My Hero Academia: Son of Justice

by Jayme F. Midorikawa

The son of the disgraced former greatest Hero of The Soviet Union is extended a chance at a new life by the Symbol of Peace, All Might. After having lived so long resenting Heroes and Villains, and being scared to death of his own Quirk, will he be able to step forward and become the Hero he once dreamed of, and will he be able to find new purpose through friendship, or even love?

125. Nabu Island Arc Part 1 - Student Work

Hello everybody! Boy, I'll tell you, I was really looking forward to finally getting to this part in the story timeline! I had so much fun adapting the first MHA movie: Two Heroes, way back when, so when I'd come to see just how much the second movie, Heroes: Rising, is popular in the fandom, I was really excited to finally be doing it.

Considering the plot threads for Kolya I've been laying out in recent story arcs, I'm really hoping that what I have in mind for his character in this adaptation will satisfy all of you.

Please be sure to let me know your thoughts and feelings as you read this first chapter in the Son of Justice version of the second official My Hero Academia Movie: Heroes: Rising!

Once more, as always; a deep heartfelt thank you to every single one of you readers out there; my three beta readers and consultants: Mizu, Jonny and Carlos; and to the current roster of contributing fan-artists on DA: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Vanera-Taro and Yumake.

And I would also like to sincerely thank those of you that voted in my potential spin-off/oneshots poll. I'll be discussing what that will mean going forward in the near future.

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 125

Students Working

(Студенты, Работающие)

Tuesday, December 9th

Tensions were high among the multiple police officers manning the heavily secured convoy that was making its way out of Tokyo this night. After a long time spent just waiting for the order to come down from the Hero Public Safety Commission; it was finally time for them to transport the enigmatic cargo recovered from the ruins of the Kamino Ward battle to a heavily secured, and above all else, top secret location for safe containment and further study.

The fact that none of these common officers, in either the leading and backing vehicles, or the heavily armored truck carrying their cargo, actually knew what it was they were carrying; did not help all their shared unease. From what little any of them had actually seen, it looked like some kind of stasis or life-support tank for the gravely ill or wounded…but as to what or who was in it; that was anybody's guess.

Ultimately, the officers had all agreed that the sooner they could get their cargo to the drop off point so they would no longer have to think about it, the better.

And this lack of knowledge and the uncomfortable silence that came with it persisted among many of the officers as they had already been driving for nearly two hours; by now well outside the furthest reaches of Tokyo, and now finding themselves getting into the well-and-good countryside, with far less traffic; and subsequently far less chances for a situation to arise that would force them to stop or change course. From here, it almost felt safe to say that it would be relatively smooth sailing.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

But as the road had begun to turn onto a particularly long stretch splitting a vast open valley field in two; the leading cars came to an immediate screeching halt, as the once-empty road before them was instantly blocked by a large truck blocking the whole width of the road as a barricade.

And before the cars heading up the rear could even begin to back up or ask what was going on, they'd likewise found their only means of travel back the way they had come, likewise blocked by a large truck that just seemed to pop in from out of nowhere.

THOOM!

Just as the officers in the main truck were already picking up their radios to inform any potential backup of their situation; the whole vehicle had started to shake with the landing of something especially heavy on the roof. And before they could even think of looking out the windows to see what it was; their weapons already drawn; they suddenly found themselves blinded by the burning bright blue glow of fire erupting from overhead, incinerating the two leading cars in front of them, along with the officers surrounding them; with further screams suddenly echoing from the two backup cars behind them, though the officers in the truck couldn't get a good enough view as to just what was going on.

SMASH! THOOM!

With no warning, the officer in the passenger seat had his window suddenly exploding in his face, before he found himself getting grabbed by the collar of his uniform by a green and scaly arm; looking shocked out the window to see the unmistakable white-masked and purple-haired reptilian face of the League of Villains member, Spinner, perched against the side of the vehicle and now currently flinging him hard out the window, where the black-clad and imposing powerful figure of Vukodlak was standing in wait for him, expertly grabbing the police officer by the neck, and summarily snapping his neck in the grip of his one steel-clawed hand; all while the officer in the driver seat couldn't even react in time, before Mr. Compress came rushing in from outside his half-open door; reaching in and quickly compressing him down into a marble he unceremoniously tossed into the grass several feet away.

Just like that, the security for the whole police convoy had been eradicated, with Vukodlak having come flying in with all his fellow League members upon his back whilst in his wolf form; Dabi making quick work of the leading cars, while Himiko and Twice had taken care of the backup cars; the bodysuit-clad and schoolgirl Villains currently rolling their shoulders and popping the joints in their necks whilst looking at what a smooth job they'd pulled off; Mr. Compress currently in the middle of turning the truck blocking the path forward back into a marble while commenting: "Well, after that convoy from the Hassaikai raid, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I would've thought the police had at least tripled their security for high-priority tasks like this."

"Right? I'd almost think they were deliberately taking us lightly to try and piss us off." Spinner stated in agreement as he was already in the process of climbing into the driver's seat of the truck, while Himiko and Twice were both curiously looking over the heavy double doors on the back.

"So this big secret experiment of Ujiko's is in here, huh? Who do you think it is? Do you think they know the truck's stopped and we're here for their big rescue?" As she kept asking in giddy curiosity, Himiko was already starting to reach for the handles, before Vukodlak came rushing over and gave the slightest smack to the back of her outreaching hand, just enough to sting.

"We don't have time for any distractions while we're still this far from the meet-up point, Himiko. Just because Ujiko-san's in contact with this person's friends, doesn't mean they'll wait for us forever; especially if we run into trouble on the way. It might've been close, but we weren't able to take these cops out simultaneously like I'd hoped; there was at least enough of a gap for one of them to hit a silent alarm to call for backup…especially Hero backup. The last thing we need is to have to leave here in a hurry with one of those doors open, and risk having the cargo come falling out if Spinner-san has to do some fancy driving."

While Himiko was pouting while rubbing her hand in response; giving a disappointed "Yes, Papa" in response; Dabi came strolling their way from around the truck. "Looks like the old man's right on the money this time. There's a tiny flashing red light just under the glove compartment on the passenger side. Guess Spinner was just a fraction of a second too slow."

"Hey, how about instead of busting chops, we just burn rubber and get outta here, huh?! We can totally outrun Heroes if they start barreling out here after us, not a chance!" Twice urgently began calling for his comrades to start getting aboard the truck; while Dabi kept his hands in his coat pockets; a confident smirk on his face. "This far out into the sticks? With the route we've got, we could give the Heroes the slip easily."

---

And for a good several minutes, as the truck continued to race along furiously through the winding mountainous country road, it actually seemed that things would be that easy; Spinner keeping his hands tight on the wheel while scanning the surrounding area for the first sign of trouble.

And lo and behold, that trouble eventually showed itself, in the form of some high-speed civilian-looking vehicles being manned by no such thing; but rather instead a number of different Pro Heroes; eyeing the truck and the Villains upon it like predators chasing especially challenging prey.

With the road being as narrow as it was, and the cars with their Hero drivers and backup closing in as quickly as they were; it didn't take a genius for Spinner to know that if he didn't start pulling some Tokyo Drift-style moves fast, then the Heroes would have the truck completely surrounded, and then they'd be royally screwed.

And there wasn't any time for him to start really thinking of how exactly he was going to do that, as a blinding pair of headlights reflecting off the driver's side mirror into his eyes quickly made him realize that one of the cars was trying to swoop in through the thin gap between his side of the truck and the large concrete wall.

With a hard turning of the steering wheel, he quickly drove the whole mass of the truck straight into the side of the car; this one carrying none other than an old face from the very same Hassaikai raid, Rock Lock, and another Hero in a suit like medieval armor, but with a gatling gun for an arm.

Rock Lock, quickly realizing their car would be crushed and them along with it if he didn't get out of this bottleneck; quickly slammed on the brakes, fighting the wheel in order to squeeze their way back out into the open behind the truck; way too close a call for a start. Unfortunately, another one of the cars coming in with them from the other side of the truck, didn't come to the same conclusion in time, as the hulking truck suddenly came swerving its way as well, slamming into it hard enough to send it crashing into the guard rails and go flipping over it, plummeting down the side of the mountain and crashing in an explosive fireball down below.

"DAMMIT! WE NEED TO TRY AND TAKE THE TIRES OUT!" The gatling gun-armed Hero concluded, hurriedly smashing the windshield open before letting loose a full-burst of heavy machine gun fire; every round, slamming hard into the back of the truck, but all without even leaving a scratch, let alone a dent.

But the multiple cars full of Heroes weren't about to give up, as another car came speeding up past Rock Lock's car; practically gliding up the side of the concrete wall, before suddenly finding itself right in front of the truck; a blonde-black-haired female Hero quickly emerging through the sun roof before unleashing a multitude of whip-like electric bolts straight for Spinner.

AWOOOOO!

Before a high-speed invisible barrier suddenly came exploding from out the trees above, broad-siding the car and sending it, and all the Heroes on top of and inside it, spinning out and flying over the guard rail to the unforgiving ground far below.

Spinner had half a mind to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the giant white wolf of Vukodlak come leaping from out of the forest and landing in a mad sprint on the road beside the truck; a victoriously grinning Himiko and Twice still upon his back, as she hurriedly eyed another daring car closing in on them from behind.

With a devious fanged grin, she proceeded to pull a handful of tiny throwing knives from out the sleeves of her jacket, before flinging them backward with pinpoint accuracy, bursting their front tires and causing the vehicle to spin out and flip down the road, exploding in another fiery crash as Rock Lock barely managed to swerve out of the way of crashing into it himself.

But no sooner than he had managed to steady out and his partner began opening fire on the back of the truck again, he suddenly noticed something new: the chilling grinning face of Dabi looking back out at them from a retractable sliding window on the side of the truck; his arm extended their way and igniting into blue flames already.

"HANG ON!" Rock Lock warned as he desperately turned the wheel to try and get them out of the way of the blue inferno heading their way; hard enough to send the car flipping. But this was hardly accidental, as the moment Rock Lock timed that the car would be on its side with the armored underside taking the brunt of the attack, he slammed his hand to the driver's side door: "DEADBOLT!"

The once out-of-control nature of their impending crash came to an immediate stop, as the car now remained secured in position, just as the blue flames washed over it; Rock Lock and his partner miraculously managing to emerge afterward unharmed, while the last of their allies' cars came speeding past them; knowing now that it was the only chance they had left to try and stop the Villains from getting away.

Until Mr. Compress suddenly emerged from out a porthole on the truck's roof; pulling out several marbles from between his fingers. "Oh dear. You're all proving far too bothersome right now."

Tossing the marbles in the face of the incoming car; he summarily snapped his fingers, restoring them all to a giant reinforced steel road blockade. The went smashing into it hard enough to go flipping and slamming before ultimately exploding in the middle of the road; removing the last of their pursuers. Vukodlak seemed to be just as convinced of this, as once Himiko and Twice came leaping onto the roof of the truck to rejoin Mr. Compress and Dabi; he too came leaping on; turning back into his human form in mid-air as he landed securely with them.

"BASTARDS! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO GET AWAY WITH?!" The furious unfamiliar voice of another Hero suddenly called out from behind their backs; prompting the three Villains to look back in only the faintest surprise to see a single Hero with a targeting reticule over one of his eyes was still somehow clinging onto the back of the truck; currently aiming his laser sight on them.

"Don't ask pointless questions." Dabi nonchalantly answered before quickly unleashing a blue inferno straight in the Hero's face, reducing him to ashes as his body flew back; not even having a chance to scream from the pain of being burned alive before being reduced to nothing.

"Well, that was a lot easier and harder than I thought." Twice admitted with a sigh of genuine relief; a sentiment far from echoed by Spinner, as he was continuing to put the pedal to the metal. "DON'T GO JINXING US! WHY ARE THE HEROES HERE?! THIS ROUTE IS OFF THE MAIN ROAD THE CONVOY WAS GOING DOWN! THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND US THIS EASILY!"

However, a single exchange of glances between Dabi and Vukodlak made it abundantly clear that they were both of the same mind; the stitch-faced Villain uttering coldly: "The information got leaked."

"Leaked? From where? We had this whole thing kept between us like a pinkie-promise!" Himiko asked incredulously, before Vukodlak calmed her down with a firm hand upon her shoulder. "It doesn't matter. We're in it now, so we just have to focus on getting out of it in one piece…but I might have a good guess."

But before he or anyone else could say anything further; his eyes honed in on a single brilliant orange glow rapidly approaching on the road ahead; something he and all his allies were quick to recognize: the sight of a brilliantly burning Endeavor standing defiantly in their path with a number of other visibly lesser Heroes flanking his sides.

But while the sight of the Number One Hero ready to meet them head-on was enough to terrify Spinner, Himiko, Compress and Twice; Vukodlak and especially Dabi only looked on with growing excitement; as the latter had his right hand already igniting before unleashing a powerful blue blaze. "WELL, HAVEN'T YOU BEEN KEEPING BUSY, MR. NUMBER ONE?!"

But Endeavor was more than ready to meet the inferno headed his way with one of his own, as he quickly unleashed a furious fire of his own ("JETBURN!"); the two attacks colliding dead-on and resulting in a split second fiery tornado of orange and blue that just as quickly extinguished; leaving the Number One Hero and the fiery Villain at a stalemate.

But for Dabi, stalemates were nonexistent, as with his smile only growing that much more, he nonchalantly spoke up: "Compress, Toga, Twice, get inside. Vukodlak, get ready."

With the three other Villains hurriedly retreating to the shelter of the truck, Vukodlak took a single step back, out of Dabi's range; as the younger Villain's hands now both burst into flames, and he proceeded to release an even greater torrent of blue fiery annihilation straight for Endeavor, while Vukodlak took a deep breath, and quickly expanded back out into his giant wolf form, releasing another high-speed Air Shield Howl attack through the heart of Dabi's fire. If Endeavor were to simply focus on trying to deflect the first attack, then this hidden second one would be enough to knock him for a loop.

"PROMINENCE BURN!"

With Endeavor's mighty battle cry, he brought his fists together; multiple bursts of steam emanating from out his powerful arms and shoulders, as well as out the vents of his gauntlets, before finally unleashing an absolute wall of overwhelming fire that consumed the entire road ahead, overpowering Dabi's flames and even somehow managing to strike with enough force to shatter Vukodlak's Air Shield Howl with ease; before ultimately consuming the entire truck and all the Villains atop and within it without mercy.

But what Endeavor and his fellow Heroes didn't see amid the flames, was how as the fire consumed them, every single one of the Villains; instead of being burnt to a crisp; instead proceeded to melt down into the same indiscernible sludge that all of Twice's clones were made up of.

And without anyone manning the wheel any longer; the truck was now careening helplessly across the road in flames, before finally crashing straight through the guard rail and smashing listlessly onto the rock-strewn river shore down below.

While the rest of the Heroes that had been sent to serve as his backup were attending to Rock Lock and the other Heroes further up the road that were lucky enough to be alive…or unlucky enough to be otherwise; Endeavor wasted no time scaling the cliff face down to where the truck had ultimately landed, only to find the red-winged figure of Hawks silently crouched at the side of the demolished driver's cabin of the truck. "Have you been here this entire time?! Why didn't you assist us back there, Hawks?!"

But the overwhelming anger evident in his colleague's voice did nothing to remove the casual smirk on the Number Two Hero's stubble-strewn face when he finally got up to address his recently arrived company. "I would've, but I only just got here myself, Endeavor-san. You certainly wasted no effort here, huh?"

"What about the League of Villains members? I know I saw them on board." Endeavor asked with no patience for pleasantries; only for Hawks to give a regretful sigh.

"Unfortunately, they were just a bunch of Clones made from Twice's Quirk. Doesn't mean they pack any less of a wallop, clearly." As he explained this, his curious eye now drifted to the back doors of the truck, which were now hanging open.

Upon looking inside, with Endeavor looking in from over his shoulder; the two Heroes were met with what looked to be a large life-support tank…which was now standing open and completely devoid of anyone or anything inside it.

"A life-support tank? What exactly where those Villains trying to take in this thing?" Endeavor mainly asked himself, while Hawks was looking no less perturbed by what he was seeing.

"My initial guess would be one of those experimental Nomus we'd recovered from the Kamino Ward scene…but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure." And having to admit that, when it came to any kind of scheme involving the League of Villains, of all people; had Hawks feeling notably tense.

---

A good distance away atop another heavily forested hill; the real League of Villains members that had initially hijacked the truck, were all standing and watching the distant scene play out patiently; watching all the Heroes out that way scrambling about like ants, while Vukodlak was keeping his ears focused on all the chatter going on down on the river between Hawks and Endeavor.

"Man, how priceless it would be to see the 'what's going on here' looks on those dumbass Heroes' faces right now! They would've had us royally cooked if we'd actually stuck around, ourselves!" Twice noted with immense relief and boot-shaking fear all at once, as a result of seeing Endeavor's power with his own eyes, even from a distance.

"We can't just go celebrating yet! How did the Heroes know we would be taking this route in the first place?" Spinner impatiently reminded his allies; while Himiko was eagerly running her fingers along one of her knives. "Yeah, I'll bet it was that loudmouthed dummy Hawks; he went and tattled on us, he had to! Like, his territory is way back out west, so why's he out here just outside Tokyo, huh? Plus, we only introduced ourselves to him, like, yesterday!"

