A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that every one of you is on their way to celebrate their holidays with family and/or friends, because boy have we needed it this year. Now, normally I would sneak in an extra chapter as a gift to all of you, but that won't be the case this time around. Why's that?

Because I just bought a house, and I am moving my family into it this week! Whoo! Sorry that I won't be maintaining my usual tradition of extra chapters for the holiday season, but I do hope that you guys will give me a pass this year. I'll make it up next time, sound good?

Now, please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy the next chapter (and the temporary artwork)!

Phase 1: Chapter 18

Beyond Expectations

"So, you're Hikari," Kugo Sakamata, otherwise known as Gang Orca, mused as the first-year intern stood before his office desk. The room was empty except for the two of them, the intern was dressed in his school uniform, and he looked like he had taken a bit of time to clean up his appearance with a fresh haircut, almost as though he was applying for a job. Actually, he was in a sense, applying for a job here, Kugo reasoned as he glanced down at the boy's profile in his clawed hand.

"Yes sir," the boy answered swiftly.

"I wasn't able to watch the Sports Festival this year, but one of my sidekicks went to scout the competitors for me," his temporary supervisor rumbled. "Normally I don't take an interest in first-years, but due to the USJ incident, I decided to check how that had affected your class. My sidekick told me about your efforts to win the festival, some of which were impressive, and others that you definitely could use some improvements with. Then of course, there is the manner in which the tournament concluded, but in my opinion, there's not much you could have done about that."

"May I ask about what areas I lacked in, sir?" Kurai inquired.

"I watched the highlights that featured you, after the fact," Gang Orca explained. "You performed admirably in the obstacle course, putting your quirk to use in ways that I found innovative- and I don't impress easily."

"Thank you, sir," Kurai said with another bow, partially to hide the smile on his face.

As he straightened up again, however, Gang Orca went on to say, "I was disappointed by your performance during the Cavalry Battle. Despite making it to the next round, you only did so by playing the part of the minimalist, lacking the ambition to pursue higher goals."

Kurai's cheeks reddened, but he accepted the rebuke without comment. Seeing his calm acceptance, Gang Orca asked him, "Why did you settle when you could have reached higher, Hikari?"

The boy thought about how to phrase his answer carefully before saying, "If it had just been me, sir, I think I would have taken bigger risks to gain more. However, because I had people depending on me to make it to the next round, I didn't want to risk their standing for personal gain."

"A noble sentiment," the pro hero nodded. "But each of your teammates knew the risks and accepted them, did they not? You should understand that in a hero's line of work, we all know the risks, and what they entail."

"Yes sir," Hikari said again.

"During the battle tournament, you performed very well again, so I know you can handle yourself if it comes to combat with most of the grade of villains that I come across," the huge man said. "During your week here, we will be doing a lot of patrols, both on the water, and in the streets. In the hours that we are not patrolling or taking a meal, you will be training with one of my sidekicks. We will also be coordinating with two other agencies this week, and when we do, you are to be on your best behavior." Pausing for a moment, the whale-man then asked, "Do you have any questions, Hikari?"

"Yes sir," he nodded. "If I do well enough this week, may I have your autograph?"

Gang Orca blinked in surprise a couple of times before he chuckled deep in his throat. "I don't often meet fans," he told his intern. "Most children cry when they see me in person."

"Most people also look up to All Might as their personal favorite," Kurai grinned slightly. "You've always been my number one hero, sir, ever since I was little."

"Then I'll see about that autograph," the pro hero laughed. "I think I know a guy." Getting up and moving to stand directly in front of the boy, he said, "Welcome to my agency, young man."

Kurai reached out and shook his mentor's offered hand as he replied, "I look forward to learning from you, sir."

Kurai was shown to a small room that he would be staying in while he interned at the agency, where he put away his backpack, which contained his regular clothes, and his suitcase, which held his now-improved hero costume. Akarui had told him that he'd put in a request for another addition to the costume that he would greatly appreciate.

As soon as he had finished putting away his few belongings, a young man appeared at the doorway and said, "Hey, kid. Boss says you're going on patrol in fifteen. Better get your costume on."

"Gotcha," he said as he plopped the suitcase up on the bed. "I'll be there."

