A/N: Welcome, one and all, to the eightieth entry for this story!

Their Hero

"I see," Tensei said heavily, aware of his mother's worried eyes upon him as he looked out the kitchen window to see the clear noon sky. "Thank you for letting us know, Tenya. Please, feel free to call me anytime you need to talk, day or night." The phone line disconnected, and he allowed the device to fall into his lap from slack fingers.

Without wasting any time, he looked up at his mother and nodded once to confirm their suspicions ever since hearing that there had been a single casualty in the battle on Nabu Island. "It was him," he said, his heart breaking anew as the woman's face crumbled in response. "Kurai died saving everyone from the villains."

"How is Tenya?" she gasped out as Tensei felt his shoulders drooping from the weight of the information he had just been forced to absorb.

"He was injured, but Recovery Girl has been able to take care of him so that there is no lasting damage," he answered, glad that the relief in his voice wasn't forced. Even if things had turned out quite badly, he was glad that he did not have to bury his baby brother on top of everything else that had gone down that year. "Kurai… was the only casualty, apparently."

"That's… Oh God, this is so awful," his mother sobbed as she tried in vain to dash the tears away. "I never imagined anything like this happening to them- not while they were in school, at the very least."

"It shouldn't have happened to them," Tensei said, his gaze sharpening tightly as his fists clenched on the armrests of his wheelchair. The anger in his voice did nothing to hide the pain in his eyes as he all but growled, "They're only students… Forcing them to take on the roles of fully-qualified pros? What was the Safety Commission thinking?!" His fists slammed down on the right side of his chair as the tears began to fall while he raged, "I've been telling them for years that we must look beyond the conventional methods for recruiting new heroes, but they're so damn set in their ways that they-!"

Tensei forced himself to stop shouting as he felt his mother's hands pressing firmly on his shoulders from behind his chair. Doing his best to swallow down the urge to raise his volume even further, he instead breathed out, "He was just a boy… How could they allow for something like this to even be possible?"

"Son… You know as well as any hero the risks involved in our family's line of work," the woman said shakily from above him as he refused to look away from his tightened fists. "This is… It ought to be unthinkable, but… He knew that it could happen. Kurai knew what he was doing, in the end, I'm sure. He proved that in Fukuoka."

"He still shouldn't have had to prove it again, especially not like this," Tensei said with a slow shake of his head. His hand slowly moved to pick up his phone again before he murmured, "I won't allow the Commission to sweep this aside."

"Son, what are you-?"

"Situations like this cannot be allowed to occur again, simply because they want to keep up appearances for public image's sake, alone," the man said bitterly as he scrolled through his contacts, his eyes moving rapidly across the screen in the process. "There are others whom I know will agree with me on this. Even if I cannot run to save people any longer, I will still do what I can to protect those children so that they can grow up to save others, but only in their due time."

Micha Ashido let out an unrestrained yawn as he stepped off the staircase that led into his parents' kitchen, his bleary, caramel-colored eyes just managing to pick out his elder brother sitting at the breakfast bar. "Morning," he mumbled, his feet automatically carrying him toward the coffee pot. "Or is it afternoon?"

The two of them were visiting their parents a few weeks before the holiday break from their respective careers, as they would be unable to spend the actual Christmas break with them like Mina would. Mako was quickly making a name for himself as a sharp-tongued and successful prosecutor at the firm he had signed on with- enough so that he was being given a few days off in December, which rarely happened for the junior associates. Micha would still be in university for two more years, pursuing a career in commercial architecture, and while he would normally have been more than happy to come home during the actual winter break, there was a firm that he aimed to join after graduation, and one of his upper classmen had managed to secure him an invite to a private work event where they tended to scout for new talent. The gathering was technically a Christmas Eve party, which would require him to be back in Nagoya instead of his hometown, so he had elected to request permission from the school to be able to attend his classes and submit his assignments virtually for a few days, which had been granted easily enough.

Micha was proud to say that like his elder brother, he had made it onto the dean's list by the end of his second semester at college, which had likely played into the school's decision to let him take his leave without much fuss. Of course, the drawback to this was that the hours he spent during the day with his family had to be made up at night in order to stay on top of his assignments, which was why he had stayed up until midnight finishing yesterday's homework- and then kept going until two in the morning so that he could get ahead on today's lectures and academic chores.

I bet Mina's never stayed up past nine to get work done, he thought drowsily as his head throbbed, letting him know that despite the sun being well above the horizon, he had not gotten a sufficient amount of rest. As he went to pick up the can of coffee grounds that was always by the sink, he silently relented a little. Well, UA doesn't just let anyone in, he reminded himself as he lifted the container, frowning when he realized how light it was. Then there's her boyfriend- probably the only guy I've ever met who would rather get his homework done that do 'movie and chill'… She definitely seems more motivated than I can ever remember her being when he's around.

"Hey, Mako," he mumbled after opening the lid and seeing nothing more than a slight film of dark dust on the bottom of the canister. "D'ya know if Mom and Dad have another bag somewhere?" It had been some time since he had actually lived in his childhood home, so the memories of where things were supposed to go had grown hazy with disuse and distance.

There was also the morning fog that clouded his brain, but even that did not prevent him from realizing that this was now the second time that he had prompted his brother since entering the room without receiving a response. Blinking his eyes a little wider, he looked over at Mako to see that the other man was staring at something on his phone, his face an alarming shade of white. "Hey, you okay?" he prompted as he moved closer, making sure to raise his voice enough so that there would be no way for Mako to miss it.

"Huh?" the older Ashido said as he tore his eyes away from the screen to see Micha looking at him with concern. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you were okay," his brother answered with a small frown. "What's got you so shook, dude? Something happen at the firm?"

"Honestly, I wish," Mako replied as he stood up from his half-eaten sandwich, sending a small thrill of alarm down Micha's body, and chasing away his immediate need for coffee. "We gotta call Mom and Dad, and see if we can't reach Mina."

"Okay, how's about we pump the breaks a sec and tell your barely-awake bro what's going on?" the middle Ashido sibling said, making sure to speak slowly in an attempt to keep his brother from launching into a high-speed explanation of whatever it was that had upset him, as he was wont to do from time to time.

"I was just watching the national news," Mako explained, making a visible effort to pace his response, having recognized what his brother was trying to do. "Some powerhouse gang of villains attacked Nabu Island yesterday, and there's been a casualty. The news isn't saying who it is yet, but if it's just one person who's died, then-"

"It was probably one of Sis' classmates," Micha finished for him, feeling the blood drain from his face as he did. "They were supposed to be the only heroes on the island, so- oh, shit."

"Yeah," Mako said in a clipped tone as he pulled up the contact list on his phone. "I hope it wasn't her, but you know how gung-ho she can get."

"True, but I kinda doubt that Hikari would've let anything happen to her," Micha said with a wobbly grin. "He doesn't seem like the type to let his girl get hurt, and we've both seen what he can do when he gets going."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Mako announced, "I'll call Mina, you get Mom and Dad on the line."

"Yep."

As both men accessed their phones and pulled up the desired contacts, Micha's mind flashed back to a moment that had surprised them both only months prior…

Seven Months Ago

Mina had always been an active, bordering on antsy, child. She loved to move about, do things that involved pushing her muscles to the limit, and as she had grown up, she learned to channel that need into the art of dance. She was always going a hundred miles an hour, never seeming to run out of her boundless reserves of energy as soon as she was awake and ready to face the day. Now that she was in UA's Hero Course- one of the most physically demanding curriculums in the world- her brothers had thought that she might slow down a bit and mellow out in her spare time.

According to their parents, this had not proven to be the case. Even in spite of the attack on their school at the beginning of the year- or perhaps because of said incident- Mina had become even more passionate and animated in her drive to become a hero. Yet instead of that hyperactivity racing out of control as Mako and Micha might have assumed it would, their kid sister had started to display a focus that reminded their parents of them during their own high school years, as opposed to a petulant rivalry driven by a little girl's need to show up her elder siblings. Their mother also believed that there was an individual more personally responsible for the changes- someone they were apparently about to meet.