However, to the silent yet visible surprise of his fellow Villains; Dabi answered with a considerable degree of confidence: "I don't think we can afford making those kinds of assumptions yet. Hawks is the Number Two Hero in the whole country, after all. He doesn't get the luxury of just sticking to patrolling his own backyard. He's gotta be on call for the whole country if need be. Hell, if anything, with us still being as close to Tokyo, the capital, as we are right now; it'd only raise the suspicions of all the other Heroes if he didn't show up to a call involving hot shots like us these days."

Dabi looked just as confident in his reasoning as he sounded; but that didn't stop Himiko from grinning teasingly behind his back. "Well listen to you, Dabi; sticking up for your personal recruit all nobly like that. That's soooo cute!"

But as Dabi was silently shooting a threatening glare for the youngest Villain to shut her mouth; Vukodlak held up a single hand to signal for silence. "Dabi-san's actually got a point, though. I can hear him talking with Endeavor, and his heartbeat hasn't shifted in the slightest. He's being just as honest right now with the Number One Hero, as he was with us yesterday; and at both of his recruitment meetings with the two of us."

For all intents and purposes, Vukodlak sounded absolutely reassured in this…but his inherent sense of distrust when faced with Hawks being able to hide the most unavoidable tell of a liar from even his heightened senses; was silently getting deep under the Villain's skin.

At the same time; Vukodlak and Dabi's explanations seemed to have somewhat calmed Spinner's own nerves; as he let out a shaky sigh. "Well, I guess that all makes sense. I mean, maybe that silent alarm in the truck was really all the Heroes needed to make a move on us. They probably used that whole damn Hero Network with all their satellites to figure out where we'd sent the clones to and everything."

As Vukodlak began to rejoin all his comrades; Mr. Compress chimed in: "Well, I'd say that, all things considered, we were met with quite the stroke of good luck. Perhaps it's a good thing our cargo decided to see itself out when it did before those Heroes decided to interrupt…of course, now that just leaves us the task of finding him and getting him the rest of the way to the meeting point with Ujiko-san's second party."

Naturally, the reminder of the Doctor, who had specifically tasked them with this high-risk recovery in exchange for finally granting Tomura Shigaraki the boost in power he'd been fighting so hard to obtain; sent a chill of dread up the spines of Spinner, Himiko and Twice; the latter anxiously asking: "Yeah…assuming our mystery treasure went and got himself turned into roadkill or a grease stain on the rocks; you don't think Ujiko's gonna be pissed at us, right? He's always so peachy all the time, after all."

With absolutely no hesitation; the Villains all suddenly heard their earpieces activate; the selfsame Doctor Ujiko's voice speaking out in answer: "Quite the contrary, Bubaigawara Jin-san! One way or another, the goal of this mission of yours was to get my little personal test subject out of police custody. I took the liberty of planting a tracking chip on him from the outset, so I'll always know where he is, and I've already informed our little second party; his old associates; of his whereabouts at this very moment.

"Once they meet up with him, they'll all take care of the rest. He knows how to sniff out a good target, and no matter what happens, he'll do a great deal of good for all of our needs in the near future. So, I'd say it's high time to take you all back home. Your work out here is done."

Without giving any of them a chance to even ask questions; the Villains soon found themselves regurgitating and being swallowed up by the now-familiar viscous black fluid that proceeded to Warp them all back to their current hideaway; without any of the Heroes ahead ever being the wiser as to how thoroughly they had been watched.

---

Deep within the woods, a single man was doggedly trudging his way through the rough terrain; approaching the bright headlights of two heavily armored Humvees awaiting him at the top of a small incline, with three individuals awaiting him as well:

A giant hulking beast of a man with a purely animalistic look; like a bipedal, blue and white fur-coated hybrid between a wolf and a bear with a multitude of tentacle-like tendrils extending from out the top of his head like dreadlocks, complete with a large lizard-like tail extending from out his heavy trenchcoat.

A much smaller adult man with short white hair, dressed in a heavy black vest; underneath which his body was wrapped nearly from head-to-toe in blood red fabric strips that covered the entirety of his face except for his wide red eyes; the single sword strapped to his back making him look like something between a ninja and a mummy.

And lastly; an adult woman wearing a lavender dress shirt under a black-leather corset with thigh-high stiletto boots and matching gloves; a winged, diamond-shaped black domino mask around her piercing eyes, and long, flat-ended dark red hair.

The single man approaching them had his body adorned in a snug full-body black suit with luminescent blue inlays running all around it, with two large cylindrical tanks strapped to the back of his shoulders, both filled with a bright purple liquid. Half his face was covered with a heavy-duty respirator with tubes running down to the tanks on his shoulders. His eyes were a cold grey, and his head was topped with smooth, long grey hair.

"It's about time you finally returned to us, Nine-san. I was getting tired of waiting." The beast-like figure finally broke the silence, as the masked man known as Nine finally reached the top of the hill; reuniting with his three long-time confidantes and allies.

"It was worth the wait, though." Nine answered through the electronic filter of his mask; turning back to look out upon the vast expanse of the Tokyo cityscape ahead of him and his team; his eyes now starting to glow a brilliant yellow. "The experiment was a success. I was compatible, but the process of integrating that Quirk Factor into me without destroying my body completely was a very delicate and time-consuming one. This new power I've been granted is more than I could have imagined; I can already feel just as much."

But just as an inspired smile began to form on the faces of his comrades; the stillness around them was suddenly broken by the sound of Nine succumbing to a pronounced, strained coughing fit from under his mask; the glow in his eyes now dissipating. "Unfortunately…it's worsened my illness, as well. If I use this power too much, my body's cellular tissues get destroyed."

"But the whole reason you agreed to the experiment for all this time was because that doctor said it'd cure your illness, Nine-san! If it gave you more power, but made your symptoms worse, then this whole experiment was ultimately for nothing!" The beast-man couldn't hide the frustration and despair in his overwhelming voice if he'd tried; with his two fellows likewise reflecting just as much disappointment on their faces.

But looking back their way from over his shoulder; there was no sign of such hopelessness in Nine's gaze. "That's where I have to disagree, Chimera-san. We know there's an endless variety of Quirks out there. Somewhere out there, there's bound to be just the one I need to make this sickness nothing more than a memory; a Cell Activation Quirk. We just need to venture out, find it…and I'll just take it for my own."

With that, Nine and his comrades looked back out to the city; to the vast and endless world of possibilities that ultimately lay before them. "Then I'll finally reshape this world…for all of us, just as I promised. The world we all desire will finally be within our grasp."

---

Saturday, December 13th

With each passing day, anticipation and excitement was nearing a fever pitch for the students of Class 1-A. And now, the big day had finally arrived: the day they were to head out together for their assigned Hero Work Recommendation Project. They were to all take the ferry down south to Nabu Island, wherein they would all work together as one giant Pro Hero team on the field, complete with their own office, to put everything they had learned to the test with no teachers or veteran Pro Heroes to hold their hands.

Nikolay, who normally couldn't stand the notion of waking up and getting all dressed up and ready before the sun had even started to rise; was undeniably as excited as all his classmates were once their alarms had all sounded. From there, it had been an utter rush out their doors to the busses, which ultimately took them all down to the harbors, where their ferry was dutifully waiting to take them further south.

With one last reminder from Aizawa and the rest of their teachers that their Hero Work Assignment was to last for an entire week; Class 1-A was soon after setting sail at last, with nothing but a six hour seafaring journey between here and their first true opportunities at honest-to-goodness Pro Hero work; regardless whether or not Nabu Island's crime rate was comparatively nonexistent to the rest of Japan.

And throughout the course of those six hours, Nikolay had found it impossible to try and catch up on any lost sleep; his anticipation; alongside that of his classmates; was just too strong and downright infectious. It was virtually impossible for anyone to get Mina and Tooru especially to stand still, while Bakugo's own excitement was far less upbeat, and more aggressive, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

After having tried to pass the time and steady himself by pacing the entirety of the ferry about five or six times; Nikolay ultimately resigned himself to taking a seat somewhere on the bow of the ship, studiously reading through a pamphlet now that the sun had finally come up and was helping to warm things up outside, even with it being the middle of the winter season.

In fact, Nikolay had by now become so engrossed in his impromptu reading, that he'd completely lost track of the time their voyage had already gone on for, until he ended up hearing a multitude of excited footsteps rushing up the deck towards and past him; finally drawing his attention, to see his classmates all emerging together to the bow.

And no sooner than he had lifted his head, did Nikolay find himself getting eagerly pulled by the hand onto his feet by his brightly smiling girlfriend; Mina happily urging him along so he could stand ready with the whole class. "We're finally here, Kolya-kun! Land ho! Land ho! Let's take it all in together! Isn't this exciting?!"

Naturally, her excitement was easily matched by everyone else; and as soon as Nikolay could get a clear view over Tenya's shoulder to the horizon ahead; he too could see it with his own eyes, and felt his chest just swell with an excitement of his own.

Slowly forming over the deep blue sea was a single huge island with what looked like a large-spread small-sized town waiting for them, with two large green-covered mountains to be seen; one behind the town, and one much farther to the left.

They had finally made it: Nabu Island.

And as Nikolay was smiling from ear to ear as he took it all in, even from this distance; he was suddenly getting teasingly nudged in the arm by an especially eager Denki. "Man, look at you! Here we are, about to finally get our Pro Hero game on, and you can actually sit out here and read like it's any other day? Like…HOW?!"

Thankfully, nobody else looked nearly as floored by Nikolay's ability to not go off the walls with eagerness as his blonde-haired classmate was; which made it much easier for him to speak in his own defense: "Well, considering none of us have ever been here before, I just thought it'd be a good idea to get an idea just what kind of place we're working with; terrain-wise and all. Maybe it'd help us know who would work best where and stuff."

But without any thought for even building off of what Nikolay had just said; Kyouka suddenly spoke up: "Hey, Kolya-san; maybe it's the early morning sun messing with my eyes, but you look kinda…paler than usual."

And as if that weren't enough; a pronounced grumbling from Nikolay's stomach further broke the mood, as he lowered his gaze to the floor with embarrassment. "Okay, and maybe I also wanted to…do something to keep my mind off the whole motion of the ocean…seasickness and all."

Remembering the stories from Nikolay and Tunguska both about having come to Japan initially by sea; Eijirou had half a mind to ask how he never experienced seasickness then. However, Shoto; with all the subtlety for the flow of the conversation of a brick; interceded, looking through his own copy of the same pamphlet. "It's good to see I'm not the only one who considered thinking ahead. Apparently, Nabu Island is quite a popular spot for tourism in the southern Japanese islands. There's a much smaller island right next door on the other side from us, Mt. Shiroyama, which is home to some well-kept castle ruins dating as far back as the Kamakura Period.

"On top of that, both islands were quite volcanically active for a long time until the 19th century, and as such are best known for their extensive cave systems that attract tourists from around the world in considerable numbers every year; some of which even run under the national park that runs across the middle of the island; a very popular attraction in its own right." The moment Shoto finished describing those specific details; Nikolay could already feel his skin starting to rise; alongside some undoubtedly worried glances from his classmates. "*ahem* Well, there you have it. Now I know where I shouldn't go while we're here."

Tenya immediately had an encouraging thumb up held high to the sky. "Good on you for planning ahead; Todoroki-san, Bezpalov-san! We should all take this opportunity to figure out where we'd feel we can work best on the island's terrain, so we can best organize ourselves!"

Nearly everyone; Nikolay included; gave a responding cheer of excitement at their class president's urging; but almost immediately after did Tooru suddenly exclaim: "But couldn't we also maybe try and figure out what we do about free time, like if we split off into different shifts to work? When else are we gonna get a chance to spend time and have fun on a warm tropical island like this?"

Eagerly nodding in agreement with her invisible best friend, and with a sunny grin to match, Mina was excitedly wrapping her arms around one of Nikolay's, nodding her head to the direction of the bow of the ship. "Right? We should, like, be trying to make the most out of every moment we're down here! C'mon, Kolya-kun, can you hold me up on the bow like in 'Titanic'? Please? I've always wanted to do that just once!"

But with all the inherited authority of her position heard in her voice and reflected in her demeanor; Momo dutifully stepped forward: "I can understand all of your excitement and eagerness to enjoy yourselves when setting foot on a wholly new place like this without any of our teachers here to rein us in, but we can't allow ourselves to forget our true purpose for coming here; Hagakure-chan, Ashido-chan. As proud students of Yuuei Academy, we all need to present ourselves with all the professionalism, courtesy and preparedness that is expected of us. This isn't a vacation."

Not only did Tooru and Mina both give a simultaneous sigh of defeat in the face of Momo's inarguable big sister-like dose of an authoritative reminder; but even Minoru was now clutching onto the guard rail, resting his head on it like a man starved for food in a desert. "Dammit…and I was hoping I'd get a chance to see some hot bikini babes on the beaches at least once while we were down here…or maybe even save one and get a hot and heavy reward for it. What else are tropical islands for without that?"

It wasn't long after, that the ferry finally docked, and the whole class could finally set foot on what was to be their new home away from home for the next entire week. A small contingency of locals was even gathered to greet them as Nabu Island's official welcoming committee for their new stand-in Hero presence until professional replacements could either be assigned or volunteer to permanently transfer here.

With numerous friendly greetings exchanged between the class, the welcoming committee, and even all the locals that simply passed by as they were shown around the main town (along the way being informed of a recent tropical storm that had swept through the island the other day), the young Heroes soon found themselves standing before what was to be their fill-in Hero Agency; a tiny three-story apartment building with the aged sign reading 'Iogi Heights'.

With due haste, the students had a sign drawn up and pasted on the stone wall above the original sign, reading 'Yuuei Academy 1-A Hero Agency: Serving All Your Needs To The Plus Ultra Degree' in bright colors for all passersby to see. From what the welcoming committee had shared; the news of the Hero classes' arrival had long since been spread around the island, so it wasn't like anybody here wouldn't know to call them once a situation arose.

With all those crucial details having already been ironed out; and with everyone having picked their temporary apartments for the week; once they were all suited up and readily gathered in the main office on the first floor; the anticipation was physically overwhelming among them all. Nikolay found himself habitually pulling on the hem of his gloves, just as Denki, Minoru, Hanta, Mina and Tooru all were practically squirming and rocking, eager to move out the moment their first call for assistance came.

"This island's a lot bigger than I was expecting, but everything looked so peaceful while they were showing us around. Aizawa-sensei wouldn't have said this place had such a low crime rate if he didn't mean it, right?" Ochako eventually asked; earning some agreeing nods from Nikolay and several other classmates; whom had all clearly been considering the same thing, as Fumikage handily suggested: "I feel it would be best if I were to use my Black Fallen Angel to patrol the island from overhead. Whatever situations may arise, I could be able to call whoever among us would be closest and most capable of handling it."

"Good idea, Fumikage; and while we have a chance, maybe we should figure out if we really want to all go out at once, or if we should divide into day and night shifts-kero." Tsuyu suggested, while Tenya proceeded to unfold Shoto's pamphlet on the nearby table, revealing an extensive map of Nabu Island; with several spots circled all around in order to showcase the popular cave system entrances for tourists; as well as a couple much smaller towns or neighborhoods on the northern shore of the island.

"I agree, but before that, let's take a better look at the island as a whole so we can figure out who feels they could work best where. The park and the beach areas are easily the biggest, so whichever way we decide to work, we'll certainly need more of us for patrol out there than in town."

BRRRRRING!

All of a sudden, one of the couple of phones on the desks began to ring; to which Momo immediately raced to answer; her voice as composed and professional as could be: "Hello, this is the Yuuei Hero Agency. How can we help you? Understood, sir; we're sending help to you right away."

In a matter of seconds, Momo had whatever info she'd been given written down, and the moment she'd hung up, she'd handed that note to a visibly surprised Denki. "Kaminari-san, please head to this address. There's a farmer, Tadakoro-san, who is in need of an electrical charge to turn his tractor back on."

"Got it, Yaoyorozu-san! Chargebolt is on the case!" No matter how mundane of a starting Heroic task as it was; Denki was still going into it with all the eagerness in the world, as with a good luck salutation to the rest of his class and a spring in his step, he was out the door, just as another phone began to ring.

Then another…then another…and then another.

With no time to be wasted, everyone was soon heading off to take care of one situation after another, scattered across all corners of the island; everyone's hearts soaring high with excitement; no matter what it was.

---

Sunday, December 14th

Within their first full day of serving as Nabu Island's present Heroes; the whole of Class 1-A had managed to properly introduce themselves individually to the locals, while also figuring out the tasks and areas they worked best in.

In no time at all, Denki had become a favorite among the farmers way out in the countryside; Tenya and Momo's polite upbringing and subsequent demeanors endeared them both to many of the elderly citizens; Mina, Tooru and Tsuyu had all quickly become a trio of favorites among the local children; Eijirou, Mezo and Rikido had quickly come to fit in among the local fishermen through their respective sheer physical strength; Shoto's Ice made him a go-to for the local shaved ice sellers on the beaches; and Nikolay's Quirk made him a favorite in the blacksmithing and glassworks community, as he was able to fan their needed flames extensively in the absence of their normally needed manpower.

The first day had been especially physically demanding for their first times, but the feeling of absolute fulfillment was undeniable, and it had helped make all their night's sleep that much more satisfying; leaving them all geared up and ready to take on the next day, which was already proving to be just as busy as before.

Already, Denki had been sent out to the farms once again to help with charging up several of their tractors, much to his mildest annoyance ("How long do they think my electrical charges are gonna last? Honestly, they should just buy themselves new batteries. Oh well.")

Likewise, Kouji, Tenya and Momo had all been sent out to one of the outer suburban neighborhoods to look for several people's missing house pets; help an elderly woman who had taken a nasty fall to the hospital; and assist with repairing a citizen's broken scooter respectively.