He heard the sound of retreating footsteps as he unlocked the case and examined the contents within. His gi and the armor that went over it were unchanged, but when he picked up his sword, he noticed that the weight felt just a little different than it had before- not in bad way, though. Grabbing up the instruction booklet, he scanned through the page that depicted his weapon, his eyebrows rising in surprise when he read; 'Hikari of class 1-A. As you may have noticed by now, we made a modification to your photon sword. It now can be switched between two power settings, low and high. Low power will cause burn wounds if applied to bare flesh, so it's quite safe to use against villains without fear of causing undue harm. The high power setting will allow you to cut through just about anything, as your previous model could. However, this does make it very dangerous, both to you and potential enemies. We advise exercising great caution if you do activate this module. To switch between the two settings, push the ignition control twice in rapid succession.'

Good to know, he thought as he set the weapon aside, only to notice one last item that he had not been expecting. "Hello," he murmured. "What are you?"

The item in question looked like a headset similar to what helicopter pilots used, save for the fact that it fitted to one ear, and it had a blue lens that would go over the left eye. "No way," Kurai said with a massive grin. "Well done, Akarui!" His brother had, in essence, designed a scouter similar to the ones used in the Dragon Ball franchise.

Flipping through the instruction booklet once more, he quickly read, 'The design of this latest addition to your costume was fairly easy for us to work with, given the provided schematics, and is quite simple to activate. Press the red button on the side to turn it on or off. Push the black button beneath it to scan your target and bring up criminal data on them. The green button above the red one will triangulate your position and give you a map of your surrounding area for five square miles. It also serves as a communicator that syncs up with your phone the first time you use it, allowing you to call anyone on your contact list and track their positions based on their phone data. It also works with the radios that many heroes use in the field, but you first need to scan for the frequency being used with the blue button bellow the black button.'

It doesn't read power levels, but getting data on villains will be pretty helpful, he thought as he set the item back in the case and began to get changed. Thanks, Akarui.

Once he had donned his new gear and uploaded his contacts to his scouter, Kurai made his way over to the briefing room, where Gang Orca coordinated his daily patrols, and on occasion, met up with other heroes for joint missions. One of the sidekicks directed him to stand near the back of the room, where he went without complaint.

After that, the pro hero explained that they would be doing standard patrols for the day, but that in two days, they should be ready for a joint effort involving two other agencies. Three agencies, one of them involving the number ten hero? Kurai thought as the meeting was disbanded. Must be some villain we're going after.

"Hikari!" He stood at attention as Gang Orca approached him, waiting quietly while the man said, "You're with me for the next two days. If you perform according to my standards, we'll see about you accompanying us for the joint raid. It would be good for you to learn about cooperating with other agencies, but we're gonna be going up against a fairly major crime syndicate. If I think you're not up to the job, you'll be sticking to standard patrols with one of the other sidekicks, understand?"

"Yes sir," Kurai answered quickly, keeping his voice even despite his inevitable excitement. "I'll do my best to live up to your expectations."

"See that you do," the pro said, sounding satisfied. "Now then- let's find out what this afternoon has planned for us. Remember, when we're not on the ship, I want you to stay close to me at all times."

The first afternoon and evening yielded nothing significant while Gang Orca and his sidekicks took to the waters that bordered the city. Kurai was put to work as a deckhand, his enhanced strength assisting him nicely when he moved cargo as they needed. It was boring, monotonous work, but the student dared not complain. He knew that he couldn't expect to be treated like a celebrity, even if he had won the Sports Festival. He had to earn his place among this crew, even if it was only for the week.

The sidekicks actually treated him pretty well, showing him the fastest way to accomplish his tasks as they were assigned to him by their boss, and giving him tips on what to look for while they were on patrol. One of them- a young woman named Banshee, on account of being able to scream at supersonic levels- explained that normally they would be on the lookout for smugglers or illegal fishing in that part of the coast, but nothing turned up that night. Since he had expected some sort of hazing from the crew, it was a welcome surprise for the young high schooler.

