My Hero Academia: Son of Justice

by Jayme F. Midorikawa

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

131. Endeavor Agency Arc Part 3 - A New Year

Hello everybody, and welcome to the newest chapter of 'My Hero Academia: Son of Justice'! I hope you all didn't mind the extended wait, because as I explained before, my personal work schedule has exploded recently, and it's made it so that I just can't maintain the weekly upload schedule. It kills me that I was only able to finish and upload this chapter this late into the day I promised it would come. I'm going to try and be much better about that.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all of you that have continued to read and support this story for this long, even despite this shift in schedule. Further thanks to my remaining beta readers and consultants, Jonny and Carlos, as well as to my current roster of contributing artists on DA: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Venera-Taro, Shallisey-N and Yumake.

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

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

Chapter 132

A New Year

(Новый Год)

Wednesday, December 31st

Over the last few days, while everyone had seen to make the most of their time off from classes through their winter break, that still did little to ease much of the varying degrees of anxiety and excitement among them, not just for whether or not they would actually be able to go outside the school to see their families for New Years' Eve, but also simply for the fact that the very next day, they would literally start the year with their new Pro Hero Internships.

Fortunately, Principal Nezu had decided to ease the one bit of uncertainty for his students that he could actually effect, as the morning of the last day of the year, he'd given the official announcement that the students were all allowed to spend New Years with their families, so long as they travelled under the supervision of a Pro Hero.

Such circumstances couldn't have been better for Nikolay, but considering that he and Tunguska spent a great deal of time together every day at school already, it changed virtually nothing for the two of them. And for such a big day of celebration as this, it was simply to be expected that Mina would want to see to change that, as she had excitedly proposed after the announcement had been made and the students were all currently heading back for the dorms:

"Hey, Kolya-kun, Tunguska-sensei! Why don't you come back with me to visit my parents for New Years? There's this awesome festival back home that we go to every year with the most amazing fireworks show! I know you'd both love it!"

Nikolay and his father exchanged considerable glances; neither of them finding any reason to say no, as the young Russian smiled, to his girlfriend's delight. "Yeah, that sounds like it'd be a lot of fun; I've never actually watched a fireworks show in real life, anyway."

With spirits already high, Nikolay turned to see Eijirou and Tetsutetsu excitedly chattering between each other; undoubtedly about the fact they were both going to be interning under Fatgum and Tunguska tomorrow.

"Hey, Eijirou-san, if you and Mina went to the same middle school, then that means you lived in the same town, right? Why don't you come to the New Years' festival there with us?"

With an embarrassed grin, Eijirou answered: "Aw man; you didn't even have to ask, my family goes to there every year! Having you and Tunguska-sensei there will just make it that much better!"

Nikolay, Tunguska and Mina all looked that much happier, a true embodiment of the sentiment 'the more the merrier.' It was in that similar vein that Mina turned to see Maja nearby, currently chatting happily with Momo and Itsuka Kendo.

"Hey, Yaomomo, Maja-chan, Itsu-chan! We're all going back to my place for the local New Years' festival tonight! Why don't you come with us? We've got Tunguska-sensei coming with us, so that's Nezu-sensei's safety rule already covered! C'mon, it'll be so much fun!"

Alas, the three girls all looked considerably apologetic, as they proceeded to answer one after the other:

"That's very kind of you to invite us, Ashido-chan, but my family already has some very elaborate plans for our celebrating tonight; I simply couldn't leave them with the sadness of my not being there for our first New Years' Eve since coming to Yuuei."

"Same here; my family likes to put on a martial arts showcase for our dojo on New Years' as a way to show just how much stronger I get every year. Not only would my not showing up be really embarrassing for them, but I really wanna show what I've learned here, too."

Finally, Maja answered with an appreciative smile: "I'd love to join you all, Mina-san…but like Yaoyorozu-san said, I'd really like to spend my first New Years' since being welcomed here, with my parents and everyone back in Gagaringrad. Vlad King-sensei already offered to accompany me up there, too, so to change plans at the last second would just make everything really difficult for everyone."

Mina bowed her head in childish disappointment, before Maja's expression lit up considerably when she looked to Tunguska, then Eijirou and Tetsutetsu. "Besides, I gotta take advantage of the long train ride back down from Hokkaido and get all the sleep I can. Have to be well-rested for my first day as an approved ride-along for you two lug-heads' internship, right?"

, Nikolay, Mina, Eijirou, Tetsutetsu, Momo and Itsuka alike all perked up with surprise; all instinctively looking to make sure the Polish girl wasn't simply messing with them. But when they saw the genuinely overjoyed smile on Maja's face, and then the knowing smile on Tunguska's, they could all feel deep inside that they were hearing this right.

"Dad, is this for real? Is Maja actually going onto the field with you three to Fatgum's Agency?" Nikolay asked in building excitement, before his father gave a confirming nod of satisfaction.

"Nezu-san had to do a lot of talking to convince the Commission to make an exception, but they eventually made a compromise that I was only informed of last night. I only told malenkaya Kieslowska earlier today while you were all training. I suppose she didn't want to tell you all immediately until a chance to surprise you was there."

"WOOOOH! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, MAJA-CHAN!" Mina exclaimed as she practically leapt onto the Wax-haired girl in a flying hug, which Nikolay, Ochako, Tooru, Eijirou and Tetsutetsu all quickly joined in on; all of them looking utterly ecstatic; but the two sharp-toothed boys especially.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME, MAJA-SAN! WE'RE GONNA RULE OUT THERE ON THE STREETS TOGETHER!" "HELL YEAH! THE THREE MANLIEST HEROES IN BOTH CLASSES WORKING TOGETHER, NO CRIMINAL OUT THERE WILL BE ABLE TO STAND UP TO US!"

But as Eijirou and Tetsutetsu were all still happily congratulating Maja on her miraculous acceptance, Nikolay looked to Tunguska, who was still simply watching this play out with a knowing smile. "Thank you for doing this for her, Dad! I know we were all worried what she would do once our internships started again, but you just came in clutch out of nowhere!"

"YEAH, YOU'RE THE BEST, SENSEI!" Mina, Ochako, Tooru and Maja both surprisingly exclaimed in unison; which astonished all four girls, before they started laughing at it, with soon many of their other classmates joining in the moment; most of whom had simply been watching and reacting to this sudden development with their own looks of happiness for their newest classmate.

Tunguska kept his large arms crossed over his broad chest while his smile remained firm upon his face. "I simply feel that malenkaya Kieslowska has more than proven her mettle with all the help she gave you up in Hokkaido before, so she shouldn't have to be relegated to staying here while you're all getting that much-needed field experience. However, there are still rules that need to be enforced."

Now his eyes were focused on Eijirou, Tetsutetsu and Maja specifically. "Just because you're going to be out on the field with us doesn't automatically make you an intern; you need to understand that now. You're going out with us as a ride-along, an observer of how we conduct ourselves in everything we do as Pros and interns alike. It will serve as invaluable experience for when you'll finally get your chance at a Provisional Exam. Then you'll be able to intern just the same as the rest of your classmates. I know this is disappointing, but it was the Commission's condition for allowing you this privilege."

It was simply to be expected when Tunguska saw the looks of disappointment fall upon many of the students' faces when realizing that Maja had seemingly leapt so far, only to still be so far from where they were.

However, out of anyone, he had expected Maja herself to look the most crestfallen. Hence why it was so surprising to see her have such an understanding smile on her face, in a show of reassurance to all of her new friends. "Hey, it's better than absolutely nothing. You want me to just be a silent observer? No problem. Besides, it's gonna be really fun to see the great Tunguska, Red Riot and Real Steel in legitimate action for once. It'll give us all some fun stories to tell when we all get back together, right?"

Maja being such a good sport about her own personal restrictions had gotten her a fair share of admiring smiles from her classmates across both classes; with Eijirou, Tooru, Nikolay and Mina all looking especially emotional at such a professional and cool-sounding response from her.

With that surprising development having finally been shared out in the open for all the students of Classes A and B to hear, said students finally continued on their way to get themselves prepared for all their respective journeys home for the last night of the year; all of their hearts flying light as a feather in their throats to tell their families of all they had gotten to learn in Yuuei thus far, while Nikolay was simply bracing himself for the biggest night so far with Mina and her family, having read one too many stories online in his curiosity as to just what couples did for New Years.

…

It was fortunate that the announcement for everyone going for their New Years' celebrations had been so early in the day, as it allowed the students to all depart on their various train rides back home at a far less hectic time of the day.

After having bid their friends in both classes a final Happy New Years' Eve; knowing it would be their last time seeing each other in the year 2321; the cheerful band of Nikolay, Mina, Tunguska and Eijirou had set out on their eager way to Chiba Prefecture; the three students never ceasing to talk each other's ears off about how much they were looking forward to their respective internships.

But while Mina was simply ecstatic to get to learn under the Rabbit Hero Mirko, and Eijirou was overwhelmingly happy to get to keep learning under Tunguska and Fatgum with Tetsutetsu, Tamaki and now Maja in tow; Nikolay was still finding himself at a considerable blank in his mind as to just what exactly it was he was liable to gain from the opportunity he'd unexpectedly been given all the way back at Christmas, courtesy of Shoto: the same offer he'd extended to Izuku and Bakugo as a trio turned into an unexpected quartet: to learn together under his father, Endeavor, the new Number One Hero in the entire country.

Not a single one of them had asked Shoto to show them such selflessness, so it simply would have been insane, as well as incredibly rude, to spit his invitation back in his face. Hence why Nikolay now found himself trying to swallow the lump of anxiety in his throat about actually meeting the Flame Hero face-to-face tomorrow, all the way to the Chiba Prefecture train station, wherein he, Mina and Tunguska had to temporarily part ways with Eijirou while he headed to his home town, thanks to a nearby patrolling Pro Hero volunteering to look after him the whole way back.

However, the three best friends promised to meet each other again at the festival in Ichikawa City tonight. With that promise burning strong, Nikolay and Mina finally continued the rest of their way to her home with Tunguska all but literally hovering over them in protectiveness. It was easy for him to come across as more laid back when they were close to Yuuei, since he knew that if trouble were to have risen, the rest of the teachers would be close by to react and provide backup. This far out, though, was an entirely different story, especially since he didn't know any of the Pro Heroes that were local here.

And Tunguska wasn't the only one feeling a growing tension, for as Nikolay accepted the fact they were but a hop, skip and a jump from Mina's home and her parents, he had to now process an entirely new issue that would potentially be waiting for them.

There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that Mina told her parents everything, and at this point in the year, that had to especially mean that she'd told them about her and Nikolay now being a couple. How her mother, Yumi, had taken that news, he couldn't even begin to guess. But her father, Youshi, was what had him growing more and more worried, even as he tried to maintain a smile of calm so Mina wouldn't worry.

It was pure paternal instinct to be overly protective of your children as they grew older, but this rang especially true for daughters. Sure, Mina's dad was an extremely jovial, sociable and approachable sort, but that was when he saw his daughter and Nikolay as simply best friends, but as a romantic couple? How he was bound to feel about that was anybody's guess…and any guess Nikolay had was not a positive one.

He had originally hoped to be able to use the few minutes they would have before reaching Mina's home, for him to try and formulate something to say that would hopefully defend himself and keep him in her father's good graces. But having never been in a situation like this before, he had no idea on how to start, and by the time Nikolay had been able to get his thoughts to slow down enough to even begin, they were already at the entrance gate to the Ashido family household, where Yumi and Youshi were both already simply waiting outside with bated breath for the first sign of their daughter, before they instantly came running with arms wide open and smiles as bright as the morning sun; a gesture Mina herself was already ecstatically reciprocating, as the family nearly came crashing into one another in a massive joyous embrace.

"WELCOME HOME, SWEETIE! OH, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALREADY BEEN THIS LONG SINCE YOU'D LEFT FOR THOSE DORMS! LET ME JUST HOLD YOU!" "THERE'S MY BABY GIRL, THE BIG HERO OF HOKKAIDO! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, MINA! I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE CUT OUT TO BE ONE HELL OF A HERO, BUT I NEVER EXPECTED SOMETHING THAT BIG SO SOON! YOU'RE ON THE FAST TRACK TO PRO IN RECORD TIME!"

As Mina couldn't stop ecstatically laughing as her parents showered her with their several months worth of praise and affection for everything they'd seen, read and heard from her and the news about Gagaringrad and everything she'd elarned in Yuuei so far altogether; Nikolay and Tunguska couldn't help but smile contentedly at such a wholesome sight; the young Russian actually managing to forget his previous nervousness for but a moment…until he and Youshi ended up making eye contact.

