Hello again, everyone. As satisfied as I am with the first two School Brief spin-offs, it still feels really good to be back to where it all started once more, and with the beginning of this take on the Endeavor Agency Arc. I hope you all are just as happy to see me back with new material, whether you review or not. I am very grateful for the reviews I did recently get, though. Whether subtle or huge, I'm always happy and eager to get original plot elements out there in order to get the greater wheels in motion for what I have in mind for the future.

I would like to extend my never-ending thanks for my beta readers, even those that have made the decision to move on to other things, for having helped this story even get this far to begin with in the times when I was at my lowest, when I found myself wondering if I was just wasting my time with this whole project. So to Jonny, Carlos, and the departed Mizu, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

And I would also like to eagerly thank the recently expanded list of artists on DA and potentially even i.n.s.t.a.g.r.a.m. who have contributed artwork to help promote and bring this story to life; especially as I'm getting ready to finally start uploading this story on a third whole platform in the form of w.a.t.t.p.a.d. So I sincerely thank you all: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Vanera-Taro, Yumake, and now also Shallisey-N.

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

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

Chapter 130

Interviews

(Интервью)

Tartarus Prison, Thursday, December 18th

In the aftermath of the incident at Nabu Island; the process of getting the three Villains recovered from the scene; Hoyo Makihara (Mummy), Chojuro Kon (Chimera) and Kiruka Hasaki (Slice) into maximum security was practically lightning fast. With all the overwhelming video evidence recovered from all the scenes of their previous attacks in their recent reign of terror across Japan with their comrade, Nine; there was essentially no need for any kind of deliberation in their trials. With their Quirks being as dangerous as they were; they were to be taken and locked up in Tartarus ASAP.

However, while many of the public that had been watching the news about the recent island attack could breathe easy, knowing that the majority of the Villains responsible were now locked firmly away; no one investigating the scene could find any trace of their leader anywhere. With his subordinates having no answers to give as to where he possibly could have gone; that left a lingering sense of unease among the citizens and the Heroes alike.

After all, word had officially gotten out of Nine having managed to steal the Quirks of several Heroes since his escape, which inherently brought about many terrifying memories of the very same Villain that all of Japan had watched All Might sacrifice his power in order to defeat back in Kamino Ward.

And this feeling was no different among the guards stationed at Tartarus, as they refused to take even a split-second of leaving All For One in his cell unobserved. One of the guards in particular; a middle-aged man with piercing narrow eyes and pale lavender-colored hair, was especially tense, as he was unknowingly clutching the sleeves of his uniform in a white-knuckled grip.

And this intensity in his demeanor was far from lost on his colleagues, as another of the guards spoke up reassuringly: "Try not to worry too much, Shishikura-san. With all this Nabu Island business and this missing Villain with a similar Quirk-Stealing Quirk; there's no doubt the police and Heroes from all over are gonna be coming here en masse to get some answers out of that psychopath in there. There's no way a Quirk like his can suddenly pop up elsewhere, and it just ends up being a freak coincidence."

But that was far from what was weighing the heaviest in the guard called Shishikura's mind. "The timing just feels too precise. Ever since they reported finding that wandering giant monstrosity a while back, he's been getting much more active in his cell, more talkative, more…restless. I don't like it. It feels like he's just toying with us, biding his time. There's gotta be some kind of connection between his League of Villains pets and that trio of new arrivals."

Another of the guards, unwilling to discredit what Shishikura was saying, but likewise not wanting to dwell further and further into fearful assumptions; could only speak up with the one bit of good news he could: "Well, as long as we're keeping surveillance on All For One, there isn't a whole lot of anything he can do…and thank goodness your son wasn't on that island when those three attacked, right?"

Instead, that only served to make Shishikura's body become even tenser. "My Seiji would be more than capable of handling a bunch of rogues like them. Shiketsu High has been training him exceptionally well, and he was already an exceptional student to begin with. I just don't like having this large number of Villains all gathered together in one place for this long. If the Russians could hurry up and get their infrastructure back together, they could finally send a recovery team to get that bunch of Villains from that incident in Hokkaido out of here. Even just a handful less of the monsters would perhaps be able to calm my nerves some."

Another of the guards instinctively let out a groan of similar frustration. "It couldn't happen soon enough, if you ask me. Every time the police have tried interrogating that bunch, they just come out with a whole lot of nothing as to where that wayward Romanian of theirs is. Once that question is answered, we can finally stop worrying about them altogether."

The reminder of the as-of-yet unaccounted Marius Lazarescu from the Gagaringad incident aside; another of the guards was currently observing the video feed on the cell of the scientist from the same incident, Alyosha Stepanovich Mikhalkov. "And that's far less frustrating than dealing with this one. Every time, all he does is just laugh in our faces about still not finding that boy, or his damn science experiment. If you ask me, I'll bet it's that weird Quirk-Activating serum those brainwashed kids in jail told the Hokkaido police about. God only knows where something with such devastating potential could be right now…or who might have it if the Romanian doesn't."

None of the guards wanted to dwell on such a question that could only ever have negative connotations to it. But with all of the talk about the already unbearable wait for Russia to get itself back on its feet enough to take the expatriated Villains off their prison and Japan's hands; another of the younger guards couldn't help but get one last question out in the open: "You know; when the time comes that the Russians do eventually come to get their Villains for trial; how do any of us know that they won't ask us to fork over the League of Villains to them when they eventually get captured, too? I mean, with the number they did across their country and Georgia, I can't imagine they're gonna just sit quietly on the sidelines."

It was certainly a possibility that had crossed many of the guards' minds more than once since taking in the surviving Villains from Gagaringrad; and to have to now think of it once again; the already uneasy air over their heads only grew that much heavier. They could only sit in silence and hope that the Heroes would eventually be able to mobilize and finally take the League of Villains down sooner rather than later. Maybe then things would actually feel genuinely safe again.

Yuuei Academy, Friday, December 19th

With so many of the students of 1-A's injuries having already been healed during their last couple of days on Nabu Island, and Nikolay's own wounds having finished healing in their entirety by the next day; their return to their school had been a likewise return to their normal routines, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

And where Aizawa, Toshinori and Tunguska had been concerned, there was no better way to really see just how much their students' recent Work Recommendation Project time as a whole had improved their abilities to utilize their Quirks swiftly and professionally in another elaborate team-based rescue lesson…with the added support of Vlad King and Class B, with Maja Kieslowska being a part of their specific roster today. After the results of the Joint Training Exercise, it was going to be an especially interesting experience to see how well they could all work together this time in randomized inter-class teams in varied environmental training grounds.

And to their all-around satisfaction; each team that was formed was proving to be quick on their feet and their heads alike in each environment specifically picked for them, in order to clear out all environmental dangers enough to save all their allotted civilian decoys.

In a training ground modeled after a power station experiencing a devastating surge; Denki was using his Support Items and himself as a series of lightning rods to redirect the electrical arcs, while Kojiro Bondo used his Glue to muffle the and douse the cables and malfunctioning generators, so Fumikage and Shihai Kuroiro could navigate through the darkened wreckage to rescue the more difficult-to-reach civilians.

In the training ground modeled after a city experiencing a devastating earthquake at randomized intervals; Yosetsu Awase and Momo were working together to Create and Weld multiple metal pieces to reinforce the buildings still standing so she could use a tow cable and winch to help them both reach the higher placed civilians. At the same time, Reiko Yanagi was using her Telekinesis Quirk to build makeshift ladder and bridge so that Mina could get across and use her Acid to reach the isolated civilians trapped in sealed off rooms or under rubble.

In the training ground modeled after a large sinking ocean liner; Ochako was applying her Zero Gravity to a large canvass sheet to make it float up to the higher levels, while Setsuna Tokage had several of her pieces supporting and pulling it taut for support, while the rest of her was hurriedly navigating through the interior that was still above the surface, in order to get the civilians outside and onto the makeshift platform. At the same time, Tsuyu was likewise navigating the parts of the ship that were already submerged, in order to get the civilians in the half-flooded rooms out, where Yui Kodai had already used her Quirk to enlarge the only remaining lifeboat in order to make room for all of the civilians, once her teammates lowered the tarp platform full of them inside to safety.

One training ground was distinctly split in two to account for two different situations for two smaller teams to work with. In the half simulating a town currently buried and at risk of being further crushed under a colossal avalanche, Maja was making use of an improvement to the Support Items adorning the arms of her costume (a set of manually controlled heating rods to more precisely liquefy parts of her arms) in order to more precisely aim and throw her half-melted extending Wax Arms in order to reach the civilians buried too deep for her to reach normally, as well as to splash them in a far wider range, in order to provide better support when quickly re-solidifying them, in order to buy Eijirou a chance to use his Hardening to sharpen his hands to carve through the more rigorous walls of ice to get to the completely buried buildings and civilians below.

At the same time, in the half simulating a town engulfed in a forest fire; Shoto was precisely applying his Ice to the most probably paths for the flames to travel so he could rescue the civilians directly in said paths, while Tetsutetsu made use of his natural resistance to heat to power his way through the flames cutting off areas directly available for rescue, while Shoto would then throw a major cold front from his right arm and leg in order to douse the flames enough for Tetsutetsu to get them back out undamaged or unharmed.

Then, in the training ground simulating a bursting dam threatening to flood an entire valley occupied by a widespread small town; Izuku and Itsuka Kendo were using speed and physical strength in tandem to evacuate the civilians caught in the open the fastest; while also making use of her expanding hands to clear away what wreckage or blockades were in place in order to make for the fastest route to the evacuation point. All the while, Bakugo was begrudgingly being forced to work alongside the continuously boasting Neito Monoma, to rescue the civilians trapped in the dam area of the grounds, while also applying a two-person dose of Explosions to a nearby mountain on the edge of the training ground, in order to trigger a rockslide that would ultimately end up blocking the hole in the dam, thus stopping the flood in its tracks.

These were all some of the most noteworthy examples the four teachers were currently seeing from the students of both classes working effectively together. But after what had happened at Nabu Island after the battle itself, there as one group that Aizawa, Tunguska and Toshinori were both particularly interested in seeing play out: that being the team consisting of Nikolay, Tooru, Sen Kaibara and Jurota Shishida.

