Hello again, everyone. Last week's chapter was surely something to really witness, wasn't it? Now the gears are officially rolling unto one of the biggest events I've had planned for this story since the beginning. It's been a slow build-up, but when done right, such build-ups can result in the greatest of payoffs, and I can only hope to be able to provide such a payoff to all of you who have stuck with me and this story all throughout last year and ever onwards into this one.

I'd like to give another immensely grateful shout-out to my two ever-faithful beta readers and consultants, Mizu and Jonny, for having stuck with me when I've encountered difficult periods when writing this story and needed separate perspectives to help me put everything together. You two are amazing in every way, shape and form!

If you all like what you read here today, if you would please be kind and leave a review, it would be immensely appreciated.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them and nothing else.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 60

Second Semester

(Второй Семестр)

Undisclosed Location, September 1st

The last few weeks had gone by at a much slower pace, but this was pretty much what Pietro Granin and his compatriots had come to expect in the aftermath of their very first mission. The process of his soldiers going to the commune and finding the most promising candidates to aid in their cause had been a very trying process, especially when going hand-in-hand with the other order of business they had been trying to get in order at the same time.

However, as things stood today, all that time that had been spent was finally proving to be more than worth it. After the process of finding a good handful of new recruits to bring to him for vetting, then came the process of his training them once he had ascertained their dedication to the cause. That was by far the most difficult, and yet most rewarding part, for as he sat in his office once more, looking over the analytics provided by Alyosha Mikhalkov regarding their respective Quirks, their ability to handle said Quirks, as well as their reactions times, abilities to work together and overall combat effectiveness, all Pietro could see now was pure and simple progress.

[[The new bloods are coming along quite nicely in record time, aren't they? It's really something, how even a little time with you is able to rouse the most unbending loyalty out of pretty much anyone, Pietro Dobrynich.]] The filtered voice of the dome-headed compatriot once more standing loyally at Pietro's side, could show how easily he was reading the man's mood as he kept looking over the reports of each of their newest soldiers.

[[Those frustrated youths need a direction in life, and that's all I want to provide for them: direction, and a cause worth fighting for; a cause that's meant to benefit not just them or us, but all of our people and those to come in the future. I can provide all the training they need, but the will to carry on through the hardship is theirs alone. I'm just grateful I'm able to help them discover that strength of their will. Of course, the variety of their Quirks is hardly anything for me to just brush aside in the grand scheme of things, old friend.

[[Those kids really came through for us when it came to finding people that could truly add to our strength while we wait for Alyosha to finish analyzing that…Quirk-erasing bullet. People who can instantaneously redirect all physical force being thrown at them without even having to take the hit to do so; machine gun-like fingers; an instant teleporter, and someone who can even rewind the trajectory of projectiles. With these new Quirks added to what we already have within our ranks, we could be able to bring a war back to those Anti-Quirk tyrants that could last even longer than I had originally envisioned. We could very well be able to strike them where it hurts the most; to the point they would have no choice but to concede to our demands. Can you imagine it?]]

It was admittedly a nice change to see Pietro looking so enthused about their chances…but it was still a very unusual change from the pragmatic man that was always so careful otherwise. Hence, the dome-headed man couldn't hope to keep his concerns to himself: [[That's, of course, assuming they don't decide to just mobilize and come after us while we have our guard down. Pietro Dobrynich, we both know too well how Russia's government works when it's threatened. They're not just going to sit back and wait for us to hit them again. Special forces and black ops were created by the governments of the world for just such a reason…and the inclusion of Quirked threats to a nation have only emphasized the importance of such options.]]

Pietro let out a heavy sigh, knowing full well the merit behind his comrade's warning. As he was about to express his thanks for such grounding words, however, a sudden eager knock at his office door drew both mens' attention. [[Sir, it's Knot.]]

Both their eyes widened at the implication behind her being here. Today, especially, she was to go out and finally secure their other most important asset. If she was here, than that could have only meant one thing, hence Pietro eagerly gave her permission to enter; his spirits lifted when he saw the eagerness in her pink-blue eyes; the warm lantern lights reflecting off her turquoise-colored wax-like hair.

[[Welcome back, Knot. Are we to understand your mission today was successful?]] The moment Pietro asked, she was practically smiling from ear to ear.

[[It couldn't have gone better, sir. Our guest was more than cooperative with our rules once we met him at the arranged rendezvous point. Linguist has already given him the touches he needs to work with us once we returned. And don't worry, I made sure we blindfolded him before we went anywhere upon meeting.]]

The single man sitting patiently in the middle of the barren room with a thick burlap sack over his head seemed hardly anything imposing when Pietro first laid eyes on him after he and his dome-headed comrade followed Knot to where she'd left their guest. While her excitement was far more visible and downright childlike by comparison, he couldn't deny that the anticipation of what this stranger could do for them had his mind racing as the days passed, waiting for him to accept their little invitation.

[[Well, you can go ahead and take the sack off.]] At Pietro's request, Knot hurriedly approached the single stranger and finally uncovered his face. Pietro now found himself looking into the brown and blue eyes of a scruffy-looking man somewhere in his twenties with a mouth missing his two front teeth, and semi-long teal colored hair, with what looked like multiple USB plugs on cables extended from his scalp.

Despite the conditions under which this stranger, Knot's purported super-hacker, had been brought here, he surprisingly didn't look to be especially annoyed by them, which was the best possible conditions for an introduction Pietro could have asked for, as he looked this man in the eye with as approachable a demeanor as necessary. [[Welcome. We've been looking forward to finally making your acquaintance. I do apologize for the sack and all that.]]

Unaware his foreign host was clearly already finished with his sentence, the cable-haired delinquent-looking young man held up a single hand to signal for him to stop, before just as quickly fishing through his jacket pocket for a cigarette, and then answering in pitch perfect Russian: [[No need to apologize. I can really appreciate a potential business associate who cares enough about their own security for such measures. It tells me they don't want the authorities or the Heroes snooping around here; that they won't be willing to just mouth off about the individuals they work with; and most importantly, that they're clearly serious about what they say they want my help with.]]

All was silent for a few spare moments as Pietro took in the fortunate fact that they both seemed to be men of similar minds when it came to taking care. As such, a corner of his mouth slightly raised. [[Then we seem to be at an understanding already. Good. It seems your little treatment from our commune's welcoming committee has treated you well.]]

To this, the visitor began stretching out his mouth as though he were yawning or trying to get rid of a kink in his jaw. [[Well, it's still gonna take some getting used to, I can't lie about that. So, what exactly is it you all wanted my help with? You were certainly adamant in dropping as many bread crumbs for me as you did just to get my attention.]]

Pietro glanced to Knot and gave a single nod. With this, she hurried out the room while he went back to looking their guest in the eye. [[Well, I understand you're someone who people go to when they need to get into places they aren't allowed to. The language treatment you were given wasn't just for the sake of us having this conversation. You see, we want you to help gain us some eyes in the sky by hacking into the Russian government's satellite network so we can confirm the existence of a place in the Urals we're looking to get into ourselves.]]

As quickly as she had left, Knot just as quickly returned with a folding chair and a folding table tucked under both her arms, hurriedly setting them up, all while the cable-haired man was visibly smiling with childlike anticipation that virtually mirrored her own. [[Well now, that was certainly more than I was expecting…in the best possible way. Before we continue any further, might I at least have the courtesy of knowing my new employer's name?]]

Pietro gave a contemplative glance to both his comrades, and while Knot clearly looked eager for them to get to work, and thus nodded in approval, the dome-headed figure was far more difficult to read. In the end, it was ultimately be his choice to make, and if this was their best bet, then he knew he had to take the chance. [[Pietro Dobrynich Granin. Now you.]]

The grinning stranger got up to his feet, cracked his knuckles and popped the joints in his neck in preparation. [[Akamatsu Shin. Now that we know each other, you can officially put your mind at ease, because I'm officially under your employ from here. You see, I'm a man who relishes in a challenge, and I've always wanted to try my hand at infiltrating the networks of a foreign government. You Russians have been known to be notoriously tight fisted with your government networks especially, so you're officially making a dream come true for me. I only wish you'd informed me of this sooner; then I'd have known to bring the best of my best equipment for the job.]]

Pietro eyed the couple of thick steel suitcases sitting in the far corner of the room; undoubtedly the equipment Shin had brought along with him. [[Not to worry, we've got more than a satisfactory system in place for you to work with. We nabbed all the pieces necessary for it on our way out of Russia years ago.]]

Over the next several minutes, Knot, the dome-head and the rest of her long-time compatriots proceeded to carry a multitude of servers, mobile generators, power strips, routers, modems and cables, until the once barren concrete room was rendered near unrecognizable. At the sight of his new setup, Shin was all smiles and eagerness in his eyes. [[Now this is more than enough. All I need now is some music to help me concentrate; doesn't matter what. Afterwards, if you all wouldn't mind giving me some time to work my magic, and you'll have everything you wanted and more.]]

With no reasons for anyone to argue, Grenadier soon returned with a bulky stereo in hand, hurriedly hitting the buttons, and soon enough he and everyone else took their leave so Shin could get to work; the music halfway discernible as it was echoing off the concrete walls.

[Morbidi I Mnoći – Put]

With the music continuously thrumming in the background, Pietro and his loyal compatriots could only stand about and wait. While most were still and pensive, Pietro was actually the one who took to the troublesome habit of pacing back and forth across the hall. [[Are the new recruits still in the middle of training?]]

[[Yes, sir. I made sure they knew not to stop until they were told otherwise. You certainly got it through their heads to do as they're told by their seniors,]] the suave young man with long, tied white hair known as Blackout immediately answered, this time with none of the snarky tone his comrades were used to.

Despite his nod of assurance taken from this, Pietro was still pacing, with the dome-head continuously observing him every second. [[You need to take a moment and breathe, old friend. The hacker is here, and he's going to finally get us the answers we need. On top of that, just as you said, the new recruits show exceeding levels of promise this far into their training alone thanks to you. While so many of the people in the commune are so content to just remain here indefinitely, they were willing to listen to you and commit themselves to our cause. All things considered, things right now aren't so bad for us. So perhaps take that into consideration and relax.]]

Pietro did, indeed, stop; but the look in his eyes was far from calm. In fact, everyone could see that his gaze had seemed to take on decades of weariness in a matter of seconds. [[I know all this, everyone. Of course I do. What kind of leader would I be if I didn't? However, that doesn't change the fact that, even after all these years I've spent in the realm of war, seeing how Quirks have been utilized within it outside the realm of Heroes…I've still come to know you all like family in all the years that have passed since the Siberian Flash, and the fall of everything we held dear and believed in. You all are the only family I have left, and even though I'm grateful for you all pledging your loyalties to help me see our mission through… I still dread the consequences that await each of us in here right now, regardless how much I've trained you all to be prepared for it.

[[The fact we have so many fresh-faced recruits boosting our ranks now only makes this anxiety of mine that much worse. For as much as I wish I could change it… instinct has taught me that, no matter how well you prepare your soldiers… not all of them will make it to the end… and when that time comes, I know that their families will blame me for it, even though these people themselves made the decision to join us. If yours were still around… I have no doubt they would feel exactly the same if anything happened to you all.]]

There was an unmistakable glimmer of sadness reflected in the eyes of every single one of his young soldiers, while the dome-headed man simply had his arms crossed and his head bowed. However, after this momentary pause to silently pay their mutual respects, Knot suddenly lifted her head to look both Pietro and the dome-head eye-to-eye. [[You may be right, sir…but we could never say for certain, because they aren't here anymore, just like you said. The fact is that you two brought us together when we had nothing, and you made us into more than just a unit. Just like we are for you, you two are like a family for us, too… and family always sticks together. So no matter what the risks are that are waiting for us, we're willing to do it, come what may. We're the ones who recruited the new faces, and if anything happens to them, the responsibility is just as much ours as it is yours. That's a promise.]]

The looks of clear-as-day agreement on all their faces as they all nodded to every word Knot said, frankly left Pietro looking visibly choked up. Before he could express his appreciation for such loyalty, though, the door up the hall suddenly opened back up, causing the pounding music inside to become that much louder and more dissonant without the filter. Shin then poked his head out, the biggest smile of pride on his face. [[Come on in, everyone. You're in.]]

[Pauk – Mumije]

Shin was thankfully courteous enough to turn the music down some as Pietro and his people filed into the room; their expressions the very picture of anticipation. As he took his seat at his two computers again, he had his knees tucked in so he was pretty much squatting on his seat, still smiling like a child. [[This was definitely one of my more challenging undertakings. I'll spare you all the technical details. All you need to know is that I basically had to worm my way through the networks for both the Russian government and the military simultaneously. I had a close call halfway through, but… by God, I actually have done it! Behold!]]

With that, he nearly wheeled toppled himself off his chair with how eagerly he turned one of his monitors for the others to see. As they all leaned in, they were instantly met with a crystal clear bird's eye view of the entire Ural mountain region. Knowing just where they were supposed to be looking, Pietro immediately began pushing the wheel of the mouse forward, allowing their view to zoom in to the very spot Petto had told them about, with the picture thankfully never once losing its focus.

As miraculous as this was, the dome-head was still able to speak as bluntly as ever: [[Are you absolutely sure you weren't picked up? The government doesn't know you're in one of their satellites right now?]]

Admittedly, the question left the younger soldiers looking visibly nervous, but Shin's smile seemed irremovable. [[I just needed to take a few seconds to put up a temporary firewall between them and myself. Once you've got what you need and I pull the plug on the connection, that wall will vanish with us, and the Russian government will never even know we were there. You have my word as a prime underground hacker of this.]]

Shin had his right hand raised up as a sign of his honesty, even though coming from someone so willing to work with criminals, such a sign was meaningless. Besides, Pietro and the others were far too focused on observing the long-sought after spot on the screen, only to be greeted by nothing but hills and snow with a moderately-sized fjord just north of it.

[[I don't get it, there's nothing there.]] Petto noted, sounding greatly disappointed, with Grenadier, Blackout and Scythe quickly echoing the same sentiment. Knot was simply trying to look for some kind of sign the others were missing.

However, Pietro and his longest time comrade were completely unperturbed, especially as Pietro eyed the listing of available commands and options. If they were currently looking through one of the numerous cameras of one of Russia's numerous satellites, then they surely had all the options the actual controllers did. [[There's more than one way to observe the location of an objective, everyone. Never forget that. For example…]]

With the click of a single button, the camera view suddenly switched to a purely thermal one; and where there had once been nothing, they were now greeted by an especially bright red spot that looked to cover an area of about three or four square kilometers.

Seeing this, the dome-head spoke up observantly: [[I know my geography of the Motherland. This isn't a volcanically active spot of the country, and that heat signature is way too confined to just be a geothermal pocket. There's something definitely manmade out there under the ground.]]

[[And there's definitely some way in and out of it in the nearby area. Look.]] The moment Knot stated this, she nearly had her finger right up against the screen, pointing to the left edge of the large red spot of heat, just in time for three tiny heat signatures to suddenly departed from it in a straight line, with another three passing them right by and into the large red spot.

The expectant look on Pietro's face was positively aglow as he made the camera follow the three departing signatures, until they reached a spot where their colors seemed to change. The moment they did, he quickly switched the camera view back to normal, just in time to reveal a trio of military trucks departing a tiny tunnel that was practically impossible to see from this view; proceeding down a lonely stretch of road going north for a good couple of kilometers, before it ultimately turned into a moderately-sized military-grade shipyard, with guard towers lining the perimeter, numerous industrials shipping crates, and an especially large cargo ship manned with a couple artillery cannons; one of the few innovations in the combination of Russia's military and industry that made them stand out from the rest of the world these days.

The whole picture had now become miraculously clear, and Knot and her friends couldn't have looked more excited. However, as always, Pietro and his second-in-command weren't as gung-ho, as the latter spoke up: [[Well, at least now we know Petto's info wasn't a lie. Unfortunately, those are definitely military trucks, and if they're going in and out of this place, then that has to mean the place is manned very heavily. With it being underground, and with only one way in and out, it just stinks of a death trap waiting to happen.]]

This definitely served to sour everyone's mood but Shin's, as he was still simply reeling with his own accomplishment. However, after a moment of regretful silence, Grenadier's head perked up with realization. [[Wait, do you guys know if there have ever been any major military installations put up around this area?]]

Pietro and (he could only assume) the dome-head both looked to Grenadier with momentary confusion before simultaneously answering [[no]]. This seemed to brighten him up like a light bulb as he quickly began pointing between the spot of the underground facility and the shipyard. [[All right, so if there's no military bases nearby, then that means these two locations are the only source of backup the other has if it were to get attacked. What if those of our forces more suited for direct combat were to launch a surprise attack on the shipyard, take out their defenses. That way, when they call for help, the soldiers manning the underground spot will have no choice but to head to the shipyard to provide backup, thus leaving this spot less secure and open for our stealthier members to get inside, grab all the stuff we're looking for, and then get out.]]

The fact that music on the stereo picked that moment to suddenly sputter and die was pure coincidence, but the timing felt downright poetic, as everyone was looking at the normally thickheaded Grenadier like he'd just captured lightning in a bottle. Even Pietro looked downright embarrassed that he hadn't thought of such a simple tactic right off the bat. [[Your Quirk and training does make you an ideal candidate for such a task, Grenadier, there's no doubt about that. And with some of our newest members and their Quirks, you'd be all too capable of maintaining a prolonged assault while those like Blackout, Knot and Petto infiltrate the installation. It's still a plan with a great deal of risks, and a number of ways it could go wrong.]]

Pietro turned back to look all of his comrades in the eye, as though this were a momentary test to see the true strength of their wills. [[I told you all before once your first mission was complete that you would not be able to catch the enemy unawares so thoroughly again. That statement hasn't changed. Knowing this… are you all still truly willing to see this next mission through? If there's any doubt whatsoever among any of you, just say the word, and we can drop this matter entirely, and simply focus on shoring our current resources and continuing the new recruits' training.]]

Without a moment of hesitation, Knot and Petto both brought a closed fist over their hearts, with Grenadier, Blackout, Scythe and the dome-headed man all quickly following suit, and all looking him right in the eye without even a single flinch. Such a sight had a single tear of emotion beginning to form in Pietro's right eye, as he took a deep and resolute breath, meeting their salute in kind. [[Very well, then. Continue the recruits' training for today. Tomorrow… you all prepare to mobilize.]]

Class 1-A Dormitory, Yuuei Academy

The entire bus ride back from Takoba City to Yuuei had been filled with the all-around ecstatic joy of Class 1-A that most of them had finally received their Provisional Hero Licenses. The entire way, all most of them could talk about was how best to celebrate once they got back, especially since starting tomorrow, it would be back to regular classes and school curriculum; as Momo and Tenya had been very set on reminding everyone of.