When the pink-skinned man visibly lit up at the sight of the father and son duo, Nikolay could momentarily feel his heart leap up into his throat when he actually began to approach. "Oh, and here are the second biggest stars of the hour! Great to see you again, Tunguska-san! Hopefully now we can actually get to know each other like real pals; no Parents' Day shenanigans or school apology tours attached! And little Kolya-kun…"

Nikolay felt his body instinctively tense up when the Ashido patriarch called him by name; his first words of nonsensical apology already halfway up his throat by the time he'd finally closed the rest of the distance…only to meet the boy with a hearty, welcoming embrace, speaking wholeheartedly into his ear: "The Hero who saved our Mina from being a Villain's puppet, and the love of her life. I never thought I'd get to see something like this so soon, but…welcome to the family, my boy!"

Nikolay looked half-certain he was in some kind of a panic-born state of delusion, barely even able to hear himself answer: "Wait…you…you're actually…not mad?"

Just as Tunguska himself couldn't help but chuckle in response; having long since noticed the anxiety on his son's face; so too could Mina and Yumi likewise not help themselves but to laugh when finally hearing out loud that he'd been so scared. Finally, her mother answered: "Are you kidding, honey? Yes, it's every parent's instinct to protect their children from as much as they can, but it's every parent's dream to see their children find love. Believe me, after watching so many romance shows together and seeing how she gravitates towards the subject, I knew our baby girl would be the kind of person to make whoever she would fall in love with the happiest person in the world…and I could just feel that it would be you, even long before it actually ended up happening, and I honestly couldn't be happier!"

"Oh, c'mon, Mom, that intuition stuff doesn't work THAT well…does it?" Mina initially tried to amusedly brush off her mother's suggestion, before her feminine curiosity simply couldn't help but come right out afterward. As her parents both started to laugh in equal amusement and overall happiness at this development between the two teens; Youshi decided to quell Nikolay's remaining visible anxiety: "You have nothing to worry about here, Kolya-kun. I trust Mina wholeheartedly when it comes to her being a judge of character. She's never once misjudged anyone that I've seen…and even if that weren't the case, I've never heard her talk about anyone else the way she's talked about you, especially since everything in Hokkaido. You're a great kid, and I can already tell you're going to become a great man when the time comes…and I look forward to when we'll both be able to call you son-in-law one day."

The way Nikolay and Mina's faces both flashed an incandescent red at the suggestion of their getting married this early on in their relationship, was enough to get Youshi, Yumi and Tunguska both bursting with laughter, before Yumi proceeded to excitedly motion everyone back into the house; her smile perfectly mirroring that of her daughter. "Everyone come inside, we gotta get ready quick if we wanna make it to the festival in time for all the attractions! Mina, you're absolutely going to love the kimono I made for you this year! You too, Kolya-kun!"

Before Nikolay knew it, not only was he watching as Yumi presented Mina with a gorgeous cyan kimono with a colorful floral pattern lining the ending of the sleeves, with a dark purple sash; but just as quickly presented the flustered young man with a kimono of his own; the body a dark forest green with a thin triangular line pattern in gold all across it, and a tan sash with three lines of yellow and red running across it.

As Nikolay looked over this unexpected gift with wide-eyes, and Mina could only watch with irresistible happiness at the whole display in kind; Yumi had a smile of the utmost pride on her face. "Well both of you go on ahead and get changed! I just gotta get a picture of you two in your first New Years' outfits together! It's gonna be so cute!"

But while Mina was already happily making her way to her room to get changed, Nikolay still had the same look of a deer caught in headlights as he looked over this unbelievable generous gift. "A-Ashido-obasan, did Mina tell you she wanted me and my Dad to come along for New years ahead of time…like, before today? Not only did you not have to do this for me, but there's no way you could've made this whole thing in just the few hours it took for us to get here from Yuuei…could it?"

While Yumi was giggling in amusement at her daughter's boyfriend referring to her so formally; Youshi was chuckling knowingly: "Oh, don't underestimate my wife's tailoring skills. They're half the reason we live in such a well-off home like this. My work as a trainer and a dance instructor can only provide so much, you know?"

Nikolay tried to see if Mina's father was messing with him, but there was only the sincerest smile on his face, just as Yumi finally stopped giggling to herself: "I guess you could consider me something of a savant with a needle and thread…of course, that doesn't count for anything if you don't have a natural eye for quality fashion, which I deeply pride myself on. I can just look at a person and know exactly what color and material and style will look the best on them…much like how I look at you with your pale complexion, and can just see a calming color like forest green looking perfect on you. Now go on and get changed, and you'll see just how right I am."

Not wasting any time, Nikolay hurried his way to the bathroom; feeling an overwhelming sense of renewed understanding as to just how Mina had developed her keen eye for fashion, as well as he incomparable love of dancing. More and more, Yumi and Youshi were proving they couldn't have been more fitting parents for her.

While the three parents waited for their respective kids to come out in their new outfits, Tunguska couldn't help but ask: "If you're this much of a marvel at making clothes, then should I assume you went and made one for me in this little time as well, Ashido-san?"

Both parents laughed as Yumi gave an exaggerated apologetic bow. "Sorry, Tunguska-san, but even I'm not that insanely fast. I'd actually had the advantage of having made Mina's kimono ahead of time, since we just had a gut feeling we'd get to see her tonight. I just wanted to give Kolya-kun the impression I'm super-human talented so we could see his face."

While his wife was giggling teasingly just like their daughter often did, Youshi suddenly offered: "If you wanna look the part with the rest of us for the festival, though, I could call in an order from one of the best kimono-makers in town. Even for a big guy like you, they should have something quality made for you in no time."

Youshi even already had his phone out, just waiting for the word. With a grateful smile, Tunguska shook his head. "That's very kind of you, but I couldn't. I'm technically supposed to be serving as their Yuuei-ordered Pro Hero protection while they're outside of school grounds right now. I can't exactly strike fear into any potential criminals or Villains if I don't look the part, can I?"

"Aw, c'mon, man, it's supposed to be a celebration; you can still dress for the occasion and have fun with the rest of us! Besides, I'd think that if a criminal were to pull anything there, you being all incognito would actually help you get the drop on them that much better!"

No sooner than Youshi had debated this, both doors suddenly opened, and Yumi's resultant squeal of adoration and excitement filled the room ("OH MY GOD, YOU TWO LOOK SO PRECIOUS! THIS IS GOING IN THE FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!") as they all marveled at Nikolay and Mina standing together in their new celebratory kimonos; Nikolay looking as red as a tomato in this entirely unfamiliar new getup, while also having to swallow the flustered lump in his throat as Mina marveled at both their clothes, before joyfully hugging his arm with the biggest smile on her face; her wild pink hair complimented by a cute white fluffy tama kanzashi with a purple yuremono kanzashi hanging from it behind her right ear; her own personal touch to complete the look.

As Yumi continued frantically taking picture after picture of the young couple in their living room together; Nikolay soon couldn't take his eyes off of his girlfriend in her kimono, either, just as she couldn't take her eyes off of him, until they finally looked each other in the eye again. Taking her whole getup into consideration, Nikolay instinctively spoke up: "You look amazing, Mina."

The way Mina's black-gold eyes lit up was downright mesmerizing, even when she instinctively answered by quickly pressing their lips together in a kiss that nearly sent Yumi into overjoyed shock, while both their fathers were instinctively blushing and averting their eyes in an attempt to give their kids even a little sense of privacy. But Mina paid none of that any mind as she finally answered: "You look so awesome dressed like this, Kolya-kun. I can't wait to see what you'll look like in a yukata once our next summer break comes. Gotta make up for this last one somehow, right?"

She could already imagine her mother was eagerly going through ideas for that very same getup now that she'd mentioned it. And Nikolay likewise already found himself thinking so far ahead, just imagining what an ideal summer for them could look like; assuming they didn't have another training camp to go to, instead.

Throughout the early part of the afternoon, Youshi had finally convinced Tunguska to have a kimono of his own crafted in time for the festival, and Mina had excitedly regaled her parents about how she and Nikolay had been teaching each other their respective dancing styles. That only made it natural that they would all want the youths to showcase exactly what that looked like; and to say that seeing their daughter masterfully pull off a Cossack-dance like a natural, had left them with their jaws all but literally on the floor. Even Nikolay, for as uncertain as he still was when trying to apply himself toward Mina's break-dancing, was at least managing to keep a momentum and flow that almost put him at halfway to her level; which simply left Tunguska smiling from ear to ear, and Mina and her parents both eagerly applauding.

Tunguska's custom kimono ended up getting done in record time, just as Youshi had promised, and as unnatural as he felt in such clothing, it was still very fitting on his large frame; with a body primarily bright red, with swirls and spirals of gold and white, very similar to his Hero costume, complete with an array of gold adorning the back, looking like an ukiyo-e version of the similar shining sun symbol on the chest of his regular costume.

Once that had finally been accomplished, and Yumi once more got a multitude of celebratory photos of the whole bunch of them in their new outfits together, it was finally time for them to depart for the local festival.

Clearly this place had been built up and ready for a good several days, with the multitude of different stalls lining the main road leading up to the local Shinto shrine at the top of the stairs on the hill; as the whole place was already bustling from end to end with countless people of all shapes, sizes, colors and forms thoroughly enjoying themselves since this morning. To be in such a nostalgic setting after having spent the majority of this year away from home had Mina all but literally aglow with happiness once they'd arrived, already eagerly taking Nikolay by the hand so they could go in together.

Nikolay didn't even have a chance to start taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of this place, before a very familiar gruff voice called out to them from within the crowd: "Hey, you guys finally made it! Or have I just kept missing you the last few hours?"

The two teens immediately brightened up even further once they saw an eagerly smiling Eijirou making way towards them with his own parents close in tow; the spiky-haired redhead wearing a kimono of dark red with a pattern of jagged black cracks painted all across it, in order to keep with his normal costume's color scheme.

As soon as the three friends reunited, and subsequently explained Mina's desire to show her parents hers and Nikolay's new dance moves, as well as her parents' insistence on Tunguska having a kimono of his own; Eijirou looked over Nikolay and Tunguska's outfits specifically with clear impression, even for someone as abjectly uninterested in fashion as he was: "Wow, whoever did your guys' new threads has really good taste, or maybe you both just look super manly in everything naturally."

Eijirou was simply too caught up in the excitement of the moment to notice Tunguska's natural embarrassment at being complimented for clothing, while Mina's mother was grinning in satisfaction at the unwitting compliment towards her talents.

The same was to be said for Nikolay and Mina as well, as now that the trio had been reunited, they were finally able to take in the festival and everything it had to offer in full at Mina's over-eager insistence; still holding Nikolay's hand as they proceeded to go from one stall to the next, smiles constantly on all three of their faces the entire time through.

As Tunguska and the Ashido and Kirishima parents all stood together to keep a watchful eye on their children throughout the festival grounds, while still having the sense to have actual fun for themselves as well; the large Russian looked at just how happy their kids were together as they kept playing games.

But while he could gladly keep any of his thoughts to himself, the same couldn't be said for his fellow parents, as Youshi soon spoke up: "God, it's good to see those kids smiling so brightly like that. I'd really been missing it back home by now. That announcement for returning internships couldn't have come at a better time, if you ask me."

With the other parents nodding in agreement, Eijirou's father, Katasa, answered: "Yes, Eijirou's been practically bouncing off the walls nonstop since he'd gotten home. Considering he's going back to interning under you and Fatgum-san tomorrow, and with his two friends from the other Hero Course class to tag along this time, it's simply to be expected."

With a smile of pure gratitude, he and his wife, Tawa, proceeded to give a humble bow to the visibly embarrassed Tunguska, as the mother spoke: "I know we've said it before, but this is far more personal now than it was then. Thank you for taking our boy under your wing like this again, Tunguska-san. I know he will grow up to be a truly splendid Hero with your guidance."

"Please, you both don't need to do that, I'm happy to do so for any student looking for me to teach them. Malenkii Kirishima has just been more gung-ho about it than everyone else." Tunguska humbly replied as the middle-aged pair straightened themselves out, naturally chuckling at the large man's fluster.

"I hope you don't mind my asking this, but what exactly was it that drove you to take our son as your intern, when you've got your own learning right alongside those kids? Eijirou told us that Endeavor actually took his own son in as his intern; and he speaks very highly of your son, too. I would imagine a Hero with your experience and former prestige would want him for your own student more than anyone." Katasa finally asked, momentarily spurring his wife to elbow him in the arm for such a question, before Tunguska chuckled knowingly to himself.

"Were I in your position, I'd be asking the same thing…but honestly, I've given it a lot of thought, myself. I've tried to serve as a teacher, a father and protector for Kolya for the majority of his life already, but in the former, he never really took. Then again, neither of us truly understood just what his Quirk actually was back then.

"Now that we know, and now that he's been getting the proper kind of training and mentorship this year, it's helped me better understand exactly what kind of Hero he has the capability to be and exactly the kind of Hero he seems to respond best to. I can finally start doing better for him as an actual father. However, as a Hero internship teacher, I feel I simply couldn't teach him anything I haven't tried to already, and any better than I had before. Maybe I'm just making assumptions, but I just don't know.