It was also becoming very obvious that Mina was nervous for the two of them to meet this person. Mako was the first to notice the signs, though Micha wasn't far behind in realizing them, either.

Their pink-skinned sibling, as they had noted before, was a bundle of irrepressible energy, and she had no problem with letting it out in the form of breakdance whenever the mood struck her. What she had never done before, was fidget.

Both young men had to keep themselves from laughing as they watched Mina sitting on the couch in the living room, her right leg bouncing up and down in front of her with no particular rhythm as she alternated her gaze between the clock on the wall, the window that displayed their driveway, and the phone sitting on the table in front of her. Is she actually getting jitters? Micha had to wonder, even as Mako silently nudged him with an elbow so that he would see the text message ready to fly at his command.

There was a questioning look in the older brother's eyes, to which Micha responded with a grin and a quick nod. The two of them were standing in the kitchen, their backs to the cabinets, and a breakfast bar between them and their victim- a minimum safe distance, by their estimates. Deciding to go for it before the opportunity could pass, Mako hit the 'send' button on his phone, and awaited the inevitable result.

Mina's phone chimed with the notification of a text message, which saw to the girl all but scrambling over her own legs to snatch up the device from the coffee table in front of her. Mako and Micha held in their laughter with a valiant effort until their sister read the message, causing her face to darken with an angry purple shade as her eyes went wide with disbelief. "You guys suck!" she snarled, even as the two of them burst into hysterical laughter.

This prevented them from really paying attention to Mina until she had jumped on Mako's back and started hitting his shoulder with her phone while growling like a feral gremlin. "Ow, jeez, hey!" the oldest Ashido yelped as he registered the pain of those impacts.

Meanwhile, Micha had given into another bout of laughter as he watched the other two start to grapple, with his brother not having much luck in the process. Mina had always been athletic, but in just a few short weeks, UA had already started to toughen up her muscles to an almost steely degree that Mako was unused to.

What the hell?! he thought as he was unable to break free of the chokehold she was now applying to his head. When did she get this strong?! While not as fit as his sister, Mako had always been able to outmuscle the girl whenever they had tussled in the past, which had essentially established the trope of victory by default for the eldest sibling. This new dynamic had him so confused that he couldn't have tapped out, even if he wanted to.

Fortunately for Mako, it didn't come to that. Their ears all picked up on the sound of a roaring engine pulling up to their house before quickly cutting out, which led to Mina abandoning her assault on her brother in favor of making a dash for the door. Before Micha could make any sort of comment, however, she picked up an orange from the counter and hurled it with an unnerving accuracy to smack him in the mouth, drawing out a yell that matched his brother's earlier cry.

As the pair registered the sounds of the door opening from around the corner, they both exchanged a look while Mako rubbed his neck and coughed out, "We may have deserved that."

"I'm thinking we may wanna warn this poor guy off," Micha muttered in reply, his fingers exploring the inside of his mouth to make sure that he wasn't bleeding. "Jeez, that was vicious!"

"The guy won the Sport's Festival, I think he can take a hit," Mako wheezed.

"He only got the gold cos Endeavor's kid tapped out," his brother said dismissively. "That ain't a real win."

They were about to start a debate on the topic when the subject of their opposing ideas walked through the door while saying, "Honestly, do I really seem like the kind of guy to break up with somebody over text? That's kind of on you for buying it for a second." Kurai was grinning as he turned around to look back at the entrance, though he did so in a manner that put his back to the kitchen, and the expectant gazes of the Ashido sons in the process.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side in this!" Mina said as she followed the boy in with a visible pout.

"And yet I get the feeling you and Akarui are ganging up for what you consider to be a spectacular pra-" Kurai stopped himself mid-sentence as he finally shifted in place enough to see Mina's brothers sitting at the breakfast bar with raised eyebrows and somewhat smug grins on their faces. "Oh, sorry," he apologized as he quickly dipped his head in their direction. "I didn't realize you were there."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Mako said dismissively with a negative motion from his hand. "Super Saiyans get a pass based on the fact that they could probably kick our asses into orbit without much effort."

"Dude, he's clearly a ninja," Micha countered, causing Kurai's face to tinge with red as he started to get a sense of where this was about to go. "Did'ja miss those rasen'guns' he's got going on there?" As he spoke, he gestured toward the boy's well-built arms, which he now folded as if it were a defensive measure.

"His quirk makes him too flashy to be a ninja."

"Tell that to the cast of Naruto."

"Maybe he's a Super Ninja?"

"And suddenly, everything about you makes complete sense," Kurai deadpanned as he turned toward his girlfriend, who was once again simmering with a dark look on her face. "I thought Akarui was bad, but at least he gives me a minute to breathe when I first get home."

"Yeah, well, upside is that we get to leave these two at home while we go to I-island," Mina muttered, sticking her tongue out at her brothers when they straightened up in their seats with surprise as they registered her words.

"Wait, you're going to-? Isn't there about to be a major expo happening there?!" Mako sputtered.

"Yep, and sucks to be you guys, cos he's outta tickets to share," Mina grinned devilishly.

While many people would have gone just to see the heroes who were going to be gathered, as well as the flashy new support items that were to be previewed, the two brothers each had different reasons for wanting to go. For Mako, who was poised to become a prosecuting attorney once he passed the bar exam, it would have been a great opportunity to start establishing relations with hero agencies that might lend him aid in any future cases he might end up working. Meanwhile, Micha would have happily mugged someone for a ticket to the expo so that he could get a first look at the architectural marvels that made up the island itself. Mina knew all of this, of course, which was why she had taken this golden opportunity to rub it in their faces that she had supremely lucked out.

"Wow, using your boyfriend just to take a cheap shot at us?" the eldest sibling grumbled. "That's low, even for you, Sis."

"I would nev- Nah, you're right, I totally did that," she snickered.

What really surprised the two brothers was the fact that Kurai allowed a smile to decorate his face before he added, "I dunno if it really counts as using me when it was my idea."

"Wait, what?" Micha gaped.

"You heard him," Mina giggled before planting a big kiss on Kurai's cheek- turning him flaming red in the process. "My guy here is the best of the best."

"Mina- we talked about this!" he squawked, his temporary confidence apparently vanishing in the process. "PDA is still a no-no for me!"

"Aw…" she snickered again. "We can always move this somewhere more private, if that'd be better." She was mostly teasing him, but she also found it very cute how flustered he could get. The fact that she was getting to pull one over on her brothers in the process was a major bonus.

That said, she now knew where to draw the line with him, and thus decided to back it up a bit in order to spare Kurai any further embarrassment on her behalf. She had gotten her kicks out of her brothers, so now was the time to start working on helping her boyfriend not decide to run out the door, or just plain letting his poor head explode.

"I dunno what's making my stomach more upset," Micha now muttered in an aside to his brother. "Her shamelessness, or his shame."

"I don't want to think about it," Mako grumbled in a similar tone.

"Thing One and Thing Two, meet the butt-kicker of all who dare challenge him," Mina grinned as she made an exaggerated sweeping gesture toward her boyfriend, who was still redder than Yaoyorozu's outfit. "Kurai Hikari."

"Pleased to meet you," the boy managed to get out before offering another perfunctory bow to the two young men.

"Same here," answered the elder brother as he moved to shake hands with the high schooler. "I'm Mako."

"Lawyer, right?" Kurai replied as he took the offered hand, his firm eye contact somewhat surprising the older Ashido in the process. He had thought that the confidence played into the joke earlier might have been a fluke, or brought out by wanting to impress Mina, but the grip he used and the way he was carrying himself through the introduction spoke to a character who knew how to handle himself.

"Pending final exams," he answered without missing a beat. "That was a pretty impressive show you put on for the Sport's Festival."

