A/N: Well, having been run over by an emotions-laden semi in the last chapter, I imagine that Kurai and all of you would like a chance to rest and recuperate. Well...

No promises.

Measuring Up

Of all the situations that Kurai had gotten into at school, the one he was in right now had to be the most irritating, by far. "Izuku, I'm gonna have words for you when this is over," he growled, causing his friend to eye him nervously.

It was late at night, and they were at Training Ground Beta, in the same street where everyone in 1-A had their first combat training class, with Bakugo standing about ten meters away from them. He had told Izuku to follow him after dinner, apparently intent on finishing some business with the greenette, and Kurai had initially tailed them in silence, hoping that his friend would be safe. However, once they reached the training ground, the blond boy had shouted at him to come out of hiding, apparently having been aware of his presence since they left the dorms.

Now Bakugo had just finished explaining to them his theory about how All Might had passed on his quirk to Midoriya. He detailed how his former childhood friend had let it slip that someone had given him his power, and how at first he had dismissed the idea as idiocy. But after his encounter with All For One, having seen what the ancient villain could do, he started to put the pieces together, and wound up coming to the conclusion that Izuku had actually told him the truth on their second day of class.

Now All Might's heirs were wondering what the explosive boy had in mind to do with the information that he now possessed. Speaking more loudly now, Kurai said, "So you figured it out. What happens next?"

"What happens next has nothing to do with you, Saiyaman," Bakugo snarled as he started to stretch his arms across his chest. "Deku, on the other hand, is gonna fight me. Right here, right now, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of it."

"W-Wait, hold on a sec!" Izuku protested. "I don't wanna fight you, Kacchan!"

"You're gonna show me what you've managed to make of All Might's power- the greatest power in the world," the blond boy continued on, as if he hadn't heard him. "If you don't wanna get hurt, punch back."

"I don't think so," Kurai said under his breath as he tapped a button on his phone, keeping the device hidden behind his back before slipping it into his pocket. Raising his voice enough to be heard by both of his classmates, he said, "You're getting a taste of what we call 'karmic justice', Bakugo. Let this thing go before you wind up doing something that you regret."

At this, the blond boy's red eyes snapped over to Kurai, who met his angry glare without flinching. "What the hell are you going on about, Saiyaman?!"

"Kurai, don't-!"

"I'm talking about every time you kicked Izuku into the dirt," he began, cutting off his friend. "You mocked him, told him that he was worthless, even told him to kill himself, just because you couldn't stand the thought of being upstaged by someone you saw as inferior! You made his life hell for ten years, and now it's come back to bite you in the ass, Bakugo." Pausing briefly to let the other boy take in what he had told him, he then said, "This doesn't have to do with the fact that Izuku has power now so much as the fact that All Might saw something in him that you never did; the potential to become a greater hero than you could ever hope to be."

"Shut up!" Bakugo snarled, explosions sparking in his hands. "You don't get it!"

"Don't I?" Kurai laughed derisively. "Bakugo, as much as I hate admitting it, there is a similarity between you and I. Both of us, our whole lives, have been told that our powers made us great- that we were destined for success. But when we came to UA, you were made to play second fiddle from the first day, because there can only be one person at the top of the class, and you couldn't stand the fact that it clearly wasn't you."

Keep talking, he thought as Bakugo's face began to color like an angry tomato about to burst. Gotta keep him distracted… The whole time, Izuku's face was growing paler and paler as he realized just how furious Bakugo was becoming, but Kurai set that aside for the moment.

"And now look at you," he stated flatly as he made a vague gesture with his robotic hand. "Dead last in our class when it comes to heroism. You couldn't even get your provisional license, never mind the fact that you're the only person in UA to actually get kidnapped by villains. I even lost my friggin' arm trying to keep that from happening, but as it turns out, you're so inept that you couldn't even make my sacrifice for your well-being count."

Bakugo's arms swung up, causing both of his classmates to get into defensive stances, but the blast that they had expected never came. Or at the least, it wasn't aimed at them.

The heat blast tore up the ground behind Bakugo as he screamed, "I KNOW!" While the debris settled behind him, his shoulders sagged as he continued on in a broken voice to say, "I know… I know that you lost your arm because I was too slow to move out of the way, and that All Might lost his power because of me… Because I was captured by villains…" He sounded like he was choking, so Izuku moved to help him, only to be held back by Kurai, who had a hard look in his eyes as he shook his head ever so slightly in the negative.

Bakugo then looked up at the two of them with desperate tears in his eyes as he resumed his shouting. "Deku got so much stronger, and Hikari just kept getting up, no matter what came at him! And while you two kept getting strong, I destroyed All Might! If I hadn't been so weak, then neither of those things would have happened! All Might would still be number one, and you would still have your real arm!" He clutched at his chest as if it were being torn apart as he cried out, "This whole time, neither you nor All Might has said anything about it, even though you know it was my fault! But it's stuck in my head, like a track playing on loop! So what the hell am I supposed to DO?!"

He was actually full-on crying now, something that surprised Kurai greatly. He hadn't thought that Bakugo was capable of expressing this level of emotions with how much pride and resentment he carried inside of him. So I was right, he thought wearily. This isn't really about One For All. It's about him needing to vent.

"Kacchan…" Izuku began, before he looked at Kurai, who simply shrugged in response. Seeing this as a sign that he should proceed, he said, "We both looked up to All Might while we were growing up, for different reasons. You admired his ability to win against any odds, and I loved how he saved everyone he could with a smile on his face. But no matter how much we looked up to him, believed him to be invincible, it couldn't change the fact that he was going to lose his power someday. Even if he didn't pass it on to me, this quirk would have gone to someone else, and then his time would have come to an end. His fight with All For One just made it happen sooner, rather than later."

"So what?!" Bakugo screamed. "I played a part in his downfall! If I wasn't in the picture, then he could have retired as number one! He could have still been the way that we always knew him, but I robbed him of that when he had to fight to defend me!"

Before he could go on any further, Kurai growled, "Oh, shut up!" When a stunned silence followed his words, he scoffed and added, "You really wanna know what to do, Bakugo? Pick yourself up out of the dirt and try again, like I've had to. I've lost my arm, my father is dead, my brother is in a wheelchair because of me, and now my mother doesn't talk to me anymore! None of that is stopping me from becoming a hero, so what's your excuse?! The only thing you've lost is your inflated ego! And if that's all that it takes to turn you into a wreck like this, then you don't deserve to be a hero, and I don't care how awesome your quirk is!"