"As for malenkii Kirishima, though: I honestly see a lot of myself in him when I was his age. Just as gung-ho and enthusiastic and set in how I wanted to become a Pro. The only difference between us is that he doesn't have an entire family tree of former Number One Heroes and their legacy he needs to try and embody or surpass. That responsibility and legacy ended up giving me the kind of undeserved ego that led to things…unfolding the way they had back home.

"Your boy still has the humility to be able to take the education he can get from multiple different points of view, and be able to form that into his own understanding that will help him become the best Hero he can be…just like the rest of his classmates at this point. That's the kind of professional upbringing I wish I'd had back then, and I don't want to risk letting that opportunity slip for him or anyone else."

While Tunguska continued to watch with approval as Mina tried to guide Nikolay through a game of scooping goldfish out of multiple bowls with a paper net, and while Eijirou's attempts were so focused and intense that he kept accidentally breaking the handles in his fingers; his mother suddenly asked the large Russian: "It takes a lot for a man to admit ever having had an ego, Tunguska-san. If you feel that your family history and the responsibility ended up giving you one, then don't you ever wonder that your son may end up going down that same path without you there to try and teach him like our son?"

She almost immediately wanted to bite her tongue for asking something so assuming of a boy she knew nothing about. However, Tunguska's reaction was instead to put on a humbling smile. "No…I really don't, not anymore. When he'd first decided to come back to Yuuei and finally work toward becoming a Hero, I didn't know what to expect…but thanks to all of the other teachers and all the friends he's made at Yuuei up until now, I honestly feel my Kolya is on a far better path than even I was at his age. Instead of feeling like I have to be everything to him at once, now I can instead finally just focus on being the father, the parent he really needs and has always needed, just like I always should've been."

While Katasa and Tawa both looked upon the man with a respect and admiration that they could both only imagine was a fraction of what Eijirou felt towards him every single day; Yumi couldn't help giggling knowingly to herself alongside her husband: "You know, with just how obviously Mina and Kolya-kun are crazy for each other, you might find yourself needing to practice to become a grandpa a lot sooner after graduation than you think."

"Yeah, you got the beard and the silver in that gold hair of yours, so you've already got the look down pat!" Youshi chimed in with an optimism that struck Eijirou's parents and Tunguska as borderline unnatural to come from a parent; especially that of a daughter.

"Hey, Dad!" Nikolay suddenly called out from further up the way; snapping all the parents to attention to find the three teens eagerly waving them over. "There's more games here I've never played than I ever would've expected! You gotta try them out, too!"

Both smiling from ear to ear, Mina's parents began eagerly nudging Tunguska forward down the lane. "You heard your boy; you can't just be the protector the whole time. Parents gotta make time for fun, too!"

Tunguska knew he would've considered himself a hypocrite if he hadn't acted as the lighthearted parent after all he'd just said about wanting to fill that role. And so, with his once heavy heart now light as a feather in his chest, he proceeded to catch up with his students and fellow parents.

For the next several hours, there was nothing but good times to be had for all, between the countless games, delicious food, thrilling group dances and ceremonies to watch and participate in, it was nonstop until long past sundown, when the announcement had been made over the loudspeakers across the festival grounds, for everyone to go up the hill to the shrine; an announcement that had everyone flocking en masse up the stone steps, with Mina excitedly hooking her arm around Nikolay's as they joined the flow. "C'mon, you guys! It's time to drop off our wishes!"

Eijirou had already grabbed three small wooden tablets and handed them out to his two friends, while Mina eagerly handed the two boys a small marker each to write their wishes down on their way up.

Nikolay never lost step with his girlfriend and best friend, but he kept looking at the blank board in his hand, drawing a complete and total mental blank as to exactly what he wanted to write down as his singular wish for the next year.

And, of course, his hesitance was quickly noticed by the two of them, even if they didn't truly understand why, as evidenced when Mina instinctively asked: "Hey, what's up, Kolya-kun? You knew this is how people ring in New Years in Japan before, right? You didn't seem surprised by everything else we saw and did here."

Shaking his head, Nikolay answered: "No, it's nothing like that. You're right, I knew about a lot of this for a long time already. Still, watching it in movies or anime is way different from actually experiencing it for real."

On his own end of the conversation, Eijirou was grinning with a naïve knowing about him: "If you got nothing to wish for, then no pressure, man! I mean, what else could any of us possibly wish for by now? Our internships start tomorrow, and he's gonna get to join Bakugo, Midoriya-san and Todoroki-san to learn under Endeavor, the freakin' Number One Hero! You're so damn lucky, dude, I'm super jealous!"

That overwhelming reminder immediately had Mina's eyes glowing like stars as she started eagerly hopping where she stood while still holding Nikolay by the arm. "Oh, I know, right?! You gotta tell us what he's like in person when we meet up again, Kolya-kun! I'll text you and everyone about how my training with Mirko goes, too! Oh man, this is gonna be so awesome!"

His companions' mutual excitement finally stirred Nikolay out of his thoughts as he replied: "I thought your acceptance letter from Mirko said it was just for a one-day test run."

As Eijirou's expression lit up with remembrance of that fact, Mina looked completely unbothered by it. "Well, then I'm just gonna have to go beyond Plus Ultra in making a good first impression. Just you wait, I'm gonna see to it I become her very first full-time intern, no matter what!"

Nikolay smiled in admiration at his girlfriend's drive to prove herself, while Eijirou already had his fists clenched in readiness. "YEAH, THAT'S THE SPIRIT! We're gonna do great at all our internships, I can just feel it! Interning with Tetsutetsu-san and Maja-san in the mix is just gonna make being with Tunguska-sensei, Fatgum-sensei and Amajiki-senpai just that much more amazing! Even if she's just a ride-along, I just know once she passes her exam and gets her license, we're gonna be a totally unstoppable manly trio! Heck, Kolya-san; with you learning with the rest of those guys under Endeavor, I wouldn't be surprised if you all come back the strongest bunch in our whole class! I'll just need to keep training even harder to catch up!"

By that time, the procession had finally moved to where the plucky trio finally found themselves at the entrance to the shrine, with the assortment of bells and wooden boxes with the slots for the people to slip their wishes into all lined up. While Mina and Eijirou both happily slipped their little wooden tablets inside, Nikolay still stood motionless as he kept looking at the comparatively blank piece in his own hand.

Soon unable to bear the curious looks from his two friends once they' finished giving their silent New Years prayers, he finally sucked in a deep breath, dropped his empty piece into the box before him, and finally clapped his hands together and thought in silence as hard as he could, hoping to get whatever prayer he could put together out there with his thoughts.

Not long after they had progressed their way around the rest of the shrine to the hill overlook that had a fantastic view of the rest of town; all their parents quickly returned to their sides, just as the loudspeaker announcer finally called for everyone to take their spots and prepare for the fireworks display that would signal the official strike of midnight, and the beginning of the new year.

As they all excitedly took their spots amid the crowd so they could still get the best view they could, Mina began eagerly flipping through all the different photos she'd taken of the whole festival on her phone; nearly every one of them either featuring Nikolay, Eijirou, any one of their parents, or the three students together in mostly awkwardly angled selfies. But every single one of them just made her smile that much brighter, with Nikolay and Eijirou looking no different as they looked through the pictures with her.

But out of all of them, the one she clearly lingered on the longest, was the first of these selfies she'd managed to get of her and Nikolay together; her smile in the picture as bright as the stars as she threw a peace sign with her free hand, while Nikolay himself had the single most adorably awkward smile on his face right behind her, while one of the smaller fireworks on site had already been going off early behind them.

When she finally reached the end of the gallery, Mina let out the most wistful sigh; pure emotion and nostalgia reflected in her black-gold eyes as she looked up to the starry skies above. "This year has been so amazing, hasn't it? All the things we've gotten to do together, all the new friends we got to make…and so much more. I just wish everyone from school could be here so we could ring in another awesome year together. But you know what? It's okay, because I know we'll just get to see and do even more rockin' and groovin' things together all through next year, too…if not even far beyond that. Wouldn't it be so cool if we could all become licensed Pros and work together all the time? It'd be like all the fun we've been having at Yuuei would never end. I know I've talked about it a lot before, but the more I think about it, the happier it makes me."

Just like he had before, Nikolay couldn't help but smile at the thought as well, much like Eijirou as well. But that still didn't quell his resulting curiosity as he asked: "Was that maybe what you wrote down as your wish, Mina?"

She immediately let out the sweetest giggle. "Aw, c'mon, Kolya-kun, don't make me answer that. What if I end up jinxing it and it doesn't come true…assuming that's what I wrote?"

Nikolay couldn't help but chuckle in return; definitely understanding her superstition. Eijirou, on the other hand, was a different story: "Aw, Heroes shouldn't let superstition scare them. I mean, I wished for us all to become even manlier Heroes and better buddies than we already have been, and there's no way next year could go any different than that, so there's no problem."

Nikolay couldn't decide whose viewpoint he appreciated more here, but before he could decide, and before Mina could ask what was most prominent on her mind; thinking back to just how thoughtful her boyfriend looked when depositing his blank wish and still praying; Tunguska and the rest of the parents stepped up.

"Best get ready, all of you! We're to the final countdown!"

Nikolay could feel his skin tingle with anticipation once everyone started to count down after several prolonged moments of silence. The time was finally here, as he and his father began counting down in Russian next to everyone else's Japanese:

"Desyat'

"Devyat'

"Vosem'

"Sem'

"Shest'

"Pyat'

"Chetyre

"Tri

"Dva

"Odin

"S NOVYM GODOM (HAPPY NEW YEAR)!"

As everyone rang out in unanimous cheer for the beginning of a whole new year, the view down below the hill suddenly erupted in a blinding and deafening cavalcade of fireworks of every conceivable color, filling the air in a display of pure beauty that had everyone cheering nonstop. Amid all that energetic celebration, Mina tearfully capped off the moment by grabbing Nikolay's face in her hands and practically leaping onto him, forcing him to catch and hold her by her waist, while she passionately brought their lips together in a kiss of boundless, endless love that he immediately reciprocated. The young couple proceeded to lose themselves in the warmth burning in both their hearts as they kissed over and over again; sending electrical jolts coursing through each others' bodies with every single one as overjoyed tears ran down both their faces. Nikolay's hold on her waist tightened until he had her in a full embrace, while she began running her fingers across his cheeks and into his hair.

The cheers of the crowd all around them were so loud, they never even heard how Eijirou and Mina's parents let themselves get caught up in the emotion of this moment between the two of them, to the point they actually started cheering them on. It saved them a lifetime's worth of embarrassment, that much was certain.

And Tunguska, when he saw this unfold between his son and student; all he could do was smile with quivering lips, as it couldn't help but make him think back to when he and Lyudmila would be like this in their youth as students.

Nikolay and Mina both had stopped keeping track of just how long they had been kissing while the fireworks continued to fire off and explode into the sky endlessly. When the time had finally come that they decided to separate so they could catch their breath, Nikolay was overwhelmed with the urge to at last speak up: "I know I didn't write anything down, but I still wanted to pray back at the shrine, not to ask for anything new…but to say thank you…for everything I've been given over this past year."

Mina looked into Nikolay's eyes with an irresistible desire to know more, and he was just as eager to provide that very answer: "Until we were actually there at the shrine, I thought I needed to come up with something to ask for, but the fact is that I already have everything I could've asked for right here with me. My life with Dad is so much happier now, I have so many amazing friends when I thought I'd never have one, I'm working towards becoming a Hero and have even gotten to really be one with all of them, and above all else…I found someone to love with everything I have, and she's my very first and best friend of all."

Mina couldn't help giggling sweetly to herself as her pink cheeks turned strawberry red. "Oh, Kolya-kun, you are just too cute right now."

But Nikolay was too deep in what he was trying to say to allow himself to be stopped, as he maintained his embrace on her, looking sincerely in her glistening black-gold eyes. "I mean it, Mina, from the bottom of my heart. The fact is that, with everything else, I couldn't be happier. I don't need a New Years' wish…because I have a great life, countless friends…and because I have you. I love you, Mina, more than anything and everything this world has to offer…and I always will."

Mina could barely see through the emotional tears building in her eyes as she felt her chest tighten and her heart ignite at the sound of her boyfriend's sincerest words. At last, she brought her arms around his sides and embraced Nikolay tightly in return, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. "I love you more than anything times infinity, Kolya-kun. Knowing I'll get to go through this whole new year with you and all our friends…I-I couldn't be happier!"

Before the two of them could start to kiss again, Eijirou's voice suddenly chimed in: "Hey, c'mon, you guys, you're gonna miss the rest of the show!"

That thankfully spurred them both back to attention in time to see the fireworks now go even crazier in the sky; explosions and whistles abound amid the cheers of the crowd as sparkling trails ripped through the air in a fantastical display.

As they continued to watch and cheer alongside everyone else, Nikolay could simply feel his father's presence beside him. Overcome with emotion already, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the man's hand; snapping Oleg to attention as he looked and saw the light in his boy's eyes.