The second day, they took to patrolling the land, which turned out to be a bit more exciting. During the early afternoon, Gang Orca got a call about a robbery in progress at the city mall, where a few dozen people had been taken hostage. Apparently the thieves were hitting up the jewelry shops in the area, and were threatening to kill one hostage for every badge and cape that they saw approaching them. Unfortunately, three people had already been killed in a show of force, meaning that the bandits were not bluffing. Now they were demanding safe passage out of the country in return for the exchange of their hostages.

In response, Gang Orca had his sidekicks approach the mall in the guise of curious civilians after coordinating with the local police, so that they would know to let them through when the time came. Once Banshee was in position, Gang Orca, along with Kurai and a half-dozen other sidekicks, took a SWAT helicopter, which the villains were made to think would be their escape vehicle. The boy was told that he would be allowed to engage with the villains, only so long as he was close to Gang Orca.

To start their attack, Banshee unleashed a scream that targeted the molecular frequency of the radios that the villains were using, causing them to explode in their ears, forcing most of them to collapse from the pain and shock of their wounds. However, three of the villains were only disoriented, not disabled, and they were quick to recover their weapons, despite the blood and shrapnel coming out of their ears. One of them actually had a regeneration quirk that allowed him to tear off whatever part of his body had been damaged, and then regrow it.

As soon as he saw them in action from the helicopter, Kurai was able to identify one of the bandits with his scouter. "That's Mako Ayakashi!" he shouted to be heard above the whirling blades of their vehicle. "His quirk allows him to instantly convert any metal that touches him into sand- pretty much makes him bullet proof! He's wanted for four murders and over a dozen heists like this one!"

"What about the other two?!" Gang Orca asked, having already been briefed on the scouter's function.

"Unknown, sir!" Kurai answered. "They must be new villains, because there's no data on either of them!"

"All right, now stay back for the next part of the raid!" The pro ordered him. "We're dealing with professional killers, so you are not to engage!"

Kurai was disappointed that he wouldn't be part of the action, but he agreed without a hint of protestation. Gang Orca was responsible for training him, but he was also responsible for his safety. It wasn't unreasonable to expect him to allow the boy in combat during such a tense situation. By the same token, he would be able to observe how the pro dealt with the criminals in person, without a police blockade in the way, which was a rare opportunity.

The criminals had gone down without too much of a fight after the bulky hero descended upon them. Gang Orca's quirk allowed him to do anything an orca whale could, including using a sonar pulse to disable his enemies. Since Mako's quirk didn't apply to sonic waves, he was just as vulnerable to the technique as the rest of his compatriots.

Kurai had been allowed to assist in restraining the villains alongside the other sidekicks. There was one moment when a thug with a phantom-type quirk phased out of her bindings, returned to her solid state, and then grabbed one of the sidekicks from behind and threatened to slash their hostage's throat if they weren't given safe passage out of the city.

As it so happened, Kurai was the closest one to her, and when he looked at Gang Orca with a raised eyebrow, the big man nodded once, just ever so slightly, and that was all the clearance that Kurai needed. He launched himself at the woman from the side at top speed striking her left kidney with thunderous force, followed by sharp blow to the side of her head that instantly knocked her out.

After confirming that she was really down this time, he stood up and said, "She's out, and she'll stay that way for a while."

As Gang Orca made his way over to the young man, he rumbled, "Why hit her so hard? Surely it would have taken only one blow from you to incapacitate her."

Kurai stood at attention and swiftly answered, "She was able to escape our restraints already, sir. I didn't know if we had equipment on hand to keep her type of power in check, so I wanted to make sure that she'll be unconscious for quite some time. I know I didn't deliver any death blows, as I've studied the human body in regards to martial combat quite thoroughly. A blow to the jaw like the one I gave her is not lethal, unlike those applied to the temple or throat."

Gang Orca nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "We do have equipment to hold her, but given the circumstances and what you knew, you acted appropriately. Well done, Hikari, though try to be more aware of what equipment we have on us the next time we go out into the field."

"Yes, sir." Despite the mixed praise, Kurai was just glad that he hadn't disappointed his instructor.

The following day was the one where Gang Orca and two other agencies were to be making a joint task force. The other heroes to arrive were Mount Lady and Mister Brave. Both of them were capable in their own right, and they seemed to respect Kurai's temporary instructor. Then again, there weren't a lot of people who didn't respect- or at least have a healthy fear of- the number ten pro.