"I was personally rooting for the exploding guy," Micha snickered as he moved to take his turn. "He looked like good TV."

"Eh, make stupid bets, win stupid prizes," Kurai quipped readily.

Mina let out a short bark of laughter while her brother looked taken aback by the fact that this kid apparently had the ability to out-sass him after less than five minutes of interaction. "Why did we agree to meet this guy?" Mako muttered just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"I came for Mom's pancakes," Micha shrugged in reply. "So far, this kid hasn't made it not worth it."

"Was that a challenge they just gave us?" Mina inquired as she gave her boyfriend a hopeful look, which caused him to raise the other eyebrow in response.

"Sounds like it might be."

"If the words 'plus ultra' come out of either of your mouths before he goes home, I'm grabbing baby photo albums," Micha warned the pair.

"You wouldn't," Mina shot back, though she didn't look afraid when she said it. This was explained when she added, "Even you're not stupid enough to rob Mom of getting to show off my baby pictures to my first boyfriend."

"First boyfriend?" Kurai asked, feigning offense while Micha was silently forced to concede that he was, in fact, not foolish enough to offend their mother in such a manner. "What, are you already planning to replace me?"

"Only if someone more handsome than you comes along," she chirped with another evil grin. "Fortunately for you, I don't really see that happening anytime soon. The closest competition you've got is Todoroki, and he's more pretty than handsome."

"Wait, wha-?!" her boyfriend sputtered. "Scarface?! That's who I've gotta compete with?!"

"Like I said, it's not much of a competition," Mina giggled.

"Dude, it's not too late to back out," Micha told the younger boy. "We'll cover for you while you run."

"Speak for yourself," Mako said as he edged away from the gathering. "You're acid-proof, not me."

"Wait, what's your quirk, then?" Kurai asked curiously, his mind quick to change the topic to something he was more comfortable with. "Mina never said."

Mako gave him a little grin before his skin and hair began to change colors so that they matched Mina. "Color Shift," he said before reverting to his default colors; a coffee-colored top of hair with fair skin. "It doesn't affect my eyes, and I automatically revert to this whenever I fall asleep."

"It's technically a weaker version of our Mom's quirk," Micha explained. "She can change any of the colored aspects of her appearance, but she can't do it at will. It depends entirely on her emotions."

"So less variety, but a bit more control," Kurai mused, his eyes narrowing slightly with intrigue. "Honestly, I'd prefer it that way- makes it easier to keep your cards close to your chest."

"Yeah, if I'd had Mom's exact quirk, I doubt I'd be able to hack it as a lawyer," Mako admitted.

"Me, I'm pretty much unaffected by any acidic substance you could think of," Micha interjected, explaining his brother's earlier comment. "The pH factor in my body has never gone over or below 7.41 because any excess acid that I'm exposed to gets absorbed by my horns."

"Wait, they do what-now?" Kurai asked with wide eyes.

"They store any excess acid that my body ingests, which is kinda cool, because I never get heartburn, no matter how spicy my food is," Micha chuckled. "Doctor calls it 'pH Control'. It's technically an absorb-and-release ability, which comes in handy now that I know how to regulate it. The only thing is that every now and again, my horns reach a 'storage capacity', and I have to chop the tips off to let the acid out. Doesn't hurt, though- feels kinda like cutting nails."

"Wait, I thought you said your body wouldn't be affected by any amounts of acid?" their guest inquired with a puzzled look on his face. "Does it leak back into your body if you don't?"

"Nah, it actually secretes out of the horns on its own, which kinda caused a few accidents when I was younger," Micha admitted sheepishly.

"I'm still not convinced you didn't let that acid fall on baby me on purpose," Mina grumbled.

"First of all, I'm not that evil," Micha muttered. "Second, your quirk manifested super early, so we knew you'd be fine."

"Which is exactly why I don't believe you that it was an accident."

"Hang on, do your horns do that?" Kurai asked Mina to head off another argument, who immediately shook her head in the negative.

"Nah, they're just there for decoration," she answered with another grin. "Basically my horns and whole color theme are like how your brother got his eye color from your mom, but not the x-ray vision."

"Makes sense."

"And what about you, Super Saiyan Hokage?" Micha asked through another smug grin, which got Kurai's left eye to twitch with annoyance. "We saw what your quirk could do in the battle part of the festival, but what the heck even is it?"

"It's kind of hard to explain in one go, so I'll just say that it's an emitter-augmentation hybrid called Energon," Kurai answered as he folded his arms again. "Doctors have run a hundred and one tests on me, but they've honestly never been able to figure out what produces the energy in my body. It seems like it's an almost infinite source."

There was a brief moment of silence before Micha said, "If this were a game, I'd accuse you of hacking. There's no way a quirk that good just exists."

"It ain't all fun and games," Kurai muttered, his expression briefly turning dark to a degree that took the two brothers aback. "And whatever the hell All Might's quirk is, it makes him way stronger than me." Almost as soon as the angry look had come, it suddenly vanished, leaving the boy with an almost disturbingly neutral expression on his face.

Before either of the boys could start to wonder what all of that was about, they heard the garage door opening, which meant that their parents were about to come in. This was Mina's cue to grab her boyfriend by the hand and lead him down the hallway, ignoring the yelp of protest that he uttered as she insisted that he meet them as soon as possible.

As the pair watched them go, Micha said in an aside to his brother, "What do we think of him?"

"He's weird, but I think he knows how to hold his own against her, in his own way," Mako answered.

"Yeah, he's gonna need to, knowing her," the middle sibling snickered. "Once she gets going on something, I think I'd have better chances at not getting flattened by a bulldozer if I tried to stop her."

"Yeah… I can see that she really likes him," the elder said with a quiet chuckle. "Never seen her get that nervous before."

"I'd hope you can see that," Micha now grumbled as he massaged his lip, which was already starting to swell a bit. "I'm gonna be feeling it every time I eat for the next few days." There was another brief pause before he asked, "What are the odds I could get you to sue her for physical and psychological trauma once she's made it big as a pro?"

"No one's gonna convict her over a swollen lip, and you've been a psycho since you were born," Mako replied as he moved to go greet their parents, who sounded as though they were having a grand time in meeting Kurai. "That jury won't even have to step out the door to make a decision."

"Man, what good are you?!"

Present Day

"Any luck?" Mako asked as he walked back into the room to see his brother looking nothing short of despondent, and causing a line of sweat to break out on his own brow. "Mina isn't picking up her-"

"Hikari's dead." Those two words were enough to cause the phone in Mako's hand to drop and clatter across the wood floor of the house.

"Dea- Him?"

"Yeah," Micha said heavily, his eyes dull as he did. "Mom and Dad got a call from 1-A's homeroom teacher. He let them know that Mina's injuries weren't very serious, and that she'll make a full physical recovery."

"Physical recovery?" Mako repeated, still trying to process the bomb that had just been dropped on him.

"Dude, how do you think she's handling this?" Micha asked while looking up at his brother. "She loves- loved that guy. Like, really loved him. She's not eating, and nobody's really sure if she's spending most of her time sleeping or just catatonic. Nobody's been able to even get a word out of her, apparently."

"That bad?" Mako breathed. "I knew that she really liked him, but… She's seriously that messed up over it?"

"Dude, how would you-?! Oh, right. You don't know, yet."

"I don't know what?"

Micha closed his eyes and rubbed at them with his free hand before saying in a slow, low voice, "They asked Mom and Dad for their blessing to get married once they finished high school."

"…What?"

"Mom let it slip when she picked me up from the train station the other day, but swore me to secrecy because Mina wanted to tell us over video," the younger man said sadly. "Jeez… She's always been so damn obnoxious, and gone on and on about finding her stupid 'prince charming' ever since she was little, but then she actually found him. Now… Man, what are we gonna do?"