Almost choking up as the words came to him, Nikolay spoke up with no hesitation or falsehood: [[Dad…thank you.]]

The booming of the fireworks surely had to be playing tricks on his aged ears, as Oleg answered: [[For what? You didn't think I wouldn't be here to make sure you were all safe, tonight of all nights, did you?]]

But Nikolay steadfastly shook his head. [[No, not for that. I mean thank you for…for everything. Everything you've done that made it so we could actually be here right now, smiling, being…happy for once, actually being able to ring in New Years together like this at all, like a real family. I know none of it was easy; I know I didn't help make any of it easy, and I still want to try and make up for that. I just…this past year, it's felt like we've finally started to feel like the family I know we should've been from the start, and I know I have you to thank for a lot of that, Dad. I…I-I can't thank you enough.]]

Oleg naturally couldn't fight back the tears of joy stinging at his eyes when hearing his son open up to him like this after everything they'd already gone through over all these years. Unable to help himself, he pulled Nikolay into a fatherly hug as he answered: [[I can't thank you enough either, Kolya; for being the one thing that kept me going for all these years, no matter what you felt then; for being such a greater man, a greater Hero, than I was at your age, and for showing me that all the struggling, loss and pain was ultimately worth it. Thank you for…*sniffle* for being the best son a man like me could've asked for, even through all the times I felt I didn't deserve you.]]

Nikolay returned his father's hug as he replied through his own tearful stuttering: [[I'm glad you're here with me, Dad…and I hope we can keep working towards a future where we can both be Heroes together…er, together.]]

Oleg and Nikolay both chuckled at his awkward use of his words, all while the two of them were feeling and expressing the same sentiment without the need for words; they could both feel it with overwhelming certainty in their hearts: the single hope that their hard times as a family were finally over, and they could at last be able to go nowhere but forward and continue to strengthen the family bond they should've had for so much longer.

As the two of them continued to watch the fireworks with everyone afterwards, Oleg's own gaze was looking beyond the flashes of color to the myriad stars up above, feeling his heart get hitched in his throat. 'Lyudmila…I hope you can see us from up there. I can only imagine how proud you must be, seeing me and Kolya like this, finally. It's been far too long. I promise you, no matter how hard things may continue to get, we won't stop working together to make this the family it should've been with you here.'

Soon, Mina, Eijirou and both their respective parents joined Nikolay and Oleg's sides as they continued to marvel at the fireworks' explosive finale. At some point through it, Mina and Nikolay once more brought a single arm around each others' sides and held one another close. When Eijirou and Mina's parents all observed this show of affection between them with knowing and approving smiles; the red-haired young man's parents suddenly chimed in with his mother saying:

"Bezpalov-kun and Ashido-chan clearly have made a great leap together, like you said, Eijirou. Tell me, are things between you and that Maja girl at all similar?"

"Yes, the way you've spoken so admirably about her over these last few weeks since her acceptance to Yuuei is quite unlike you, son. You don't have to be embarrassed around us if you think things might have the potential to get more serious." As soon as Eijirou's father commented this, he began vehemently shaking his head in a childish display of denial; his face the very picture of embarrassment.

"What?! Where did that all come from?! You guys got it all wrong; me and Maja-san aren't like that at all! She's just a super cool, super manly kind of person, like Bakugo, Kolya-san or Midoriya-san, that's all!"

However, the sight and sound of her spiky-haired best friend being so flustered was too much for Mina to resist, as she began verbally prodding him with a mischievous grin on her face: "Yeah, I've been wondering abo9ut that, Kiri! You and Tetsutetsu-kun have been practically glued to her hips since she came to school. It's a lot like me and Kolya-kun were from the very start, only like a speedrun version. Are you sure you're not hiding something?"

Her teasing was enough to get Eijirou answering on autopilot, much to his immediate detriment: "Aw, c'mon, it's bad enough you pulled that trick with the mistletoe on me and her at Christmas, don't start making it worse! Oh, crap!"

But it was too late. The very idea of their son and the Polish girl he had told them so much about over the last few weeks had been enough to get his parents and Mina's parents both looking absolutely frantic with excitement, while Mina, Nikolay and Oleg all couldn't help but chuckle approvingly at such an overall wholesome sight.

Truly, this was the best possible way that New Years' Eve could have possibly gone for them, and if anything, it felt like a great foreshadowing for just how the beginnings for all their new internships would be once the sun came up. Having already taken the initiative of grabbing their suitcases with their respective Hero costumes in them before leaving the school grounds, it would now just be a matter of leaving to meet up with the rest of their classmates at the Musutafu City train station so they could all head to their widespread destinations. Truly, 2322 was going to be a new year of boundless opportunities, and the three teens, Oleg, all their teachers and all their friends simply couldn't wait for it to begin.

…

Musutafu City train station, Wednesday, January 1st

The excitement for the start of the day and their internships to come with it, had made it almost impossible for Nikolay, Mina and Eijirou to get to sleep at anything resembling a decent hour. But their desires to try and make a good impression, with as much energy as they could muster, was enough to get them to at least try. The sun had barely even begun to brighten up by the time they'd finally woken up and had to bid farewell to the pink girl and red-haired young man's parents once more, before the three and Tunguska finally boarded the train back to Musutafu City in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Already dressed back into their uniforms and with their costume suitcases tight in hand, the three were almost visibly trembling with anticipation the entire ride back home, and when they finally returned to the local train station, it didn't take long before they started to spot the rest of their fellow classmates and Class B counterparts all starting to gather together at just the same time; everyone clearly having gotten up and left their respective family homes at just about the same time from all over Japan, and all of them visibly overwhelmed with anticipation and nervousness alike.

But that still didn't make them any less happy to see their three classmates returned, just the same as with everyone else. While Aizawa, Toshinori, Midnight, Vlad King and now Tunguska were ushering their respective students to stay together with their assigned partners they would be interning alongside, the students themselves were already bustling with excited conversations, not just about today, but also for how everyone celebrated their respective New Years with their families. Tenya sharing photos of his family happily reunited with his older brother, Tensei, after his release from the hospital was an especially emotional display.

Nearly all the girls were eagerly sharing all the different photos they had taken from all their respective celebrations, but even as they tried to get Maja in on the discussion, she was already dealing with her own conversation with the mutually eager Eijirou and Tetsutetsu. "How was your celebration last night, Maja-san?! I'll bet the whole town didn't leave you alone for a moment, you're like a superstar to them right now!"

Chuckling awkwardly to herself, Maja answered: "You guys definitely got that right. It was honestly kinda trippy. For as long as I could remember, everyone in Gagaringrad pretty much treated New Years' Eve like any other day. As far as we were concerned, nothing would ever change for us, so there was no point celebrating one year or another…but this time, it felt like we all had something to actually celebrate for once. All this recent development out of Russia and the rest of the former Bloc actually welcoming their Quirked citizens back in has got a lot of heads spinning with disbelief."

Everyone watching and listening to her could see just how serious Maja was, as she was starting to sound increasingly choked up by the end of it as well. But upon realizing she was about to start crying now that she'd said it all out loud and confirmed it to be reality, she hurriedly shook her head and put on a reassuring grin of confidence. "Well, that just means I gotta try and do my part to help that new life settle in for everyone counting on me that much more, right? Watching you two with Tunguska-sensei and Fatgum in action for this next week, I just know I'll be more than ready when I finally get to have my exam for my license! I hope you'll all be ready for me when that day comes!"

Mina and many of the other students from both classes instinctively cheered their support for Maja's eventual graduation to a licensed Hero student. For her to finally catch up with the rest of them would only serve as a perfect indicator for how the rest of this year was bound to go, as naïve as such a thought clearly was to many of them.

But Maja couldn't bring herself to say more when she saw just how optimistic her friends here all were. As wonderful as she could tell it would be for her to finally have a Provisional Hero License of her own; the truth of the matter was that she wouldn't be able to feel truly at ease with herself and everything now in her life, until Marius Lazarescu would be brought back home, wherever he might have been right now.

But while Ochako and Tooru began reassuring the young Polish girl of her chances to grow and shine under Tunguska and Fatgum's mutual teachings; Mina had finally spied her chance to approach Midnight one-on-one.

The art history teacher immediately spotted the young student's head of pink hair approaching her eagerly amid the throng; her wide grin as bright as it ever was, which naturally made the mature female Hero smirk knowingly. "I know that look, Pinky-chan. If you were looking any less than fully prepared to go all out today, I'd have half a mind to give you a quick round of discipline for the wasted effort."

But even Midnight's thinly-veiled threats couldn't bring Mina's spirits down as her eyes sparkled admiringly. "No chance of that, Midnight-sensei! I've been waiting for this chance like crazy, and I'm ready to show Mirko everything I've got! I don't even care if it's just a one-day test run; I'm just happy for the chance…and I-I can't help but feel like I have you to thank for it even happening at all, too."

Midnight playfully rolled her eyes in a laughable attempt at playing obliviousness. "I'm pretty sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

But Mina by now was swaying her whole body in an energetic circle while keeping her feet firmly rooted to the ground; excitedly pumping her fists once again. "Aww, c'mon, Sensei! You said yourself that Mirko never had an intern before, right before she suddenly said okay to my application! You said you'd even met her a few times! Admit it, you totally told her about me and to give me the chance, right? You so did, I can tell!"

A momentary crack from Midnight's trusty whip thankfully managed to get Mina to hold still, while the 18+ Hero gave a mildly scolding look. "Sheesh, you're really not one for letting subtlety and nuance just stick, are you? Yeah I admit I called her around the time you'd first told me how you wanted to intern with her. I figured that kind of enthusiasm deserved a recommendation…and that's when she practically laughed me off the phone for even suggesting such a thing. So whatever convinced Mirko to change her mind about taking an intern is just as much a mystery to me as it is to you. My advice: go into it with your usual Plus Ultra attitude, but try to find out just what it was. I admit I'm more than a little curious, myself."

While Mina and Midnight had been having their little talk; Nikolay had likewise taken the chance to approach Aizawa with the large plastic bag of goldfish, as well as a handful of sparkling and multi-colored wind spinners. "Here you go, Sensei. I don't know the first thing about pets, but I thought that, since you seem to be in contact with Togata-senpai, that maybe you could give him these, and he could maybe give them to Eri-chan…I mean, assuming she would like having some more fish…and I think these could be considered something like toys, right?"

Aizawa's outwardly apathetic reaction of simply accepting the offering had Nikolay feeling exceptionally awkward, but surely the fact that they were ultimately meant for that little girl would be enough to convince the man to indulge his Slavic student.

No sooner than Aizawa had taken the excess souvenirs off Nikolay's hands; the boy soon caught sight of Izuku up ahead, with Shoto and Bakugo both nearby as well. Taking a breath to steady his nerves, he approached his curly-haired friend. "Happy New Year, Midoriya-san. I assume you and your mother had a good time?"

Izuku was clearly happy to see Nikolay again, by the optimistic smile on his face. "Oh, Happy New Year to you too, Kolya-san. Yeah, it was really nice to be able to spend the night at home again after a while. Mom actually wanted me to wish you and Tunguska-sensei a Happy New Year as well. I imagine you both had a fun time with Ashido-san and Kirishima-san, too."

With the slightly awkward formalities having been shared, the two boys found themselves in an awkward silence; no longer able to beat around the bush of just where they were both going from here. "So…are you…nervous at all?"

Nikolay felt like he had to try and maintain some kind of a façade in response to Izuku's question, as he began quickly shaking his head. "N-no, of course not! If we're learning under the Number One Hero, we should just be grateful…right?"

However, Nikolay knew he wasn't fooling anyone, as he could see Izuku's eyes were focusing on just how much the boys' hands were shaking, with his knees soon following suit.

To have so little control over his own body was so embarrassing for Nikolay. But what Izuku said next was equal parts surprising, and in the strangest way, reassuring: "You don't have to be embarrassed, Kolya-san. I'm actually pretty nervous, too. I mean, Endeavor is a whole different kind of Hero from All Might in attitude alone, to say nothing of just how he deals with situations, like what we all saw from him in Kyushu."

Nikolay couldn't even let out the sigh of relief in his chest, to know that Izuku was feeling much the same as him, before Bakugo all but literally threw himself into the conversation with an angered scowl: "If those are the kind of first impressions you two nerds are planning to show the man who's tough enough to become the next Number One Hero, then this whole internship is screwed before it even begins! You gotta suck it up and show you're ready to fight tooth and nail to get nearly as strong, you got it?! I'm not about to let those months of remedial training be for nothing because of you two!"

Thankfully, this looked to be about as far as Bakugo was ready to let his anger take him as far as his two fellow interns were concerned. That made it that much more reassuring when Shoto finally decided to step in with a far more approachable demeanor, even if the idea of interning under his father made him far from traditionally happy: "Try not to waste too much energy on putting forth an introduction that doesn't fit for you, Midoriya, Bezpalov. My father's already accepted all of you, so just be yourselves around him. That's about as good a first impression as you can make."