Their training ground was simulating a skyscraper that was on the verge of complete collapse, having already sunken a quarter of the way into the ground, with multiple civilians trapped inside across all the levels.

All year long, the teachers and students alike had become accustomed to Nikolay's one persistent hindrance being his crippling claustrophobia when faced with tight underground spaces. But his miraculous rescue of Mina and Fumikage at Nabu Island had put a crack in the assuredness of that fact, and now the teachers especially wanted to see if that instance had been a sign of things to be expected from the young Russian, or if it had simply been a miraculous one-time thing brought about by sheer emotional blindness.

Thus far, their teamwork had actually proven to be quite effective. This time around, Yuuei had gone out of their way to make the civilian decoys as lifelike as possible, which meant even giving them a distinctly human scent, which allowed for Jurota's heightened sense of smell to pinpoint all of their locations throughout the building; thus allowing himself, Sen and Tooru to respectively work their way up the floors together to get them out to the evacuation point on the ground below.

However, the catch to their mission was that they were continuously racing against the clock before the building would collapse in full, and there was still a considerable number of civilians trapped in the buried floors below, and even with the three students on the above-ground floors working together to evacuate the civilians in record time, there still wouldn't be enough time for them to work their way down to that point and get the remaining civilians out before time would be up. This was the detail Aizawa had made a distinct point of including, as this was where he and his colleagues all wanted to see exactly how Nikolay would do.

And as the seconds continued to mercilessly tick by…they were all stricken with a resounding surprise, and soon after, a profound feeling of pride, as Nikolay didn't freeze up as he looked upon the one entrance to the underground while his teammates were already busy at work. In fact, he didn't even hesitate, before he took off in a mad sprint for that entrance, before ultimately lowering himself into a speed slide across the ground and into the hole leading below ground.

And as Tunguska and Toshinori were both anxiously switching their gazes from the video feed in the underground section, and the overall clock, Aizawa refused to take his eyes off his foreign student; holding any possible comments within himself, as he watched how Nikolay was hastily working his way through even the most cramped passages, making use of his Capture Chords for leverage, and his Quirk for debris clearing and speed, in order to systematically get every one of the civilians back out the same hole he had come in through; before ultimately managing to emerge with the final two, and from there getting as many of them as he could get into his arms at a time to the evacuation point; just barely managing to get the last one in alongside the rest of his teammates, just before the clock finally hit zero, thus ending the entire lesson for everyone.

There was no further questioning it now: whatever Nikolay had experienced going through his heart and mind back in that cave-in at Nabu Island; it had managed what was once thought impossible, and forced him to finally conquer his claustrophobia; and Aizawa, Toshinori, and especially Tunguska, couldn't have felt prouder of him for it.

But they would be far from the only ones; for once the students of both classes had reunited at their starting ground, they too were treated to recordings of each team's runs in their rescue operations, in order for Aizawa and Vlad King to sufficiently point out what each student did well, and where they could have come up with better plans.

When Nikolay's classmates saw him go rushing into the underground section of his training ground and come out with not even a hint of hesitation or fear to be seen; he was left feeling like the veritable star of the hour, as nearly all his friends crowded him with joyous pats on the back and congratulations all around; with Mina naturally taking the liberty of clinging onto him in a tight and overjoyed hug. "I just knew the island wasn't a one-time thing! The way your eyes look has been just plain different since then! Way to go, Kolya-kun, this is so huge!"

"Yeah…yeah, I guess it is. You were really cool with your team too, Mina. I guess I really was worrying for nothing when it came to your leg, huh?" Nikolay similarly realized, as if he too couldn't believe that he'd managed to finally conquer his fear, before then returning attention to just how well Mina and her team had done, which left her grinning with exceptional confidence.

Afterwards, Nikolay could finally be able to express his own congratulations to everyone else amid both classes for their exceptional work as a team with their former rivals. Among Class B; Setsuna, Tetsutetsu and Kinoko Komori were naturally the most vocal in their congratulations for his having overcome his claustrophobia. When it came to their congratulating the Iron Hero of Class B, though, Nikolay and his friends' attention couldn't help but subsequently zero in on Eijirou, who was currently in the middle of eagerly congratulating Bakugo with Maja still by his side with an encouraging smirk of her own.

"Way to go, Bakugo, you were just as awesome and head-on as ever! You even managed to get through it without trying to blow up that Monoma guy once! Talk about major progress, dude!" "Don't go jumping to conclusions just yet, Kolce. Take it from me, I've barely even been with Class B very long, and Monoma-san can leave anyone wanting to shut him up days after the fact."

As Bakugo scowled in an attempt to maintain an air of indifference to what anyone had to say about his working alongside someone still so infuriating to him; Denki was likewise congratulating Eijirou and Maja for their own exceptional teamwork. "Hey, you two were pretty awesome, too. You manage to keep finding ways to make such oddly mismatched Quirks like yours work with each other in a way that…that I don't think I've really seen from anybody else after Kolya-san and Ashido."

To such a bold statement, the two of them couldn't help but laugh as Maja replied: "Hey, you could say I'm soft in the head, and Kirishima-san and Tetsutetsu-san are both as hardheaded as bulls. I guess we just go together like that, huh?"

Overhearing his name being mentioned; Tetsutetsu instinctively answered: "Sure as hell feels like it! When I heard Class A were the only ones to get to experience that Hero Work Recommendation Project before the whole thing got canned, I was pissed! But man does it feel good to know we can still show you just how well we can hold our own regardless!"

Naturally, Eijirou enthusiastically met Tetsutetsu's hand with his own in a manly show of comradery as they were both all smiles. "That's the can-do spirit, man! I hope we all get to work like this together more often from now on!"

While Denki and ultimately Tetsutetsu himself couldn't help but join in on the laughter from this overall grand mood; Mina, unable to help but overhear Denki's comparison between the two unusual duos; felt a surge of greater recognition and ultimate inspiration dart across her mind, as she couldn't help but now see Eijirou and Maja laughing together in an entirely new light…one that was admittedly quite familiar to her, that now left her forming an increasingly excited grin on her face.

But while this little watershed moment was unfolding; by now Nikolay had finally been personally approached by his father, and much like how the boy himself couldn't stop smiling with the cemented realization of what he could finally do now; so too did Tunguska have a look of the utmost pride in his face, as he knelt down and firmly placed his hands upon his son's shoulders. [[You did it, Kolya…I'm so, so, SO proud of you! Now, there will truly be nothing that can stand in your way of becoming a true Pro Hero!]]

As soon as the father and son embraced each other; similarly overwhelmed with happy emotions in this moment; the bell signaling the end of the school day could be heard echoing from the main school building. As such, Vlad King gave a resolute clap of his large hands in order to snap all the students to attention. "You've all proven yourselves as far as working together in a crisis goes, but don't think this means you're all too good for improvement. The best kinds of teams are the ones that are always evolving in how they can work together, even when working on themselves alone. Keep that in mind, and make a point of brainstorming with each other in your free time to figure out creative and, most importantly, effective ways to put your Quirks together; whether in a rescue situation or a battle. The best Heroes make sure they're prepared to react on a dime to either case without problems."

With his Class B colleague having given the instruction they'd both wanted to impart to their students as a result of this lesson; Aizawa followed up: "You're all free to get changed and go back to the dorms. However; Bakugo and Todoroki…"

At their teacher calling the two boys out specifically; the whole of Class A couldn't help but likewise freeze and wait with growing curiosity as to just what he had to say to the two.

"…I suggest you both make a point of getting to bed on the early side, because Nezu-san has agreed to let a local news crew come to Yuuei tomorrow morning to interview you both; in regards to you stopping that small gang of Villains right after getting your Provisional Licenses. Obviously, things last week had progressed too fast for them to get the chance, so this is the best way they could make up for it."

Everyone was already looking at the two boys in question with primarily surprise and excitement for them, while much of Class B was staring with bristling envy; especially when seeing just how Bakugo reacted, with a dismissive sneer. "Sounds like a total waste of time to me."

By comparison, Shoto was far more gracious, as he gave but a single understanding bow to their teacher. "Understood, Sensei. Thank you for telling us."

With that, both classes finally began to take their leave, where Nikolay could clearly hear Denki calling out to the two stars of the hour: "Man, you guys are so lucky, you get a whole interview all to yourselves! I still can't believe none of us got one interview for Nabu Island or I-Island! That was way harder than what you guys are getting it for!"

But in an odd show of reassurance, Tsuyu commented: "It's not like you're the only one getting ignored, Denki. None of us at the Hassaikai mission got any interviews, either. It'll come to all of us in due time, so just try to be patient-kero."

Following on the green-haired girl's advice, Ochako chimed in with a sunny smile: "Besides, it's not like we haven't gotten any chance to talk with the media at all before, Kaminari-san. We got that chance to introduce ourselves after the battle with Vukodlak in Erubi City, remember? Just because it wasn't a lengthy interview, doesn't mean it isn't as important."

But as Denki bowed his head in humble acceptance of the reminder from his two classmates; Minoru couldn't help but chime in: "All things considered, after tomorrow morning; the only ones in our class who won't have gotten any chance to be on TV at all will be Midoriya, Kirishima, Ojiro, Shouji, Kouda, Tokoyami and Aoyama. That's not a bad track record for a class of first-years in my opinion…especially considering the duo among us that's actually gotten to be in the news TWICE already."

Minoru was currently eyeing Nikolay and Mina walking together with Tunguska; talking about what, he had no idea, nor did he really care. To think that the two of them, of all people, would essentially be the overall TV stars of Class 1-A this far into the year because of the incidents in Erubi City and Gagaringrad was the last thing he had ever expected. The more he thought about it together with Bakugo and Shoto getting their big interview in the morning, had him already grinding his teeth in building envy. If he didn't do something worth getting him in the media's sights before long, then he'd never get the chance to impress all the ladies out there just waiting for a cool Hero like the one he wanted to be.

Later that night…

After dinner that evening, Nikolay and Mina had made their way to the faculty dorm building, as once school had let out, they had finally approached Oleg to see about the possibility of conducting their previously promised mutual dancing practice in his room; since the teachers had considerably bigger living spaces than the students themselves.