Eijirou was sent out to the local harbor in the southern town to help one of the local fisherman haul his extensive load of fish for the day; and Shoto, Minoru, Tsuyu, Rikido, Mezo and Hanta all ultimately decided to take up a widespread round of patrol duty across the beach.

BRRRRING!

And without even a minute having passed after the beach patrol team had left; another handy phone ringing came, and Mina was quick to answer: "Good morning, this is the Yuuei Hero Agency; how can we help you? Oh, goodness; how many of you are there? Thank you for bringing this to our attention, sir! We're coming to help you right away!"

Once she'd finally hung up; Mina looked all her present classmates in the eye with the most excited smile in the world. "That was from the visitor center for the national park across the nearby mountain! They have a small group of eleven tourists that have gotten stranded and hurt in the forest! On top of that, the rainstorm loosened enough sediment to cause a rockslide, blocking the one main road around the mountain that connects the park to town, so emergency responders can't get there. Why don't Aoyama-kun and I go take care of clearing the rockslide?!"

And just as Yuga quickly found himself nodding in understanding agreement ("No better way to work than with a sparkling flare, I say."); Nikolay just as resolutely stepped forward; already setting his goggles over his eyes; looking to Mashirao and Tooru. "Then why don't Ojiro-san, Hagakure-san and I take care of retrieving the tourists and getting them back to the visitor center for when the ambulances arrive?"

Of course, nobody had any reason to disagree; and without further ado, the five Hero students were off like a shot to the mountain; Mina sliding along the road and pulling Yuga along by his cape, while Nikolay propelled himself after them with Mashirao and Tooru both being wrangled along with two spools of his Capture Cord to carry them along, before they ultimately had to break off from Mina's trail, so he could launch his team further and further up and over the mountain.

BRRRRING!

And like clockwork, the phone nearest Ochako began to ring, so she quickly picked up; smiling as though it alone was going to communicate her chipper air through the line. "Hello, Yuuei Hero Agency! How can we help you?"

The rosy-cheeked girl quickly found herself being answered by the unmistakable sound of a little girl's voice, sounding especially panicked: "My little brother's gone missing! I can't find him anywhere!"

Knowing now that she was speaking directly to a child, Ochako didn't let her approachable friendly tone waver: "It's okay, please calm down. First, what are you and your brother's names?"

"M-my name's Shimano Mahoro, and my brother's Shimano Katsuma. We were just playing at the shopping arcade, and he just disappeared! I don't know where he could've wandered off to!"

Hurriedly writing this all down, alongside the description of the child in question, Ochako felt her heart rise into her throat with excitement. "Understood, Mahoro-chan. We're going to find your brother, no matter what, I promise. Please stay there, and we will head to your location at once."

With that, her eyes practically lit up as she looked across her few remaining classmates; between Izuku, Kyouka and Bakugo. "A child's gone missing around the area of the shopping arcade downtown. Anyone who's available, you want to come check it out with me?"

"Well, if it's a missing kid, then I can't possibly say no." Kyouka immediately answered; twirling one of her Earphone Jacks with a confident smirk, while Izuku eagerly leapt up to his feet with a glimmer in his eyes. "I'll go, too! If you were to scan the area from above, we could be able to find the child in no time, Uraraka-san!"

"Count me out." Bakugo spat with pure apathy as he plopped himself on a nearby chair, planting his boots on the desk while staring ahead with an impatient sneer; ignoring the looks of incredulity from the two girls in the room, as Ochako replied: "But, Bakugo, you're the only one of us who hasn't taken up a job so far since we got here."

"Because one of us has to be ready when a situation involving an actual Villain arises, dammit! Anything else, like what you're all doing, is just glorified charity work; hardly anything fitting a Number One Hero," he instantly shot back with exceptional volume.

Knowing there was no point in trying to convince Bakugo otherwise; as well as figuring things would be alright so long as there was someone here answering the phones; especially since by now, Tenya was already returning from his first job; Izuku, Ochako and Kyouka proceeded to make their way out, grabbing a life preserver on the way out for the two girls to hold onto while Ochako applied her Zero Gravity to herself and Kyouka, and Izuku himself slipped into it, and proceeded to go into his Full Cowl 8%, launching the three of them into a fast-as-the-wind sprint and subsequent launch through the air into the heart of town.

---

While Mina and Yuga were already hard at work clearing away the extensive rock slide that had choked up so much of the main mountain road; Nikolay, Mashirao and Tooru had long since made their way over the peak of the mountain, and had by now reached the large visitor center standing at the far end of that same road; a handful of uniformed park rangers all waiting patiently for the young Heroes to arrive; unmistakable looks of worry on all their faces, even as Nikolay took the lead in opening a dialogue as professionally as possible upon touching down.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Solovei." "I'm Tail Man." "And I'm Invisible Girl! What all can you tell us about what's happened here?"

No sooner than the three had introduced themselves; the rangers were instantly unloading a summation of everything they were to deal with across this vast forest that constituted their park. "Thank goodness you all got here when you did. That rockslide came from out of nowhere; otherwise the ambulances would've gotten here already. But until the tour group we'd most recently sent out there returns; such circumstances would make no difference."

Another of the rangers hurriedly produced a large map, detailing the whole layout of the forest for the Heroes to memorize. "It's a group of eleven people. We usually have them take this particular route up the northern face of the mountain and down to the valley at the other end, since it provides some of the best views in the whole park. But one of our co-workers, Hinatori-chan; she's still a novice, and ended up getting turned around, and the whole group is now lost in this general area. Last we heard from her, some of them have sustained minor injuries, and she'd instructed them to stay in that area while she took this footpath here to try and get to town for help. It's pretty well-defined, you really can't miss it. However, that was over half an an hour ago, and we haven't heard from her since."

Nikolay and Mashirao could both only assume that Tooru looked just as serious as they did, as Nikolay asked: "Alright, it sounds like our best bet to find the group would be to search the area from the air, but Tokoyami-san's currently on the other side of the island."

"That's not all, though," a third ranger, a young adult woman, suddenly spoke up, pointing to another area of the park, well in the center, away from the section the lost tourists were projected to be at. "We also have some other visitors caught in a jam elsewhere in the park. See, this area has an extensive zip-line attraction of ours that a lot of our guests love to use, but the storm knocked some of the gears out of alignment, so we have a number of guests helplessly stuck on that line."

As soon as Nikolay and his partners looked each other in the eye; a silent agreement of responsibilities was made, as Mashirao volunteered: "If I could borrow one of your Capture Cords, Solovei; I can help get the guests from the zip-line back down to solid ground and guide them back here."

"And if that footpath is as clearly marked as you said, then I can go look for your co-worker." Tooru likewise chipped in, while Nikolay was still studiously looking over the layout of the mountain.

"The area you're saying the tour group is stuck in looks pretty thick. Are there any sections that would provide a good view of that spot so I could possibly narrow it down?" As soon as Nikolay asked; the oldest ranger pointed out a spot on the north face of the mountain that looked like a ledge.

"That's your best bet. It's a popular spot for tourists and rock climbers to go to for pictures and thrills. Frankly, I'm surprised Hinatori-chan didn't think to just go up there to try and find the visitor center relative from where her group is."

With no time to be further wasted, Nikolay was already squatting down, channeling his Kinetics through his legs. "No use pondering on that now, sir. Don't you worry; we'll get everyone back here safe and sound! Invisible Girl, Tail Man, let's do it!"

With mutual eager cheers from his two teammates; Nikolay proceeded to launch himself high up and over the visitor center; soaring over the trees to the same ledge he had been pointed to in the distance; while Mashirao and Tooru were already making respective beelines to their own areas of crises to manage.

With his reflexes and one of Nikolay's Capturing Cords in hand; Mashirao was easily able to swing his way from tree to tree across half the park with his Tail, before he was finally able to set eyes on the expansive zip-line network ahead, as well as a handful of people stuck on the lines in their harnesses all around.

With a steady heart and even steadier foot; he was able to make very quick work of the entire situation; hanging upside down from the lines by his Tail while securely tying one civilian at a time with the Cord to the lines, in order to help either ease them down to the ground safely, or help move them to the support poles where the waiting park staff on the scene could help get them down the ladders.

By the time that entire debacle had been resolved; Mashirao Ojiro quickly found himself with a multitude of new fans cheerfully thanking him for his help every step of the way back to the visitor center; no matter how much he tried to play it off as nothing special, in his embarrassment.

At the same time, as Nikolay had continued to repeatedly propel himself further through the air with his Kinetic Blasts to the ledge; his discerning eye picked up the last sight he'd expected or wanted: that of a pair of civilians clinging onto the cliff face beneath his intended ledge for dear life.

The moment his feet were back on solid ground, Nikolay already had another two spools of his Capture Cord drawn and tied to a sturdy-looking tree nearby, before then tying the other ends to both of his larger tuning forks; before finally approaching the ledge, making eye contact with the two terrified tourists; a college-aged boy and a girl, mere feet below. "Please help us!"

"You're both going to be okay. I'm passing these down to you to use as an anchor while I help you back up, alright? Please remain calm, and this will all be resolved soon." Thankfully, they both seemed to understand what he was telling them; keeping their nerves as steady as they possibly could, while Nikolay steadily lowered his two tied tuning forks down for them to grab onto.

The moment they both confirmed they were hanging on; Nikolay grabbed the cords connecting his tools to the tree, and with a subtle Kinetic Blast from his feet, he managed to lift himself a couple feet off the ground and back, thankfully pulling the two at-risk tourists all the way back up onto solid ground with him. Naturally, the moment they knew they were no longer at risk of plummeting to their deaths; all their calm went out the window as the girl began to cry and the boy gasped for breath. "Y-you…you saved our lives! Thank you so much! You're our Hero!"

Nikolay couldn't help but let out a shaky sigh of his own as he untied his tuning forks and slipped them back into their sheaths at his hips; rolling up his Capture Cords and tucking them back into the pouches of his belt. "All in a day's work. Are you with the group of lost tourists I'm looking for?"

The girl, finally getting back onto her feet, urgently answered: "That's right! We'd been told about this ledge by our guide, and we decided to come up and try to get our bearings by finding the visitor center, so we could help the others find their way back. But the storm had really loosened up some of the ground up here, and it gave out from under our feet. Thank god the rocks didn't come loose, or we…we wouldn't…"

It was clear that the thought of what easily could've befallen them had both the tourists visibly shaken and on the verge of tears. With everything he'd learned from the Provisional License Exam running fresh in his mind, Nikolay quickly chimed in: "But the important thing is that that didn't happen. You're both still here, alive and well. I'm here to help get you all back to the visitor center so the emergency services can attend to all of you. Can you please point me in the direction your group is in?"

Thankfully, that was exactly what they could do; and within no more than a minute, Nikolay had helped the two tourists back down the mountain to the very same tiny clearing in the woods that the other nine members of their tour group were still currently waiting in; primarily made of other young adults and a few others further in middle age; a couple of them with noticeably sprained or twisted ankles.

And all of them visibly relieved to see a Hero in their midst, no matter how young or unfamiliar he was.

With the injuries they did have, Nikolay knew he couldn't risk upsetting them even further by launching them all through the air on his back all the way to the visitor center; so guiding them all on foot was the only option left. Thankfully, he'd taken the liberty of having grabbed some basic first-aid supplies back at the Yuuei Hero Agency before they'd left, so he'd been able to help tend to their injuries as best he could so it wouldn't hurt them to move about for the time they would need to make it back that way.

Not only that, but the ledge had proven to be just as useful as the original two tourists had hoped, as Nikolay had been able to easily pinpoint the route they could take to get to the visitor center from where the group's position had been pointed out to him.

Within about twenty minutes at a steady pace; Nikolay had managed to finally guide the whole group through the thick of the woods, until they'd finally come emerging out the tree line onto the wonderfully familiar terrain of the visitor center; where all the rangers from before were still gathered in wait to help usher their returned guests back inside for further treatment until the emergency responders could finally get through.

And Nikolay wasn't the only one to come back with miraculous timing, as it was right around that same exact time, that Mashirao and his own handful of rescued civilians had likewise finally made it back, and upon seeing each other having carried out their respective rescues perfectly; the two young Heroes couldn't help but smile and exchange congratulatory fist bumps with each other.

But before either of them could ask each other for details as to how they'd pulled both jobs off; a particularly bright flash of light came piercing through the openings in the thick tree branches; catching both boys' attention. The moment they both turned around to see for themselves, and realized it was coming from the general area that Tooru had volunteered to go; it became abundantly clear just what it was they were seeing: their invisible classmate was using her Special Move to signal her position; with Mashirao noting: "She must've found the missing ranger already!"

However, that was when the shining light suddenly dimmed, before brightening up again, then dimming, and lighting up again. This pattern continued over and over at a strange frequency between momentary flashes and prolonged light.

However, where Nikolay and Mashirao were both visibly confused, the veteran ranger looked completely understanding of what they were seeing. "It's Morse Code, SOS specifically. We have watch towers set up around the park to send Morse Code light signals to each other in cases of emergency, like a wildfire or a hurricane and such. If Invisible Girl is sending you both a message from that location, then she must've found Hinatori-chan…and it's not good. That area's rife with all kinds of small crevasses that fall down into the cave systems that run all across the mountain. Even people who've traversed these woods their whole lives almost never see them before it's too late; and with a rookie like her out on her own…this was all but inevitable."

Nikolay could feel his hands instinctively clenching into very tense fists, the more the ranger spoke…but the more he looked at Tooru's impromptu message to him and Mashirao, he had to suck in a sharp breath through his teeth, in an attempt to try and force away the anxiety in his gut. "Regardless, if she found that ranger, then we need to do what we can to help her! Let's go, Tail Man!"

With an understanding nod of his own; Nikolay and Mashirao were soon launching and swinging over and through the trees in a rush to Tooru's location; her constant lighting up never ceasing, until they were practically on top of her position; both Heroes touching back down and rejoining their invisible teammate, before soon hearing the echoing sound of a young adult woman's voice emanating from what sounded like underground, several feet off the footpath: "Hello?! Are those other Heroes you mentioned here finally?! Please, I need help!"

Tooru, even though she could see the looks of clear understanding of the situation on Nikolay and Mashirao's faces; couldn't help but try to describe the situation she'd stumbled on. "I found the missing ranger, Solovei, Tail Man! She'd lost her footing and landed in one of these crevasses down the embankment! I'd say she's about a good twenty-five feet down, and her leg is caught!"

From that description alone, Mashirao let out a regretful sigh. "Unfortunately, my Tail isn't able to grow beyond its maximum length, and that's already too deep for me to reach at that point."

Looking down at the considerable steepness of that embankment, and then eyeing another nearby tree, before ultimately landing on the barely visible opening in the ground several feet down, Nikolay instinctively swallowed the lump in his throat before finally pulling out one of his Capture Cords, tying it around the trunk of the tree, and then around his waist.

"Kolya-kun, are you sure you should do this? I can try it for you if you aren't sure." Tooru asked the moment she saw what he was about to do, but without hesitation, he was already inching his way down on his makeshift rappel line.

"If that ranger's leg is caught, it means we're going to have to factor in leverage to get her out without risking making her injuries worse, and that on top of the potential weight of a full-grown adult; I don't know if that would work with you, Hagakure-san. Besides…if I just keep my eyes on the sky once I'm down there, I think I can do this."

And there was no better time than now to prove it, as Nikolay soon felt the heels of his boots reach the edge of the crevasse. Keeping his eyes focused upward, he called out: "Don't worry, miss, everything's going to be alright. Please tell me, are you able to move at all?"

As he began slowly inching his way further and further down, he could hear the ranger's voice calling up to him from several feet down to his right, prompting him to start side-stepping in her direction: "A little bit. I fell in at just the right angle that this tiny outcropping caught me, but I can't risk moving too much without losing my balance, and it's a much deeper drop from here."

By now, Nikolay could hear from her voice that he was practically next to her; and he was silently thanking his lucky stars that he'd thought to keep his eyes focused on the light of the sky above, because looking down at the narrow but seemingly endless abyss below would have sent him into the worst kind of claustrophobic panic. Hell, he could already feel a cold sweat starting to form on his brow, and his lips beginning to tremble when he saw the narrow crevasse walls above and below his field of view already.

But he soldiered on through it, swallowing the heavy lump in his throat as he held on tight to his Capture Cord with one hand, while reaching out to the ranger with the other. "Grab onto my hand, and climb onto my back, please. I'll pull us both back up, and you're going to be all right."

Nikolay had no idea if his voice was coming across as either calm, or as panicked as he was gradually feeling deep inside. He could only hope that this feeling wasn't being reflected on his face in any way that she could see. Thankfully, that quickly seemed not to be the case, as without any fuss or panic of her own, the ranger reached out and grabbed firmly onto Nikolay's outstretched arm, using her hold on him, and the narrow outcropping in the walls, to try and leverage herself until she had both her arms securely around the young Hero's shoulders, practically latched onto his back.

The moment she gave him the okay, Nikolay gripped onto his Cord with two white-knuckled grips, sucking in a deep and shaky breath through his teeth, as he began pulling with all the strength he could muster, planting one foot firmly in front of the other as he began to scale up the crevasse wall towards the light; knowing already that this narrow crevasse was someplace he couldn't just launch them both up out of through his feet.

In what seemed like no time at all, the young Hero and the civilian on his back were finally emerging out of the crevasse for Mashirao and Tooru to see; the invisible girl eagerly encouraging him on as Nikolay scaled his way up the steep embankment step by step, until they were finally close enough for Mashirao to reach and take the ranger's hand, helping her up the rest of the way onto the flat land of the footpath, with Nikolay just a step behind.