No sooner than Shoto had given his best parting advice to his two friends; the announcement from the station intercoms for all the respective trains to take the students to all their different internship destinations had been made.

As the teachers all proceeded to start motioning for their students to head for their trains; Nikolay barely began to look for Mina so they could say their goodbyes, before she'd already excitedly crossed the distance in a mad dash; practically skidding on the heels of her shoes with enough momentum to stop just short enough to where their lips met in a single brief but heart-warming kiss.

She was smiling proudly to herself when they pulled away; either blind to or ignoring Aizawa's disapproving stare, as she gave a joyful wave goodbye to her boyfriend and his to-be internship partners. "Good luck, Kolya-kun, Midori-kun, Todoroki-kun, Bakugo! You guys are gonna knock 'em dead!"

As Nikolay and Izuku likewise began eagerly wishing the rest of their classmates and friends from both classes the best of luck; they were soon approached by Tunguska and Toshinori together; the two men smiling encouragingly when their four students immediately noticed their presence.

Smiling with the utmost pride as he looked his son in the eye, Tunguska placed a pair of firm and trusting hands upon Nikolay's shoulders. "It's okay to be nervous, learning from someone like Endeavor, Kolya. But you've become so much stronger than you realize; all of you have. I know you'll find your own way, and prove yourself to him, and come out of this that much stronger and more capable than you already are. I'll be rooting for all of you every day you're away, I swear."

Nikolay placed a grateful hand upon his father's as he nodded in understanding and acceptance of this goal. [[I won't let you down, Dad.]]

After Toshinori had likewise expressed the same encouragement for the four young Heroes; the follow-up announcement for all passengers to board their trains had finally spurred the unlikely quartet to rush on board; Nikolay and Izuku waving goodbye to the two older Heroes still on the platform as their train finally began to take off, until Bakugo had finally snapped at them to sit down and stop making a spectacle of themselves.

As the two old friends watched their students and son depart on their train; Toshinori could finally take the chance to acknowledge the tense air that had been lingering about his colleague since his arrival at the station all the way from Chiba Prefecture. "You're not the kind of man to give empty encouragement, Oleg-san. If you told Bezpalov-shonen that he can grow alongside his friends under Endeavor-san, it's only because you know for a fact he can."

Tunguska let out a shaky sigh, not even trying to hide it. "I know you're right, Toshinori-san. It's just never easy to have to go for so long without my son nearby, especially after Nabu Island. I'm honestly surprised you're not nearly as nervous, yourself."

With an understanding chuckle, Toshinori answered: "I've seen the kind of training Midoriya-shonen has been putting into his ability to connect to the other Quirks residing in One For All. As long as he's mastered that control of mentally locking and unlocking them at will, then I'm confident he'll have no such issues like he had at the Joint Training Exercise earlier. Bezpalov-shonen has shown exceptional adaptability to the new technique that incident helped him achieve as well. Yes, I think those two boys' further development could stand to go much smoother, so long as they're close by. As for Bakugo-shonen; perhaps learning under a Pro Hero with the same kind of fiery temperament as him, especially with how he is nowadays, could help ground him considerably from now on."

As Tunguska nodded in understanding of his friend's way of thinking, Toshinori hesitated to continue, but ultimately did so, regardless: "I hope you don't mind me saying this, Oleg-san, but in the grand scheme of things, regarding Quirk experience and all-around control, I'm still surprised that Endeavor-san actually accepted your boy alongside Midoriya-shonen, Bakugo-shonen and his own son. He never would've stricken me as someone who would take on so much responsibility like that, alongside his duties as current Number One."

However, Toshinori was surprised to see that Tunguska reflected no such confusion. Instead, the man had a smile that looked purely understanding on a spiritual level. "No offense taken, moy drug (my friend). I think I may have a good idea why Endeavor-san took Kolya in with the rest of those boys; relative lack of experience and all."

Meanwhile, inside their train, Nikolay was trying to calm his breathing with multiple deep breaths, now knowing there was no turning back. Izuku's hand was likewise shaking, but he kept rhythmically clenching it into a fist and opening it throughout the course of the trip in a similar means to ease his nerves.

Shoto was closely watching these subtleties, as he soon addressed his two friends: "You two really don't have anything to worry about. It's not like he's going to try and incinerate you all on the spot once he sees you. My vouching for you was really all it took for him to give his okay."

Nikolay and Izuku were both deeply grateful that he had decided to break the silence, as Nikolay answered: "Right. It's just that after the way you've described Endeavor before, and then seeing him in action on TV, he feels like he'd be far more than off-putting to be around, and especially to learn under."

Nodding in agreement, Izuku followed: "I'm still surprised you would go so far out of your way as to do this for us, Todoroki-san. We're all really grateful, of course."

"DON'T SPEAK FOR ME, DAMMIT!" Bakugo snapped from his seat, while Nikolay continued: "Definitely. It's still just very surprising. Even if you did vouch for us, I'm surprised he agreed to taking all three of us along with you."

Before Shoto could try to explain, Bakugo suddenly chimed in again: "I agree, actually. For someone who's been fighting tooth and nail to get to Number One for as long as he has, I would've thought he'd tell any interns that weren't you to hit the bricks, so he could focus on finding those League of Villains assholes, finally."

The mention of the League had sent a chill through Nikolay and Izuku. They hadn't stopped to think about that lot since Nabu Island. Thinking back to that leader of the Villains and his ability to wield multiple Quirks at once had made it impossible for even the young Russian to not think about All For One back at Kamino Ward. Surely their recent adversary had to have had some kind of direct involvement with the League if he had such abilities, even if that involvement was minimal at most.

But this was supposed to be a day for positive anticipation, and neither he nor Izuku wanted to spoil the building mood with further speculation on the League. Nabu Island aside, the whole group had been considerably silent for quite some time…which only made them that much more uneasy deep down inside. Just what was it they could've been up to right now?

…

A couple days ago…

"I'm baaaack!"

Hawks' announcement of his return to the isolated mountain mansion that served as the headquarters for the newly established Paranormal Liberation Front was a lackadaisical sing-song tone that made the Wing Hero seem downright childish for his age. He could recognize this sense of disapproval on the face and within the demeanor of his fellow Pro Hero/member of the group, Slidin' Go; who was currently posted like a sentry at the entrance to the mansion grounds.

"I can see that; and where exactly have you been these last several days, Number Two? Yes, our fellow Heroes within our ranks agreed to maintain our public personas so as to avoid rousing any unwanted suspicion, but the rest of us at least have the good graces to report back in on a regular basis."

As Hawks touched back down, he still wore the same laid back grin on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I would've done that, but that's the price to pay as Number Two: my jurisdiction ultimately gets a lot bigger, and that keeps me a lot busier. Today was only my first chance to actually drop by. I would've gotten back here sooner…but I admit I got a strong craving for some genuine coffee along the way. That black sludge you guys make here is just pitiful."

However, Slidin' Go and the several other members lingering across the front yard were not amused. "Whether it's in person or over the phone, you could at least make a more concerted effort to keep in touch with our leadership, Hawks-san. Now that you're here, you should make a point of at least asking them for a consignment of days you can be away from the grounds, so we can keep better track of you."

Nonchalantly scratching at his ear in boredom, Hawks let out a childish groan: "Aww, what? I thought the whole deal with the Front was all about personal freedom and such."

Slidin' Go kept his fists firmly affixed to his hips as his beady eyes stared his fellow Hero down disapprovingly. "Speaking of leadership, keep in mind who you're talking to right now! You may be the Number Two Hero, but I've been in this organization a great deal longer than you, and that gives me seniority!"

"Yessir!" Hawks answered while throwing up a mock salute.

At that moment, a nearby door leading to the underground extension of the complex opened on a nearby wall, as the lanky and long-haired Skeptic emerged; one large and bloodshot eye burning into Slidin' Go. "What's all this you're spouting about seniority, Slidin' Go? This is the first I've heard of that! I suppose that means you're influential enough to spread the Liberation Front's ideals throughout society with ease? Nobody told me you were an important player who could extract intel from the biggest Heroes out there right now."

Slidin' Go's expression didn't change, but his demeanor could be felt weakening under the pressure of Skeptic's ridicule and pointing finger, as the thinly built man pointed out the multitude of tiny electronic devices lining the span of Hawks' wings.

"Global tracking! Every communication recorded with crystal clear quality! Live feeds of his conversations and what he's seeing! These twenty micro-devices on Hawks' wings will expose the Heroes and all of their secrets! You, Slidin' Go, are just a pawn who is capable of browsing through the Hero Network, nothing more! Hawks' reach extends farther by leaps and bounds!"

The one boisterous Hero now gave off the air of a whipped dog, while Skeptic began chuckling wryly at Hawks' presence. "To think our poor selection would be enough to avert you from coming here sooner, and after we'd gone to all the trouble of stockpiling on black coffee in advance."

With a good-humored shrug, Hawks replied: "What can I say? Some of us like it sweet."

With nothing more needing to be said now that he was back, Hawks and Slidin' Go proceeded to make their way back inside with the rest of their fellow members, while Skeptic stood watching their departure with the same discerning eye, until he ultimately found himself alone, about to quickly follow after them.

But the moment he took his first step, the lanky man felt a chill of pure intimidation shoot up his spine, as he knew he was no longer actually alone. The only question now was exactly from which direction his sense of intrusion was coming from this time.

"You're pretty confident in the capabilities of your toys, aren't you…perhaps a little too confident for my liking."

The thickly accented and chilling sound of Vukodlak's voice came nearly whispering from high up above, spurring Skeptic to look upwards to see the foreign Villain perched upon the edge of the roof like a human gargoyle; his steely grey eyes boring into the man like a hawk, before he suddenly threw his body forward in a roll over the edge, expertly catching himself on the rim of one of the windows, before springing himself off the side of the wall and landing firmly on one knee mere feet from Skeptic.

But in the time that had passed since the League of Villains had effectively taken the reins of the former Meta Liberation Army and rebranded it, Skeptic had put forth a damn concentrated effort to try and hide how much Vukodlak still intimidated him. "I've hand-crafted every one of my devices through my own blood, sweat and tears. I've seen to it that there's no possible way they could ever be outsmarted, even by the likes of the strongest Heroes."

Rising straight up on his feet again, Vukodlak sighed, clearly having expected the man to defend his methods so stubbornly. "You could really stand to benefit from spending some time surviving in the wilderness, Skeptic-san. Then you'd learn that even the fanciest and most advanced gadgets ultimately don't hold a candle to good old-fashioned human ingenuity. We are the most adaptable species in this planet's history, after all."

Stepping in and giving Skeptic no room to think or breathe, Vukodlak whispered coldly: "Did it never once occur to you that a Hero like Hawks, and an organization like the Public Safety Commission, wouldn't think to have safeguards put in place that could circumvent even your gear? What good would recorders and video do if they were to decide to perhaps speak in their own pre-established code system long before even becoming part of the Front? They could be having a real laugh at your expense right now, and you wouldn't even know it."

Skeptic's body was starting to tremble under Vukodlak's imposing presence, but his tone was impressively steadfast and firm. "You put far too much stock in your own human senses, Vukodlak-san; Quirk-enhanced or not. Machines inherently make up for even our farthest limitations, and I've made them with that very concept in mind. Nothing the Heroes or their society could come up with to deceive me could possibly work."

But where Vukodlak was standing, he almost wanted to commend this man for trying to pass himself off as a world-class bullshitter. From the moment the foreign Villain had even suggested the possibility of Hawks and the Commission using a code system, he could hear how Skeptic's heart rate was skyrocketing in contrast with his forced confidence.

But with a reassuring smirk on his stubble-lined face, Vukodlak suddenly gave Skeptic a firm pat on the back. "But don't worry; we've got more than just one set of eyes and ears on our high-ranking member. That's why we're all here, to fill the gaps either one of us might miss. I took the precaution of putting my own failsafe into the whole Hawks situation, to cover whatever bases your little toys might end up missing. I just thought it was finally time you knew that for certain."

Vukodlak proceeded to all but usher Skeptic along back inside, as he momentarily looked back outside the walls to the mountainous horizons, feeling a deep sense of affirmation in his preparations. With his planning and teamwork alongside the League, he felt well and truly certain that any fancy tricks Hawks had in mind would not go undetected by the Front, and especially not by the League.

…

Tokyo, January 1st

It was barely an hour's train ride from Musutafu City to the heart of Tokyo. Nikolay honestly didn't know t their journey took them here. If Endeavor was the Number One Hero in the entire country, it would only make sense that he would be centered out of the country's capital. Then again, for all he knew, with the man's track record of solved incidents, chances were he'd chosen to have his Agency set up here where there was bound to be the highest percentage of potential incidents all around the clock.