Of course, the idea of the two of them causing enough of a racket with the kind of high-energy dancing Mina was best at to spur Aizawa, Midnight or anyone else to come over and kick the two of them out, was a considerable risk of embarrassment for all of them to take. But when given the two's mutual argument about how much mastering each other's preferred style of dancing would assist them in fighting in the future; he knew it would have been grossly irresponsible of him as their teacher to say no.

And by some miracle, Nikolay and Mina had managed to somehow conduct their dance practice for well over an hour and a half without any of the other teachers storming in to see what any kind of ruckus was about. Perhaps everyone else among the faculty had proven to be especially heavy sleepers, in addition with how Mina's signature break-dancing style required far less hard-hitting impacts to the wooden floor with either of their feet. Or maybe Mina and Nikolay were both proving exceptionally light on their feet; especially when it came time to try and practice the traditional Russian Navy dance known as Yablochko; with all of its wide-swinging and high-reaching kicks, human top-style squatting-to-standing-and-back spins in place, and rubbery gyrating waist gestures peppered in between its circular leaping skips and rapid-fire twisting leg positions performed in unison between the two.

Even having his own number of years of experience in performing such dances in celebration with Russia's various military branches in his youth; Oleg was visibly impressed by the end with just how quickly his son and student were managing to adapt to each other's respective dancing styles without disrupting the entire building. But by the end, it had definitely taken a considerable toll on Nikolay at least; as he and Mina now sat splayed out on the sofa, while Oleg was busily applying an ice pack to his son's left shoulder, and both of Mina's legs.

While Nikolay was clearly in discomfort from having sprained his shoulder when trying to do the spin-on-head maneuver from Mina's break-dancing; she was trying to catch her breath while still having the biggest smile of excitement on her face. "Man…break-dancing gives such a rush, doesn't it, Kolya-kun? But you guys…you really put a lot of pressure on your legs…that's for sure. That was the most concentrated legwork I've done in a long time. I can feel the burn…and it feels good. Don't worry; I know we'll both get used to it in no time so long as we keep it up. I definitely can't wait to see what this'll look like, the next time we're in a scrap."

Chuckling at her enthusiasm despite the soreness in her legs; Nikolay could only answer: "That's easy for you to say. I didn't have nearly so much experience with Yablochko as I did the Soldier's Dance…and you still managed to dance through most of it like a pro by comparison. You're like a dancing machine, Mina. I might as well just learn it all from you."

With an adorable giggle of appreciation, Mina had a daydreaming look to her eyes. "Aww, but the title of Kolya-sensei-kun sounds so good on you. Also, I prefer the title of 'dancing queen', myself. Still, it sounds really cool, though: a Hero duo that can fight with any dance style under the sun. That sounds like a blast to me…but maybe later. Right now, two dance styles under our belts isn't a bad start."

Looking at the clock on the wall, Nikolay let out an uncomfortable groan as he tried to get up. "It's getting pretty late, and if Aizawa-sensei's gonna come to the dorms with the news crew tomorrow, I'd really prefer not getting yelled at for not being in with everyone else."

However, where Nikolay simply saw the seconds ticking by when looking at the time, Mina was seeing an opportunity for yet more fun with just the two of them. "You know we might not actually have to rush, Kolya-kun. It's not like getting from here to the dorms is like a road trip or anything. We could maybe stick around here for a while, have a little more real fun with just the two of us…you know?"

Nikolay instinctively felt his face get warmer as he was at a momentary loss as to just what his girlfriend was hinting at. When Mina saw the flustered look on his face, she started giggling again. "Hey, hang on to whatever's going through your head right now, you cutie; it might be something else to do later on. I was just thinking that since we did a lot of what I wanted to do, why not spend the rest of the evening the way I know you like to have fun? I don't know how I never knew about this way before, but I recently found out there's, like, a few prequels to 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. Since we both love those movies, I thought it'd be loads of fun for us to check them out together. I mean, it's not like you've got bad grades or I've got a ton of homework to still do; Yaomomo's recent tutoring sessions have been really helping me to stay on top of that. What do you say? Something new for both of us to check out together; that sounds like it could be fun, right?"

She could already see by the enthusiastic glimmer in Nikolay's emerald green eyes that he was clearly of the same mind, as he now looked to the clock with less apprehension and more acceptance.

And Oleg, naturally being unable but to help but overhear Mina's suggestion, openly chimed in: "Well, since I'm still technically serving the role as your teacher supervision, it's not exactly like you'd both be breaking any rules by staying here for the night under my watch. Plus, Quirk History is scheduled as your first class tomorrow, so you'll both have the advantage of getting to class before everyone else, so long as I make sure neither of you sleeps in. also, I overheard Nezu-san talking with the station the news crew tomorrow belongs to, so they would be coming for the interview with malenkie Todoroki and Bakugo before your normal wake-up time, so I don't think you'd be risking any trouble with Aizawa-san regardless."

Oleg's concise explanation of just how many elements were in favor of Nikolay and Mina's new plan on how to spend the evening was just about all the convincing they needed to finally get started, with Mina eagerly looking up the titles in mind on the wall-mounted TV before them; barely able to sit still once Nikolay had gotten all the necessary snacks together from his father's pantry.

Unfortunately, even a variety of snacks couldn't have salvaged their movie night, as the trilogy of formerly-unknown 'Alien' prequels had ultimately left the young couple mutually wishing they had remained unknown; having been subjected to a series of hackey writing and outright narrative stupidity that managed the impossible: getting Mina to admit gratitude for having been talked out of picking 'Alien Queen' as her original Hero name, as she had been left with a feeling of resentment that these idiotic excuses for movies were supposed to ultimately lead up to two of her favorite movies; almost tarnishing their own memories for her in the process.

Unwilling to go to sleep with such a bitter taste in both their mouths, even when basking in the comfort of each other's warmth as they cuddled under the blanket Oleg had provided them; the two had ultimately decided to go with the only option they could think of that couldn't have possibly gone wrong, which was falling asleep to some good old-fashioned classic Disney movies; something Mina practically swore by, that it would at least end the night on a better note.

And judging by just how peaceful they both looked as they slept on the sofa that night, she was far from wrong.

But as the two slept; Nikolay never knew of how Oleg had taken that opportunity to slip something of great meaning and value into the pocket of his uniform pants: the same aged ring on a necklace string that he had given to his son as a keepsake after the Joint Training Exercise.

In truth, Nikolay had all but forgotten how he had been wearing it during his time at Nabu Island; let alone was never aware of the fact it had gotten thrown off of him somewhere in the midst of his helping Izuku and Bakugo to battle Nine.

The only reason Oleg had ever come to find out, was because in the few days that had passed between the end of that battle, and the whole class leaving that island once the repairs were done; he had actually been approached by none other than the little girl, Mahoro Shimano, who had ended up coming across it in the grasses of Mt. Shiroyama by complete accident, and upon seeing the Cyrillic engraving inside it, had come to the natural conclusion that it had belonged to the young foreign Hero who had helped protect her and her little brother Katsuma, and their home…and whom had ultimately helped inspire her to do the same, herself.

And now that the one remaining physical remnant of Oleg's unbreakable connection to his wife and Nikolay's mother, Lyudmila, was back in its rightful place with the boy himself, the aged veteran Hero could at last rest in complete ease with himself.

Saturday, December 20th

Today was going to be one that was full of surprises. This was all Nikolay could imagine when he woke up on the sofa in his father's teacher dorm room with Mina likewise just waking up still cuddled up tight with him; and the very first thing ever of them caught wind of was that of something cooking in the kitchen…something that actually smelled halfway edible.

"Good morning, you two. Good to see that even a late night up wouldn't be enough to make you all miss your proper wake-up time, and just in time for breakfast, too. I suggest you both eat up and freshen up; class will start quite soon."

Nikolay was far too familiar with his father's abysmal track record when it came to trying to cook, so the fact he smelt anything cooking in here at first triggered an automatic reflex of pure panic whilst trying to recall where a fire extinguisher would be kept. But when he saw his Oleg standing dutifully at the oven with not a twinge of panic visible upon his aged face, he couldn't help but think he was still dreaming, until he could ehar Mina comment happily after an initial yawn. "Hey, that smells really good, Tunguska-sensei! I thought you couldn't touch a kitchen without the place going up in flames."

With a hearty chuckle, Oleg presented his son and student with a most delectable-looking plate of grilled potatoes, eggs, sausage and even chopped up okra, to Mina's immediate overjoyed discovery. "Malenkii Sato is a true marvel when it comes to imparting the culinary arts to even someone as thick-headed to the craft as myself. Just working together on the day of the School Festival was truly all it took. Now both of you eat up and let me know how it turned out, and then let's get a move-on."

Nikolay couldn't deny that everything on his plate looked to be in order, but it was only when he finally took a chance with the first bite, that he at last could feel any remaining semblance of doubt in his father's ability to learn in the ways of a home-keeper instantly vanish. "This is all really good, Dad. Did Sato-san really teach you how to make these specifically? I don't remember our snack stand at the Festival having breakfast items like this."

That reminder made the smile on Oleg's face glow with that much more well-deserved pride in himself. "You're right, Kolya; it didn't. All he had to teach me was the necessity of maintaining balance between heat and all the necessities for making sure your food doesn't stick where you don't want it to. He truly wasn't kidding when he said it was half of the culinary battle. I simply applied that to what I felt would make a satisfactory breakfast, and there you have it. If you ever wish to come by for more, or any other meal during the day, I happily invite you to. The more I can learn to make, the better."

Nikolay didn't even need to ask Mina how she thought of it; considering that she had already cleaned off her plate entirely with the most satisfied smile on her face for a start to the day.

Afterwards, the two of them hurriedly straightened up their uniforms, and with Oleg strolling ahead, they were soon on their way to their class, wherein they managed the once impossible accomplishment of making it before the rest of their classmates, even if only by about twenty seconds, before Tenya and Momo stepped forward with the rest of their class following their lead; and all of them equally as shocked to find Nikolay and Mina, of all people, having actually come before them.

"Bezpalov-san, Ashido-san?! How on Earth did you get here before us?!" "Yes, I had naturally assumed you'd both returned from your dancing practice after curfew, and simply had to race after the rest of us." "Seriously, they actually made it in first? It's official, Hell's finally frozen over."

