Hello once more, everyone, and allow me to formally welcome you all to the first chapter of 2023, and the technical 2-year anniversary of My Hero Academia: Son of Justice. I'm frankly still reeling from the fact that this story has made it this far, despite the challenges of real life continuously rearing their ugly heads my way.

But I know that I couldn't have possibly kept up the motivation to keep it up this consistently, had it not been for all the kind help and support of every single one of you loyal readers out there. And I can only hope I can continue to meet and perhaps even exceed your expectations from this point forward.

Please be sure to let me know how you think I do in that regard with a review.

I would like to likewise personally thank my beta readers, consultants and friends: Mizu, Jonny and Carlos; as well as the current list of DA fanart creators whose incredible works have been helping bring this version of the MHA story to life bit by bit: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Yumake, and the newest addition to the list, Venera-Taro.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

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

Chapter 108

The Intruders

(Незваные Гости)

Saturday, November 1st, 8:32AM

There were just under thirty minutes left before Yuuei Academy's School Festival would officially begin, and just under ninety before Class 1-A's long-awaited and strived-toward musical performance would begin. And with so little time left, Izuku now found himself standing off against none other than the very same online criminal simply referred to as 'Gentle', and his diminutive apparent camera-woman and sidekick, La Brava.

From the outset of having accidentally bumped into them on his way back from getting another fresh set of rope for the show, he had naturally assumed them to be nothing more than a pair of civilians. But all it had taken from Gentle was an off-the-cuff reference to the ever rare and elusive tea that Momo had referred to mere weeks ago, the Golden Tips Imperial; together with the remembrance of Gentle even mentioning how he picks his teas based on the sheer scales of the jobs he did. That was all it had taken to ultimately tip Izuku off.

The fact he would go for a tea so rare could only possibly mean his next job would be aimed at the most difficult of targets, and out here, that couldn't be any other place but Yuuei itself, and with the extreme security measures that had been put in place beforehand, all it would take is one alarm being tripped to bring the entire festival, and his classmates passions and dreams going into it, to an unforgiving end.

From the moment he'd revealed his knowledge of who these two strangers were, and Gentle had decided to drop the façade, calling for his companion to start recording, Izuku's eyes were desperately checking his surroundings. 'It's Saturday morning; no pedestrians around…and no Hero Agencies around Yuuei, either…which means I'll have to do this without backup. I could get the owner of the café they just came from to call the police, and…'

Then, for a brief moment as he was about to bring his focus back solely to his target, Izuku caught sight of one other person nearby, and when he chanced a glance, he could feel an immediate jolt of surprise, and immediate encouragement. Standing alone on the opposite sidewalk was Nikolay, and from the look on his face and the posture he was beginning to take, he had witnessed the whole beginning of this confrontation, and ultimately come to a similar conclusion. 'Great! With Kolya-san here, we both might be able to stop these two before they can even get close to Yuuei! Please, just see me and follow your gut!'

In a flash, Izuku's body ignited with the glowing sparks of his Quirk at just 8% power; just at the same time as La Brava, having already been loyally filming this tense standoff, had noticed how his eyes had momentarily left her partner. As such, she naturally followed, and just as quickly spotted Nikolay as well. "HEY, GENTLE, IT'S MORE THAN JUST US HERE!"

"I know, La Brava…which is why it's time we made a change to our itinerary! From now on, no matter what happens, keep the camera rolling!" Gentle had likewise seen how Izuku's eyes had left his own, and when hearing the urgency in his tiny partner's voice, he wasted no time in flinging away his trench coat and hat in a graceful single motion, like a performer in an opera; while La Brava eagerly did the very same in perfect synch with him, never once losing hold of her camera, or losing the focus of the shot.

As Izuku began to squat in preparation to kick himself up into a forward dash, Nikolay was likewise sending as much Kinetic power into his hands and feet as necessary in order to close distance as quickly as possible; hoping the two of them together would be able to close in on this mischievous duo in a pincer attack.

And as his two young opponents visibly got ready to move, Gentle had finally revealed his true self as his coat flew by, revealing a middle-aged adult man with that same perfectly groomed and trimmed white mustache and beard, short white hair that had a single pronounced extended lock curled back over his head, and lightly made up light blue eyes; dressed in a black suit jacket with widely expansive tailcoats and a collar, dark purple gloves, black leather shoes, and white pleated pants and white frilled undercoat.

And beside him, La Brava now stood just as revealed and at the ready, with long dark red hair done in two high twin-tails, with large and clearly emotive pink and purple eyes with what looked like dark rings around them, that matched two pink heart-shaped earrings; dressed in matching white pleated pants and brown leather boots, white wide-cuffed gloves, a white bow tie, and a dark purple and brown corset around her midsection over a black undershirt, and all with a tiny square case slung over her back.

"VIEWERS! BEHOLD, THE DAWNING OF A DARING KNAVE'S JOURNEY! KEEP YOUR DAZZLED EYES ON YOUR SCREEN, FOR IT IS I, YOUR SAVIOR AND GENTLEMAN SCOUNDREL: GENTLE CRIMINAL! THE GEARS HAVE GONE AWRY! IN LIGHT OF THIS DILEMMA, I CALL THIS CAPER: 'CHECK THIS OUT! I SNUCK INTO YUUEI!'"

DASH! BWOOM!

"WE WON'T LET YOU!" This outcry immediately left both Nikolay and Izuku's mouths as they simultaneously rushed Gentle Criminal and La Brava's position. Izuku only had a fraction of a second's head start…and in that fraction of a second, he immediately ran into incredible resistance, while Nikolay saw what looked like Izuku running face-first into an invisible wall of rubber; the sight of which made him instinctively dig in his heels and blast out backwards from his feet, launching himself back and upwards, where he barely managed to grasp onto the nearby AC unit of the building behind him with a metallic CLANG, looking down in shock at what had just happened.

"While uncloaking, I took the liberty of erecting that. Surely you understand, loyal viewers? For my Quirk is…ELASTICITY! Whatever I touch is granted elasticity, even the air itself! GENTLY REBOUND!" And with that and a powerful BOING, Izuku was suddenly send rebounding back down the road the way he'd come like a slingshot, bouncing several times along the way, while Gentle had by now gracefully turned his back to his unfortunate young opponent.

And it was that moment of distraction that Nikolay knew he needed to act on, as he suddenly propelled himself off the side of the building with a half-powered blast from his feet, launching himself in a catapult arc that would land him directly on top of Gentle from behind.

But just as Nikolay was about ready to grab onto and tackle the man; Gentle suddenly twirled back around on his heels, gesturing his arm over his head in a sweeping circle before once again taking a bow, just as Nikolay felt his whole body land up against the very same weird rubber sensation in thin air just above where Gentle stood. "Of course, it is unseemly for a gentleman like myself to not give due attention to all his guests. I personally loathe violence as a means of conflict resolution. GENTLY…TRAMPOLINE!"

BOING!

And with that, Nikolay felt his body go flying skyward and over against all semblance of control, flailing in surprise before miraculously managing to meet the side of a nearby telephone pole with his arms and legs, clutching on for dear life as he tried to ride out the racing of his heart. Fortunately for him, the sack of apples slung over his shoulders had managed to avoid getting crushed in both impacts.

"Um…that was still ridiculously violent just now, Gentle." La Brava unceremoniously pointed out as her partner looked over both boys in the distance. "Yes, the first one caught me off guard amid all the confusion, La Brava; and with the other, I simply figured it was a matter of when he'd try to act. Still, such speed and power from two young boys together…their mild-mannered looks clearly belie their mutual ferocity. A thousand pardons from us to you, children! We'll take our leave from here!"

Without further ado, both criminals quickly broke into a desperate sprint, just as Izuku sprang back to his feet and immediately launched into another mad pursuing dash. "IF YOU'RE SORRY, THEN STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIEND AND MY SCHOOL!"

Hearing Izuku's voice echoing and growing closer, Gentle suddenly launched himself into another twirl off of one foot, making a 180-turn before fluidly slamming his hand onto the ground between them. "A request I unfortunately cannot honor now. GENTLY TRAMPOLINE!"

The moment Izuku's foot forward hit the ground mere feet away from Gentle, he too felt it all retract and spring upward on impact; the power behind his speed causing the rebound to send him flying higher and higher upward into the air, leaving Gentle completely unharmed, and Izuku himself currently scrambling to catch onto the very top of the same telephone pole Nikolay had been halfway getting himself down from; the curly-haired boy desperately climbing up so he could stay perched safely at the top, watching the two criminals like a hawk.

But not wasting a moment to see if either of the boys had started chasing after him again, Gentle instead turned back with a flinging of his cloak, rejoining La Brava before they both began to run away once more. "I, too, put great effort into school functions in my days as a student, just like you two young boys! I have no doubt that your hearts are both in this…yet they cannot compare to my BEARD and my SOUL. For this caper will mark the first great step of my legendary exploits! NEITHER OF YOU SHALL INTERFERE!"

BOING!

And just like that, Gentle and La Brava suddenly went springing up from the now-rubber ground just like Nikolay and Izuku had, only exercising far greater control and steering over themselves as they both glided through the air, leaving the two boys in their dust. "FARE THEE WELL, O CROSSED SHOOTING STARS OF YOUTH!"

However, even as they both continued to fly to their escape, La Brava was still looking back to the two students upon the same telephone pole; her own anxiousness refusing to wane. "I remember now, Gentle! It should've been obvious, with one having broccoli hair like that, right next to that foreign kid; here of all places! Those boys are Midoriya Izuku and Nikolay Bezpalov; two of the kids that got busted up the most at the fighting tournament at the Sports Festival this year! The second one's even the kid of that big Russian Hero who's been on the TV with Fatgum and All Might before! Those two are serious powerhouses, for sure!"

And while Gentle didn't let it show in his face, he likewise couldn't stop his body from shuddering at the reminder. "They're both quite frightening then, aren't they?! Not the kinds of enemies we wish to entangle ourselves with! Before they can step in our way any more than they already have, I MUST PERFORM THIS CAPER!"

At the same time, back at the telephone pole, the moment Izuku had managed to break his own fall, and Gentle and La Brava had started to flee, Nikolay didn't even bother continuing to climb either way; his sense of urgency overwhelming. "Midoriya-san, I thought that Gentle Criminal guy's whole deal was that he did crimes that didn't hurt anyone! What could he possibly want that would need him to break into Yuuei?!"

Still watching the escaping duo with laser focus, Izuku answered: "I have no idea, Kolya-san…but it doesn't make any difference! We both know what'll happen if those two are allowed to break in and set off the alarms! We can't let that happen!"

And it wasn't exactly like Nikolay even needed the reminder, as just watching the two shrink away into the distance, with the towering glass H-shaped cube building that was the heart of Yuuei very visible on the horizon. Already he could feel all those weeks of preparation, of hard work, on top of all stresses physical, mental and emotional…especially the whole mess that had just unfolded and miraculously resolved last night.

He and Izuku both had seen, and personally experienced, the sheer passions and hopes every single one of their classmates, their dearest friends, were pouring into making their share of the festival the best it could possibly be…and right now these two low-level petty criminals were about to render all of that completely useless for nothing more than internet fame. Just the thought had Nikolay's blood growing hot in his veins.

But with that determination, came an idea. "Midoriya-san, there's two ways we can win this! You can try to stop Gentle altogether…and I'll go after his partner's camera! If they're doing this whole thing just for the sake of a video, then if they lose the camera, that's bound to take away all incentive for them to break in to begin with!"

Izuku knew this was a solid two-front approach to their situation, but he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by verbally answering. Right now he was keeping his eyes entirely focused on Gentle in particular, launching off from atop the telephone pole while aiming his right arm forward, channeling a full 20% into his hand. As the circular extension of the right of his new gloves around his wrist suddenly moved up to completely encapsulate in a funnel shape around his hand; by now he had his index finger reeled back as though he were about to flick it forward with all that power focused into it.

As Izuku tried to focus all of that power directly into his hand, he could hear Mina's most persistent advice from their several solo dance training sessions echoing loud and clear in his head: "How many different ways do I need to say it, Midori-kun?! Feel all those movements you're making your body do! I mean REALLY feel it! In that instant of movement, hold the position you wanna strike at the end in your head, really visualize it! And when it's right in front of you, clear as day, YOU HIT IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!"

"DELAWARE SMASH! AIR FORCE!"

