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"Yo."

"I met All Might!" Izuku shouts into the phone, startling the poor woman walking next to him on the sidewalk. "He saved me from a villain."

"You got attacked again? Do I need to put a bell on you?" Ryoya says with a long sigh. Izuku can practically see his face in front of him, and starts to sweat nervously.

"I didn't run into this one this time!"

"That's an accomplishment?"

"Touche," Izuku concedes, "But can you train today? I have some time before I need to head home."

"...hmm, no, I don't think I can," Ryoya sighs. "I have to meet up with Yaoyorozu and, uh, someone else later."

"Someone else?"

"Ask our sensei," idle sounds of a train door opening and people chattering over the line told Izuku all he needed to know, "Anyway, got to go, later."

There aren't many moments recently where Izuku finds himself so filled with energy that it's almost painful. His ki is strangely active; jittery and hyper, like a soda bottle that had been well-shaken. He's ready to burst, but in a good way. Remembering what his sensei had told him before about containing himself - and knowing that he can't and shouldn't start a random street fight - Izuku starts to let his ki leak out in small bursts. Nothing major, but enough that a few people give him strange looks and a wider berth on the sidewalk. A particularly strong burst is enough to knock a grown man over, and Izuku starts to apologize profusely.

And then -

"Oof, sorry, sir. I -" Izuku pauses when he sees who he bumped into. A handsome man with blond hair, a chiseled jaw, blue eyes, a rather muscular frame and the largest forearms Izuku had ever seen. So large, in fact, that Izuku vaguely wonders how he even managed to a white, tight-fitted shirt. Or the blue, sleeveless hoodie.

"Whoa, dude!" The man says loudly, "That ki was you? Here I thought it was someone a bit," the man gives Izuku a few appraisals, "...older. You may wanna keep that in check, dude. Otherwise, you'll get into a fight."

Izuku blinks. "You can... sense me?"

"Yeah, dude, duh," the man says with a smile, "You ain't exactly hiding."

Izuku blinks again. It's been a very long time since anyone has been able to sense him. His sensei had told him that there are other people with ki in Japan - as he expected - but this was the first time he'd ran into one in the wild.

"Yeah, they're real," a light-hearted comment comes, derailing Izuku's train of thought. He must've been staring.

"Huh?"

"You're looking at my arms, right?" he says, raising a fist and flexing. Izuku could've sworn that he saw actual steam come from the man's arm.

Laughing nervously, the teen nods. "So - sorry, sir, I'm uh, just not used to other ki users."

"No sweat, kid. And don't call me 'sir', it makes me feel old. Name's Luke. Luke Sullivan." He extends an open hand, and Izuku can see the All Might branded gloves he has on.

"Izuku Midoriya," the man's grip is strong. So strong, that the boy wonders why must all ki users squeeze his hand like a tube of toothpaste. "You, uh, an All Might fan?"

"Of course! He's my favorite hero! Came all the way to Japan to meet 'im." Luke smiles fondly and looks off into the distance. Japan is pretty busy at this hour, but not so busy as to be a distraction. He can still sense him - All Might - somewhere in the city. His ki is faint, but always there; always strong. Always warm. "He saved me once when I was a kid back in America. Building collapsed and -" Luke paused, looking up at the sky and then back to the boy with a warm smile, "- and I never got the chance to thank 'im for it."

The man's tone changed then, growing a bit more fond and distant.

"Yeah, I think he's really cool," Izuku says, returning the smile. He then clears his throat and starts to fiddle with his hands, "hey, uh, you have ki, right? Do you, uh, know how to deal with being -" Izuku looks left and right and then leans in, keeping his voice barely above a whisper. His face is red and he looks uncomfortable as he struggles to find the words, "- pent up? With ki, I mean!"

Luke smirks and then chuckles before bursting out in a full laugh. Loud enough to get more than a few stares by a few people passing by. Izuku can feel it in his bones, the embarrassment. Maybe Ryu-sensei could come and knock him out to save him.

"You okay, man?" Luke says after his laughter calms down, "You look like you know you chose the wrong dialogue option."

"I - I -"

"It's cool, it's cool. I know what you mean. It's not being called 'pent up', but no worries! I've heard that saying before. Just means your body is itching for a fight! If that's your question, then hell yeah! I'm ready to fight right now!"

Izuku lets go a sigh of relief, only to panic as Luke's words dawn on him. "Wait - wait! Not here! We can't just fight in the streets!"

"And why not?"

'Ah, so this is what Ken-sensei was talking about. This is... a thing people do. Noted,' Izuku thinks to himself. "Because it's a crime. We should, uh, just meet at a dojo. Mine's not too far from here, if that's okay with you."