As Denki quickly threw in his own teasing answer to the two class representatives' admittedly proud sense of surprise; Nikolay quickly explained: "Oh, no, I actually wanted to avoid us having to do that, so we decided to just stay the night in Dad's dorm room instead."

As soon as Nikolay had made mention of he and Mina actually spending the night together under their teacher's supervision; Minoru brute-forced his way through the crowd of his classmates; his face taut and red enough to look as though his whole bodyw as about to explode with envy. "A-are you…s-s-serious, Bezpalov, Ashido?! You're saying you two…actually…did the…a-and with Tunguska-sensei's permission to boot?! DAMN YOU AND YOUR UNFAIR FACULTY CONNECTIONS, YOU LUCKY PIECE OF-!"

Thankfully, a timely shot of Tape from Hanta sealed Minoru's mouth shut before he could finish his furious rambling. However, that didn't stop Maja; who had rejoined the whole of Class A on their way to class as it was one of her days to be learning with them; from poking her head up with a comparatively excited smile on her face: "Am I hearing that right? What the heck have I been missing out on, you two? You're moving real freakin' fast!"

This prompted Mina to shake away her sudden fluster at what the tiny boy and taller Polish girl had both been insinuating, and officially explain: "No, no, no! Get your head out of the gutter, Mineta, Maja-chan! We were just so worn out from dancing, I thought it'd be fun to check out some Alien movies I hadn't heard of for the rest of the night…but honestly, listening to any of Aizawa-sensei's remedial lessons would've been preferable."

As the rest of the class dutifully took their seats; the bitter reminder of the pieces of utter celluloid garbage they had subjected themselves to, had gotten Nikolay and Mina both flushed in their cheeks as they began bouncing off all their grievances between themselves, just as they had already done on reflex the previous night. "Seriously, it was so much scarier when they were, like, all mysterious and stuff; like space parasites or something! Why did we ever need to know where they came from?! And you're seriously saying a robot with a God complex made them with a crew of the dumbest people ever as the test subjects?! Why?! Why would they change the Space Jockies to be called Engineers?! That's so BOOORING!"

"Not to mention the first one. Why would a crew of scientists on an undiscovered planet EVER take their helmets off just because a scanner said there was an atmosphere? That doesn't mean it's anything like the one on Earth! Or why would they touch a weird alien worm thing they have no idea if it's hostile or not? Or not even think to just run to the side when a really thin spaceship is falling in a straight line behind them? IT WAS THAT EASY, AND THEY SERIOUSLY DIDN'T DO IT! WHY?!"

"OH! And what about the super weird lewd undertones in the second one?! I get the guy who plays the psycho robot is handsome and all, but who ever thought it would be necessary to see him literally make out with himself?!"

"Oh my God, and what about the dialogue in that scene?! Having his duplicate blow into the flute while saying he'll do the fingering?! You know those smart-ass writers probably thought they were so damn clever when they wrote that, but it's so STUPID! And why would a space-colonization crew be comprised of married couples?! They're not even the colonizers themselves, they're just the transportation! Wouldn't that be such an obvious conflict of interest if things went wrong?! I'm not even an astronaut or a space explorer and I thought of that!"

"Ugh, and what about the third one? Why did the 'Alien' movies ever need time travel, musical numbers that aren't even that good, and robo-Aliens?! Since when could Face-Huggers impregnate androids?! God, it's so DUMB! Why would the same guy who made the awesome first movie way back when ever think any of these prequels were a good idea?! How am I ever gonna take the originals seriously anymore?! Oh my God...that's it, it's all over. Game over, man...game over!"

As Nikolay and Mina continued breaking down in the one kind of furious rant none of their classmates ever expected to witness; Eijirou and Denki exchanged knowing and worried glances, before the blonde-haired boy muttered: "Damn, I didn't think those dumb-ass prequels would get to them like that. It's almost like they'd never even heard of the Dark Age of Hollywood before."

Eijirou cautiously nodded in agreement. "Right? Hey...didn't Kolya-san say he really liked Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings and The Terminator, also?"

Denki's face went pale and sweaty with a dreaded remembrance. "Oooh, crap, you're right. Let's maybe...not mention those travesties to them, okay? I don't think either of them could be able to take that much more existential heartbreak after this."

SLAM!

"IF IT PISSES YOU TWO OFF SO MUCH, THEN QUIT YOUR DAMN WHINING AND MAKE SOMETHING BETTER, YOURSELVES! SERIOUSLY, WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT STUPID MOVIES ANYMORE, ANYWAY?!"

Bakugo's sudden impatient outburst managed to silence any and all further gripes Nikolay and Mina had to say about their disappointed evening…but in the process he had ultimately drawn all attention in the classroom back to himself and Shoto, as Mina instantly lit back up with remembrance: "Hey, that's right! How did your guys' interview this morning go?"

But before either Bakugo could snap at them to mind their own business, or Shoto could simply give them the brief rundown they were looking for; Momo gave a resounding clap of her hands to regain the classes' attention for their patiently waiting teacher. "Please, everyone, I know we weren't all up and about to see how it went for ourselves, but let's at least wait until the interview itself is actually up online before we ask Bakugo-san or Todoroki-san any questions about it, alright?"

Mina and Nikolay nodded in as much understanding acceptance as everyone else; albeit the pink young girl looked a touch disappointed that they would have to wait. But regardless, Oleg thanked Momo for helping wrangle the class back to attention, before proceeding with his opening lesson for the day:

"Alright, everyone. It's actually rather fortunate timing that malenkie Bakugo and Todoroki had their first official interview this morning, as today we're going to be discussing the history of the relationship between Pro Heroes and the media as an institution. Naturally, some Heroes are not only more photogenic, but much more sociable with dealing with media figures than others, but it is still an essential factor in this line of work that all Heroes must at least prepare themselves to deal with.

"The fact is that it doesn't matter how powerful or fast a Hero can be; it is simply impossible for any single Hero in any part of the world to be able to be there to save every single person in any one country, in order to establish themselves on a wide scale. The media ultimately serves as an essential tool to cement yourselves in the consciousness of an entire country's worth of people, and if you're able to present yourselves as approachable, admirable, strong and true, then the trust people will have in you by proxy will skyrocket in comparison to the minuscule amount of awareness and trust you would get simply from the grand total of people you directly manage to save; even when simple word-of-mouth is applied.

"So, let us begin by discussing the very first Pro Hero to actually establish a healthy dynamic with the media, thus leading them to ultimately secure the title of the world's very first Number One Hero in any country…"

As Tunguska proceeded to guide his class through this entire unorthodox history lesson; many of the students couldn't shake the feeling as though the universe was trying to give them all a sign as to what expect from the very near future, even if none of them could begin to explain just what it was they could expect to come of it and when.

To Tunguska's satisfaction, everyone seemed to really absorb the whole Hero/Media relationship history lesson by the time first period had ended. They had all absorbed it so much so, that even through Present Mic's following English class and all the way through lunch period, they all hadn't been able to shake the uneasy feeling of anticipation it had instilled in them…at least until they had all finally returned to their homeroom class, just for Denki to bring everyone to a complete stop when looking at his phone with an irresistible excitement: "HOLD UP, EVERYONE! THE INTERVIEW'S FINALLY UP!"

Like a shot, nearly everyone had their phones out and was hitting the link almost faster than they could actually read it. And what they ended up witnessing, while unexpected, was far from disappointing.

An interview with a runtime of about an hour, that with but a quick skimming across; was comprised of the interviewer asking many understandably basic introductory questions of Shoto and Bakugo; but with only Shoto himself being given any screen time with his straightforward answers, while every chance Bakugo took to answer was cut out in the most awkward jump cuts any of them had ever seen.

And while it was enough to get Nikolay to let out a choking chuckle he barely tried to hide; it was nothing short of hilarious to those like Denki, Hanta and Maja; who all couldn't help but laugh themselves to tears at just how outright snubbed Bakugo had been after having listened to all of his self-aggrandizing bravado and arrogance over the course of the whole year; a reaction that had the hotheaded young Hero himself grinding his teeth loud enough for everyone across the classroom to hear, while continuously shooting glares at Shoto that might as well have left the word 'die' written all over his scowling face.

"HOW DARE THEY CUT ME WHEN THEY WANTED TO TALK TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" he ultimately growled like a ravenous animal with anger flowing in his veins instead of blood, while Eijirou was simply observing his demeanor with a sympathetic, even encouraging grin. "Hey, don't worry so much about it, dude! You'll nail it next time! Maybe an All Might-like presence and a more straightforward semi-boastful approach like Tunguska-sensei's old interviews is the best way for you to go! I found a whole bunch online if you'd wanna check them out for pointers!"

As Bakugo was bitterly dismissing his red-haired friend's suggestion; Maja was currently elbowing Eijirou in the arm with a knowing smirk on her face. "Man, you really are just always right there with the pick-me-ups for literally everybody; aren't you, Kolce? Maybe you could try writing a whole book of those once you go Pro. I'll bet therapy programs would be paying you out the nose for 'em."

As Eijirou couldn't help but laugh in amusement and honest consideration of Maja's half-joking advice; at the same time, Nikolay could see Mina was simply observing the final result with a wistful expression of admitted disappointment after her initial grin of excitement at the start. "I guess it's not that surprising they wouldn't wanna put Bakugo's lousy attitude on TV. What would it do for his chances of becoming Number One if he gives a bad impression right after getting his License, right?"

While Izuku and Minoru couldn't hear her comment all the way across the classroom like they were, the green-haired boy had come to a similar conclusion when observing just how badly Bakugo was reacting, especially after having seen the foul expression he'd kept wearing in the interview itself, for what little time he managed to be onscreen. "Kacchan's attitude really isn't very All Might-like. He's pretty much set the gold standard for Hero interviews, after all."

"You got that right. Bakugo's completely nuts, through and through. He'll be lucky if anybody wants to interview him ever, the way he is." Minoru uttered in agreement; just for Bakugo to whip his head in the tiny boy's direction with a murderous anger. "I HEARD THAT, DEKU, YOU DWEEB! YOU TOO, YOU BALL-HAIRED LITTLE RUNT; AND YOU, RACCOON EYES! I HEAR EVERYTHING!"