With the sudden flick of his finger, Izuku sent a focused and insanely powerful beam of pure wind pressure flying from out the funnel around his hand; that shape thus allowing him to better focus the direction and aim of his wind attacks. It was a resounding success, too; as he and Nikolay both saw that wind beam drive dead center into Gentle's back as he flew, knocking him completely off balance, and thus buying both boys now, the opportunity to finally take off together, flying side-by-side with overwhelming purpose burning in their hearts after the two now vulnerable criminals.

But even after having gotten the wind knocked out of him from behind, Gentle was far from ready to simply fold, as just as he began to fall, he focused his Elasticity Quirk into his feet, thus producing another invisible Gently Trampoline in the thin air below, allowing him to propel himself up and forward all over again.

But even after having managed to recover so quickly, he could no longer simply ignore his two young pursuers; a bead of nervous sweat starting to run down his forehead. "An air cannon?! Impressive, but still not enough to stop me! I will not be deterred!"

WRAM!

But while Gentle had started to flee once more, Izuku had rebounded off of another telephone pole, granting himself a boost and allowing him to fly straight into Gentle like a bullet; grasping his arm and cloak in both hands and once again knocking him off his trajectory.

And to La Brava's dread, she couldn't even spare the moment to call out to her partner in worry when she saw him get grabbed, as she quickly caught a glimpse of Nikolay flying after her out the corner of her eye, thus forcing her to have to keep running and jumping with all her built up momentum across the suburban rooftops.

And as Izuku and Gentle's combined midair momentum carried them both further and further; the freckled boy looked defiantly into the older man's eyes, as he and Nikolay both proved to be on an unspoken emotional and mental wavelength as they both declared to their respective foes: "ARE OUR HEARTS IN THIS?! YOU BET THEY ARE!"

And as La Brava had to keep fleeing with everything she had before her stamina would give out and Nikolay would catch her, she and the young Russian both could only watch as Gentle and Izuku both went flying and loudly crashing into a nearby construction site over a block away.

And the sheer cacophony of that crash did not go unnoticed in the surrounding neighborhood, as a single old man who had simply come out to leave his recycling, heard it loud and clear and was now looking at the smoke of impact emanating from one of the upper floors of the site; grimacing in disapproval. "Something fishy is definitely going on up there."

"PLEASE DON'T WORRY, SIR!" The anxious call of a young woman's voice suddenly snapped the old man to attention, just in time to see La Brava desperately running across one of his neighbors' rooftops, video camera in hand. "WE'RE JUST FILMING HERE! COULD YOU LET YOUR NEIGHBORS KNOW?!"

But before he could even answer her one way or the other; a resonating blast of bass emanated from the air behind her, spurring La Brava to hurriedly leap to the next rooftop, just as Nikolay came to a rolling landing on the previous one, hot on her tail, but likewise noticing the elderly civilian. "IT'S NOT SAFE OUTSIDE, SIR! PLEASE GET INSIDE AND CALL THE POLICE! THERE ARE TWO HEROES IN PURSUIT OF TWO VILLAINS NEARBY!"

Not able to stop to see if the old man even understood what was going on, Nikolay launched off after La Brava again, laser-focused on her tiny frame as she kept trying to rush for the construction site.

"WOULD YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?! THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" As La Brava shouted back to Nikolay out of frustration, she suddenly began reaching into one of the pockets of her pants, now realizing how desperate this situation had become.

And without warning, she suddenly threw a handful of small pellets right in Nikolay's direct path, every one of them suddenly bursting into one collective cloud of pepper; the little criminal more than confident he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time, and get brought down in a blinded coughing fit, allowing her to get back to Gentle with no further problem.

BWOOM!

But with a single blast, Nikolay launched himself higher, bypassing her pepper cloud effortlessly, before launching himself further forward through his hands, ready to close the distance on her now that they were a stone's throw away from the construction site. "THIS IS OUR BUSINESS, THOUGH! TOGETHER OR ALONE, I WON'T LET YOU RUIN EVERYTHING MY FRIENDS HAVE WORKED FOR TODAY!"

"THAT'S MY LINE! GENTLE HAS WORKED TOO HARD AND TOO LONG FOR ME TO LET A BUNCH OF ROOKIE HEROES GET IN THE WAY!" That declaration seemed to make La Brava's adrenaline immediately burn that much hotter, as she began running faster and jumping farther towards the site in her desperation to leave Nikolay in her dust for good.

Izuku ended up momentarily losing sight and his hold on Gentle Criminal once they had crashed into the construction site, as he needed to focus on not getting himself injured with such a hard impact, throwing his body into a mad roll just as he was about to hit the ground, ultimately allowing himself to spring up off his hands and flat onto his feet to safety. As his heart slowly began to lower from racing in his chest, he could just feel his skin bristling with excitement with the realization of his new gloves, given to him courtesy of Mei Hatsume just this morning, having now proven to be the key to utilizing his wind attacks properly, just as he'd hoped they would be.

'Thank you, Hatsume-san! These Air Force Gloves of yours work perfectly! They give me the precision I've been struggling for like it's nothing! And thanks to you, too, Ashido-san! All that intense dance practice is really paying off, now!'

Quickly getting his head back in the moment, Izuku found it especially difficult to see inside this part of the construction site, with all the kicked up cement dust he had unintentionally kicked up with his landing. 'There's so much dust! Where did he go?!'

"Indeed, I did not anticipate this turn of events!" The moment Gentle's voice spoke out from behind him, Izuku leapt back in a spin, half-ready to throw another wind attack his way, only to find the man was now dangling helplessly from a girder by his cape like a human piñata, all while still striking the gentlemanly bowing pose, like a performer on stage. "YET I AM UNDETERRED! DO NOT DOUBT THAT I WILL SEE THIS PLAN OF MINE THROUGH, FOR I AM DETERMINED! A TRUE GENTLEMAN'S RESOLVE CANNOT BE BROKEN! YES, BECAUSE I AM GENTLE CRIM-"

As Izuku stood his ground, he could just feel the sincerity in Gentle's declaration when listening to his voice, looking into his eyes. Under any other circumstances at all, such strength of spirit and determination would've been nothing short of admirable to him. 'It's true…he really does have no intention of giving up!' "ARE YOU REALLY A GENTLEMAN?! WHY MESS WITH YUUEI, THEN?! WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?!"

As the approaching sounds of rapid footsteps ascending the stairs to the left of their confrontation, with unmistakable booming shockwave sounds not far behind, Gentle paid no mind as he could only let Izuku's question sink in. "Hmph. My plan, you ask? Please don't lump me in with those League of Villains ruffians. I am no murderer or kidnapper. My plan, as it were, is simply to sneak into your school festival and nothing more. Won't you turn a blind eye this one time, boy?"

By now, La Brava and Nikolay had both finally made it onto the same floor as Gentle and Izuku; both watching with rushing adrenaline as Izuku defiantly answered: "But you must know that we're already on high alert, right?! As soon as they spot a suspicious-looking guy like you, the alarms will go off and the festival will be closed! Besides, we've both got you now, so why don't you just surrender?"

Alas, even when risking a glance to see La Brava was now within grasping distance of the young Russian boy behind her, Gentle still remained as outwardly confident as ever. "There's no need for you boys to be concerned, as my companion will be deactivating your school's sensors. Your show will go on, and my plan will succeed. I believe we can all consider that a, as they call it, win-win."

"WHAT?! BUT THAT'D JUST MAKE THINGS WORSE IF A REAL THREAT DID DECIDE TO SUDDENLY SNEAK IN!" Nikolay instinctively shouted with disbelief, making La Brava physically jolt away at the remembrance of how close he'd gotten, to which Gentle immediately bowed in his direction as well. "Undoubtedly. Indeed, you both know my plan now. That's why I wish to get going before the matter grows even more complicated."

"I've already called this in, though. We're just trying to slow you down until the police get here." Izuku suddenly declared, never taking his aiming arm away from Gentle.

However, when he and Gentle's eyes locked onto each other again, he could feel a chilling sensation momentarily rush through his body: the man wasn't remotely shaken by those words, almost as though he could expertly read him. "You're either very foolish or very bold, to think you can pull off a bluff like that with a professional like me, dear boy."

But the moment those words left his mouth, the once still and silent air suddenly began to grow heavy with the unmistakable sound of multiple police sirens echoing from the distance, and clearly growing closer by the second; leaving Izuku, La Brava and Gentle visibly stricken with surprise, and Nikolay smiling in relief to himself that the old man from earlier had actually listened to him. "Midoriya-san may have been bluffing…but that doesn't mean I wasn't making sure they were being called in the meantime."

Taking their newly desperate situation into account, Gentle bowed his head, slowly twirling his left foot around in a circle beneath himself. "I see…we clearly shan't ever see eye to eye, it seems."

BOING!

And with a simple downward tap of that same foot's toe, Gentle suddenly sprang up into the air, finally free from his dangling predicament; his voice now ringing with serious intent. "THEN WHILE THE TASTE OF TEA STILL LINGERS, I SHALL BRING YOU BOTH DOWN, YUUEI BOYS!"

Like duel shots, Nikolay and Izuku both immediately dashed after La Brava and Gentle respectively, but while the little female criminal was quick on her feet to leap up out of the way, Gentle was even faster, ricocheting from one support beam to another, granting his Elasticity to each and every one, bouncing to and fro in such a chaotic pattern that made it impossible for Izuku to predict where he was going, and therefore where to try and either knock him down, or fire another of his wind attacks.

Eventually, Izuku had to settle for a single desperate shot the moment he saw Gentle preparing to bounce in one direction, but just as quickly as he flicked his finger and let that wind power fly, he suddenly felt it come ricocheting right back into his neck, knocking him off-balance from the sheer force of it.

Since he knew his Kinetic Blasts could help him fly just as quickly as Gentle now was, Nikolay tried his best to try and circumvent this disadvantage himself, firing from his feet repeatedly in mid-air in order to try and cut Gentle off, no matter what direction he was going. But each time, as soon as he was able to even get himself into a trajectory that would make it impossible for Gentle and La Brava to dodge him; the suave criminal quickly kicked a foot or waved a hand Nikolay's way, thus creating another elastic barrier with the air itself, sending the Russian boy bouncing back and away every time, with the elastic-granted beams and ground thankfully managing to help break his falls.

After the third time of this happening, Nikolay didn't even waste time getting up onto his own two feet, instead channeling a good deal of his built up vibration Kinetic power into his hands flush to the floor, and firing it into the floor in an attempted Remote Kinetic Blast. 'If I can follow his movements, I could be able to send it through one of the beams he'll land on, and knock him off balance!'

And it wasn't long until he had his eyes, and thus the channeling of that same remote blast, set on the one possible beam Gentle had to spring off of in that moment…except that when his feet met the side of it, no blast came out, and he simply bounced off it in his continuing display of dodging prowess.

And it fortunately didn't take long for logic to hit Nikolay and the likewise anxiously observing Izuku hard. 'Dammit, of course it wouldn't have worked! He's applying his Elasticity to everything he touches; Vibration energy won't channel through something with the consistency of rubber!'

At the same time, while Gentle was simply relieved to see his Quirk was rendering both boys' methods of attack completely useless, La Brava was nowhere as reassured. "GENTLE, WE STILL GOT THE COPS TO WORRY ABOUT! LOOK, I'M BUMMED ABOUT THIS, TOO; BUT WE REALLY NEED TO GO!"

As she leapt to the safety of another nearby beam, Gentle still had his eyes set upon his two young opponents. "No, La Brava, not just yet."

Down below, Izuku and Nikolay both had their eyes set on the two, and judging his memory of everywhere he'd seen Gentle bounce from up until now, Nikolay's next action was desperate, as he launched for the one place he knew had been rendered into an invisible elastic wall, and the moment he rolled through the air and met it with his feet, he proceeded to launch himself upward from it for the next beam he knew to have been rendered rubber as well, repeating the same process to send himself faster and higher up into the site, in the hopes of managing to get on La Brava's blindside; all while Izuku had likewise bolted in a mad leap up into the air after Gentle.

And seeing both boys' desperate actions at play; Gentle had already put his own plan into action, landing on another horizontal beam, granting it his Elasticity, and at the same time hurriedly undoing its now Elastic-granted bolts. And once that had been done, he began to actually lightly bounce upon the elastic beam, causing it to start wobbling and bouncing with increasing intensity below his feet.