Kurai was in the middle of his morning spar with one of Gang Orca's sidekicks when Banshee came in and told them all to shower off and get in gear. "The briefing is in thirty minutes, move it!" she ordered.

"Sheesh, what's got her in a mood lately?" asked Kurai's sparring partner.

"I heard she's getting ready to open up her own agency," said another guy. "She's probably just antsy about moving into the world on her own."

"How long has she been working with Gang Orca?" Kurai asked as they exited the room.

"I think it's been four years or so?" his partner answered. "I'm not entirely sure. I've only been here since I graduated last year."

Four years, huh? Kurai thought as he headed toward the shower room. I wonder how long it'll take me to have my own agency.

Once he had cleaned up and put on his hero outfit, Kurai joined the others in the briefing room. He wasn't entirely sure if he was going on the joint mission or if he would be doing standard patrols today, but either way, he didn't want to miss the meeting. He took his normal place toward the back of the room, noticing the presence of the other two pro heroes in front of the large monitor where Gang Orca made his presentations.

However, he failed to notice the presence of a newcomer standing a few feet away from him, at least until they came over and hugged him from behind, and none too gently, either. Turning to see who would approach him in such a familiar manner, he was nothing less than surprised when a familiar pink face smiled brightly at him from only a few inches away.

"Mina?" he asked in surprise as he returned a brief hug. "What're you doing here?" Both of them had the good sense not to be too cuddly in such a professional setting, but they figured that a casual embrace should be okay.

"Nice to see you too," she giggled. "I'm interning with Mister Brave, and I was super excited when he told me that we were teaming up with Gang Orca, cos I knew it meant that we would get to work together!"

"Come to think of it, I didn't know who you were going to be interning with leading up to this," he remembered aloud. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Meh, my internship didn't seem nearly as exciting as yours, so I didn't see a need to brag when you were training with the number ten pro," she giggled. "I'm still super excited, though!"

"Me too," he grinned back. "Here's to hoping Gang Orca lets me go on the raid, or whatever this is. You know why we're here?"

"Nope," Mina said with a shake of her head. "Mister Brave wouldn't tell me what's up."

"Either they didn't want to worry us, or this mission must be classified, as to avoid any unintentional leaks to the public," Kurai mused. "Not sure which one we should be more concerned about."

"Yeah, when you think about it like that…" his girlfriend winced. "What are we up against? League of Villains, maybe?"

"I hope not," Kurai said with a shudder. "I still get nightmares about fighting Nomu."

"Me too, and I didn't even get up close with that thing," Mina replied in a similar tone.

"Quiet down," one of the sidekicks warned them, nudging Kurai in the ribs. "The boss is about to start."

"Sorry," Kurai apologized as he turned his attention toward the front of the room, Mina doing the same as she silenced herself.

Gang Orca stood in front of the board, where a trio of profiles were quickly displayed. "Our target today is a lot more dangerous than your average villains that are running solo," he rumbled. "These three people are responsible for perhaps five percent of the human trafficking that happens in this country, alone. We've been working on tracking down their base of operations for months now, and just last week, one of the feelers that the police put out came back with a hit."

The pictures were replaced with a map of the city, where a red blip was shining in the north-east quadrant, right by the waterfront. "They smuggle in children from outside the country and 'process' them in what we originally thought was a warehouse for the constructing materials of new cargo ships."

Kurai's fists clenched, the thought of kids his age or younger being forced into slavery for the most depraved of masters infuriating him. He had seen his father come home on nights where he and his colleagues had taken down scum like these, and instead of being happy for his victory, the man always seemed drained, as if looking upon such atrocities rendered him completely unable to see the good that he had done. He suspected that his father even had to see a therapist from time to time, concerning what he had witnessed, but of course the man himself never said a word on the matter.

Mina must have picked on his sudden rigidity, because she bumped his shoulder and gave him a nervous smile. It'll be okay, she seemed to be saying.