Bakugo sniffed as he wiped at his eyes while he resumed his haunted glaring at his rivals. "I need to know…"

"Need to know what?" Izuku asked pensively.

"I need to know why you became the number one's sidekick- his favorite!" the boy shouted desperately. "I need to know why I keep losing out to a small fry like you! I need to know how I ended up having to chase after someone that was always so far behind me!"

Kurai went to yell at Bakugo again, but this time he was the one to be surprised by his friend. Midoriya's arm, glowing with verdant lightning, reached out to hold him back before the owner stepped in front of his companion. "If this is what he needs, then I'll do it," he declared confidently. "I won't be his punching bag, but if this is how he needs to vent, then it's fine by me." Raising his voice, his next words echoed throughout the street, clear and strong. "Okay, Kacchan! You and me- let's go!"

"That's enough!"

The three boys stopped at the sound of a familiar voice coming from up the street- one that filled Kurai with relief. That was too close, he thought while releasing a pent-up breath.

All Might was approaching, still heavily bandaged from his fight with All For One, but also moving a lot better than he had been the last few weeks. His expression was grim, but it was difficult to tell what exactly he was thinking at that moment. Once he had stopped in front of the trio, he said in a low tone, "You're lucky I came when I did. Another few minutes, and you would've been seen by one of the security drones in the area. You're breaking your curfew, but I'm willing to let it slide, mostly because young Hikari let me know what was going on." As he spoke, he held up his phone to display that it was engaged in an active call with Kurai's cell phone- which he had left on silent speaker mode after putting it in his back pocket.

The student reached back and ended the call, prompting both of them to put away their devices. "Thank you for coming, sir," Kurai said gratefully.

"Thank you for alerting me to the situation at hand," All Might said evenly. "Go on back to the dorms, young Hikari. I'll take it from here."

"Hold on," Bakugo growled. "You ratted us out?"

"I ratted you out," Kurai said as he began to walk away. "I had no intention of letting Izuku get himself into trouble on account of your grudge with him, especially when he still holds respect for you- for reasons far beyond my comprehension."

"That will be all, Young Hikari." There was a sort of warning note in All Might's voice that did not go unnoticed, so he responded by being quiet and quickening his pace as he headed back to the dorms.

He hoped that Midoriya would fill him in what would happen later on, but for now, he was just glad to be going back to bed without any kind of punishment. That is, unless Mina decides to do something to me. He had, after all, followed the other boys against her wishes, even though she threatened to melt his limited-edition Gang Orca Funko Pop if he went.

"I really hope that she was bluffing," he muttered, hoping that his concern for Izuku's safety had not just cost him one of his most prized possessions.

As it turned out, she was only trying to scare him by holding death over his figurine. However, she had been more than happy to turn his favorite dragon ball manga into goop as soon as he walked into his room, which she then flushed down the toilet in front of him with a savage smile on her otherwise stiff face.

"Why…?" he groaned piteously as he watched the stuff go down the drain.

"That'll teach you not to ignore me when I ask you to do something," she said as she sat down on his bed, her face staying stoic as she did. "I didn't want you to go, but you just ignored me. That really hurt, Kurai; the fact that you could just ignore my concern for you because you thought you knew better. Not cool, dude."

"I went along to stop a fight from breaking out- which I'm pretty sure I did," Kurai said without looking away from his toilet. "It's not like I wanted to join in on the fight, you know?"

"My point still stands," Mina insisted as she patted the spot on the bed next to her. "Come on up, buster. I don't like talking to the back of your head." Reluctantly, the boy moved to do as he was told, plopping on the soft bed next to her with a glum look on his face, which he kept trained on the floor. Seeing this, Mina leaned slightly against him as she sighed, "I'm mad at you, but you're pretty cute, even when you're pouting."

"That supposed to make me feel better?"

"Not really," she answered, though she remained where she was. "I just need to know that me being worried for you isn't gonna just be pushed aside, you know? I know that we're gonna face a lot of danger in our lives, and I won't stop you from confronting it. But I also need you to remember that I've nearly lost you, twice now. And both times, there was nothing I could do to help you- I didn't even get the chance to go with, you know?"

She paused, giving him time to think hard on what she was saying, trying to catch the hidden meaning in her words- if there were any. After nearly twenty seconds of full silence, he asked, "Are you mad that I didn't ask you to go with me?"

"Ding-ding-ding, he can be taught," she chuckled softly. "You've said that we're a team, Kurai. I love you, but I also need to see proof of the fact that you view me as an actual partner in this whole 'becoming the heirs of All Might' thing. I'm not asking you to view me as an equal in power, just… I'd like to know that my voice has a say in all this, okay? You get what I'm saying?"

"I do," he said softly, leaning his head to rest on top of hers', careful not to bump her horns with his face. "I'm sorry I didn't take what you said seriously, and I'm sorry that I didn't ask you to come stand by me when I thought our friend might be in trouble."

"There we go," Mina said with a warm smile before she turned her head and kissed the side of his mouth. "Apology accepted. Now check under your pillow."

"Wha…?" A little put off by the odd request, he reached under the headrest to grasp at what felt like- "My manga?!" he nearly yelped. "But you melted-!"

"That was just a trashy romance novel that someone left lying in the common space," Mina shrugged. "I had Momo make me a cover that I could slap on the thing, and presto, fake manga to terrify my boyfriend with. Although, word of warning…" Her lips twisted into a sinister-looking smile as she said, "Next time, it won't be fake… and it won't be just the one, either."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are very good at taking effective hostages?"

"You'd be the first," she giggled as she moved toward his drawer and opened up the bottom shelf. "By the way, I set up a spot in here for some of my stuff, since I sleep over so often. You don't mind, right?"

Kurai blinked a couple of times before he muttered, "You already set up a drawer for my stuff in your room, didn't you?"

"No idea what you're talking about," she said with an impish grin. "Now shut up and get ready for bed. Thanks to you sneaking out, we're both up way past bedtime, and we have classes in the morning with Mister Aizawa… Ugh, summer cannot be over already."