"I have something you boys need to hear. My Quirk cannot be undone by my own will. Rather, objects slowly return to their original state. In the meantime, as this girder regains its typical hardness, it retains this springy motion. What's more, I've removed all the bolts from this one, where I now stand. This particular girder is destined to fall. Should be quite dangerous, I imagine. Surely you two, as Yuuei students, cannot ignore a falling girder."

Nikolay and Izuku indeed both heard him, and through only a momentary glance near the area where Gentle was now standing and launching himself away, both realized that none other than the very same old man from earlier; joined on both sides by three police cars on the ground level below; were right in the falling path of that very same now-dislodged girder.

Nikolay was silently cursing at himself, knowing he was too far to launch himself over to catch the girder in time. However, Izuku had the more advantageous position, as his speed allowed him to race over and catch the girder as it finally snapped free and began to plummet. And all in that same moment of distraction, just as Nikolay was finally in a position to fly and catch La Brava, Gentle had managed to bounce her way and catch her as she leapt to him, leaving Nikolay high and dry as he immediately grabbed onto the rim of the girder she'd just escaped from, looking their way with just the same kind of disbelieving anger as Izuku was. "WHAT KIND OF GENTLEMAN ARE YOU, AIMING FOR INNOCENT CIVILIANS LIKE THAT?!"

As Nikolay immediately tried to aim his left hand at Gentle's back, he was immediately met with a face full of that Kinetic shockwave power ricocheting off the invisible elastic barrier that had been left in his escape, and with the girder below having also been granted Elasticity when Gentle had caught La Brava, giving it only the slightest tap with his foot along the way; the young Russian was sent ricocheting back and forth between both for a good few seconds like a human pinball.

And as he glided back down to the floor where the whole fight had originally started, Gentle's tone still displayed no intonations of malice. "I will concede, going up against two of you Yuuei students at once didn't necessarily make that distraction as effective as it could've been, but I assure you I never had any intention of hurting those people down there. I simply wished to keep you both grounded. Yet, despite that, I'm once again reminded of your respective and, frankly, terrifying speeds and powers."

By now, the elastic barrier and the girder that had been ricocheting Nikolay back and forth had long since reverted to normal, causing him to be left momentarily dazed upon it, while down below, Izuku was still having to try and keep himself and the police and civilian below (who by now had taken the hint and fled back for home), from getting crushed by the other girder that by now had gone back to normal as well.

And as both boys were momentarily incapacitated, Gentle and La Brava had both spied a nearby crane, with a dangling hook just well enough within reach, especially with the towers of Yuuei clearly visible in the nearby horizon. "Though it pains me to have to immobilize you boys like this, you will both simply have to endure long enough for me to succeed. Perhaps with this, someone will finally take notice."

Without further ado, the moment Gentle grabbed the hook, the entire neck of the crane began to bend and reel back as he pulled, just like a catapult. Seeing this while still contending with the weight of the girder in his hands, Izuku knew he couldn't react just fast enough, but Nikolay definitely could. "KOLYA-SAN, DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"

Up above, Nikolay had fortunately finally come to after that hellish experience of nonstop bouncing, just in time to hear Izuku's words down below, just as a deafening SNAP sounded through the air, bringing his eyes to the sight of Gentle and La Brava together flying like a slingshot through the air the moment he had taken his feet off the ground.

With no further warning needed, Nikolay sprang back up to his feet, launching up and over after them with a split-second charge of his vibration energy shot directly through his feet. The sound of his launch clearly didn't go unnoticed by the two criminals, either; as he could quickly spot the minute motions of Gentle's free hand and feet behind him, doubtless creating multiple invisible elastic walls in his wake to try and trip Nikolay up.

And it was with a recurring series of resonating vibration blasts from one foot and hand after the other, that Nikola swiftly managed to maneuver his way through every one he could imagine, based on where he saw Gentle's hands move. And halfway through this evasive action of his, as he reached out his right hand at one point to steer himself clear of another wall, his eyes spotted that, amid all of this madness that had unfolded all morning, he had somehow managed to completely forget that he'd never thought to remove the Magne-Grip still affixed to his right hand.

And with that stunned reminder, came an idea that was nothing short of desperate, but with the right movements, he knew could also be downright game-changing, now that it had come this far.

And back at the construction site, watching as Gentle and La Brava flew away with Nikolay in hot pursuit, dodging this way and that as he tried to close distance with them; Izuku's blood and adrenaline was boiling altogether as he tries to channel as much of his 20% power into his hands as he possibly could.

Bending his legs further below to try and keep from giving out to the weight of the girder above, Izuku finally managed to divide that built up 20% into both hands; lifting the girder further and further up with one, and aiming and firing another Delaware Smash Air Force with the other; that single devastating beam of pure wind power tearing through the air well outside of Nikolay's flying trajectory, and straight for Gentle and La Brava; the latter of whom was by now looking back with shocked wide eyes, to see both young Heroes still continuing the chase.

Unfortunately, having already had his guard put up thanks to Nikolay's pursuit, Gentle had likewise expected Izuku to quickly get back into action, and after having received the brunt of his Air Force the first time, he was not about to turn his back to the boy undefended again. As such, just before impact could be made again, Izuku's Air Force drove harmlessly into his latest elastic barrier, sending it rebounding right back the way it had come.

And the moment Nikolay had seen this happen; he decided to capitalize once more on the distraction by firing the one small tuning fork he'd forgotten till now was still in his pocket from his hand.

"GENTLE, LOOK OUT!" "Not to worry, La Brava, they can't get us by surprise again." At her warning, and his reassurance upon hearing the rumble of Nikolay's Quirk firing; Gentle once more kicked off another elastic platform at his extended foot, propelling them both well out of the way of Nikolay's projectile, now flying harmlessly past where they just were.

But just as he was sure he'd averted yet another attempt by the young Heroes, a rapid series of those same mid-air shockwaves began erupting closer and closer to his right, prompting Gentle and La Brava to both look in time to see Nikolay flying adjacent to them, rather than right for them; the young Hero giving a single circular flick of his wrist the moment he had a good headway on them.

PING!

With a metallic ringing, Gentle suddenly felt the tiniest hard object come slamming into his left shin, not nearly hard enough to injure or break anything, but definitely enough to knock him just enough off balance, that now he and La Brava were gliding out of his control towards another nearby rooftop, just as Nikolay caught the tuning fork he'd just recalled to make this happen.

At the same time, Izuku; despite his Delaware Smash Air Force having been ricocheted so easily, was quick to adapt so that it could be to his advantage; rushing for the still-elastic crane neck the moment he had finally let go of the girder from before, just as the beam of wind slammed into it, causing it to bend back against the force of it. And with that, Izuku leapt into the air where it would inevitably bounce back; and when it did, all the force built up into it ended up propelling him like mad through the air to where he could still see Nikolay beginning to likewise descend; both boys quickly rejoining sides when Nikolay reached out to his incoming friend.

As Izuku likewise reached and grabbed onto Nikolay's hand, the two boys went spinning downward to where Gentle and La Brava were about to land, like a pair of skydivers. Seeing the two descend upon them from above like this, just before Gentle was about to touch down on the rooftop; La Brava couldn't hide the amazement and following determination in her eyes. "These kids are just like you, Gentle! They refuse to give up! I'd better use my Quirk now."

But despite the serious edge in his partner's voice, Gentle gave no sign that he was remotely desperate, as he expertly drew his feet into a circle just before they could finally touch the roof, thus granting his Elasticity to it at the perfect moment, springing up and forward from it in another show of his Gently Trampoline; the duo now once again gliding for the woods outside Yuuei. "Yes, I had hoped to save your Quirk for when we truly had to make our grand exit, La Brava. As we're under a strict time limit, I have no choice but to ask this of you."

Unfortunately for them, Nikolay and Izuku had likewise seen their quick escape, and acting off of pure impulse after what they now knew of Gentle's Quirk, and the power and momentum they both had burning behind them, Nikolay released one handhold on Izuku and proceeded to blast from it and the corresponding foot, sending them both into another massive mid-air spin, before he turned his posture downwards and threw Izuku down into the elastic rooftop like a ball; Izuku's 20% channeled into his feet allowing him to take off with insane power through the air.

With Izuku on the move again, Nikolay immediately followed up by blasting forwards from both his hands and feet, and he quickly managed to once again overshoot Gentle and La Brava; going in the same direction as them; before hurriedly rolling his body forward and firing from his feet in the opposite direction, bring him to a momentary mid-air halt.

"GROMOVOYY KHLOPOK (THUNDEROUS CLAP)!" With Nikolay briefly hanging in the air before them, his eyes focused on Gentle and La Brava, and he quickly channeled more air friction-born vibration power into his hands before bringing them together in a singular massive clap, sending a huge shockwave flying right for them. Such a sudden attack gave Gentle no choice but to throw his hand up to create another elastic barrier for it to bounce off of, but as a result, he and his partner ended up plowing into it from the other side as well, bringing them to a complete stop, with Izuku about to close in on them from behind.

Quickly realizing the severe disadvantage they'd just been put in , Gentle and La Brava quickly allowed themselves to drop down and nearly glide into the canopy of the trees below, while Nikolay had already long since launched himself higher up to avoid the rebounding shockwave of his Thunderous Clap. From there, he and Izuku both proceeded to likewise freefall into the forest on just opposite sides of the freshly landed criminal duo; both boys once again assuming their battle-ready stances, prepared to finally bring this whole situation to a none-too-timely end.

Yuuei Academy, Class 1-A Dorms, 8:45AM

There were only fifteen minutes left until the Yuuei Academy School Festival would officially begin, and the campus would be abuzz with students and guests alike, and that anticipation and the accompanying pressure was already able to be felt among many of the students of Class 1-A as they were going over their final preparations for the show. Among the band; for as confident and ready as he had been initially, Denki was the one most visibly overcome with the shivers, with Momo being a very close second, despite her attempts to try and talk down his nerves.

And among the dance team members, they had all been busy getting changed into their matching outfits for the show, personally handpicked by Mina, naturally being the most fashionable among the whole class: a series of yellow sequin two-piece suits for the boys, and for herself and the rest of the girls, similarly yellow sequin two-piece outfits comprising of a similar suit for the top as what the boys were wearing (only with the waists cut off in order to show off the girls' toned and shapely midriffs, covered in purple skin-tight body stockings that also covered their legs), sparkling belted skirts with frilly layering underneath, and finally ending with yellow sparkling laced boots, and all with matching red ascots around their necks. And, naturally having that urge to go that one little bit further to stand out in a crowd, Mina had even taken the step to add a pair of matching red sparkly bands around the base of her horns that perfectly stood out against her pink hair.

But even for as much as she initially couldn't hide her adoration at how cute she and the rest of the girls on the dance team all looked in their matching outfits (a sentiment crudely echoed by Minoru once he actually saw them for the first time on his fairer classmates), and even as Ochako dutifully looked over her skirt for her to make sure it wasn't wrinkled, Mina couldn't stop looking worriedly at the last two remaining empty boys' suits that had yet to be filled: the ones meant for Nikolay and Izuku.

And she wasn't the only one taking continuous note of their absence, as Shoto couldn't stay quiet when once again glancing at the time: "Midoriya and Bezpalov should be down here with us by now. Aoyama, you've been spending a fair bit of time with both of them, where could they have gone?"

If Yuga was worried for the whereabouts of his two friends, his naturally dashing smiling face did a damn good job of hiding it when he answered: "Midoriya-san left to go buy rope for the show, and Bezpalov-san went to get apples for our stand when the original delivery got delayed. That was nearly a half hour ago, though. Even with the delay of going to the teachers to get permission to leave the school grounds, it shouldn't be taking them this long."

Listening to Yuga explain this; despite having already been informed by him, Rikido and Eijirou before; only made Mina that much more visibly worried, repeatedly running her feet in place with bristling anxiety as though she were jogging. "Something's not right; Kolya-kun and Midori-kun should've gotten back by now! You don't think they both ran into some kinda trouble out there; do you, Urara-chan, Tsu-chan? Should we go ask the teachers to go look for them or something? Should we? After all these ups and down up till now, it'd just break his heart if he were to end up missing this!"

Ochako suddenly gripped tight onto the rim of Mina's skirt, looking up so their eyes could meet, and Mina could get back that same all-confident fire that she could now see visibly burning in the brown eyes of her rosy-cheeked bestie. "Mina-chan, it's gonna be okay, you know it is. Deku-kun and Kolya-san aren't the kind of guys to let people down, no matter what happens. Whatever's keeping them right now, we all know they won't let it stop them from getting back to us on time so we can wow those people together. Right?"