He nodded back and forced himself to relax, unclenching his hands and forcing himself to breathe deeply. He was just in time to hear Gang Orca saying, "These three all have very powerful quirks, and none of them are to be taken lightly." As he turned back toward the board, one of the profiles appeared again, larger and more detailed. "This woman is Amani- villain name, Animod. She has the ability to transform into any animal who's DNA she has come into contact with, but it doesn't work on humans. She also cannot go directly from one non-human form into another- she has to revert back to a human in order to change again. Police also believe that if she stays in the transformation longer than two hours, she will be stuck in whichever form she last took; the evidence of this being that her twin brother, born with the same quirk, is now living his life as the parakeet you see on her shoulder." The two students took notice of the bright blue-and-green bird, Kurai filing the information away for later use.

If that bird still has all the intelligence of a human, it'll bear watching, he thought grimly.

"Amani runs the show, but her two henchmen are nothing to ignore, either," the number ten hero was now saying, the image on the board shifting to twin mug shots. "These two excuses for human beings are Matsuda and Matsui, otherwise known to the underworld as Mas and Menos. Both of them are locals, though they used to run with the Mexican Cartel- that is, until Amani apparently brought them back a few years ago. On their own, they're basically quirkless, but if they have physical contact with one another, they can move at speeds of up to three hundred miles an hour."

"Sounds like they could give All Might a run for his money in a marathon," Mister Brave commented.

"Maybe, but if we can incapacitate one before they start using their quirk, they'll both be powerless," Gang Orca informed them. "Both men need to be conscious for their quirk to activate. If we can take them out first, we eliminate the chances that they escape with their boss."

"Whaddya need us for, Gang?" Mount Lady asked impatiently. "Sounds like this is a crew you could handle on your own, given how many sidekicks you have here."

"Mind yourself," Mister Brave said sternly to the younger hero. "I'm sure he has a reason for us to be here with him."

"I need you, Mister Brave, to set a trap for Matsuda and Matsui, should our initial plan go awry," Gang Orca nodded. "Nothing lethal, but if they can't run away, it'll certainly make our jobs easier."

"I understand," the man nodded, a look of knowing passing between the two of them.

"Mount Lady, I need you to handle the demolition of the ships in that warehouse," the lead hero said to the blonde woman. "We don't need any of them escaping by boat to give our friends in the coast guard any trouble."

"Gotcha," the heroine nodded, seemingly satisfied now that she had a task to look forward to.

Addressing his sidekicks now, Gang Orca stepped forward and announced, "There will be two teams today. Banshee will lead team Beta, and I will lead Alpha. You all know which squad to go with, so I won't bother with roll call. As for our interns…" He surprised the students by beckoning them closer.

Making their way to the front of the room, the two classmates stood at attention as Gang Orca loomed in front of them, his red eyes peering down at them with great intensity. After a quiet moment, he said, "Mister Brave thinks that you have performed well these last two days, Ashido. You'll be going with Banshee for the prisoner extractions. As for Hikari…" He turned to look his charge in the eye as he added, "You'll be with me on team Alpha. We're responsible for bringing in as many villains as we can, starting with Amani and her two friends. Both of you are being given permission to use your quirks for open combat, but only so long as this mission lasts. And if I see or hear any reason to stop you from going too far, you will be sent back to your school to face whatever disciplinary action that they see fit. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" Kurai said sharply, while Mina just nodded dumbly.

"Then get moving. We leave in five- let's move it, people!"

"I guess I'll see you after this whole thing is over, then," Mina said as she turned to her boyfriend. Giving him a brief hug, she whispered, "Be safe, please?"

"Only if you promise to stay safe, yourself," he chuckled as he returned the hug. As he released her, he said, "Let's go beyond."

"Plus Ultra."

The warehouse that they were brought to looked pretty unassuming, but Kurai gathered that was the idea. They couldn't well expect the villains to put up a giant neon sign that read, 'Bad Guy Central,' after all. He looked up at Gang Orca, who was waiting with his hand over his earpiece for the signal that it was their turn to move in. Team Alpha was currently sitting in what looked like a large school bus, but was actually loaded with capture weapons and heroes.

Mister Brave had already infiltrated the warehouse and was setting a trap for Mas and Menos, while Mount Lady was getting into position to smash the boats on the waterfront. Meanwhile, Banshee was standing by with Team Beta, ready to follow Alpha into the complex in order to rescue the people being held as slaves. Mina had been given a headset, so Kurai had made sure to get her frequency so that he could contact her if he needed to.