Of course, after everything they had all gone through to get this major accomplishment, once they had finally returned to their dormitory building, the sheer physical and mental exhaustion came on like a freight train, with many of the students realizing they needed to hit the showers and work all the aches and strains out before anything else.

Once everyone had come back to the commons area after freshening themselves back up, one could already feel the buzz of excited anticipation as to discussing or putting together a potential celebration on the spot in the air, only aided upon Rikido Sato revealing he'd prepared chocolates for his classmates on the possibility of their passing the exams. Everyone was definitely quite appreciative of that.

Of course, amid the excitement and all-around feeling of pride in themselves and each other, there were a couple of students among Class 1-A; Nikolay and Mina, specifically; who still were silently dwelling on something else; something much more… pertinent and personal, as had been the case for quite a while.

BOOM!

Just as everyone had begun to eat the food that had once again been provided them by the school culinary staff, the front doors nearly burst open, snapping every one of the students to full attention, only to find themselves being approached by an unexpectedly stressed-looking Oleg of all people, who was looking the kids over as though he hadn't seen them in months. As he approached, they were all quick to notice his left sleeve of his jacket was empty, and thus his prosthetic arm was gone.

Thankfully, he wasn't lacking enough in self-awareness to realize what a scene he and his appearance were making, as he was quick to try and recollect himself. "Apologies, everyone. I can explain the arm later, but right now, I'd been informed that your Provisional License Exams were over, but I hadn't gotten any word about if you'd all passed or not. Knowing about Class B's passing before anything else didn't help, either. So how did it all go?"

Among the twenty-one youths before him, he was quick to see Shoto barely lower his gaze and Bakugo sneer angrily to himself; a visual omen that did not bode well where Oleg was standing.

But that was when he suddenly saw Nikolay's mouth start to turn upwards, followed by Mina, then Eijirou, Ochako, Izuku, and soon virtually the whole rest of the class, as his son spoke up: "We didn't send anything to you on the phone, because I personally thought it would be more effective this way. Everyone else seemed to agree, so…"

With that, Oleg was now bowled over by a sheer wall of excited proclamations of "WE DID IT! CHECK IT OUT! WE PASSED! WE'RE FINALLY LICENSED, TUNGUSKA-SENSEI! DOES MY PICTURE LOOK MANLY OR WHAT?! I'M SO HAPPY!"

However, the surprise couldn't hold a candle to the indescribable emotional look on Oleg's weathered face as he found nearly all the 1-A students holding up their brand new, pristine Provisional Licenses in the plastic before his very eyes. The positively glowing looks of pride and excitement on almost all their faces just made this moment that much more incredible, as Oleg had to really strain to swallow the lump in his throat; especially when seeing the absolute joy on the faces of his son, Mina, Eijirou, Ochako and Izuku.

"OH MY GOD, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU ALL! I KNEW YOU COULD GET THROUGH IT, I JUST KNEW IT!" The joyous laughter that Oleg gave as he scooped said students into a massive one-armed bear hug was nearly powerful enough to shake the whole building down to its foundations, leaving them laughing with just as much happiness in return as he let them back down on the ground and proceeded to follow suit with the next bunch and the next, even despite Bakugo threatening violence if the large Russian didn't put him down with the others.

Once he had finally finished hoisting the students by the half dozen in his massive arm to express his pride, Tenya now couldn't help but speak up as uniformly as ever: "Thank you for your encouraging words, Tunguska-sensei! Forgive me, but you said that Class B managed to pass as well! Does that mean you were there to observe their exam today?"

Now that their class president had finally asked what they had all been thinking, Oleg could clearly see the same curiosity reflected in many of their eyes, which he thankfully didn't hesitate to answer to: "Oh, no. It's just that when I got back to Yuuei, I couldn't avoid Vlad King-san's boasting about it if I tried."

There were definitely some scattered chuckles among the class from Denki, Eijirou and Mina specifically, but Ochako couldn't help but ask: "So, Tunguska-sensei, if you weren't watching Class B's exam or ours, then where were you today? I-I mean, I don't want to pry if you were just working on material for when school starts up again tomorrow or anything!"

Oleg's amused laugh, thankfully managed to offset her nervousness, as his smile shifted from one of pride in the students, to one of his own kind of expectation. "Well, I had been hoping to spring this on you all for when our first Quirk History class of the new semester came around, but… oh, you kids have gone through so much this year already, especially today; I shouldn't just leave you all guessing."

With that, he suddenly reached into his jacket pocket, and upon pulling out a small black rectangle, he could see a jolt of realization register among every single one of the 1-A students near instantaneously. When he finally opened it up and displayed the laminated photo of himself upon a pristine golden-casted card with an emblem resembling a star and its protruding beams of light, with the words 'SUN HERO TUNGUSKA - PRO HERO' stenciled across it, he could hear every single one of them instinctively suck in a breath of shock and disbelief at what they were actually seeing.

With his heart as light as a feather, the large Russian smiled as brightly as his namesake as he finally confirmed it out loud for the first time since receiving this token of honor: "That's right, everyone. You're all looking not only at your Quirk History teacher… but a bona fide reinstated working Pro Hero from now on!"

The cacophony of cheers from Mina, Tooru, Denki, Izuku and virtually the entire class was loud enough, but out of everyone else, it was Nikolay, Eijirou and Ochako who somehow managed to be the loudest and most bombastic with their cheers, practically bawling with joy. "I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, SENSEI! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" "HELL YES, YOU COULD! THERE'S NO WAY SOMEONE SO MANLY COULDN'T GET BACK UP TO PRO HERO STATUS LIKE THAT! CONGRATULATIONS, SENSEI! THAT AT LEAST EXPLAINS THE MISSING ARM, IT MUST'VE BEEN A TOUGH AS ALL HELL BATTLE, HUH?!"

"So… how does it feel, Dad?" Nikolay finally asked once Eijirou and Ochako had managed to simmer down considerably. With the energy having thankfully settled down, Oleg was already looking upon the license in his hand.

"Yes, it was definitely tough, malenkii Kirishima. I'll need to think up some different strategies so I don't destroy the arm malenkaya Yaoyorozu's family worked so painstakingly hard to make for me every time I go out into the field from now on. Luckily Nezu-san has already sent in for a replacement for me.

"As for how it feels, Kolya? Well… honestly… it feels kind of surreal, just knowing I'm here with this in my hand, when I had once believed I would never be a Pro Hero ever again. It's got me feeling both nostalgic, and as though I'm stepping into the role for the very first time." The man did, indeed, sound very introspective the more he tried to describe how it felt to have finally crossed one of the major hurdles he'd been working so hard on for so long now.

That still didn't stop Eijirou from asking with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball with a bright sharp-toothed smile and his fists pumping in excited anticipation, which Nikolay, Denki and Mina instantly noticed with knowing grins: "Do you already have a Hero Agency you're signed up with, Tunguska-sensei?!"

Oleg chuckled warmly as he tucked his Pro Hero license back into his pocket. "Not yet, unfortunately. However, I'm more than certain there are a number of Agencies that would be willing to give a fossil like myself a fair shake. I just need to put my applications out there and not stop until I succeed."

"Well, don't hesitate to let us know when you do, Sensei! Any Agency is gonna be lucky as hell to have you on their team!" Eijirou proclaimed with all the confidence in the world, to Nikolay and Oleg's mutual appreciation.

Of course, that didn't stop Denki from laughing hard to himself. "Man, Kirishima, could you be any more obvious about your Agency pick for the internships?"

However, while Eijirou, Denki and eventually even Kyouka were starting to get into an energetic fake-argument about Agency picks; Oleg glanced and was shocked to find that Nikolay, Mina, Izuku and Ochako alike were all starting to look especially emotional, with Ochako and Mina both starting to wipe the beginnings of tears from their eyes. "Whoa, whoa, what's wrong? Why are you kids crying all of a sudden?"

"It's not for anything bad, Tunguska-sensei." Izuku suddenly admitted, smiling proudly to himself while once again pulling out his phone, looking for some kind of a response from All Might, as he had been doing regularly since getting back on the bus in Takoba City. "It's just that, looking back on it now when it's all over, so much has happened to all of us today; so many big things that are going to change everything for everyone here. Us getting our Provisional Licenses, you getting your Pro License… it just makes me realize how far we've all really come this year. It's hard not to get emotional when thinking about it. I know you deserve as much thanks for helping make it possible for us, just as much as All Might, Aizawa-sensei and all our other teachers who've gone out of their way to prepare us for this."

With that, Izuku suddenly took an intense bow, almost to a similar degree as Inasa Yoarashi from Shiketsu High earlier, giving an enthusiastic "THANK YOU, SENSEI!" in response, and quickly prompting nearly all his other classmates to do the same; all while wishing All Might, Aizawa and all their teachers and internship mentors could be here to receive that gratitude in person like they truly deserved.

However, rather than bask in it, Oleg's smile was far more subtle as he placed a large, supportive hand on the shoulders of each of his students, prompting them all to raise their heads and hear what he had to say in light of all their accomplishments this day. "Thank you all for your kind words, but the people that deserve the most praise today are all of you. Yes, Aizawa-san, All Might-san, myself and every other teacher in this school taught you what you needed to know to get this far, but not one of us ever doubted in any one of your abilities to succeed. In the end, it was through all your willingness and devotion to each other, to learn, improve yourselves, work together and not back down from danger or doing what's right, that you've all managed to earn these licenses today. You should all take this opportunity to thank yourselves and each other for helping your whole class get this far."

The atmosphere among most of the students seemed to grow physically warmer, as many of their eyes began to reflect that very same gratitude, before they all finally began to thank each other for their support and inspiration one after another. Had Oleg been a more cynical person, he would have described such a sight as though it were something straight out of a holiday calling card. However, this was by and large one of the happiest and proudest days of these young Heroes' lives; they deserved to be as happy as they wanted and extend their gratitude to whomever they wanted.

"Sensei's right, we really have each other to thank for making this happen!" Tooru finally stated with a joyous leap in the air that Mina was soon mirroring with a victorious pink fist striking the air overhead. "Yeah, Class 1-A fights and sticks together no matter what! That, more than anything else, is why we should all be partying right now! I mean, it's, like, the last day before class starts again; we should totally be celebrating for that alone, right?!"

"It's precisely because school officially starts tomorrow that we shouldn't be so careless with our free time tonight, Mina-san." Momo reminded the whole class, albeit with actual visible reluctance to have to do so, despite her inherent responsibilities alongside Tenya, who quickly stepped in while straightening his glasses again.

"Yaoyorozu-san is absolutely right. These licenses, while a hard-won prize in their own right, give us all a much greater amount of responsibility as learning Heroes from now on. We can't afford to let ourselves get careless in any regard. With classes beginning in earnest tomorrow, the best thing for us to do now would be to simply eat our fill, make sure we have everything we need in order, and make sure we all get enough sleep so as not to miss the opening ceremony."

The more practical students like Mezo, Fumikage, Mashirao and Shoto were all clearly in agreement, while others like Nikolay, Izuku, Denki, Hanta, Mina and Tooru could at least understand their class president's reasoning, but still made no effort to hide their disappointment.

As such, Momo suddenly cleared her throat to regain her class' attention. "That being said, however, I see no reason why we, as a whole class, couldn't at least take a vote sometime this week after school as to how exactly we could celebrate when Sunday comes around. For all the efforts we've taken to improve our Quirks and understanding of how to be proper Heroes this year, I would agree that we've all at least earned that much."

Pretty much all the girls looked like they were about to start crying tears of joy at what a saint Momo was (of course, with Tsuyu, one could only assume this), while Nikolay, Eijirou, Denki, Hanta and Rikido were all smiling with gratitude and appreciation for hers and, ultimately, Tenya's openness to such an impromptu idea.

Sensing the whole new atmosphere of comradery among the 1-A students, while also feeling his own physical exhaustion catch up with him at last, Oleg happily chuckled with fatherly pride as he mussed his large right fingers through Nikolay, Eijirou, Ochako and Mina's hair. "Well, then, as we've all said by now: we've all had a very long day, and you kids have a lot to look forward to this semester, so I won't hold up any more of your time tonight. You all make sure you eat well and get enough sleep. Licenses or not, Aizawa-san isn't going to start cutting you any more slack, believe that. So with that, congratulations once again to every single one of you young Heroes! You've all more than earned this!"

As he began to make his way for the dormitory entrance again, Nikolay, Mina, a visibly shaken Eijirou and positively glowing Ochako all eagerly stepped forward to call out to him respectively: "Thank you for everything, Dad!" "We're pulling for you, Sensei!" "We're all gonna do All Might proud!" "Congratulations again, Sensei!"

None of those kids saw the single glistening tear of deeply-rooted appreciation running down Oleg's face as he finally left them to their own devices, ready to finally sleep the day's worth of physical strain away, and more importantly, prepare for readying his new semester's curriculum, and start putting his nose to the grindstone for finding a willing Hero Agency at last.

As for the students; just as their presidents and Quirk History teacher suggested, they proceeded to enjoy themselves with the banquet of top-quality food that was constantly filling the stock of their kitchens every single day, while Rikido and Momo were at least indulging their classmates on request with gourmet chocolates; primarily Mina, Ochako and Tooru.

All the while, as everyone continued to eat and chat the evening away with each other to make up for the lack of any real kind of party, Izuku was still routinely checking his phone, and even despite his lifted spirits, still felt a sting of disappointment whenever he saw no response from All Might. By the time dinner had finally ended, it had gotten to such a repetitive point that Ochako couldn't help but speak up: "Try not to worry, Deku-kun. If All Might-sensei hasn't answered yet, then it must be because he's in the middle of something really important. But I'm sure he got all of our messages and is just as proud as Tunguska-sensei was; maybe even more!"

Izuku's grateful smile had the rosy-cheeked girl's hair nearly standing on end, much to Mina, Tooru and Kyouka's mutual veiled delight, while everyone else was finally starting to get up and collectively call it a night. Reading the room, Izuku was similarly starting to get up, knowing Ochako was right. There was no way All might hadn't at least received everyone's messages. He was likely just waiting for when their next class with him would come so he could congratulate them personally.

The anticipation for that moment was palpable, but before Izuku could dwell on it any further as he began to make his way for the boys' wing—"Hey."

The deathly serious edge in Bakugo's voice stopped Izuku dead in his tracks; his eyes wide with surprise, as the blonde boy with the furrowed brow stomped past him for the dorm entrance with a clearly focused stride. "Come outside if you're done here. We need to talk… about your Quirk."

Everybody else was far too focused on wishing each other a good night to notice Izuku and Bakugo silently slipping outside. The talks were so multi-directional, in fact, that something else they failed to notice was the momentarily visible contemplative looks on Nikolay and Mina's faces all throughout the evening, but especially now.

The reason for the two slipping into moments like this for the last few hours hadn't been for any different reasons than they typically had been for the last couple of weeks. However, after having taken in Oleg's words about the increased responsibilities they now carried with their new licenses, it had brought that old train of thought back even harder than ever before.

To the point that, as everyone was finally starting to part ways and call it a night, Nikolay was overtaken by an impulsive desire to step in and speak up in a whisper before it was too late, his eyes focused solely on Mina as she was starting to turn around to join the rest of the girls. "Hey… um, M-Mina? Could you please wait? Could we maybe… well, talk for a bit?"

The speed with which the pink girl turned around to give Nikolay her full attention was almost as though she were expecting this, even though that was far from the case, and her reaction was out of sheer reflex at the sound of his voice, as was her answer: "Of course, Kolya-kun, we can talk whenever, you know that."

However, instead of the awkward blush of embarrassed realization, Nikolay instead looked like he was physically struggling to find words, while swallowing a choking lump in his throat. "Actually… t-that's not what I meant. I meant… l-like tonight… right now, even… if we could maybe… you know, talk in… in p-private."

The silence between them as those words hung in the air cancelled out all the other chatter around them, as Mina's black-gold eyes widened with surprise, while Nikolay looked like he was already regretting having said anything, no matter how much he couldn't stand having kept his thoughts over the last few weeks to himself any longer. If only he had known just how much Mina herself had been considering asking him the very same thing for just as long, having only been beaten to the punch by a heartbeat.

However, while their ears had fallen deaf to everyone else around them, one person who had noticed this microcosm change in the atmosphere between Nikolay and Mina, was Eijirou; and the smile of realization on his face couldn't have been clearer, if what he thought he was witnessing was to be believed.

With most of the boys and the rest of the girls having already taken their leave, and not wanting anything to potentially spoil what was surely to follow, Eijirou quickly took to ushering the rest; namely Denki, Minoru and Hanta, back up the levels of the boys' wing; shrugging off their mutual questions of just where Bakugo and Izuku had disappeared to.

All the while, as he took care of sequestering the nosier of the boys back to their rooms along the way, a sharp pang of realization struck the back of Eijirou's head: 'Oh, man, what is up with me these days? I'm almost like Ashido herself, or Hagakure, when just thinking about her and Kolya-san at once. Man, I really hope those two just hurry up and get this whole thing figured out quick. Manly Heroes aren't supposed to dwell on this kind of stuff! Maybe another hundred push-ups before bed might be able to balance me out again.'

With that desperate train of thought once he had ushered Hanta up the next floor to his room, and was finally by himself again, Eijirou hurriedly got back into his own room, and proceeded to continuously exercise himself to an even greater level of exhaustion.

All the while, once they were finally alone, Mina had at last found her senses again, and answered Nikolay's surprising but not-unwelcomed request: "Sure, Kolya-kun. I… I'd actually really like that."

With neither of them wanting any of their classmates to risk coming out here and overhearing what either of them was hoping to find the courage to say, Nikolay and Mina had ultimately decided to keep themselves and their words protected by sitting together in the privacy of the young Russian's dorm room. However, the air inside was somehow even more awkwardly silent than back in the commons area, as in his desire to not be a bad host, and without any extra chairs, or any at all, for them to get comfortable with, Nikolay ultimately relented by inviting an equally flustered Mina to sit with him on the edge of his bed.

For what felt like an eternity, the two best friends sat uncomfortably side by side; hands on their laps and their eyes trying desperately to look anywhere but directly at each other. With the one subject to speak of that truly mattered hanging heavy on both their heads and hearts, the fact they were together in privacy in his personal room, sitting side-by-side on his very own bed was far from lost on either of them, as their racing hearts and burning faces could attest to.