But no amount of time he could have spent trying to figure out their future mentor's reasoning was ultimately meaningless, as their train finally coming to a stop had cemented the reality in his mind and heart: that there really was no turning back, and it was finally time to meet the Flame Hero, Shoto's father, the man ultimately responsible for the young Hero's stand out burn scar, in the flesh, and even be but a portion of his attention.

As he followed his partners through the station and out onto the streets, he couldn't get his hands to unclench from the nervous white-knuckled fists they'd instinctively become long before they'd arrived. He wanted to try and scan their surroundings for even the first sign of Endeavor, so as not to be taken completely by surprise. However, at the same time, he also felt an instinctive unwillingness to look him in the eye once they'd finally find him.

But Endeavor was hardly going to allow for such a half-assed form of meeting, as he stood tall and prominent in the front courtyard in front of the train station, immediately catching the four students' attention.

Nikolay was taken aback. This was the first time he'd seen Shoto's father without the majority of his face obscured by his mask and facial hair of fire. Standing before and over them now, was a towering and powerfully built middle-aged man with short spiky red hair, cold and piercing blue eyes, and a thin line of stubble lining his upper lip and rigid square jaw. But by far, the most prominent feature was a large downward triangle-shaped scar that ran all the way down the left side of his face from his hairline, cutting off his left eyebrow by more than half, while his eye thankfully didn't look to be nearly as damaged. It was the one irremovable memento from his battle in Kyushu.

"Welcome. I'm Endeavor."

Nikolay didn't even realize he'd taken to staring at this behemoth of a man before them, until Endeavor himself suddenly put on an unnaturally welcoming smile on his recently imposing face in order to express his greeting. If the three extra boys hadn't known any better, they would've almost believed he was genuinely happy to see them.

"...is that the warm reception you were hoping for?"

And there it was: his once welcoming expression had instantly turned into a far more menacing and cold stare that could have scared the life out of anyone else. Nikolay had to keep reminding himself of Shoto's advice to simply try and be himself, as his knees almost instinctively wanted to buckle under the weight of Endeavor's disapproving stare. 'No wonder this man has the record that he does. How do any Villains not instantly want to give up when they get a look like that?'

And therein was the most terrifying fact of this moment: this look of pure aggression and apathy on Endeavor's face looked far more natural than even a simple smile.

The Flame Hero looked upon his son's three companions like one might have looked disapprovingly on a bunch of irritating insects. "Let's make things crystal clear here: I ain't thrilled about taking you three extras on. I only allowed you here because Shoto asked! I was hoping it'd just be me and him again!"

Out of the three of them, his eyes squarely landed on Nikolay, leaving the young Slav's mouth bone dry. "You; your father was apparently a Number One once. How does he not have the self-respect to take his own flesh and blood on as a student…or are you really such a poor example of one for his liking?"

Nikolay felt a flare of indignation spark in his chest, but before he could even think of saying something he was sure to regret, Shoto interjected: "Tunguska-sensei already has his own interns to teach, and I'm confident Bezpalov can excel here just as much as Midoriya and Bakugo. As for you; you already accepted them, so stop complaining."

While Endeavor stuttered an indignant exclamation to his own son talking back to him, Nikolay's momentary offense at being insulted quickly dimmed into the same nagging curiosity that had been following him for the last week. While it was true that he and Shoto were friends, he still couldn't claim to understand, himself, just why his classmate would offer him to come along to train under the Number One Hero; especially when next to powerhouses like Izuku and Bakugo. Despite Shoto's apparent confidence in his potential; as much as Nikolay knew his own Quirk was far stronger now than it had been at the beginning, it still felt like it didn't hold a candle next to his two friends and classmate.

Suddenly, Bakugo himself spoke up, looking Endeavor dead-on: "Ever since our training course, watching you up in those stands watching us like lab rats, I've been thinking…you're a jerk."

Izuku looked dumbfounded that even Bakugo could say something so blunt to the Flame Hero of all people, while Nikolay almost choked on the desire to laugh at such boldness. By contrast, Endeavor looked utterly indignant at such blatant disrespect from a child: "ARE YOU REALLY FRIENDS WITH THESE KIDS, SHOTO?! A MUTE DIMWIT AND A PRECOCIOUS BRAT?! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS MORE WISELY!"

Ignoring their mentor's ranting, Bakugo continued firmly: "Whatever. I'll put up with anything if it means getting to really see the top dude in action."

Between Bakugo's bluntness and Nikolay's barely hidden frustration at Endeavor's continued dismissal, Izuku suddenly spoke up: "Thank you for accepting us, Endeavor-sensei!"

The freckled boys' example finally got Nikolay to just swallow the rest of his emotions as he likewise bowed in expression of gratitude. "Balshoi spasibo."

As naturally intimidating as Endeavor was to the two boys, Nikolay knew he couldn't allow himself to wallow in that fear, or his initial dislike, if he was going to make the most out of this week to come with nothing but his three partners and the Flame Hero for company. And as for Izuku, he too was still instinctively intimidated by the man's presence, but gazing on the look in his eyes, especially compared to how they looked back at the Sports Festival, there was a definite change about him that Izuku couldn't rightly put his finger on, but he could certainly feel.

Without another word being said, Endeavor suddenly turned on his heels and began to take his leave; spurring his son and three new interns to hurriedly follow after him, while Izuku was hurriedly trying to get a last positive word in, in the hopes it would help the following week start on a much smoother note: "We're all here to learn from you, sir!"

Endeavor gave no visible sign that he was listening; his stride never even slowing down in the slightest. Even Izuku couldn't help but momentarily worry that he was being outright ignored.

"'Shoto's not me…' I was you who said that."

Izuku, Nikolay and Bakugo all instinctively flinched in confused surprise at this sudden callback; Izuku not expecting the man to have even remembered that briefest of talks between them back at the Sports Festival; and Nikolay and Bakugo both looking to the green-haired boy in surprise that he and the Flame Hero had apparently ever actually met before, let alone talked.

Suddenly, Endeavor turned off his straightforward course, leaping over a nearby guardrail in a mad dash, as his signature flames began to erupt upon his face, catching at least the three new interns by surprise, as the four of them hurriedly tried to follow after him.

"Sorry, but I honestly don't give a crap about anyone but Shoto! YOU BOYS ALL WANNA LEARN?! THEN STAND BACK AND WATCH ME!"

While at first, they couldn't understand just what Endeavor was trying to do; whether or not he was simply trying to leave them in the dust and test their abilities to keep up. But it wasn't too long until they could suddenly hear what sounded like heavy impacts from a fair distance ahead, perhaps a few city blocks away.

Now it all suddenly became clear: he had somehow caught wind of whatever was happening, and his instinct to jump in had immediately taken over.

And if Endeavor was already moving into action, then there was no excuse for the four boys to not do the same.

With a surprising natural flow between them without tripping up, Nikolay and his partners quickly managed to open up their respective Hero costume suitcases mid-sprint; Izuku and Bakugo quickly donning one of their respective gauntlets, Shoto already erecting a trail of Ice from his right foot, and Nikolay already throwing his bandolier of small tuning forks over his shoulder.

And their quick jump into action had not gone unnoticed by Endeavor, as he spied their reaction time from over his shoulder. Thus far it wasn't a bad start, but until he knew for certain just what they were about to walk into, he was not about to take chances. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU ALL TO STAND BACK AND OBSERVE!"

For the first time since coming here, Nikolay finally found the wherewithal to speak up in the overwhelming Flame Hero's presence, all his previous intimidation nowhere to be seen or heard: "HOW AN WE LEARN FROM YOU IF WE JUST STAND ON THE SIDELINES?! JUST TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY WANT US TO DO!"

Without further ado, Endeavor suddenly took off into the air in a burst of raging Fire; spurring them all to take off at full speed to try and keep up. But he was more than a dozen yards ahead of them before the booming sound had even reached their ears, in a display of incredible power and insane speed together that couldn't help but leave them all visibly impressed, in recognition of the technique he had referred to on TV as Flashfire.

…

"REVELATIONS FROM THE UNIVERSE I HAVE RECEIVED! FLEE! FLEE, GOOD CITIZENS! THE DARK LORD'S LIPS CURL INTO A WICKED CRESCENT! A DISTANT UNKNOWN SHADOW CREEPS ACROSS OUR LANDS FROM DEPTHS UNTOLD! THE END IS NIGH! THE DARK STARS FROM ALL THE DISTANT CORNERS OF THE EARTH CONSPIRE AND COLLUDE! THEY MUST BE HALTED! THIS LAND WILL SOON BE CLOAKED IN DARKNESS!"

A single old man with an elongated white beard and adorned in the dark-colored robes more befitting an ancient Eastern soothsayer, had been floating forebodingly upon an orbiting series of crystal balls above the streets of this little section of Tokyo for the last several hours. He was a Villain known to the citizens as Starservant, but to call him a Villain on the same level as the League of Villains would have been far from accurate.

He had been carrying on like this, and yet not one of the citizens walking the sidewalks below paid his frantic words of prophecy and panic no mind. If anything, they were simply considering his presence this day to be nothing more than a nuisance, especially since this wasn't his usual territory he usually roamed.

As the elderly Villain continued to cry out his warnings to the ignorant masses around him on the streets and in the buildings all around, he was never actually aware of the fact that there was, in fact, a single pair of eyes far above that was actually paying heed to his being here all of a sudden. With the exception of that, he might as well have simply been screaming to himself.

But as Starservant continued, the fear that was flowing all through his body had at last reached a feverish state, as with his hands extended outward, he suddenly caused all of the windows of the surrounding buildings to shatter outward and melt into a thick collecting liquid towards him, like a massive astral body with an overwhelming gravitational pull he could control at will.

As all of the incoming melted glass began to collect into a large orb above Starservant's waiting hand; his sunken eyes were looking frantically to the horizon, the very picture of manic terror. "FLEE, GOOD CITIZENS! I AM HE WHO WILL DESTROY THE SOURCE OF THIS INCOMING DARKNESS! ENLIGHTENED FALLEN KING!"

With the last of the glass finally collected, he now floated high above the street with a massive ball of melted glass hovering above him in silent, patient and frightening wait; this desperate course of action finally having been the thing to draw all of the citizens' attention to him.

And with his sudden attack now ready, Starservant quickly spied a rapidly approaching trail of raging flames tearing through the air straight for him.

"NOW…REVEAL YOURSELF, HERALD OF THE DARK LORD!"

Rearing his arm back like a pitcher about to throw the winning ball, Starservant proceeded to send the now-solidified glass ball straight at the incoming Endeavor…only for the Flame Hero's fiery form to smash straight into it like tissue paper, before the rest of the large sphere exploded n a shower of crystallized glass and flames.

"FLASHFIRE FIST!"

Starservant looked like a frail old deer before the merciless jaws of a bloodthirsty wolf, as Endeavor stared straight through him amid his fire. "So, you can control glass, huh, old man? That's a pretty impressive skill…but what I don't get…IS WHY YOU THOUGHT YOU'D GET AWAY WITH THIS IN MY TERRITORY!"

Endeavor's fire seemed to easily reflect the attitude of its wielder, as the temperature around him grew alongside his anger, to the point it was even proving too much for the citizens to risk lingering nearby, instead running away in order to avoid getting burned.

And Starservant was no different, as with any semblance of courage now having been sapped away, he urgently floated away into the mouth of a nearby alleyway upon his crystal ball.

But Endeavor was already coming in fast on the fleeing old man's trail, instinctively calling to one of the arriving local Heroes to get to work evacuating the area while he closed in like the predator he essentially was.

But as his flames burned righteously, and he could see the distance between them uickly shrinking, Endeavor didn't know that this wasn't entirely outside of Starservant's plans. For this was exactly where he'd aimed to go if Endeavor had managed to overcome his Special Move, and he had the resources to make this backup plan a success.

At the moment he emerged out the other side of the alleyway, three intensely focused vagrants stood in wait just outside of view, as they had been instructed to act if they saw their boss emerge out this way, for it would only mean that Endeavor was close behind.

They acted as quickly as they could, pulling out two trip cords over the mouth of the alley, in the naïve hope it would somehow be able to withstand his flames for even a split second. Even if it wouldn't, the third man among them had a large lead pipe reared back over his head to strike down the moment he saw the Hero's head poke out.

In but a single moment, Endeavor had managed to burn straight through the tripwires and lunge in a blazing inferno towards Starservant. At the same time, before the henchmen even had time to process how fast the Flame Hero really was; Izuku, Nikolay and Bakugo had all come flying into the scene from two different directions, with Bakugo launching himself in an oncoming tackling grab for one of the men on the ground, while Izuku was grabbing the upper man's pipe, rearing back a sparking leg in preparation to knock him out with a kick. At the same time, the third man had managed to instinctively pull out a knife from his pocket to drive into Bakugo's side, as he was the closest one at that moment. From directly above, Nikolay was dive-bombing from the rooftop, already having thrown one of his smaller tuning forks at sonic speed to knock the weapon out of his hand, so he could then pin the man to the ground.