"Fortunately, it doesn't look like your foot is hurt too badly, but we'll still take you back to the visitor center. The rest of your tour group has already been returned there. Pinky and Can't Stop Twinkling should have the rockslide cleared by now, so first-responders should be here soon." Mashirao explained once he got a good look at the bruises on the ranger's ankle, before applying a tight wrapping of gauze around it from a pocket inside his gi.

With that, and many heartfelt thanks from the young ranger to her three rescuers; Mashirao allowed her to climb onto his back before proceeding to steadily run back down the path, leaving Nikolay to let out a shaky sigh of relief alongside Tooru. "Nice thinking with moving in backwards so you could still see the sky, Kolya-kun. You might've just found a real answer to your whole claustrophobia issue."

Nikolay couldn't help but give a wry chuckle. "I don't know about that. I mean, I was still feeling my heart race like a—

SNAAP! CRRRNCH!

Suddenly, a multitude of heavy sounding wooden snaps began to sound out from just behind Nikolay's back; prompting him and Tooru to look back in surprise, just to see the tree he'd been using as an anchor was falling over and uprooting itself; having been loosened up from its spot just enough by holding Nikolay and the ranger's combined weight. It was now plummeting down the embankment from whence he'd come…while he still had his waist tied to its trunk, subsequently yanking him helplessly right off his feet; rolling and bouncing hard the whole way down, before he felt all semblance of solid ground give way, and his body go freefalling for but a couple second, before he felt a taut squeezing around his stomach.

"KOLYA-KUN! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Tooru's panicked voice came echoing down from above, but as soon as Nikolay's head stopped spinning and he could get some kind of bearing where he was again, he felt any semblance approaching calm vanish, as all he could see was pure darkness, with barely any room with which to move around at all; his arms and legs dangling listlessly in front of him towards the void.

"Hagakure-san, what's wrong?! What happened to Bezpalov-san?!" Mashirao's voice could soon be heard as well; clearly sounding just as tense at the sound of his classmate screaming so worriedly, before she'd even begun to explain: "That tree Kolya-kun was tied to uprooted and fell with him still tied to it, and he went right back down into the crevasse! The stupid thing is blocking the whole opening, so I can't climb down after him!"

The moment Tooru confirmed just what Nikolay was already feeling; he could feel his whole body at once going into a panic attack; his breathing instantly turning into terrified hyperventilating, as he couldn't redirect his eyes to some source of light, especially with the tree he was still tied to, blocking out any light from above.

All at once, he could once again smell smoke and blood; hear the crackling of embers and a baby crying helplessly; the burning sensation of ashes that weren't really there, landing against his skin. Any attempt at words fell silent in his throat as Nikolay wanted so desperately to scream, left hanging trapped in this underground tomb, unable to command his body to just do something at all to try and get himself out, while his heart kept pounding to the point it felt like it would give out as his mouth felt bone dry.

GRRRRRRMMMBBLLL!

Suddenly, a tugging sensation squeezed around Nikolay's stomach, before multiple rays of sunlight began to pierce through the once pitch black darkness; allowing him to finally actually see the walls around him, and more importantly the fact that his body was rising up towards the surface.

Just above him, Fumikage had seen what had happened from high up above; and without hesitation, he had come swooping down, using his cloak and the shade from the trees to protect Dark Shadow from the sun, so it could lift up the tree and Nikolay along with it. The moment their foreign classmate could be seen again, Tooru and Mashirao were quick to reach out and get his feet back on the ground, untying him from the tree at last.

The moment this was done, Nikolay could finally even think to get his breathing back under control, taking in his actual surroundings while his two partners were busy trying to go through the same recollection technique Ochako and Mina had used twice before; but nothing they were saying was even registering. They'd all thankfully managed to get him out before he would've crossed over that point.

What Nikolay was feeling now, upon the realization of where he was and what all had happened, wasn't panic. It was total embarrassment.

And that embarrassment was only made that much worse when he could hear an unmistakable voice come rushing up the footpath from the visitor center: "KOLYA-KUN! What happened?! Are you okay?!"

In the short time that had passed since the rescue of the trapped park ranger; the rockslide had indeed been cleared, and Mina and Yuga had arrived at the visitor center right alongside the ambulances for the tourists. Hence, the two of them had been there to hear the panicked sound of Tooru's echoing voice, just as clearly as Mashirao had.

The evidence of what all had happened was too clear for anyone to guess otherwise, and seeing that same sympathetic look on nearly everyone's faces, made the embarrassment and shame twisting about in Nikolay's stomach beyond unbearable. This was supposed to be all their chance to prove themselves capable of conducting and performing Pro Hero work without the need for help, and not even a couple hours into their second day, Nikolay had found himself once again in need of saving from a damn tree and a hole in the ground.

No matter how much Mina hugged him in relief, as well as pride in the rescues he had pulled off; no matter how much Tooru, Yuga and Mashirao expressed relief he wasn't hurt; and even no matter how much the tourists, rangers and first responders all expressed their sincerest thanks for all of the young Heroes' collective efforts, Nikolay could not escape this feeling for the life of him, and it continued to hang heavy over his shoulders all the way back to the Yuuei Hero Agency. He couldn't even bring himself to think of just how everyone else across the island was holding up.

---

With the starting location, name and description for them to work with; Izuku, Kyouka and Ochako were all but literally pounding the pavement all around town, trying to figure out just where anyone had seen the missing boy called Katsuma Shimano wander off to. Thankfully, everyone they approached was not only familiar with the face and the name, but were all just as eager to help in whichever way they could. It took a good deal of time, but after much trial and error; the trio eventually were given their best clue yet, as a middle-aged woman recalled seeing the child heading to the direction of one of the more popular public children's parks up on one of the many hills, and not very long ago on top of that.

And with Kyouka putting her Earphone Jacks to the ground to listen for any light enough footsteps to match that of a child in the age range he'd been described as; they had finally found their match, as Izuku went rushing up the nearest stone steps leading into that park; hearing the sound of a little boy's voice just over the crest, before he even saw the beginning of the playground. "Mahoro-neechan! Where are you?!"

The instant Izuku saw a lone little boy with freckles who looked no older than five, wearing blue overalls and a wide-brimmed sunhat over a head of short but messy maple-colored hair; he happily called out: "Katsuma-kun! You're Shimano Katsuma-kun, right?"

The boy looked less surprised by a total stranger approaching him, but more star-struck at the sight of someone who was clearly supposed to be a Hero; almost ignorant to Izuku's questions, as he smiled kindly to the small child. "You got separated from your big sister, right? She called us to help find you. Now, come with me—"YOU'RE LATE! THAT TOOK WAY TOO LONG!"

The moment Katsuma had begun to reach out and take Izuku's inviting hand; the two found themselves almost literally being jumped upon by a single little girl with the same freckles, dressed in a strawberry red sundress and sunhat; with the same maple hair done in twin tails; who barely looked more than a year or two older than Katsuma himself; her eyes far more intense and disapproving as she came racing down the slide and all but jabbed an accusatory finger in Izuku's face as he instinctively backed away in his surprise. "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!"

"De—Deku. I'm sorry, but who are you?" The moment Izuku asked; the frowning little girl before him pouted her cheeks, looking him up and down as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing, let alone hearing. "His big sister, Shimano Mahoro."

Recalling what Ochako had told him and Kyouka upon getting the initial phone call, Izuku's confusion turned to surprised recognition. "Oh! I was wondering why we hadn't seen you at the shopping arcade when we'd first arrived. Wait…so, you had gone and found your brother on your own already? That's great!"

"It is NOT great!" Mahoro all but cut Izuku's relief short, as she almost drove her cellphone into his face, revealing a stopwatch app on her screen, with the number 62 on it. "Why did it take you over an hour to find one lost kid?! Explain yourself!"

Of course, she wasn't even granting Izuku the chance to do that. "You're part of that Yuuei Hero Course, but you're completely useless! If this is the kind of quality we're getting, then perhaps that grandpa of a Hero we had before would be better!"

"I…I'm sorry." Izuku muttered, at a loss for what else he could possibly say, as the small child's judgmental finger had ultimately backed him down to his knees. And Mahoro, upon seeing that further lambasting the young Hero would accomplish nothing, simply turned away with her nose turned high to the air. "Well, I guess it can't be helped, since you're still a high schooler."

"Deku-kun?" The sound of Ochako's voice called out from the steps; drawing Mahoro's attention to see her and Kyouka racing to rejoin their now-repeatedly apologizing classmate; the sight of which got the snide little girl grinning in satisfaction to herself. "Next time, make sure you do your Hero job properly, okay, Deku?"

She didn't even wait around; instead trotting off proudly as Izuku muttered in shame and embarrassment with his head held low. "I will…I'll be more careful next time."

"Let's go, Katsuma." At his big sister's call, Katsuma began reluctantly following after her, but not before momentarily stopping at Izuku's side, soon catching his attention as the small boy muttered awkwardly: "Um…t-thank you."

Like a flash, Mahoro had Katsuma's wrist in her hand; now all but dragging her little brother along as she stomped defiantly past the mutually surprised Ochako and Kyouka down the steps: "You don't have to thank him, Katsuma."

Not wanting to be rude by holding the two children up; Ochako continued the rest of the way to Izuku, who by now had finally gotten back to his feet and was smiling again; a sharp contrast to the near pitiful state they'd walked in on him being in. "Deku-kun, what's going on? Why were you apologizing?"

Watching as the two kids took their leave, Izuku couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride upon receiving such a simple and heartfelt show of gratitude from Katsuma. "I got scolded because I took too long finding a lost child."

"The heck? Seriously?" Kyouka asked; her Earphone Jacks instinctively curling back in indignation at what was sounding like they were being tested.

"But I'm glad." Izuku further admitted; catching his two partners by further surprise, as he continued to smile in earnest. "Because Katsuma-kun was able to get back to his sister safely."

With an earnest smile of her own, Ochako answered: "Deku-kun, you really do feel like Deku, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked in a frankly precious show of ignorance to what that was supposed to mean, only for her to give him a solitary heartfelt thumb up of approval: "That you're simply a Hero, through and through."

---

Much closer to the beach, Mahoro had taken Katsuma down to one of the local convenience stores; soon exiting out with ice cream in each of their hands, while still managing to walk and carry her head with that haughty air. "Those Heroes were useless, just as I thought. It's not like a small island like this even has any crime to begin with. I'm sure they're all probably especially bad, even for Yuuei students."

The entire time his sister continued to ramble, though; Katsuma kept his pensive head low, timidly pecking at his own ice cream, before finally jumping on the first gap in her speech he could get. "But they still came looking for me, though. That boy, Deku, was definitely a Hero."

Mahoro was utterly speechless at the sound of her little brother's earnest words; ultimately bowing her own head with her cheeks puffed up in a stubborn pout. It figured that someone as starry-eyed as Katsuma wouldn't have his childish opinion swayed so easily. 'Then I'll be the one to unmask who he truly is!'

---

Yuuei Academy

The weather at the prestigious Hero school was heavily overcast, with a light snowfall dusting the ground. It was truly the perfect picture of winter, and that was reflected just as clearly in the mood between Toshinori and Oleg; who had spent virtually the entire day all but literally pacing around the campus, even when taking care of their teacher work in the faculty offices.

"I wonder if the Class 1-A students are being truly proper Heroes right now." Toshinori muttered mainly to himself as he found himself once more staring out the window to the horizon; while Oleg was trying to write out his comments on one of the papers he was grading; completely blind to how his tightening grip had already nearly cracked his pen in two. "I know, Toshinori-san. Regardless whether they have their Provisional Licenses or not; this is still their first experience of Hero work without any Pros around to show them the ropes. Kolya and his friends…they're well and truly on their own…and I don't like it. I really don't."

However, Aizawa couldn't avoid overhearing his two fellow teachers and their constant talking to themselves and each other throughout the day, and with an exhausted sigh, he answered: "Nabu Island only has a population of 1,000. In the last thirty years, they've only had trivial crimes at the worst; nothing as serious as a genuine Villain incident. If you want the students to be well and truly safe from any serious danger, you couldn't ask for a more suitable place for them to stretch their wings."

Taking a momentary pause in his own grading work, he proceeded to turn so both his worrisome fellow teachers could see the sincerity in his tired eyes. "Besides, you both know full well that being a Hero doesn't just mean facing huge disasters and overwhelming danger by yourselves. Interacting with the people they're supposed to protect will be an invaluable experience for all of them; no matter how many of them have already gotten to have such an experience."

Neither of the two could rightfully deny just how right on Aizawa was, and since none of them had anything to argue him with; he soon proceeded to pack away his own paperwork and retire for the evening; with Oleg and Toshinori soon following suit; settling down in Toshinori's dorm in the faculty building for a moment; the gaunt blonde-haired man finally breaking the uncomfortable silence as he bid his foreign friend have a seat. "Is there anything in particular you wish to get off your shoulders, Oleg-san?"

It wasn't exactly like they had to ask each other just why it was, that they were both so uneasy. Unlike the rest of their fellow teachers, they already knew. From the day they'd both started their investigation into whoever Toshinori's predecessor, Nana Shimura, had received One For All from; they had both turned up absolutely nothing new to follow up on…and when considering the fact they now had not one possessor of that selfsame Quirk, but now practically one and a half in Oleg's own son, to worry about; this utter standstill was crushing in how it demoralized them both.

Not only that, but there had also been hardly any time since the Joint Training Exercise for either Izuku or Nikolay to really get any worthwhile training in for either of their new Quirk extensions, and now they were suddenly being thrown into the fray with no professional guidance to get them through another potential freak-out with either one.

But it wasn't even that detail alone that was leaving Oleg so especially crestfallen as he graciously accepted the tea his friend offered him. There was no way he could keep that one matter to himself any longer than he already had. "I wish I hadn't just given Kolya that half-truth to write off what happened with his Quirk back then, Toshinori-san. I backed out like a coward and told him nothing more than a comforting lie.

"Yeah, I thought telling him the whole truth would overwhelm him, but that boy has become so much stronger in so many ways since the day we first came here; maybe he would've been able to handle it, at least with malenkii Midoriya's help if nothing else. If he doesn't fully understand the true nature of his Quirk with what little practice he's had, he could end up pushing it too far and risk hurting someone he didn't mean to, if not worse…and none of us would be able to do anything about it to help him…either of them."

Toshinori's sigh was equally heavy. He couldn't blame Oleg at all for feeling like he was right now. Frankly, given his shared responsibility for the man's son as a teacher, he couldn't help but feel a good share of that same guilt in himself, for having not taken the chance to do the same for the boy's sake like they had both done for Izuku. As a former full-on Wielder of One For All, the fact that he had ultimately shirked that duty was especially painful.

VRRRRM

Suddenly, the cellphone still in his suit pocket began to hum, snapping him to attention as he apologetically pulled it out, reading the caller ID as being from Gran Torino, all while Oleg took a pensive sip of his tea; before nearly coughing it right back up when he saw Toshinori flinch harshly in his seat upon having greeted his former mentor. "What?! Hold on, Sensei; I have Tunguska-san here with me, could you say that again, please?"

As soon as Toshinori put the call on speaker so Oleg could rush over to listen in; Gran Torino's voice spoke up clearly from the other side: "I said that since I hadn't been able to give you any useful info regarding anything Nana might've known about One For All when you'd first asked; I decided to take the liberty of looking through some of the old stuff up in my office's attic, and I came across something I can't believe I never found before: a whole bunch of theories and notes she'd been writing down in her free time from all those years back, talking exactly about what she believed were all the previous Wielders' Quirks.

"Granted, she never was the most organized Hero in the world, so it's all pretty much jumbled up gibberish as far as I'm concerned; but you knew her even better than I ever could've, Toshi. How about if I was to give her old notes to you, and you could maybe see to reorganizing them yourself, so that Midoriya boy can look it all over and have an idea what he may be in for, unlocking-wise."

Toshinori and Oleg both looked like they'd just received a literal godsend; the former profusely thanking his old mentor before finally hanging up; both men breathing deep and heavy, but this time with relief. In fact, Oleg looked borderline ecstatic: "do you realize what this also means, Toshinori-san?"

This time, Toshinori looked like he was already well ahead of his friend's train of thought. "I believe so. If my master's notes are indeed correct, then we could be able to look up whoever would've been registered in the census from those respective eras as having those same Quirks she wrote down, and from there, begin to retrace the past steps of One For All."

"Yes, and with that, we could finally be able to see which of them would have ever tried emigrating to eastern Europe from here, and potentially find the link that connects Kolya to this entire chain!" Oleg looked like he was about ready to go flying out the window to Gran Torino's office to get those notes himself; but bless him, he at least still had the good sense to keep his feet to the ground, even if he was shaking with anticipation in the face of the first truly solid lead they'd gotten since day one.

Now, if the 1-A students would simply keep to their duties and ultimately return to school unscathed, then this would stand to be a hopeful new beginning for Oleg in easing his son down this surprising road of his lineage.

---

Nabu Island, several hours later…

The skies had already started to turn orange for the arrival of early evening, when Nikolay had finally returned to the Yuuei Hero Agency, alongside many of his other classmates returning either from their individual tasks or group patrols. Of course, they were all just as exhausted as he was after having worked so hard all day; hence why they didn't even notice the single bruise that had formed on his forehead (long since coated over by a touch of Mina's healing salve after their work in the national park had been finished).