However, that awkwardness couldn't hold a candle to the restless train of thought that was racing through both their heads, as Nikolay could feel his hands beginning to nervously twitch while his brow beaded in ice cold sweat; his heart hammering at his ribs. 'Aw man, what the hell am I supposed to say? It's not like I can just say "never mind" and just act like this didn't happen; we came all the way up here at my request! Mina has to know there's a serious reason for me to do that! But even if I could tell her what I think I've finally figured out about myself when it comes to her… how can I possibly know what her reaction would be? What if she doesn't actually feel the same way? What would happen to us then?'

At the very same time, Mina was balling her hands together tight with anxiety, biting her lower lip and trying not to start breaking out into nervous trembling as her own mind raced and her heart pounded like mad. 'Come on, Mina, Kolya-kun worked up the courage to invite you up here, the least you could do is meet him halfway and say something! Not just anything, though, this is the real deal! Maybe he's finally found the courage to say what you're hoping he'll say! At least that'll take the pressure of being the first to say it off your shoulders! But wait, no, I can't just assume that's what this is! But then that's why I shouldn't just come out and say what I've wanted to say to him, either! I mean, if he doesn't feel the same way… oh God; that would be horrible! He might not even want to be friends anymore if I screw this up! Wait, how can I even be sure if I'm really feeling what I think I am around him right now? Oh… why couldn't all the storybooks and TV shows say just how confusing these kinds of feelings could really be?!'

The sound of Nikolay suddenly clearing his throat to speak broke a silence that had become so heavy, he and Mina alike nearly jumped with surprise. However, he was quick to at least try and regain some semblance of composure, as he finally opened his mouth and said the first words that came to mind: "Spasibo, Mina… bolshoi spasibo… for everything, I mean… like, for everything you've done for me since we first met."

Mina was finally able to look at the Russian boy beside her with curiosity and emotion together reflected in her eyes, while he continued to focus simply on trying to say what he wanted: "I know this must sound corny, but… I honestly feel like all of your friendship, your support… all of your encouragement that you've been giving me over all this time… I-I really think that's played the biggest part in helping me grow enough to get to this point with you and everyone. I really feel like you're the biggest reason for that, Mina… and I… I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough for that."

Even if he was clearly too nervous to return her gaze, it was all too clear to Mina just how heartfelt Nikolay's words were right now, and that just left her whole body feeling as though it were on fire from the inside out with twisting emotions and fluster. "Oh, hey, c'mon, Kolya-kun, that… t-that's way over the top! It wasn't just me or Kiri or Midori-kun or anybody else; you pulled so much weight to get yourself here too, you know? You deserve a huge pat on the back for that… or a couple dozen! Remember what Tunguska-sensei said: we've both got the whole class to thank for making this all happen! I mean, heck, I-I should be thanking you right now, too!"

The more Mina spoke, the more she could feel her initial fluster start to die down, just as she had been hoping. However, Nikolay didn't look as convinced, as he momentarily shook his head in denial. "I'm not just talking about all the training or the battles and all that, Mina. I'm talking about way back, when this all truly started. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me since… since that day, and even beyond that."

The heaviness with which he said this made Mina's diverting words go silent, as she could feel a momentary chill of remembrance go up her arms and back. She could remember every moment of that day as though she were living it right now, just like he could. That rain, all the anger and sadness… and the warmth they both felt that very first time they ever embraced each other. Mina and Nikolay could both feel those tears of painful remembrance start welling in their eyes as Nikolay finally found the courage to look Mina in the eye again. "The day you went out of your way to find me… and you were the first person I ever opened up to about everything… even when you had no reason to do so, but made those choices regardless… and you gave me my mom's old letter… if it weren't for you, Mina, I wouldn't even be here right now. Not just here in Yuuei, the closest I've ever been to becoming the Hero I once dreamt of being, with you and so many friends that I once thought I'd never have beside me.

"No… what I mean, Mina; is that I wouldn't even be alive right now if it weren't for you simply choosing to be there for me on that day, when I needed someone the most… even if I didn't realize it myself then." Nikolay had since given up on trying to fight the tears, as he turned his whole body so that he had his attention entirely on Mina, who was looking absolutely stricken with the gravity of his words of gratitude for her.

"It doesn't matter what you or my Dad say; honestly. The God's honest truth of all this is that you helped give me back my will to live on that day, Mina. Everything that I've fought to get through in order to get to this point… when you get down to it, I owe all of that to you." By this point, Nikolay finally let his head hang with emotional exhaustion; a surefire sign he had said everything that had been weighing down on him the most.

As his emotional tears dripped down onto his blankets, Mina was trying so hard not to start doing the same. It wasn't even just for the memories of what he was saying, even if they were tugging at her heartstrings something awful. No, it was the sheer emotional sincerity evident in every word, in every movement of his body he was trying to convey it with. This was Nikolay at his most emotionally vulnerable; his most emotionally honest. And the fact he was choosing now to lay this all out for her had Mina feeling like her heart was about to burst, especially with the desire to reciprocate exactly what she thought he was trying to say with her own deeply-rooted honest feelings as they were being stirred up in the sheer emotion of this personal and private moment. 'Oh my God… for Kolya-kun to be saying all of this, now of all times… he couldn't… he couldn't really be trying to build up to saying what I… what I think he is… right? God, I want to just say it, I want him to know how I feel… if I want him to know it so much; that must mean this is really how I feel for him, right? Dammit, why can't I just suck it up and tell him?!'

As Mina was beginning to mentally smack herself upside the head for her inability to just find the courage and speak up with the truth, she felt a sudden electrical jolt shoot up her right arm and through her entire body. Just as quickly did that jolt become replaced by the kind of warmth too pleasant for mere words. Unable to help herself, Mina instinctively looked to find that, in his own emotional impulsiveness, Nikolay had placed his left hand over her right. Looking up at him, not only did it look like he'd experienced the same jolt, just by how his hair nearly looked to be rising, but there was now a much more peaceful smile on his face. The sight of that as his green eyes looked into her beautiful golden irises had Mina nearly feeling like her already frizzy pink hair was standing on end.

'Oh man… oh man, oh man, oh man, what is with that look? Why does Kolya-kun always look so cute when he smiles at me? No, this isn't like his normal cuteness, this is… this is, like, something completely different. Why does it feel like my heart just won't stop? Wait… is he… that look… that's totally the look of somebody about to confess something, isn't it?! Oh my God, is Kolya-kun actually going to say it?! I-I don't know if I'm ready!'

"Kolya-kun… w-what's that smile all about?" The instant Mina asked that one question on autopilot, she was once again proceeding to mentally paddle herself for asking something so stupid.

However, Nikolay didn't look bothered by it at all, as he let out a sigh of what actually sounded like relief. "To be honest, there was something I'd noticed earlier today that I started thinking back on all the way to the beginning… and right now, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't just imagining the whole thing. Seeing your reaction with my own just now, thankfully, confirmed everything I'd been hoping it would."

Mina was finally able to look Nikolay in the eye again as his own gaze fell to his hand on hers, while Mina realized she'd never removed her hand from its spot. "During the rescue exam earlier… I got approached by that Shiketsu High girl that Midoriya-san told us about. Just like how she'd come to him disguised as Uraraka-san, she came to me… disguised as you."

Mina's nervousness about what Nikolay could possibly confess, had now turned into a nervousness about whatever that enigma of a girl had potentially done with him while actually disguised as Mina herself. Knowing she'd been more than comfortable being naked around Izuku, and then seeing her smiling and winking at Nikolay had left Mina feeling especially protective, but now she was actually starting to feel a tingle go up her spine, as though something precious had been intruded upon… or someone, in this case.

Nikolay, however, was too absorbed in his recollection, and the point he was aiming to get to with it, to notice the protective glimmer in Mina's eyes at this news. "Because things in the exam had gotten so intense; what with me getting thrown so hard and everything; I didn't even notice that it wasn't the real you at first when she came to me… but as time went on, there were more and more hints I was picking up on that helped me realize the truth.

"A lot of it was pretty obvious stuff, like the things she said that I'd never heard you say before, or the way she was acting that was completely unlike you. However, there was something much more subtle that I didn't even notice until after the fact." Once more, his and Mina's eyes fell to their joined hands.

"When she first came to me in your disguise, she took my hand and pulled me up. Now, after thinking back to that day at the bus stop when we first hugged, I've come to realize that every time we've ever hugged or even held hands, there was always this little jolt I felt every single time. It's never been more than as though you were rubbing socked feet on the carpet and then touching a metal doorknob, but the point is that it was always there. But when she took my hand then to get me back on my feet… there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Thinking back on it now; that should've been the only clue I needed to know it wasn't the real you, Mina."

What Nikolay didn't realize, however, was that by telling Mina this, he now had her heart racing again, because now she couldn't help but think back to every hug and held hand they'd shared since the day she went after him, and now she too was realizing that she had always felt the very same electrical jolt at their touch just like he did. Now her mind was practically awhirl with the possibility of what something that sounded so poetic could have really meant; her adorable pink face starting to turn a darker shade of the color.

Nikolay went further still: "When I realized the difference between her touch and yours, of course I wanted to credit it to just some logical scientific explanation. I mean, who wouldn't when it comes to something completely unusual like that? But the more and more I thought about it… the more I've come to realize just what it might all really mean."

Nikolay had to pause again, while Mina was unknowingly sucking in another breath, just bracing herself for him to finally say the words she was finding herself growing more and more hopeful to finally hear. It was like this one conversation/emotional outpouring was making her previous uncertainty about her feelings with Nikolay magically straighten itself out to do away with her confusion. So much so, in fact, that she was genuinely finding herself considering just confessing the truth herself if he somehow didn't. At the same time, the voice in the back of Nikolay's mind was practically screaming for him to stop beating around the bush and get to his true point.

Miraculously, the words naturally came to Nikolay from this point, with no further scrambling in his head for them: "Over all this time, I've heard from Dad and so many other people, that Heroes tend to be able to fight even harder than they can at their strongest, when they have something or someone that means more to them than anything else that they wish to protect."

By this point, Mina's eyes were nearly perfect black-golden circles; they had gone so wide with both anticipation and surprise. She could swear she felt like she was steaming out of her ears with the restless imagination of just what this particular sentiment meant coming from Nikolay. There could have only been one possible hidden meaning to these words, but she didn't want to ruin everything by voicing such an assumption now. 'Oh, Kolya-kun, please stop torturing us both like this! But if he actually says what I'm hoping he is, I don't even know if I could take it by now!'

However, the collected look in Nikolay's eyes gave way to that nostalgic sense of nervousness as he met her gaze again. "Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say you can't handle yourself in a fight, Mina. Hell, I'm still convinced you could kick my ass without breaking a sweat if you wanted to. I'm just trying to say that, in all the battles and overall dangerous situations we've gotten into up to this point, I've found that one thing I've consistently felt, besides my desire to be a Hero that can save the people and fight the Villains, is the desire to protect you.

"This isn't about me trying to repay you for all the kindness you've given me over all this time, either. It's just that you are, without question, one of the most precious and irreplaceable people in my life, Mina; I don't ever want to see you get hurt, and like I said before, I personally feel that you've been one of the biggest parts of me rediscovering my dream to become a real Hero; and that aim to protect everyone, including you and the rest of our friends and classmates from Villains is a big part of that, and is one of the things that's managed to help carry me this far. I wanted you to know this, because you consistently inspire that feeling in me, and I feel you deserve to know the full truth, just like the rest of our friends ultimately do."

Mina couldn't help but admire and feel a great stirring of a best friend's pride at the sheer conviction in Nikolay's voice as he reassured her of his desire to live like a real Hero for her and everyone else. For Nikolay himself, however, that voice in his head was once again furiously screaming: 'You goddamned coward, Nikolay Olegovich; you were working yourself so close to finally saying it, and you just doubled back?! Can't you see your feelings are becoming clearer with every second you spend with her?! Months of emotional confusion and growth are finally about to all make sense! When the hell are you gonna work up the guts to just say it, if ever?!'

Mina's own inner voice was chastising her in much the same way, but even despite that, her body was able to take some of its own much-needed initiative, as her right hand finally met Nikolay's hold in kind and turned so they now had their palms up to each other, allowing her to finally slip her fingers in between his, interlocking them and allowing them both to hold onto each other with an equally gentle yet strong grip, sending another of those enigmatic jolts through both teens.

Despite both their faces turning deep red, and their heart rates spiking at the touch, it actually gave Mina quite the surprising sense of emotional clarity, as she finally found it in herself to answer everything Nikolay had been admitting to her. "To be completely honest, Kolya-kun… I… I-I've been going through some really changing feelings when it comes to you, too. From the very first time we ran into each other on that street corner, then I found out you'd gone out of your way to return my phone when you had no reason to, and then to end up running into you again at the entrance exam and actually getting to really talk to you; I remember thinking you were such an interesting person with a good heart under all the shaking and stuttering, and I knew already that all I wanted from the very start was for us to be best friends.

"Then, the more I really got to know you and saw just how much you were hurting underneath it all for so long, I wanted more than to just be your friend. I wanted to be there for you in ways I just felt nobody had been for you before. I wanted to be able to make that hurt go away so you could be happy for real again. That never changed, even as I saw how much stronger you were getting, and how much you were starting to finally open up and make friends with almost everyone in class. With every day, all I wanted more and more was to be the kind of friend that could always be there for you for anything and everything… and somehow you ended up becoming all that and more for me, too. I know I've said it before, but I don't care: you're one of my dearest friends among nothing but dearest friends, Kolya-kun, and I don't ever want to see anything bad happen to you, either."

Nikolay could feel his heart racing so fast, he could have sworn it would genuinely burst or give out with the anticipation. With every musical word escaping Mina's lips, it felt more and more like she was about to finally say the three words he'd been torturing himself trying to confirm within himself for the last couple weeks. By this point, he was pretty much silently begging for her to do so, just to relieve them both of their anxiety and curiosity once and for all.

Mina's grip on his hand seemed to grow that much tighter than it already was as she never broke eye contact with him; her heartfelt smile somehow growing even warmer. "I still want to be able to protect you, too, Kolya-kun; but not just because of how much you mean to me. Honestly, whenever I see you become stronger like you have been, it fires me up into wanting to get that much stronger, too, so that way we can both be able to watch each other's backs alongside the rest of our friends when we all finally become Pro Heroes!"

The smile reappearing on Nikolay's face gave Mina so much more encouragement than usual (which was saying a lot) as her eyes took on a far more distant and dreamy look, as though she were looking beyond the walls to something distant yet completely attainable. "Actually, I've thought about this a lot ever since this school year started, but something I'd really love, even if it might not be all realistic and stuff… is for us to form our own Hero Agency together: you and me, Kiri, Urara-chan, Midori-kun; all of our class if it were possible. How amazing would it be if we could all still be together and still get to be the Heroes we all want to be with our own Agency and everything? Class 1-A becoming its own super awesome Hero Agency team; it just sounds so poetic and beautiful, right?"

There was a great deal of confidence burning in Mina's chest as she finally expressed this recent dream out loud for the very first time. It didn't matter if Nikolay didn't think it was something that could be achieved; it just felt good all the same to say. Of course, that still did nothing to quiet down the voice in the back of her head: 'For crying out loud, Ashido, you're worse than Urara-chan is! You were so close, you even said he means so much to you, and you still can't say the words?! For someone who always obsesses over other people's romances, you really suck at pursuing your own!'

"That sounds so nice, Mina. It really does." Nikolay suddenly admitted without a trace of the typical fluster or nervousness, the first time all night he'd spoken as such, which instantly snapped Mina to attention as her eyes practically lit up with joyous realization of what he was saying. Now, Nikolay was similarly trying to envision such a future like she was; a sight she couldn't have been happier to see. "The idea of our class getting scattered after graduation is something really sad I haven't wanted to think about as much as possible. I can't believe I didn't even stop to consider the idea of us all making our own Agency together before. The only question now is what we would name it."

It was clear by the smile on his face by the end, that Nikolay was honestly just joking, but the question did ultimately bring him and Mina into a playful debate of numerous different Agency name ideas; all trying to incorporate as many references either to everyone's Hero names or their Quirks as possible. Every single one turned into an absolutely nightmarish word salad that they were both quick to admit no one in their right mind would actually use, as it would take forever to say the entire name from start to finish.

Of course, none of this truly mattered in the long run. What did was that it was exactly the kind of subject needed to veer the conversation in a way that could finally help Nikolay and Mina forget their constant nervousness and awkwardness around each other that had been plaguing them for the last few weeks. For the first time since their respective conversations with their peers regarding each other, it honestly felt like they were simply two best friends having fun together again, instead of the emotionally tormented and potentially love-stricken friends trying to reconcile that relationship and those feelings with each other. Being able to just share a moment like this together again felt like a genuine return to normalcy.

A normalcy that granted them both, at long last, the growing mental and emotional clarity needed to finally realize the truth about how far their respective feelings really went for each other, which gave them both equal shares of relief… and anxiety anew.

Thankfully, the serendipitous timing of an especially tired yawn from both of them was able to get their minds off of the emotion of the moment, and on the fact that it was getting especially late. As such, albeit with great reluctance, they went for the door, with Nikolay even going the extra mile by holding it open for Mina as she silently stepped out into the hall, the last stretch where they would finally have to part ways for the night after such an incredibly emotional conversation.

Neither of them wanted this moment between them to end, no matter how anxious they were both feeling in each other's presence after everything that had been said. But they knew they couldn't afford to let their unwillingness to separate risk making them slip up on their first day of school tomorrow. As such, as soon as their eyes met once more, Nikolay took a resigned breath. "Well… I'm glad we finally were able to tell each other about all this, Mina. Thank you so much again… for everything."

Mina's hands were still clasped together, anxiously rubbing her thumb against the back of her other hand as she tried to just say her parting words for the night. "Y-yeah… yeah, I'm glad we could finally talk about this, too. I'm… I'm so grateful that I have a friend like you, Kolya-kun. Good night and… and sweet dreams."

Taking a hard turn in the discussion in order to try and end the night before she'd end up talking in circles alongside her running emotions, Mina suddenly stepped forward and threw her arms around Nikolay, holding the wide-eyed Russian boy close and tight as she basked happily in his natural warmth, just as he quickly did in hers. Despite the tightness of her hold on him, there was an unmistakable loving affection behind it as well, as she had her arms holding him in just the right places to convey that intimacy while her hands rested upon him so gently, punctuated by Mina resting her head on Nikolay's shoulder, almost tucking her blushing and smiling face into the crook of his neck. The realization of what this all ultimately looked like had Nikolay's once pale face now tomato red, made even more so when he could feel the tingling of Mina's breath against his neck, the tickling touch of her hair against his cheek, and the sensation of her heartbeat against his chest, matching his own.