"What-? What the hell are we supposed to do?" Mako sputtered in confusion. "I don't know anything about helping somebody deal with losing a loved one! And let's be real, I doubt she really wants to hear from us right now. I left a dozen unanswered voicemails that tells me how much she cares about what we can do right about now."

"The guy was gonna be our brother-in-law, man," Micha insisted as he let his head rest between his hands. "I know you and I don't exactly get on great with Mina, but… She is our sister, and Hikari seemed like an honestly good guy. He didn't deserve to die like that, and she doesn't deserve the heartbreak that she has to be going through right now." He paused before turning to look more directly at his brother and asked, "If something like this had happened to me, what would you do? Maybe we can figure out how to go from there."

"You really think that's gonna work?" Mako asked dryly. "She's very different from us."

"Yeah, but there's gotta be something we can relate to her on," Micha said firmly. "We gotta do something, anything we can do for her when she gets back."

Mako was quiet for a few moments before he put his chin between his fingers and murmured, "She really did love him… Maybe we can do something to honor him? I mean… He deserves all our respect. I know I respected him. Especially after that time in Fukuoka…"

Two Months Ago

"Hey, Ashido!" Someone- the young lawyer wasn't sure who- shouted from over his cubicle, which he decided to ignore.

Peering intently at the paper in front of him, he did his best to force the bleary figures to make sense, though it was getting a lot more difficult after starting at nearly-identical documents for the last ten hours with only a twenty minutes lunch break. I get wanting to take a villain for everything that they're worth, but do these bank managers really think I can magic them up some money that doesn't even exist- or worse, belongs to someone else? He fumed silently. Them fudging these numbers and blaming it on poor bookkeeping is just as bad as what the villains did in the first place! That money either belongs to another bank that these goons robbed, or-

"Ashido, seriously!" the voice yelled again, disrupting his train of thought in the process. "You need to look at this!"

"What?!" he snapped as he slammed his hands down on his desk and got to his feet while snarling, "What could be so important that you had to interru-?! Mister Takebayashi?!" Mako gulped while he felt sweat bead on his brow as he realized that he had just yelled at one of the firm's partners with higher seniority and prestige than he would probably ever achieve, himself. "Er… That is to say-? H-How can I help you, sir?"

I am so fired, he added in a quiet panic to himself.

"Kid, while I appreciate the enthusiasm you put into your work, you need to take a coffee break every now and again," the older man said dismissively. "And the Sanemi case can wait for a couple minutes- you really need to come and see this."

"Why, what's happened?" the younger lawyer inquired, breathing a quiet sigh of relief as it registered with him that his employment wasn't about to be terminated.

"It's on just about every news' station," his boss said as he gestured for him to follow along toward the firm's rec room. "Endeavor is fighting some kind of monster!"

"A monster?" Mako repeated, his curiosity honestly depleting in that moment. "As in a villain with a mutant-type quirk?" Maybe he's excited about the clientele we might get out of this?

"No, as in a real monster," Takebayashi answered hurriedly as they neared the room. "I really don't think that what he's fighting is human! Hawks has even teamed up with him, and it doesn't seem to be going well for them."

"Wait, the two top heroes of the country can't-?! What kind of villain is that?!" Mako asked, his eyes wide and curiosity now in full control of his speech. As they approached the room, there was a collective growl of annoyance and discontent from the members gathered inside- which judging by the empty desks and cubicles, might have been just about everyone who was in the office that afternoon.

"What, what happened?" his boss demanded as they walked in, every eye trained on the hundred-inch TV that was mounted on the wall. "Is the fight already over?"

"No, they switched to something else!" One of the other partners- Takumi, if Mako's tired mind was recalling information correctly at the moment. "There's another one of those monsters tearing up Fukuoka, but the hero fighting it is a total unknown!"

Given how close to being brain-dead Mako was at that moment, it was no wonder that it took him a few seconds to recognize the figure trading blows with the beastly villain. "Hey, wait!" he shouted before he could stop himself when another member of the firm suggested changing the channel. "I know that kid!"

"Wha- Kid?!" a woman sputtered. "That's a kid up there?"

"There's no way!" another objected.

"I'm telling you, I know him!" Mako insisted as he shouldered his way through the small crowd, not caring who he was moving aside as he did. If he'd been in better control of his faculties at that moment, he would have realized that he was being very rude to a number of influential seniors, but at that time, the only thing he could focus on was the blue-and-orange clad hero doing his best to avoid getting killed as he tore through a city park with the pitch-black monster. The second he was close enough to be positive, he managed to gape out, "Holy-! It really is him!"

"Who is that, Ashido?" one of the newer partners demanded. "Spit it out, or let us change the channel!"

"That's the- He won the UA Sport's Festival, freshman year!" he answered as he looked briefly over his shoulder.

"That's a UA student?" yet another member said in disbelief. "Their school's nowhere near there."

"I'm telling you, it's the guy- Kurai Hikari!" Mako insisted firmly. "Look him up. Robot arm, survived two League of Villain attacks, UA Sport's Festival winner, et cetera. He's almost as strong as All Might, and he can throw lasers fast enough to make Goku jealous."

"Holy crap, I think he's right," said one of the junior associates, who was looking down at her phone. "Definitely looks like him." As if on cue, the reporters then chose to bring up imagery and other necessary information to prove that this was, in fact, who Mako said he was. "How'd you know it was him?"

"I've met him a few times at my parent's place," he answered distractedly.

"Wait, you actually know this kid?" one of the more senior associates inquired.

"Yeah, he's my kid sister's boyfriend." Mako spared another glance over his shoulder to see everyone's looks of surprise before he added, "What? I know people outside this office." There was a small frown that stole across his face as he added, "Really not sure what he's doing in Fukuoka, though…"

There was a brilliant flash of light from the TV, causing everyone to look back up and witness the young hero leg sweep the monster and blast it with a precise laser to take a chunk out of its shoulder, which promptly exploded with some kind of grey fluid. "Aw man, that's gross!" one of the women all but gagged.

As the fight started to pick up the pace, Takebayashi once again turned to his junior and asked, "Does he have a hero name, or does he just go by his given name- Kurai, was it?"

"He calls himself the Guardian Hero," Mako answered after having to think about it for a moment. "Kai. Yeah, that's his name."

"Hey, I think they're switching it back to Endeavor and Hawks!"

"Finally!"

"Wait, wha-?! No!" Mako protested, though the news' station paid him no heed. "Ah, dammit!"

"What's the big deal, Ashido?" Takumi said dismissively. "Some real heroes are gonna come along and save the kid from drowning any minute. Of course they're switching back to where the real action is."

"Real her-?" Mako forced himself to take in a deep breath before he turned to face his seniors and say, "That 'kid' has been more heroic in his high school career than anyone I could name, except for maybe All Might. This isn't the first time he's fought one of those monsters, you know. He fought one when the League first attacked UA- held it off long enough for All Might to get there and save the day, and almost getting killed in the process so that my sister than their friends- well, classmates at the time, seeing as they barely knew each other- wouldn't have to be in danger." His fists clenched as he went on to growl, "Look, he stopped terrorists from taking over I-island with All Might, and when the League came after his friends with a damn cannibal villain, he let his arm get eaten so that one of his peers could make a getaway. That metal arm isn't for show. He even took down the Shie Hassaikai Yakuza boss while the pro heroes couldn't do anything about it!" Gesturing at the image of Endeavor and Hawks continuing to do battle across the city, he then added, "Endeavor's all about the show, always has been- probably always will be. Kai? That kid you were talking about? That's what a real hero looks like."

There was an awkward stretch of silence before it was broken by a surprising source. "Somebody find a station showing Kai's fight," Takebayashi said peaceably, startling Mako in the process.

"Sir?"

"Endeavor becoming Number One only happened because All Might had to retire," the older man said with a shrug. "It more or less happened by default. It sounds to me as though this 'Kai' will be worth observing far more than old news. I'm curious to what he's made of, for Ashido to speak so adamantly on the matter."