There was a loud BANG that shattered the relatively quiet city background noise, followed by Mount Lady emerging from a mound of rubble that used to be the section of the warehouse that had held slave transfer crafts. "Go," Gang Orca ordered as the bus door opened and his sidekicks began to rush out in the street, heading right for the damaged warehouse. "Stay in pairs, and don't hold back, save for kill shots. And be careful. These guys won't hesitate to put us down if we give them the chance."

"Yes sir!" his colleagues answered as they continued to pour out of the bus, with Gang Orca himself and Kurai exiting last.

As they ran behind the sidekicks, Kurai's ears picked up shouts and alarms coming from inside the building, so he looked up to see a number of the windows becoming occupied by men with guns, all of which were aimed at his group. Before he could say anything about it, though, Gang Orca lowered his head slightly and unleashed a sonar pulse that disabled a majority of the gunmen.

He did miss a trio that had begun shooting at them from the upper left side of the building, however, so Kurai enhanced his body with Energon and leaped up high in the air, unleashing a trio of energy blasts as soon as he had a clear shot. He hit the ground running at the same moment that the three mercenaries were blasted back into the building. Glancing up at his hero, he asked, "How was that?"

"You made yourself a pretty big target, separating yourself from us like that," the man admonished him, but Kurai already had an answer ready for him.

"I thought that if they suddenly saw someone jumping up at them, they would panic and be caught up in a second of indecision," he explained as they dashed across the street, ignoring the confused drivers that had been forced to stop their cars due to all the commotion. "And if worse came to worst, it's better that they shoot one sidekick as opposed to gunning down a bunch of your men."

"Sound judgement," the pro nodded as they reached the door, where the sidekicks had all gathered, some of them pounding on the heavy iron structure. Addressing them, he asked, "What's going on?"

"They've bolted the door from the inside, sir!" one of them answered. "It's reinforced, and none of us have the quirks suited to knock it in, and we didn't bring any explosives with us due to the hostage situation."

"Step aside, all of you," Gang Orca ordered them. Looking back at Kurai, he said, "Knock it down."

"Yes sir!" Kurai grinned, energy whirling in his right hand, compacting itself into a little yellow ball. "Stand back!" he said as he took a running stance. As soon as everyone had moved away, he launched himself at the door, shouting, "Rasengan!" The ball slammed into the door, twisting and warping the metal until it was ripped off its hinges and sent flying into the well-lit warehouse, shouts of pain and curses coming back at the group of heroes.

Because of the weight that he had put into the move, Kurai found himself rolling into the structure, springing lightly to his feet just in time to be surrounded by five villains that all looked like they wanted to kill him. "Hi guys," he grinned nervously. Hearing a series of rapid footsteps coming up behind him, he leaped up high into the metal rafters, shouting, "Bye guys!"

Before any of the villains could unleash their quirks or weapons, they found themselves covered cement that quickly hardened, pinning them in place as Gang Orca's sidekicks swarmed into the building. While that was happening, Kurai noticed that there were a few walkways running parallel to the rafters that he was perched on, many of them running over cages that held dozens of people, each. And on those rafters were villains of all kinds, some of them armed with guns, others simply using their quirks to take aim and fire at the heroes that were invading their territory.

Some of them had noticed his arrival, and so took aim at him, causing him to gulp nervously as he realized that he didn't have any backup. Leaping off the rafters with energy blazing in his hands, he shouted to his allies, "Heads up!" He fired a round of Energon at the bars that supported the walkway closest to him, even as a fireball whizzed over his head, followed by a metal projectile that nearly took him in the arm- something too big and slow to be a bullet, so he guessed that it was the result of someone's quirk. The energy blasts ate through the supports, and the walkway began to collapse, sending a number of the villains tumbling off the sides, many of them shouting curses at him as they went down.

The problem was, he realized that the metal structure was about to land on top of a cage that held a lot of screaming kids, and there was no way to tell if it would hold against such a heavy, violent impact. Heart pounding, veins surging with adrenaline, he hit the ground, forced his quirk to the maximum output that his costume would allow, and shot back toward the cage, praying that he would make it in time.