Neither of them could say how long they had stayed like this. Nikolay couldn't even mentally catch up with whether or not he had managed to return Mina's hug as well. All either of them knew was that, by the end, with another hasty and flustered "Good night," Mina went rushing down the halls back for the girl's wing, trying her best to remain as light on her feet as possible to avoid drawing the attention of anyone else the entire way. As Nikolay could only wish her good night in return once she had already hurriedly rounded the corner for the stairs, he never realized just how illuminatingly red her face had become once she had finally released her most affectionate hug on him to date.

For the remainder of that night before they ultimately were able to slip into an admittedly uneasy sleep, Nikolay felt like an absolutely emotionally conflicted mess, feeling both grateful that he had managed to get at least a portion of his feelings out in the open for Mina to hear…while at the same time still chastising himself for not saying all his feelings as he knew them.

At the same time, Mina was continuously tossing and turning in her bed with complete restlessness. 'Oh, God, I don't know what to do about this. How am I gonna be able to just tell Kolya-kun the whole truth after all of that? That was the perfect chance, and I screwed it all up! I hate having to keep this from him. There's gotta be somebody somewhere I can talk to that can help! There just has to be!'

The long-awaited return to his room within the teacher's dormitory had Oleg overcome with a tidal wave of pure physical exhaustion that completely dwarfed what he had felt back in the 1-A dorms. It was astounding to think of exactly how much he had put himself through over the course of a single day in order to get his Pro Hero License. It honestly already felt like that exam had been days ago. The realization that this was not the case now had the large Russian feeling more than ready to sleep like a log in his bed at last.

However, before he would even think of doing so, he turned his attention to one of the few decorations of his room: the old framed photograph of himself at a much younger age alongside Lyudmila, and their infant son snugly held right between them, all looking at the camera with joyous light reflected in both their eyes. Where that old picture had always inspired choking sadness before, now Oleg felt his very spirit lift as he looked at the nostalgic yet lively eyes of his beloved wife. He was already swallowing a choking sob as he finally spoke up to her picture:

[[Oh, Lyuda… if I could only tell you everything that's happened today, I imagine even you would scarcely believe it. I suppose I should try anyway, though. I know you deserve to know more than anyone else. Kolya… our boy… he and most of his class actually earned their Provisional Hero Licenses today. This is the closest they've all gotten to becoming official Heroes like us. Can you believe it? In such a short amount of time, he's grown so much, and so capable that he's been able to pass this test with every one of his friends. Just knowing where he was not that long ago… to see him now at this point, I couldn't begin to tell you how proud I am of him, Lyuda… of all of them, really. Each of those kids has truly proven to be something special in so many ways thus far, to the point I can even say I think of them like my own children nearly to the same point as I do Kolya, and don't feel like I'm just blowing hot air when doing so.

[[This whole class has come to feel like a whole new family for Kolya, especially; but I never would have expected myself to feel the same way at the start. But I suppose that just goes to show how life goes, doesn't it? I could only hope that, if you were here with us, and were able to have gotten to know these kids like we have, that you would feel the same way, Lyuda. Oh, who am I kidding? Knowing you, you would have absolutely come to adore these children like they were your very own right from the start. That's just the loving kind of Hero… the loving kind of person you've always been; and they would all be so lucky to have someone like you looking out for and teaching them. That's why I'm going to keep trying my hardest to care for and raise them up enough for both of us, my love.

[[That's right, I almost forgot with all this reminiscing and gratitude. I also received my Pro Hero License today. That's right, I'm officially a recognized working Pro Hero again. I can honestly say I never expected to say those words again, let alone with such pride, and in an entirely different country like this one. I guess you could consider that the biggest sign of how dedicated I am to moving forward from now on. I know you never would have wanted me to leave my responsibilities as a Hero behind, no matter what happened… and I'm going to make sure I atone for all those years I forced myself and Kolya to live with our heads buried in the ground with this second chance. You could definitely say that Kolya putting so much effort into his Hero education over this year thus far is his way of doing the same thing, and it's truly paying off for all of them.

[[He's become so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and Heroes looking out for him and helping him achieve his full potential. If you can hear me, Lyuda… I hope you can see everything our son is accomplishing, and I hope it can help bring you some kind of peace. I know honoring your memory and the price you paid for him has been a major driving force for him pushing himself as hard as he has been… but I'm sure he knows deep down just how proud you must be of him for having picked himself back up from the depths so thoroughly by now.]]

Having exhausted every possible thing he could think to say to his wife's photo by this point, Oleg let out a shaky, emotional sigh before pressing a single large finger to his lips, and then pressing that finger to hers in the photo. [[I love you, Lyuda, just as much now as I did the day we first met, and… I… I miss you just as much; just as much as I know Kolya does. Please, continue to watch over him in the hardships I know are inevitably to come.]]

With nothing more needing to be said, Oleg finally turned off the last of the lights in his room and climbed into bed, more than ready to finally let the last of his injuries from his exam run their course as far as healing was concerned.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed after he had closed his eyes, when his cellphone suddenly hummed to life. All he knew was that it definitely wasn't enough, as his eyelids were still just as heavy, and his whole body was still feeling as achy and exhausted as before. His initial annoyance, however, was quickly forgotten when he absentmindedly grabbed his phone from the nightstand, and immediately saw that it was Toshinori Yagi he was reading on the Caller ID.

Beep

"Oh, Oleg-san, thank you for answering; I hope I didn't wake you up!"

Oleg was quick to notice the serious edge in Toshinori's voice. "No, you caught me just in time, Toshinori-san. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, but a situation has recently occurred that you would be much better served having described to you in person. Please come meet me and Aizawa-san in the faculty office. This does actually call for your presence, I'm afraid."

Oleg was already shooting out of bed and hurriedly getting his shoes back on. "Aizawa-san's involved too? Are the rest of the teachers aware of this, too? Should I inform them?"

"No, no, this is only something that involves the three of us, and… Midoriya-shonen and Bakugo-shonen. Please, just hurry over here and I promise everything will be explained."

Click

With that, Toshinori ended the call just as quickly as it had started, and Oleg was nearly running down the halls of the teachers' dorm for the faculty office; his mind already rushing with any number of possibilities as to what could have possibly happened involving Izuku and Bakugo that would actually call for the attention of himself, Toshinori and Aizawa, but no one else. His exhaustion was already all but forgotten as he ran like the wind with urgency.

With his natural dread building in the pit of his stomach the entire way there, Oleg wasn't entirely certain what to expect, but it certainly wasn't the sight of Toshinori and Aizawa in the middle of patching up a very badly bloodied and bruised Izuku and Bakugo when he threw the doors open; all four pairs of eyes instinctively turning to him, with Izuku looking notably surprised and worried, while Bakugo simply looked frustrated in the most subtle way that only he could.

"Oh my God, what happened to you boys?" Oleg immediately asked, just as Aizawa had finished applying the last medical patch to Izuku's right cheek, and slowly got up onto his feet, momentarily approaching the nearby desk.

"You really want to know?"

THWIP! THWIP!

Swinging his body around with arm extended, Aizawa swiftly wrangled and bound both boys with his Capture Tool with inhuman precision, muffling both their surprised and angry responses, while his tired eyes burned through them with that terrifying hidden anger that gave him such a reputation among his peers. "For you two to have enough energy to get into a fight the same night that the Provisional Exams ended… how very splendid."

"Aizawa-san, please wait a second and hold your apprehension!" Toshinori suddenly exclaimed just as Oleg was about to do the same. "The cause of this whole incident… is me."

Just as he'd expected, now both his fellow teachers' eyes were upon him, with Aizawa especially demanding an explanation through the intensity of his eyes alone. "Excuse me? How exactly does this all involve you? You're the one that stopped me from going out there and stopping these two in the first place, so you better have a good explanation, All Might."

"Hang on a second, don't just go halfway through an explanation without giving me some idea just what the hell is going on!" Oleg quickly reminded everyone, and while Toshinori was already clearly apologetic for having gotten ahead of himself, Aizawa just let out a frustrated grumble before grabbing a remote for a nearby monitor.

"Take a look at this, Tunguska, and tell me this doesn't call for a good explanation." With that, Aizawa hit the play button, and even though there was no sound, Oleg's eyes were glued to the events that unfolded before him.

Over the course of the next several minutes, what Oleg witnessed was Izuku and Bakugo walking out by themselves onto Ground Beta, where the Battle Trials had been held all the way at the beginning of the year. He cursed the fact there was no audio, because for a couple of minutes after they came to a stop, it looked like Bakugo had a lot to talk about, that was visibly catching Izuku off guard. In the end, though, Bakugo's posture naturally took on that aggressive stance he always did before attacking, and what ensued was an unbelievably intense fight between the two, with Bakugo continuously throwing one explosion, punch and kick at Izuku after another, forcing the freckled boy to utilize Full Cowl Shoot Style just to keep from getting blown to pieces.

There was no question this was a fight far beyond what a normal school training battle would allow. It more resembled a genuine fight to the death between two sworn enemies than a battle of skills between classmates or rivals. Halfway through, Izuku even began to start dishing out attacks of his own, forcing Bakugo to utilize his talent for launching and ricocheting himself with his explosions to keep ending up on Izuku's blind side. Both boys were pushing their reflexes and respective speeds to the absolute limit, there was no doubt about that between any of the three teachers watching this fight unfold. If it had actually been something sanctioned by the school, Oleg would have actually felt proud for seeing the two test each other to their limits, at least from the perspective of a teacher.

In the end, however, even as Izuku's maximum speed through Full Cowl seemed to undeniably increase even further (to what percentage of One for All, he couldn't even hazard a guess) and he managed to land a solid punch to Bakugo's face, the explosive boy ultimately regained the final advantage when he grabbed his opponent at the moment of impact, causing them both to fly, only for Bakugo to unleash a damn mushroom cloud of an explosion, driving them both straight into the ground, with himself standing as the victor over Izuku's body.

What was most peculiar, however, was that there was none of the usual pride or bravado that Bakugo typically displayed when he came out the victor. There wasn't even the furious anger like he showed at the end of the Sports Festival. This time, there was only what could have been described as an introspective kind of melancholy frustration.

In fact, in the few periods within their fight when the two actually spoke to each other, that was the expression Oleg was able to pick up from Bakugo from start to finish, even if his body itself was heaving with aggression, the look in his eyes looked genuinely devastated.

Before the fight could possibly go any further, that's when the image of Toshinori suddenly stepped out into the open, drawing both boys attention, and for the rest of the recorded footage, it looked as though Toshinori was actually trying to comfort Bakugo, before proceeding to speak to both boys for an extended period of time; Oleg once again cursing the fact they couldn't hear anything.

With that, the footage finally came to a stop, and Oleg finally turned around to address everyone else in the room. "Several things. One: Toshinori-san, if you stopped Aizawa-san from stopping that fight, then you must have known this was going to happen before it did. How?"

Toshinori bowed his head. "I caught a glimpse of Midoriya-shonen and Bakugo-shonen on their way to Grounds Beta. Given their history, there was little doubt in my mind as to what was going to happen, and most importantly, what it was about. Under other circumstances, I would have stopped it myself… but this was ultimately something they needed to work out between themselves so they could gain a greater understanding of each others' feelings, and figure out how best to help each other move forward from this point onward."

Aizawa looked completely unmoved, while Oleg simply pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. "All right… for you to make that guess so confidently, that tells me you had to have gone to the scene of the fight right after stopping Aizawa-san. You were eavesdropping on these boys since then, weren't you?"

Toshinori lifted his head again; his eyes showing no regret for how he had handled things as he answered: "As teachers, we need to be able to hear our students' feelings out; even if it must take forms we normally wouldn't abide by. It's precisely because of the failure of us adults to do just that for Bakugo-shonen that things turned out this way to begin with."

Finally, Tunguska took a deep breath, preparing for the hardest question of all: "At the end, you looked to be talking with malenkie Midoriya and Bakugo for quite a while. Toshinori-san… you told them the whole truth about… well, you know; didn't you?"

The moment he brought this up, Bakugo visibly reacted; his burning eyes reflecting a surprise like Oleg had never seen from him before. Toshinori and Aizawa noticed this as well, and the former Symbol of Peace let out another heavy sigh. "I did. It was because of his holding onto what Midoriya-shonen had tried to tell him about inheriting his Quirk after the Battle Trials, that he'd been suffering as he had for all this time. It was ultimately what led to his failing the Provisional License Exams today… and what led to him needing to unload all of his emotions in this way to Midoriya-shonen specifically. Surely you would agree, after all of that; he deserved to know the truth… all of it. He also knows for certain now that we in this room are the only ones who know, besides Nezu-san and Recovery Girl, and he's already sworn to keep the secret between us. Granted, he didn't believe it when I said that you were one of those who knew, Oleg-san. That was the primary reason I wanted you here, so that he knows I've told him nothing but the truth."

To nobody's surprise, least of all Toshinori himself, Oleg looked visibly shaken to know that now another student, and Bakugo to boot, knew the full truth about everything behind Izuku's training, and just why it was he earned One For All above anyone else. Now, there was only one question left, and Aizawa could tell what it was, because it was exactly what he himself wanted to know: "All right, that's all well and good, but just why the hell did this have to take the form of an unwarranted fight between students? And how exactly does that all involve you?"

Looking upon the two gagged boys, Toshinori took another steadying breath, regretting he had to be the one to unload everything he had heard between them during their battle to other people, no matter how much he trusted them. "Well, Aizawa-san, Oleg-san; firstly, Bakugo-shonen has been suffering from severe frustration; primarily from Midoriya-shonen's growing in strength, but also from a lack of certainty in his own ability to judge the strength; both physical, mental and emotional; of himself and others, as a result of experiencing firsthand, witnessing and learning of the similarly impressive growth of Bezpalov-shonen specifically, as well as many more of his classmates. With all of these factors combined, that's where the main source of this conflict arises. You see, Bakugo-shonen ultimately felt guilty about my retirement, thinking that his not being strong enough to emerge from his fight at the training camp unscathed, and thus strong enough to avoid being kidnapped by the League of Villains was the cause of it… that he was the cause of it.

"Bearing the full weight of that burden, he still faced the Exam today with full courage… and consequently, his inferiority complex erupted. Without realizing it, we all neglected to care for Bakugo-shonen's mental health in the wake of my retirement and everything that has preceded it this year. Again, this fight was ultimately the result of our failures as teachers."

Oleg could already feel the twisting sensation of guilt in the pit of his stomach, for he knew that Toshinori was absolutely right. As teachers, it wasn't just their responsibility to educate these students, but also to take care of them in any way they needed that was within their authority to provide. Hell, he'd expressed his attachment to all the students as being like they were his own children often enough; now he felt like he had completely tarnished that bond by seeing just how poorly he'd approached what the troubled blonde boy had to have been going through in the wake of the Kamino Incident.

Aizawa was going through the same process of consideration as well, taking Toshinori's words straight to heart despite his outwardly apathetic demeanor. This certainly wasn't one of his prouder moments as a teacher. Of course, he was never the type to have an especially good bedside manner when it came to addressing the emotional and mental hang-ups of his students, but as a teacher, he at least had to have the foresight to know when to direct his students to those that could help where he couldn't.

Finally, as Oleg fully accepted his share of the blame for this incident, so too did Aizawa let out a contemplative sigh. However, when he opened his eyes, seeing the nervous yet regretful look in Izuku's eyes, and the anger burning in Bakugo's as a result of Toshinori pretty much having spoken for him entirely to Oleg, the 1-A homeroom teacher's eyes hadn't softened at all.

"Everything you're saying being as it may, All Might, rules are still rules. I cannot let these transgressions slide. It's bad enough that Bakugo is already on thin enough ice after that damn fight at camp; that he feels the need to provoke another one, regardless of the reasons why, is a concern that can't go unattended to any longer. As such, I'll dole out a proper punishment."

Izuku was visibly growing more and more fearful the longer Aizawa's eyes burned through him and Bakugo alike; while the hotheaded boy beside him had an expectant look within the fire of his eyes, as though he were just bracing himself for the news that he was no longer to be a student of Yuuei for his proclivity for violent outbursts and picking fights.

Staring them both down, with his expression still refusing to even budge, Aizawa finally asked: "Who threw the first punch?"

With that, he finally withdrew portions of his Capture Tool so both boys could speak. Without even a moment's hesitation, as opposed to the last time, Bakugo immediately answered: "I did," with Izuku instantly muttering regretfully: "I also threw a punch back, even after dodging."

From where Oleg was standing, it was almost like a perfect replay of the day Nikolay and Mina had been left at Aizawa's mercy so long ago; especially with just how swiftly the homeroom teacher came down on the two with exceptional anger resonating in his normally gravelly tired voice: "BAKUGO, FOUR DAYS! MIDORIYA, THREE DAYS! BOTH OF YOU ARE UNDER HOUSE ARREST! DURING THAT TIME, BOTH OF YOU WILL BE CLEANING ALL OF THE DORMITORY COMMON AREAS, MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT! ALSO, I WANT A WRITTEN STATEMENT OF REGRET FROM BOTH OF YOU WHEN YOUR TIMES HAVE PASSED!"

As he continued to shout both boys down, he finally released the rest of his bindings from their bodies, allowing Izuku and Bakugo back to their feet. However, he was still far from finished with them: "As for your injuries, if the pain doesn't get any better, go straight to the infirmary! However, don't either of you dare go on thinking you can just rely on Recovery Girl's Quirk! Heal your selfish injuries by yourselves!"

Toshinori and Oleg alike couldn't remember ever having heard Aizawa ever raise his voice to such a degree before. It was honestly a rather fitting form of anger from someone as outwardly cold as he tended to be, and appropriately rarely displayed, if for no other reason than to convey just how deathly serious he was being. From where Oleg was standing, he was now starting to really consider Nikolay and Mina insanely lucky they didn't receive such a lashing all the way back on that fateful day.

With everything being said that needed to be said, Aizawa finally let his angry expression soften as he let out another exhausted sigh. "That's all. Now both of you go to bed!"

It was solely the risk of what Aizawa would do if they delayed any further that prevented Izuku and Bakugo from saying anything further to either Toshinori nor Oleg, but the looks in their eyes told both teachers everything there was to be gleaned: frustration at too much to be named, empathy and understanding of one another that hadn't been there any time before, and regret; for the fight, for past mistakes, for All Might's retirement and any perceived responsibility for it; for everything that had led up to this very conflict.

As soon as both boys had silently taken their leave, Aizawa nearly collapsed in the nearest chair, letting out the sigh that could only have come from a man ready to sleep the sleep of the dead, as his fellow teachers looked to observe his true reaction now that they were alone. "I swear, for as much as those two keep seeming to improve in strength and mastery of their Quirks, they keep proving to have the minds of utter children at the worst possible times; especially Bakugo. For someone who shows such clear dedication to becoming a Hero, his temper keeps getting in his own way."

