zipping past her a few times for good measure before he slammed into the wall, digging the reinforced gloves of his hero costume into the wall so that he wouldn't float away as he grinned fiercely down at her. "I may not have been able to watch the Sports Festival, but I have seen a few of your exercises since then. You may have only had your new quirk for a week, but the way you use One for All is reckless and unrestrained; you obviously haven't the first idea how to control it, and All Might has no idea how to teach you. He may be the Symbol of Peace and the number one hero, but he's still a total novice when it comes to teaching! I can only wonder what kind of blunder he is in a classroom." A flicker of comprehension seemed to dawn in Uraraka's eyes as he said that, a slow smile beginning to stretch across her lips. "Now, let me down and get your costume on."

"Yes sir!"

Before long, Sorahiko's new student had joined him in his salon, fully decked out in a bright pink and black bodysuit and a helmet with a pinkish visor. She seemed nervous, which was good; he needed her on her toes if she was going to learn anything.

"Alright then, why don't you fire off a smash at me?"

"Um, what?" she blinked.

"Hit me, kid."

"O-Oh. Oh, with… with One for All? Um, are… are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, the last time I tried to hit someone, I kinda destroyed part of a building, and this place didn't exactly look structurally sound earlier, which I've been taught to recognize since my family owns a construction company-"

"Good grief," Sorahiko grumbled under his breath. "A chatterbox, aren't ya'?" Well, the best way to deal with those was to force them into action. "I'm losing patience!" he roared, firing off his quirk again and zipping around her to land a solid kick to the girl's back.

"Ow!" the girl yelped, staggering forward. When he zipped towards her again though, she had her game face on, twisting and dodging as best she could, her brown eyes scanning for an opening. She had decent form, but she needed refinement and she was still too hesitant, uncertain about when was the best moment to strike, even when he took a chance at one point and gave her an opening.

"You definitely have some kind of background in martial arts," Sorahiko acknowledged as he landed on the counter, "but you could use a review to increase your confidence. That's not the point of this exercise, though. Fire off a smash, girl! I need to see how you use this power to know how well you handle it!"

Uraraka grit her teeth, the anxiety in her eyes growing more pronounced. Well that wasn't good. If she was afraid of the quirk, then she'd never learn to use it properly. But one way or another, Sorahiko caught sight of the telltale pinkish light he'd seen in the videos appearing around her hand. "Remember: low weight," she mumbled to herself, her eyes darting around the room to follow his movements. As he came at her from behind she pivoted towards him, her hand flying out, instinctively making more of a grab than an actual punch-probably a leftover instinct from her natural quirk.

"Good try, newbie," he grinned even as he dodged the strike, "but you're a little stiff, and there's dischord in your mind!" Uraraka grunted in surprise as he pinned her to the floor, using one leg to trap her far arm while one hand grasped her other wrist and the other pressed its fingertips to her forehead. "That's why I bested you. Listen closely brat: you've got potential, that much is obvious, and the fact that you didn't shatter your arm this time around would suggest that you're starting to get a handle on One for All's power. That's good, especially since you haven't had it for very long. However, the way you've used your natural quirk in the past is limiting the way you think."

"My natural quirk is… limiting me?" the girl panted, looking confused.

"Think about it on your own time," Sorahiko grunted, stepping off of her and gathering up his cane. "I'm gonna get us some grub. Clean this place up while I'm gone."

As Sorahiko strolled through the market, grabbing taiyaki and mochi as an afterthought, he wondered if he'd given the girl enough hints. She was certainly intelligent, and as he'd already acknowledged, she had good fighting instincts, but Toshinori had been quirkless originally, practically a blank slate, whereas Uraraka had already had a natural quirk. The oaf hadn't dealt with the discombobulation of having a second quirk thrown on him. In short, the way that Uraraka used her quirk was inherently different from the way that Toshinori used One for All, so there was bound to be some measure of disconnect between the two of them-as someone else whose quirk emitted from a specific part of his body, Sorahiko could understand to some extent. He'd just have to figure out what paths to direct Uraraka towards so that she could catch on as well.