He got there with only milliseconds to spare, crashing into the walkway shoulder-first and sending the thing flying clear across the warehouse to crash into one of the walls, where the structure wound up sticking in a massive dent caused by the impact. Kurai shouted in pain as he hit the ground, his shoulder dislocated. Tears blurring his vision as he scrabbled awkwardly on the ground, trying to get up, he felt someone kick him in the back, sending him sliding to hit the cage that he had just saved.

"That was stupid move, kid," a gravelly voice told him as he heard the sound of a gun cocking, causing him to freeze in place. "Brave and noble, but stupid."

There was a burst of sound, and Kurai instinctively flinched, expecting a bullet to bite into his head. When he realized that he was still alive a couple of seconds later, he rolled himself over to look up at Banshee, who was grinning at him. "Still alive down there?" she asked him. Off to the side, Mina was melting the lock on the cage, quickly opening the door and directing the children inside to get out as quickly as they could. Many of them were chained together, so she was slowed down by having to carefully melt through the metal links that were hampering the crying children's progress, as not to accidentally get any acid on them.

"I'm alive," he grunted as he tried to get up, his arm hanging uselessly by his side. "Everything happened too fast… Gang Orca's probably furious with me, huh?"

"Nah, if anything, I'll bet that he's impressed with your quick thinking," Banshee told him as she helped him up. "You're kinda reckless, but a lot of us are when we first start out. Give it some time, and you'll be a great hero, kid. By the way, what's up with your arm?"

He gripped the sore limb with his right hand and grunted, "It's dislocated pretty bad."

"Good thing I've got some basic medical training then," Banshee said as she gripped his arm and shoulder, causing him to wince at the pain. "This is gonna hurt."

Gritting his teeth, Kurai growled out, "Just do it."

There was a sharp pop as his bones were forced to reconnect, and he grunted loudly at the pain, but he was relieved to feel that he could properly move his arm again, albeit with a lot of soreness. Wiping the reflex tears out of his eyes, he said through heavy breaths, "Thanks, Banshee."

"You okay, Kurai?" Mina called over as she destroyed a little girl's feet manacles. She didn't turn toward him, focused on her task as she was, but he could hear the worry in her voice.

"I'll be okay, but I might need a hospital before this is all over," he said with a pained grimace as he rolled the damaged limb.

"Just don't shoulder-check a metal bridge again, and you should be fine," Banshee told him. Turning her head toward the sound of gunfire, she added, "You'd better get a move on. Sounds like they could use your help."

Kurai's scouter alerted him to an incoming call, so he hit the com button and said, "This is Hikari."

"Where are you?" Gang Orca demanded, causing him to wince. "I told you to stay close by. I lost you as soon as we got in the building."

"Things got kinda hectic for a second- a bunch of these guys were shooting at me, I needed to get away, and I ended up with Banshee," Kurai reported as he brought up the map function that displayed the caller's location. "I'm heading your way now, sir."

"All right," the pro hero said in a calmer tone, apparently mollified by the fact that he was not alone. "But be quick about it, and try to keep the recklessness to a minimum."

"Yes sir." Killing the communication, he turned to the young women and said, "Thanks for your help. I'd have been toast without you."

"Ah, you'd have figured something out," Banshee told him. "I was the one that saw you at the Sports Fest. You've got skills, kid."

"Get going," Mina told him as she finished with the last of the children's bindings. "Something about Gang Orca reminds me of Mister Aizawa when he's mad, so I wouldn't keep him waiting."

"Good instincts," Banshee snickered.

"Then I'm off," Kurai said as he leaped on top of the cage. "Later."

The layout of the warehouse was a fairly open design, kind of like the ones that Kurai had seen in movies where the bad guys were storing weapons or drugs, complete with a labyrinth that made it difficult to move in large groups. He imagined that was why Gang Orca wanted them to be in small teams of two or three, to combine both speed and caution.

He managed to rejoin with his instructor, offering another hasty apology when he did, which was more or less waved off- after all, they had more important things to worry about, such as not getting shot or otherwise torn apart by villains. As they made progress through the warehouse, methodically taking down any villains that they saw, Kurai felt his awe of Gang Orca growing by the minute. The man seemed unflappable, indomitable in the face of odds that many would have found overwhelming, and never once did his face change from the steely expression that he had worn since the battle had begun.