The next morning saw the majority of the class sitting down to breakfast with a healthy energy. Even Bakugo and Midoriya were peaceable enough, somewhat to Kurai's surprise. He had expected there to be some kind of punishment levied against the explosive kid for trying to start a fight, but according to Midoriya, they had managed to escape the notice of their homeroom teacher with All Might's help, and it didn't seem like he wanted to punish Bakugo, either.

"I think All Might knows that the guilt he's been dealing with is punishment enough," Midoriya explained in a lowered tone over his cereal. He and Kurai had just finished explaining the details of the previous night to their girlfriends, neither of whom had been impressed by their decision to go out with Bakugo after hours.

"So he knows, too," Mina muttered. "Is that gonna be a problem?"

"Doubt it," Kurai said with a shake of his head. "He admires All Might too much to want to ruin his reputation even further than it already has been."

"Kurai's right," Midoriya nodded quickly. "He might hate that All Might chose me, but he won't say anything to anybody. He knows what's at stake if he does."

"I guess that's good," Uraraka mused. "Still, we need to be extra-careful to not let anyone else know, otherwise this is gonna end up being something that everyone in our class knows."

"What does everyone know?"

"Ah!" The group gave out a startled collective yelp as Yang plopped down next to them with a big smile on her face.

Before anyone else could give an unconvincing excuse- because most of them were really bad at lying- Kurai answered, "Good morning, heart attack, and we were just talking about how it might be better if we don't let the word out too much that most of us got our provisional licenses."

"Huh?" Yang cocked her head, looking totally confused. So did Kurai's friends, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Think about it," he replied, keeping his face neutral. "The League of Villains attacked us so brazenly, partially because they think we have no way to legally defend ourselves, at least not without getting UA into trouble again. If they do strike, this time we can fight back under our own authority, without compromising the reputation of our school. They've done literally everything in their legal reach to equip us for self-defense. Even the media could only spin that so much."

"You lost me after the part where you said we get to punch stuff without getting in trouble," Yang admitted. "But hey, the reason I came over is cos I was wondering if any of you have seen Blake's copy of 'Ninjas of Love'? She's been looking for it all morning."

Kurai felt Mina tense up beside him, and he realized where that book had gone. "No idea," he said with a straight face. "Did you try the game center? Yaomomo's left her books in there more than once."

"I hadn't, but I'll tell her to look," Yang said as she stood up to go. "Thanks, dude."

As soon as she was gone, Mina let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks, sweetie."

"You owe me."

The first day of the new semester turned out to be pretty interesting, especially once Mister Aizawa brought up work studies as a possibility for them. He did warn them that it hadn't yet been decided whether or not first-years like them would be allowed to participate, but he wanted them to be prepared for the possibility. He also alerted them to the fact that they needed to have a provisional license to do them, which pretty much only disqualified Bakugo, much to his evident irritation.

After that, the week pretty much blurred together, as it was back to hitting the books and the gym like usual. Kurai and Izuku now trained with one another under the direct supervision of All Might after school hours. For the most part, he just observed them, but he did offer occasional pieces of advice, such as a warning that Kurai should not over-rely on his Divine Eye, as not every situation would be ideal for its use.

The boy also kept trying to call upon what thought was his Muladhara chakra, but for some reason, he couldn't activate it at will- at least, not yet. After one failed attempt got him a kick to the back, Kurai addressed Izuku about it. "Any idea about what I'm doing wrong?" he grunted as he painfully rubbed his backside.

"Well, when you mentioned the chakra thing, I started doing some research and compiled it in my journal entry near your data," his friend admitted. "The one you think you're trying to unlock is the 'root' chakra, right?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Why is that?"

"My skin and energy turned red, for starters," Kurai answered. When Izuku merely cocked his head at him, the boy elaborated, "That chakra is usually associated with red, right?"

"Well, yeah, but the main thing about it is that it deals with your survival instincts," his friend pointed out. "Didn't you know that?"

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure my survival instinct is about as strong as it's going to get," Kurai chuckled dryly as he wiggled his artificial fingers. "Right before I unintentionally activated that move, there was this group of people trying to scare me into surrendering, and that's when I let 'em have it."

"So you weren't scared of them?" Izuku questioned. "Not even a little?"

"Why would I be?" Kurai scoffed. "I've survived way worse than some sophomores and senior hero students trying to intimidate me."

"Well then, why isn't it working now?" the greenette asked with a frown. "The Muladhara deals with survival, which is blocked by fear. The only thing I can think of is that you're still afraid of something that's keeping you from channeling it."

"But that's-" Kurai stopped himself before he could finish that sentence. He had wanted to say 'ridiculous', but he knew enough about the mind to know that fears, even ones that people were not consciously aware of, could play a large part in their behavior. Especially the ones we aren't aware of, he mused silently. So what has me rattled now?

"You okay?" Izuku asked him with concern. "Did I hit you too hard?"

"No, that's not it," Kurai sighed, though his back ached in protest. "I think I should to go back to the dorm, though. Need to clear my head." With that, he waved farewell to his teacher, who had been standing at a distance for his own safety, before he headed off the training grounds.

As he walked, he double-checked to make sure that his Giving Heart technique was still available to him, which it was. At least I still have two ultimate moves, even if one of them knocks me out, he thought as he sat down at his desk. I should see if there's a way to reduce the amount of power I transfer so that doesn't happen…

Popping open his laptop, he went ahead and started refreshing his mind on the topic of the seven chakras, and their effects on the human body. Unfortunately, the search didn't tell him anything that he hadn't already learned, so he decided to spend his time doing something more productive, like his history homework. It wasn't something he was thrilled about doing, but it would help distract him from the thought of what could be causing his new power to fail.

He had just finished his assignments that were due in the morning, when he heard a couple of knocks at his door. They weren't rapidly delivered, so that ruled out Mina and Iida, and they were too soft to be from Izuku. No one else comes knocking, they just text me to meet them in the common area, he thought with a slight frown as he moved toward the door and opened it up.

"Uraraka?" he asked, surprised by her appearance. She had visited his room before, but always with Izuku, and this time she looked nervous. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded rapidly. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," he said as he stepped aside to allow her entrance. Once he had shut the door, he asked her, "Can I get you something to drink? I've got water and a few orange juices in my fridge."

"No thanks," the girl said with a shake of her head. "That's nice of you to offer, though. I was actually worried that you and Mina might be here together, and I didn't want to interrupt anything."