"I'm not so sure I'd agree, Aizawa-san." Toshinori suddenly chimed in, earning a singular glance from Aizawa, who didn't even bother to sit up straight to show he'd heard him. Nevertheless, the gaunt blonde man continued: "Sure, Bakugo-shonen's temper combined with that inferiority complex is cause for concern, but I feel that perhaps his overall changes in demeanor and growth are indeed there; just not as outwardly obvious to the naked eye as they would be for many other people."

Surprisingly, Oleg didn't look to be struggling to follow his friend's train of thought, as he had his one arm crossed over his broad chest as though he were crossing both arms in agreement. "I think you may be right, Toshinori-san. I've always seen this intense kind of fire in that boy's eyes whenever he directed his aggression or spite to anyone, especially malenkii Midoriya… but for once, even when you were pretty much speaking his entire piece for him just now, I didn't see a trace of that fire this time. I think this entire experience leading up to this point has really stricken a chord with malenkii Bakugo, even if a good portion of it was far from pleasant for him personally."

Aizawa didn't say anything, but both men did bring up a good point. He had likewise gotten used to seeing just pure bloodlust in Bakugo's eyes pretty much 24/7… but not once during this whole meeting had he been given even the trace of an impression that the boy was going to pop off at any point. It was as though that internal powder keg he'd constantly been igniting within himself had gone through a serious dousing. Of course, it could have just been a momentary lapse in his usual emotional process, but it was certainly a change he was going to have to make sure to keep a close eye on in the weeks to come. If Bakugo could indeed finally be gaining a better handle on his impulsive anger, that could prove to be a major step forward in his development as a Hero.

Now that the tense air among them with Izuku and Bakugo was no more, Toshinori's contemplative demeanor suddenly switched over, as though the rest of his attention had finally shifted towards the fact that this was now the first time he'd seen Oleg since they'd parted ways this morning. "Oh, I almost forgot; congratulations on finally gaining your Pro Hero License, Oleg-san. I knew in my gut you'd be able to pull it off, especially with how hard you'd been preparing for it since this year started. I imagine it must be quite the nostalgic feeling for you, huh?"

As Oleg began to open his mouth to answer his colleague, Aizawa suddenly got up from his seat and pushed it back into its place rough; the resultant screeching drawing both men's attention. "If the two of you are going to start chatting each other's ears off, then if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. These kids, honestly…"

The last part was primarily an annoyed grumbling to himself, as Aizawa stepped back out for his own room, while Oleg and Toshinori quickly picked up the pace of their latest conversation once he was gone, with Oleg not even trying to pretend: "Kolya and the other kids at 1-A actually asked me pretty much the same question, so I'll give you the same answer: it feels both nostalgic and brand new all at once. I didn't get my designation as a Pro Hero, and especially as Number One, anywhere near the same way back in Russia as things are organized here. If I'm being honest, it actually feels like I really earned the title a bit more this time around."

The smile on Toshinori's face as he heard this deep-seeded confession was as empathetic towards where Oleg was mentally as one could be. It took a titanic amount of effort for one to become a Number One Hero, no matter where in the world you were. But considering the lineage from which Oleg had come, and the role that must have played in his getting his Number One rank back then, it had to be difficult for the man to sever favoritism from that experience. Going about things this way clearly had the Sun of Justice feeling much prouder of himself.

"Well, whichever way you want to look at it, I'm happy for and proud of you all the same, Oleg-san. So, have you already started sending applications out to any Hero Agencies nearby? As a Pro Hero, even if you're working here as a teacher during the daylight hours, you're still going to be expected to at least conduct nighttime patrols several times throughout the week while you're under the employ of one. Although, knowing you, I imagine you've already taken that into consideration. I doubt even you would have studied as hard for your License as you did, even before my retirement, if you hadn't."

However, rather than the overly confident assurance of his having thought ahead that Toshinori was expecting, Oleg instead began scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smirk. "Actually, I'd been so focused on the exam itself; I haven't actually started doing any research on what Agencies there are across Japan. I mean, like you said, as a teacher here during the daytime, I'd personally prefer to work for an Agency somewhere here in Shizuoka Prefecture, if just to cut down on travel time if at all possible. Plus, I understand that for every new recipient of these licenses, it takes a lot of work to make your way into the Top 100 Ranking Board, and I seriously doubt any of the top ranking Agencies would be looking to take on a brand new Pro Hero right off the bat."

Of course, the irony of Tunguska; a Hero with just about the same amount of years in experience as All Might himself, referring to himself as 'a brand new Pro Hero' was far from lost on both men, as Toshinori couldn't hold in the nearly choking laughter that came up in response, with Oleg almost immediately following suit. After so much hardship over all this time, and all the effort he'd put in on this day alone to get to this point, it felt so good to be able to laugh again.

Once they had finally run the course of their mutual laughter, Toshinori spied a nearby blank notepad and a pen. "Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Oleg-san. The people of this country need all the Heroes they can get in order to truly restore peace and hope; and in my experience with all the other Heroes I've worked alongside in Japan and America alike, it's not the grades or Board Rankings; but the personality, understanding of justice and raw skill with your Quirk that Hero Agencies primarily look for. After all the time we've worked together, both now and years past, I'd like to think I know your personality and your skills especially well. So; if you'd like me to, of course; I'd be more than happy to write you up a list of personally recommended Agencies for you to reach out to."

The look on Oleg's face was like a kid on Christmas morning receiving everything they could have possibly wanted all at once. "Oh… oh my goodness, yes, of course, I'd appreciate that more than you realize, Toshinori-san. I'd spent so much time just focusing on the exam, now the sudden challenge of actually presenting myself and interviewing for a job at an Agency sounds so much more intimidating. God, I must sound like a fresh-faced schoolboy to admit that, huh?"

Once more, the two old friends couldn't help but laugh heartily together; both feeling a great degree of confidence that with Oleg's finally having received his Pro Hero License, it genuinely felt like the first of many potential rays of hope for the future was finally breaking through the clouds that had been left in the wake of All Might's retirement.

September 2nd

Nikolay had absolutely no idea when he had somehow managed to finally lose full consciousness, especially with just what a never-ending maelstrom his mind had been left as after the whole conversation he and Mina had shared last night. The fact he slept at all was frankly a miracle. But that didn't change the fact that however much sleep he got by the time the morning sun had started shining through his window was clearly not enough, as his body was still feeling especially stiff and achy, and his eyes felt itchy and dry from having been so restless so late into the night.

A few frigid splashes of water to his face thankfully jolted him enough to where he wouldn't be at risk of collapsing mid-stride into unconsciousness in the middle of the day at least. After freshening himself back up as best he could in this state, and then changing back into his summer uniform, Nikolay's stomach let out an especially irritated growl. [[Yeah, I know. A hearty breakfast sounds like exactly what I need. It should at least help me get my head on straight for today… I hope.]]

Once he unlocked and opened his door, Nikolay nearly plowed his head straight into his doorframe, he jumped so hard when he was instantly met with the brightly smiling form of Eijirou standing expectantly at his door with his arms crossed in expectation. "Geez, what the heck, Eijirou-san?! What are you doing?"

Checking up and down the hall to make sure nobody was coming, Eijirou hurriedly stepped into Nikolay's room and shut the door. "Sorry about that, dude. It's just that I saw you and Ashido talking all secret-like in the commons area last night when we all went to bed, and I just had a gut feeling you'd wanna confine it to one of your rooms, whatever you were talking about, and I just couldn't not ask what happened with you two. So, did you finally tell her the truth?"

It was both far too early to suddenly start being asked questions about this particular subject, and in Nikolay's opinion, just downright surreal for Eijirou of all people to be so curious about it, even if it was because of their conversation that his mind and heart had been so occupied with himself and Mina as a subject for this long, if not longer.

Despite that silent annoyance and frustration, however, Nikolay knew Eijirou meant only the best by asking. The heartfelt sharp-toothed grin on his face and the supportive light in his red eyes conveyed that all too clearly. He was going out of his way to try and help his two best friends discover and admit their potential feelings for each other when it was naturally none of his business; of course he deserved to know the truth.

That's why Nikolay regretted exactly what truth he had to answer Eijirou with: "Unfortunately… no, I didn't. I mean, I laid a lot out for her, about how I think she's one of my biggest inspirations for working so hard to become a Hero like I have been, and how much I want to be able to protect her like she's done for me… but I just couldn't bring myself to admit… that to her in the middle of everything else. I wanted to, but I just couldn't."

The disappointment was unmistakable as Eijirou's smiling face sank as he let out an aggravated groan. "Aww, man… you asking her to come talk with you in your own room alone, that's gotta be one of the low-key manliest things anybody our age could do. I can't believe you didn't even say it!"

"Actually, Eijirou-san; Mina didn't say anything about that, either. From the look on her face all throughout, even down to the way she started holding my hand and even hugging me when it was all over, I could've sworn she was going to; but in the end, she never did." The moment Nikolay mentioned this, Eijirou nearly frozen, and his disappointment had now turned into total confusion, as though his Slavic friend was speaking total nonsense.

"That's so weird, Kolya-san. Warm looks, hand-holding, hugs; throwing all that into this whole mix; that sounds like the perfect chance for Ashido to confess how she feels about you, even if you couldn't. If it were any other two people in that situation, I bet she'd be shouting from the rooftops for them to just confess. I mean, we both know she's all emotionally open to everybody to a fault. For her to just not say anything about this to you, with all of that touchy stuff included… that just doesn't sound right for her."

"I don't think the entire thing was a total loss, though." The moment Nikolay admitted this, Eijirou's head practically turned on a swivel, excited all over again to hear just what he really meant by that. To his chagrin, Nikolay looked as though he were still only just figuring that out himself as he went on: "What I mean is, the more we talked last night, the more time we spent together and just tried to clarify everything we could; the less and less confused about… well, pretty much everything regarding Mina and I, I felt. It feels like I've finally gotten the clarity I've been wanting ever since our talk two weeks ago."

Eijirou was once again all smiles as he planted a congratulatory pat on Nikolay's back. "That's awesome, man! Yeah, that doesn't sound like a loss at all! If you're not confused anymore, then I don't think you should have any problem just telling Ashido the truth next time!"

The fact Nikolay was actually smiling in return was the best result Eijirou could have expected as of right now, especially since he didn't show any hesitance when he answered: "I want to say you're right, Eijirou-san. But even if I were to take the chance again, I just don't know how I could possibly say it. I mean, no matter how much I try to read her expressions, body language, the stuff she says and does and stuff like that, I'm still ultimately making nothing more than an assumption as to how she feels. Plus, with things probably about to get even busier this semester than they were in the last, there's no telling how much time I'd have to even try."

Eijirou was now looking equally contemplative; his body swaying in a circle as he stood in place, in lieu of pacing around the room. However, just as suddenly did his eyes light up with realization again. "Hey, what if you guys were to try doing something special together when the whole class finally has that celebration for getting our licenses on Sunday, like Yaoyorozu-san suggested? Everybody else would be too distracted with the festivities, so it'd be a perfect chance for you two to get some time alone so you can at least finally get it out there."

Nikolay's head perked up as though he'd been stricken by the brilliance of that very same light bulb over Eijirou's head. But the look in his green eyes was still just as contemplative and uncertain. "Wow; that really does sound like the perfect chance. But I don't know, that whole occasion's supposed to be a celebration for all of us to enjoy together. Wouldn't it be way too selfish for me to try and pull Mina away from that? I mean, we both know how much she loves stuff like parties."

Eijirou nearly twisted himself in half, he spun around to look seriously in Nikolay's eyes so intensely, fists clenched and his encouraging smile now stretching from ear to ear, to the point it was almost more frightening than anything else, how strong he was coming on. "Oh, come on, Kolya-san! You're the son of one of the manliest Heroes I know, and that, for me, makes you just as manly of a Hero in the making; and a man has to be able to take charge in order to say the things he knows need to be said more than anything; and I'm sorry, but for you and Ashido, that's exactly what this is right now! If you keep trying to find excuses to put this off because you're afraid of how she could potentially react, there's no telling what could end up happening! If some other guy from another Hero school, or some other guy in general, were to suddenly pop up and grab her attention like she's been so obviously showing you up to now, it could end up being too late, and you'd end up hating yourself for the rest of your life for it! I don't want that for you, she definitely wouldn't want that for you, and I'm damn sure, and I would hope, that you don't want that for yourself, either!"

Nikolay couldn't hide the intimidation evident on his face, not just from Eijirou's sudden intensity, but also from the dreadful picture he'd essentially just painted for him of the potential future if he kept carrying on like this. Swallowing the nervous lump building in his throat, Nikolay balled his hands into determined fists; the sight of which made Eijirou's imploring expression soften into another encouraging grin. In light of all this, Nikolay couldn't possibly stay quiet: "I have to admit, as grateful as I am for all the support you've been giving me regarding this, Eijirou-san; I never expected you to get so intensely invested in me and Ashido like this. Please, forgive me for asking, but I just have to know: exactly what kind of stake do you personally have in this?"

Eijirou let out an especially tired-sounding sigh as he cracked his knuckles and the joints in his neck, visibly convinced that he'd gotten through Nikolay's skull with his words. "Who says I need to have a personal stake in order to get invested? Kolya-san, you and Ashido are two of my best friends in this class, and it's so obvious that you two have big time romantic feelings for each other; even if you're both apparently too wrapped up in your own nervousness about the others' reaction to actually do something about it."

However, a trace of doubt suddenly flickered across his red eyes as he apparently began to think back. "Although, if I have to be completely honest, I am really pulling for you two just cutting through the fat and just saying it already, because I want to be able to just focus solely on my getting stronger and becoming the manly Hero I want to be, and I don't know if I can do that if I keep focusing on you two actually admitting this one thing to each other or not. So please, Kolya-san, don't keep putting this off; for all our sakes. I'd really rather not have to keep exercising late into the night and going to bed all sweaty and achy, just so I can feel as manly as I should be by now."

Nikolay's smile in the wake of this sudden admission was out of both amusement and appreciation. It was good to know that Eijirou wasn't entirely throwing his own life and goal aside just for the sake of the young Russian's potential for a love life with their mutual pink best friend. In an odd way, knowing there was now a personal reason he wanted them to just stop delaying what they both were hoping for, now actually made Nikolay feel far less put in an undeserved spotlight.

Heck, if anything, knowing he could be helping all three of them out by finally sucking it up and just telling Mina the whole truth like he should have last night, actually served to embolden him.

With a new fire of focus ignited in his chest, which Eijirou was all too happy to see; Nikolay's emboldened glimmer in his eyes said it all. No more beating around the bush. One way or another, he was going to finally take the chance he should have taken, the first moment it presented itself. With that being made all too clear, the two boys finally made their way down to the commons area, ready for a filling breakfast that could energize them enough for whatever challenges the start of this new semester would bring them and their friends.

"EH?! YOU GUYS ACTUALLY GOT INTO A FIGHT?!" "HOUSE ARREST?! ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

The sheer volume of disbelief and shock in Mina and Tooru's respective exclamations echoed all across the commons area of the 1-A dorms, when everyone had finally emerged from their respective wings, ready to take on the start of the new semester, only for them all to be met with the outlandish sight of a bandaged up Izuku and Bakugo busily vacuuming the floors.

Of course, such a sight demanded an explanation, especially once everyone remembered seeing the two boys actually leave the dorm by the time they'd all decided to turn in. Thus, Izuku and Bakugo (reluctantly and angrily respectively) gave their classmates the full rundown of everything that had happened: including the two having a major fight over on Grounds Beta surrounding Izuku's Quirk and growing strength in comparison to Bakugo's failure at yesterday's Exams, and Aizawa ultimately placing them on house arrest for three and four days respectively.

What followed was a multitude of similar exclamations from many more of the students, with Fumikage and Mezo particularly accusing the two boys of complete stupidity (much to Bakugo's visible fuming rage), and Denki, Minoru and Hanta almost busting a gut laughing.

All the while, taking in the timing of it all, especially when the subject of Bakugo's feelings around All Might's retirement came up, Nikolay couldn't help but feel a twisting sensation of guilt in his gut. He had never stopped to think about how much his and Bakugo's fight at the training camp had ultimately ended up weighing on the young hothead, even this long after the fact. That, coupled with Nikolay's retelling of how he'd gotten shot and ultimately proven Bakugo's judgment of him wrong; it was now no wonder how that alongside Izuku's continuous progress had to have made their fiery-tempered classmate's performance at the exams suffer as badly as it did.

Already, the young Russian was feeling the growing desire to try and apologize to Bakugo for it all, even if history was pretty much telling him all he would be receiving in return was another colorful telling off from him.

"Were you guys at least able to make up afterwards?" Ochako finally asked once everyone else had either stopped reprimanding the two boys, or laughing at them.

Bakugo was forcibly trying to ignore what everyone was saying, while Ochako's question had unfortunately gotten Izuku mumbling in embarrassment, on top of what everyone else had been saying already. "'Make up'? W-well, I-I wouldn't exactly call it t-that. I-it's hard to put into words."

"You two are lucky to have gotten off with a simple house arrest! I suppose that means we'll be attending the opening ceremony without you!" Tenya harshly scolded the two, before Mina suddenly stepped in with that usually excited smile already back on her face.

"Hey, it's not all bad if you think about it; right, guys?! I mean, now me, Midori-kun, Bakugo and Kolya-kun, we're the only ones in class to have gotten in trouble with Aizawa-sensei now! That makes us, like, our own little bunch of ragtags; like Quadruple Trouble, you know?! And Kolya-kun and Bakugo could be like Quadruple Double Trouble, cause of, like, getting in trouble twice each!"

As bizarre a train of thought as it was, the sentiment of them being a uniquely connected little group within the class was an oddly pleasant thing to acknowledge, not even just for Nikolay, Izuku and Mina. Even Eijirou, Tooru, Denki, Kyouka and Ochako couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at it. Encouraged by that reaction, Mina was even starting to step in even further; her arms clearly signaling she was getting ready to usher in a group hug. Izuku couldn't hide the incredibly awkward nervous look on his face at that realization, while Nikolay was instinctively starting to try and move in, since she'd gone and namedropped him in this little encouraging speech. It would've just been rude to do otherwise.