At least, not until Eijirou had pointed it out while in the middle of welcoming the rest of his classmates back; as energetic as he ever was. "Hey, welcome back, guys! You're all looking pretty wiped out, huh? What do you all say to us having some—whoa! What'd you do to get that royal shiner there, Kolya-san?"

Thankfully, for his own sake, Nikolay was too tired to get embarrassed at how much attention his red-headed friend was bringing towards the one blemish on his face; and all the surprised and concerned looks from the rest of his friends that came with it; save for Mina, who simply looked relieved upon further inspection. "Looks like it's already starting to shrink down. I'll bet you'll be looking good as new by breakfast, Kolya-kun."

But despite that; he still wasn't about to just not give some kind of an explanation. "It's nothing, really, just a…a dumb accident while I was working in the park with Ojiro-san and Hagakure-san. I was helping get a ranger out of one of the crevasses to the cave system, I had myself anchored to a tree to support our weight, but the storm had loosened the soil deep enough, that I ended up uprooting it enough to fall once we were already out, and it pulled me down with it because I hadn't untied myself in time. Clocked myself pretty good on the way down, obviously."

With the exceptions of Mina, Tooru, Mashirao, Fumikage and Yuga; Nikolay's dismissive, borderline casual way of describing what had happened seemed to be completely genuine. However, those with a more discerning eye could tell there was something about the whole story he wasn't telling, simply because he wasn't able to look any of them fully in the eye as he told it.

"Anyway, after that, I just spent the rest of the day helping clear the mud, roots and grasses from the irrigation system for the farmer's fields. Guess a lot of the runoff from the storm had sent it into the pipes. Looks like they'll be getting the healthy crops they'd been looking for come Spring, after all. So what did you all get to do out there today?"

This deflection on Nikolay's part was just what the whole class needed to finally start letting loose with everything they'd gotten to do; everyone practically collapsing into whichever seats they could find around the office with a chorus of deeply satisfied and tired sighs; from Tsuyu and Rikido helping save a child from potentially drowning, to Minoru helping keep some beach hooligans from harassing girls (a story that couldn't help but get some questionable glances exchanged between the girls here as to whether he was simply hoping to do so himself instead).

With everyone's stories having been shared, Hanta couldn't help but comment: "Can any of us really call small tasks like these genuine Hero work, though? Like, the whole helping businesses stuff, I mean."

To that, Tenya instinctively answered with as much energy as he'd had first thing this morning: "Don't undervalue even our smallest jobs, Sero-san! We shouldn't treat them any differently from even the biggest emergencies!"

With a smile of agreement, Momo chimed in: "That's right. Even if we're working here as Heroes, that doesn't change the fact we're still students. We must do every bit of our work faithfully, in order to gain the full trust of the people of this island."

Just like any truly worthwhile leader; the authenticity in Momo's words was enough to fill every one of her classmates' hearts with inspiration to push themselves that much harder come tomorrow…even though Nikolay couldn't help but look down in contemplation at the glass of orange juice still clutched barely within his fingertips.

But while he remained so deep in thought; Minoru suddenly raised a hand; a bemused grin on his face as he started glancing Bakugo's way, specifically: "Excuse me, but I think it'd be irresponsible if I didn't point out there's someone here with us who still hasn't done one ounce of Hero work since we got here!"

Bakugo sneered at the diminutive boy pointing his way, as though he was trying to make his head explode. But with Eijirou dutifully sitting across the table from him in order to try and help him keep his composure; he instead turned away defiantly. "I've been staying in the office on purpose, you damn half-pint! What're any of you jerks gonna do if a Villain comes attacking while you're all out, huh?!"

"But there aren't any Villains on this island, man." Eijirou chimed in with all the casualness in the world, much to his hotheaded classmate's further annoyance.

Knock-knock-knock

With an unexpected wrapping at the office's front door; all the young Heroes quickly turned and were stricken by surprise at the most unexpected sight:

Every one of the locals they had all helped throughout the last two days they had been here, were all standing gathered in their door like the very same welcome committee that had met them on arrival before; all of them smiling while carrying armfuls of different smorgasbords of the most delicious-looking food and drinks any of the students had ever seen.

"We wanted to properly thank you all for everything you've done for us since you got here yesterday! This isn't meant to replace our personal thanks, but please, by all means, eat your fills, all of you! You've more than earned it, young Heroes!"

But while Tenya and Momo were as ever quick to play the gracious hosts to the people going out of their way to show their gratitude for even the most simple of tasks; the fact that they were being presented a veritable feast and being invited to go all out, had virtually everyone else cheering in excitement and hunger; much to their representatives' consternation.

But improper displays or not; the students' mutual gratitude for these people's generosity was incomparable. Truly, nobody could argue that this was some of the most delicious food any of them had ever eaten, not simply because of the ingredients put into it, but through the genuine heartfelt kindness of those people that had been put into every second of effort making it for their new Heroes.

Even Nikolay, for the humble plate of takoyaki, udon and beef he decided to help himself to; in comparison to the utter piles of anything and everything many more of his classmates were all but stuffing themselves with; couldn't help but shed a few instinctive tears when every bite had his taste buds going wild within his mouth.

But apparently even a subtle self indulgence like this from him was lost on Mina, as the moment she'd stacked up two plates in her hands; she nearly dove into the available spot next to him on one of the several sofas; grinning as bright as the sun as she was already popping a large cut of sushi into her mouth; squealing and trembling with overjoyed satisfaction at the taste.

"Oh my God, Kolya-kun, this is amazing! C'mon, we've all had a long, tough day; we all deserve to just kick back and enjoy ourselves; you included. Now come on, you gotta try this. Say 'aah'!"

Even under normal circumstances when they were eating with the rest of their friends, Nikolay would've been hesitant to indulge his girlfriend's desire to do something so childish that she still saw as totally romantic; something the likes of Minoru or Denki would've happily gone on to poke fun at him about. But with a whole bunch of near perfect strangers still in the doorway, even as they were being ushered out by an apologetic Tenya and Momo; there was no way he could do it.

Of course, that still didn't stop Mina from trying; simply biding her time until her boyfriend would open his mouth to eat whatever he had on his own plate, so she could swoop in and pop her own serving right in there. The first couple of times blindsided him with surprise, to the point of nearly choking. But afterwards, it had pretty much become routine. He couldn't forget the lingering feeling that had been in his gut all day, but having a moment like this with Mina and everyone, did admittedly leave him feeling considerably better in every other regard.

By the time everyone had polished off all the plates, bowls and platters; they were all utterly satisfied, without having to suffer the bloating feeling of having completely stuffed themselves. That was undoubtedly the best way anyone could be left feeling after a dinner as incredible as that.

By then, the evening sky had finally turned to black, as night had officially fallen. While Nikolay, Tenya, Momo and Kouji were quick to volunteer for taking care of the dishes, everyone else couldn't help but just lay back in their contentment and satisfaction. But even in an all-around positive atmosphere like this, Bakugo was still giving off that standoffish air as he continued to sit defiantly alone, with Eijirou still sticking dutifully close.

But eventually, Denki, Hanta and Rikido were the first ones to actually get up and approach their sneering classmate. "Oi, Kacchan of the Bakugo's; we're hitting the baths and then going to sleep." "So we're counting on you for nighttime patrol duty, man!"

For but a split second, Bakugo looked especially incensed that now Denki, of all people, was referring to him by the same childhood nickname Izuku still referred to him by…before the real implication of Eijirou's add-on comment sank in. "WHAT?! WHY?!"

"Because you didn't do anything for the last two days, dude. You can't really say you're not sick of just sitting in here, are you?" Hanta noted as though it were obvious…and it was, enough so to actually diffuse Bakugo's incoming rage, as his face twisted with a frustrated acceptance of the job he'd just been given.

Afterward, Eijirou then turned to Nikolay, as he was now exiting the kitchen with Tenya, Momo and Kouji. "Hey, the rest of you guys wanna get washed up before we hit the sack?"

Nikolay, considering he'd spent the better part of the day working with soggy refuse in farm irrigation pipes, didn't even need to think twice. "Yeah, count me in. Afterwards, I can take care of organizing everyone's incident paperwork from today and take it over to the police station, if you all don't mind."

---

The touch of the hot waters in the onsen situated behind the office was an absolute relief on every one of the boys' aching muscles; Nikolay being no exception. Sure, Minoru couldn't help but complain the entire time about the lack of even a dividing wall to imply this as a unisex onsen through which he could try to peep in on the girls on the other side; but anyone with half a brain would have known by now that nowhere they went would ever do something as irresponsible as having the boys' and girls' bath times overlap ever again with him around.

Right now, all Nikolay wanted to do was just give his muscles the rest they needed. From there, he could at least do the rest of his work tonight much more at ease…for the most part.

And it was everything else about his body language and demeanor up until this point that finally drove Denki to break the silence. "Hey, are you feeling alright, Kolya-san? Like, really alright?"

No sooner than Nikolay had opened his eyes to see the curiosity on Denki's face, that Eijirou decided to chime in as well. "Yeah, I didn't wanna say anything, but you've been looking kinda burnt out tonight, and not just from being physically tired and all that. You've been looking real lost in thought about something. What's up?"

From Denki, Nikolay easily could've called it prying. But from Eijirou, he knew it was only out of heartfelt concern for one of his best friends, and he couldn't just act like nothing was out of the ordinary around the rest of his friends; not after he'd been as upbeat as he had been this morning.

Instinctively reaching for the bruise on his forehead, he sighed. "I figured it was only a matter of time before someone asked. Okay, so that whole…issue that happened in the park wasn't as simple as I said before. I didn't just get tossed down the hill when that tree fell. It actually got caught in that same crevasse I'd pulled that ranger out of…and it just happened to go in a way that threw me right down there, face down into the cramped darkness and all. The only reason I'd done anywhere as well as I had before was because I'd kept my eyes on the sky so I wouldn't let the narrow space or the dark get to me…but I couldn't do that anymore, especially since the tree was blocking the light. If Tokoyami-san hadn't come in and pulled me out when he had, I don't even know what I'd have done, being stuck in that darkness with no way to move. I couldn't even call out, no matter how much I'd wanted to. It was like I was…back there, all over again, just like all the other times."

Nikolay instinctively pulled his knees in, nearly turning himself into a ball as he sat in silent humiliation in that hot water, while by now more than a few of his classmates all exchanged concerned glances; Eijirou soon following up: "Kolya-san, we all know why you don't do well with cramped spaces. You know none of us judge you for that. Why wouldn't you just tell us that from the get-go?"

Nikolay sucked in a deep, clearly frustrated breath as he answered; ultimately muttering to himself: "Because this is supposed to be the time for us to prove ourselves as being capable Heroes all on our own…and I couldn't even go a whole two days without finding myself in a state where I needed someone to help me…and not even in the middle of a Villain attack or anything nearly as serious. I needed to be saved from a tree and a damn hole in the ground! Chto za geroii pozvolyayet podobnym veshcham proiskhodit (What kind of Hero lets that kind of thing happen)?"

While Eijirou and Denki both exchanged uncertain glances with each other as to how they could answer that; Izuku was surprisingly forthcoming: "It's not as bad as all that, though, Kolya-san. Earlier today, I got chewed out by a little girl because I took a long time to find a missing child without realizing I was being timed. Your case is a pretty understandable situation for anyone to end up in; no need to feel embarrassed or anything by comparison."

From over one of the rocks behind Nikolay's back, one of Mezo's tentacles topped with a mouth similarly added on: "Yeah, and ending up in a crevasse through a freak accident is far more dignified than needing to get dragged off the beach by your own teammates because you wouldn't stop ogling all the girls. Just ask Mineta-san."

Naturally, Minoru seemed completely oblivious to the judgment inherent in that statement; instead looking downright pleased with himself. But nevertheless, Nikolay nearly sank down into the water until it was just his face protruding from the surface, looking up at the night sky through the steamy haze. "Look, I get what you're all trying to say, but that's not the point. The point is: I've been trying so hard to try and get the hang of how much stronger my Quirk has gotten; practicing what I could be able to do to rescue someone…but in the end, my claustrophobia hasn't improved one bit. All it takes is for me to end up in a cramped enough space in the ground, and I completely freeze up and panic; needing other people to help me, when there are countless others in much greater need. It just…it makes me feel like a liability all over again. Odin shag vperyed…dva shaga nazad (One step forward…two steps back)."

Without a moment wasted, Eijirou suddenly reached, grabbed Nikolay by the back of the neck, and pulled him up so he was sitting upright again, before giving him an encouraging thumb up and confident grin. "Hey, enough of that kinda talk, dude! Whether your claustrophobia ever gets better or not, you're not ever gonna be in that kinda situation, cause we're all here, y'know? As long as we have each other's backs; we can overcome anything, because that's what manly Heroes like us do, you included!"

A number of agreeing answers from many of the other boys did admittedly help Nikolay's heart feel considerably less heavy…but no matter how much he wanted to completely believe his sharp-toothed best friend that they would never allow him to be in that kind of scenario; there was no escaping that inkling of doubt in the back of his head.

The one that always whispered for him to never say never.

---

As much as that uncertain feeling continued to linger in the back of his mind after getting out of the onsen and dressed back into his newly washed Hero costume; Nikolay abjectly refused to let that get in the way of his carrying out his self-assigned duty. While nearly everyone else quickly retired to bed for the night, he's dedicated himself to organizing and alphabetizing an entire folder of every one of the odd tasks he and his classmates had carried out for the entirety of today; chronologically arranging every one alphabetically by his classmates' names with the focus of a near machine.

So much so, that he nearly jumped when he'd finally finished storing it all away in a box to carry over to the police station, without even realizing Mina and Tooru had both come inside to check on him; a cup of tea and a small plate of a few cookies in hand respectively…until he'd turned around to find them standing before the front door.

"Mina, Hagakure-san; what are you both still doing up? If you end up sleeping in while everyone else goes to work, Iida-san and Yaoyorozu-san aren't gonna let you hear the end of it." Nikolay noted once he'd finished catching his breath and taking a seat at his share of one of the desks, while his girlfriend and invisible classmate placed their delectable offerings at his spot, before taking two of the nearby seats so they could stay with him.

"We could easily say the same for you, Kolya-kun. It's just that you'd been looking so stressed today, even long after the park. Some of Yaomomo's tea and Sato-san's cookies sounded like the perfect thing to soothe you over." Mina answered honestly as she watched Nikolay timidly take a bite and a sip of both.

"Yeah, you know none of us like to see you like this. Are you really still hung up on what happened back there? It was just a freak accident; could've happened to anybody." Tooru wasted no time getting right to the core of the issue, earning herself a tired sigh from Nikolay as he faced both girls honestly.

"I understand that. Bog (God), I just had this whole conversation with the rest of the boys already. It's not the accident itself that I can't get over. It's what it made me realize: that my claustrophobia hasn't improved at all. If I end up crammed in somewhere dark that I can't move out of, I still break down into the same shaky, terrified mess that I did before; even after how strong I thought I was getting. You don't see anybody else in our class get scared enough to freeze up completely; unable to do anything at all to help themselves, or God forbid, anyone else if it was in the middle of a fight."

To this, Mina leaned in imploringly from where she sat; the most heartfelt empathy reflected in her eyes as she gave her dear Nikolay no choice but to look at her head-on, and hear what she was about to say as she held his face lovingly in her hands: "You know that's not true, Kolya-kun. You've seen it from me plenty of times; nearly everyone has. I get totally scared when things get serious, all the time. If I didn't have anyone else relying on me, and I found myself getting threatened…I honestly don't know if I'd be able to do anything to protect myself, either.

"You're not the only one who gets scared, sweetie; I know all about that feeling. It's honestly why I always try to make as many friends as I can wherever I go, so that I never have to feel that kind of loneliness that would make me completely freeze up. I still feel scared as hell the whole time, but having you and all my friends with me; that's what's always helped me to swallow that fear and act…just like I've seen you do plenty of times already. Claustrophobic or not, you're still one of the bravest people I know."

Nikolay was already in the process of mentally kicking himself for having said something so thoughtless and asinine; knowing damn well that Mina was absolutely right; he had seen how scared she could get when the cards were down…and he always saw her ultimately summon up the strength of spirit and heart to break out of that fear in order to do what she knew was right…just as he'd likewise always ended up fighting his way into doing as well, no matter how overwhelmed he felt in the heat of such moments beforehand.

But the fact that he'd never been able to summon up that strength when stuck in the blinding fog of memory that only his claustrophobic episodes could trigger in his brain, was the one fact that was still holding him back; even as Tooru had likewise chimed in by now: "Yeah, and fear aside; you're a crazy good fighter with an awesome multi-faceted Quirk; especially compared to mine. You're a far sight from anything like a liability if you ask me, Kolya-kun."

The combination of his stubborn emotions and the exhaustion of still being up this late ultimately drove Nikolay into hanging his head with a heavy sigh. "I know you're both right…but if something doesn't give soon, then it's only going to be a matter of time before I'm in a situation where I freeze up like I did in that crevasse, or flip out in a blind panic like in that snow mound, right at the worst possible moment when someone else needs me. That's what makes this so much worse."

Not wanting to risk having them end up in a round-and-round repetitive discussion on how to resolve this issue of his; Nikolay rose from his seat and grabbed the box containing the whole classes' action reports for the day. "Look, I really do appreciate what you're both trying to say; you know I do. That and everyone else's support has made processing this much more bearable than you realize. But right now, I just want to get this stuff over to the police station, and then take on night patrol for part of the island. Maybe the fresh air and a good night's sleep afterward can help clear the rest of my head of this in time for tomorrow."