Mina could already feel her worries simply fading away, to hear Ochako speaking with the same assuredness she always did, and had no reason not to be speaking with even now. She was right: they both did know just how reliable Nikolay and Izuku were, even in the greatest pinch, and she needed to remember to simply have the same faith in them that she always did, the faith that they would both make it in time, and everything would go smoothly from there.

And to further get her mind off of it, Mina quickly took Ochako and Tsuyu by the hand and hurriedly brought her attention back to Shoto, calling for a last-minute rundown of what the performance and effects setup was going to go like once show time finally arrived. But no matter how nervous or excited the students were, the clock still kept mercilessly ticking on and on.

Gentle wasted no further time with theatrical words, as the moment he realized Nikolay and Izuku had him and La Brava virtually surrounded, he immediately got to work, squatting down with his partner and hurriedly throwing up one elastic barrier after another with his hands.

However, Izuku was quick to act, aiming his arm as he leapt to the side; all this time having been keeping a close eye on every position of every invisible barrier they had made on their way down here, just like he was observing here and now, granting him the opportunity to spot the perfect opening.

WOOSH!

And with a precisely aimed flick of his finger, he sent another high-flying Delaware Smash Air Force flying out, with Gentle having already immediately created another barrier to deflect it, only for the air beam to fly harmlessly over it, and instead ricochet off the barrier behind him, sending it careening straight into his sternum, knocking him for a loop right back against his new barrier, and practically every other one he had just built around himself and La Brava, now subject to his own experience as a human pinball.

This thrashing experience had inadvertently caused La Brava to get thrown out of the virtual elastic dome of barriers they had just tried to protect themselves with, and the moment she saw Gentle as dazed and roughed up as he now was, she could feel her heart shattering just as she began to sprint madly for him. "I'M COMING, GENTLE!"

BWOOM!

But Nikolay was proving no slouch, either; as the moment he saw La Brava get separated from Gentle, he immediately acted by planting his hands flush to the ground and firing off another double-dose of his Kinetics, but this time going for his method of kicking up all the loose debris across the ground in an attempt to momentarily stun her. And the moment he heard her surprised yelp as a result, he immediately acted further; blasting himself up and over her tiny frame, and catching her video camera right out of her hand mid-flip before landing clean on his feet at her opposite side.

And the instant she realized what the young Russian had just done, her voice was almost deafening in its emotional desperation, caught between her overwhelming desire to help Gentle, and her equally overwhelming desire to still help see his mission through. "NO, PLEASE, DON'T BREAK THAT! GIVE IT BACK!"

By now, Izuku had finally closed the distance and took advantage of Gentle's stunned state, finally pinning him down to the ground, completely confident that with him immobilized, and Nikolay having gotten a hold of La Brava's camera, the duo would finally just cut their losses and surrender.

And as Nikolay stood back up straight, looking from the camera in his hand to La Brava and Gentle themselves, he breathed in deep, looking the small young woman in the eye. "Don't worry; I don't want to break this. Honestly, I don't want us to have to use any more force on either of you…because as far as criminals and Villains go, you two aren't anywhere near as bad. In fact, if you two would just surrender, just call it quits on this whole Yuuei infiltration thing of yours and leave, I'd be willing to turn a blind eye and just let you go."

Izuku's head visibly jolted up; surprise written all over his face; when he heard his foreign friend say this with no hesitation. And La Brava looked no less dumbstruck at what a Hero student was saying to her, before stubbornly shaking her head, overcome with too much emotion to think straight. "NO, NO, NO, WE WON'T GIVE UP! THIS IS ALL FOR THE SAKE OF HELPING GENTLE ACHIEVE HIS DREAM, HIS AMBITION! GENTLE, PLEASE GET UP!"

With his grip on the camera tightening as he felt his heart start racing, Nikolay exclaimed with undeniable passion: "AND IT'S JUST THE SAME FOR US! MY CLASSMATES, MY FRIENDS…EVEN SOMEONE I LOVE HAVE ALL PUT THEIR HOPES, PASSIONS, BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO MAKING THIS FESTIVAL WHAT IT COULD BE TODAY, FOR OURSELVES, EACH OTHER AND SO MANY MORE!

"WHETHER YOU COULD SHUT OFF THE SCHOOL SENSORS OR NOT DOESN'T MATTER; I WON'T JUST STAND BY AND LET YOU TWO TARNISH OUR VERY FIRST EVER FESTIVAL TOGETHER, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF ONE INTERNET VIDEO!" Nikolay's shoulders were just as shaky as his voice by the time he'd finally reached his penultimate point, leaving Izuku visibly moved by their near identical passion…even if the one standout detail he'd just given of just who all he was acting for, had left him still noticeably shocked.

And La Brava, even if for a moment, clearly looked as though she were about to be swayed, once Nikolay had said that very same thing. "Did you…did you just say…someone you love…as in, like, more than a friend…would be affected, too?"

The fact that she was no longer screaming in defiance, but actually looked to be empathizing with his words, left Nikolay feeling especially optimistic, but unwilling to lower his guard until he and Izuku could both know for sure. As such; while not about to loosen his hold on her camera; he gave her a single sincere nod. "That's right…someone who gave me a reason to live when I had none; something to believe in…and ultimately someone to love when I thought I would never be able to."

Indeed, La Brava could feel her own heart starting to race at the thought…but not of what Nikolay had said, but rather of her own experiences up until this very moment.

Her experiences as a recluse once known as Aiba Manami; for whom the idea of love, or even just belief in anything, had once been something to be mocked or derided, ever since she'd been rejected by a boy she'd written her very first love letter to in her first year of middle school.

Only to one day come across the man on her computer who promised to be the one to give the people of the world something to truly believe in, who promised to be the one who would one day change the world with all the charisma and flare she had long-since unknowingly been looking for in her malaise: Gentle Criminal himself; her long sought after guiding light.

The man who, when she worked up the courage to track down and ultimately introduce herself to him, took her in with open arms with not even the slightest need of convincing or a demand of her; who gave her all the kindness, compassion and genuine faith she had ever wanted, before ultimately making her his official sidekick, giving her the codename La Brava, and even going so far as to apply makeup around his eyes to emulate her very own dark rings, simply to relieve her of her embarrassment of them altogether.

With all those incredible memories flashing before her eyes, La Brava was visibly shaking with tears running down her face as she once more looked desperately to Gentle, before a heartfelt smile began to form on her face once their eyes met. "This person…if your love for them is true, as is their love for you…then nothing we do here today should change any of that…and you should be grateful! BECAUSE LOVE IS THE SINGLE MOST PRECIOUS THING WE CAN EVER HAVE!"

Nikolay and Izuku both couldn't hear even the slightest deception in her words as she cried such sentiments to the heavens, never once taking her eyes off of Gentle as she finally spoke out: "I love you…Gentle."

And from beneath Izuku's knees on his back, Gentle could only slightly nod his head in acceptance, smiling back at his loyal partner. "Thank you, La Brava."

What happened next unfolded so quickly and all at once, neither of the two boys could possibly prepare to counter it. The moment Gentle had accepted her words of love, La Brava reached into the one last pocket she hadn't reached into yet, throwing another handful of pepper pellets straight into Nikolay's face at near point blank range; instantly blinding and nearly suffocating him in the resulting cloud, through which she quickly leapt, snatching her camera back from right out of his hand, immediately rushing to rejoin Gentle's side.

And at the same time, Izuku could suddenly feel an immediate burst of pure power start emanating from out of Gentle's body beneath him, leaving him dumbfounded long enough to get sent spinning through the air as Gentle suddenly flipped the boy from off his back with no effort, now standing tall and newly powerful over him as he momentarily hung in the air. "My apologies, boys; I prefer not to resolve matters by force, which is why I always edit out this part. So enjoy a nice nap, if you will…for with our Quirks working together, it's the only outcome left for the two of you. Love will always conquer all."

As Izuku continued to spin, in a momentary glance, he was able to see as Gentle was rearing his hand up over his head to bring down in a single decisive karate chop on the boy helpless before him. At the same time, La Brava was just halfway across this little forest clearing, ready to cover the rest of the distance and get caught in his free hand, back to safety.

"We've both fought…enemies stronger…and faster than you…" "…AND WE HAVEN'T LOST YET!"

Nikolay's voice suddenly called out from behind La Brava's back, clearly strained from the suffocating pepper; catching her and Gentle both by surprise; but the latter even more so when Izuku stubbornly finished voicing the same statement, utilizing the latest of his body's helpless mid-air spins to suddenly bring one arm around his right shoulder and back, aiming upwards at Gentle, one finger reeled back in preparation to send another Delaware Smash Air Force point blank into his face.

BWOOM!

At the same time, La Brava felt her heart momentarily stop when she heard the sound of another launching Kinetic Blast erupt right behind her; Nikolay launching teary-eyed from out the pepper cloud and coming up behind her, and she and Gentle both realizing she was that tiny bit too far for him to create another elastic platform for her to bounce to safety from. From the peak of what seemed to be certain victory, they'd both now found themselves at another severe two-front disadvantage.

FWOOSH! "REZONIRUYUSHCHEYE KOLYESO (RESONATING WHEEL)!" At the same time as Izuku fired his latest Air Force straight into Gentle, blowing him back, Nikolay had simultaneously thrown himself into a mid-air spin, charging up his building vibration energy into his extended foot, preparing to drive it and the resulting shockwave channeled into the ground, hoping it would be enough to knock La Brava off balance and grant him his opening to get her camera back again.

BOING!

But with the trajectory at which Gentle had been sent flying, just close enough to the approaching La Brava, he managed to reach a hand out her way, creating another elastic platform just over her head for Nikolay's descending foot to drive into, sending him bouncing backwards and away, while she happily jumped into his embrace the very next moment.

BWOOM!

But the moment Nikolay could tell his body was in the right position, he immediately fired out from his feet, propelling himself forward for where the two criminals had now come to a stop. But Gentle had him and Izuku both spotted, as with La Brava keeping low at his side so she wouldn't risk getting in the way, he quickly began throwing his arms every conceivable direction he could, layer elastic walls over each other so neither of them could get through, sending both boys bouncing back to and fro.

But neither Nikolay nor Izuku let this deter them, as keeping in mind what Gentle had said about his Quirk's time limit, they continued their persistent hammering and bouncing away at Gentle's barriers, ricocheting themselves off the surrounding trees as they both began to continue their pattern in a slowly forming circular pattern around their position; Nikolay by now feeling all the built up vibrations resonating in his body, just about ready to burst.

But where Gentle and La Brava could only be left cautiously wondering just what the two boys hoped to accomplish with this ceaseless but meaningless barrage; Nikolay and Izuku had (unknowingly) come to the very same mental conclusion as each other, as while keeping their eyes peeled and memories focused on the very first positions in the air where Gentle had created his first two elastic barriers with both his hands, they both waited until they were both positioned at those same spots the moment his Elasticity would finally wear off…and that's when they simultaneously acted on this gut-reflex of an impulse.

Without warning, Izuku suddenly threw his arm forward, finger reeled back, and fired another powerful Delaware Smash Air Force; just as Nikolay channeled this incredible amount of vibration energy from all these airborne launches and ricochets down into his right hand's fingertips, and finally fired a similarly colossal blast of Kinetic shockwave power from it; both boys long-range attacks managing to masterfully slip in through the newly created gaps in Gentle's defenses, and colliding head-on with each other, just as Nikolay and Izuku had hoped, having in this moment suddenly recalled seeing something similar happen during their first stretch of recent sparring a few weeks ago.

And in a further show of unbelievable mental and heart-felt singularity, the moment Izuku's Air Force and Nikolay's Kinetic energy collided with each other, both boys instantly cried out the words that just came naturally in that incredible moment: "RAZGROM VLADIVOSTOKA-ALYASKI" "VLADIVOSTOK-ALASKA SMASH!"

BWO-KOOOOOM!

The resulting explosion of vibration and wind powers sent Gentle and La Brava both careening across the clearing while Nikolay and Izuku both had to dig their feet in, in order to keep from getting blown away, themselves.

As the two criminals slowly tried to get up from the ground; for the first time, Gentle's face actually reflected genuine shock. "These two boys…unthinkable!"