"Don't goddamn touch me, Raccoon Eyes, or you won't even live to regret it, got that?!" Bakugo snapped the moment he even thought she was getting ready to pull him into something so sappy. Despite that aggressive response convincing her to back up, Mina was still smiling, having pretty much considered this par for the course with him. Immediately after, he whipped his head to address Nikolay within the crowd: "And YOU; wipe that stupid sorry look off your face, Commie! I'm not asking for your damn sympathy, so don't give it! If you ever think you need to apologize for being stronger than someone thinks you are, then I'll kick your ass until you can never sit down again, understand?!"

Needless to say, Nikolay looked utterly dumbfounded that he was suddenly being put on the spot like this in front of the whole class. While Bakugo's glare still reflected pure anger, the rest of his face was thankfully not twisting with that familiar contempt from before. "Because of you and Deku, I know how much harder I need to push myself from now on at the very least. Both of you just remember that next time, neither of you will ever even be able to lay a finger on me!" His point having officially been made, Bakugo got back to his cleaning duties with that same outward aggression, while Nikolay and Izuku alike both clearly had very intimidated looks in their eyes; an intimidation that clearly turned into inspiration. If he was taking them both seriously enough to admit he had improvements to make to himself in order to surpass them, then the two boys knew they needed to give him the same courtesy.

Nikolay still felt a great deal of fear at the thought of fighting Bakugo again, especially since he could just feel in his stomach that next time would be with Quirks and all. But at the same time, it also inspired him. Even if he were to end up losing again, to be able to get stronger and actually hold his own against a powerhouse like him even for a second sounded like an achievement one could be proud of.

With that momentary sidestep having come and gone, the rest of Class 1-A proceeded to finally nourish themselves, and with the completion of breakfast, Tenya and Momo proceeded to start motioning for their classmates to start filing out the door so they could actually make it to the opening ceremony on time.

As they began making their way out into the bright and fresh morning air, Nikolay could soon spot Shoto nearby amid the line. With the opportunity now presenting itself, the young Slav couldn't help but think to the question that had been most pressing on his mind when it came to their class' most powerful student; inching his way forward so he wouldn't have to yell across to him. "Hey, Todoroki-san."

The moment Shoto just barely turned his head to show Nikolay he had his attention, the boy continued: "I'm sorry, I know this isn't really any of my business, but I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to that whole Provisional Supplementary training that man at the exams told us about yesterday."

Knowing how distant Shoto typically was, it wouldn't have surprised Nikolay at all if he simply blew the question off and continued on his way. However, despite not looking back so he could give his classmate proper eye contact, Shoto actually answered with no trepidation: "I actually asked Bakugo the same thing earlier, and that was the very answer he gave me. I can only assume he doesn't want to risk any potential competition knowing exactly how he wants to approach the training when the time comes; that way he can maintain an element of surprise and the advantage that gives him. But I suppose there's no harm in telling you.

"I've decided I'm going to go for it. I thought I had myself figured out in terms of how to go forward and grow after fighting you and Midoriya. However, Yoarashi's grievances regarding me and my father getting under my skin as easily as they did, has made me realize just how much more growth I truly still need to get through before I can consider myself a Hero. I don't know what kind of challenges the Supplementary Training has in store for us who didn't pass, but I'm not going to let that stop me from preparing for it in whichever way I have to. This semester is going to be a chance to make the most of my training, even more so than before."

"DON'T BREAK THE LINE, EVERYONE! MOVE SWIFTLY! WE'RE GOING TO GROUNDS BETA!" Tenya's echoing commands broke the conversation between them before Nikolay could express his support and faith in Shoto's success; unable to help but admire the sheer conviction evident in his body language as he spoke. What more could he have possibly been able to add to it, anyway? Everyone seemed to know exactly what to do from now on, even those that hadn't earned their licenses, and in a way, that was one of the most encouraging things to take away from all this. Nikolay believed this with all his heart as he and the rest of Class 1-A continued onward across the school grounds from the dormitory area for the grounds where the opening ceremony would be held.

Further up the line, most the girls of 1-A had pretty much formed their own little section of the line together near the front, with Momo of course taking the lead, while Ochako and Kyouka trailed a little bit behind in the middle. Their vice president was absolutely focused on the upcoming ceremony and preparations for the rest of the semester, but among the other girls, Mina had an especially distant look reflected in her eyes, as though she were mentally miles away, but not in the typically whimsical and overly imaginative way she usually was.

"I'm surprised at you, Mina-chan. After last night, I would've thought you'd be back there holding hands with Kolya-kun right now, no matter what Iida-kun's saying." Tooru's inquisitive yet playful voice snapped the pink-skinned girl back to reality, as she realized just what the invisible girl was saying, unable to hide the instinctive blushing, wide eyes and rising of her hair, much to the latter's unseen amusement.

"Aw, don't look so surprised; how could I not ask after seeing you two go into the boys' wing together last night? C'mon, you gotta tell me what happened. I mean, I stayed up, it was quite a while before I heard you tiptoe past my door, Mina-chan. Something real interesting must've happened for sure." Despite the urgent look on her face, Mina was overwhelmingly grateful that Tooru had enough restraint to keep her voice to a whisper between them. She was also currently grateful for the fact that her invisible friend hadn't decided to just flat out eavesdrop on them if she'd seen her and Nikolay go off together.

"It's not what you're thinking, Tooru-chan. Kolya-kun just really wanted to thank me last night for being his friend all this time. He says he thinks I'm his biggest reason for being able to get strong enough to pass the exams, that's all, really. Honestly, I wanted to thank him for the same reason, but he just beat me to it." Mina could tell just what had to be going through Tooru's mind when she mentioned Nikolay wanting to thank her in private; judging by the excitable squirming she could see her uniform doing, and the barely restrained squeal of excitement.

It looked, sounded and felt so much like what Mina herself would be doing if it were Ochako, Kyouka or pretty much anyone else telling her the same thing. The fact she still had enough self-awareness to recognize that gave Mina serious pause. If she always got so excitable when it came to everyone else and their potential love lives, then why on earth wasn't she able to be even more extreme when it came to her own? It had been a question constantly scratching at the back of her mind ever since that fateful conversation with the girls; but only now, when she was essentially looking in from the outside at what should have been her own personal display of emotion for herself and Nikolay's potential with one another being enacted by Tooru, did that confusing change in her normal attitude come painfully to the forefront of her mind.

'What is up with me? From the start, I know I should've been downright off the walls with excitement at just the thought of us being a thing together… but why am I so insistent on keeping this to myself so much? I mean, yeah, it's not as bad Urara-chan; I'm not just denying everything, but still, why am I acting so totally different when it comes to me and Kolya-kun? Is… is this really what it's actually like when you feel this way for someone?'

All the while, as Mina was ruminating on this bizarre inconsistency in her personality and what it possibly could have meant; Tooru was long since done squirming with excitement, and instead now just pouting in disappointment upon realizing what Mina had actually told her. "Aww, boo, Mina-chan! How could you two not just tell each other what's so obvious with you both? I mean, come on, he asked you to his room so you could be alone, that's, like, the perfect place to confess how you feel."

Before Mina could answer the invisible girl, Tsuyu suddenly poked her head in from between them, with that ever-present thoughtful finger to her chin. "Well, Tooru, maybe it's because it's the first time Mina and Kolya have ever felt something like that for anyone, let alone each other-kero. Not only are there so many ways that confessing something that personal could be misinterpreted and go completely wrong; but the possibility of that happening and ruining their whole friendship can be a really scary thought. It's honestly better to just hold it in until they know for certain-kero."

Before either Mina or Tooru could answer their frog-like friend, Kyouka quickly followed suit as she poked her head up from behind Mina's right shoulder; a knowing smirk gracing her face as she'd clearly been listening in on the girls' conversation from the start. "Tsuyu-chan makes a good point, you guys. But still, Mina-chan, you might wanna get those obvious feelings of yours figured out, and you should tell Kolya-san about them soon. I mean, we all saw how that weird Shiketsu High girl was looking at him all throughout yesterday. From here on, I'm willing to bet more and more girls are gonna start noticing him that way, too. One of them might end up swooping in and snatching him up if you wait too long; and no, I'm not talking about myself in there, so stop looking at me like that, Tooru-chan; I can just feel your look."

Tooru's resulting laughter at just how fine-tuned Kyouka's sense of alertness was; was that of pure amusement, giving an invisible expression of playful mischief. All the while, neither Kyouka nor Tsuyu noticed the pang of painful realization that flashed across Mina's face in light of Kyouka's all-around warning. As if the stress of trying to get to the very bottom of her feelings towards Nikolay wasn't bad enough, now the purple-haired girl had pretty much slapped the biggest ticking clock on Mina's shoulders as well.

By this point, the whole class had finally stepped into the main campus building, since it was the quickest way to get to Grounds Beta. As they began changing their shoes to traverse the school grounds once more—"I heard the news, Class A!"

An unmistakable, piercing and grating voice suddenly called out to them the instant Momo and Tenya stepped past the lockers, as though their greeter had just been awaiting them. Many of them, including Nikolay, instinctively cringed the moment they heard that specific mocking tone, but general politeness demanded they at least turn to address them when being spoken to.

"TWO PEOPLE! YOU HAD TWO PEOPLE FAIL THE PROVISIONAL LICENSE EXAM?!" With a nearly psychotic grin stretching across his face as he held up his two fingers for emphasis, there was that infuriatingly cocky Neito Monoma staring them all down with those just-as manic blue eyes, and as though his mockery was just the cue they were all waiting for, more and more of his classmates from Class B started stepping out from behind the lockers; many of them looking the students of Class A up and down, with many reflecting a similar disdain for their supposed rivals.

Despite this overwhelming change in the atmosphere, Eijirou actually managed to maintain a relatively confident smile as he looked Monoma dead-on. "Well then, out of your whole class, was it only you that failed again?" Denki instantly started choking on his laughter in remembrance, while even Nikolay and a few scattered members of both Class A and B couldn't help but chuckle to themselves at the revelation that Monoma wasn't so untouchable as he liked to make himself sound.

However, instead of seeing the grinning blonde boy back down, he instead burst out into even louder laughter, as if every single guffaw was throwing that last-second confidence of Eijirou's right back at his entire class. Now, even the spiky red-haired boy couldn't keep his smile going, now instead looking especially nervous. "Wait… it wasn't you? Well, t-then who was it?"

Somehow, some way, the grin on Monoma's face seemed to only grow that much bigger, alongside those of his entire class, as he turned on his heels with arms spread for further dramatic emphasis: "EVERY ONE OF US PASSED! WE'VE FINALLY PULLED AHEAD, CLASS A!"

A handful of the 1-A students could feel their stomachs twist. Where Nikolay was standing, if Monoma was always so persistent in his mockery when their class had nobody who'd failed among them before; now that they had two classmates without Provisional Licenses to their name, he couldn't shake the feeling that the taunts were only going to become that much more condescending and relentless.

He wasn't the only one to feel the drop in class spirit in light of Class B's all-encompassing success, either, as Shoto bowed his head; his already emotionless expression becoming that much darker as Monoma's laughter continued on. "I… I'm sorry, everyone."

Despite their own nervousness in the wake of Class B indeed getting a step ahead, Eijirou and Nikolay both instinctively turned to their most remorseful classmate; the young Russian especially surprised that someone like Shoto would actually let the taunting of Neito Monoma get to him like this, out of all people. At least with Yoarashi, it was actually understandable. "Todoroki-san, please, you don't have any reason to beat yourself up over what they say."

"Yeah, man, they're pretty much the only class trying to actively compete with us. Don't let it get to you." Despite their mutually encouraging and reassuring words, everyone else could clearly see just how badly they were trying to keep their own spirits up.

However, that ultimately didn't stop Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from suddenly chiming in from amid the crowd of his class: "Hey, it was still only two out of twenty one, that's still not a bad record, all things considered! I can't imagine you were one of those two, Kirishima! You better not be, anyway! How can I keep getting stronger without you as my yardstick to overtake?"

To everyone in Class A's pleasant surprise, his form of encouragement and challenge seemed to completely shift Eijirou's worried demeanor, as the red-haired boy seemed to practically ignite with inspiration inside as he met Tetsutetsu's encouraging grin with an excited fist to his palm. "Hell no I'm not, dude! I'll be there to meet you head on with just as much strength, every time!"

This extension of a challenger's olive branch really seemed to ease the mood, as just as quickly did Setsuna poke her head up and speak up as she observed the whole of Class A intently with that same friendly fanged smile: "If that loudmouthed Bakugo kid isn't here, that must mean he's one of the unlucky two; and Todoroki-kun getting all mopey must mean the same, and I guess that Midoriya kid must be sick today or something. Oh well, it is good to know so many of you Class A kids still managed to pass as you did; especially you all, Ashido-chan, Bezpalov-kun, Kaminari-kun, Uraraka-chan, Hagakure-chan… Mineta. After what we all went through, it'd just be sad if you didn't."

It was always nice to see Setsuna again; as every one of the 1-A students she named all happily congratulated the lizard-like girl in return, especially Nikolay and Mina. "Congrats, Setsu-chan! I'll bet you probably wiped the floor with everybody, huh?!" "I had a good feeling you'd pull it off, Setsuna-san. Maybe we all might get lucky and work together in the field again sometime."

While Setsuna's smile made it clear she really liked the thought, Monoma had a clearly annoyed look to his eyes that any one of his own classmates were fraternizing with the enemy; not helped when Itsuka stepped right past him to give 1-A a courteous bow. "Monoma-san's attitude aside, I'd like to likewise congratulate those of you in Class A that passed as well on behalf of Class B. You've all been working just as hard as we have."

Once again, the orange-haired girl's pleasant and polite demeanor seemed to just magically diffuse whatever tension or dread Monoma's mockeries did, as much of Class A was already voicing their thanks and congratulations in kind. In the middle of it all, however, another girl suddenly stepped up from the Class B crowd; she had long wavy blonde hair, large round bluish green eyes, and a flat nose that almost looked nonexistent on her smiling face when looking her straight in the eye. Her most eye-catching feature, though, was a pair of large gazelle-like horns protruding from her head.

After a good couple of seconds, Nikolay was finally able to recognize her from the Cavalry Battle portion of the Sports Festival. Despite her cheery smile, her body language looked considerably nervous once she knew she had all of Class A's attention. "Um, according to Bradley-sensei, during da second semesterrr, we'll actually have a class together. I'm really lookin' forward to it!"

While Eijirou was once again putting a fist to his palm in a clear show of friendly excitement at the news, this girl's clearly evident struggle with speaking concise Japanese instantly drew a lot of interested mutterings from Nikolay's classmates, especially Denki: "Wow, looks like Class B's got a foreigner student, too! Yuuei's really gettin' progressive, huh?" That guess certainly made a lot of sense to their Russian classmate the more he thought about it. He only knew Class B's teacher as Vlad King, but it was easy for someone to confuse Vlad for Brad, since the letters b/v and l/r sounded identical in Japanese.

However, Nikolay's naturally curious and bookish mind couldn't dwell on the sudden linguistics lesson long, before Monoma suddenly leaned in and hurriedly whispered something into the excited horned blonde girl's ear, making her face just light up with excitement, her shyness now replaced with an even brighter smile: "And I can't wait to beat the shit outta them!"

Just like that, the mood instantly changed again from all around pleasantry to off-put confusion. Of course, that didn't last long either, as she immediately turned back to the chuckling Monoma with an eager look on her face; a look any student could instinctively recognize: a look that all but screamed "Was that right?"

And it was because of that look that Itsuka immediately swooped in and met Monoma with a resounding palm strike to the back of his head while scolding: "STOP TEACHING TSUNOTORI-SAN HOW TO SAY WEIRD STUFF!"

Completely oblivious to her own class representative scolding another of her classmates, the girl was still just beaming with eagerness all around: "It's okay, Itsuka-chan; I like learning all kindsa new stuff!" With that, she suddenly turned her attention back to Class A, eyeing Yuga and Nikolay among the bunch specifically. "Besides, now I know there're more foreign kids here like me, it don't feel sooo lonely anymore, ya know?"

Before anyone could even think of trying to correct her broken or sloppy Japanese, she almost instantly swooped in towards Nikolay, causing the fair-skinned Slav to flinch with surprise, even though it made sense since he was closest. Instead of the customary bow, she immediately threw out an open hand for a handshake; her smile practically glowing as she spoke: "Good morning! I'm Pony Tsunotori! I'm from America, but just recently moved to Japan! Nice to meet ya! Where are ya from?"

Nikolay's instinctive fluster at being so aggressively approached by a new person, let alone another girl, was quickly replaced with awkwardness when he realized she was once again assuming he spoke English since he was so obviously a foreigner. Clearing his throat, he tried to be concise with his Japanese where she could not, while still trying to meet her halfway by giving her the handshake she wanted, much to her visible delight: "I-I'm sorry, I understand why you'd think I could, but I can't speak English. I'm Nikolay Bezpalov from Russia. It's nice to meet you too, Tsunotori-san."

The moment he mentioned his homeland, however, the girl called Pony's expression went from excitement to total surprise and curiosity. "Whoa, really? I totally forgot about dat! I've never talked to a real Russian before! How come ya never hear about Heroes from dere before ya old man wit' All Might? America's got tons and tons! Did ya move here cause a dat; or cause it's super cold out dere? Is da food here way better than yours? Is it true ya only eat potatoes 'n' beets in water? Are dere really lotsa bears everywhere dere? Can you all do dat crazy lookin' kickin' dance and stuff?"

Even as Nikolay was clearly blindsided by and struggling to try and answer all these frankly childish questions (and one particularly painful one) that Pony was practically dumping onto his lap, Eijirou and Rikido were quick to try and get some space between the two, while Itsuka and Yui Kodai were doing the same for their chatterbox of a classmate.

All the while, as Mina was watching the whole proceeding with an amused smile at how energetic and upbeat Pony was, practically able to see herself in her; she could also once again hear Kyouka's words of warning from mere minutes ago. No matter how much she tried to shake the thought away, she could still feel her heartbeat start to intensify with nervousness the more she thought about it and watched Nikolay try futilely to get Pony to slow down.

"Hey, you guys are all holding up the back of the line here." A sudden unfamiliar but deathly cold voice suddenly spoke up from behind both Heroics classes, spurring everyone to full attention to find a single boy with messy dark purple hair and dark bags under his eyes standing before them with an especially intense look in his eyes.

While Tenya was instinctively apologizing and ushering everyone to move along with his usual intensity; much like with Pony, it took Nikolay and his classmates but a few seconds to fully recognize just who they were being stared down by now, as that same boy muttered to them all: "Please don't show me anymore lame things from now on, Heroics Course kids."

"Shinso Hitoshi." Fumikage muttered in remembrance as said boy silently shouldered his way past both students of Classes A and B alike; his eyes simply focused on his path directly before him, ignoring all the intimidated and curious looks he received from everyone.