"Man, this place is really different from Metro," Luke says, looking a bit disappointed, "Sure, lead the way, Izuru!"

"It's, uh, Izuku."

"That's what I said, Issac!"

Izuku blinks once. And then a second time. "Er, right."

Across the city, a young man leans against a stone brick wall, gently touching the cool metal of gates with his shoulder as he scrolls on his smartphone. He has a bag over his shoulder, a change of clothes as today's a training day - and a few cans of spray paint in case he's feeling a bit active later - and a hat to look as unassuming as possible. There's nothing particularly interesting to do on his phone, but it bides his time until he senses a few people coming down the frankly absurdly long driveway. He turns and his golden eyes meet a pair of nervous onyx.

"Hello, young master," her escort - an aged, balding man - says with a small smile. "We were expecting you."

"You seem busy," Momo comments jokingly.

Ryoya snorts, and flashes his black screen to her, "Have to make sure the apps are in line," his casual tone and small grin makes Momo giggle behind her hand.

"True," her response is coy and a bit nervous still, but polite and airy, "Chun-Li-sensei said she won't be over today, but I assume she gave you the itinerary?"

Ryoya nods.

"Then, we shall be off."

He follows them as they go, not really saying much as they continue whatever idle conversation they have. His mind is wandering all over the place as he walks, but his eyes flicker for just the briefest of moments on the suspiciously non-descript black vehicle near the entrance.

"... and this is why we'd like you to fund our next campaign, Yaoyorozu-san."

Budou Yaoyorozu leans back in his chair and opens his mouth for a single maid to drop several grapes down his throat. His bald head glistens in the light, and other executives watch silently as he wipes his chin and beard of any lingering grape juice. He gives everyone in the room a once over, not so subtly enjoying the unease as he prepares his answer.

"Fine," He says after a time, "But I expect the HPSC to be a bit more... lenient with our factories in Mie. And maybe ask a few more questions about the Mishima's."

The HPSC agents read between the lines and nod. "Of course," one, a short, rotund man with a greasy mullet, says robotically. "And one more matter at hand, sir."

Budou raises a brow and scoffs. "Well, hurry up," he snaps, "I have an appointment in half an hour that I won't be late to."

"Of course," This time, the robotic response comes from a woman dressed in a black pants suit with white hair and silver eyes. "My name is Nanami Seto, I'm a representative of the Hero Public Safety Commission Division of Education and Training. I'm here on behalf of Director Hanaki to discuss your daughter, Momo Yaoyorozu and the potential of her joining our special program. We -"

"I'll leave matters pertaining to Momo to my wife," Budou cuts off casually, gesturing to the woman to his right. Her onyx eyes shoot him an unreadable look behind the short, wavy raven hair before a practiced smile lands on her beautiful face.

"Do these matters require an audience?" Yuzu Yaoyorozu asks politely.

Nanami shakes her head, "No ma'am, they don't."

"Then, follow me. Momo is in our training center with," she pauses and makes a face as though she swallowed something sour, "a friend of hers."

Nanami makes note of that. A friend, training with the heir to the Yaoyorozu Zaibatsu? Not unheard of, but ideas entered the woman's mind faster than she could process. Was this someone else of nobility? A Kanzuki, maybe? A Masters? A two-for-one would surely get her a promotion.

"Nevertheless, I have an idea of what you're here for, Seto, and I'd like to preemptively decline. Momo will not be joining the HPSC."

Nanami is caught off guard by the declaration, but remains professional. "Oh? The HPSC could offer your daughter -"

"The answer is no," Yuzu says firmly. "There's nothing you can offer us that would change our minds on the matter. Unlike the general public, need I remind you that I'm more informed?"

"No," the woman concedes, "You do not need to. Should I just take my leave, then?"

"Not yet," Nanami raises a brow. "You might be interested in the boy. Budou and I don't want someone like him around her anyway."

"You seem awfully confident in that, ma'am."

Yuzu smiles in such a way that almost makes the white-haired woman step back. "His name is Ryoya Harushi. Do with that information what you will."

Nanami is surprised when they arrive and she sees that it's neither; instead it's some kid she's never seen before.

The two don't seem to notice them watching at the door, but Nanami can't help but to be a bit in awe at the display. Momo Yaoyorozu is every bit as impressive as she was told she would be, moving with the grace and poise of a seasoned veteran. There's no wasted movements at all, and the ease with which she can produce weapons is impressive. And then, just as she thought she couldn't be more taken aback, she gets a real good look at her opponent.