"Nah, she's actually studying with Yaomomo and the other girls right now," he said as he sat on his bed while indicating the chair at his desk. "I actually figured that's where you'd be. Is everything okay?"

"Well…" Uraraka hesitated, and Kurai looked at her with concern. "I'm new to this whole 'girlfriend' thing, and Deku is an absolutely amazing guy, so I feel like I need some… advice."

"Advice?" Kurai repeated. He did not like the sound of that word.

"Well, it's just that his birthday is coming up toward the end of the month, and I have no idea what I should get him," she admitted, immediately causing him to let out a sigh of relief- only for it to turn into a sharp curse, accompanied by his metal hand smacking him in the face, drawing out another, coarser word from his mouth.

"Are you okay?!" Uraraka asked him worriedly.

"No…" he groaned as he rubbed his bruising face with his left hand. "You'd think I would know by now not to hit myself with that hand, but here we are… Ow…"

"Why'd you freak out in the first place?" the round-faced girl asked him.

"Mina's birthday is next weekend, and I totally forgot until just now," Kurai admitted painfully as he moved to grab a tissue from his desk. He had hit himself hard enough that his lip was bleeding, so he needed to staunch the flow of blood. "Looks like you came to get advice from the more inept one of us- which to be fair, I warned Mina about when we first started dating."

"Okay, but I've never gotten a gift for a boy before," Uraraka insisted. "I didn't think that Mina would be able to help me out like you could."

"Have you seen Izuku's room?" Kurai grunted. "You could get him literally anything with All Might's face on it, and he would like it."

"I know, but I…" Uraraka sighed as she looked down at her thumbs while they twiddled around each other. "Ever since you guys told us about his childhood, about how he grew up quirkless, I realized how hard it must have been for him. I mean, it sounds like you, me, and Iida were the first real friends he'd made since kindergarten. So now it's really important that I be as good of a friend as I can, especially since I like him so much…" She flushed a deep red and covered her face, which made her start to float above his desk, somewhat to his amusement.

"You wanna make sure he has a good birthday, especially since it's the first one with you guys being together," Kurai surmised as he reached up to bring her back down to the ground. "Tell you what- run down to the freezer and grab me an ice pack while I try to figure something out. And if you've got a minute, I could use a hand in trying to figure out what to do for Mina's birthday, too."

"Okay, deal!" Uraraka said, looking relieved as she touched the floor with her feet. "I'll be right back!"

As she dashed out his door, Kurai wondered, Now what would be something that could make Izuku's birthday a good one? After a few seconds, he hung his head in despair. The only people I've celebrated a birthday with outside my family are the Iida's, and somehow I don't see Izuku liking a history book on the Miranda Rights, and how they were applied to worldwide hero laws.

By the next day, neither Uraraka nor Kurai had settled on a plan to celebrate their significant others' birthday. They had a few ideas between them, but they had to keep their meeting time relatively short, as they didn't want to tip off their friends as to what they were up to. Thus they had no clear idea of what to do for either Mina or Izuku.

Kurai also had a large bruise on his face, which didn't help his mood very much as the day progressed. At least it's not as bad as when I overuse Divine Eye, he reasoned, even as the dark mark throbbed painfully during lunch.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Jiro asked him as they sat down. Today's lunch table consisted of them two, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Mina.

"Still getting used to the metal hand," he groused. At least his lip hadn't been too badly busted, which would have made eating a less-than-pleasant task.

"Face palm?"

"Face palm," he confirmed in response to Kaminari's question. "I'm having trouble figuring out that technique that I did back at the licensing exam, and it's really starting to drive me up the wall."

"Has your brother been able to help?" Yaoyorozu suggested.

"He couldn't tell me anything other than what Izuku and I had already surmised between us," Kurai answered with a negative shake of his head. "I'm pretty sure it's based on my survival instinct, but I've been taking that approach long enough that I'm starting to think that I might be wrong about the source of this power."

"Dude, you've already got two ultimate moves," Kaminari pointed out. "That's more than a lot of us have. What's the rush in finding out another one?"

"You're just jealous that you haven't figured out a second one, yet," Jiro said with a snarky tone.

"Why are you so mean…?"

"He'll get it, eventually," Mina said confidently as she butted his shoulder with hers'. "You're smart, talented, and you've got a bunch of people willing to help you out!"

"Yes, don't hesitate to ask for assistance," Yaoyorozu said seriously. "Your help during our semester exam and in redesigning my costume have both been wonderful gifts. I'll happily return the favor in any way I can."

Kurai chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm before he jokingly asked, "Is there any chance with all of your creative abilities that you might be able to make a scanner that reads my chakras and can tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

"Sadly, no."

"Eh, worth a try."

That afternoon, they all got something of a surprise when their homeroom teacher said that he was going to introduce them to some people that had experience with work studies. No sooner than he had said so than did walk in three students, all of them seniors.

"Some of you in here might know them as UA's Big Three," Aizawa mumbled as he stepped aside to make room for the older students to introduce themselves.

Kurai's eyebrows shot up at that term while the others began to whisper among themselves. Anyone that had been going to UA for any length of time knew who these people were.

There was Tamaki Amajiki, a slim boy with elf-like ears jutting out from beneath his dark hair. Beside him was a girl with absurdly long blue hair, overly bright, inquisitive eyes, and an endless smile. Her name was Nejire Hado, and she was favored to become the next rising star of heroines in Japan. Last in the group was Mirio Togata, a tall, muscular teen with sapphire blue eyes and a goofy smile. Of the three of them, he was the clear leader, revealed by his confident stance and level of eye contact that he maintained with anyone who looked at him.

The only ones that seemed to be in the dark were the members of Team RWBY, who had only started regular classes.

"Who're they?" Ruby asked Yaoyorozu excitedly. "They look super-strong!"

"Out of every student in the hero courses at UA, these three rank at the top," the vice president answered in a lowered tone. "They're the closest to being actual pros out of anyone in the student body."

"They're better than most pros, if even half of what I've heard of them is true," Kurai added in a lowered tone over his shoulder. "Togata is even rumored to be as strong as Gang Orca, if not stronger."

"Whoa, that powerful?!" Ruby practically yelped.

"Settle down," Aizawa ordered his class. "Let them talk."