And from beneath him, La Brava was once again in tears of despair. "I'm so sorry, Gentle! My love for you still wasn't strong enough!"

"No, La Brava…there hasn't been a soul yet…who can prove that your feelings for me are inadequate!" As Gentle made this defiant claim, rising back up to his feet, Izuku immediately launched into another sparking dash for him. But Gentle's own reflexes were just as quick, as he already had his left hand raised up high, drawing repeated circles in the air overhead.

"DEKU-SAN!" Nikolay's own worried outcry came with almost deafening power, as the moment he saw Gentle begin to lift his arm, he instinctively tossed the sack of apples still hanging over his back to the side as he likewise launched himself forward in an attempt to try and knock Izuku out of the way of whatever attack was about to take his friend down.

BO-BOING!

But having already expected the two young Heroes to be looking out for each other like this, Gentle similarly acted by rapidly swinging his right arm vertically twice, creating one elastic barrier that Nikolay plowed face-first into, only for another to then get made practically flush to the first, effectively trapping Nikolay suspended above the ground. "GENTLY BUTTERFLY SLIDE! GENTLY SANDWICH!"

Before Izuku could even finish processing what he'd seen just happen to Nikolay, his own body suddenly got flattened to the ground from above, as a whole stack of elastic air platforms came slamming down on him with increasing weight; just his head and hands protruding from under the area of effect, while Gentle and La Brava both simply looked upon the two boys while standing in doubtless victory.

The thinner the sandwich, the classier it is, inherently. So I am loathe to have to stack them upon you like this, Midoriya-kun. And for one to be able to perfectly capture the pristine beauty of a butterfly with not a single part out of place, is truly the mark of a gentleman's deft and caring hand, would you not agree, Bezpalov-kun?"

And with those two statements, for the first time, Gentle actually bowed his head in what looked like actual regret; his voice and demeanor slowly but surely growing in drive and passion. "I did not wish to have to get forceful like this with you, young Heroes…and yet I must see this through; the fleeting dream of a man long past his youth; the dream of carving my name into the annals of history for future generations, so that going forward, someone out there will give a moment's thought to the way I lived and be inspired. And this dream is no longer mine alone. Today marks my first step towards true infamy. My dream would be trifling indeed if either of your words could sway me into abandoning my course! As you are both Yuuei students, I assume you can easily comprehend my penchant for dreaming!"

THOOM!

With a sudden burst of intensity, Izuku drove his sparking fist into the ground within his reach, blast it away into a small enough crater for him to wriggle his way out from under Gentle's trap, looking up at him with eyes that actually gave off an air of…imploring; just before kicking himself up off the ground with his foot, flipping just over Gentle's head and grabbing onto his cloak, pulling at it with all his momentum and strength. "So why? If you get it, then why attack our festival?! Why trample all over our feelings?! Our hopes?! Our dreams?!"

And at the same time, from the moment Nikolay had realized he'd been completely trapped between these two vertical elastic barriers, he'd wasted no time going with the one strategy he could think of to try and escape; repeatedly firing his Kinetic Blasts from his hands into the barrier in front of him, in the hopes the building power with each shot would eventually be able to pry them apart enough for him to slip out.

Unfortunately, all this ended up doing was sending those blasts bouncing back and forth against both barriers at his front and back, but ultimately channeling that much more vibration power into Nikolay's body than before, so while he wasn't managing to escape, he was still strengthening himself considerably for when the effect of the barriers would eventually wear off.

But even if he couldn't move, that didn't still stop him from setting his own intense gaze upon La Brava as she watched Izuku's escape and attempt to take Gentle down again. "I don't understand you two! If you both truly believe that love conquers everything, then why are you so willing to disregard the love felt between others?!"

Before she could answer, assuming she even wanted to bother; Izuku's attempt at pulling Gentle off his feet by his cape was quickly brought to an end, as the garment suddenly began to spring back towards the man, thereby yanking Izuku off his feet towards Gentle instead; who was already in the process of creating another elastic barrier between them while righteously declaring: "SUCH IS THE WAY OF THE WORLD!"

However, Izuku's gut reflexes managed to save him, as he immediately released his hold on Gentle's cape and met the barrier with his feet, springing off of it and flipping himself back so he could land back on them and immediately charge Gentle again.

At this same moment, Nikolay could finally feel the barriers at his front and back finally dissipate, as his feet met the ground once more. And with all of that built up vibration energy stored up in his body, his eyes immediately focused again on La Brava, as he reeled his right arm back and fired a small enough Kinetic Blast from his fingertips, sending his one small tuning fork zipping through the air with a metallic SHING, straight for her camera still in hand.

But hearing even the smaller version of Nikolay's Quirk firing had her own defensive reflexes at their peak, as La Brava narrowly managed to duck down in time for the tuning fork to fly harmlessly over her head, just as Gentle was in the process of leaping after Izuku with the aid of another last second Gently Trampoline just underfoot.

Seeing this, Nikolay immediately rolled his wrist to activate his Magne-Grip, calling his thrown tuning fork back, but just before it could meet his hand, he actually then proceeded to roll his wrist the other way, deactivating the magnets. This thankfully didn't take away all the built up momentum his little projectile now had flying behind it, as Nikolay immediately reacted by throwing his right leg up in a mid-height roundhouse kick, channeling another boosting blast of his Kinetics through his foot and into the tiny metal object upon impact, now blasting it in a ricochet at even greater speed towards Gentle's blind side as he was about to close in on Izuku.

BOING!

Unfortunately, even with his eyes solely focused on Izuku, Gentle's ears were keeping watch on anything Nikolay was up to outside his field of vision, and the moment he'd heard that metallic ringing with that latest resonating shockwave behind him, he immediately brought one hand around his side and flicked his finger to it right at the moment it would have hit him, thus now giving Nikolay's tuning fork his Elasticity, and thus rendering it completely useless as it flopped to the ground.

By now Izuku was already rebounding off the ground to close distance and tackle Gentle head-on, and just as quickly was Gentle already creating another barrier. But this time, Izuku was wise to him, as he sprung off the ground before impact, now driving his momentum straight into Gentle at least; sending them both rolling viciously back across the ground; all the while shouting in an impassioned anger: "For your dream, huh?! Just for that, you would actually ruin all of our hard work, mock our passion and feelings towards each other?! You would actually steal the smile from a little girl who hasn't even yet learned what it means to feel JOY?!"

And out of everything else the two Yuuei students had done to him already; it was the utter emotion that he could see in Izuku's eyes, that he could hear in both his and Nikolay's voices still, that finally lit a fire of genuine anger within Gentle's chest, as he ultimately managed to kick Izuku away and spring up after him in preparation to strike him down: "IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES!"

The truth was that, it wasn't even the stubbornness of the boys that now had Gentle feeling this way. On the contrary, it was precisely because in this moment, he could so clearly see practically everything of his younger self in both of them, both of their examples and stubbornness.

All at once was he now finding himself forced to think back on his once self-described idealistic and naïve younger life; that of a similarly bright-eyed, optimistic if not stubborn Hero school student; clinging and clawing to his dream of becoming the kind of Hero whose name would go down in the history books, despite having failed the Provisional Hero License Exam four times in a row, while not even being a student of a particularly prestigious Hero school to begin with.

How, in his blind optimism and confidence, he had once taken the chance to prove himself a worthy Hero by using his Quirk to try and save a man who had been falling from a window washer's platform…only to unintentionally knock another local Pro Hero who had likewise arrived on the scene off balance, thus putting him in the hospital. How the following charges of Obstruction of Public Duties ended up getting him expelled from his school, abandoned and disowned by his own family, and altogether labeled an outright piece of human scum, all but forgotten by society.

And how, in the four years of directionless malaise that followed, it was a random encounter with one of his old schoolmates; who by then had gotten the good fortune of becoming a Pro Hero, and in the process completely forgotten about his own friend's existence as a whole; that finally gave him the motivation, the fire, again to chase after his dream of becoming someone who wouldn't be so easily forgotten, who would live a life that could inspire others, be remembered forever by others, even if it meant having to be on the opposite side of the social paradigm.

And to have gone through all that, just to now listen to these two naïve young boys act as though their dreams, their passions, were more valid than his, had stricken at Gentle's core in a way that nobody ever had before; and it all manifested in the form of him suddenly springing up and behind Izuku the moment there had been any breathing room between them, moving in on the freckled boy with a speed and ferocity that was almost completely opposite of the gentlemanly demeanor he always embodied before.

"YOU BOYS THINK OF ME AS UNCOUTH?! UNSEEMLY?! GO AHEAD AND LAUGH AT ME THEN! I CAN LIVE WITH THAT! I KNOW WHAT'S IMPORTANT, AND IN THE END, THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!"

Izuku barely managed to spin around on his feet quick enough to catch the fist from Gentle being thrown his way; the Villain proving to have a far greater strength behind his attack than he had expected, as he could actually feel the pressure starting to make his legs shake from below; all the while calling back with nearly the same kind of emotional intensity: "NOBODY IS MOCKING YOU, GENTLE CRIMINAL!"

At the same time as all this, even as La Brava refused to take her eyes off of Gentle's battle for a moment, with either her own eyes or her camera (and all the while continuously cheering him on that he could win this battle), she was still barely managing to evade Nikolay's similarly mad dashes after her, trying to grab the small device from her again; his own voice ringing with heartfelt feeling towards their two opponents: "THAT'S RIGHT, AND NOBODY IS SAYING YOUR DREAMS OR FEELINGS DON'T COUNT, EITHER! OUR DREAMS, OUR FEELINGS, HAVE GOTTEN US TO THIS POINT, JUST LIKE YOURS BROUGHT YOU HERE! IT'S NOT JUST OUR FEELINGS TOWARDS BECOMING HEROES, IT'S BOTH OUR FEELINGS FOR EVERYONE IN THAT SCHOOL; NOT JUST MINE! MY LOVE FOR ONE; AND MY LOVE FOR ALL OF THEM! THEY'RE ALL MY FAMILY! THAT'S WHY I CAN'T LET YOU HURT THEM LIKE THIS!"

Gentle was certainly not deaf to Nikolay's words, no more than he was to Izuku's; but his blind drive to achieve his victory made it impossible for him to even think of easing up on his offensive on Izuku; the curly-haired boy still struggling more and more against the power coursing through his body.

And as La Brava continued to earnestly cheer him on, Gentle's body began to emanate an ever-growing cloud of steam, as though his blood and adrenaline was all evaporating from within his muscles, only making him stronger and stronger, even against Izuku's 20%; enough to now have Izuku's legs fully buckling underneath.

And as he and Gentle locked eyes once more, and he saw the heartfelt anger burning in the criminal's eyes; Gentle's voice bellowed with what sounded like a lifetime's worth of growing frustration: "BOYS! WHY DO EITHER OF YOU…HOPE TO BECOME HEROES?!"

As Izuku was grinding his teeth to try and force up the resilience to keep himself from getting flattened and overpowered, he couldn't help but think back to what Gentle had said before, describing his dream, how it drove him even now. And with that thought, came an indisputable sense of clarity spoken from the heart: "WE'RE NOT SO DIFFERENT, GENTLE! MY DREAM'S NOT JUST ABOUT ME, EITHER! IT'S WAY BIGGER THAN ME! IT WAS ONE I'D TOTALLY GIVEN UP ON! BUT I HAD PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T MOCK ME FOR IT! THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO RESPECTED ME FOR IT! I GOTTA HONOR THAT! PLUS, THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED!"

As though he could just feel that Izuku was including him in that statement on top of countless others, Nikolay called out with no less heart-rending sincerity as La Brava had taken to fleeing via the tree branches above: "THAT'S RIGHT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHY I'VE TRIED TO BECOME ONE, EITHER! I'VE SEEN SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE SUFFER SO MUCH MORE THAN ME, EVEN IN MY DAYS OF BLINDNESS! I'VE SEEN WHAT KIND OF WORLD PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO LIVE IN WITHOUT HEROES TO INSPIRE AND GIVE THEM HOPE AGAIN! EVEN WHEN I HAD NO HOPE OR FAITH IN MYSELF, SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONSTANTLY SHOWN ME SO MUCH FAITH AND SUPPORT, AND I WANT TO DO WHAT I CAN TO HONOR THAT, SO THAT NOBODY ELSE NEVER HAS TO SUFFER LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"I WANT TO BE THE HERO THAT CAN SHOW EVERYONE A BRIGHT FUTURE!"