While Bakugo continued to dish out his blind anger-driven threats to his classmates he could just feel were mocking him; Momo and Kyouka were both watching with looks that couldn't be mistaken for anything but the utmost sympathy; the purple-haired girl muttering: "What a total waste. Just think of all the good will Bakugo could've worked up for them both right after finally getting their Licenses, if he just had a better attitude. I mean, we barely got a handful of minutes between us after Gagaringrad, and I feel like an interview pro next to him."

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT THE DAMN INTERVIEW?! IT WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME, JUST LIKE I SAID IT WOULD BE!" Bakugo furiously snapped to the entire class as a whole, just as Mashirao suddenly chimed in while looking at the video on his phone: "Hey, there's actually more afterward."

This quickly got everyone's attention, as the video feed went from the interview itself, back to the two news anchors. "These newly licensed Heroes-in-training are just the sort of fresh faces we can rely on. We eagerly await the day they can become full-fledged Heroes so that hopefully we won't see a repeat of the Deika City tragedy."

The repeat of that name quickly sent a grim chill through the air, as the feed switched to an aerial view of the titular city, with half of it still undergoing extensive reconstruction work. "It's been less than three weeks since that disastrous day when 20 Villainous individuals pushed Deika City to the brink of annihilation in just under an hour. Authorities have confirmed that while the scope of destruction in the aftermath of the incident proved even greater than that seen in the now-unforgettable Kamino Ward incident earlier this year; the casualties have thankfully proven far less, with many officers and Heroes crediting it to Deika City's remote location by comparison.

"Despite these statistics, however, there are some who see this incident as a planned attack aiming to unsettle society's faith in Pro Heroes, but what are people on the street saying?"

With this, a whole number of brief snippets of common folk of all ages began to play, with the grand majority of them all expressing support and sympathy for the Heroes responsible for resolving the incident; before the feed ultimately went back to the news room, wherein a sharp-dressed man with a face that looked (as Nikolay immediately would have put it) like something straight from 'The Exorcist' proceeded to summarize the general public consensus:

"In the past, a situation like this, where Heroes were forced to make an extremely difficult call, would have earned those same Heroes extensive criticism. You need only look to the public response in Russia towards their former Number One Hero in the aftermath of the Siberian Flash to see proof of this. However, I suspect that right now, we may be witnessing a critical turning point in this era: a large scale shift in public opinion from criticism to overwhelming support for their Heroes."

From the downtrodden feeling that the reminder of Deika City had brought about; this summation of just what the public was starting to truly express towards their Heroes, had magically lifted most everyone's spirits; as Ochako and Mina were both smiling especially brightly, looking to Shoto specifically. "It feels like a lot's really changed ever since that 'Can't You See' kid did his thing back in Kyushu." "Right? It's because Endeavor totally kicked butt back there!"

SHHF!

Suddenly, the door to the classroom swung open with a resounding CRACK, as a pair of familiar adult female voices spoke out with bombast and theatrical aplomb: "NOT SO FAST! YOU ALL THINK THE FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT?!" "It might seem like the wind of good fortune is blowing in all our favor, but if you stop and think about it on the flip side, it's actually coming from a sense of urgency on an animalistic level: a response to overwhelming DANGER! These cheers for the conquering Heroes are actually prayers…PRAYERS THAT WE ULTIMATELY EMERGE VICTORIOUS!"

As all the students instinctively turned to see for themselves; they were all stricken with excitement and confusion at the sudden arrival of Midnight, alongside the positively glowing and excited blonde-haired and similarly dressed horned Pro Hero, Mt. Lady; who finally finished her growing introductory speech: "THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THE SHOWBIZ SIDE OF HEROISM, AND WANT US ALL TO PROVE OUR REAL WORTH NOW!"

At the same time, Aizawa; having expected his students to be confused as to why such a high-ranking and extremely active Pro was here so unexpectedly; spoke up from within his body-shaped sleeping bag from behind his desk; which would have led one to assume he had literally been sleeping behind there the entire day through all their previous classes. "Mt. Lady is here as a guest lecturer, since with your Provisional Licenses, you'll inevitably be getting more media exposure going forward."

While Minoru instinctively pointed out how appropriate it was for a showboating Hero like Mt. Lady to be the lecturer for that subject; Bakugo was instinctively balking at the idea of putting himself through more interviews after the disaster this morning. Altogether, everyone else was understandably far more nervous or excited all across the board. Midnight, not wanting to be left silent in the corner since coming in here with her self-perceived copycat, followed up: "You see, Bakugo-kun and Todoroki-kun having their interview this morning was more than just a fortunate circumstance for them and the reporters involved. You were all informed of it ahead of time in order to get yourselves all hyped up, because we're going to be conducting a very special lesson for you all today."

And in the very same showboating fashion Minoru had just pointed out, Mt. Lady abruptly threw herself in front of a visibly annoyed Midnight; wielding a single card in her hand brandished with the word 'MEDIA' as though it were a veritable badge of honor. "THAT'S RIGHT! TODAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MEDIA! AND AS A RISING STAR MYSELF, I'M THE PERFECT HERO TO TEACH YOU ALL ABOUT HOW TO WORK IT! NOW C'MON, KIDS! GET YOUR COSTUMES, LET'S HEAD OUT AND DO THIS WITH THAT YUUEI ACADEMY BEYOND PLUS ULTRA ATTITUDE!"

"IT'S HERO INTERVIEW TRAINING!"

Once the students had all gotten changed and followed Mt. Lady, Midnight and Aizawa to the assigned training ground; they were met with a single sound stage, and a trio of other associated Heroes from her Agency manning the cameras and sound equipment.

On one hand, Bakugo was looking downright homicidally at the whole setup, while Eijirou was still maintaining his excited smile to train under another Pro Hero; even if his demeanor was undeniably disappointed as to just how they would be.

On the other hand, everyone else was looking at it with through-the-roof excitement…or nervousness, with very little in between. Naturally; Nikolay, Maja, Kyouka, Kouji and Izuku looked utterly terrified; while Mina, Denki, Tenya, Minoru and Tooru couldn't have been more excited. To Nikolay, it was no surprise that his girlfriend would be as eager to do this as she clearly was. With her natural affinity for making people feel better, and especially her natural gravitation towards helping children, this exercise was pretty much a shoe-in for her.

Observing the widespread reactions from the students she was meant to be teaching, Mt. Lady explained resolutely: "I know some of you have actually gotten the chance to appear on TV already in the incidents you've resolved throughout this year, but there's a world of difference from the glorified cameos I saw those of you give in those instances, and maintaining a prolonged and insightful interview that will allow the public to truly get to know you! However, after today, I will have taught you all you could ever need to know to rock every interview like a class full of masters…starting with you, Todoroki Shoto-kun! Come on up!"

As soon as Shoto made his way up onto the stage, ignoring the scattershot cheers of some of his classmates; he quickly found Mt. Lady all but literally shoving a microphone into his face. "GREAT WORK OUT THERE, SHOTO!"

"I'm sorry, what exactly are we talking about?" he immediately asked in a display of what could have easily been mistaken for complete situational ignorance. If this was already getting under the Pro Hero's skin, though, she was very good at…almost completely hiding it, as the enthusiastic light in her orange eyes dimmed somewhat. "Pretend you just finished a mission and say 'thanks'."

"Thanks."

Shoto's incredibly blunt way of answering what was being asked of him almost seemed more like a comedy routine, with how his demeanor and way of speaking so sharply contrasted her excitement. But, like the professional she was, she quickly brushed that aside as she moved on: "Now tell us, Shoto, what sort of Hero do you want to become?"

"The type…who can put other people at ease when I show up." His answer was as straightforward and basic to that kind of question as could be; but it was still enough to bring an approving smile to Mt. Lady's face. "Fantastic! However…if a looker like you were to suddenly show up, I think my heart would burst out of my chest!"

All at once, Midnight could feel her whole body tense up with indignation. It wasn't enough that Mt. Lady essentially stole her look, but now she was even starting to muscle in on her personal taste in young men. Had she not known better, she would've sworn it was like that young upstart was trying to take her place altogether.

And at the same time, Shoto's otherwise unreadable expression actually flashed a hint of genuine concern, clearly not understanding the reality of what his temporary teacher was suggesting: "Do you…have some kind of heart condition?"

The other Heroes manning the cameras and his own classmates couldn't hide their disbelief at just how outlandishly oblivious Shoto was to Mt. Lady's clear-as-day flirting. On the flip-side, she was having to exercise incredible restraint to keep her instinctive thoughts to herself: 'Oh my God…he's cute. I want him!' *ahem* "What are your Special Moves?"

SSSSHHHK!

With a question he could now answer with no confusion whatsoever, Shoto immediately proceeded to create a massive wall of Ice from the foot of the stage and high up into the air; to the visible amazement of Mt. Lady and her colleagues.

"Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall. It's good for crowd control, stopping Villains in their tracks, and creating platforms. It has many uses. I have another move called Flashfreeze Heatwave, but it's still in its rough developmental stages." As Shoto explained this, he could barely make out some of the confused mutterings among his classmates, as Kyouka whispered to Rikido and Tooru:

"Why doesn't he mention that crazy one he used against Class B at the Joint Exercise?" "Oh, you mean Endeavor's whole thing, right?" "YEAH, FLASHFIRE FIST!"

With Tooru's uncontainable excitement pretty much outing their whole discussion for Shoto and the others to hear loud and clear, his eyes lowered as he answered contemplatively: "That's my dad's move…and I'm not at his level yet."

Choosing to ignore the depth in Shoto's expression as he said this, Mt. Lady followed up: "Right, it's okay for Heroes to have a touchy subject to themselves here and there, but if you're wanting to put people at ease, smiling would be a good start for you. A heartfelt smile from someone that looks like you would make you a real lady-killer, Shoto."

"My smile…would kill women?" Shoto asked with a horrified shudder in his voice; which was enough to nearly make Mt. Lady swoon where she stood. "Okay, there's only so much of you I can take in one sitting! Please, next student!"

As Shoto nonchalantly took his leave from the stage, Fumikage suddenly spoke out: "Are we really supposed to display our Special Moves during interviews?"