Once every student had gone quiet, Amajiki stepped forward, his eyes burning fiercely into the faces of every student there, and making them all shudder from the intensity of his gaze. He held them all, paralyzed for a good three seconds before he unexpectedly whimpered, "I can't." His eyes dropped toward the floor while he began to shiver, as if cold. "I tried… to see them as potatoes… but I can still see their bodies… I wanna go home." The next second, he had his face planted in the wall next to the door, as if it would somehow hide him from everyone's confused gazes.

"Hey, hey, hey, Tamaki!" Hado said cheerfully as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Don't be so shy! They're nice, see?" She turned around and waved excitedly at the class. "I'll go first, 'kay? I'm Hado, and that guy is Amajiki- he's super shy, but I guess you probably figured that part out. Over here is Togata, he's super nice, and we're gonna tell you about work studies!"

Without even pausing to take a breath, she stopped in front of Shoji's desk and stared at him dead in the face as she asked, "Hey, hey, so why do you wear a mask? Are you afraid of getting sick or something?"

"Actually, I-"

"Ojiro, can you support your entire body weight on that tail? I gotta know, I gotta!"

"Well, after I turned-"

"Oh, hey! Ashido, do your horns grow back if they fall off? Also, are they super hard, or are they kinda springy?" Already she had moved on to the pink girl, who for once looked just as flustered as her classmates.

Before Mina could even think about coming up with a response, the blue whirlwind that was Nejire had moved on to a new target; Todoroki, who regarded her evenly enough. "Hey, Todoroki, where'd you get that big ol' scar?"

"To be frank, that's none of your-"

"Hey, you girls are from America, right?! What's it like over there? Do you think we have cool heroes?" Now the girls from Texas were under her flighty scrutiny, and Aizawa was starting to look irritated.

"Ooh! Ooh! Robot arm!" Kurai was befuddled to suddenly realize that the girl had grabbed his arm from where it had been resting on his desk and was now inspecting it closely, which had inadvertently left him hanging awkwardly by his shoulder while he was subjected to her probing of his personal space. "How'd you get this?! Who made it? I gotta know, tell me, tell me!"

By this time, Kurai had had enough. Flexing his metallic muscle replacements, he pulled his arm away from her grip and said in a thin voice, "My brother made it to replace the one that got chewed off by a villain."

"Nejire," Amajiki called over from where he faced the wall. "Some people don't like it when you get in their space. You should leave him alone."

"Whoopsie!" the cheery girl said as she took her hands off of him, apparently not having noticed his darkened mood. "Sorry 'bout that! We were supposed to talk about work studies, right?"

"Togata…" Aizawa said in a warning tone, which prompted the blond student to make an apologetic gesture toward the man.

"Sorry, Mister Eraserhead!" he said with a big smile. "I can handle this, no problem!" So saying, he stepped up to the teacher's podium and addressed the entire class. "Listen up, everyone!" he began. "The future's gonna be… awful!" He held a big smile on his face while silence reigned in the class. "Huh. Man, you guys are super serious- I need a better icebreaker!"

"Does anyone know what's going on?" Kirishima asked.

"Not even a little," Asui answered.

"This is all irrational," Aizawa growled. "Stop wasting time."

"Wait, I got it!" Togata announced brightly. "New plan! All you first years are gonna fight me at once!"

"…Wait, what?"

A uniform change and a short walk later had all of the students placed in Gym Gamma, facing Togata in a large cluster while he performed some stretches, as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Just gimme a sec, and I'll be good to go," he said cheerfully.

"Hey, hey, while he's doing that, lemme tell you guys a story!" Hado said as she poked at Mina's horns. "Once upon a time, a student decided to quit being a hero, and it was a terrible day for everybody."

"Huh?" Sero asked, still unsure as to which of the three to be the most weirded out by.

"She's telling Mirio to take it easy on you guys," Amajiki mumbled from against the wall. "If he fights you too hard, it's not gonna be any good."

"Hah!" Kirishima laughed confidently. "Sorry pal, but it's gonna take more than that to scare us! We've faced actual villains before, so we're not exactly frail."

"Good talk, but you gotta show me that you can walk," Togata said as he stood up straight in front of them, hands on his hips.

"Fine by me," Kirishima answered as he hardened his arms. "I'm taking him first!"

"No, I'll fight him," Izuku declared, much to his friend's sadness.

"You totally stole my thunder!"

"Forget it, Deku, he's mine," Bakugo growled as he and the greenette walked up to the front of the grouping. "If he's top dog in this school, then it's time I show him who the next number one really is."

"Hey, you've both got a lotta fire, don't you?" Togata grinned. "I've heard about you two- I'm interested to see how you do against me."

"Don't worry about him- keep your focus on me!" Bakugo warned the senior.

"Heads up!" Aizawa called out as the other students prepared to use their powers. "He's fast!" During this time, Hado moved herself off to the side, giggling happily until she stood by Amajiki, who still wouldn't look at anyone.

This immediately gave Kurai pause. The last time he gave us a warning, it was about Yoarashi, he thought as he readied Energon. What exactly are we in for?

"If it's speed he's relying on, we've got just the girl for the job," Yang said with a grin as her eyes turned bright red. "Sis?"

"Ready to go!"

"Kay, let's-! What the heck?!"

"Whoopsie!" Togata laughed while most of the students averted their gazes from the senior. "Sorry, my quirk is kinda tricky." Somehow, he had managed to lose every stitch of his clothing without moving a muscle.

As he bent over to retrieve his pants, Bakugo and Izuku took the initiative. "You're wide open!" Izuku shouted as he aimed a kick that would connect with the side of Togata's head when it landed.

However, far from looking perturbed, Togata allowed the blow to land, completely unhindered- to the point where it just passed through him completely, sending Izuku rolling past him with a confused look on his face. Right after that, one of Bakugo's explosions covered him in fire and smoke, even as the boy himself used the same blast to launch himself to the opposite side of where Izuku had landed.

Turning around to look at the both of them curiously, Togata asked, "Went for the face, huh?"

His back is turned!

"Let's dust him!" Kurai shouted, galvanizing the others into action, even as he unleashed a barrage of Energon blasts at the smoke cloud. Truthfully, he didn't expect this to do anything, as the situation reminded him of the time when they had tried to overpower Kurogiri at the USJ. However, he did hope that in the way that the other student reacted, it would give them some kind of hint on how to counter his power.