"I, er…" Mako's face flushed red as it finally started to dawn on him that once again, he had more or less yelled at his bosses and senior coworkers- which could well end up being the death of his career, if he didn't act fast. "My apologies, sir. I shouldn't have-"

"Just try to keep that sort of spitfire to a minimum in the office," Takebayashi chuckled while some of the others started to look for a channel that would fit their required criteria. "It's not a bad thing to be so passionate, young man. Just be sure to temper it a bit so you don't embarrass us in court." The last part was still delivered with a smile, but Mako could recognize the underlying tension beneath it.

"Yes, sir."

Even as the TV also started to shift from channel to channel, Mako found himself wondering just why on earth he had gotten so defensive on behalf of a kid that he barely knew on a personal level. Was it because he was tied to Mina? That didn't seem likely, seeing as he had never really needed to look out for her that way; so why would he feel the need to do so for Hikari? He could clearly handle himself, nor did he seem like the type to care about his reputation, given that he had arrested his own mother and brought his father's crimes to light at great cost to said reputation.

And yet in spite of that… he mused to himself as he pulled out his phone and shot a brief message to his brother. No one ever sticks up for him. I mean, I'm sure Mina does at school, but out here, in the adult world… His family name doesn't exactly bring the people cheering to the rooftops.

The firm managed to find another channel that was covering Kai's fight, and what they saw immediately disturbed everyone there on a deep level. In the span of twenty seconds, two of the four heroes who had shown up to help the boy were slaughtered by the Nomu in grotesque fashion, even as their partners were turned into monsters themselves, leaving the Guardian Hero all alone on the battlefield as more and more mutates gathered around him to attack, assumedly under the control of the first monstrosity.

For a brief moment, Kai seemed to get his second wind, despite taking a heavy strike to the head and nearly getting hauled off by what the commentators were now calling 'the Shadow Nomu'. He blasted it and the twisted civilians away with an impressive show of power, giving Mako hope that perhaps he would be able to pull through on his own.

This hope quickly died when the boy was then pinned beneath and crushed by one of the mutates that had some kind of expanding quirk, making it all but impossible to even see Kai's arms and legs as they were sprawled out beneath it. One of the associates wondered if he might already be dead, which Mako prayed would not be the case- not in a time when society needed a hero with his kind of grit and sheer power. Come on, Hikari, he thought, not even daring to breathe as the anchors also began to wonder if they hadn't just witnessed a child hero's death in real-time. Don't prove Mina wrong about being as great she says you are. You gotta get up, man!

Just as the news' station was about to give up hope themselves, the audience let out a collective gasp and shout of surprise when an even brighter flash of light than before shone from where Kai had been pinned down. When it cleared, there was the battered Guardian Hero, on his knees, but looking like he was ready to keep going. "Yeah!" Mako hollered before he could stop himself. "Get him!"

There was a half-second where he thought he might die of embarrassment, but then Takumi surprised him by yelling, "Let's see what you've got, kid!"

"Don't tell me Ashido overhyped you!" shouted one of the younger associates.

"Send that thing back to wherever it came from!"

As others began to add their own chants of encouragement, Mako noticed that something about Kai was beginning to change rapidly. Before he could pick up on exactly what it was, his jaw dropped as the boy's speed kicked into a new gear, and the energy he had been utilizing changed colors into a bright scarlet. Dozens of mutates went after him, but no matter what quirk they used, no matter how many tried to team up to take him down, they couldn't even touch him.

"What the-?! How long has he been able to that?!" Mako sputtered in disbelief.

"Is this new?"

"I guess?!"

Before the firm could scarcely believe it, Kai had taken down every single mutate in the area- without a single casualty among them, either. Following that, he started driving the Nomu into a corner at a breakneck pace that showed how much he had been holding back thus far.

Or rather, they thought that he had stopped holding back. There was a very brief lull in the fight on both sides, but no one in that building even thought that the boy was about to throw in the towel just yet- not when victory was at hand for him. "What's he doing now, Ashido?" Takebayashi inquired, though his eyes remained fixated on the screen.

"I honest-to-goodness have no idea, sir."

The answer that was not long in coming left everyone in the room with a dropped jaw from the moment it began. Kai's body shed the red light and allowed for an orange shade to infuse his hair before the cameras' imagery shuddered from the impact of a concussive force that sent the Nomu skyward, higher than the clouds in the afternoon air. Kai had just delivered a thunderous kick that All Might would have envied, and now he was pursuing his prey. The boy literally went from a deep crouch to the heights of a mountain peak in less than a second, making it almost impossible to track where he had gone.

"Is he-?! Is that kid flying, now?!" someone gaped.

"Shut up, I can't see where he went!"

"How is me shutting up gonna help you-?!"

"Uh, everyone?" Mako said to head off any bickering as the screen started to flicker again. "What is tha-?" There was a blinding flash of yellow light, followed by a sharp zapping sound and the drone camera shorting out, leaving the anchors and watching lawyers in a state of utter bewilderment.

"Wait, what just happened?!" yet another associate protested. "Did he win? Is he dead? What's going on over there?!"

"Er… Guys?" another partner said as she tapped on the window overlooking the city, drawing their attention to her and the view. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but… That way's Fukuoka, right?"

Even as she spoke, they could just make out the fading glow of a fire pillar, not that such an image held their attention in the slightest right then. No, in that moment, they were all encompassed by the sight of a yellow light that was rapidly expanding in the sky over their country, quickly growing so bright that even they could not look at it directly without some form of visual protection. "Is Kai really doing that?" an older woman gasped.

"That monster used some kind of shadow power, so it's gotta be," answered her assistant.

"Fukuoka is almost a thousand kilometers away," Takumi breathed in disbelief. "And that attack is so bright that I can't look at it from here!"

"What is that kid made out of?!" one of the earlier nay-sayers now demanded of no one in particular.

"I pity the insurance companies who're gonna have to deal with all the collateral that's gotta be causing."

"Good thing he took it to the sky, right?"

"Can you imagine if that'd happened on the ground?"

By this moment, the light was beginning to fade on the horizon, which caused Mako to look back at the TV, hoping that they might be able to get a better look at what had become of Kai and his opponent. There was a couple of moments where he felt his mouth drying out again, as there were some functional camera crews on the ground who were trying to find the boy, but being unable to do so. When they did find him, however, the situation almost became even worse to witness.

Kai was freefalling toward the earth from the stratosphere, and it appeared as though he might be unconscious. Mako began to wobble, only to be kept steady by one of Takebayashi's assistants, whom he thanked with an absent tone. Oh God, if he's dead-

His thought was once again cut off before it could be finished, and a surge of adrenaline and excitement swept through him as Kai suddenly righted himself in the air and swung his body toward a skyscraper so that he could dig his metal arm into it and fire laser bursts beneath his feet to slow himself down enough to retreat from terminal velocity. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on," he all but chanted to himself. "Come on, Kai- you got this! Pull through!"

There was a ground-shaking crash that left a big crater in the street next to the building, even as debris and shards of broken glass rained down into the aftermath of the impact. Mako didn't breathe, didn't think. He could do nothing but wait and see if, after all of that, Kurai Hikari had been just some kid with a half-baked quirk who got in over his head.

But against all odds, he let out a shout of relief and elation when a bruised and cut-up fist shot up out of the rubble, followed by the incredibly beaten- but very much alive- hero, who took a moment to stand tall, even in spite of his wrenched arm and dozens of other injuries, including a deep cut on his face that was certain to leave a scar. Many others in the office were also letting out exclamations of surprise and delight as they bore witness to the rise of this new defender of the people, though they were quick to quiet down when it seemed that- against all belief- he was going to address the camera crew that had been closest to the impact site.

"Ha," they all heard him laugh flatly. "Not dead."