He's a tall boy. Built like a fighter with a muscular, yet lithe frame. He's avoiding all of the girl's strikes with ease and countering her with light taps; more of a correction and acknowledgement rather than for pain. He has the most unique pair of eyes Nanami had ever seen. After a few more exchanges, she can notice the desperation in Yaoyorozu's movements until she missteps and the boy gently taps his fist on her cheek. He says something to her that they can't hear, but she nods and then those brilliant eyes get wide and the room gets very, very bright.

Nanami and Yuzu shield their eyes and recoil, and by the time the light fades, Momo is standing victorious while the boy is on his knees desperately covering his eyes. The girl's victory is short-lived, as she drops to her knees next to him.

"Oh my, Harushi-kun! I'm so sorry! That was brighter than I thought!" Momo said rapidly, creating a cloth for the boy to cover his face with.

"No, no, my fault," he says back with a tight smile, "I committed the crime of trying to see and clearly, you were having none of it."

"I hope we're not interrupting anything," Yuzu suddenly says, and Nanami watches with some level of amusement as the refined princess's cheeks go red and she jumps to her feet.

"Mother! No, you aren't," she spits out quickly. "Harushi and I were just sparring and -"

Yuzu raises a hand and silences the girl, "I speak in jest, Momo, it's fine." Momo makes a weird face like she's surprised and doesn't quite believe that, but Yuzu ignores it and presses on. "Our guest simply wished to meet you before she left. Isn't that right, Seto?"

Nanami doesn't answer immediately, but instead focuses on the boy. His name rings out in her head and she vaguely recalls having a meeting about him. He's a high value target for the HPSC, but something about him seems off. He removes the towel from his face and she sees his eyes. They're golden now, and a bit bloodshot but not less brilliant and captivating. "Indeed," she says absently. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. You're a very impressive young lady. I look forward to seeing your career in the future. You too, young man." Not bothering to wait for an answer, Nanami leaves and no sooner than the moment she's out of earshot, she picks up her phone and starts making calls.

"Perfect!"

Izuku decided that he was starting to get really tired of hearing that word. Each and every time he heard it, it was accompanied by a monstrously powerful attack and a lot of pain, and more often than not, his body being sent flying across the room. This time though, he's lucky Ken-sensei was there to catch him. His everything aches and he wants nothing more than for this to be over with, but Ken-sensei doesn't see it that way.

"That's the spirit, Midoriya!" He says with a wide smile. "You've got one more round in you, right?!"

Truthfully, Izuku hadn't had anything left to give after the second punch, let alone the seventh, but his own stubbornness and pride got the better of him. He tries to get up, but a hand stops him.

"Alright, that's enough," Ryu-sensei is there thankfully to put an end to all of this. "Take five, Midoriya. Luke, you're as sharp as ever. It's good to see your training pay off."

Luke beams. "Thanks, Ryu! I've been working real hard. Trying to figure out what it really means to be strong, y'know?"

"I understand. But what were those techniques you used? You called them Drive, or something."

"Oh, those?" Luke says proudly, "Those are some news things we figured out in the States. Drive Rush, Drive Impact, and Drive Parry. I made 'em myself. Tried to make fighting a bit more modern."

"They look familiar," Ryu points out.

"They should! Based 'em off of some of your moves. That weird 'focus' thing you guys do is the base for Drive Impact. And that 'parry' thing you do is well, the parry. It's the same but totally different."

"I'll say," Ken supplies, "Looks like something this kid would benefit from learning," he gestures to Izuku, who's currently laying listlessly on the ground. "How long are you in Japan? It'd be nice if you can show him one or two things. Or three or four."

"I'm here looking for someone, so maybe not that long. Buckler is in a good spot, but I don't want to use all my PTO," Luke says, looking thoughtful. "Although, from one All Might fan to the next, I'd love to teach him! We'll start with the basics and everything!"

At the mention of 'the basics', Izuku audibly gasps and tries to crawl away on his stomach, but Ken grabs his leg and holds him upside down like a fish.

"But - but, I already have a training partner on the beach!" Izuku tries to rationalize, "And - and Ryoya!"

"Bah, don't worry. Ryoya's gonna be fine," Ken says, waving the boy off. "And you still haven't told us about this mystery beach lady, so she doesn't count!"

"Oh, a charmer, are we?" Luke says mischievously. Izuku, realizing his mistake, starts to feel heat pooling in his face. "Hey, you're doing that face again. Like you chose the wrong dialogue option."

Izuku, for the second time, groans.

When the following day comes around, Izuku wonders if he should've skipped his meeting with Uraraka. It was a nice, pleasant talk like it always was - this morning, she fretted a bit over his injuries, but he waved her off, lest his blushing kill him - but it took up a bit more time than he expected, and he ran late.

And now, he was paying for it.

Luke was ruthless, but not as bad as his sensei. His punishment for being late consisted of nothing more than a few laps and a couple dozen push-ups, but the lesson itself was rough.