Energon blasts, fire, Aoyama's navel laser, tape, and acid all passed through the smoke caused by Bakugo's power, creating more powder and debris when they smashed into the concrete slab behind Togata. Everyone stood by on high alert as the dust settled, but when it was gone, Togata was nowhere to be seen- only his pants remained where he had stood.

"Uh… Did we win already?" Ruby asked.

"Doubt it," Blake answered.

"Guys, I saw it!" Midoriya called out. "His quirk lets stuff pass through him!"

"Okay, but where is he?!" Mina asked as they all looked around for the now-missing student.

"Long-distance fighters go first!" Togata suddenly shouted as he popped up behind Jiro, once again in nothing but his birthday suit. The poor girl was so flustered that she had no time to react before he punched her solidly in the gut, immediately taking her out of the fight.

"The hell?!" Bakugo shouted, looking just as unnerved as the rest of them. "What's going on, nerd?!"

"I don't know!" Izuku answered, sounding flustered.

"Is he warping?" one of the other boys guessed.

"How'd he end up with such an overpowered quirk?!"

Before Kirishima had even finished asking the question, Togata had dodged Dark Shadow, taken out Tokoyami, and then slugged Sero, Todoroki, and Weiss the same way that he had done to Jiro. All of this was done in less than three seconds.

Mister Aizawa was right, this guy is unbelievable! Kurai thought as he used his quirk to grab Mina's hand and leap up high in the air, away from the reach of Togata's fists.

"What are you-?!"

"Thank me later!" he said as they watched Togata take out Yaoyorozu, Asui, Aoyama, Kaminari, and Shoji in another four seconds, flat. He moved so fast that they weren't entirely sure how he was pummeling all of them so badly.

Snatching up his pants from the ground, the blond boy stood up proudly and shouted, "Power!"

"Special move?" Mina suggested as they began to descend. They were the only long-range fighters left, and they had both heard of his intent to take their group out first.

"Only as long as we don't hit our friends!"

"Then aim for the wall!"

The instant that their feet touched the ground, Mina hurled a thick glob of acid in the air, followed by Kurai sending two balls of his power to meet it right over Togata's head, who looked up with curiosity. The three attacks struck and exploded, sending a rain of stinging liquid at their opponent. It wouldn't eat through his skin, but it would definitely be an irritant if it hit, especially in the eyes.

"Acid Rain!" The couple shouted as the stuff made contact.

Only, it made contact with the ground instead of Togata, who had disappeared again. "Where is he?!" Mina asked worriedly as she and Kurai stood back-to-back.

"Hang on!" he grunted as he focused on his Ajna chakra. "Divine Eye!" His hair changed to indigo, and the matching third eye appeared on his forehead. It took him less than a second, and once he had his power established, he reached behind him and yanked his girlfriend away, just in time for Togata's fist to miss her stomach.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Nice reflexes!"

"That's not all I've got!" Kurai answered as he fired a condensed blast of Energon at the older student, even though it just passed through him.

"St. Louis Smash!" Izuku's leaping side kick caused Togata to turn his head, an expression of greater surprise on his face. The green-haired boy still passed through him, but it was clear that they were giving him more resistance than expected.

"Get outta the way!" another voice roared. "AP Shot: Auto Cannon!" Mina skated away on her acid while dragging Kurai behind her, as it was difficult for him to move quickly while using his current technique. Bakugo's blasts tore up the air around Togata, but once again did no damage to the boy himself.

"How'd you know where he was?!" Izuku asked his friend as the senior disappeared yet again.

"He's not warping, he's phasing through the floor!" Kurai answered, his head beginning to ache, though it wasn't too bad yet. "He always comes at us from below and behind, so watch your six!"

"Who-?!"

"Rose, look out!"

Ruby transformed herself into a blur of petals that raced away from where she and Yang had been standing, even as the blond girl aimed a punch at the boy as he popped up. "Man, you guys are full of surprises!" he laughed as he reached out, as if to grab her fist in his hand. Instead, they were treated to the very odd sight of his arm phasing through hers', even as he shouted, "Ultimate Move: Blinding Eyeball Touch!"

The sight of his thick fingers closing in to collide with her eyes understandably made Yang flinch, but the real attack came from his other arm, which slugged her in the stomach, even as he began to sink into the floor again, more slowly this time.

"I've figured out that if people can tell where I'm gonna attack from, they try to counter, just like you guys did," he said with a confident smile. "So naturally, I trained to find a workaround for that. Nice try, though!" Then his head was swallowed up by the ground, leaving Yang as a stunned mess while the majority of her classmates were left wondering as to where he had gone.

"Hikari, where-?"

"Bakugo!"

"DIE!" The explosive boy screamed as he blasted at the ground, propelling himself upwards.

As it turned out, this did nothing to deter Togata, who rose up through the air to meet a surprised Bakugo. "You keep blinding yourself with those blasts," the older student said right before he kneed the other boy in the stomach, knocking him out cold in the air. "Not a smart move when you're fighting someone way faster than you."

"Crescent Gravity Combo…!"

"Huh?" Ruby's voice had drawn Togata's gaze upward, and when he saw what she was doing, he looked really surprised. Up near the ceiling, where the little girl was perched on one of the rafters, was all the debris that had been getting kicked up by the fight, which meant that Uraraka had been busy.

Sure enough, as her classmates looked over at her, she was gasping for breath, but still standing as she prepared to release her hold on the rocks above them.

"Rose Shower!" A shockwave ripped through the room as Ruby unleashed the full power of her quirk, shooting straight for Togata as a vicious tailwind dragged all of the rocks along with her, mixing in with her rose petals as she hurled her body into a shoulder-check that could probably knock out Cementoss if it struck.

Of course, Togata phased through her first strike, which saw to her landing on the ground, hard enough to crack the walls and shatter some of the windows, but she remained on her feet, balanced like sprinter ready to go another mile. The rocks and rose petals were another matter for the senior student. The tailwind was so violent that it had thrown him just slightly off-balance, and for a second, he felt some of the rocks and petals strike him, cutting his skin as he fell back down toward the ground. They were only light abrasions, but still, he was impressed by their drive and tenacity.

Guess I better stop goofing off! He laughed to himself before he fell through the floor again.