As Nikolay and Izuku simultaneously reached this same passionate declaration from two such broadly different yet ultimately similar experiences that had led them to this moment, Gentle couldn't show any kind of reaction at first, simply letting their words, and most importantly the heart within those words, sink in…and with that, his aggression visibly softened, before he began to smile. "The same…aren't we?"

FLING!

With that, Gentle's building and almost literally burning hot power, finally allowed him the upper hand, as he finally managed to fling Izuku helplessly away from him, dazing him just enough for him to finally start closing in for the coup de grace.

At that moment, La Brava had taken the desperate move of letting herself drop down from the last tree branch back to the ground, just as Nikolay landed on it in his pursuit of her. However, instead of directly chasing after her, he instead propelled himself forward in another jump, flying straight for the last spot on the ground he had seen Gentle turn into one of his elastic platforms in order to have gotten behind Izuku moments before, just enough time for the effect to still be there, as he brought his palms together, aiming for it at just the right trajectory, as Gentle had passed it in his rush towards Izuku.

"GROMOVOYY KHLOPOK!" With a desperate battle cry, Nikolay sent a full-power Thunderous Clap straight into the platform of the ground, nailing the angle just right for his forward-flying shockwave to rebound off the Gentle Trampoline, and plow straight into Gentle's back in a perfect hit, sending him propelling and rolling forward in surprise, but still ultimately managing to catch himself and land on his two feet.

"GENTLE!" The absolute anguish in La Brava's voice when she saw her beloved partner get thrown so hard, and now finding himself standing alone with both boys at his sides, had her eyes running non-stop with tears, even after she'd taken advantage of her second of not actively being chased, to go for her tiny pack she had taken the care to hide in the bushes once the duo had first landed here, producing a single hefty laptop from it.

But as Nikolay and Izuku both continued to stand defensively, just waiting for whatever sneaky trick Gentle was about to throw their way next; La Brava's sadness quickly turned to blind anger, when in her desperation to find some way to help, she ended up spying the sack of apples Nikolay had similarly set aside, practically right next to her. And the moment she saw them and looked back to Nikolay, he could feel his heart suddenly seize, about to reach out and call for her not to do what he was fearing she would.

STOMP! CRUNCH! SQUISH!

In a display of furious energy that resembled a small child throwing a tantrum, but with the rage and anger of any spiteful adult, La Brava immediately leapt up and started stomping her heeled boots on the bag, leaving Nikolay visibly cringing in horrified disbelief with every jumping stomp. Her eyes even reflected pure hatred amid her tears as she did so. "YOU TWO HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELVES HEROES, GANGING UP ON MY BELOVED GENTLE LIKE THIS! YOU BUNCHA SHITTY BRATS! I STILL BELIEVE HE CAN WIN, BUT I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET IN MY WAY OF HELPING HIM ANYMORE!"

And with that, and especially impressive speed, La Brava proceeded to go sprinting into the bushes, ascending the forested hill toward the campus of Yuuei, perched securely at the top, all while emotionally crying out: "WIN AND COME BACK TO ME, GENTLE! I'LL ALWAYS BE WAITING FOR YOU, AND WE CAN GO OFF AND WIN TOGETHER!"

Nikolay, despite realizing La Brava was getting away, could just for that moment look upon the clearly ruined sack of apples he had worked so hard to protect, just seeing the end result he'd hoped to achieve with them disappear like dust in the wind, his throat bone dry as he struggled for words.

"KOLYA-SAN! YOU CAN STILL STOP HER! I'LL TAKE CARE OF GENTLE CRIMINAL HERE!" Nikolay didn't even have to look Izuku's way, to see just how desperate his friend was for this to finally be finished. And that was all the push he needed, to immediately launch himself at his fastest speed yet after La Brava, just before Gentle could try to intercept him with another elastic barrier, especially with Izuku launching his way to cut him off just the same.

An action that once again ignited Gentle's anger, as he instead bounced himself up and over Izuku, striking at the boy with a charging knee; which Izuku just barely managed to huddle himself up and block in time, but still allowing Gentle to get behind him, springing up and bouncing all around the clearing from a quickly growing number of elastic barriers like an ever-building human bullet

"YOU AND YOUR FRIEND SAY I DON'T MEASURE UP TO YOUR OLD FOES YET?! THEN I SHALL ABANDON ALL NOTIONS OF DIGNITY, HONOR AND STYLE, AND BRING YOU BOTH DOWN! AND WITH ALL THE TRAINING I'VE GIVEN LA BRAVA, SHE MAY JUST BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT MEDDLESOME BOY OCCUPIED JUST LONG ENOUGH FOR ME!" 'As a sign of respect for the two distinct men you've proven yourselves to be.'

As La Brava continued to sprint like she'd never sprinted before through the woods, keeping her laptop securely tucked under her arm, she could hear only three things: her heart hammering relentlessly inside her chest, the ever-approaching sound of Nikolay's propelling blasts as he ricocheted from tree to tree in his pursuit of her, and her own frantic thoughts filling the gaps between her desperate cries:

'We're too far! Dammit, why did we have to land so far! I just have to get close enough, activate my special program and shut off all the sensors to the whole school, then me and Gentle will win, and we can run away victorious, just like he always does! Why do these damn kids have to keep fighting us when we aren't hurting anybody?! Why do they have to hit Gentle so hard like they do?! I'm glad I stomped on that damn kid's apples! See how he likes his hard work getting broken! See how they both like seeing the things they wanna protect get taken from them like they did to us! I won't let them get away with this, Gentle, I swear on my love for you!'

"YOU STUPID BULLY, WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE?! WE WERE NEVER HURTING ANYBODY IN ANY WAY! IF YOU REALLY MEANT WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT US, THEN JUST WALK AWAY!" As La Brava shouted this back over her shoulder, she didn't dare to glance back to see just how much distance she still had on Nikolay. His Quirk definitely made him faster than her by default, but her nimble-footedness, especially in a dense forest like this, allowed her to maintain her head start. But for how much longer, she couldn't risk guessing.

And that was the only thing she could think to herself with any certainty, before her straight path was suddenly cut off by Nikolay freefalling from the canopy above, landing resolutely on his feet before her, and forcing La Brava to dig her heels in so as not to crash head first into him.

As the two of them locked eyes, she couldn't hide either her anger or her fear, while Nikolay's posture reflected only that same resolute spirit that he and Izuku had been carrying on since this whole fight had begun.

"I did mean what I said…but right now, this isn't about you and Gentle Criminal sneaking into the festival. No…this, right here, is about you going and crushing that bag of apples back there." The moment Nikolay said this with a deathly serious tone, La Brava couldn't help but look at him as though he was genuinely insane.

But even that wasn't enough to make Nikolay soften up as he continued; his green eyes starting to slowly shimmer with the beginnings of imploring tears. "You might not get it…but like Midoriya-san said before, there's a little girl we're both fighting for right now…and those apples were just a piece of me doing my part to try and help her learn what it means to be happy, to have fun and enjoy things for once…to smile…and you…you went and stomped all over that girl's potential first taste of happiness like it was nothing; like the feelings they could've given her meant nothing!"

Nikolay had to exercise so much emotional restraint to keep from shouting his anger at La Brava's moment of spiteful violence, and that was what allowed him to see the look of genuine remorse starting to form in her eyes as his words sank in. But just as quickly did her face start to look conflicted, did she start stubbornly shaking her head in refusal. "No! No, no, no! I won't let you talk me out of it! Gentle has given me so much, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else stop me from helping him see his dreams and ambitions fulfilled! You even said yourself that you're doing this for a person you love! Wouldn't you be willing to do just as much to help them achieve their dreams, too?! How could you possibly say you love them, otherwise?!"

"YES, I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HELP HER ACHIEVE HER DREAMS!" Nikolay's strikingly emotional answer came right on the tail of La Brava's; leaving her stunned in silence as he clenched his trembling fists. "And that's precisely what I've been doing for her ever since we started preparing for this festival…just as she's been doing for me since the day we first met. And that's why I'm not going to let you take one step closer to Yuuei, no matter what. You've already stomped all over one thing I was hoping to help make possible…I won't let you ruin the last."

Nikolay watched every inch of La Brava's conflicted body language, just trying to spot the faintest sign that she was either going to try and stun him again, or try and get past him, or even just outright fight. He didn't want to have to use force any more than he already had this morning, and so he was silently beseeching the little woman to just cut her losses and call it in here.

But the moment he saw her eyes start reflecting that same razor sharp determination as before, his reaction time was unmatched; flicking his wrist and reactivating his Magne-Grip. In truth, he had been mentally trying to count down the time that had passed after Gentle had turned his one tuning fork elastic, and if his calculations now were correct, it had either already returned to normal by now, or would be back to normal by the time it came flying into his hand right now; knowing he had just the right positioning relative to La Brava herself.

SHIING! CRACK!

With only a glint from the sunlight poking through the canopy to indicate it was coming, La Brava was blindsided by the single returning tuning fork, as it came flying fast between her side and her hand wielding the video camera, smashing into it with enough force to come flying out of her hand, and ultimately smashing to pieces against the ground, to her speechless horror, while Nikolay regretfully caught his projectile in his hand.

"NO! NONONONONO! GENTLE, I'M SO SORRY!" La Brava was in nothing short of hysterics as she collapsed to her knees at the sight of her now destroyed video camera; Nikolay looking utterly despondent at what he'd just been forced to do to finally bring their plan to a halt…or at least, he could only hope so. "Mnye zhal' (I'm sorry). I didn't want to have to do that."

With a piercing and, ultimately, heartbreaking scream, La Brava shot back up to her feet and immediately came charging at Nikolay, tears flying from her large eyes all the while as she balled her tiny gloved hands into fists. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME AND GENTLE?! YOU'RE NO HERO, YOU'RE ALL JUST A BUNCH OF JUDGMENTAL SCUMBAGS!"

Even despite the venom in her voice and her clearly approaching to hit him, Nikolay didn't even strike his usual defensive posture. If anything, there was a part of him that honestly felt she deserved to get a few good hits in, she was clearly in so much emotional pain because of him.

But before contact could be made, she once more came to a screeching halt; her eyes now reflecting nothing but horror, but not at the sight of Nikolay himself. Before he could even finish processing the look on her face, she immediately went darting back the way she had come, making a beeline for the clearing where Izuku and Gentle had to no doubt still be fighting.

But as Nikolay was about to take off after her—"Hold it right there, Bezpalov-kun!"

The sound of the math teacher, Ectoplasm's voice, immediately filled Nikolay with the overwhelming desire to sigh in relief, looking back to see that a handful of his clones, all accompanied by the fierce-looking Hound Dog, had practically emanated from behind his back out of nowhere; the Yuuei head of security busily sniffing the air through his muzzle. "Grr...I picked up a scent…of a battle near here…grr…what's going on here?"

Now that they finally had school personnel as backup on their side, Nikolay was instantly on the move, motioning for the adults to follow him. "That woman isn't alone, Sensei! Her partner and Midoriya-san are just up ahead!"

From the moment Nikolay had taken off to stop La Brava, Izuku had been forced to try and keep Gentle from overpowering him, only barely managing to make it by the skin of his teeth once he'd been knocked onto his back, by firing a multitude of his Air Force attacks once Gentle was back in the air, flicking one finger after another.

But, as had now come to be expected; with his own Quirk and physical strength as boosted as it was thanks to La Brava's Quirk; Gentle was simply too quick on the draw to go charging headlong into such an obvious trap, instead creating one elastic barrier after another ti ricochet harmlessly out of the way of every single one of Izuku's attacks, leaving the boy momentarily at an uncertainty of whether he'd actually be able to make it out of this.

But, at the last possible moment, it was the last of Izuku's attacks that just barely managed to graze Gentle mid-dodge, and that was just enough to knock him off balance, and thus throw his entire approach off.

And that was exactly the opening Izuku needed, as he immediately sprung up from the ground in a blinding flurry of sparks all now emanating from his downward swinging right leg. "ST. LOUIS SMASH!"

With the heel of his foot driving straight into Gentle's ribs, the criminal had every ounce of air knocked out of his lungs just as he was driven flat into the ground in a complete and inescapable daze, every bit of tension in his body now nowhere to be seen as he laid motionless, wheezing for air. With him splayed out like this, and Izuku now kneeling upon him to keep him from trying to flee again, there was no further prolonging or denying it: his half of this battle was finally over. Gentle Criminal had finally been defeated.