But before he could even finish grabbing the box; Mina, in her endless affection and unwillingness to see her boyfriend even remotely troubled, just as quickly got up and pulled him into her arms in a warm, tight embrace. "It's just one day, Kolya-kun. Tomorrow, we get to start all over again. And if you're still feeling like this by then, please don't hesitate to talk to any of us about it."

Much to Tooru's silent enjoyment as she couldn't help but watch; Nikolay couldn't resist bringing his arms around Mina in return; as grateful as he ever was for her constant support and love. Feeling him do this after he'd been brought so low by himself, made Mina's heart race…to the point she couldn't resist whispering teasingly into his ear: "And hey, maybe this'll get your mind off of all this heavy stuff. Whatever Yaomomo or Iida-san says; there's gotta be a chance we can get even just a little free time while we're here. Maybe we can hang out on the beach together when and if that happens. I'd bought a brand new bikini back when summer started, but since we never got to have a regular summer break, I've been waiting for a chance to break it in. Maybe this week could be that chance. I know you'd like it once you saw it, Ko-l-ya-kuuun."

The way Mina emphasized and purred his name right in his ear while still holding him close was irresistible enough, but the miraculously long-absent thought of his girlfriend in a genuine bikini was enough to make Nikolay's normally pale face pure apple red. She could definitely feel his heart pounding as such, as she giggled adorably before planting a loving kiss on his cheek. A sight as precious as this was enough to get Tooru giggling in delight. "You're so gutsy with your flirting, Mina-chan! I hope I can be able to do that one day when I get a boyfriend!"

---

Just as Nikolay had hoped, a walk in the crisp seaside nighttime air was already doing a great deal for putting his mind at ease; and especially his heart after the little bit of loving teasing Mina had just unfurled on him on his way out. With the day's Hero reports delivered to the grateful police, he was already on his way back to the office, ready to take to the skies and do some patrolling of his own. At least up in the skies, he felt far more confident there was no way he could suffer the same kind of screw up again.

As he crested the hill before reaching the entryway to the office, Nikolay quickly spotted Izuku's head of curly green hair in the courtyard, currently in the middle of practicing some impressive roundhouse kicks; only stopping when realizing he was no longer alone. "Oh, Kolya-san, good evening. You're getting ready for your patrol, I'm guessing?"

Already instinctively closing his hands into fists and loosening them up to make his them as limber as ever, Nikolay answered with a satisfied grin: "Yeah. Depending where Bakugo is, I figured I could keep an eye on things on the other side from above, like Tokoyami-san. I'm surprised you're still up, though."

With only a slightly embarrassed grin, Izuku couldn't help but look upon his own two hands. "Yeah…but I don't want to let my training fall by the wayside if I can help it. I know my Quirk is really strong, but it's not as strong as it could be, yet."

As he looked up to see if Nikolay had anything to answer that with, he quickly spotted Bakugo himself having now just reached the entryway; looking similarly surprised to find the two boys out here at this hour, before putting on his signature scowl again.

"Oh, Kacchan! You're back already? Thank you for going on patrol for us." Izuku immediately greeted him, with Nikolay chiming in with a similar optimism. "I can take over from here if you're already done, Bakugo."

However, the intensity of the glare that Bakugo sent his way was enough to leave Nikolay visibly uncomfortable. "If you're going out there, don't get yourself stuck in another crack in the ground, got it? Nobody here's gonna be around to bail you out this time if you do! Why don't you do us all a favor and just stay put! You should be focusing on finding a way not to totally spazz out the next time you get yourself stuck in a sinkhole or a closet or anything like that, dammit!"

Just like that, the smile on Nikolay's face was gone, and no sooner than Izuku had started to try and speak out against Bakugo being so needlessly harsh; the hotheaded young Hero now had his eyes focused on him, causing the freckled boy to flinch. "And as for you, Deku; it looks like you've gotten a little stronger with your…Quirk."

Despite Bakugo showing exceptional care in not calling his Quirk by name in front of Nikolay; Izuku still couldn't help but momentarily flinch, while Bakugo himself stomped his way past. "But I'm impatient…so hurry up and make the whole of that Quirk your own and fight me with it, you slug!"

This as well managed to render both his fellow young Heroes silent with surprise; all of Nikolay's indignation and offense momentarily forgotten, as Bakugo extended a hand Izuku's way. "I'll prove to you, everyone and the whole world that I'm the one who will become Number One Hero."

But rather than respond as if it were a threat, Izuku's brow furrowed with what anyone could see was a similar determination, once more looking at his scar-covered right hand. "Yeah…I'll definitely make it all my own and show you, Kacchan…in order to become the greatest Hero."

"And I'll be better than the greatest." Bakugo immediately answered in what almost sounded like pure spite.

"Or maybe neither of you becomes Number One." Nikolay suddenly interjected; earning surprised and insulted looks from Izuku and Bakugo respectively while he stood his ground.

"What, is that some kind of smartass way of saying it's gonna be you?! In what universe would someone like you ever get anywhere close to being Number One at anything, anywhere! You don't have the nerve for it!" Bakugo viciously spat, sounding like he was ready to flatten Nikolay out right now.

In contrast, Izuku was nowhere as angry; which was to say at all. "Well, we can all still work as hard as we possibly can, but Kolya-san does have a point, Kacchan. There are so many other Heroes, just like us, all working towards the same goal. Any one of them could possibly reach the place of Number One before us. I mean, I like to think I could one day be able to get there, but there's just no way of knowing."

Nikolay, nodding enthusiastically in agreement, went further: "Exactly. And besides, who says that it has to be just one of us who could become Number One? To tell you both the truth, Mina and I have been talking a lot about how cool it'd be if our whole class was to somehow become Number One Heroes together. I mean, if the Wild, Wild Pussycats could all share the one same rank on the Hero Billboard, then what reason would we have to say the whole of Class 1-A couldn't do the same?"

*Ptoo!*

At that, Bakugo's spitting on the ground was more like a muscle reflex. "Absolutely not! I'm not sharing the pedestal of Number One Hero with the lot of you! If that many Heroes were to become Number One at once; that title wouldn't even mean a damn thing anymore! You and Raccoon Eyes keep your stupid daydreams to yourselves from now on, Russkie! In the meantime, I'll be working my way up right here in the real world!"

While Bakugo made his disparaging final comments; none of the three boys noticed the approaching sound of tiny footsteps from behind Izuku's back, until a little boy's timid voice broke the ensuing silence: "U-Um…"

That one little sound immediately caught all their attention, and upon looking back, Izuku's eyes widened with recognition at the sight of a nervous Katsuma Shimano standing just outside their entryway. "Hey, you're from earlier today, Shimano Katsuma-kun, right? What're you doing all the way out here this late?"

The small boy had his eyes glued to the ground, looking as though he were outright fighting to get the words out. But when he finally did; all three of the young Heroes before him could see the nervousness evident in his eyes. "A…a Villain…has come out!"

Neither Izuku nor Nikolay could even finish repeating those words or asking where in their own mutual shock, before both getting absolutely bowled over by Bakugo; as though a fire had literally been ignited under him. "TELL ME MORE!"

---

Heroes Public Safety Commission, Tokyo

Within the offices of the prestigious government branch dedicated to all organization within Hero society, Hawks found himself in the middle of a last-minute meeting with none other than the branches' appointed head, the same older light-haired woman that had led the most recent Hero Billboard Chart announcements that had gotten him promoted to the rank of Number Two to begin with.

He hadn't been filled in entirely on just what this was about. After all, it was very unlike this woman to call for these kind of meetings on such short notice. If anything, that just gave him all the more reason to be concerned.

And it was almost immediately that he was proven right about this, for as soon as everyone she had called for had arrived in her office, she wasted no time pulling up a projection, showcasing a map of Japan, with multiple spots marked with different Heroes' faces, while her personal assistant decided to open up the discussion.

"There have been continuous acts of violence carried out against Pro Heroes for nearly the past week. No one from those incidents have been able to provide any consistent descriptions of the Villains involved, but the one factor all their testimonies share is that they were knocked unconscious, and when they woke up next, they'd all lost their Quirks."

With her fingers tucked to her chin in deep contemplation, the older woman mused: "Shigaraki Tomura and his allies did recover one of the illegally manufactured Quirk-destroying bullets recovered from the raid on the Shie Hassaikai headquarters a few months back. Could these attacks be a sign that they've somehow succeeded in mass-producing them where Chisaki Kai couldn't? Hawks, has your undercover work with the League of Villains uncovered any such details?"

Hawks was still taking in the faces of his fellow Heroes who had suffered this grim and unexpected fate, but still answered his superior with due haste. "No, it hasn't; and with Vukodlak's Quirk-enhanced senses, I can't risk asking any sensitive questions that could risk altering any of my vital signs for him to pick up on. Have you given any consideration to the possibility those Heroes' Quirks might in fact have been stolen, instead?"

It was hardly a surprise that such a question would draw a pensive, disapproving brow from his bosses' assistant, but he didn't let that stop him from going further. "Since the victims were all Pro Heroes, then naturally their Quirks were all quite useful in the hands of whoever stole them. If that suspect somehow possesses a Quirk-stealing Quirk like All For One…"

The way they could all feel the air within the room grow physically heavy with that notion, made it clear that they were all of the same understanding of just how truly serious this situation had just become. And it was because he knew they understood this, that Hawks proceeded to take his leave. "Whatever the truth behind this matter is, it's clearly got something or other to do with Shigaraki Tomura and the League. I'll try investigating both possibilities the best I can."

And with that, the Number Two Hero left the female president of the Commission and her personal assistant to silently brood over all the terrible possibilities and potential threats his theory stood to lead to; so long as he didn't do anything to risk blowing his cover. Truly, the fate of all Hero society in Japan was riding on his winged shoulders.

---

Elsewhere…

Spending too much time in their new mansion hideout was already beginning to grow quite irritating for Tomura Shigaraki and his companions. Not only was it so colossal in size, that it became borderline overwhelming for some, but the fact that it was personally provided by Re-Destro, naturally meant that he was almost always there. And as grateful as the League of Villains were for his contributions to their funds, resources and all-around manpower; his constant mentally broken sucking up was getting nigh unbearable to listen to.

And thus, with nothing to do but wait on any further developments regarding Doctor Ujiko's freed test subject; they'd decided to go back to basics for now; this night taking refuge in one of many long-abandoned sheds dotting the countryside.

Of course, given that they had nothing outstanding left to do ever since their stealing that truck and releasing its contents; that left them with only one real thing to actually talk about, as Twice eventually brought up: "So, if this cargo of ours is supposed to just be wandering around out there doing whatever he pleases; how will Ujiko-san know when he's actually going to start working for us specifically? How does he know he wouldn't turn on us instead?"

Himiko was currently in the middle of trying to groom a mildly annoyed Vukodlak's graying black hair with her fingers as her eyes stared up in thought. "The fact we haven't heard anything on the news about the whole truck theft means the Heroes haven't gotten him back, right?"

"I'm pretty sure it's the opposite if that were the case. They probably just don't want the public to panic, so they're keeping hush-hush about it…at least until they either manage to capture him, or he causes a situation the government can't possibly sweep under the rug." Vukodlak answered; a deep rumble of further annoyance emanating up his throat as his cheerful compatriot carried on.

Finally, Mr. Compress turned to address Tomura, who was once more sitting contemplatively alone. "Ujiko-san made it sound like you were at least somewhat familiar with our elusive cargo, Shigaraki-san. Other than the fact he was an old experimental test subject for the man, is there anything you could tell us that you can recall?"

However, the fact Tomura was keeping his eyes downcast even as he answered, made it all too clear that he was just as much in the dark as the rest of his comrades here. "According to the Doctor, there's no real need for us to know; just that he'll make things difficult for the Heroes, which is ultimately best for us. All I remember is that, back in those early days with Sensei, there was this one tank in that lab that the old Doctor always told me to never touch. I never had a reason to think of it any further after that. Anyway, we've done our part here, so just forget about it."

It was certainly frustrating for all the other League members to accept, considering just how much Ujiko had talked their mystery subject up to them as being the potential key to all their most prominent problems regarding the Heroes; and yet after all their hard work, they were being left with nothing; not even a timetable with which to expect any visible results.

But it wasn't like any of them were about to start arguing with their leader further. If Tomura wasn't going to raise a big stink about the Doctor's secrecy, then they had more than enough reason to do the same on good faith.

Besides, the thought of this mystery man going around out there, doing whatever it was he was doing to make life hell for any Heroes that got in his way, carried its own air of satisfaction that would surely be worth it once word reached their ears.

---

Kyushu Region

At a quiet and empty intersection somewhere within the sprawling city, a single middle-aged man was patiently waiting for the traffic lights to change and give him the go ahead to move on in his humble pickup truck. And just like he had with every other extended stop he'd had to take on his commute, he'd taken this opportunity to play the video he'd recently received and saved on his phone; in which his young daughter and son; both with their sunshine-bright smiles and glimmering heads of maple hair, were both happily wishing him safe travels and wishes to come home soon, with the former confidently affirming her father of her capabilities for looking after her little brother.

They were both so young, and yet both had been so incredibly strong for their ages. This constant reminder always brought a smile of the utmost heartfelt pride to his face. As such, he knew it would only be right that he bring some truly splendid souvenirs for his children when he would finally get back home. Thankfully, that wouldn't be too much further away from now. If fate permitted, he'd even be home before the end of this week.

At the moment he reached and paused the recording; he could see the red light ahead had finally turned green. With a ready sigh as he lifted his head, he was just about to hit the gas…but the first thing he saw in his headlights; instead of the same empty intersection, was a bipedal beast sprinting headlong towards his truck, before ramming his broad shoulder straight into it with enough force to crumple the entire vehicle like an empty tin can.

It was frankly a miracle the man hadn't been crippled or crushed to death in the wake of such a sudden attack; currently finding himself splayed out on the street amid the wreckage of his vehicle; his head spinning with shock and confusion as he tried to pick himself back up once he could hear a single pair of calm-sounding footsteps approaching him.

What he saw was three other complete strangers he couldn't begin to recognize, from a red-haired adult woman to a shorter adult man mummified in red cloth strips; but the figure approaching him was a man in a intricate black bodysuit under a light grey suit jacket; half his face underneath a high-tech respirator connected to two cylindrical tanks protruding from behind his shoulders. The only discernible features of his face as he loomed over this poor man, were a pair of brightly glowing yellow eyes, and tied back, long white hair.

"I've finally found it…" the masked man stated, not even speaking to this random victim of his like he was even a person. In fact, with the way he was looking; it was as though he wasn't looking at the civilian before him at all, but something much deeper.

"F…found what…?" the man couldn't help but instinctively ask. But even that much courage couldn't last forever, and this strange man above him could see that fear take hold, as he calmly knelt down and grasped onto his head.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you…but I will take your Quirk." This was all the man said, before his eyes proceeded to light up again, and a multitude of bright green swirls of pure energy began to emanate from out his captive's body, and into his own; several sparkling purple cracks beginning to form across the latter's face as he could feel a whole new Quirk physically transfer into himself.

By comparison, the helpless civilian now being held listlessly in the Villain's hands, could feel as though something irreplaceable was being physically removed from deep within himself; the sensation of it so overwhelming, that all he could do was blackout before it was even over; unceremoniously collapsing to the ground at his attacker's feet.

And all while the Villain known only as Nine had proceeded to take his victim's Quirk with such ease, he had simultaneously been focusing and channeling another power within himself to cap off at this same moment; manifested in the form of the skies over the entire city becoming overcast in an impenetrable blanket of storm clouds.

Once he knew he'd secured this new Quirk within himself at last, the golden glow in Nine's eyes turned a hellish red, as he raised a single commanding hand to the sky, like a maestro about to conduct the grandest orchestra known to man.

K-KRRRRRRRAAAAK!

And at his command, a multitude of devastating lightning strikes proceeded to rain down all across the city in an instant, like a coordinated blitzkrieg. In a matter of seconds, multiple towering skyscrapers had been knocked down to the ground, and nearly half the city now stood in flames, with Nine and his companions; the bestial Chimera, the namesake Mummy, and the calculating Slice; all stood in unanimous victory at what had truly been achieved here. Not the destruction, but just what their leader had finally received.

"So we finally got it now?" Chimera finally asked, as Mummy had an almost enraptured wonder visible in his eyes. "With this, we can actually make it all a reality now…"

"The new world….that we so desire." Slice capped it all off, looking at Nine with his arms spread like he was the literal messiah, as lightning continued to tear mercilessly through the sky and rain down further on the city around them…

…before Nine's eyes widened and his entire body nearly folded in half with an unbearable burst of pain that felt as though it was tearing through every fiber of his being. And with no hesitation, his three allies rushed in worry to his side the moment they saw him go down.

"W-why…?! Why is this still happening to me?!" Nine groaned in agony as multiple further purple cracks spread across his visible face. Bringing up his hands, his eyes began to glow once more as he looked deep within himself, specifically at the Quirk he had just stolen. What he saw made his heart twist in frustration alongside the pain burning all over. "This Quirk…it only works with Type A blood… not Type B like mine!"

"Are you saying that after all this searching, we're right back to square one?! DAMMIT!" Chimera howled in similar fury, his fists clenched as though he was ready to just annihilate the first hapless person on the scene he'd see next.

"No, there is still a way." The absolute calm in Slice's voice, even in the midst of this major setback, instantly got her fellow Villains' attention, as she had by now noticed and retrieved their recent victim's phone from the debris of the truck; upon the cracked screen of which was the still image of the man's two brightly smiling children.