Mako couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter at that statement, which got a few others to take their own turns laughing while the poor news' lady tried to make sense of what to do with that overly simple statement. Of course, they were also quick to quiet down when Kai began to deliver his response to her request for elaboration, each of them eager to hear what their new hero had to say.

"It means… that I am Kai, the Guardian Hero from UA High School," the boy grunted, obviously fighting through a tremendous amount of pain to do so. "And I just want to tell everyone out there… hero and villain alike… that I'm not going anywhere… anytime soon."

"Kid just got done fighting a monster, he's already calling out the rest of the villains?" another associate said with a mixture of disbelief and wonder. "Kid's got stones."

"Shut up, Matsuda!" the rest of the office yelled at him, causing him to shuffle away in embarrassment.

They were just in time to hear Kai continue with the words, "I've worked too hard… I've come too far… and lost too much… to be stopped, now…" He sucked in a deep breath before glaring into the lens of the camera and raising his metal fist- which was attached to his horribly dislocated shoulder- and saying with a voice that rang with absolute power and authority: "I am here… to stand my ground."

The office was once again filled with the sounds of cheering, this time aided by clapping and other shouts of affirmation. In the midst of this, Mako's phone buzzed with a message from Micha, which turned out to read, 'Her boyfriend officially terrifies me. I'm never picking on her, ever again.'

Shaking his head with another dried chuckle, he sent back the short reply, 'Same.'

As he allowed his device to find its way back into his pocket he turned to see that Kurai was then being led away by medical officers who would transport him to the nearest hospital for treatment and care. He was relieved to see this- after all, it wouldn't make for a very good epilogue to this amazing battle if the hero were to suddenly collapse from pain and blood loss on national television. I get the feeling that this is gonna go beyond Japan's news before long, he thought as he found himself sitting on a bar stool that had become unoccupied, his body finally beginning to register the tension that he had been retaining until now.

"Ashido, you'd better watch yourself from now on," Takebayashi said, a strange little warning note in his voice as he did that immediately brought all the tension back.

"Sir?" he asked as he sat up straight in front of the older man.

He was somewhat surprised when his senior gave him a look of concern before saying, "He just called out an entire country's worth of villains. That means anyone associated with him may one day end up being targeted to use against him as leverage. That's not even factoring in our line of work, where we make enemies of dangerous people on a daily basis. It may not happen today, but someday, mark my words… Villains will come after you and your family if your sister remains by his side."

A dozen different things that he could say came into Mako's mind right then, but the thing he decided on almost surprised him more than his boss. "Well, sir, if he's the guy she happens to stick with, I'd have to applaud her for it," he said with a sheepish grin as he scratched the side of his face. "Because quite frankly, I don't see how she's going to do any better than that guy."

Present Day

Endeavor wasn't one for construction efforts- the closest thing to it was when his agency dealt with rescue operations, though such matters were mostly handled by his sidekicks. As a matter of fact, he had only come to Nabu Island to take care of the villains who had proven to be a threat, as well as make sure that Shoto was alright. His original intent had been to deal with the criminals and then return to the mainland as quickly as possible, but he had elected to stay for two extra days after learning of one pressing matter that had taken him entirely by surprise.

While he had initially been glad to his son alive and well, the return of Shoto's freezing-cold shoulder had taken him aback- until he learned exactly what had occurred. The Guardian Hero's death had shocked everyone who had come to help, military personnel and heroes alike, with the normally-callous Endeavor proving to be no exception. After their individual battles in Fukuoka, and his subsequent conversation with the boy in the hospital, he had started to take an interest in Kai. He had even gone so far as to send an informal invitation to intern at his agency through Shoto (something that never would have crossed his mind mere weeks ago), though he had never received a reply- not that it surprised him.

He was well aware of Kurai's disapproval of him, and had been for some time. Though he had been slow to recognize him on their second meeting, he had been able to recall the young man who had stood up to him in the hallways beneath the Sport's Festival arena, and then fought his son to a stalemate in the finals. Most people in his life either tried to avoid him out of a sense of fear or resentment, and those who didn't were largely under his employ. Never before had anyone- much less a child- had the gall to stand up to him in such a definitive manner, and possess the power to back their words. Even when Shoto had chosen to rebel against his methods, he had done so in a rather passive manner, at least where his father was directly concerned. He certainly never threatened Endeavor with violent retribution for his actions, and Kurai doing so had infuriated him at the time.

Lately, though, he had found himself begrudgingly recognizing the courage that it would have taken a teenager- even one as powerful and connected as Hikari- to take such a hard stance against him. This wasn't even taking into account the fact that he had willingly tangled with a monstrous Nomu on two separate occasions, and even emerging victorious from the second bout. Grit like that was hard to come by, and the Flame Hero could recognize that Kai was on a fast track to success because of it. His power certainly made him special, but more than that was the drive and mind that had gotten him to become a legend in the eyes of Japan's people- much like another who had gone before him.

And yet here I remain, while men like All Might and Kai have faded away, he thought as he absently torched a pile of rotting wood, reducing it to ash in a mere two seconds. What kind of world has come about, that a boy is more a hero than any of the people he was supposed to be looking up to?

His eyes caught sight of Shoto, working with one of the other students to prop up some construction materials with his ice and some kind of tape. His son's face was harder than he had ever seen it, even when he had made his oath to never rely on the flames of Hellfire in order to take his own victory against the man who had, in a word, spawned him. Shoto admired Kai- perhaps even more so now… I can only hope that admiration doesn't lead him down the same path that I carved out for Toya.

He shuddered at the memory of his firstborn, and how his fate had been sealed by his own lack of words to address the anxieties that had eaten away at him, leaving only the consuming flames he had inherited from his father to guide him… I set him on the path of self-destruction to fulfill my own ambition, and then I left him to wander it, all alone, he thought as he swallowed past a lump in his throat. Kai showed Shoto the true resolve of a hero who keeps his word, and now he's gone. He wants to be like him- to be as strong and brave as his friend was, in the end. Even I can see that…

Just how Toya wanted to be like me. Endeavor bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as his fists shook with the weight of being forced to wonder if his youngest would soon be engulfed by the same flames that had devoured his eldest.

Fat Gum was well-known for being approachable and eager to make newcomers feel welcome in his presence. Some could even say that he had the habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve, which Amajiki had always agreed with- in a silent manner, of course. He had seen his mentor overly excited, angry, confused; just about any emotion that one could express, except for the one that he was seeing right now.

"Tamaki, I…" Fat Gum's voice caught in his throat as he wiped at his eyes and looked down at his untouched food, a heaping platter of his favorite meatballs. "You should have a seat."

His tone of voice and body language were sending chills throughout Amajiki's body in a way that he hadn't experienced before, though he moved to do as his boss suggested, quickly occupying one of the smaller chairs opposite the large hero's side of the desk. As if I didn't have enough to worry about every time I step out the door of my room, he gulped as he contemplated what this newfound anxiety would do to him, forget whatever Fat Gum was about to tell him.

He had just come in to fill out the paperwork necessary for him to return to the agency for his final semester's work study a little early, per the man's request. The holidays were an unfortunately hectic time for pro heroes, so he figured it was best to take care of the dry material before the busy work could really get started. So what's going on that put it on hold?

"Tamaki… You heard about how Class 1-A from your school was sent to Nabu Island, right?" his mentor asked in a slow, measured pace that kept the alarm bells in the back of his charge's head ringing loud and clear.

"Yes, sir," he answered as quickly as he could ever manage. Kirishima had brought it up with him at one of the last lunch periods of the semester. He had seemed even more excited than when he had been accepted as a work study student, which was saying a lot for the kid. It had nearly overwhelmed the shy senior, but fortunately for him, Nejire had more or less driven the redhead off with her own barrage of questions before it got to be too much for him.

"There was a villain attack there yesterday," Fat Gum said in a quiet tone, which sent an even colder chill down the boy's spine, and drawing a sharp breath out of him. "Most of your schoolmates are okay. They even managed to defeat the villains before the pros had arrived." There was the barest hint of a smile cracking his comically large mouth as he said this, but the light of humor was incredibly short-lived.