They were just about to wrap up their sweep of the warehouse- Mas and Menos had been successfully captured by Mister Brave- and move in on Animod's last known location, when the two of them were ambushed by a half dozen villains, four of them armed with assault rifles, one using a quirk that caused anyone looking directly at him to see double, and an older man that was covered in metal needles.

Kurai stiffened when he saw the last one, a horrible suspicion occurring to him as the silvery quills triggered an old memory. Reaching up, he scanned the man with his scouter, his eyes widening briefly before narrowing with hatred. "Nagano Shibuya," he growled, energy swirling in his hands in spite of the weapons aimed at him and his supervisor. "Formerly 'Needle Mouse' of the Penta-Gram family."

"Oh, so you know who I am?" the man chuckled. "Nice to know my reputation precedes me."

"You're supposed to be in a jail cell," Gang Orca said over his shoulder, as his back was to Kurai's, and he couldn't see the man clearly- though apparently, he knew who he was. "What're you doing out?"

"Animod posted my bail, appointed me as one of her enforcers," the man shrugged. "It's not the prestige that I once enjoyed, but it beats rotting in a cell next to my brother." Looking at Kurai interestedly, he said, "Your sidekick here looks like he's trying to set me on fire with his eyes. What's his deal?"

"Hikari?" Gang Orca asked, something like concern in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me something," Kurai said, ignoring his instructor's question. "Do you remember the day that your syndicate was destroyed? The day that Endeavor and All Might took you down?"

"It's not the kind of thing that one forgets easily, kid," Nagano laughed bitterly. "I nearly got the fiery bastard, too."

"Yeah, I'm well aware," Kurai snarled, the energy in hands glowing brighter as his eyes sparked with blue, though he didn't transform properly just yet. "The man that you killed in his stead was my uncle."

Deku: Wow. That was...

Kai: Heavy?

Mataras: My specialty.

Deku: I guess we should have seen this confrontation coming, but I thought it would be later on in the story, as opposed to right now.

Mataras: Well, let's just say that I'm trying to draw parallels between Iida and Kurai. We've got similar upbringings, motivations to become a hero, and now a desire for revenge against the people who wronged their loved ones. The question now is, 'will they make the same choices?'

Kai: Isn't it usually your mark to set up the big emotional confrontations closer to the end of the story? I was kinda thinking that the guy who killed my uncle might do me in, too.

Mataras: Not a bad thought, but the truth is that your troubles are just beginning, mate.

Kai: Oh goodie.

Deku: Maybe we should move on to the holiday wishes and announcements?

Mataras: Good call. So, I am moving to a new house, but I will still be putting up my video and 'physical' chapter according to the regular schedule of every other week, so don't worry about that. I'm not going on hiatus with this one.

Kai: Thank goodness. You have a habit of doing that with your other stories whenever something major comes up.

Mataras: Sue me, adulting is stressful!

Deku: You can see the artwork for this chapter in better detail on Mataras' Instagram account, the_red_swordsman, as well as other pieces that he has done for both this and other stories.

Mataras: Next time on Your Hero Academia- Shattered Ideals

Kai: We'll see you all next year, and until then, have a plus ultra holiday season!

Mataras: Merry Christmas, everyone!

Deku: And a Happy New Year!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

Kurai felt his face growing red with shame as he realized that his uncle would have never stood to see him murder someone for the sake of anybody. That wasn't what his family had stood for over the last three decades- it wasn't justice. Shutting his eyes in humiliation, he thought, Can I even call myself a hero after this?

"Hikari!" Gang Orca's shout snapped his gaze upward while the big pro moved in to grapple with the smaller villain, ignoring the metal briars that were cutting into his thick flesh as he sought to force the man to submit. "This is no time for an existential crisis! I'm guessing that this guy has caused you some grief, but you need to pull it together and be a hero right now!"

Needle Mouse, smaller though he was, was holding his own surprisingly well, though Kurai imagined that it would be hard to get a secure grip on a body that was covered in razor-sharp metallic quills. Grinning madly at the two of them, he cackled, "Get it together, pro! If you're begging a child for help, I find it hard to believe that you're really the number ten hero! Besides, what is he gonna do to someone like me, the man that killed his family?!"