"Oi, I'm back!" the old pro called as he reentered his home. There was no immediate response, which was worrying, so he stepped into the salon. There, he found Uraraka staring at her hand, her eyes wide, something like wonderment in them.

"Torino-san," she said abruptly, whirling towards him, "I think too much about having my quirk in my fingers, right? Yagi-san, that is All Might-sensei, uses One for All all over his body-that's why he's muscly everywhere and not just in his arms-but I've always just channelled my quirk through my hands! That's why they keep getting hurt! And that's what you meant about my natural quirk limiting me, right?!"

Sorahiko blinked at her, then allowed himself a fierce grin. "That didn't take you long."

"Yes!" Uraraka cheered, bouncing with excitement. Her bright grin reminded him of Nana's.

He quickly shook that thought out of his head.

"So then, let's see you put that into practice, eh?" he smirked, setting his bag of groceries aside.

Uraraka nodded fiercely and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and mumbling, "Low weight," under her breath as she summoned One for All once again.

The change was remarkable.

Magenta lines spread across her face and faded away as she dialed down the amount of power she was using, only to be replaced by spirals of soft pink light whirling around her limbs and across her chest, illuminating her bright, eager eyes. The only thing that managed to tear his eyes away from the almost-entrancing sight was a low rustling sound. When he glanced towards the source, his own grin only widened.

The grocery bag he had just set down was being pulled towards her.

"Wh-What the heck?!" the girl gaped when she noticed it, too.

"Toshinori wouldn't understand this, given that he was quirkless before he got One for All, but someone with a quirk before obtaining that power will find that their original ability combines in some way with the power stockpiled within the quirk. In your case, it looks like you're able to affect gravity around you when it's activated."

"But… But why is it moving towards me then?! Why isn't it just floating?!"

"How should I know kid; I'm just a crazy old man," he shrugged, still grinning. "Anyway, we can experiment with your powers later. For now, do you think you can move like that?"

"I… I can try!"

"Then let's see it. You have three minutes to land a hit on me. Let's see if you can maintain it that whole time!"

"Yessir!"

As it turned out, Sorahiko kind of regretted not reviewing his intern's powers before they started their little training bout. Her little gravity field was considerably more potent than he had anticipated, to the point that when she stepped too close to one of the armchairs-or really anything that wasn't attached to the floor-it was literally lifted up and dragged into her sphere of influence. Well, the couch did seem to be a bit too big for the field to lift, but it was still pulled towards her. Those objects became further obstacles as he bounced around the room, trying to land hits on his intern. Thankfully his Jet quirk had enough force to rip him through or out of the field when necessary, but it was one of the strangest things that he had ever experienced. It felt like he was being pulled off course, almost like he was under the control of a telekinesis quirk or something, except that the direction and force of its pull was more predictable. Actually, that fact proved to be to his advantage once he got the hang of it; he could use the force pulling him in towards the girl to add strength to his hits.

Anyway, it was an adjustment for the girl as well. She had a hard time maintaining One for All for longer than thirty seconds at a time, and if she did get hit, she would lose control of the power instantly, whatever objects swirling around her at the time immediately crashing to the floor. Speaking of, as annoying as those things were, especially when she started figuring out how to shove them into his path to give herself time to maneuver, they would also get in her way, more than once stopping her from landing an intended hit on him.

Still, he had to admit that he hadn't expected the armchair to come flying at him due to the force of a strength-augmented punch concealed by the item's own bulk.

By the time their stomachs were well and truly grumbling, Uraraka had been smacked around enough to leave her covered in bruises, not to mention she'd been knocked into the wall at least four or six times. Even so, she had managed to land a hit on him, and one fierce enough to leave him with a nice shiner no less.

Even if she had lost control immediately after and begun babbling an apology when there were still thirty seconds left on the clock for him to hit her back.

"This… This is hard!" she moaned, slumping to the floor after the last bout.

"Eh, it's your first time using this technique; you can't be expected to figure it out all at once," he snorted. "And anyway, you've made some good progress. Now, sit down and let's eat some of the frozen food I bought. Then we can talk about where to go from here."

"Sure! What's for dinner?"

"Taiyaki and-"

"MOCHI!"