But Izuku, from his bleeding nose and multiple scrapes, as well as his struggle to catch his breath, couldn't possibly leave things like this, for once he could see that Gentle was still conscious, he let his own aggressive stance fade away, as well as the sparks and glow of his Quirk. "Even with Kolya-san's help…this has been…the toughest fight I've had so far, Gentle Criminal."

"GENTLE, I'M SO SORRY, I LET THE CAMERA GET DESTROYED! WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE-!"

The sudden desperate cries of La Brava reached Izuku's ears as he darted his gaze in her direction, just in time to see her already undeniable anguish turn into a nearly heart-stopping disbelief and sadness when she saw Gentle laid out under Izuku's knee and hands once again, letting her laptop come crashing to the ground from under her arm as her lips trembled in her struggle to try and speak.

"Please…just run…" Gentle struggled to speak out to his dumbstruck partner, fighting through the physical pain all over his body after having taken that hit to his ribs.

But, sadly, even his own words of worry now only fell upon deaf ears, as La Brava's tear-filled eyes were now solely fixated on Izuku, as she began charging at him, pummeling her tiny fists against his side in a rage that almost more befit a rabid animal; all the while screaming in her blind and emotionally-driven frenzy: "NO! STOP IT! GET AWAY FROM HIM! GET OFF OF MY GENTLE! JUST STOP! ALL OF YOU DAMN HEROES, JUST GO AWAY! GENTLE PUT HIS HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS PLAN! HE DIDN'T EVEN STOP FOR HIS BELOVED TEA BREAKS WHILE PLANNING IT! SO GET OFF OF HIM! YOU'RE BOTH SO SELF-RIGHTEOUS AS TO SAY YOU WANT TO SHOW PEOPLE A BRIGHT FUTURE!? WELL, WHERE'S OURS, HUH?! DOES OUR BRIGHT FUTURE JUST NOT COUNT, IS THAT IT?!

"TO HELL WITH YOUR BRIGHT FUTURE! GENTLE'S MY ONLY LIGHT IN THIS WORLD! HE'S MY EVERYTHING! YOU CAN'T STEAL HIM FROM ME! PLEASE, DON'T TAKE MY GENTLE AWAY! HOW IS OUR LOVE ANY LESS VALID THAN WHAT YOUR DUMB FOREIGN FRIEND HAS?!" As La Brava continued to tearfully and furiously denounce everything she saw Izuku and Nikolay as standing for in this moment; Izuku could honestly feel his own heart-wrenching, seeing so clearly just how genuine the connection between these two scoundrels truly was, and just how true Gentle's passion and longing to pursue his dream truly was…and just how much it resembled the very same dream and drive that had gotten him, Nikolay and so many others through so many of the hard times that otherwise should have brought them to a halt in the tracks of their lives.

For as much as he felt in his gut that what he and Nikolay had ultimately done was, by definition of their roles, the right thing; he likewise couldn't help but feel a stirring of guilt that things had to unfold this way.

And all that time, Gentle was likewise listening to his partner's heartbreaking pleas; his face showing a resigned peace about himself. 'Didn't I just tell you to run away, La Brava? But I knew full well you would never leave me behind.'

And it was with that acceptance of just how unbreakable her loyalty was, he couldn't help but reminisce back to their earliest days as partners, how she had been so adamant about joining him on his capers, and completely ignoring all his warnings of how doing such a thing would make her an accessory to his crimes; simply stating with the most honest smile he had ever seen, that she would be as happy as could be as long as she was with him, no matter what could possibly happen.

And while such a show of loyalty in any other circumstances would have been nothing more than simply beautiful; just considering the lives they were even now leading; this realization of Gentle's only left him now stricken to the core with guilt. 'This is all my fault, for having led her down this path. She would never be happy escaping on her own. No, I daresay that she would go on to commit even greater crimes beyond anything we've done so far…crimes that one can never come back from, that cannot possibly be excused or forgiven by simply stating they were for the sake of a video.'

"IF I CAN'T BE WITH GENTLE…THEN I'LL JUST DIE!" As La Brava cried out these suffering words for all the heavens to hear, Gentle could hear the rapidly approaching sound of rustling in the bushes she had just come from.

Knowing now how truly hopeless their situation was, and just what little of his enhanced power he still had left at his disposal in what little time they had left, Gentle's thoughts were resolute, accepting. 'I'm sorry, La Brava. I led her to this point. I accepted her help, and made her my accomplice. But…I, too, found happiness! She's committed no real sin. Yet, should the Heroes catch us like this, they'll soon learn that she assisted me in battle. So at the very least…'

With no warning but a final released plume of steam from the body beneath his knees, Izuku suddenly found his whole body getting flung high and far into the air from the clearing thanks to Gentle getting his hands behind his back in time to create one last Gently Trampoline between himself and the boy; no chance of Izuku correcting himself or trying to break his own fall anywhere to be seen. This ultimately left Gentle and La Brava alone in that clearing, with a distant but unmistakable BWOOOM emanating from within the woods mere seconds later, as Nikolay's likewise distant body could barely be spotted soaring through the air towards Izuku; neither of them even aware that Gentle had deliberately launched the freckled boy away in the direction of a spot he knew to still have another of his elastic barriers in place that would be able to break both their falls.

'…we can pretend this battle never even happened…if only to help lessen her crimes. Now vanish, both of you, Midoriya Izuku, Nikolay Bezpalov.' Gentle finished this resigned thought, just as the sound of multiple footsteps could now be heard approaching him and La Brava from both the direction of Yuuei, and the neighborhood from which they had initially fled; doubtless the police from earlier having finally made their way up into this wooded hillside.

With that, Gentle slowly got onto his knees, wordlessly taking the silent but shaking La Brava close into his arms, smiling in acceptance just as the police and attending Heroes alike came emerging from the brush all around them, leaving them now completely outnumbered and with no means of possible escape.

But even with this, as he and La Brava embraced one another in their all-around defeat, Gentle felt no resentment as he glanced up into the sky at the two flying away boys against the brilliant blue of the skies. Instead, the burgeoning respect he had come to feel for their respective resilience and heartfelt feelings, by now had truly become solidified, listening to both their impassioned words and the clear individual pains that still drove them forward from their own pasts till now. "All for her. For her bright future. Yuuei…officers…I surrender."

'Take pride, you two young and resolute Heroes. For you both, in your own ways, protected all that was yours together. This is truly your win.'

At that straightforward admission of his own defeat, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm could only exchange clearly surprised looks, until the math teacher took a second longer to see just exactly who they were dealing with. "I recognize him. He's a Villain who specializes in quick escapes. He's also known for uploading mischievous videos online."

Taking note of the police likewise just arriving on the scene, he continued: "You all got here in a very timely manner, officers."

"Yes, we received a phone call from a civilian in the nearby neighborhood just under ten minutes ago in fact, who said he'd been told to call us by, apparently, one of your students who was on the scene. Took us some time to navigate through these woods once we saw where they'd all landed."

As the officer in the lead explained this, and keeping in mind just who Ectoplasm had said this man on the ground was, Hound Dog suddenly hoisted Gentle to his feet by his lapels, ignoring La Brava's instinctive protective cries when seeing her partner get handled so roughly. "WHO'RE YOU WORKING WITH?!"

"No one." This was all the gentleman criminal muttered, not even intimidated by the fierceness in the Hero's eyes as he pulled him in even closer, growling ferociously. "What's with the wounds, huh? And the torn-up field? We ran into one of our students out here, was chasing after this little one here, said one of his classmates was out here with you." Hound Dog was a master at intimidation, so if Gentle was hiding anything, he was going to be sure to get him to spill it.

"As I said, I tripped and fell…and she went off to get help…one boy went after to make sure she didn't get lost in her panic…and the other stayed with me to make sure I wouldn't hurt myself any worse." Gentle and La Brava both knew it to be an absolute lie, but the way he described it all was so damned convincing to anyone listening, it would have been easy to assume he was telling the god's honest truth.

"So…it's just you two, then?" Hound Dog's quieter question drew a single confirming nod from the man in his clutches. "Correct."

At this, he finally started baring his fangs as he tightened his grip. "'Correct'?! Where's the fourth one?! The boy we ran into ran off halfway down here, wouldn't even tell us what he'd seen, but I KNOW the smell, it's likewise one of our students! Where did they go?!"

Nikolay had been in far too great a rush to properly explain any of what had been going on to Hound Dog and Ectoplasm once he had started chasing after La Brava alongside them again, but a momentary glance through an opening in the canopy had given him the chance to see Izuku getting flung high again, and with a spike of panic, he had ended up breaking off and launching himself through the next opening he could find, in an attempt to catch him and hopefully break his fall.

By some miraculous chance, though, the moment he had managed to catch Izuku mid-flight, the two boys had ended up slamming and bouncing off of one of Gentle's elastic platforms in the air, which did a great deal to break the momentum of both their falls, as after two more bounces further and further down, the two boys were finally back on solid ground, both barely managing to catch themselves and land on their feet again.

But just as Nikolay was instinctively about to ask Izuku if he was alright and what had exactly happened, the freckled boy was already breaking into a mad sprint back into the woods, prompting his Russian friend to hurry after him. "Wait, Midoriya-san, what happened?!"

"Gentle flung me off of him once La Brava came back…but I heard him say something just before I was too far away! He said it was all for her, for her own bright future, just like what we'd both said before! I understand why he did what he did now! He was acting out of his desire to protect her! You were right about them from the start, Kolya-san! They're nothing like the Villains we've faced before! We have to clear this all up with the authorities!"

Hearing Izuku explain all of this now had Nikolay's own desperation to get back to the scene burning just as hot. "La Brava…she ran away from me because Hound Dog and Ectoplasm-sensei were there! They're probably already at the scene right now!"

It fortunately didn't take long for the two boys to re-emerge into the clearing, just as Gentle, still in Hound Dog's grip, had half-heartedly pointed their way in his physical exhaustion. "They should be…just over there."

Indeed, both boys came bursting in a rush out of the bushes the moment he'd said as much, leaving both teachers and the police alike visibly relieved. But before either Izuku or Nikolay could even open their mouths to explain anything, Gentle looked Hound Dog, Ectoplasm, and the police in the eye, one after the other, declaring wholeheartedly: "I am utterly stripped of the will to fight back. I've committed countless crimes, but my greatest sin of all was…abducting this poor young woman here, and brainwashing her into being my accomplice. So I only ask you now…to please pardon Aiba Manami for my actions!"

And as La Brava and the Heroes and police alike looked utterly confounded by this sudden shift in what they'd expected the criminal to say; Nikolay and Izuku both looked visibly saddened, now completely understanding of why he'd done everything he had in the last moments of this overall battle.

Feeling La Brava's grip on his cloak tighten to something even greater than a vice, Gentle simply bowed his head, glancing down her way in a silent but profound sense of peace. 'La Brava, please forgive me. You fell for me because you had bought into the gentlemanly air I had put around myself. The truth is that I had simply put a stylish spin on my own selfish actions. You bought into my words I had continuously been spouting off about wanting to inspire others…but in the end, I was only ever doing it for myself, because I'd hated where I'd allowed myself to end up before. So…I'm overjoyed that, in the end, this was ultimately all for you. I fought with my feelings on the line, until all that was left in me, deep down…was a heart that beat for someone else for once!'

Glancing up from La Brava to the similarly regretful two young Heroes still waiting silently at the clearing's edge, Gentle once again cracked the faintest smile of gratitude. 'Midoriya Izuku…Nikolay Bezpalov…I'm truly grateful that my last battle was ultimately against you both…for in your own ways, your hearts are truly the kinds that beat and fight on for others; the kind that I wish I'd had a long time ago. Perhaps you'll both be able to inspire others and leave your marks on history, just like I'd wanted, instead.'

Seeing just how visibly devastated La Brava was as she too had realized just what Gentle was trying to do for her, had left Nikolay and Izuku visibly tensed up with remorse for things having to unfold this way, to the point that they'd both nearly missed the low growling sound of Hound Dog addressing them specifically: "Grr…you boys, your wounds…the intensity with which you told us your schoolmate was out here before…did you two really fight this man?"