"Most of them?" Amajiki repeated, feeling his mouth dry out in the brief process of speaking those three words. He mind worked rapidly before he was able to ask, "Did something happen to Kirishima and Hikari?"

"Red Riot is fine," Fat Gum said with a small concession of relief that was also horrifically short-lived. "But Hikari… He didn't make it."

There was a moment of deafening silence before Amajiki found himself able to ask, "Hikari? As in 'Kai' Hikari?"

"Yeah." Fat Gum rubbed at the spot between his eyebrows while he went on, "I just got a call from Red a few minutes ago. Said that Hikari had a few words for you and me that he left in a message, just in case things went south."

Amajiki's lower lip trembled before he managed to croak out past the Sahara-levels of dryness in his throat, "Why would someone like him leave any words for me? I… I didn't do anything to help him while he was here. Ever since his first day at your agency, he shone brighter than almost anyone I've ever known."

"He watched you, Suneater," Fat Gum assured him. "I don't know all of what he thought of us, but I know he watched you and how you acted as a hero while he was with us. He remembered you, at the end. That tells me that he must've thought pretty highly of you, to leave you some of his last words."

"You said that the message was for both of us," Amajiki shrugged while he pulled his hoodie over his brow. "You were his mentor. I'm just a tag-along, I'm sure."

"You're wrong," the BMI hero insisted. "His last message to us was that he wanted to say sorry for not being able to make it to next semester's work study. But he specifically wanted you to have the confidence in yourself that you deserve."

"…He said that?"

Fat Gum smiled bleakly at his protégé before admitting, "Well, apparently his exact words were, 'It was a lot of fun working with you guys. I wish we'd been able to see Amajiki get over his shy guy act'."

At that, the third-year's face fell even further while he muttered, "Using his last words to get in a joke… Figures."

"Hey, come on," his mentor insisted. "You know he didn't mean it like that. He had a pretty dry sense of humor, yeah, but he never mocked you or Red Riot for your efforts, did he? In his own way, I think he really wanted to encourage you to reach the potential that we all see in you." When the boy remained silent, Fat Gum decided to add, "You know, he could have gone to higher-ranked heroes, or tagged along with Lemillion to Nighteye's place. But he came here because he wanted to learn what makes you and me the heroes that we are."

"With all due respect, sir…" Amajiki said past the lump in his throat. "What good was it for him to learn here if he just ended up dead, anyway?"

To that, Fat Gum had no reply, and as he realized this, the faint traces of the smile that he had been trying to keep up faded away completely.

"Thank you for contacting me, All Might."

"Don't thank me for this, please," the haggard voice of the former Number One Hero said from the other end of Gang Orca's office phone line. "I just thought that Young Hikari might prefer if you didn't find out from a media source."

"Given his disposition to the media in general, I can't say that I disagree with you," the Killer Whale Hero acknowledged. "You have my sympathies, sir. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do for you and the UA faculty regarding this matter."

"Just that you encourage any investigative journalists to respect the privacy of the young man and his family in this time," All Might replied. "I know that they will have to be addressed eventually, but I would rather allow his family and friends the time that they'll need to get through this mess."

"Of course."

"Thank you, Gang," All Might seemed to sigh in relief. "I've got to go, but expect an invitation to the funeral when we're able to get to it. I'm sure that Young Hikari would appreciate your presence." There was a brief chuckle from the former hero before he added, "So many people wanted him to be like me, but no matter how many times he heard that, he was quick to insist how much he wanted to become a hero like you. Even in spite of your decision not to take him on for a work study, his admiration for you and all that you've accomplished never wavered."

When it became clear that was the entirety of what he had to say, Gang Orca merely said, "Thank you, again. Good luck with everything on Nabu."

"Take care."

As the phone found its way back to the receiver, the whale-man finally allowed himself a moment to press his fingers against his thick eyelids to try and massage the burning sensation out of them while tears seeped out of the corners. Could I have helped to prevent this? he found himself wondering. If I had overseen his training when he came to me again- No.

He shook his head and lowered the hand while drawing in a deep breath as he forced the train of thought to come to a halt. The villains are the ones to blame for all of this, the large hero told himself as he clenched his clawed fists. Fat Gum was the one to better show him the path he could walk at that time in his journey, not me. I trust that he taught Kai everything that he could with the time they had together, and that he put the knowledge to use in a way that exemplified the kind of hero he truly wanted to be.

All Might had said that Kai admired the path of heroism he had taken throughout the course of his life, but he wondered if perhaps the man had unintentionally exaggerated the factor of his student's admiration. True, the both of them had faced a great deal of ostracizing throughout their younger years, he for his appearance, and Hikari for his lineage. He could see the similarities in their respective motivations, but at the same time, there was an important difference to be made between them.

Gang Orca had sought to prove people wrong about him being likened to a monster that would give their own mother nightmares. The approval of the citizens of Japan meant a great deal to him, and to be ranked in the top ten- to achieve such an envied pinnacle of prestige and admiration- had seemed like a dream that could have never come true when he was a child. Even now, having been taken down to number twelve, it had been enough for him to know that someone like him could stand out as an example to others who doubted their worth based on whatever aspect of their quirk they might view as a curse instead of a blessing.

Kai, on the other hand, didn't give a damn about what civilians thought of him. When Gang Orca had realized this, he had been taken thoroughly aback by the boy, as he had initially assumed that he had come to his agency in order to make use of the prestige that it could grant him as a potential sidekick. The pro had been quick to realize that nothing could have been further from the truth when Hikari took to whatever duty he was assigned with an immaculate diligence and utter lack of complaint, even when burdened with mundane janitorial duties. Other interns in the past had often complained that they had come to the esteemed agency in order to learn from one of the best pros about heroism, not how to scrub a deck, but not so with Kai. He learned what was taught, and he executed orders with a swiftness and competency that put a number of his actual sidekicks to shame.

The boy was not without a desire to prove himself- he was simply very selective about whose approval he sought. While Gang Orca did not feel that way himself, it didn't stop him from admiring the boy for his resolve concerning the matter. It would have been very easy for a boy like him to bask in the praise that people had begun to render unto him in spite of his familial ties to the Japanese Police Superintendent, or even to throw it back in the public's faces for the sudden turnaround in their attitude toward him. But he had remained entirely indifferent to the applause, refusing to allow such thoughts to affect his hero work in the slightest.

Then there was the matter with his uncle's killer…

If he had taken his revenge in that moment, I truly could not have blamed him for it, Gang Orca had admitted to himself more than once. It may well have been the death of his hero career, but in a karmic sense, one could even argue that he would have been justified. But instead…

He had been utterly shocked and relieved when Kai had - through a supreme effort of self-control and willpower- chosen the high road. In the midst of a moment that could have undone any number of pros that he could name, Gang Orca had witnessed a child choose the path of true heroism, and render justice upon a man who had put his family through hell.

I don't know what you thought you had to learn about being a hero from me, Hikari, the weeping pro thought as he held his head in his hands. The truth is that if I could somehow find it in myself to be a hero with the resolve that you lived and died with, I would count my life well-lived, indeed.

The atmosphere in the streets of Japan had changed at an alarming rate in just a few short days, following the news of Kai's death. Not only were many of the citizens discouraged by the loss of the champion who could someday supplant Endeavor and return the heroes of their nation to their days of glory as it had been in the time of All Might, but the Hero's Public Safety Commission had suddenly come under an alarming amount of fire.