All the while, Endeavor was reaching out, ready to grab Starservant and put an end to this entire chase…only for a flash of crimson red to catch the corner of his eye.

"Oh, trainees! Looks like I was just a little faster this time around!"

Before anyone could blink, the gold-and-red blur of feathers that was Hawks came dive-bombing down the length of the road from out of nowhere, catching the three thugs and Starservant in his arms like the snapping of a picture; catching Endeavor and his three new interns utterly blindsided and surprised, before finally awkwardly landing back on the ground.

The three boys all looked back in disbelief at how quickly the Wing Hero had just come in, while Hawks himself nonchalantly dumped the four criminals to the ground at Endeavor's feet. "Seemed like you might've been in a spot of trouble, Endeavor-san."

But Endeavor wasted no time with pleasantries, as he instead closed in on the terrified Starservant, grabbing him by his collar. "Me? Not a chance!"

By now, Shoto had likewise come onto the scene upon his trail of Ice, only able to look at the aftermath of this little interference from the Number Two Hero with visible surprise on his face that matched those of his classmates.

And the young Heroes' presence wasn't unnoticed by Hawks himself, as he nonchalantly gave them all a greeting wave and a grin. "Well, it surely seemed that way to you as well, eh, kids?"

To meet two such highly ranked Pros in the same day in such quick succession was the last thing any of them had expected, so they were actually struggling for any kind of answer; Nikolay especially because he now couldn't help but think back to Tunguska's comments about the Number Two Hero having actually considered him for an intern since as far back as the Sports Festival.

But the boys' momentary speechlessness was their own issue, as Endeavor wasted no time: "I thought I told you to message me whenever you're in the area, before you think of getting in my way, Hawks!"

"Oh, I'm not in town. I was just passing by. Number Two Hero in the country who can fly has an inherently bigger jurisdiction, you know?"

Once Nikolay had managed to pry his now-wasted tuning fork out of the sidewalk, the police finally arrived; easily rounding up and taking away Starservant and his thugs; the latter frantically claiming that the old Villain had simply told them to do this. At the same time, Starservant himself was at last without the last of his composure, as his wide empty eyes stared into Endeavor: "UNHAND ME, OR ELSE OUR FATES ARE ALL SEALED! THAT ONE IS THE ROOT CAUSE! HIS SHINING LIGHT BECKONS THE DARKNESS! IT PRECIPITATES OUR DEMISE!"

As Starservant was finally sealed away and silenced within the waiting police car; one of the officers gave a tip of his cap to the stalwart-looking Flame Hero. "Zero casualties yet again! As long as you're watching over this town, we're safe and sound, Endeavor-san."

However, the police officers had all been completely blind to the furrowed brow and contemplative look in Endeavor's eyes. He was not showing it in any more a physical fashion than that, but the truth was that Endeavor had actually been hit surprisingly deep by Starservant's parting words. But so long as he understood what he was feeling, and nobody else noticed and felt the need to pry, then he was okay with that.

What he either didn't notice, or simply didn't care about, was that even this most subtle of reactions had indeed been noticed…by Nikolay alone.

With all the years he'd spent alone with Tunguska, hearing and seeing the various subtle hints of his anguish in that time, the boy had gained a keen eye for these things, and this was a sign of internal strife that he recognized almost instantly.

But it was still so early in their time interning under him, and Nikolay didn't want to risk wasting all of that by getting on Endeavor's bad side with questions about what he was thinking. While he had a good idea now of how to truly talk to his father; Endeavor was a different beast entirely. Even if he had the courage to speak to the man one-on-one, what would he even be able to say to get through to him if at all possible?

Before he could dwell on it any further, Hawks' voice suddenly broke through his focus: "So I take it the four of you all are Endeavor-san's new interns, huh? He really seems to be pushing his limits as Number One, doesn't he?"

With the Wing Hero now addressing them, Izuku suddenly stood intensely at attention in order to introduce himself; earning a smirk of recognition. "Ah, yeah, you're the kid who likes smashing up his own fingers with his Quirk, aren't you?"

While Izuku fidgeted with embarrassment that this was apparently all Hawks remembered of him at all, Nikolay quickly followed his friends' lead, putting Tunguska's comments behind him for now. "Good morning, Hawks-san! I'm Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov!"

Hawks looked the visibly awkward young man up and down, his smirk never faltering as he contemplatively rubbed at his own stubble. "Now you, I definitely recognize. One of Yuuei Academy's first foreign students, and the son of a fellow, albeit former, Number One Hero isn't something you see every day. It's good to see you're already back in tip-top shape after Nabu Island. I was there with Tunguska-san when they pulled you, Tokoyami and your pink friend out of that crater. You were looking more than a little rough, to say the least."

Nikolay nodded while scratching the back of his head nervously: "Honestly, I don't remember seeing you, sir. I remember waking up in the hospital, but as for what I did to get us out of that cave-in and how I ended up like that…it's all a blank to me."

Hawks immediately started chuckling at Nikolay's unnecessary show of apologetic embarrassment. "Hey, everybody blanks out when they go through something that traumatic. You were out like a light when I first saw you, so no harm, no foul."

Looking the four boys over, Hawks continued: "Yeah, I feel like I know you all pretty well already. Tokoyami's told me a lot about you. Man, I wish I could've worked with that kid again."

"Wait, I thought Tokoyami-san had already been accepted back into your Agency." Izuku immediately commented, unable to hide his confusion.

"Yeah, he is. He's back at the office taking care of things there with the rest of my sidekicks. I got too much going on all around to be there; hence my surprise drop-in here."

As Hawks explained this, he could feel an intense stare burrowing into him that was decidedly different from that of Endeavor: that of a barely scowling Bakugo.

"Back there—I was faster than you!" He bluntly stated, not as a seeking of confirmation from the Wing Hero, but more as an outright statement of fact; a bold choice that had Hawks looking considerably impressed. "Oh? You think so, huh?"

As the police finally began to take their leave, Nikolay couldn't help himself anymore: "I'm sorry, Hawks-san, but shortly after what happened at Nabu Island, Dad told me about something you'd said to him, about how you actually wanted to recruit me as an intern after the Sports Festival. I didn't want to say anything, but I don't know when or if we'll meet again, so I just have to know he wasn't messing with me. Is it really true?"

Hawks didn't even hesitate: "Yeah, it's true. You showed realy promise back there, and from what I saw you kids had all done at Nabu Island, you've all gotten that much stronger. Normally I'd say that if things don't work out for you here, then you could come intern at my office…but frankly, Tokoyami is enough of a responsibility for me."

All the while, as Izuku and Shoto both looked pleasantly surprised at the dumbfounded Nikolay's apparent hard-won recognition from back then; Bakugo was simply staring at his foreign classmate with a furious disbelief. "Seriously?! What the hell could you have done back there that was so impressive to get the attention of then-Number Three?! This guy could barely stand still without shaking like a weed, dammit!"

Endeavor suddenly loomed over the whole meeting; his flames just bristling upon him. "Hawks, what exactly is it that you want that would bring you out here?"

With his eyes momentarily widening with remembrance, he began digging through the pocket of his jacket, before suddenly pulling out a small book in his hand. "Want? Oh, nothing, really…but have you read this by any chance, Endeavor-san?"

The Flame Hero and the boys all looked in curiosity to see the title 'Meta Liberation War' printed across the front. It looked almost more like a manual or a manifesto than a regular book; Nikolay was quick to take notice.

Ignoring the boys' questioning stares, Hawks proceeded to ramble on as though he were actually trying to sell the book in his hand, all while Endeavor looked equally confused, and furious that his time was essentially being wasted moment by moment.

But even as he continued to gush and preach about the book and its writers' virtues and relevancy; in his own head, his tone was far different, as he tried to think as hard as he could while looking Endeavor in the eyes; silently hoping it would communicate his true words to the man.

'Sorry to beat around the bush here, but this is the only way I can really get the true message across to you right now. Not only am I still wired, but I haven't been able to shake the sensation that the League of Villains has some other kind of security measure on me for even longer than the Army's rebranding. So please, for all our sakes, pick up on what I'm really trying to say, Mr. Number One Hero.'

Without further ado, no sooner than he had finally needed to stop to catch his breath; Hawks acted the moment Endeavor finally spoke up: "What exactly are you talking about?"

Hawks finally proceeded to hand the book over to his colleague, standing steadfast and unnaturally rigid. "I'm only asking you to imagine the world that Destro-san envisioned when writing this book, Endeavor-san! A WORLD WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE TIME TO KILL! Read it…please."

While the boys had no idea just what Hawks was ultimately talking about; his specific choice of words had stricken a chord deep within Endeavor. He immediately recalled the Wing Hero using these very same words during their meeting in Kyushu; specifically just how sincere the man had been about it beneath his lazy casual smile.

But now, he could likewise feel that sincerity, but none of the lackadaisical body language about him was there. He was being deathly serious underneath all of his gushing, and it struck Endeavor as very off-putting. Hawks was not the kind of man who would change like this for absolutely no reason.

As such, he said nothing more, as he finally reached and took the book out of Hawks' offering hand; a gesture that left Hawks' heart feeling no less heavy, but even just the slightest touch more hopeful.

"A work of literature being personally recommended by the Number Two Hero himself! Maybe I should check it out, too! It could hold the secret to his incredible speed!" Izuku suddenly declared from behind Hawks' back; spurring the Number Two Hero to suddenly twirl on his heels and pull out two handfuls of more copies of the same book; catching the four boys way off guard.

"By all means, help yourselves, I've got plenty, boys! That's right, it's the era of the Number Two! I've come to learn that when it comes to speed, it's all about being able to read which direction the winds of change are really blowing!"

"Are you getting paid a commission for every copy of this you pass off to people?" Nikolay couldn't help but ask, despite having politely taken a copy for himself like the rest of his partners.

"It's almost like he's spreading gospel, more like." Izuku replied, which left Hawks smiling brightly to himself.

"You got that exactly right, Midoriya-kun! I'm recommending it to all my friends and fellow Heroes all across the country! Because, if nothing else, that Liberation ideology will be pretty darn fundamental going forward!"

Nikolay honestly wasn't sure how to feel about that sentiment as he looked to the book now weighing heavily in his hands. "T-thank you, Hawks-san…but honestly, I don't know if I have the right to read something like this; being about a history I had no idea about and all."

But Hawks remained unperturbed, since Nikolay had takena copy regardless. "On the contrary, Bezpalov-kun! This book details just the universal kind of prejudice that people with Quirks still face to this day in some of the lesser looked-upon corners of the world and society at large. I know you and Tunguska-san know a great deal about that. The way I hear it, Liberation may already be starting to take root back in your neck of the woods, with you and your friends going and saving the guy who's now president of Russia, and him calling for amnesty for all his own people with Quirks. I'd almost think you could be a figurehead for this ideology. Heck, anybody can be, if they push themselves hard enough!"

Nikolay wasn't entirely sure how to feel about something so heavy being said about him. Hawks decided to leave him and his partners with their thoughts and their new copies, while giving another subtle glance to the watchful Endeavor. "At least take a peek at the sections I've highlighted. That's my second recommendation for you, in so many words."

Without further ado, and a powerful flap of his wings, Hawks proceeded to take off high into the air, officially taking his leave. "All five of you; good luck with the internships!"

But as he continued to ascend, he gave another contemplative and imploring glance to the troubled-looking Endeavor. There was only one last thing he could hope to impart to the Number One Hero here and now, even if once more just from a look: 'Teach these boys the best you can, Endeavor-san.'

As Endeavor watched Hawks finally disappear from sight, Izuku couldn't hide just how truly impressed he was: "To think he's only 22 years old, and yet comes off as so much wiser."

But next to Izuku and Shoto's visible amazement, Bakugo just sneered: "Such a laid back attitude…he already ticks me off."

Nikolay was personally still too preoccupied with Hawks' parting words to him to really speak in agreement or otherwise with any of his partners; ultimately only able to ask: "Do you really think he meant it; that I'm figurehead material for this…movement, or whatever it is?"

But while Bakugo naturally answered that Hawks clearly didn't mean it, and while Shoto and Izuku both expressed otherwise; Endeavor had already taken to doing as his colleague had asked, silently flipping through the pages before finally landing on one of the bookmarks; his piercing eyes looking over the highlighted sections, before a spark of newfound understanding jolted through his mind. 'I see…'

…

With Hawks having left, and the criminals having been taken away, Endeavor finally led Shoto and his partners to the official Endeavor Hero Agency. Nikolay wasn't sure what to expect from the headquarters of the Number One Hero, but what he saw nearly piercing the heavens before them still somehow managed to defy his expectations: a gleaming mirror of a skyscraper emblazoned with a flaming 'E' above the entrance.

One they had finally stepped inside and ascended the first few floors, Endeavor suddenly stopped them in their tracks. "As this is the first day, you would all do well to get to know my sidekicks you'll be working with for the next week. There's something important I need to look into at my office, but I'll be back down shortly."