And as Nine himself saw that same image, his once tortured eyes narrowed in pure focus. "I see…that's right. Quirks…are hereditary."

---

Nabu Island

From the moment Katsuma had described exactly what Bakugo had wanted to hear regarding this sudden Villain attack, he'd wasted no time scooping the boy under one arm, before proceeding to launch himself into a speedy gliding rush in the direction he'd been given.

But to his consternation, he quickly realized he wasn't alone, as between the Explosions he was propelling himself with through his free hand, he could hear both the crackling energy of Izuku's Full Cowl, and the rumbling bass-like blasts of Nikolay's Kinetics quickly gaining up on him.

"WHY ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS OUT HERE?!" He finally spat once he could just feel they were both right on his tail; Izuku struggling to keep up on such short notice without his gear, while Nikolay was keeping himself airborne with his rhythmic Kinetic Blasts, keeping his eyes on the horizon ahead.

"Because if there really is a Villain there; you shouldn't be fighting it alone, Kacchan!" "Exactly; and if you think I'm just gonna sit by and do nothing after earlier, then you're crazy!"

Both his fellows' answers only served to make Bakugo's anger burn that much hotter, and that wasn't helped when Katsuma looked back to the unfamiliar foreign-looking Hero at Izuku's side. "Are you another Hero, too?"

Nikolay was understandably caught off guard that the little boy would pick now to suddenly ask him his name; but the fact he was being acknowledged at all had Bakugo's teeth grinding that much more. "Not a Hero worth remembering if that's what you're asking! You're about to see what a real Number One Hero can do!"

With that, he proceeded to launch himself and Katsuma that much higher and farther, almost catching Nikolay in the crossfire of his Explosion in the process. "I DON'T NEED EITHER OF YOUR HELP, DAMMIT! Now where did you say you saw the Villain, kid?!"

As he glided through the air beside him; Katsuma nervously pointed ahead to the small neighboring island not even a kilometer away from Nabu proper; topped with several levels of flattened plateaus with a half-standing ancient castle in the center, and connected to the main island by a barely visible land bridge under the water. "I-it was in the castle ruins there, Mt. Shiroyama.'

"TELL ME THAT FIRST!" Bakugo shouted impatiently before proceeding to propel them both that much faster with another powerful and deafening Explosion; the little boy's startled cries meaning nothing to him as he rushed down onto the island; practically chomping at the bit for a real fight.

And all the while; despite his further indignation at Bakugo's dismissal; Nikolay had stubbornly continued to go flying right on after him; just as quickly spotting the smaller island, and making a beeline for it while keeping his eyes peeled for the first sign of genuine trouble.

As soon as he landed but a couple feet away from Bakugo; both young Heroes were quickly scanning their surroundings, looking for the first sign of any unnatural movement; Bakugo growling out the corner of his mouth: "You're crowding me, Russkie! Get outta here!"

"THERE IT IS!" Katsuma exclaimed before Nikolay could think of any way to respond. Just like that, he and Bakugo found themselves being loomed over by a giant praying mantis-looking monster from atop one of the many mountainous ledges; its vicious red eyes focused on them both.

"GO HIDE!" Bakugo instantly ordered Katsuma as he got into his ready fighting stance; just feeling his skin crawl with frustration when he could tell Nikolay was doing the same right beside him.

"It's way bigger than he made it sound, Bakugo! I think we should try some of our Joint Training combos!" Nikolay suggested with no hesitation or uncertainty; channeling his Kinetics into his hands in preparation as the beast was clearly getting ready to try and move on them.

But Bakugo wasn't having it, as he was already taking the first ready step forward, squatting down in preparation to go airborne. "Any Hero who has to rely on help against one Villain right out the gate is hardly a Hero at all! Now shut your mouth!"

BKOOM!

Like a shot was Bakugo soaring through the air, his hands and bracers soon starting to glow in an overwhelming bright light that forced the creature to slowly back away and try to shield its eyes. "STUN GRENADE!"

But after a good several seconds of this; to Nikolay's worried confusion, Bakugo actually stopped with this suppressing tactic of his. In fact, he didn't even follow through with an Explosive barrage like he'd been expecting.

But what was more pressing was that it didn't look like the creature was going to stop, and that was all the sign he needed to act; no matter what his classmate would say about it later.

BWOOOM!

Similarly shooting off from the ground like a rocket, Nikolay quickly threw his body's momentum into a spin so he could drive a Kinetically-charged foot straight into the monstrous Villain's face; counting down the seconds before contact would be made and he could deliver the entire blast at point-blank range. 'If nothing else, maybe this'll stun it long enough for Bakugo to deliver the finishing blow!'

BWOOM!

But at the moment Nikolay had mentally psyched himself for there to be physical contact made as he blasted from his extended foot, he was instead met with nothing but thin air. As a result, instead of the usual subdued ricochet he was so used to; it was instead as though he'd tried to sharply redirect himself in midair, and as such the surprised young Hero was sent flying much faster than he'd been hoping for.

"Kolya-san!"

Fortunately for him, Izuku had by now made it past the outermost gates of the castle property, and as such had seen Bakugo and Nikolay land with Katsuma, as well as the emergence of the Villain, and Nikolay being sent flying out of control. The moment he saw the latter, with his Full Cowl still running at full, he quickly kicked himself high up into the air, catching his friend's flying body head-on before they could finally land again.

At that same moment, Bakugo had actually proceeded to let himself touch back down on the ground after what he'd just seen happen to Nikolay in his blind rush. It had ultimately proven what he'd silently come to realize in the few short seconds since this battle had started. As Izuku and Nikolay both came rushing back to his side, they both watched as the praying mantis Villain finally continued to follow through with its attack, bringing one giant claw right down on him where he stood…only for that same claw to phase harmlessly into the ground, instead of leaving a massive crater like any other Villain attack would have.

And before the two boys' wide and confused eyes; Bakugo proceeded to calmly walk right out the side of the creature's bladed arm like it wasn't even there. And without a further word needing to be said, he proceeded to slam his fist into the ground, channeling a huge Explosion right out of it, sending rubble flying everywhere; causing the giant Villain to instantly vanish into thin air.

And amid that deafening blast, Nikolay's ears caught the momentary sound of a little girl's startled cry from within the dust clouds. On pure reflex, he quickly launched himself straight into the haze in the direction he'd heard it come from; his goggle-protected eyes allowing him to see the form of that very same child momentarily flying backward through the air from where the 'Villain' had just stood, and at risk of slamming into several of the large rocks dotting the terrain.

With surprising on-the-ball precision, Nikolay proceeded to grab onto the flying child and fire another Kinetic Blast out his foot before he could make contact with the first rock; stopping himself in midair so he could land safely; only now noticing that the little girl he'd just saved looked very similar to the boy that had brought them here in the first place.

As the last of the dust finally settled, and Nikolay and Izuku could only look on in shared confusion at what had ultimately just happened; Bakugo grumbled angrily as he began to stomp in a beeline towards the girl still in Nikolay's grasp: "That Villain…"

Of course, what had Mahoro's attention right now was the fact she was still in the middle of being carried by one of these useless Heroes she'd detested so much; a notion she was already making abundantly clear, as she started frantically bopping and kicking the confused Russian boy's face until he finally let her go.

"Geez, you Heroes really are the worst! The least you could do is get a little bit scared," she fumed, just as Bakugo's furious voice called out alongside his approaching stomps: "YOU! You're the one who made that Villain illusion just now?!"

While Nikolay was trying to soothe the ache in his jaw from how hard Mahoro could clearly kick; the fact Bakugo was referring to the Villain as an illusion had thoroughly grabbed his attention; unintentionally asking at the same time as the girl herself: "How did you know it was an illusion?"

Ignoring his classmate, but staring daggers at the child before him, Bakugo answered through grinding teeth: "It was obvious! When I used my Stun Grenade, that thing didn't cast any shadows!"

While Mahoro was bowing her head with a frustrated scowl that her trick had been seen through so easily; right behind her, Nikolay had a look of complete disbelief; not in what she had done, but in just what an obvious tell Bakugo had seen to prove it was fake. How he had missed something that big, he couldn't possibly understand.

"You damn brat…" Bakugo growled, driving Mahoro to look up and meet his furious scowling face with fear, while the fury in his demeanor and voice only seemed to intensify like an actual fire.

"…are you having fun taunting Heroes? Well?! I'm completely different from your everyday Heroes, you got that?! I'm the one who'll be better than even All Might and take the Number One spot: BAKUGO KATSUKI! YOU PICKED THE WRONG PERSON TO TAUNT, YOU LITTLE RUNT! AT LEAST DO IT TO THE CLUMSY DUMBASSES THAT NEED IT, LIKE THAT ONE OVER THERE!"

Nikolay didn't even need to guess just who Bakugo was referring to. But that didn't make the wholly new embarrassment building in his gut any less suffocating. He still couldn't believe a precocious little child like this had tricked him so easily into making a total fool of himself like this.

And while Mahoro was starting to fearfully try and inch away from Bakugo's growing fury; Katsuma had finally nervously stepped up just behind him. "P-please don't scold my sister."

The murderous anger written all over Bakugo's face when he turned his head on a swivel to stare the little boy down was enough to shut him up on the spot; his teeth clenched to the point they felt like they would break, as his adrenaline was coursing relentlessly through his veins. "WHAT?! ARE YOU HER ACCOMPLICE?! THEN-!

"THAT'S ENOUGH, KACCHAN! YOU'RE GOING WAY OVERBOARD!" Izuku's intervention couldn't have been better timed, as he swiftly rushed in and hooked his arms around Bakugo in an attempt to restrain him.

"LET GO OF ME, DAMN DEKU!" Bakugo roared, repeatedly hammering a stubborn elbow into his classmate's face, before they ultimately ended up collapsing onto the ground in this continuous schoolyard struggle.

And that was all the incentive Mahoro needed to grab Katsuma and run as fast as her legs could carry them; leaving the three young Heroes to altogether stew in the realization of what they'd ultimately been subjected to; Bakugo trying to viciously crawl after the two kids before Izuku once more grappled onto him, and Nikolay no longer even feeling the soreness all over his face as he halfheartedly approached his two classmates.

BWOOOM!

Without a word being said, and without even taking half a moment to look either of them in the eye as they continued to struggle on the ground, Nikolay suddenly leveled his hands and fired himself away into the air with hands and feet together; producing a Kinetic Blast loud and strong enough to snap them both out of it, and watch as he flew at breakneck speed back to Nabu Island.

Of course, the fact he hadn't even said a word to them at all before doing so, was cause enough for Izuku to look on and speak in clear-as-day worry: "I didn't think Kolya-san would take something like this so deeply. That whole incident in the park really did hit him hard. You didn't have to talk about him so harshly like that, Kacchan."

Bakugo was already getting back on his feet, grumbling impatiently to himself once he realized Mahoro and Katsuma were both long gone, before then glancing back to Nabu Island and the starry sky above it. "I only said it cause it's true, you damn bleeding heart Deku! That guy needs to hurry up and move on so he doesn't become just another panicky waste of space every time he deals with a collapsing building or something like that!"

As soon as Izuku could see that Bakugo was getting ready to launch himself up back to Nabu Island, he couldn't help but clarify: "You're not gonna try to go after those kids, are you?"

With just about the expected indignant volume, Bakugo spat back: "NO, YOU DAMN NOSEY NERD! Those brats aren't worth my time at this point!"

---

By the time Mahoro and Katsuma had finally stopped running, they had found themselves in the middle of a large sugar cane field. If nothing else, the tall crops would provide enough cover for them to hide, just in case Bakugo was still chasing after them.

But in the silence that fell around them as they tried to catch their breath; their little ears still would have been able to pick up the resonating sound of Nikolay's Kinetic Blasts that had launched him from here back to Nabu Island. And not long afterward, the sound of Bakugo's Explosions followed from still that long ways away. As far as Mahoro was concerned, that meant the three Heroes had decided to finally leave.

And with that, any fear she'd felt had quickly turned back into that haughty, disapproving tone, as if she hadn't just been scared for her life but a couple minutes ago. "It's just like I said: these Heroes are no good all across the board. What's up with that Bakugo one, anyway? He wants to become the next Number One Hero? Really? Is he sure he's not getting confused with that ranking of Heroes that look like Villains instead? And what about that foreign one that was with them? The whole time, he had this timid, nervous puppy look in his eyes. How's anyone supposed to be reassured by a Hero that looks like that? Honestly, the whole lot of them really are just all talk, aren't they?"

But as Mahoro continued to ramble on about just how little regard she had for the Heroes now staying on their island; Katsuma kept his head bowed down, so his sister couldn't see the look of considerable admiration still in his eyes. "But they…they all still came to save us, neechan."

This managed to put the brakes on Mahoro's tirade in an instant, as she could only look at her brother with her eyes wide..before ultimately falling upon the tiny pin of the Hero Edgeshot adorning the strap to Katsuma's backpack. It was by far his most prized possession of all.

Finally, at a loss of what else she could possibly say, she simply had to suck it up and ask the one thing she always dreaded to…simply because she already knew the answer. "Katsuma…you really wanna become a Hero, don't you?"

And just as she expected, her little brother didn't answer, simply because he knew he didn't need to. He'd made it no secret.

Just as she made her own answer no secret, even now. "I'm against it. It's dangerous, and Heroes are altogether unreliable."

As much as Mahoro stood by this principal, she wasn't blind to just what high regard Katsuma held Heroes as a whole in…and in a strange way, that was what made her so confident in the answer that came to mind next: "Besides, I know of someone even cooler than a Hero."

"Who?" The way her little brother's eyes widened with pure curiosity was the best outcome she could've hoped for, as her smile was brimming with relief and absolute confidence in her answer: "Daddy. He's always thinking of us and protecting us. I want you to be as cool as that."

As Mahoro finally took his hand and helped him back onto his feet while looking admirably up at the stars; Katsuma couldn't help but feel his little heart race with a similar admiration. It was true, their father was always giving his all for their sake…but where she thought that made him better than Heroes; in his eyes that simply made him a whole other kind of Hero of a similar caliber.

He too wanted to be a cool kind of Hero like his father, but he also wanted to be the same kind of Hero that could jump into action and give his all for the sake of others, no matter whatever he might feel, just like those three young Heroes he'd seen today. Surely, they all had the unbreakable spirit and strength of even the strongest Heroes deep down, he could just feel it from having seen them in action with his own eyes.

---

Somewhere deep within the heart of the park spanning the heart of Nabu Island, Nikolay found himself standing alone before one of the larger entrances to the extensive cave system, based on what he remembered reading from the map.

After what had happened back at Mt. Shiroyama, he couldn't bear to cut the night patrol short by just returning to the Yuuei office as disheartened as he was again. He couldn't risk letting anyone who might've still been awake at this hour, see him like this all over again.

So the only thing he could think to do that was worthwhile anymore, was to try staring into the very gaping maw of the fear that still continued to plague him the most above all others. And here he was now, anxiously thumbing at the single aged ring he'd been keeping securely tucked away underneath his costume, worn around his neck on a simple thread necklace.

It was the old wedding band between his father and mother that Oleg had given him the night Class 1-A and 1-B had celebrated the teacher's belated birthday, and right now, it was the closest thing Nikolay had to a psychological lifeline, as he tried to put one foot in front of the other towards the pitch black cave before him.

As he slowly but surely progressed his way further and further in; the shadows soon falling over him as he moved with feet that felt as heavy as cement; Nikolay couldn't allow his mind to dwell on just what it was he was actually doing.

Instead, all he could focus on that was keeping him from suffering a hyperventilation fit already, was one simple train of thought, courtesy of this very same ring: if he simply tried to focus on his parents altogether and just what this one ring ultimately represented for them, then he could be able to power his way through anything, even this.

It was a reckless idea; if anything, it was barely more than a concept. But after today, it was the closest thing Nikolay had to a theory on how to best go about facing his fear. The shame of being this vulnerable over something as ultimately meaningless as a cave or even being underground simply could not be tolerated on his part any longer. One way or another, this had to be brought to an end, for his sake and that of all his friends going forward.

Nikolay had no idea just how far into the cave's mouth he was, but the fact he was even this far in was a testament all on its own. For what it was worth, his thinking of his parents while fiddling with their ring was actually working somewhat.

But, like all good things, this transient moment of accomplishment was swiftly dashed away. The further Nikolay tried to simply focus on the mental image of his parents happily together…those same repressed mental images of his mother lying lifelessly atop him amid the choking stench of blood and smoke; the burning touch of ash, came rushing right back.

And just like that, Nikolay's mental haze from reality disappeared as quickly as it had come, and in its place came the realization of just where he was, alongside the psychological sensation of feeling as through the walls and ceiling around him were closing in; leaving him shaking, short of breath, and helpless to do anything to move or even call for help.

BWOOOM!

His Quirk kicking in and blasting him backwards out the mouth of the cave and across the ground to the foot of another tree could only be compared to a knee-jerk reflex. The kind that was ultimately his saving grace, as this return to open air was what finally managed to get Nikolay's mind back to reality; all those suffocating past senses retreating back into the ether of his mind again.

But that momentary calm as his heart and breathing slowed ultimately amounted to nothing, as Nikolay could now only take in what this ultimately meant with burning tears in his eyes.

Even his desperate last resort in trying to face his fear had been useless. His mind had once more ultimately proven to be his worst enemy; drowning him in all those old sensations with a vengeance.

At the end of this already humiliating day, he was still just as much of a potential liability to his friends and the people counting on him as he'd ever be…and no matter what any of them could say otherwise, there was no getting around that fact.