Spearheading the campaign against their current administration and handling of affairs concerning work study heroes in particular was a small- but very vocal- group of heroes led by the former pro Ingenium, consisting of both active and retirees. Pro heroes ranking as high as Gang Orca and Ryukyu had come forward to lend their voices to the movement, which had caught the somewhat startled interest of the general public. There even was talk of the organization leaders being taken to the public courts to answer for crimes against minors- a case that a rising prosecuting lawyer named Ashido seemed rather eager to be a part of. However, given his indirect personal ties with the deceased hero, it could well end up being that he would be barred from taking part of any official proceedings, though a couple of the partners at the firm that he worked for seemed to be willing to handle things in his stead, if that did turn out to be the case.

For many, it may not have been as devastating as the loss of All Might, but to others, this tragedy was far more pronounced. One such group was making their way to one of the popular parks in Musutafu a week after the news hit the internet. There were children of many ages in this gathering bringing their parents and guardians, ranging from early grade school to sophomores in high school. They came from many different wards and families, but once word had gotten out about the fall of Kai, a few of the older kids started reaching out to their acquaintances, and encouraging them to do the same with their mutual contacts concerning something that they all agreed should be done.

These children had very little in common, so to see them unite in this manner would have been incredibly strange under any other circumstances. However, there were two common factors that they all shared; the first being that earlier in the year, they had all been chained either to one another, or to the bars of the cages that held them prisoner to some of the most despicable creatures to walk the face of the earth. The second thing tying them all together was the memory of a young hero, dressed in blue and orange, who shone with a brilliant light, swooping in out of nowhere to save them from their captors. In their minds, he shone like a star as he blasted through the villains with ease, even going so far as to save many of them from a collapsing walkway by intercepting the debris with his own body, placing himself in great peril in the process so that they would not suffer any further harm.

Ever since Kai had come to rescue them, these children and their families- for those who still had them- had watched the Guardian Hero's career unfold with great interest. Some of these same people had learned that there was another unofficial vigil being held in Fukuoka by the people he had helped to save from becoming permanent Nomu mutates, so the mourning for the young hero was by no means a local event.

Not everyone that the leaders had reached out to could make it, but by the time the crowd in Musutafu had assembled, there were nearly two hundred of the rescued children gathered with their siblings and parental figures. Among them in the fading light of the afternoon sun were many a lit candle and flowers being placed at the base of a large portrait someone had printed in the likeness of the deceased hero.

There were many quiet conversations among the parents and children alike as they became reacquainted with one another and spoke of the hero who had brought them all together. Some wondered if there would be an official, public funeral held for the popular figure, but given the closed-off nature of UA High and the Hogo-sha family, that seemed quite doubtful to occur. Other attendees knelt down in front of the temporary shrine and said their prayers for the departed soul in their own turns.

Even as all of this was taking place, there was one person in the gathering who did not belong. She would have been easy for the attendees to dismiss as a survivor who might have come without the supervision of her parents- she wouldn't have been the only one, if it were the case.

The only time when this was brought to light was when one of the leading teens who had vied for this event in the first place singled her out while she was near the portrait, staring at it as though she were in a trance. He noticed her because her lips were moving, and no sound was coming out. He might have taken it as a silent prayer, but she was standing upright, and her golden-brown eyes were wide open as she did.

"I don't recognize you," he said as he approached her, though not in a confrontational manner. She didn't look dangerous- and this boy in particular liked to think that he knew dangerous people, even when they tried to disguise themselves, having been at the mercy of such people for far too long. He supposed it was possible that she had happened upon the vigil and decided to pay her respects, despite not knowing anyone in the group.

There was nothing wrong with this if it were the case, but he couldn't help his curiosity, all the same.

The girl's lips stopped moving as she refocused her eyes and set them upon him with a quiet steel that seemed almost in contrast with the soft contours of her delicate face. "I wouldn't think that you should," she answered him in a soft voice. With a slight incline of her head in his direction, she then added, "I'm sorry to intrude on your event. I just wanted to pay my respects to Kai."

"Hey, it's all good with me," the boy said with a slightly sad smile. "Not like this is a private event. You just stood out to me since I recognize everyone else here." Gesturing to the portrait, he asked, "Mind if I ask how you knew him?"

"It's… a little complicated," she answered with a matching sort of smile. "But I guess it would be safe for me to say that I'm here because I want to understand just how significant he was for everyone he saved. If I ever want to be like him, I need to see the effects of his actions, not just his actions themselves."

"Wait, are you a hero student?" the boy asked with curious tilt of his head. She looked like a regular teenager, judging by her outfit, but the way that she spoke and carried herself said that there might be a little more to her than one could assume at first glance.

The raven-haired girl hesitated for the briefest moment before she answered, "Yeah. I learned from the best, other than him."

"Other than him?" the boy repeated as he turned to look at the portrait again with a hint of confusion. Quickly turning back, he made to say, "But he wasn't a teach…er?"

He blinked a couple of times when he saw no sign of the girl, nor were there any sounds of someone making their way through a packed crowd, which he would have thought impossible in their current conditions. If she had tried to leave in a hurry, there would have been some sort of stir, but for all intents and purposes, she had just vanished.

Maybe she has an invisibility quirk? he rationalized once he realized that he had been searching for over a full minute. Teleporter? I mean, those are rare, but… He shook his head at that, having realized that it didn't matter who that girl was. I guess as long as she was able to pay her respects, or whatever she needed to do…

Little could he have known that in the grand scheme of things that were to come, there was no one in attendance of the vigil who was more important than that girl.

Mataras: Alright, show of hands- who's helping with the show since Deadwood decided to drift?

Litrosh: I'm still here.

Deku: And I'm back.

Mataras: Well, how about that? Ready to resume the segment now?

Deku: Whether I am or not, the story is ready to move on. So I am here.

Litrosh: Nice. What do we have on the roster for today?

Deku: Seems like Mataras is aiming to take the story back to our class on Nabu Island.

Mataras: Yep. Don't want the story to be overloaded with 'side quests', as it were. It's time for us to get on with the main plot.

Litrosh: What's that going to look like without Kurai? I'm assuming that girl is getting ready to move into a more prominent role, given the last sentence in that chapter.

Mataras: That would be telling.

Deku: You've known him longer than I have- why would you even ask that when you know what his answer is going to be?

Litrosh: It annoys him, and he amuses me when he's annoyed.

Deku: You two were just made for each other, huh?

Mataras: Pretty much.

Litrosh: Seems like the artwork has been changing pretty rapidly the last few weeks. Any plans for a more permanent piece sometime soon?

Mataras: Yeah, but not quite yet. Need to let a few things play out first.

Deku: Next time- Paying Respects

Litrosh: What would you know about writing on that kind of matter? You don't respect anybody!

Mataras: I respect you!

Litrosh: You sure have weird ways of showing it!

Deku: Go Beyond!

Mataras: Plus Ultra!

Next time on Your Hero Academia: Renewal...

"Believe it or not, pros aren't what should concern you the most in your line of work." Two men dressed in black with ski masks, who were trying to keep a young woman from the nearby fast food joint down and gagged with a ratty cloth, looked up from their activity to see a girl cloaked in red with raven hair and golden brown eyes glaring at them. "Though I will say, you have a lot of nerve to commit a crime less than five minutes away from the world's most esteemed hero school."

"Crap!" one of them swore as he looked to his partner, who hadn't yet moved away from the suffocating woman. "What do we do?!"

"Relax, she's probably just one of those student heroes from up the road," the apparent leader snorted. "My quirk'll make short work of her."

"Dude, have you seen what some of these guys can do?!" his partner asked as he started to back away, fear in his brown eyes. "No way we can take her on if we was having trouble with skimpy here!"

"I wanted this chick alive," the leader shrugged as his fists transformed into living metal with spiked knuckles. "The do-gooder can serve as an example to her school that just cos they got a big fancy wall, it ain't a safe world to be in once you call yourself a hero."

"You should pay attention to what people tell you," the girl in question replied, her tone unconcerned and unhurried. "Like I said, a hero shouldn't worry you right now. See, heroes have to worry about their public image with every rescue and arrest that they make. As you're about to discover firsthand, that concern doesn't apply to me."