"Hey, is it just me, or does that kid come across as even more serious than he did at the Festival?" Hanta muttered curiously to anyone who would listen, while Nikolay couldn't take his eyes off Shinso's back as he finished changing his shoes and proceeding further into the school.

All at once could he recall watching that boy fight Izuku, and how easily he had nearly won without even having to lift a finger in defense. He could likewise recall Shinso's declaration of intent against Class 1-A all the way back then. He had thought the boy was overwhelmingly intense enough back then. Now, just as Hanta had noticed, the aura he was giving off was somehow even worse.

Whatever this semester had in store for the students, Nikolay could only hope it wouldn't involve the different classes having to fight each other one-on-one again. Even with protection like his new ear buds, he couldn't imagine how effective that could be against someone with a genuine Mind Control Quirk.

After making their way through the main school building and onto the Grounds Beta spot for the opening ceremony, even if they were now part of the massive collection of Yuuei students from all classes, Nikolay still felt a good degree of comfort standing amid his classmates within this sea of humanity. It at least helped him not to feel as though he were being swallowed up by it.

Before the entire crowd stood a single raised podium with a single stand with one microphone, where Headmaster Nezu was already in the process of climbing up to address his students now that everyone had finally arrived.

The ground between the podium and the onlooking students was manned by all the other teachers standing side-by-side. Between Ectoplasm and Cementoss stood Tunguska, now with a pristine new arm just like the last one he had adorning his left bicep. His eyes were similar focused on the entirety of the students, instead of just Class 1-A, and the sight of him once again standing tall and in essentially one piece was a great relief after yesterday. He certainly hadn't been kidding about the headmaster being expedient in getting the Quirk History teacher a replacement.

And, of course, the sight of the Sun of Justice standing so proudly and back to normal had Eijirou visibly shaking with anticipation. Now that the man finally had his license, just like they all had their own now, it had to only be a matter of time before they would be going into their next round of Hero internships. The sharp-toothed redhead was practically chomping at the bit for it by now, knowing that the wait was now the only obstacle left before he could finally start working under one of his most admired Heroes.

"Kirishima-san, please try to restrain yourself. Nezu-sensei needs the full attention of all of us." Momo sternly reminded Eijirou out the corner of her mouth, never taking her cat-like eyes off the podium like the rest of the class representatives. Thankfully Eijirou got the message and quickly cleared his throat just as Nezu did the same, rendering the grounds silent.

"Hello, everyone! It's me, your beloved tiny mammalian headmaster! Lately, the quality of the fur that I am so proud of has taken quite a turn for the worse. I have taken great pains to care for it. What I've learned will benefit you humans as well! Having a well-balanced diet rich in zinc and vitamins is important. But the most important thing of all is sleep. A lifestyle thrown out of whack is the worst possible thing you can do for your fur or hair, so make sure you take special care to get enough sleep!"

While many students, including Nikolay and Mina, couldn't help but mutter their confusion to one another of just how long their mouse headmaster could go on with this, there were still many of them that couldn't help but now think about the effects of their own stress-induced lack of sleep; evidenced as Denki couldn't help but feel at the fur ending Mashirao's tail, and Nikolay and Mina alike couldn't help but run one of their hands through their own hair; growing more anxious by the second that their mutual stress wasn't causing them to start losing any.

"What's thrown my lifestyle so out of whack is the 'incident' I know you are all well aware of; the one that occurred during this recent summer break." All at once did the once confused air now grow cold among all of the students, as now all eyes that hadn't already gotten the chance to see him in his state in the flesh, had now fallen upon the stoic Toshinori standing tall among his fellow teachers. Similarly did a good number of gazes end up shifting over to Tunguska near the opposite end, with a few scattered students unable to help but mutter their astonishment to one another at the sight of his left arm after what they had all seen on TV and the internet with the rest of the nation and the world.

"Yes, the loss of our pillar, our Symbol of Peace. The effects of that incident have begun to manifest themselves even faster than one could have imagined. Moving forward, our entire society likely awaits great difficulties. Those of you in the Department of Heroics will most likely see the most striking effects, even as our currently working Pro Heroes and teachers alike will continue to work to try and ease the instability that has been cropping up.

"And as for the Hero Internships that many of you second and third-year students are engaged with over the course of your studies; now, even more so than ever, it is critical to have an awareness of the crisis and conduct yourselves accordingly." At the mention of this, many of the first-year students, especially between Classes A and B, couldn't keep their confusion and curiosity to themselves.

Nikolay and Mina alike couldn't help but look confusedly to each other, then to the similarly thoughtful Tsuyu nearby. "Tsu-chan, what does he mean if he's only talking to the second and third-years about Hero Internships? Weren't we doing internships this year already, too?"

"Well, Aizawa-sensei never technically called what we did 'Hero Internships,' Mina. He just called it 'work place experience' and 'field training' and stuff like that-kero." As Tsuyu explained this pretty good guess of hers, Mina couldn't help but look a touch deflated, as though a big accomplishment they had all shared now turned out to not be as special as she'd thought.

All the while, as Nikolay considered her explanation, alongside what Headmaster Nezu had said, he now had a very similar contemplative posture as his frog-like classmate: "Nezu-sensei just said that the second and third-year students do their internships alongside their studying. That must mean something like a part-time job for school credits, or Hero credits in this case."

The sound of that at first visibly fascinated Mina, but then her body language sank the more she thought about it. "Oh, wow, you mean they'd actually be doing Hero work at the same time as all the boring school stuff? Where would you even find time to just relax and have fun between all that?"

"Well, being a Hero isn't supposed to be easy, Mina; All our teachers have been saying that from the start-kero. But if everybody is still sticking with it this far in while knowing that, then I'm sure that means we've already made peace with that, including you." While it was certainly a bold assumption for Tsuyu to make, there was definitely a logical merit to it as Nikolay, Mina and any more of their classmates that overheard her thought more about it. Their teachers hadn't sugarcoated anything about the difficulties of a Hero's life, and yet none of them had backed down afterward. Perhaps just hearing her dreaded conclusion actually get spoken out loud rubbed Mina the wrong way.

Of course, being as young and full of life as they all were, it wasn't exactly like anyone could blame the normally peppy ball of pink sunshine for it. However, they all quickly returned their attention to Nezu's speech before they could run any further risk of getting in trouble for not paying attention.

"My apologies for bringing down the mood with such a heavy topic. But know that right now, the adults out there and in here are doing their very best to deal with it. And I would like nothing else than for you all to develop into individuals who will take over their efforts when the time comes. All of you, whether from the Yuuei staff, the General Studies Department, the Department of Management, the Department of Support, or the Heroics Department. Do not forget that you are all the successors to this society."

As Nezu took a bow before stepping down from the podium, and the crowd of students gave a gentle applause in response; Tunguska simply observed the motivated looks in the eyes of all the students he could see. To his relief, it seemed that the Yuuei headmaster had really gone the extra mile in terms of reigniting all their hope in light of All Might's retirement. That kind of ability was a veritable godsend for these youngsters. Now it was the duty of himself and his fellow teachers to carry that motivation forward and help continue carrying these future Heroes and Supporters into the future for the sake of society.

At the same time, though, Nezu's mentioning of 'successors' had gotten Toshinori feeling especially thoughtful. He hadn't heard the headmaster use such specific terminology since nearly a year ago, when he had first approached Yuuei to become a teacher, right around the time he had very first decided to become Izuku's mentor. Back then, Nezu had been especially confident that if All Might was seeking a successor, then no place would have better candidates than Yuuei.

With his circumstances now being what they were, and especially knowing just how far his chosen successor still had to go before he could officially take on the mantle of Symbol of Peace, Toshinori now found himself actually taking the headmaster's words into consideration. A good number of names of potential successors had been presented to him over the time since that first meeting, and now as he was looking over the whole crowd of students, he could specifically discern a few choice faces among them that had the most recommendations. And if these youths had such a distinction to their advantage this early into their lives, then perhaps there was a genuine chance for them to really get as close as it was possible to be called the next Symbol of Peace until Izuku was truly ready.

"Now, before we conclude the opening ceremony of the second semester of this year, we have some final comments from Hound Dog-sensei from our Lifestyle Guidance office." With that surprise announcement, the students now found themselves being stared down upon by a hulking adult man with massively muscular arms, a long dog-like snout-shaped face wrapped in a black muzzle; wearing in a brown fur sleeveless vest, long blonde hair, and a pair of fierce piercing eyes that struck instinctive terror into every one of the students standing before him.

Without warning, he proceeded to let out a virtually indiscernible series of fierce dog-like barks, growls and howls, with barely comprehensible actual words scattered throughout that were easy to miss amid all the other animalistic noises he was making that somehow qualified as a speech. Frankly, it left more than a few of the students shaken with genuine fear, as though they were being threatened by a rabid animal. Nikolay couldn't even help but shudder when Hound Dog ultimately ended his so-called announcement with a howl that would have felt right at home in a werewolf film.

"This guy's supposed to be some kind of guidance counselor; is that what they said? When did counseling suddenly start meaning scaring the hell out of students?" Nikolay finally asked primarily to himself once it was finally over, with Denki, Eijirou and Minoru all pretty much expressing the same sentiment by their own terrified expressions.

As Hound Dog stepped away from the microphone, Vlad King just as quickly took his place, just as the Yuuei guidance counselor began whispering in his ear. With that, he finally took the mic for himself: "Allow me to translate, everyone. *Ahem* 'While there has been unbefitting behavior this year, such as the fight between students during this summer's training camp and the fight between students on school grounds last night, we ask that all of you please conduct yourselves according to the lifestyle standards expected of you all.'"

With the Class B homeroom teacher having officially clarified everything, Nezu once more took his place for the final touch: "Well said from both of you, Hound Dog-san, Vlad-san. Now then, starting with the third-years, please makes your ways back to your classrooms. The opening ceremony is hereby concluded. Let us all use this time to push ourselves forward to our limits and beyond, to help you all become the Heroes that can protect this society and everything we hold dear. PLUS ULTRA!"

With a resounding echoing shout of "PLUS ULTRA", the students finally proceeded to depart Grounds Beta one class at a time, every single member of every one feeling that much more fired up with every passing moment to finally make the best of this new semester as humanly possible.

Unlike when they had prematurely returned to their official classroom at the start of their special move training, it felt especially nostalgic for all the 1-a students to be back in the more official capacity; it seemed to really drive home that now the second semester had well and truly begun, and it was finally back to what constituted normal for them.

In the time before Aizawa would officially begin class, the students were quick to take advantage of the time to chat amongst each other. Of course, as Nikolay and Mina once again took their places at their single double desk, it wasn't as easy as normal for them to just jump right back into shooting the breeze with each other, or even for Mina to just talk the Russian boy's ear off with all her scattershot ideas of what was to come, or simply what they could all do for fun when the weekend rolled by. Not after the bombshell of deeply personal sentiments they had dropped on each other last night. It was frankly a miracle they were still able to share their desk with each other without turning into steaming flustered messes.

It was certainly not helped when Nikolay tried to play the ever-ready student by getting his textbooks, notebooks and writing utensils all together in his space; actually prompting Mina to do the same so Aizawa wouldn't yell at her, and in the process they accidentally ended up brushing hands, causing them both to once again jolt and mumble repeated apologies to one another. From that point until the start of class, the two could only think one thing unanimously to themselves as they tried to avoid eye contact: 'How the hell am I supposed to tell him/her like this?'

All the while, observing the two's embarrassing display from across the classroom, Denki and Minoru both had suspicious narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "The unexpected nature of us having an odd-numbered student roster for the first semester at least explains it, but with the time to prepare during summer break, you'd think they would've gotten rid of that desk and finally given Kolya-san his own personal one."

"Right? Hell, they wouldn't even have to move him to a different spot of the classroom, but that thing just sticks out like such a sore thumb. Any person with OCD would be looking at that and treating our classroom like a laughingstock or a waking nightmare." As soon as Minoru noted this, Eijirou just happened to be passing by, getting ready to take his spot before Aizawa showed up as well.

However, he of course couldn't help but overhear the two, and was almost instantaneous in his answer: "Well, I dunno, guys; I think it actually kinda gives our class a little extra personality, you know? Plus, who knows; maybe whoever calls those kinda shots saw or heard how good Kolya-san and Ashido have been as partners so far, maybe they don't wanna risk breaking the synergy."

Before either Minoru could ask how Eijirou could defend such an ugly break in organization, or Denki could ask why he was so defensive about Nikolay and Mina when all they had mentioned was their desk alone; Aizawa finally stepped in with his curriculum book in hand, promptly hurrying all the wayward students back to their desks and at full attention; thankfully being enough to snap Nikolay and Mina back to the present and off each other at last.

Without wasting the precious time with his typical icy stare over his class, Aizawa began: "Good morning, and welcome to the start of your second semester, everyone. Starting today, we'll be resuming our normal classroom activities. I understand many of you must be feeling upset regarding the enforced absences of Midoriya and Bakugo, so I'll start off by letting you all know: under no circumstances is any one of you to tell them anything about what you'll be learning here over the course of their house arrest. They made the choice of getting into their fight, and they have to live with the consequences, and that includes being forcibly left behind in terms of curriculum and preparedness for the trials that are to come."

The coldness of Aizawa's statement and order left the whole class feeling downright sympathetic for their two absentee classmates. No one was about to dispute Aizawa's point; it had ultimately been Izuku and Bakugo's choice to make, and if they didn't go through the consequences of those choices in their entirety, then it would completely defeat the purpose. Still, they couldn't help but just find the disadvantage they would both be in from now on to be greatly unfair.

After letting that information process, Aizawa continued: "I know you've all been through a lot, but now is the time to renew yourselves. To help you reach your full potential, despite today's activities being limited to a classroom lecture, this semester we'll have even tougher training than before."

As Nikolay tried his best to listen, his discerning ear could just barely pick up Mina whispering over her shoulder to Tsuyu at the desk behind theirs: "I guess he's not gonna say anything about it after all…"

"And what exactly is it, Ashido?!" Aizawa instantly asked; his monotone voice somehow managing to convey a genuinely terrifying thunder across the entire room as Mina instinctively flinched in her seat like she'd just felt a ghost pass right through her, even yelping in fear to herself: "Yikes! Already an all-too familiar feeling!"

Seeing his best friend of all shivering like a deer in headlights, for that moment, did away with any fluster or nervousness Nikolay had come to feel when close to her like this, as he suddenly shot his hand up into the air at the same time as Tsuyu did the same: "Izvinite pazhaluista (Excuse me, please), Sensei. It's just that we both couldn't help but wonder if you could please tell us more about the Hero Internships that Nezu-sensei mentioned earlier. I don't presume to speak for the class, but we both had thought that what we did last semester were already internships."

Already the curious and quieted voices of agreement could be heard from across the classroom. Realizing this, Aizawa let out a resigned sigh; thankfully easing the intensity of his glare and allowing Mina to breathe easy again. As the teacher turned his full attention to the whole class, she shot Nikolay an immensely grateful sideways smile for but a moment, before they both once again began turning completely red upon realization.

"I was honestly planning to tell you all about it later… but now that I think about it, I suppose it's more logical for me to tell you sooner than later. I had previously assumed that my not referring to your workplace experience assignments last semester as internships at all would have clued you in, but clearly that reflects a failure of mine to properly communicate. With that being said, to put it simply, they're officially recognized Hero activities done off-campus. Think of it more like a formalized version of your field training with Pros."

As much as his explanation made perfect sense on the surface level, that did nothing to stop Nikolay, Mina, Ochako, Denki, Tooru and Minoru from feeling especially cheated. To think that after everything they had gone through alongside Tunguska, Setsuna and all the Kamuron Agency Heroes against Vukodlak, it all ultimately didn't count as an official internship felt like an especially potent kind of unfair.

An overall unfairness that Ochako was the one brave enough to express, as she suddenly exclaimed upon that same realization: "WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THE STRUGGLES WE WENT THROUGH FOR THE SPORTS FESTIVAL, THEN?!"

While her outburst was ringing in everybody else's ears, it was actually Tenya's follow-up that was unnaturally calm by comparison: "That's right, Sensei! If we have these internships anyway, then it wouldn't matter if we were getting scouted. And to avoid any accusations of deception, why did you allow Tunguska-sensei to call his program a surrogate internship for those of us who volunteered for it?"

Aizawa was completely unperturbed at the explosiveness of Ochako's outburst as he answered them all in kind: "You may consider this something of a stretch, but considering that he now has an official Pro Hero License, Tunguska's program last semester can't really be considered a deception anymore. Those of you who volunteered for that still ultimately got the experience of learning firsthand knowledge from a former and now current Pro Hero, and with the circumstances you all ended up getting involved in, it was still ultimately the same kind of work place experience as the rest of your classmates received.

"As for the official Hero Internships themselves, they are essentially a good opportunity for you all to make use of the connections you made at the Sports Festival. They're not linked to classes at all, but rather managed at the discretion of the students themselves. That being the case, if you made no such connections at the Festival, I imagine it'd be very difficult for you to participate in such activities.

"In the past, each Hero Agency would conduct their own recruiting efforts, but it often caused a lot of trouble because they would end up fighting over Yuuei students. And that's why it is the way it is nowadays. If that addresses everything you were unsure of, Uraraka, then sit down." With that thorough explanation, all of Ochako's over-the-top energy thankfully died down, and she sat back down with a remorseful bow of her head. "Thank you, Sensei. I-I'm sorry, I just jumped to conclusions."

With his students now all back in their seats, the 1-A homeroom teacher continued: "Because most of you have acquired your Provisional Licenses, you are now eligible to participate in formal, long-term Hero activities. In the past, there weren't many examples of first-year students carrying Licenses, but with the rise of the Villains, we are very deliberately thinking about your participation. Also, you will all be expected to write about your experiences, but I'll properly explain all of that as well as your next steps at a later time. I've got some matters of my own to attend to."

With the knowledge of what they were now going to be able to participate in without worry of punishment for acting, there was an inarguable air of anticipation among most of the class. This was officially their chance to really step out into the field and officially start establishing themselves as Heroes, names and special moves and all. Of course, as it always did, the not-knowing of when that chance for an internship would actually come their way at Aizawa's discretion also left many of them feeling especially tense.

As Aizawa finally called for the booming presence of Present Mic to step in and commence English class, Nikolay and Mina's minds were both running at a thousand miles a second with all this new information. Of course they were both through their own individual roofs with the excitement of officially being able to fight crime if the situation ever called for it… but the whole topic of them having to personally pick their Agencies to intern under brought with it a whole new conundrum for them specifically.