And that torturous reminder continued to plague the weeping young Hero's heart relentlessly as he remained laid out in that clearing in the middle of the night, with no eyes or ears to know he was even there, at a loss as to how he was ever going to become the true Hero he'd been striving so hard already to become.

---

Kyushu Region, Monday, December 15th

The news of the destruction that had hit Kyushu had spread throughout Japan in record time, as did the number of Pro Heroes that came in to try and help save the civilians caught in the rubble, or to simply try and assist in dousing the countless fires, or repair the damage done.

And naturally among those Heroes, since this was his veritable backyard, was Hawks, who had taken it upon himself to try and gather what information he could from any potential witnesses as to the Villains responsible.

Unfortunately, with the incident having happened so fast and at such a late hour of the night, and especially with the city surveillance systems having been destroyed in the process, he was coming out of the investigation as starved for answers as when he'd first gone in.

The only detail he'd come across of particular interest, was that one of the civilians caught out in the open; an unidentified middle-aged civilian man with no verifiable identification to be found on him; who had been recovered in the middle of a lonely intersection, had reportedly gotten his Quirk stolen, according to what little he'd been able to tell the authorities before blacking out again.

As he observed the sheer scale of the destruction that had been left in these Villains' wake, and especially when thinking back to his earlier hypothesis during his meeting at the Heroes Public Safety Commission; Hawks' apprehensions for just what kind of threat they were facing were skyrocketing. 'Trying to steal the Quirks of Heroes, I hate to admit, is understandable. But why would this same Villain go after a civilian? Why would they want to hide whatever Quirk it is they stole from him by stealing his ID? How many different Quirks are they already able to use, and are they all as powerful as whatever they used to do this? Just what exactly is it they're looking for? Of course, an even better question is: where are they headed next?'

As Hawks continued his overall staggering investigation; he never realized that, from atop one of the many half-destroyed buildings dotting the city; Tomura Shigaraki and Vukodlak together were both closely observing how the Number Two Hero was carrying himself, both alone and with the police and fellow Heroes.

Through the one remaining disembodied hand masking his face, Tomura's one visible eye watched with a cold emptiness, while Vukodlak was keeping his hands folded together in patient wait, listening closely through all the other noises still going on around them, in order to listen to every one of Hawks' vitals.

"The plan was that all the Heroes now folded into the Paranormal Liberation Front would continue on with their day jobs to keep from rousing any suspicion from outsiders…but someone as highly ranked and trusted as Hawks may never be above our suspicions." Tomura muttered, less to Vukodlak, but more as an affirmation to himself, while his foreign ally gave the slightest of agreeing nods.

"Hawks is certainly masterful at keeping his calm at all times, and so far I haven't received any words of warning from the little security measure I had Twice-san put in to keep an eye on him. After all, having to report to the Heroes Public Safety Commission is only to be expected of a Hero of his standing. Hawks being in our ranks, as far as I'm concerned, can really only end one of two ways: either he proves himself by doing something no Hero would ever do, no matter how deep undercover they'd need to keep themselves…or he shows his true colors and threatens us in a way no cover story can justify. Either way, the Villains ultimately win."

---

Nabu Island

Nikolay's emotional despondency in the depths of the national park had been so exhausting, he'd actually ended up driving himself into all but literally crying and shouting himself to sleep out of all his frustration. Hence why when he'd woken up to the sounds of singing birds, light breezes through the trees, and the blinding rays of morning sunlight breaking through the branches overhead, he'd all but literally leapt right back onto his feet in disbelief at what he'd just allowed himself to do, especially when he checked his phone and saw what time it was. There was no way in hell the others back at the office weren't going to have noticed his absence first thing in the morning.

After hurriedly brushing himself down to try and get the leaves and twigs out of his hair and off his costume, Nikolay launched himself over and over the entire way from the park back to the office. And clearly his approach was not ignored by everyone inside, for the moment he finally landed back at the entryway and came rushing through the front doors, he was immediately greeted by the sound of Mina, Tooru, Izuku and Momo in the main office, all of them sounding downright shocked.

"Kolya-kun, what happened?! Have you seriously been on patrol all night long?! Nobody saw any sign of you this morning, we were all really worried!" "If you're gonna be giving your 110-percent like that, you gotta try to get enough sleep, y'know?" "Why didn't you come back to switch patrolling shifts with any of us?" "Your eyes don't look as red as they would be if you'd been patrolling all night nonstop. Did you actually end up sleeping outside somewhere? That's not good for your back or your posture, Bezpalov-san."

But as Minoru and Tooru both busily made their way out past Nikolay for whichever first-day tasks they'd volunteered for, and Momo began to guide Nikolay to one of the couches, he hurriedly stepped aside. "I'm okay, really. I just let the time get away from me…but yeah, I did manage to get some sleep. You all don't need to worry about me, I promise."

Of course, he could tell that neither Izuku nor Mina were fully buying it; while anyone else listening to him and seeing the attempted smile of reassurance he was wearing, would've considered it an award-worthy performance. There was no way he could tell them what he'd tried to do last night, and how royally it had failed. Mina had been absolutely right that today was supposed to be a fresh start, and by God, he was going to try and focus on today as being just that, no matter what his gut or his head would try to make him believe instead.

"Kolya-kun…have you been crying?" Mina asked as she instinctively began to approach Nikolay so they could have another heart-to-heart, the heartfelt concern in her eyes unmistakable; before another one of the phones began to ring, prompting Mashirao to answer it: "Hello, this is the Yuuei Hero Agency, how can we help you? How many do you need help with? And is there anything else you'll all need assistance with from there? Understood, sir, we'll send someone to help you right away."

With the click of the receiver, Mashirao rose up and spoke up for all the remaining students in the office to hear: "We've got a call for multi-Hero assistance at the northeastern harbor. The fishermen there want help clearing barnacles from their hulls, dredging up some sunken boats for salvage and repair, as well as assistance in navigating for some good catches. Who wants to take it?"

Nikolay, regrettably not feeling up for a conversation this personal first thing in the morning, ultimately stepped forward, with Kouji and Shoto both quickly following up after: "I'm good to go, I can help with the barnacle clearing for however many boats they want to use." "I'll go, too. I can talk to the seagulls and see if they can point them in the right direction." "I'll come with. Enough of us are already on patrol downtown and on the beaches. If nothing else, I could freeze the waters deep enough to help lift those wrecks up to the surface."

"I'll go out with you guys, too." Izuku suddenly offered, to Nikolay's thinly veiled worry that he was going to try prying in Mina's place. "I'm going to help tend the fields over at the Nijima's and it's right along the way, so why not?"

Thankfully, it didn't look like Izuku meant any more than what he was saying, and so with everyone clearly understanding what their jobs were going to be for now, the four Heroes began to take their leave, before Mina suddenly reached and held firmly onto Nikolay's wrist, stopping him in his tracks as he ushered his fellows to go ahead. "I'll just be a minute."

As Momo, Mashirao and Fumikage all proceeded to make their exits for patrols and odd jobs as well; the two now found themselves alone at last, and Mina's usually glowing pink face had a clear twist of building worry evident as she looked her boyfriend in the eye, especially when she spotted something he didn't and reached up, pulling a single leaf from out his hair.

"Kolya-kun, what exactly were you doing that would keep you out all night and sleeping outside? Please, just talk to me. You know you can; about anything in the world." The imploring ringing Mina's every word was like a dagger of further shame in Nikolay's chest. Why was this so hard for him? He trusted her more than anyone, just as he knew she trusted him as much. There was never anything he deemed too painful to tell her, but this just felt like too much, even for the two of them.

And his girlfriend could see this struggle written all over his face, as she cupped his cheeks in the warmth of her hands. "I don't want to hold you up from the others…but when our work is all done for today…please, let's just talk about anything and everything that's on your mind, Kolya-kun. Don't hold anything back from me, okay?"

Nikolay couldn't help but suck in his bottom lip, his mouth tightening with strain as he wanted so much to just skip the wait and do so; to meet Mina's empathy head-on…but all he could do right now was nod in acceptance. "Okay…I will, Mina. I promise. I'm sorry for making you worry…I love you."

The irresistible sweet-tasting softness and warmth of Mina's lips meeting his in a love-filled kiss was her immediate answer to that, as she finally let go of his face, giving him a supportive wink and optimistic pink smile. "I love you times infinity too, Kolya-kun. Now go on out there and show 'em all what you can really do!"

It was like magic how even just a few simple words shared with the young pink Hero who lived in his heart could be able to lift Nikolay's spirits this much; but it was a fact he was immensely grateful for as he finally stepped back out the front door to the entryway, only to find Izuku waiting for him alone. "Midoriya-san? Where are Todoroki-san and Kouda-san?"

Looking down the road to the left, Izuku answered casually: "Todoroki-san wasn't sure how long you and Ashido-san might've been, so he and Kouda-san wanted to at least get a head start, but they wanted me to tell you they'd wait for you up at the harbor before starting work if possible. You certainly look a lot better than a few minutes ago."

Sighing with a clearly contented smile, Nikolay took a deep breath of that fresh seaside air, looking back at the office all the while. "Yeah, I just…I just find myself needing a reminder I don't have to bottle everything up anymore a little too often for my liking."

Without further ado and seeing that his Russian friend was clearly in considerably better spirits than last night, Izuku was just about ready for the two of them to head off, before catching an unnatural bit of movement just out the corner of his eye, taking not but a couple steps down the path before finding a very familiar someone curled up in a nervous ball just around the corner of the entryway. "Katsuma-kun? Is something the matter?"

Following Izuku, Nikolay too spotted the sunhat-wearing maple-haired boy from last night, nervously getting up to his feet and looking both the young Heroes before him in the eye. "Um…I-I wanted to say s-sorry about yesterday…and last night."

As soon as he and Izuku looked to each other to make sure they were hearing this right, Nikolay answered: "The way I heard and understood it, it seemed like both those things were your sister's idea, not yours."

By contrast, Izuku was kneeling down with a grateful smile. "You're so well mannered. You came to apologize to us on your sister's behalf? It's okay, you don't have to be sad, none of us are angry with you."

Despite Izuku and Nikolay's shared smiles and the latter's confirming nod; Katsuma didn't look any less nervous. "Will you tell the other Hero I'm sorry, too?"

The reminder of just how murderously angry Bakugo had gotten last night made it all too understandable to Nikolay why Katsuma was afraid to show his face here. "Sure, we'll tell him."

This thankfully seemed to make the little boy feel a bit better, which gave Izuku the opening to ask: "Katsuma-kun, why exactly did you and your sister do that to us yesterday? Both times, you didn't look like you wanted to be a part of it."

To this, Katsuma bowed his head in further shame. "I didn't. My big sis…she hates Heroes. Yesterday, she said that even if I told any of you there was a Villain around, you would all get scared and you wouldn't do anything to help…so that's why I…"

"You believed in us." Izuku suddenly said in complete understanding, catching the apologetic little boy by surprise. "You believed that we would all come to save you, and that's why you came to us, isn't it?"

Finally, Katsuma's worry and surprise turned into that of a purely innocent admiration as he nodded. And observing this fortunate change in the child's demeanor, allowed Izuku and Nikolay to both notice something on the backpack strap going over his chest, as Nikolay pointed out: "Hey, that pin looks familiar. That's the Ninja Hero, Edgeshot; Number Four on the Charts, isn't it?"

Nikolay bridging this tiniest of gaps between them got Katsuma's eyes lighting right back up as he excitedly nodded; a sight that made him and Izuku both immensely happy to see, as the green-haired boy continued: "Do you wanna become a real cool Hero one day, Katsuma-kun?"

However, even though Katsuma's smile didn't dim, he once again bowed his head in embarrassment. "I do, but my Quirk isn't any good for battles and things like that. Besides…Mahoro-neechan says that being a Hero is too dangerous…and that I'm too good a person to become one."

Like that, Izuku couldn't help but think back to the disastrous first meeting between himself and the Shimano siblings, specifically how Mahoro had outright called him useless. All at once, a good deal of his confusion had become clear. 'I see…her attitude towards Heroes is centered around simply keeping her little brother safe.'

And with that train of thought, he couldn't help but think back to when he had met with his mother after the attack on the Training Camp…and the immense guilt he felt when hearing how devastated she had been after all the other times he'd gotten himself hurt until then. It had stabbed so deeply into his lifelong dream of becoming a Hero, but he couldn't hold her feelings against her for a second. As his parent, it had only been natural for her to express the desire for him to quit trying to become a Hero after the state he'd landed himself in back then. Had roles been reversed, and it had been his child instead…there was a part of him that couldn't deny feeling the same way as she had.

But while Izuku was going through this momentary recollection and understanding of Mahoro's words and actions; Nikolay instead went on to ask: "Katsuma-kun; I know this isn't any of our business, but is there perhaps any specific reason your sister feels the way she does about Heroes that you can think of?"

While Izuku couldn't hide his surprise that his normally withdrawn friend would ask something so upfront; Katsuma didn't look put off at all, but still kept his knees tucked in as he answered: "There is. Mahoro-neechan has hated Heroes ever since…ever since our Mommy passed away. I was really little back then, so I don't remember a lot, but our Daddy once told me that Mommy was really sick then, and there was nothing anyone could do to make her better. Mahoro-neechan was always asking for a Hero to come and save her…but it never happened, and she hasn't forgiven Heroes since then. Sometimes I think that me wanting to be a Hero despite that, on top of how dangerous it is, has only made her hate them even more."

Nikolay and Izuku both looked especially stricken by Katsuma's answer, with Izuku looking to Nikolay with notable empathy, as though he was already picturing the similarities between the two. As for Nikolay himself, his head lowered and his face grew more serious with similar understanding, before he finally stepped forward and knelt down directly across from Katsuma.

"Your sister isn't wrong for feeling the way she does, Katsuma-kun. When sad things like that happen, people should be allowed to try and process that sadness whichever way they feel is best. But don't let that stop you from wanting to become a Hero, yourself one day. Besides, I used to feel just like she did when I was your age. I felt that same way for a really long time, actually."

As soon as Katsuma's confused shock was apparent, Nikolay sighed with a tired smile on his face. "I lost my mom when I was really little, too…and for a long, long time, I didn't just hate Heroes. I hated Villains and everything having to do with Quirks altogether. But after I came to Japan and met all my friends here, I was eventually able to process a lot of what I'd been holding in for all that time, and I've been working super hard to become the Hero you're looking at right now."

As Nikolay couldn't help but motion his arms over himself to further illustrate his point, he and Izuku both could see the wonder evident on Katsuma's face. This left Nikolay with an emboldened sensation in his chest. "You see? If someone who once hated Heroes like I did can become a Hero, then there's no reason you can't be one someday, too."

Izuku enthusiastically followed up: "That's exactly right, Katsuma-kun; and being a Hero isn't just about beating up powerful Villains. The biggest part of it all is being able to defeat Villains in order to save people that are in trouble. That's the kind of Hero I want to be one day; the kind Kolya-san here has said many times that he wants to be, as well. No matter what your Quirk is, or whatever your strengths and weaknesses are; you can definitely become a Hero that can help people, no matter what: the greatest Hero. So…"

With that, Izuku finally got back up to his feet, and with the sincerest smile on his freckled face to his friend and their young admirer, he proceeded to hold an inviting open hand to them both. "…let's all do our very best."

Katsuma's wondrous eyes lit up like the sun as he happily nodded in agreement and clasped his hand onto Izuku's. At the same time, Nikolay's body was barely trembling with emotion as he realized what his friend had truly said.

This was just as much a message of reassurance for himself as it was for Katsuma. After everything he'd observed and worried about regarding Nikolay since yesterday, he had to have realized this was just the kind of thing the young Slavic Hero needed to hear more than anything else.

No matter how strong his claustrophobia still was in comparison to everything else, Nikolay was still here, doing his very best at everything else in order to be able to save people and be the Hero they needed, regardless. That, more than anything else, was what he needed to remember and be proud of, instead of wallowing in the lingering bitterness of his own personal flaw.

The moment Nikolay's mouth spread into a deeply grateful smile and he took Izuku and Katsuma's remaining hands in his own so they formed a three-person circle; he felt the same kind of immense gratitude for having the green-clad Hero at his side for a friend, as he did every waking moment for having Mina as his best friend and girlfriend. He wouldn't be able to thank his fellow enough for this after how he'd been feeling for so long before.

"Well, we probably shouldn't let our friends or families worry about us any longer. Katsuma-kun, you get back to your sister, okay?" Izuku finally said once they all finally let go. With the happiest energetic spring in his step, Katsuma hurriedly took his leave, eagerly waving goodbye to him and Nikolay until he was no longer in sight.

With an entirely enthusiastic breath now in his lungs, Nikolay felt well and truly ready for what felt like the first time in days. "I should get up to the northeast harbor and meet with Todoroki-san and Kouda-san, too. Good luck on your work today, Midoriya-san. If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to call us, okay?"

Izuku gave an understanding nod with a similar determined smile. "Same goes for you too, Kolya-san."

And with that, the two young Heroes finally proceeded to race down the road to their respective jobs, ready to take on everything the day had to offer; Nikolay for once not feeling an inkling of his past dread or shame at all.

And neither of them ever realized that, hidden by the foliage of the trees overhead; Bakugo had been listening in on their conversation with Katsuma from the veranda; likewise taking everything that had been shared between them deep inside to think over, even if he never would have admitted as much if they'd known and asked.

Alright, everyone, and there it is! I hope this has you all excited to see how I tackle what's all to come next! Please be kind and let me know your thoughts in an honest review.

I'll see you all next week on 05/13!