With one final unspoken glance between themselves, Gentle and the inconsolable La Brava; Izuku finally spoke up, just barely able to even look Hound Dog or Ectoplasm in the eye: "We'd found out that he was going to pull a prank on Yuuei…so yeah, we fought a little. But…everything's okay now."

And with Izuku finally clarifying just what he wanted to do, Nikolay felt far more at ease, speaking up in kind: "All things considered, my telling a civilian to call the police before, and things dragging out like they did when you and Ectoplasm-sensei found me…it was honestly a big and embarrassing misunderstanding and overreaction on both our parts. We're sorry for troubling you all like this."

As Nikolay and Izuku both sincerely bowed their heads deep in apology, Gentle and La Brava both couldn't hide the surprise in their eyes, until she once again burst into wailing tears at his side. All the while, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm's clones both couldn't help but visibly show each other they were at a momentary loss as to just what the best course of action here was.

Until the math teacher's earpiece suddenly went off, as Yuuei's fellow security officer, the cowboy-clad Snipe, spoke up with a hint of impatience clearly ringing his words: "Come in, Hound Dog, Ectoplasm C! Gimme some kinda update here, would ya?"

That seemed to be the little nudge that the two faculty members needed, as Hound Dog sighed and answered: "Just some troublemaker who uploads prank videos. He wants to turn himself in. I know, I can't say I understand it, either, but…there's no emergency for now. Keep everyone on alert, though."

With that, Nikolay and Izuku both let out a long-withheld breath of relief they'd been instinctively holding in since their return to the clearing, as Hound Dog and Ectoplasm began guiding Gentle and La Brava to their now-police escorts. "You can explain everything to us in detail once we get you to the station."

At the moment that Gentle passed by the two young boys; though; he suddenly stood himself up straight and dignified before them. "Midoriya Izuku, Nikolay Bezpalov: I, too, was once enrolled in a Hero course like you. Gentle Criminal is but a mere shadow of a failed would-be Hero. Though I am in no position to give either one of you advice…ALL THOSE FEELINGS YOU TWO SHARED WITH ME TODAY…MAKE SURE YOU BOTH SEE THEM THROUGH FOR ME…AND EVERYONE ELSE."

And as the sincerity of Gentle's parting words left both boys visibly moved and motivated, he suddenly gave the slightest chuckle of genuine amusement. "…although, if we've both been following the recent news correctly…one of you may already be a good step of the way there."

Before either of the boys could finish processing that last aside; especially with Nikolay unable to help but wonder if Gentle was actually referring to the big news from Russia a few weeks ago now; Ectoplasm suddenly stepped in to the young duo. "It's a good thing All Might and Tunguska-san came to me about your approved absences. Being gone this long, it's only natural they both would've gotten worried…then, of course, Hound Dog caught wind of what smelled like a fight. Now, Class 1-A's performance starts at 10:00, and right now it's…ah, 9:17. We'll be back at school in no more than six minutes, so you'll both still have plenty of time before—

"AAH!" Izuku suddenly interrupted with a mortified gasp of remembrance, while Nikolay had likewise drawn his gaze back to the tragic sight of his destroyed bag of apples; his heart twisting at the thought of it before he'd likewise been shocked by the noise.

"SENSEI; I'M SO SORRY, BUT I LEFT MY SHOPPING BAGS BACK AT THE STORE A LITTLE WAYS AWAY!" The moment Izuku finally found the words to describe his predicament, Ectoplasm similarly was all business with the way he now stood and moved.

"Understood, I'll accompany you on your way to get it back, Midoriya-kun. Bezpalov-kun, one of my other clones will accompany you back to the school. Tunguska-san told me your reasons for leaving the grounds as well, so you'll be happy to hear that the shipment of apples you side-project asked for was actually able to arrive after all."

Nikolay felt as though his feet were glued to the ground when the math teacher had filled him in on this miraculous turn around. In the end, all of his physical struggle and emotional ups and downs over the course of this battle had ultimately been for nothing from the outset…but even with that thought, he didn't feel any regret for having been here for Izuku when he was.

Naturally, though, he couldn't even think to say as much, as Izuku was already rushing back the way they had originally come towards the neighborhood, all the while calling out his thanks to the young Russian, who was likewise racing back up the hill towards the school while calling back the same sentiments to his freckled friend; his brain unable to stop counting down the minutes, the very seconds, until the performance would finally start.

Nikolay couldn't spare a minute to take in the school festival finally having come to life, crawling with students and outside visitors alike, with stands and attractions mounted along every pathway, at every corner. The first thing he could think to do was race for the 1-A dorms, finally drop off his one Magne-Grip and tuning fork, and then run back for the gym where their performance was going to be held; every passing minute feeling like one step closer to walking right off a cliff.

Ignoring the passing looks of disdain from many of the General Education Department students upon recognizing him as one of the 1-A students, Nikolay could only mentally sigh in relief the moment he saw the gym at last, with Yuga standing dutifully as a sentinel, immediately honing in on his Russian classmate. "Bezpalov, you're late! Is Midoriya with you? And what's wrong with your face and your hair? You're hardly presentable! How is anyone supposed to be able to enjoy the performance when they're all so worried about you two?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I can still get freshened up! Stay here and keep an eye out for Midoriya-san, he should be back soon!" Nikolay urgently explained before continuing to sprint the rest of the way to the gym, taking note of the extensive line of guests not only filing inside, but also at his, Rikido and Yuga's food-stand posted just at the entrance, where he could indeed already smell the scent of cooking apples from inside, as Oleg and Rikido were both visibly working themselves hard together, but not enough to not notice the young Russian mid-sprint. The fact his father was somehow managing to actually work with food and somehow not manage to burn the food stand down yet was just about as good a sign as Nikolay could've hoped for after such a lengthy diversion on his part.

"KOLYA! THERE YOU ARE! What on Earth has you so breathless?!" Oleg immediately called out, forcing his son to come to a screeching halt, while Rikido was similarly all smiles. "Bezpalov-san, the people are loving our food already! I don't even know if we'll have enough to keep everyone fed all day! OH! The apples actually managed to get here on time after all, can you believe it?!"

Nikolay's whole body was squirming with anxiety to keep running before it was too late, but he knew he couldn't keep his father and enthusiastic cooking partner hanging. "No, no I can't! Please, Sato-san, at least just make sure you save just one of the apples for me, no matter what, okay?! And Dad, I'll tell you everything about this morning if Midoriya-san doesn't beat me to it, I promise! I gotta move!"

In the backstage area of the gym, while all members of the stage effects team had long since taken their places in the rafters above the gym in preparation; all students in the music and dance teams were either squirming, trembling or pacing with differing levels of anxiety and nervousness all across the board, and not just because of the tremendous size of the crowd waiting just on the other side of the curtain, but because, as Minoru was very willing to point out:

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MIDORIYA AND BEZPALOV?! WHAT A FRIGGIN' TIME FOR THEM TO JUST BLOW US OFF!" While nobody else was as ready to start voicing these same questions nearly so vehemently, none of them could manage to hide their nervousness with each passing minute that Nikolay and Izuku still hadn't returned.

Which was why, when Nikolay himself finally came bursting onto the scene short of breath and nearly about to topple over and meet the floor face-first, only to get caught by Mezo, the wave of relief that washed over his classmates could almost physically be felt.

"YOU'RE JUST BARELY IN TIME, BEZPALOV-SAN! ALRIGHT, THAT'S ALL FULL-TIME DANCE TEAM MEMBERS ACCOUNTED FOR! IS MIDORIYA-SAN BEHIND YOU TOO?!" "Kolya-kun, what happened to you? Your face and hair are a mess! Are you okay?" "Here, take this and get changed, quickly! We're on any minute!" Tenya's leading question was asked no less intensely than he already physically was once everyone had gathered around Nikolay to make sure he was okay to go on; Mina attentively dabbing away at the specks and smudges of dirt on his face and getting his hair back in order while Tooru hurriedly handed him his long-empty dance team uniform and all but started forcefully pushing him towards the boys locker room door to get changed.

With everything moving by as fast as he'd pretty much expected it to be by this point, Nikolay knew he couldn't possibly answer what had actually happened to him in detail and still have time to get fully ready before the show; instead simply answering the one question that would help tie everything in their show together: "Don't worry, everyone! Midoriya-san will get here on time, I swear!"

To Nikolay, it almost felt like he'd hit record time between nearly getting thrown into the locker room and then stepping back out in his costume, not even sparing the time to even see how it looked on him; and not even having time to stop his own walking momentum out the door before Mina immediately jumped in and hurriedly began to straighten out his whole getup. But even as she busily fussed with his costume, she couldn't possibly hide the smile on her face or the overjoyed emotion in her eyes.

"I'm so happy you made it, Kolya-kun…just please; don't ever scare me like that again, okay? I was actually starting to worry you'd gotten last second cold feet!" As Mina admitted this last bit of doubt, she gave Nikolay's ascot just enough of a tug so that it was nice and firm around his neck like everyone else's.

And the moment she gave his costume one last little brushing down with her hands to make sure there were no outstanding wrinkles; Nikolay was simply too overcome with relief at his making it back in time to even feel embarrassed at some of the smiles his classmates had at the sight of him being fussed over by the dance team's leader; at least among those that could even take their minds off their anxiety long enough to even notice.

And at the moment that Kyouka took a deep and steadying breath before motioning her fellow band members to take their places on the raised podium at the center of the stage (so the central dance trio wouldn't end up blocking the audience's view of the band itself), Nikolay suddenly reached out and grabbed just the corner of one of Mina's sleeves, spurring her, and unintentionally the rest of the dance team, to look back as he impulsively spoke out from the weight of all the emotions running high right now: "I promise I won't leave any of you hanging like that ever again."

Nikolay didn't even have to apologize, for Mina could just feel how much he meant every word when looking into his eyes like she was right now. And the way it just made her face warm up and her heart start pounding even harder, when things had seemed so close before, made it impossible for her to resist the urge.

And that was why; with no thought or care given as to the presence of nearly their whole class around them in this overpowering moment where all their efforts, passions, dreams and feelings would finally pay off; Mina proceeded to grab Nikolay by the shoulder with one hand, and pull him in by the back of his head with the other, and met their lips together in an immensely passionate kiss that left Nikolay on the verge of hysterical blindness once his fluster ran its course, and he saw the near universal wide-eyed looks of shock, disbelief (and in one tiny case, rabid jealous rage) on all of his classmate's faces. One could have only been able to imagine their further reactions if they'd managed to hear Mina whisper into Nikolay's ear the moment she broke that kiss: "I believe in you, Kolya-kun, and I love you."

And before anyone could even think of the words to say, if any; the lights of the gym outside suddenly began to dim, and with it rose the excited murmurings of the crowd, right on the minute the show was finally to proceed. And with a spring in her step, and a blushing smile on her excited face, Mina finally separated from her kiss of love and good luck with Nikolay, eagerly inching him into his position on the stage with Ochako and Mezo, while she hurriedly took her place with Tooru and Mashirao.

And no sooner than they had taken their positions, then a single rushing pair of footsteps finally came running onto the stage to them from the same direction Nikolay had come; his own nervousness immediately disappearing the moment he heard it, just the same as everyone else.

And at the moment those curtains finally began to open, they could all finally see the uniform-dressed and ready Izuku rushing across the stage to his designated spot, immediately looking out the crowd as though keeping an eye open for specific.

And he clearly quickly found them, as his face immediately lit up with happiness as he lifted an arm up to wave to someone in the front row. And Nikolay, Mina, Ochako and Tsuyu, in their instinctive curiosity, all followed his gaze as he took his position, and they all likewise felt their hearts leap with joy, as they saw nestled near the front row of the audience, the unmistakable blonde-haired head of Mirio Togata, with the silver-haired little Eri perched upon his shoulder so she could see everything; her red eyes already wide with childlike wonder.

And with all the preparations, anticipations and faces any of them could have wanted to see here and now, the whole of Class 1-A's hearts were filled with readiness to bring about the greatest performance they possibly could, as Mina excitedly called out to her fellow dance team members, at the same time as Bakugo began beating his drum sticks together to kick things off:

"ALRIGHT, DANCE TEAM, LET'S DANCE OUR HEARTS OUT!" "LET'S DO THIS, DAMMIT!"

And there you all have it, everyone: the first chapter of our New Year, 2023! I hope my take on this particular battle was worth the wait!

I hope your years all prove far better than the last, and I will see you all with the next chapter conveying the School Festival proper, next week on 01/14!