"Alright, let's take it from the top," Luke starts, crossing his enormous forearms over his chest, a relaxed look on his face, "For starters, you can just call me coach. I know that's not really a thing in Japan, but humor me," Luke adds quickly, "Now, let's go over the basics. I'll give you a few drills, and I want you to do them as best as you can."

"With or without ki?"

Luke tilts his head at that. "Every action you perform is technically with ki," the man corrects, "Your body naturally adapted to be more enhanced than the average person since you gained it. There's no with or without," he pauses and watches Izuku absorb the information like a sponge. "I'll admit, how you guys taught it is different, so I can see why you'd think that. But for this, don't think about it, just move."

The first series of drills is nothing Izuku hadn't done countless times before; a series of exercises that warmed his body up, a few reaction tests, and how good his form was. It didn't take long, nor was Izuku even winded when he stopped.

"Heh, kind of boring, right?" Luke snorts, "I knew it. But that's how the basics are. Simple... and boring. But everything needs a foundation." He says sagely. "Now then, you and I are gonna have a quick spar. I want you to see how Drive works in fights compared to your style."

"Is there anything I should know?" Izuku asks while stretching.

Luke shakes his head, "Given you're already decently strong, it is less of a new thing and more of a new application. Now, the fight will start in three - two - Sand Blast!"

It happened so quickly that Izuku almost didn't see it coming. He narrowly manages to jump out of the way of the compressed air and sets his feet in the Shotokan stance, keeping himself light and nimble. Luke is merely standing there in his own stance, and gestures Izuku forward.

He needn't be told twice.

"Hadoken!"

It's a simple tactic that he's used countless times before but its effectiveness spoke for itself. He moves behind the attack, anticipating Luke to move in some way, but hesitates when the man's body starts to glow blue and he drops his shoulder. It's strange, Izuku admits, watching his Hadoken simply vanish into nothing but a smattering of ki particles. His hesitation makes Luke smile and draw back a fist. Without waiting, Izuku lunges to the side again, but no attack ever comes.

"What you saw right there was Drive Parry," Luke explains, dropping his shoulder again and letting ki cloak him. "It's like Ken's parry, but different since instead of using ki at the point of impact, it spreads it all over your body. Only disadvantage is that you can't move while doing it. Sounds simple right?"

"Yeah," Izuku confirms, letting his ki dance on its own. His body becomes shrouded in it in no time, but there's a problem.

"You're not doing it right," Luke comments, throwing a smaller Sand Blast at the boy. Izuku raises a hand to block, but it still hurts really bad, like he hadn't done anything at all. "You're trying to let it cloak you. If you do it like that, any attack with greater ki will just bypass it. You need to let it spread naturally. Let it flow through you. Let it pool all around you."

Izuku stops and tries again, but this time, letting his ki flow through him, rather than over him. It's a bit painful a first; like his body is being torn by the excess power underneath his skin. Trying to concentrate gets harder by the second, and he closes his eyes tightly as things get more, and more uncomfortable, and then...

"Just like that!" Luke says suddenly, making Izuku open his eyes and grit his teeth, "watch," Luke fires another Sand Blast this time, and Izuku raises his hand to block - with difficulty. Unlike before, the Sand Blast simply vanishes and he swats it away. Luke follows the attack by dropping into a sprinter's pose, "Hold on, this is Drive Rush." He commands before being drowned in a sea of green ki. Then he takes off, closing the whole gap between them in a single bound and throws a punch. Izuku blocks and strangely, feels no impact from flesh to flesh, but instead feels his ki and energy reserves plummet. The Drive Parry stops and Izuku drops to his knees panting and damp with sweat.

"Alright! You did it!"

"Yeah..." Izuku says with a tired smile, "I did it." Luke pats him on the back and Izuku's knees give way.

"Whoops, didn't realize you were that tired, sorry. But anyway! Take a rest and we'll get ready to start again soon!"

Ryu shifted in his bed in the dead of night. Chun-Li is next to him, lightly snoring while he's wide awake and staring at this message from Ken. It's about Ryoya. From the HPSC. They're coming over tomorrow to talk to him -being his legal guardian - about their special recruitment program. Researching it shows that it's prestigious and only the best of the best, like Hawks, have entered. But something feels off about it. Ryoya, to his knowledge, didn't want to be a hero; not really, at least. He's unsure of how this will play out, but he sighs to himself as he realizes one thing; it's probably for the better if he goes.

A/N: Hey, been a while. But I am here. I can be found on a Discord server if people want to reach me/find new, great people and authors to interact with. The link is on AO3, since, sadly, FFN doesn't like links. Hope you enjoyed and thank you for the patience.