After having been allowed a chance to calm herself down, Mt. Lady knelt at the edge of the stage, looking every one of the wide-eyed students before her over; an encouraging smile upon her face that perfectly complimented the confidence reflected in her eyes. "Oh, you sweet, naïve Yuuei kiddies…a lot of you may have gotten your faces on TV, maybe even given your Hero names; but it's not like everyone in Japan knows who you are already, let alone the world. No, not even by a hundred-thousandth!

"The thing you all need to understand is that your Special Moves symbolize who you are as Heroes! It's through those Moves that people really learn just what you're all capable of! Then you can prepare for impromptu combos and team-ups, as well as warn people of Villains and crimes. This way, everyone trusts you enough right off the bat to put their lives in your hands. Shouting out the names of your Special Moves isn't just for show; there's plenty of meaning behind it."

The students all listened to Mt. Lady's surprisingly sincere explanation with the utmost of rapt attention. It was a very surprising yet not at all unwelcome surprise to hear her be so serious about all of this. After all, for the longest time that any of them had known about her or seen her in her own interviews, she always gave off the air of a self-obsessed diva, someone who only took her Hero work seriously if she knew there were cameras and the attention of the media around, all to simply build on her own reputation and fame, and climb her way up the Hero Billboard Charts for the guaranteed professional success that would come with it.

But the Pro Hero speaking to them now was far from that once superficial celebrity in Hero's clothing; and that was precisely why Aizawa had requested her to come to the school today in order to teach his students how to properly conduct themselves with the media. As much of an isolation-preferring Hero as he himself was; never wanting to deal with the media or the general public whenever he could help it; he still understood just how vital they were in helping a Hero achieve ultimate success in saving people the most efficiently.

Midnight was likewise very aware of this, and just why it had to be someone like Mt. Lady who needed to impart this lesson to the students. But that still didn't make it any easier for her to watch her self-aggrandizing imitator carry on with them so carefree, as though she hadn't outright plagiarized the 18+ Hero's whole style and presence.

All in all, they both understood the unspoken tide of change that was washing over the whole of Japan's Pro Hero world these last few months. With the fall of All Might and the rise of Endeavor, Pro Heroes all over were finally getting their long-needed wake-up call to start taking their responsibilities with the utmost seriousness, and the kids all needed to be prepared for that change that much sooner before setting back out into the world.

And one after the other, they were all proving themselves to be more than ready to meet that change, as with Shoto having served as the test subject of just what it was that was expected of them, they all proceeded to showcase their moves and personalities all in one; from Tenya's devotion to rightfully earning his brother's mantle as Ingenium, to Momo's unbreakable self-confidence in her smarts and Creativity to all problems, to Ochako adding a lighthearted and delightful flare to her Quirk and aim all in one, to Fumikage managing to use his propensity for darkness and grim prose to actually inspire hope instead of dread; to Eijirou steadfastly proclaiming his unwillingness to let a single drop of blood be shed behind his Unbreakable human wall.

Mashirao, Denki, Mezo, Kyouka, Tooru, even Kouji were all one-by-one stepping up and shining bright with their every masterful interview answers and self-introductions. No matter how nervous they all initially looked from the outset, it was all ultimately nothing short of inspiring.

Each in their own individual ways, they were all earning high marks with Mt. Lady; giving such a good impression that halfway through, even Midnight couldn't help but put her rivalry aside and voice her enthusiastic support for the class as well.

In fact, one thing they could both wholeheartedly agree on, was that Mina's agility in combination with her potentially devastating Quirk gave a good impression of power, while her bubbly, enthusiastic and friendly personality with her unique appearance gave her a very strong air of approachability, and an edge of cuteness that would be able to put anyone's unease to rest; all put together in a short yet undeniably effective declaration much like those of everyone else that had gone before: "With her Acid and the groove in her heart, Pinky is here to melt everyone's troubles away, no sweat!"

Very similarly, right after Mina; the Pro and teacher both found themselves utterly swooning over Tsuyu's admittedly awkward, but ultimately adorable interview, as she showcased her powerful hopping and surface-sticking abilities alongside her own improved agility, in tandem with masterful use of her prehensile tongue, to ultimately strike a pose that just resonated with confidence and earnest protective instinct that simply added to the inherent blank adorable look of her face, as she came up with her own statement on the fly: "With a jump, skip and a hop; I, Froppy, won't let any Villain or criminal get away-kero,"; her instinctive frog's croak at the end just knocking the two teachers flat.

"You two: Pinky and Froppy; I can already say with total sincerity that if you were to make a duo together; you could shoot to the absolute top of the popularity charts with children in no time flat!"

That declaration straight from Mt. Lady left Mina feeling like her heart was about to leap out of her throat; she was so happy. Tsuyu felt no different, though her pointed mouth always made it look like she was smiling in some way; so the grateful shimmering in her black eyes communicated all of her feelings clearly for all of her friends.

As soon as Mina and Tsuyu descended the stage, Maja was the next one to finally eagerly step up; having had to see so many of her classmates and friends put themselves on the spot in order to work up her own confidence. Thankfully, Nikolay, Mina, Tooru, Kyouka and Eijirou cheering her on did a great deal to bolster it even further.

However, that still didn't stop the young Polish student from feeling that confidence momentarily crack when she saw the observant look in Mt. Lady's face when observing her. "Oh, you're…very new; I don't remember seeing a third foreign student at the Sports Festival this year."

Of course, Maja couldn't afford to embarrass herself by walking off the stage in front of everyone, so she literally stamped her foot down in order to reaffirm her confidence in herself. "That's because I wasn't a student here then; I'm very new here. I was actually recommended to study to become a Hero here by the principal himself after helping my friends beat a Villain that had taken my whole hometown in Hokkaido hostage…or brainwashed, that's more appropriate."

To Maja's surprise; a flash of remembrance suddenly became evident upon Mt. Lady's face. "OH! I remember hearing about this! A town of Russian and Slavic refugees with Quirks that was momentarily taken over by a Villain with a Memory-Altering Quirk who was trying to make an army to invade their home country! I remember hearing through the Hero Network that one of the kids involved in saving the town was someone formerly under that Villain's influence, too! So…that was you then, I take it?"

Maja wasn't entirely sure how she herself would've preferred to word the story of her circumstances, but she was in no position to complain, and she knew this, as she gave a conceding nod.

To this, Mt. Lady grew a smile that rang with what could only have been inspiration. "Well, obviously you don't have your Provisional License yet if you started coming here after all of that, but don't let that stop you! Think of this as forward preparation for when you're working out there with your classmates, yourself. Your story can be really good for you to use here! Just think about it all, how it makes you feel nowadays, and use it!"

There was only one true way that Maja could think of how to do that, as she took that time to really think back to everything that had happened to her and her friends alike in Gagaringrad, both before Pietro Granin…and now long after.

When she opened her eyes next; Mt. Lady, Midnight, Aizawa and all the students could see the outright fire of determination burning in Maja's pink-blue eyes. "Me and my friends back home lived virtually all our lives thinking we were cursed to never be Heroes because of the fear that infested our home countries…and our desire to use our gifts for something greater was what ultimately landed us in the sights of a man who thought he was doing what was best for everyone…and who ended up becoming just another Villain because of it. I made far too many mistakes in my drive to become a Hero, and I know I have to pay for them somehow, someway. But this isn't a punishment to me. Coming to Yuuei is the one way I can finally truly achieve the dream my friends and I strove for, and I hope to one day become a Hero that can make all of them and everyone else back home proud…a Hero that can one day be there to inspire anyone else with a dream to not make the same mistakes I did."

With her emotions ringing through clearer and clearer with every passing moment, Maja decided to cap it all off for everyone by igniting the heating coils around her arms in order to get their Wax running that much quicker, before ultimately focusing her Quirk so that the melting Wax quickly formed into several rows of short yet serious spikes, much to Mt. Lady's visible impression. "I am the Wax Hero, Świeczniki a.k.a. Candelabra, and I will help light the flame of Justice and Peace with everything I am for all out there that seek it!"

The multitude of clapping hands, cheers and encouraging whistles from her classmates and friends was enough to leave Maja gasping for breath with an overwhelming feeling of genuine accomplishment about her, while Mt. Lady was likewise clapping wholeheartedly. "OH, YOUR STORY IS SO MOVING! EVERYBODY LOVES A GOOD REDEMPTION STORY! I'M ALREADY FILLED WITH THE DESIRE TO TRUST AND CHEER YOU ON!"

With now Maja having gone alongside the majority of his other friends, Nikolay could no longer stay on the sidelines, stepping forward with a confident stride in his step as he ascended the stage; standing tall while trying to ignore the fact that Mt. Lady was looking him up and down the same way she previously had with Shoto.

"Now your face, I recognize; the foreign boy of 1-A that gave up a clear shot at first place in the obstacle race, and managed to mostly hold his own against someone like Shoto at the Sports Festival. I remember hearing your Hero name is your country's word for 'Nightingale' on TV around the time that foreign Villain attacked the Heroes in Erubi City. So, exactly what kind of Hero do you want to be?"

Nikolay found that whatever easy terms and recognizable adjectives he originally thought up while watching his friends on stage had all now started sounding less and less convincing now that he was the one all eyes and ears were upon. The first thing he could think to do, and something he had been keeping in the back of his mind since overhearing Eijirou mention it earlier, was to call back to some of the old interviews and promotional videos Oleg had done back in his younger days, how he always seemed to radiate an overwhelming air of robust power, confidence and inspiring energy all around.

Those same images were overlaying atop each other on infinite repeat in the forefront of Nikolay's steadying mind, as he put his hands to his hips and stood tall with his shoulders squared; the focused intensity in his green eyes almost looking as though they were looking clear past Mt. Lady and everything else before the infinite azure skies and their fluffy snow-white clouds.

"I wish to be the Hero that makes all people look to the skies with a light in their eyes and a song in their hearts; knowing that they have nothing to fear from criminals, disasters and Villains alike! The Nightingale is here to swoop down and wash away the darkness of evil so that all may live in endless peace!"

As Nikolay felt like he could let out a sigh as heavy as the world itself once he'd finally gotten it all out; he finally allowed himself to see what all was around him, and all he could see on Mt. Lady's face was plain and simple…apathy. She didn't look remotely impressed. Nikolay quickly found himself anxious to see if this was just a minority opinion, and when he looked to his classmates for a multitude of other opinions, he could see various degrees of embarrassment and sympathy on their faces. Out of all of them, it was only Eijirou who looked completely in support of the bravado he'd tried to force out on stage.