With their teacher and host having suddenly left them on their own, Nikolay instinctively asked Shoto: "You were here for the Field Training week before, weren't you, Todoroki-san? This place already feels like a maze."

As Izuku slowly nodded in agreement, looking similarly impressed with the scale of everything, Shoto began heading down the hall to a large set of doors. "The main offices for all the sidekicks are this way. I didn't get time to really know any of them back then, so this will be just as new for me, to be honest."

The moment they stepped through the doors, they were met by a colossal room that looked like it could have fit an entire governmental committee, only it was filled with a multitude of Heroes of all shapes and sizes; and they were all right now eyeing the four students walking through their doors.

Nikolay's instinctive nervousness at meeting so many new faces was quickly offset by the fact he wasn't alone, but even more so by the looks of recognition and eagerness on all the sidekicks' faces, as a handful of them quickly rushed forward in order to greet the newcomers personally…or to size them up, there was no way for the boys to know.

The small handful of sidekicks greeting the interns consisted of a large horse-like Hero in full body armor, and two young adult men, one looking like a mummy in a dark trenchcoat, and the other wearing a black bodysuit with a large light-colored X-shaped piece of armor strapped over the torso, with a armored face guard framing his face with a pair of horns protruding from its front. But standing at the lead of the bunch was a (literally) fiery young adult woman with light long hair that looked to actually be made out of yellowish green fire.

She wore a black domino mask over her fierce-looking orange-red eyes that ended at a black-orange headband going over the top of her head. Her Hero costume was a light grey double-breasted mini dress with orange and black lining; her collar, wrist guards and belt all sporting a similar black-orange color scheme, small black boots and black stockings that ended in slits going up to her dress that showed off her hips and thighs, and the buttons of her dress were flat and silver, almost resembling flat-headed screws. There was what looked like a temperature dial on her belt, and when looking, the boys could just make out what looked like a fire extinguisher on her back.

The fact they were even able to make out this much detail from her and her fellow sidekicks was quickly proven a miracle, namely because Nikolay could see just how rigid and tense Izuku looked right now. His own expression of unfamiliarity was noticed and quickly answered by his freckled friend: "Kolya-san, that woman; that's Burnin'; she's a super-famous sidekick Hero from this area! I didn't think we'd actually get to meet her this way."

But before Nikolay could express any similar impression at that fact; Burnin' herself, with an aggressive-looking fanged smile, and her colleagues all simultaneously announced in enthusiastic greeting: "IT'S ABOUT TIME WE GOT TO MEET! WELCOME TO THE ENDEAVOR HERO AGENCY, KIDS! WE'RE THE FLAMING SIDEKICKERS!"

None of the four interns could even begin to say anything in thanks or introduction, as Burnin' quickly stepped up, eyeing them like their lives would depend on what impression she and the others got from them. "I hear Midoriya-kun and Bezpalov-kun got to learn under some Heroes already before the hiatus, but this is officially the first internship experience for Shoto and Bakugo-kun, right? Well, listen close and listen well, kids: YOU THREE WILL GET RIGHT DOWN TO BUSINESS DOING WHAT WE NORMALLY DO AROUND HERE! BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, WITH OVER 30 SIDEKICKS HERE ALREADY, WE AIN'T EXACTLY SHORT-STAFFED!

"WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY HERE, IS THAT YOU KIDS AIN'T GONNA GET A CHANCE TO SHINE BRIGHTER THAN US!" Leaning in close with a fanged grin that stretched across her face, Burnin' looked like she was about half ready to literally eat the four interns alive. The heat from her fiery hair was making Nikolay visibly sweat enough already, but his intimidation at her demeanor didn't help. The only one among them who was actively making an effort to step in just as close to try and intimidate her back was, naturally, Bakugo.

"Oh, fun…so we just gotta try and beat your so-called Pros at your own game, is that it?"

"BINGO!" Burnin' answered enthusiastically. Her eagerness was like a trigger for her fellows, as the other three began eagerly posing in an attempt to show their seniority or dominance, while addressing the interns as well: "That goes for you too, Shoto! Don't go expectin' any special treatment just cause you're the bosses' kid! You really gotta sink your teeth into this job!

"But next to your two friends here, you'll probably be the only one doin' any heavy liftin'. The curly-haired one looks like he could get knocked over by a light breeze, and the foreign one especially looks like he could get completely shattered if he just stubbed his toe! He's got the kinda face that makes women wanna mommy him day and night!"

However, while the other sidekicks were laughing in good humor between themselves at mocking Nikolay and Izuku's modest appearances while in their student uniforms; the mention of the former had gotten Burnin' to start eyeing him more specifically before she suddenly stepped up to him with that same intense stare. "You…you're that Tunguska geezer's kid, ain'tcha?"

Nikolay swallowed the lump in his dry throat from the heat of her hair as he answered: "I-I would've thought it was obvious…but yes, I am."

A smirk of genuine consideration suddenly tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I see…you might not know it, kid; but in all the time I've worked here, I've only ever seen All Might be the kind of Hero that can make Endeavor mull over to himself…at least until your old man popped up during that craziness at Kamino Ward. Don't dwell on it too much, but maybe he decided to take you on as a way of getting back at the guy for getting under his skin. Same goes for your broccoli-headed friend here," she finished, by now pointing her thumb at the visibly surprised and embarrassed Izuku.

However, since both boys knew the truth, that Endeavor had only accepted them at Shoto's personal request; Izuku quickly decided to redirect the conversation before it could risk getting much more awkward: "I have to admit, even for the capital city, I'm surprised this place is so busy."

Following Izuku's gaze, his three partners could only watch as all the other sidekicks were borderline frantic in filing their paperwork and getting all their documentation from one corner or floor to the next, and that wasn't even considering the Heroes manning the telephones that simply would not stop ringing, or the ones that were likely out on patrol right now.

Chuckling like this was as commonplace as could be, the mummy-looking Hero explained: "Well of course! This is now the office of the new Number One Hero, after all. Most of the time, we're either on patrol or on standby, but we also handle a minimum of 100 requests a day, from emergencies to escort missions, to even providing security for special public events."

Despite such insane statistics, Nikolay could actually still feel a sense of assurance. "Well, with this many sidekicks around all the time, that actually doesn't sound too bad."

By contrast, Bakugo was already pounding a fist into his open hand in preparation. "Well then let's freakin' do it already! I've been pretty ticked off since that damn Spoonbill stole my thunder earlier!"

While Izuku couldn't help but try to correct Bakugo at his own peril; the spiked helmet-wearing sidekick started laughing again. "I like your moxie, kid, but we gotta wait for Endeavor's orders."

Looking up to where they'd seen the Flame Hero depart, Bakugo was already gritting his teeth in impatience. "Is he seriously still sitting on his ass up there?! What happened to those 100 requests a day?!"

…

Within the confines of his office, Endeavor was still sitting in contemplative silence as he stared upon the book sitting on his desk, almost as if it were beckoning him to look inside, per Hawks' request.

And it was Hawks himself that was still the most prominent in his uneasy mind. 'It simply doesn't make sense. He was so different today from how he was every other time before. Completely opposite messages. Hawks-san…all this time, I thought you were just a grinning braggart who wore his heart on his sleeve. At least in front of me, you were always playing the part of The Fool; the undeserving bum who resents the very idea of hard work…and then today, you speak like an actual adult with a look as serious as the grave, with all the sincerity that comes with it. You truly are the complete opposite of what I thought you were. Before…that wasn't the real you.'

With a hard-earned but considerable sensation of newfound understanding, Endeavor finally opened the book, flipping back to the pages that had been bookmarked, while keeping in mind his very specific choice of words: "At least give the highlighted sections a glance. That's my second recommendation in so many words."

Endeavor closely looked through each of the lines from this point forward that had been highlighted. At initial glance, nothing about any of them seemed to stand out. But Endeavor remained undeterred. He knew there was something very peculiar about how Hawks had given that advice. There was something hidden here, something he couldn't risk saying outright for either his sake, or that of others. And now it was up to the Flame Hero to figure that out.

Scanning the lines again, Hawks' intonations kept echoing loudly in his head on repeat…until at last, a synapse in his restless mind fired with considerable power.

'That's it! It's been staring me in the face this whole time! The second word in each highlighted section! Together, they actually form a message! That's what he was trying to tell me!'

…

Ever since his meeting with Endeavor and his interns, Hawks had made a beeline for the isolated mansion that was the PLF's headquarters. After having cut it so close with his previous prolonged absence, he wasn't about to start testing his luck of being in their good graces that much further. Yet another detail to make his current mission that much more difficult.

'Skeptic's sensors are bad enough, but there's no telling what Vukodlak and the League have put in place to keep track of me on top of that. That guy's insane senses make it that I can't even let my heart beat any faster, even knowing what I know. That can't possibly be good for me. I had to get even more creative with my codes when talking to the Commission, but there's no doubt they can still translate it in the end. It's not like they can go public with the info I've got, with so many other Heroes actually being in the organization's ranks…and Endeavor's a little slower by comparison. I just gotta hope he figures it out. I can't stand trying to get other people to read my face like that. It's so gross. Not my style at all.'

…

With no time to waste, he had soon arrived back at the mansion grounds, and answering the call that had brought him here with such haste, he made his way down into the depths below. In the end, he found himself standing outside a large circular table in a dimly lit conference chamber, where all of the League of Villains members, and the former leaders of the Meta Liberation Army, were sitting in foreboding silence upon his arrival…that was, all except for Tomura Shigaraki himself.

Towering over the lot of them, Hawks could see with a well-hidden grimness, that the behemoth known as Gigantomachia had been outfitted with a whole new set of armor that almost encompassed his gargantuan body.

But with Vukodlak sitting among his fellow Villains; his steely silver eyes watching the Wing Hero with an unreadable transparency, Hawks knew he couldn't let any unnatural emotions show as he decided to give his "allies" his report. "You'll all be happy to know I've been dutifully spreading the literature and ideology of our organization everywhere I've gone. The word and spirit of Liberation is permeating through society as we speak."

As Twice led a round of polite applauding for their Pro Hero partner's effective hard work, Hawks kept the self-satisfied smile on his face as he continued the façade. "Please, it was nothing. And that's not the only good news, either. The Hero Public Safety Commission still thinks that our ranks only number barely a dozen, all in hiding. And they're still none the wiser about the Meta Liberation Army itself. As far as they're concerned, the League of Villains is still the only threat they're worried about. They're still investigating your potential involvement at the Deika City incident, but our fellow soldiers are doing their jobs of hiding it quite well. All that's left for us to do now is slowly but surely reeducate the next generation to our ideals."

Skeptic suddenly began smiling, as he hurriedly started to fuss with his laptop. "Ah, yes, like those four boys who were fighting alongside Endeavor earlier!"

Just like that, all the other members' around the table watched as the screens at their respective spots began playing the first-person video footage from the sensors in Hawks' wings, capturing the closing moments of the earlier battle against Starservant. The moment Himiko and Vukodlak spotted Izuku and Nikolay in the fray, she couldn't help squealing with excited joy (IT'S IZUKU AND KOLYA-KUN! PAPA, I CAN FEEL MY HEART RACING!"), while her foreign mentor/father figure began rending his steel-tipped claws against the table in consideration. "So…he's gotten even faster now…and he's learning under the Number One Hero here, to boot. Curious. I didn't think Tunguska would have the guts to let his boy learn under anyone but him."

However, while watching how Hawks outpaced the entire lot of them on his own screen, Dabi had a grin of utter smugness on his face. "Looks like they haven't grown very much at all."

"Ah, give 'em a break, they're still just first-years, you know?" Hawks answered nonchalantly.

"Very well done, Hawks-san! You can leave now!" Re-Destro cheerfully answered, although Hawks could still tell that this wasn't a request.

Without further hesitation, the Wing Hero proceeded to do just as he was told, still wearing his casual smile as he closed the doors on the meeting room…before then plucking one of the crimson feathers from his wings, and very subtly slipping it in between the doors.

'Good thing I've trained myself to not miss even the slightest bit of potential intel. My feathers can pick up sounds through vibrations in the air…but still, I can't risk pushing it too far to where it could be seen from the other side. With Vukodlak's senses, I can't afford to even remotely risk exposing myself.'

Judging the thickness of the door, Hawks knew just where to stop himself in order to keep his cover, while also managing to pick up the sounds from the other side as clearly as could be. Even with his relief that he could still get some info this way, he still couldn't allow his body to react as such in even the slightest way.

"So, we stick to our plans just as we discussed before, Spinner-san?"

"Sure. It's important we keep the troops' morale as high as we can…until Shigaraki-san gets all his powers. Then we strike."

"Hehe…that's right…destruction for all…courtesy of Tomura."

"Then everything the world's whole Hero society holds dear will crumble from here to the farthest corners of the Earth."

Alright, and that's the newest chapter for all of you. I hope you all enjoyed it. Since my work schedule isn't letting up, I'm going to see you all with the next chapter on 07/22! Take care of yourselves until then!