Ten seconds later, the entirety of class 1-A was a groaning, coughing mess on the floor of the gym. None of the close-combat fighters after that had been able to put a scratch on the older boy, and true to his word, Togata focused on taking out the last of the long-distance fighters first; them being Kurai and Mina, in this case. Mina he tripped up by grabbing her ankle from within the floor before punching her and kicking Kurai in the same move, knocking them both down. He moved so fast underground that Kurai's Divine Eye couldn't even keep up.

Izuku and Blake had held out the longest after that, with the boy having had time to analyze and think of ways to counter Togata's quirk, and the girl's shadow clones helping her to initially avoid his powerful blows, but in the end, their upperclassman was simply too strong for them to compete with.

When Kurai was able to form a cohesive thought, his first one was, Forget about me and Izuku being the next number one… If anybody's really gonna give that title meaning like All Might did anytime soon, it's gonna be Togata.

"So…?" said boy asked the class after he had gotten fully dressed again. "What'd you guys think? Sorry if you saw my willy, though. I tried my best to make sure you wouldn't get a peak."

"We just got punched in the stomach without ever really knowing what was going on…" Izuku groaned as he- and everyone else- continued to clutch at their abused abdomens.

"Yeah, I know, but what'd you think?" Togata inquired, undeterred. "Isn't my quirk super strong?"

"Yeah, it's too strong!" Kirishima shouted.

"Mine's nothing in comparison!" Hagakure complained.

"Powerfully disgusting, if it causes you to lose your clothing!" Weiss sniffed.

"No, it's super cool!" Hado said as she jumped in front of Togata. "Can I explain it, huh? It's called Permeation!"

Why does she ask questions she never expects to get the answers to? Kurai wondered, not quite sure how her classmates put up with such endless energy. I mean, Mina's what I'd call close to hyper-active, but she's nowhere near this exhausting!

"Yep!" Togata said proudly. "I've got a sweet quirk called Permeation. What you guys initially thought was warping was just an alternative application of that power." Hado gave him a pouty face while she tugged on his shirt, so he apologized to her for interrupting her explanation.

Yeah, I do not get them, at all.

"So wait, how do we get from phasing to warping with that quirk?" Predictably, Izuku was the most curious to know the specifics of the other student's power.

"I dunno," Togata laughed. "Why don't you ask your friend? He managed to see me moving around, even when you guys couldn't."

Kurai was initially startled, but he swiftly gathered his thoughts before he answered, "You phased your entire body to go underground before floating back up and attacking us."

"You're only half-right," the senior replied as he raised a finger. "I can't float or anything like that when I'm using my quirk. I don't turn into a ghost. My body just travels in whatever direction I was going when I turned it on. Since 'down' is the default because of gravity, that's where I usually end up, unless I'm jumping up high or trying leap forward. Make sense?"

"Wait, but you were jumping up outta the ground a buncha times!" Ruby countered. "Gravity, my butt, you were totally flying!"

"Nope, still wrong!" Togata chuckled. "If I'm inside of something, say, the ground, and I turn my quirk off, I get repelled out the same way that I came in! If I adjust the way I'm standing or the pose I'm holding, I can actually come out at different spots than I went in, which is awesome. Matter can't overlap, right? Me getting spit out of the ground is just physics!"

"That sounds like a buggy video game," Mina grumbled.

Togata's response was to laugh loudly as he answered, "That's actually pretty funny!"

"So you can avoid any attack, and you can move wherever you want to in an instant?" Asui mused with clear admiration. "Wow, you were born with a really strong quirk."

"Uh-uh, not true," Togata said, his voice becoming more serious. "My power is only strong because I made it that way."

He then went on to explain the drawbacks of his quirk- how when he used it in his whole body, none of his five senses worked, because light couldn't pass though his retinas, soundwaves didn't register in his ears, and even air passed though him, making it impossible for him to breathe. "I can pass through everything," he finished. "But everything also passes through me."

"Then how'd you end up with those scratches?" Bakugo growled him as he pointed at his face, which had little spots of blood here and there. "Is that because of your quirk, too? Or did one of us actually manage to hit you?"

"Oh these? They're because of your friend over there!" he answered as he pointed at Ruby. "Like I said, I can't see when my quirk is going on in my entire body. So I let the debris pass through my body, but my head was still mostly solid, cos I needed to see what everyone was doing before I went back underground. I'm not untouchable, and it's super hard to control, but that wasn't gonna stop me." He pointed toward the ceiling as he continued on to say, "In order to get to the top with this quirk, I couldn't just hope that things would get better. My whole life, I struggled to master Permeation, which as you imagine, involved a lot of screw-ups, and my pants being dropped more than once. So I learned to think, make combat decisions, pick up a few new tricks, and most importantly, predict what would happen next."

Togata lowered his arms while refocusing his gaze on each of them as he continued speaking. "Those predictions that I learned to make came from experience, see? I based them on everything that I learned." Scratching the back of his head, he added, "Sorry if this was kind of a roundabout way to explain it all, but I felt that it was important that you understand how it feels to learn from experience, instead of from words.

"In our work studies, we're not treated like celebrities, like we are during internships. We're regarded as one of the sidekicks, or even as a pro, which can be pretty scary. People could even die on your watch, sadly enough. But every experience, no matter how painful or scary, can be put to use in a way that you'd never understand from inside a classroom- even at UA."

As he paused Kurai looked down at his metal arm, which he reflexively clenched. It was true that he'd been acting with less hesitation since his injury, but he had never consciously considered how the two might be related. I just assumed that it was my body not wanting to get hurt again… Wait. His earlier thoughts about his root chakra came back to the forefront of his mind, almost loud enough that he nearly missed what Togata was saying next.

"I turned my experiences into power, which is why I think these work studies are worth it, even if you're scared. You with me, first years?!" This drew out a round of applause from Togata's younger peers, who finally were able to understand his reasoning.

"This guy even gives pep talks like a pro," Ojiro commented to Yaoyorozu, who wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"It was so nice of him to do this for us instead of just explaining everything," she replied.

From there on, the freshmen students began to talk among themselves about the possibility of undertaking a work study, and how it could affect their future. Some seemed nervous about doing one, as they had not really seen action during their internships, but that didn't exactly concern Mina and Kurai.

"Sounds like when I worked with Gang Orca, only I'd get more autonomy," he murmured.