Huh. So sometimes impulse buys were a good thing.

Take that, Nana.

"So tell me about this weight thing of yours," Sorahiko grunted as he settled into his armchair about twenty minutes later, munching on a piece of taiyaki. "I noticed you saying something about a low weight while we were fighting."

"It's the analogy I've used to try and limit the amount of power I use," Uraraka explained around a mouthful of strawberry mochi. "See, the more weight I lift, the more of my Zero Gravity quirk I have to use, and it's fairly similar calling on portions of One for All thinking that way, too. It's been weird trying to adjust to having a whole new power, though. I understood the activation conditions for my natural quirk-just put down all five of my fingers-but I have to consciously call up One for All. It's a lot more… emotional than Zero Gravity, really."

"Hm. Tell me, what all is that quirk of yours capable of?"

"Hm? How d'you mean?"

"Before One for All, what could you do with it?"

"Hm," Uraraka mused, swallowing her latest bite. "Well, anything that I touched with all five of my fingers got its gravity erased, but that's really about it."

"Could you increase gravity?" Sorahiko asked, taking another bite of taiyaki.

"Mm? No, I don't think so," the girl sighed, taking another mochi ball. "I tried when I was little. All I ended up with was a splitting headache."

"Have you tried since you got One for All?"

"No, can't say I have."

"Might be worth making an effort," the old pro hero grunted, leaning forward to take another taiyaki. "My sworn friend found that her natural quirk changed in some fundamental ways when she was given the power. It's possible that yours did the same. Eh, but don't worry about it right now, though. We have all week to experiment, and you've been knocked around a good bit. No need to push it too soon."

"Hm. Well, alright then!" she grinned, and again, Sorahiko was almost blinded by the similarity to Nana.

He cleared his throat and glanced away. "Welp, I'm off to bed. Stick anything you don't eat in the freezer. I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh! Well, good night Torino-san! Thanks for teaching me!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever, kid," Sorahiko harrumphed gruffly, turning away so that she wouldn't see his small smile. You really found a good one, eh Toshinori?

Nana… I think you woulda liked 'er.

Outtake:

She was late, she was late, she was so so late!

Sirius was supposed to be at the dock ten minutes ago with the crew to meet the new intern, but of course she missed the train and then the next one was late and now she was ducking down side alleys in an effort to save time so that she could-

A sound.

It was faint, even with her quirk, but it was there, and it sent her skidding to an abrupt stop. A soft, rhythmic tapping noise from somewhere above her. Most people would ignore a sound like that, but years working as a pro hero had taught her to pay attention, and there was a pattern to those quiet taps.

It was morse code.

- .-. .. -. -. . .-. / .-. ..- -. / ... -..-. ..- .- / - -.-. - - .-. ..- ... / -.- ..- .. .-. -.- / ... . .-. .. .- .-.. / -. ..- - -... . .-. / -.. ...- ...- ... ..- .-. .- ..- - -.. ...- .

Sirius's eyes widened as she listened to the message beginning to repeat itself, then, quickly, she fumbled for a pen and a piece of paper (which turned out to be a napkin) and began to quickly right it down. Whether it was meant for her or not, she would take full advantage of the information.

Trigger run 5/21. Octopus quirk. Serial number 843HUR120D4E.

After the third repetition of the message, the tapping stopped. Subtly, Sirius lifted her eyes skyward, searching for the mysterious informant. But there didn't appear to be anyone there. Not a shape, not a shadow, not anything. Even so, as she tucked the message back into her bag and set off at a dead sprint (she had to be at least fifteen minutes late now!), she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

I didn't want to go through everyone's internships, but I wanted to slip in a little something so, here! Have an outtake from Sirius!

What do you think of Grandpa Torino and OFA Ochaco, y'all? I enjoyed playing with their dynamic a bit. Uraraka is a lot more confident than Izuku was at this point in canon, but she's still ultra-sweet and a bit of a mess at times. :) I'm looking forward to playing more with the capabilities of Zero Gravity with OFA, too. :)

August 29th I'm dipping into a villain's POV for the first time! Get ready to see our favorite Stabby McStabberson, blood-red scarf and all! Until next time, go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!