It was already far too clear for them both that after the conversation they'd had last night, there was no way they could just go back to acting like everything around them was as it was before, no matter how much they both wanted it to be… and unfortunately, that also applied to their potential internships. Of course they loved the idea of interning together again, this time on the more official basis, but if they were still feeling this awkward around each other now, in a normal school setting, then who the hell knew what could have happened if they were interning on active field duty and suffering from the same thing? That pretty much spelled disaster right from the word 'go.'

But at the same time, the idea of going their separate ways and interning under different Agencies, without each other to look out for or brainstorm or work off of felt so suffocating and lonely as well.

No matter how much the two tried racking their brains for what the right course of action was, they couldn't find any answer that actually sounded like it would help; especially when the question inevitably came of what they could possibly tell each other if they did indeed decide to intern under separate Agencies. After how inseparable they'd been in their activities, free time and work place experiences, to suddenly decide to separate would have pretty much forced Nikolay and Mina to finally admit the full extent of the feelings they were still struggling to identify for each other without any shred of question. And neither one of them felt truly ready nor certain enough to face that situation and the potential ruin it could have brought to their friendship at all.

When evening rolled around and everyone had finally returned to the 1-A dorms, it didn't take long for the guilt to set right back in for many, as it was all too clear just how curious Izuku especially was to know what they had all learned through their classes today, only for Tenya to angrily remind him that this was the price he and Bakugo had to pay for their actions. Minoru deciding to act like a little gremlin and mock Bakugo for an apparent shoddy dusting job while Hanta laughed at him did not help ease the mood any.

Nobody wanted to risk the wrath of both their class president and vice president, or especially that of Aizawa, if they were to actually overstep and fill the two boys in. Hell, even the idea of simply writing down notes and slipping them under their doors in the dead of night sounded too risky. For all they knew, their homeroom teacher had ears set up all over the place for even the slightest sign of major rule breaking, especially after last night.

As everyone took their servings of tonight's dinner and took their places all around the commons areas, while Izuku had quickly retreated to dispose of today's garbage; Nikolay was sitting with Eijirou, picking at his food pensively, while Mina had similarly taken to eating with the rest of the girls.

As the two boys ate together, Eijirou could no longer ignore the clearly troubled look on his Russian friend's face. "Yo, man, try not to let the whole deal with cutting off Midoriya and Bakugo from our lessons get to you, okay? I know it sucks we can't help them out, but I'm certain they'll find a way to catch right back up with us the first chance they get."

As Nikolay took another bite of his ramen, he just let out an exhausted sigh. "I know they will. Honestly, that's not what I'm thinking about right now, Eijirou-san. It's this whole internship thing."

Eijirou was already nodding in full agreement, since he'd honestly been dealing with the same thing. "I can definitely get that, Kolya-san. Aizawa-sensei not just telling us when we can start picking the Agencies we wanna go to is a low blow. I mean, Tunguska-sensei getting his Pro License is one of the things I've been waiting for the most since this year started. I'm hoping he'll have picked one by the time we can finally start picking. I don't know if I can wait until our second year to actually get to intern under him all official-like, you know?"

Out of nowhere, Nikolay suddenly wolfed down the rest of his noodles before chugging down the last of the broth; all before nudging his head towards the hallway to the boys' wing. Thankfully Eijirou was quick on the uptake as he took his own bowl in hand and hurried after his foreign friend until they reached the stairway to the second floor, out of sight of any potential eavesdroppers like Denki, Minoru or Hanta. Nikolay even had to take the moment to check their surroundings for any sign of Tooru having potentially stripped naked out of everyone else's sight in order to eavesdrop.

Once he spotted the floating t-shirt and pajama pants sitting beside Kyouka on the other end of the commons area, Nikolay let out a relieved sigh before ducking his head back out of sight so he could talk with Eijirou one-on-one: "It's not even really that. I mean, it's internship related and all, but it's still about… well, you know, this whole 'me-and-Mina-maybe' situation. I just… I want to say I'm really sure about how I really feel about her now, and I know I should just suck it up and tell her before it's too late, like you said. I'm just not sure how to, and I want to tell her before Aizawa-sensei tells us to pick our Agencies; because at least then, if she knows; depending how it goes; we could at least be able to better decide if we wanna try interning together again, or if it would be better for us to do different Agencies on our own this time. I know I'm making a lot of assumptions with that, but doing the whole work place experience thing together was her idea from the start, and I'm just trying to operate under the best-case scenario, so please just bear with me, Eijirou-san."

Now, more than ever before, was Nikolay hoping that his friend would at least have the beginnings of an idea he could work off of on how to approach this latest hang up. Unfortunately, the more Eijirou listened to exactly what Nikolay was hoping for, and more specifically his worries about the terrible timing of it all, the more discouraged he himself looked, before finally letting out a defeated sigh. "Damn, Kolya-san, I wasn't kidding when I said Aizawa-san not at least giving us a time frame was a low blow. I wish I knew what I could suggest to you that would help, but we all know that relationship stuff like this is supposed to take time, it doesn't go like it does in movies or manga and stuff like that."

Nikolay knew Eijirou was right; and that, along with the fact that neither of them had any clues as to how he could possibly approach Mina and finally just tell her absolutely everything, made the overall defeat of this moment that much more personally crushing for the young Russian. And that was what made the fact Eijirou was able to even still slightly smirk that much more surprising.

"But hey, don't take my lack of ideas to mean all hope is lost. I mean, come on, there've been plenty of times you thought you'd reached a dead end, and somehow or some way, you always found a way to overcome those hurtles, and that was all pretty much Hero study-related stuff. By comparison, finding some way around this that's outside the box should be easy, even for you."

As frustrated as he was at his own inability to have already taken action on this front by now, Nikolay could still appreciate Eijirou's vote of confidence. If he was still able to have that kind of faith in Nikolay's ability to overcome, even in a field neither of them had any real experience in like this, then there was no real justifiable reason that he couldn't give himself that same benefit of the doubt.

"Thank you for saying so, Eijirou-san. How sad is it that I can't even think to tell myself that very same thing, and need someone else to remind me? I want to believe you're right that I can figure something out, but I just don't want to risk going for the wrong idea of how to tell her. I mean, if she does feel the same way, then maybe my taking the chance to just tell her could be enough. But if she doesn't, then that just makes this a massive gamble I'm taking. I don't want to risk destroying our friendship by jumping the gun."

Eijirou could actually easily understand just where Nikolay was coming from. He himself still felt completely certain by all of the Russian boy's descriptions that Mina had to have the same feelings as Nikolay did, even if she surprisingly hadn't taken the chance to say so when she could have. But that was neither here nor there right now. Nikolay was coming to him in search of some kind of help, and regardless what subject it was centered on, as a man, he had to at least try something.

That was when a spark of remembrance struck him that shone with the fierceness of the sun, as a fully self-assured smile dawned upon his face. "You know, there've been times when I've been really restless, too, Kolya-san. I can tell you've gotta be feeling the same way if what I saw from you this morning is anything to go off of. You carry on like that, not only are you gonna completely stumble through this whole thing with you and Ashido, but you could even end up screwing up in Hero studies. I know this might not be the instant answer you were looking for, but something I used to do a lot to help clear my head for the night… and, yeah, still do sometimes, is listen to something soothing on the radio while I sleep. It's actually helped me figure out things that used to really confuse or frustrate the hell out of me before. Who knows, it might actually do the same for you. Doesn't even matter what it is, it's just something that could help steady your mind, you know?"

Nikolay's physical restlessness disappeared like the flipping of a switch, and the look in his green eyes as he met Eijirou's gaze, was like he was looking upon a veritable genius. "If I wasn't feeling as grateful for your advice as I am right now, Eijirou-san, I'd be kicking myself for having not even thought of that myself. It sounds so simple, and yet so brilliant! I mean, for God's sakes, Kyouka-san even named me some good film-centric talk radio shows a while back when we were just shooting the breeze after our work place experience periods! That sounds like the perfect thing for me to fall right into! I can't believe I never capitalized on that before!"

With night having already fallen, and Nikolay clearly desperate to get much more sleep than he had been, but now equally motivated, Eijirou was all smiles as he began helping his friend all the way back up to the floor of their dorm rooms. "Hey, no need to beat yourself up about it, man; I told you I'll always be happy to help you two out how I can with this whole thing. All you gotta do is just give this a try and see if it clears your head any. Who knows, it just might help give you an idea how you can finally manage to talk to her about this whole thing finally."

Unlike Nikolay, whom she had seen go off alone with Eijirou just as everyone else was wrapping up with dinner, Mina didn't have the luxury of pulling any one of the other girls away to discuss in private her near identical issues regarding how on earth she was supposed to be able to just tell their Russian classmate how she was increasingly sure she felt. Tooru just seemed way too excitable about this kind of stuff to keep a secret, and Mina could only realize this because she had to admit that if the roles were reversed, she would have been exactly the same way. The invisible girl had ultimately forced Mina to do a lot of unfortunate self-reflecting on just how she always had been when talking about her friends and romance.

She couldn't go to Momo, since she would surely tell her to focus more on her Hero studies for both their own benefit, and right now that kind of answer or lecturing was the very last thing Mina needed right now. She was increasingly sure she would get the same kind of answer from Tsuyu as well; she was always so blunt and straightforward. Ochako was hopelessly inexperienced with even thinking about romance, so she would be incapable of giving any kind of advice without turning into a flustered mess of her own, surely. And Mina knew she definitely couldn't go to Kyouka. After all the teasing she'd put that girl through for this exact same subject, it would be all too easy for the purple-haired girl to use it as an opportunity for some good old payback teasing.

By the time the girls had all decided to retire to their rooms for the night, Mina had already mentally gone through all the reasons she couldn't ask her fellow girls for advice, and was now laying defeated on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and still trying to think of some kind of answer as to who she could go to, since it was becoming more and more apparent she couldn't work her way through this latest problem on her own.

She couldn't go to Eijirou for help; there was no doubt in her mind Nikolay was probably using him as a means to try and work things out from his end as well. Looking back on the Russian boy's demeanor and the emotion behind his words and actions last night had helped remove nearly all doubts Mina had as to whether or not he had to feel the same way for her as she was sure she felt for him. She wasn't about to subject Eijirou to being the tug-of-war rope between them to pour all their stresses out onto.

She knew she couldn't possibly go to her parents about it. Not only would they never let her hear the end of it once they knew their baby girl now had her very first crush, but something in her gut was simply telling her they would just give her nothing but total parent platitudes, and not the actual advice she knew she was in such desperate need of. She couldn't go to Tunguska because of his personal connection, and she couldn't go to any of the other teachers for the same reasons she couldn't go to Momo (plus, Midnight would probably give terrible advice involving lots of leather and whips, if her outward attitude surrounding her male schoolmates was anything to go by).

With every potential option bringing with it its own myriad of reasons why it wasn't a good idea for her to go to them, Mina's frustration began to turn into total emotional despair as she tossed and turned in her bed continuously. "Dammit, this sucks! This sucks, sucks, sucks! I don't want us to go to different Agencies, but no way can we just do a whole internship together and act like this whole maybe-love thing isn't a thing! Kolya-kun deserves to know, but I can't just tell him like it's no big deal! Oh, God, why is this kind of stuff suddenly so hard just because I'm part of it? And why isn't there anybody I can actually talk to?!"

As Mina exclaimed this over-a-week's worth of frustration into her pillow, the cold and uncaring silence of her dorm room that answered her was like adding insult to injury. She absolutely hated the fact she couldn't just bring herself to go out that door, straight to the boy's wing, knock on Nikolay's door and just go in and tell him. She would have gladly given that very same kind of advice to anyone else if they had gone to her, but now she was suddenly too weighed down with her own nervousness to follow her own questionable advice?

In this moment, Mina felt all but certain that if she were to look at herself from the outside, she wouldn't even recognize herself anymore. What had happened to the sheer ball of pink sunshine, energy, and cheer that she always prided herself on being for all of her friends?

However, as she kept replaying her spoken rant in her head over and over again, an otherwise inconsequential word in these circumstances forced the firing of a synapse within her brain that gave Mina considerable pause: internship.

No matter what Aizawa had said about their work place experiences last semester, it might as well have been the same thing, and they had all still learned a number of incomparable lessons from the Pros that had deemed them worthy of being taught something. The remembrance of that simple fact reignited a spark within Mina's troubled heart that gave her a smile of pure hope when it felt like there was none for her in this way.

'Oh my God… that's it! I mean, yeah, it's not for Hero stuff like it was before… but maybe there actually is someone who can help me with this! Let's go, Mina; it's now or never, you gotta reach out and take this chance like you did every other time before! You got this!'

With these words of encouragement echoing louder in her head than ever before, Mina Ashido hurriedly grabbed her phone, ready to pursue the one last avenue of advice she genuinely had in order to finally make full sense of her feelings and at last figure out exactly what potential future could be lying in wait for her and Nikolay together if her judgment of his visible feeling was right.

At an Undisclosed Location, September 2nd

As the Autumn sun began to finally start setting upon the horizon of the ocean ahead of them on this pebble-strewn beachhead, Pietro Dobrynich Granin and his dome-headed confidante and ally stood side-by-side, gazing upon not only their tried and true handful of trusted soldiers Knot, Petto, Grenadier, Blackout and Scythe; but also finally their newly added handful of tested and willing new recruits, who now stood in tandem to their experienced seniors in the very same matching camouflage-patterned hooded jackets and featureless black masks adorned with the red crosshairs on their foreheads.

With his chest swelling equal mixes of pride, anticipation and apprehension, Pietro had his hands tucked behind his back as he slowly approached his newly increased ranks, making sure to look each and every one of them in their eyes as he spoke: [[The day has finally come, not only for the newly inducted among you to put the training you've been put through to the test on the battlefield, but also for us to take the next step in striking back against the tyrannical Anti-Quirk government that drove us from our rightful homes and forced us all to live here as nothing more than refugees.

[[You've all proven the usefulness of your Quirks in a situation, your abilities to adapt to ever evolving situations, as well as your best means of working together in said situations. It is for that reason alone that I've allowed for you all to head out there and carry out this mission. If it succeeds, you could be providing the resources necessary to make sure we have everything we could possibly need in order to turn what would have once been a foolish suicidal skirmish into a full-on stand against oppression and injustice. However, do not let yourselves forget that this is going to be nothing like the training you've been put through. This is going to be more difficult and frightening than anything you've faced before, and there is a good chance not all of you will make it back from this mission. However, that is by no means an excuse to just lay down and let things play out that way. As long as you all remember your parts in the fight to come, and never take your eyes off the goal and most importantly: look out for and protect each other, then you all may just yet be able to come back from this in one piece.

[[Remember, this is not about one-upping each other and proving who's more of a badass. You are a unit, you are a family, and you look out for each other like a family no matter how the situation evolves, understand? This is yet another step in this war to protect our very right to exist. Never let yourselves forget that. Understood?]]

[[SIR, YES, SIR!]]

The sheer conviction, loyalty and intensity with which all of his young soldiers answered him, left Pietro reeling with a sensation of pride filling his whole chest. Standing tall, he proceeded to give his precious soldiers a single solitary but world-shaking salute of support and appreciation for the risks those under his ultimate command were to take.

Once they all did the very same for him, Pietro took a steadying breath and turned his attention to his dome-headed ally. For a good few lingering seconds, neither man could bring themselves to say anything, until he finally gave the resolved nod to go ahead, and his featureless comrade nodded in similar acceptance.

With that, he now turned his attention to the soldiers that had now officially been put under his command, motioning for them all to step forward while he turned his sight to the ocean ahead, and pulled out a chain of connected cuffs from the pockets of his trench coat: [[All right, everyone; take these chains and link them to yourselves, each other, and finally to me. I'm going to be moving us through the sea at top speed, and this is the only way I can guarantee you don't risk losing your grip, because if that happens, you'll be left out of my sphere of protection in the depths, and drown.]]

His message thankfully got through to the nearly two handfuls of younger soldiers right off the bat, as Petto and Knot didn't hesitate to take the chains and link their wrists to those of their allies, before ultimately hooking to the dome-head, just as he began to finally start stepping into the surf, only for the water to start parting away from his feet, as though he were a veritable tank-headed Moses parting the Red Sea.

[[Good. Now we're going to be moving into the seas lining the northern shores of the Motherland, so it's going to be very goddamn cold. Your uniforms have built in insulation and some heaters as well, but still, while we're moving, be sure to save your energy. You don't want to burn through it all, because otherwise I don't know what good even those provisions to your gear will do you. Lastly, if any of you suffer from Thalassophobia, then for the love of God, just keep your eyes on my back for the duration of the journey. The last thing we need is someone suffering a panic attack just because they couldn't keep their heads up straight while we're travelling through the depths. Do you all understand all of this?]]

With another resounding and assuring [[SIR, YES, SIR]], and as soon as he felt the cuffs attaching to the loops in his own uniform that would keep them all tethered while he took them where they needed to go, the dome-headed man gave a final confident and heartfelt salute to the similarly stoic Pietro. Once their leader had returned the gesture in kind, without further ado, the dome-headed man at the lead threw his arms forward, forcing even more of the water to part at his command, and thus he and his followers broke into a rush further in, just as the water began to close back in around them, and within seconds the whole group was no longer in Pietro's sight.

They were roaring at breakneck speed within the silent and darkened depths of the sea now; Pietro knew his second-in-command well enough by now to understand this. He still had a good share of doubts about the potential gains to be had from this mission, but he knew, better than most, that true gain, true victory, could not be obtained if one was not willing to take risks every now and then.

Either way, this situation was no longer in his hands. As he began making his way up the beach for their stronghold and home, all Pietro Dobrynich Granin could do anymore was wait and silently wish them the best of luck every minute.

And there it is, everyone, the new chapter for the week, and the plots only continue to thicken in a way I can only hope is enticing all of you to see where this will all ultimately lead these mysterious new characters and our young Heroes alike!

Also, I apologize for having essentially glossed over Izuku and Bakugo's second fight, as opposed to how thoroughly it's portrayed in the manga and anime, as I'm sure a great many of you were looking forward to revisiting that whole event. However, the thing to keep in mind is that this story essentially has to be told from Nikolay and even Tunguska's perspective, and to simply showcase the fight beat-for-beat would ultimately be padding this chapter out unnecessarily. At least when showing their first fight in the Battle Trial in its entirety, it was still able to be witnessed by Nikolay himself, so he could get a better view and understanding of just how both boys fight and think in the heat of battle, so there was a purpose for it.

If you liked what you read here tonight, again, please be so kind as to leave a review telling me what you think.

Have a great rest of your week, stay safe and healthy, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 01/22!