"That raid was pretty much the only action I saw during that whole thing, but I get what you mean," his girlfriend agreed. "More independence means more responsibility, though…"

"We can handle it," he said as he tried to grip her hand with his right one, only to have her shiver and shy away, somewhat to his surprise. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," she said with a fake smile as she moved around to his left side and happily gripped his flesh hand. "D'ya think you'll be able to score one?"

"What, you don't think you will?" he asked her, deciding to address the hand thing later.

"My grades are already slipping, so I dunno that taking one on would be a good idea…" she grumbled. "I hate books." After a brief moment of thought, she did say, "Maybe if I get an offer, but I don't think that I'll look for one, much as I want to."

"Look at you, thinking about your grades," he said with a little laugh. "I'm proud of you."

"Shut up, you're being a good influence on me."

"Hey, hey, Mirio!" Nejire chirped as she bounced alongside her classmates on their way back to class. "Did anybody stand out to you while you were fighting those first-years? Any quirks? C'mon, I gotta know, I gotta know!"

"I'm just grateful that I didn't have to do anything…" Amajiki mumbled.

"Well, that younger girl from America caught me by surprise with her power, I gotta admit. I also noticed that Midoriya kid was pretty quick on the uptake, and his friend was really good at figuring out how to avoid me," Togata answered in response to Hado's question. "It's not very often that people figure out how to do that." With a brighter smile, he added, "I'm sure that Sir would love to meet the three of them!"

"No way, I had dibs on bringing that cutie to Ryukyu's office!" Hado pouted.

"Oh, sorry!" Togata laughed. "I got ahead of myself! How about I just introduce Midoriya and Hikari to Sir, then?"

"That works!"

That night, while most of the others were talking among themselves about the agencies that they would like to work with, Kurai was in his room, his scouter sitting on his head as it received a call from his cell phone. "Detective," he said as he recognized the caller ID. "How are you today?"

"Well enough, if overworked," Tsukauchi laughed on the other end. "I talked to All Might earlier this week, and I've given your request some thought."

"Yes sir?" Kurai asked, hoping that his impatience wasn't too evident in his voice.

"If you can get on a work study with a hero agency that has good relations with the department, I'll cut you in on the action," the man answered. "I know that this is technically a conflict of interests, since you're a part of the investigation, but I'm allowing this for two reasons other than All Might calling in a favor."

"He did?" Kurai was surprised- he hadn't thought that his teacher much approved of him investigating the circumstances of his quirk.

"He did," Tsukauchi confirmed. "My first reason is that heroes aren't bound by the same restrictions as the police when it comes to conflicts of interest. I remember what it was like to be your age, and being unable to get closure for some of the injustices that I faced- I'm willing to give you a chance to avoid that kind of pain." He paused, and Kurai wondered at it.

"Sir?"

Without any further hesitation, the man said, "Right now, Gran Torino and I are the only ones on the case that are aware of the possibility that your power may have come from All For One. If word about it got out, there's no telling what it could do to your potential hero career, so we want to avoid that if at all possible. The best way for us to expand our resources on this part of the case, even by a little bit, while still keeping this under wraps, is to bring you in."

"I see, sir," Kurai murmured. The thought of his quirk's origins undoing his career had crossed his mind, but he had also decided that the truth about his power and his father's potential involvement in it was worth that price, if need be. "Thank you for the warning, sir… and for helping me."

"I want to know if your father really was the man that I learned from, too," the detective admitted. "Hopefully we can find something that proves our hopes correct."

Kurai's fists tightened, but he said in a controlled tone, "Me too, sir."

"Call me again when you've been taken on by an agency," Tsukauchi replied. "Until then, stick to your school work."

"Yes, sir. Good luck in your investigations."

"And good luck with your hero course."

Kai: Well, at least I have a chance to direct all of this frustration into something constructive.

Mataras: Here's hoping.

Deku: Hey, where's the new artwork for this week's chapter?

Mataras: I don't have one.

Deku: Wait, really?

Mataras: What, do you think I'm made up of those things? I'm working on a new cover art for this phase, but it won't be ready for a little while.

Kai: Excuses!

Mataras: Hey! Cut me some slack! You might have a replacement arm, but mine has nerve damage! Drawing is hard, and if I do it for too long without any breaks, I hurt myself!

Deku: Wait, so you have trouble moving your fingers and hand?

Mataras: No, my right arm just never stops trembling, which can make it kind of difficult to fine-tune some of the smaller (yet vitally important) details in a sketch.

Kai: You still have your real arm.

Mataras: Oh, come on! Your new one lets you use the Force on your lightsaber!

Kai: ...Yeah, alright, that is pretty cool.

Deku: Next time- More than a Student

Mataras: If you want that work study, you better go into that interview ready to Go Beyond!

Kai: Plus Ultra!

Next time on Your Hero Academia: Unveiling...

"Honestly, I don't know," Kurai sighed. Glancing around to make sure that no one else was in earshot, he said in a lowered tone, "Detective Tsukauchi said that he'll let me in to work the case on the side if I can get a work study with an agency that works regularly with the police. Him and Gran Torino don't want the potential origins of my quirk getting out, just in case it sinks my hero career before it even gets started, especially when we might be wrong."

"Do you think you're wrong?" Uraraka asked him with a concerned look.

Kurai gave vent to another heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped. "I'm honestly trying not to think about it too much, but… No, I don't think I'm wrong," he murmured. "All For One is the only way that the pieces add up to me, but I'm hoping that I'm missing something that will vindicate my parents."

"I'm sure you will," Mina said affectionately. "Your dad was an amazing cop, all the way to the end. There's no way he could have been involved with that psycho." Her positivity always helped Kurai when he was feeling down, and he appreciated the endless effort that she put into caring for his well-being, as well as the support that Midoriya, Uraraka, and their other friends had shown him.

He had wondered a few times since he had lost his father why his Anahata chakra had remained unclogged, as it was supposedly blocked by grief, but he now knew the answer. It was his friends being there for him, caring for him, and making sure that he didn't close himself off to the people around him. It was Mina loving him in spite of his hardheadedness and default of trying to do things himself that was keeping that part of his spirit healthy and strong. Nothing he had done was responsible for it, and words could not measure his gratitude to his friends.

"Dude, are you okay?" Mina asked him suddenly, causing him to give a start of surprise in his seat.

"Yeah," he sniffled. "Why?"

"You're crying."