Without further wasted time, Mt. Lady finally answered: "Now isn't the time for you to just be copying what Red Riot did with his interview. The overly macho robust energy suits him to the letter…but you, not so much."

Eijirou's haste to try and speak up in Nikolay's defense could have easily been misconstrued as though he had taken personal offense at the Pro Hero's dismissal of Nikolay's attempt: "Actually, Mt. Lady-sensei, I borrowed a lot of the energy from my showcase from Nightingale-san's father, Tunguska-sensei's old interviews! Can you really blame a guy for wanting to emulate a father so manly?!"

However, no matter how noble Eijirou thought his intentions to be; they did nothing to actually change Mt. Lady, Midnight or Aizawa's general opinions…although it did leave the Pro Hero herself with a look of consideration in her eyes, before really observing Nikolay's much less inflated posture and expression; all whilst really having to fight her impulses of attraction when seeing the much more delicate shyness evident on his pale face.

"I see. You need to keep in mind what I said earlier, Nightingale: interviews are where you most need to show the people who you really are. In the months since the Kamino Ward incident; people all over the country have been either rediscovering or flat-out discovering your old man and his lifetime of Pro Hero exploits, for better and for worse. By now, many people now know with a good degree of confidence just who Tunguska is…but not you. Putting on an imitative boasting from your father's former glory isn't who you really are. You just don't have the look or air for it to really suit you. Right now, just forget any thoughts about putting on a gimmick, any flash or pomp, and just speak from the heart. You must know the kind of Hero you really want to be, so give us that. Give that to all the people you know you want to protect."

Nikolay let every one of her words sink deep into his heart, instinctively clutching his right hand into a focused fist as he took several deep breaths with which to steady himself. As he looked back across the audience of his friends; he dedicated every one of their faces to mind, alongside the crystal clear memories of everything they had experienced together, the good and the bad.

As he put them all together in conjunction with all of his furthest memories; forming together a singular film reel of all his life in the deepest confines of his mind; Nikolay let all pretense of bravado and ego vanish; now standing before Pro Heroes and students alike, not as Solovei, son of Tunguska; but simply as Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov, son of Oleg Borisovich Bezpalov.

"The earliest of my memories was of losing any understanding or semblance of a world looked after and protected by Heroes of any kind. I saw and lived in a world completely devoid of anyone to fight against crime and Villains of any kind, and I know far too well now just what a life without hope of any kind can be; let alone without the hope inspired by Heroes.

"It's only because of the Heroes gathered here today that I was able to rediscover not only that hope, but also my long-dormant desire to be a Hero, too. They helped me to rediscover hope and love, and just how much those two things directed towards the world and the people in it can make life so much more worthwhile, in good times and bad…and I know all too well that there are many people across the world without those feelings, that want nothing more than to have it, themselves, so they know that all is not truly lost."

Thinking to all of the Special Moves and Quirk showcases his friends had all displayed in their own interviews; Nikolay momentarily closed his eyes, mentally blocked out all surrounding noise in the environment, and simply focused on the resounding beating of his own heart; listening to how every minor vibration generated by each pulsating beat went traveling down every fiber of his tried and tested muscles, all the way down to the very top of his head and the tips of his fingers and toes.

And it was with that ceaseless, powerful and peaceful heartbeat echoing in his own ears, that Nikolay could finally focus the channeling of his Quirk through his arms and legs in steady patterns; allowing his body to slowly but surely propel itself a good foot off the ground through his feet, while visible fluctuations in the air could be seen rhythmically emanating out the palms of his hands. It was a display of complete and balanced control that left all of his friends and Mt. Lady visibly encouraged and impressed. Even Midnight had a smile of satisfaction on her face as she watched the young Russian's example, while Aizawa had his arms crossed over his chest; his observant gaze unreadable under the hanging strands of his hair.

With his heart pounding with resolution as much as calm, Nikolay could finally feel the words come to him for his closing statement that he knew fit him the best of all; his voice now devoid of any uncertainty or hesitation: "I may be my father's son, but I am not only the successor of Tunguska the Sun of Justice's legacy. More than anything else, I am simply Solovei; the Hero whose Quirk mirrors not only my heartbeat, but those of all the people in this world whom he wishes to instill the same love and hope for the world and the future that this next generation's Heroes gave him."

This time, as Nikolay finally started lessening the focused use of his Quirk so he could softly land back on the stage, he was met with resounding applause from his friends, Mt. Lady and Midnight alike; leaving him smiling with a deep satisfaction and newfound sense of self-confidence.

"There's that true Hero's spirit we all knew was hiding somewhere in that deceptively slender frame! Oh, for a young boy with such a fragile pretty face to speak so resoundingly from within just drives me wild!"

As Midnight couldn't help herself but to express what she was feeling the most in this moment; Mt. Lady was likewise unable to keep her body from shivering from just how physically powerful that whole closing statement had been. "Now THAT'S far more like it, Nightingale! I feel absolutely no reason to fear anything or dread tomorrow at all when hearing you speak like that! You keep up that personable and honest self, and you'll endear yourself to people all around in no time! You give off a heartfelt and courageous energy that would make you a perfect match with fellow Heroes with a similar demeanor…or perhaps it could provide you a very strong team dynamic with Heroes with a far more bright and cheery disposition."

As Nikolay finally descended the stage to rejoin his class, Mina couldn't physically help but to run and leap onto him in an ecstatic hug just as Mt. Lady had finished expressing this honest belief of hers; the sight of which left her grinning in knowing satisfaction that her assessment was already proving to be far more than simply accurate.

And as Mina refused to remove her arms from around her currently red-faced boyfriend; she was still smiling in adorable excitement as she impulsively asked the Pro Hero: "Is that the reason you and Kamui Woods make for such an amazing team, too? Like, you two are always together in pictures and TV; are you a Hero couple team, too?"

Mt. Lady quickly turned her head away to hide her tense expression with such suddenness, it was nothing but a miracle she didn't give herself tremendous whiplash. "I DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT TO YOU! NEXT ONE, PLEASE! HURRY!"

Bakugo's speed with which he ascended the stage was the exact opposite of everyone else's enthusiasm. It was simply nothing more than a hotheaded desire to be done with it so he could doubtless focus on the far more important things in his training that much quicker. In fact, he didn't even wait for Mt. Lady to recollect herself and ask the typical question, as he instead simply came right out with it: "I AIN'T WASTING TIME ON ANY SOUND BITES! JUST SHUT UP AND FOLLOW MY LEAD, ALL OF YOU!"

It was hardly surprising that his brash means of speaking had momentarily left Mt. Lady speechless, before she was finally able to awkwardly find her words once more: "You know, I get the impression that you're a much better interview when solo. You just don't seem to mesh well with…humans."

Shoto, in a continued display of his incredible obliviousness, proceeded to straightforwardly answer while looking to his former interview partner: "I see. So they cut you out of the interview because I was there. My apologies, Bakugo."

But an apology from one of his self-imposed rivals was the very last thing Bakugo ever wanted to hear, as he all but literally spat back: "WHAT'S THAT? YOU THINK YOU'RE REAL HOT STUFF, DON'T YOU?! LIKE I GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU OR ANYONE ELSE HAS TO SAY ABOUT ME!"

As Shoto bluntly accepted Bakugo's answer; Midnight and Aizawa were both simply observing how adamant the hotheaded young Hero was about staying in his typically abrasive attitude, as the female teacher spoke out with an air of pure resignation: "You know, maybe he oughta just stick with your preferred method and avoid the media altogether, Shota-kun."

However, even if his half-hidden expression was hiding exactly what Aizawa was feeling as a result of Bakugo currently proving the only failure in the interview training; his mind was currently settled: "I don't think so. I think there's just a Hero out there that's much more fitting for him to emulate than All Might."

But before the 1-A homeroom teacher could elaborate further on that; Bakugo had spitefully descended the stage. Now it was finally time for the last interview test, as Izuku rigidly made his way up, barely able to articulate his joints, as he stood like an awkward robot so stiff that it made Tenya's previous body language look like all-around rubber by comparison; now that everyone's eyes firmly set on him.

If his awkward stiffness was offputting to Mt. Lady, then she was being a true sport about it, as she proceeded to try and open things up the same as she had with everyone else up until now; silently hoping that getting him to talk would be enough to get him to loosen up. "So, your Hero name is Deku, correct? I saw you in action at the Sports Festival, too; and I understand you were involved in the Hero mission against the Villain organization known as the Shie Hassaikai as well. You're really making an impressive name for yourself, aren't you? How do you feel about all your accomplishments and your performances thus far?"

However, all Izuku could bring himself to answer with was a stuttered and repetitive utterance of "Hey…t-that's great…" as he couldn't bring himself to move more than one body part at a time; feeling like he was being literally crushed under the weight of stage fright; a sensation that Eijirou initially mistook as an imitation of his Hardening, only for Tsuyu to give the unfortunate reality check. Nikolay, even while still mentally celebrating his own success, couldn't help but feel a deep sympathy for his freckled friend up there, being in an even worse state.

However, Mt. Lady remained unperturbed; thinking back to exactly what it was she had seen and heard of her deeply shaken interviewee up until now, and coming up with something she could just feel would be able to get through to him like nothing else: "It seems like many of your moves are an homage to All Might. Is he a Hero your admire, perhaps?"

It was like literal witchcraft, just how quickly the almost cubist posture with which Izuku had been standing had washed away, as his eyes lit up like stars in response. "YEAH! T-that's right! All Might; he's been my most admired Hero for my entire life! But…I-I'm not just copying him! I'm actually customizing his moves in a way that best suits my fighting style…"

From there, even Mt. Lady found herself being physically taken aback by how where Izuku had once been barely able to utter a complete sentence, now seemed completely incapable of stopping himself now that his speech had devolved into an incomprehensible fanboy energy-driven muttering mess.

In fact, this time it was Midnight who stepped in to save the whole interview, as she asked from beside the whole 1-A crowd: "What about that one move that burst out of you recently at Joint Training? I heard you've recently been making progress with that. How's that going?"

Izuku's nonstop muttering finally came to a sudden stop, as he now found his mind racing all the way back; all while his body began taking his ready posture in a show of pure muscle memory from all of the practice he'd been putting in; soon visualizing a heavily locked steel door within the deepest depths of his mind.

'I kept practicing, trying to visualize what it would be like bring out and use Blackwhip every day that I could…although I still wasn't able to use it during our time at Nabu Island. That full power is waiting for me further down the road. It's just locked up for now. And since the whole thing is locked up, that means I can choose when and how much of it to use at any given time. The containment phase is over now. All that's left is to let out as much as I can actually control. It's just like how I did it with the power of One For All in general. Just focus…and…'

From one heartbeat to the next, Izuku's eyes suddenly opened; the green energy of his Quirk just as suddenly emanating from all across his body, as a suddenly contained wisp of that same near luminescent pitch black energy suddenly came emanating from just out the holes lining the extended knuckles of his gloved hand…and nothing more than that. From a distance, it could have easily been mistaken for the sputter of smoke from a failing vehicle engine.

For Midnight and Mt. Lady together, that might as well have been what it was, for despite Izuku's clear-as-day excitement and subsequent explanation of his current limitation; the two of them made nearly no such effort to hide their own disappointment at something so lackluster.

Bakugo was obviously no different; his face the picture of loathing disgust as he watched what he deemed to be such a pitiful display. "You're seriously so happy over that weak little thing? The hell is wrong with you?"

But mere feet aside from him, while many of the other students were generally impressed with how much it seemed Izuku had gained control over what had previously seemed so uncontrollable in nature; Nikolay looked utterly thunder-struck by what he'd finally gotten to see in the flesh with his own two eyes. "That's amazing, Midoriya-san! You think you'll be able to show even more of it before long?!"

And the young Russian's similarly boyish enthusiasm for the supposed improvement in Izuku's new ability had Bakugo now doing a bitter double take. "I take that back: the hell is wrong with BOTH OF YOU?!"

Several hours earlier...

Earlier that same day, Principal Nezu had made a point of making a surprise visit to Toshinori's dorm room, since the man had no lessons of his own to give to either of the Hero Course classes today, nor had he for the last several days, even before the class had left for Nabu Island last week.

In fact, other than the obligatory visits to the faculty offices, and not even regularly during daily lunch periods; he'd started making a habit of making himself scarce, locked away in his dorm. As much of a friend to Toshinori as he was a professional colleague, Nezu had an inherent responsibility to check in on those technically working for him, to make sure the man was truly all right after all this time.

And once Nezu had been welcomed in and saw the state of the former Symbol of Peace; now emaciated and near skeletal enough to more resemble a human-pencil hybrid than an actual human being; the principal found himself now greatly considering adding more lessons for the man to specifically teach so he wouldn't run the risk of genuinely wasting away.

But the business that had brought the bipedal mouse headmaster all this way out of the blue was far too important for him to dwell on such a thing; as he tried to remain as casual as could be when breaking the ice initially: "Good day, Toshinori-san. I dare say it doesn't look like you've been in the habit of getting very much sleep these days, eh?"

"Oh, Nezu-san! Hello! I'm getting enough sleep, don't worry!" Toshinori momentarily jumped with surprise, having had no idea the principal had even come into his room unannounced, he'd been so absorbed in his work for so long.

"You seem to be taking the all-around skeletal look to the next level, I see." Nezu commented in an attempt to try and maintain a lightness about Toshinori's generally abysmal state, whilst Toshinori decided he could at least afford to play the proper host; tucking the nearly completed notebook within his desk.

"Yes, well, the kind of research I've had to do doesn't allow for much free time to be spent too loosely, for Midoriya-shonen's sake…and more." Likewise, Toshinori's own personally appointed work had become far too important for him to risk wasting any excess time that could've been spent getting it all finished: a completely re-organized and rewritten summation of all of Nana Shimura's notes in regards to the Quirks wielded by all of One For All's previous owners. If his protégé was going to be working himself to the brink in order to eventually unlock all of them, then it was of the utmost importance that he be at least prepared for just what some of those powers were liable to be ahead of time.

And, of course, if circumstances were to ever finally force the hands of all those who knew the truth of One For All, then having a record like this on hand would hopefully be able to make helping Oleg tell the truth to Nikolay of his nearly-confirmed connection with that Quirk that much easier…at least, Toshinori could only hope.

However, Nezu wasn't about to start pressing Toshinori for details he may not have had to give. After all, there was something else that was equally as pressing on his mind that he needed to bring up with the teacher: "Yes, well, lack of sleep is bad for the fur…er, hair. That aside, there was actually another reason I wanted to pay you a visit, Toshinori-san. All the teachers are to come to the conference hall during lunch period. Word has recently come out across the country from the Hero Public Safety Commission: all Hero schools are to soon announce the return of internships for all students."

Toshinori's whole body froze with surprise as he looked back; seeing the subtle hint of trouble in Nezu's eyes as he began to take his leave, all but motioning for the man to follow him, as the time for this surprise meeting would be upon them much sooner.

If Toshinori was finding himself in mental and emotional conflict as to how he should feel about the internship program being reinstated so soon, then he could only imagine what the rest of the teachers would have to say.

The reactions from the rest of the teachers once they had taken their seats and read the paperwork Nezu had made for them, was just about what Toshinori had brought himself to expect: silent but unmistakable trepidation from Midnight, Cementoss, Snipe and Ectoplasm; bristling consideration from Aizawa, Present Mic and Thirteen…and a trembling aversion from Tunguska.

"Is this real? After Hokkaido, the Hassaikai; hell, Nabu Island wasn't even a week ago, and they're seriously having the internship program come back just like that?" Tunguska's desire to say no was clear as day, and as he looked to his fellow teachers to see if any of them were on the same page as him, he could at least see that his feelings were not being misunderstood.

After his son had nearly died but just a few days ago, any parent would have voiced the same refusal to put him right back out in the field again. Nezu certainly understood, but he also knew the responsibilities his position and his school had, not just to its students, but to all the other institutions of Hero society that had pushed this controversial decision forward.

"I understand, Tunguska-san; but we all knew that the agreements made with all those other agencies were made ad hoc in order to see how things would go. No matter how long or short the hiatus would last, it was always going to be temporary. This time, though; the Hero Public Safety Commission is making a request that all Hero Course students participate in what they're calling 'Practical Field Testing'…but we may essentially just call them internships by another name."

Up until now, Vlad King had been the only teacher to have the most unreadable reaction when reading and hearing just what was going to happen. To now hear it unmistakably from Nezu finally got the long-awaited reaction from him, as he seemed to mirror Tunguska's very own indignation. "A request?! Please don't sugarcoat what this really is, Nezu-san! The Public Safety Commission sees the same news as everybody else! They know what those students just went through on that island, but they simply don't care! You might as well just say what this really is: they're demanding that all our kids head into the field with not nearly enough training under their belts!"

"*sigh* Yes." Nezu resolutely confirmed with a regretful bow of his head. Had the decision been left entirely to him, he too would have felt far more comfortable allowing the students more time to much more properly train. Alas, they weren't being given that chance, and at the end of the day, these kind of decisions were just as much out of his paws as anyone else's hands.

After all, if he were to deny a nation-wide order from the most powerful organization in Japan's entire Hero society, then he may very well run the risk of having Yuuei Academy decommissioned as a Hero school. Then where would all these children and their boundless potential wind up?

All the while, as Midnight kept looking over what was clearly written upon their papers, she found herself picking upon something far more subtle between the lines. "Hmm…it sounds as if the Commission is worried about a lack of viable personnel, even though society here is already saturated with Pro Heroes."

With that, she had unknowingly opened the floodgates of likewise suspicion from her fellow teachers, as Ectoplasm looked over his own paper. "Yes. Listen to this: 'With the goal of training the students to counteract the Villain organizations that have sprouted and grown as of late.' Unless there's another incident that we simply haven't been informed of, then it sounds to me like this decision is entirely because of what happened in Deika City."

From under the filter of his respirator mask, Snipe likewise spoke up with a deathly seriousness: "It's a fair bet that the League of Villains is involved somehow. Many of the details surrounding Deika sound a lot like the disaster in Moscow during the last internships. Why don't the higher-ups just come on out and say it?"

Nezu's snout twitched with the glint of a troubled look in his eyes. "I suspect the Commission has sniffed out the beginnings of a potential disaster on the horizon. This document is ambiguous by design, to keep anyone from knowing the truth, so it's just as Kayama-san says: this call for the reinstatement of internships sounds more like a coded message."

Aizawa let out a deathly pessimistic sigh as he laid back in his chair in serious consideration. "It's not like they can just tell everyone that they're gearing up our kids to go to war. That'd be way too jarring."

Listening to all of his fellow teachers coming to the same grim conclusion, Tunguska couldn't help but to crush his own copy within his hand, gritting his teeth as to just what he was supposed to do or say otherwise. If Nezu was right, and the Commission had indeed picked up on the stirrings of a potential cataclysm at the hands of the League of Villains, and if a pair of large-scale disasters like Moscow and Deika were but a sample of what was to possibly come, then how could he, as a Hero or a teacher or a father, possibly deny the necessity of his son and all those children getting all the preparation they possibly could in time for it, and especially without actually being told the reason why. If they knew the real scale of what they would be going up against, then who was to say if a good number of them wouldn't fold under the pressure?

In the end, he had no choice but to accept that this was ultimately the right call, no matter how much his fatherly instincts after what had almost happened to Nikolay again, made him simply want to tell the Commission exactly where to stick their demands.

Nezu visibly regretted having to drop such a heavy task upon his colleagues, as he bowed his head. "Whatever the case may be, preparing to meet danger head-on is a Hero's inherent responsibility. We need to contact the most accomplished Pro Heroes out there and see to getting our students the best possible training they can receive before the call is made for action. Everyone, consider that your own homework for the winter break. As for me…I have the announcement to make to all our students once the final bell rings today. Even if they can't be told the truth of why their internships are coming back so soon, they should at least know they'll be getting their chances to practice in the field sooner than they thought ahead of time."

There you all have it, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you all enjoyed what you read here today.

I'll see you all with the next chapter with much more purely original material next week on 06/24! Until then, have a great rest of your week!