Chapter 23

The Aizuri Cantina was sandwiched right between a Mos Burger and a ramen shop in a burrow somewhere in-between Shibuya and Shinjuku so unless you were looking for it, you would have missed it entirely. The dark lantern light, sports memorabilia, and worn wood of the countertops gave it a seedy atmosphere but in a charming sort of way like the way slipping on a pair of old, comfortable jeans you'd had for years would. The patrons inside varied in appearance, most of them having some sort of mutant Quirk. Some were watching a night baseball game on TV while others were playing cards, along with a handful of tourists out to enjoy some of the famous Shinjuku nightlife. He even saw a few off-duty heroes and military personal chatting amiably in the corner, a rare but not entirely uncommon sight since Japan had sought out aid for the 'civil war' that had taken place a few years prior. Some of the tourists were flirting with them, judging from the girls' bright expressions and arm touches.

The headmaster and one of the students pushed together two tables to accommodate the lightsaber class and then helped rearrange the chairs accordingly. Izuku took a seat on the edge of the table next to Alyssa, a section that was far away from the rabble of patrons and a particularly heated discussion between Chise and Ishikami. She appeared to be preoccupied with her phone, uninterested in her roommate's disagreement.

"Is this where all of you usually go out for drinks?" Izuku asked Alyssa after seeing a group of businessmen who had clearly had one too many shout at the TV after a player from the opposing team had caught a home-run ball.

"I don't know. I've never been out with them for drinks before."

"Really?"

"I don't really get out much." Once they had sat down, Izuku found the Ludosport students were exceedingly friendly and eager to introduce themselves to him when they had the chance. In that time he had learned that Ishikami and Chise were roommates, Itsuka was a mother of three, Akashi was a prison guard, and that the training they had all endured during the class wasn't simply for sport of it all, but actual proper combat training. The different forms were adapted off of different kinds of weapons all around the world, ranging from an African spear to a military saber, and in order to progress, you had to show at least a fundamental mastery of the basics of that form. All of this they had been taught from the headmaster, who was a master of all seven forms. Just who was he, to have so much melee combat under his belt and so young? He had to be in his thirties. The name 'Miki' sounded particularly familiar in his head, but Izuku wasn't about to pull out his hero notebook to check. He'd had written on at least a dozen Campos notebooks throughout the years, so it was unlikely that his most current book, No. 18, would have what he was looking for. He still wrote in it anyways, taking quick notes on his Ludosport classmates and the Quirks they had.

"...so basically, if I wanted to go out and buy a talwar or a gros messer sword," he mused as he jotted down notes, "I could apply the training I already have and be able to use it just as efficiently?"

"Pretty much. Although I doubt most people would be allowed to own a sword, much less wield it, it's a fun thought," Chise confirmed with a hint of pride in her voice as she began taking drink orders to give to bartender. Alyssa, refusing to look up from her sketchbook, said, "Just an ice water for me, Kat."

Chise gave her a funny look as if to say 'who goes to a bar and orders ice water' before moving on. Izuku looked down at his own menu and saw that it listed the Deku as an option, and for a second he almost considered requesting it. Did that make him conceited, ordering his own drink? But it was so good. The mint leaves and lime gave it a real kick, mixing well with the strong shot of cucumber vodka. He had to be smart about it though. He didn't want to show up in some sort of tabloid or be intoxicated if an issue decided to rear its ugly head. This was Shinjuku, after all. It wasn't exactly well-known for its safety, being so close to the red-light district, so he settled on something tamer.

"Just a green tea for me, thanks."

"You two are no fun," Chise teased before she took off towards the counter. When her friends asked about why she didn't order something stronger, Alyssa simply explained, "I'm just not a fan of alcohol," before giving them a dry chuckle and taking a pinch from the otsumami bowl and popping a few rice crackers into her mouth. "I know. I'm real fun at parties."

"That just means you haven't found the right drink. Here, try this," said Hanto, a stocky brunette with the knee brace that reminded him of Mina Ashido in the confident way she carried herself. "It's sweeter than what they've got. This has rum in it."

"Thanks, Mizuki, but no thanks."

"If you have a past drug addiction or find that you're struggling with rehab, I always have a listening ear," said Ishikami, setting down his umeshu. Her nose wrinkled at the implication.

"What?! No! I just don't like alcohol."

"Actually, I was talking to Deku." Now everyone turned to give Ishikami incredulous looks. "What? It's not uncommon for celebrities and pro-heroes have developed substance abuse problems. What with the lack of stimulus after facing such high pressure they face on a day-to-day basis and the deep pockets they have in which to feed the habits, it's a wonder more heroes aren't high."

"Only the stupid ones with no impulse control," the headmaster spoke up bluntly, who had up until this point had been sitting quietly on the other side of Izuku.

"Whatever. I don't have to drink to have a good time and neither does Izuku," Alyssa said before taking a sip from her ice water before going back to her sketchbook, apparently done with the conversation. The shark-man from before quickly pulled him aside to grab his attention.

"Don't know if you caught my name earlier but my name is Makoto Wanizame, attorney-at-law and well-known divorce settlement lawyer. If you have any marital problems, just say the word and I'm there. I know how hard it is for pro-heroes to deal with marital scandals." He handed Izuku a black business card that said 'Wanizame & Kyoryu Lawfirm' in golden lettered font. This was a really nice business card. He really needed to think of getting some like this for the office.

"Oh my god, guys, he's not here for marital advice or a therapist," Alyssa reprimanded her friends, "Seriously, you guys, come on. Just give him some space. You look like you're going to eat him alive."

"Well he is a bit of a snack if you look at him long enough," Hanto said with a coy smile.

"Thank you..?" Izuku smiled nervously while Alyssa muttered something along the lines of 'unbelievable' under her breath.

"Don't worry about them. They're mostly harmless. It's not everyday we have a pro-hero in our midst," said the thin man Izuku knew to be called Yakobu Chihaya, someone he had learned was training to become the Form II instructor.

After settling in, everyone began launching into dinnertime discussions about how their lives were going and future plans. "So we've already put in our request form for the lightsaber tournament for NatsuComi in August. Are we doing anything on May 4th? Please tell me we're going to be doing something for May 4th," Keri asked, "I need to know if I have to ask my husband to babysit the kids."

"You'll find out if you attend Sunday intensive," Miki answered cryptically. "What say you, Bloody Queen? How is this mysterious project you've been working on?"

"Don't worry. You'll have it by Star Wars Day," Alyssa said, not glancing up from the sketchbook she had pulled out.

"Right. And the Last Jedi totally didn't ruin Luke Skywalker's character for future generations," Ishikami scoffed. Izuku didn't know much about Star Wars, but apparently that had been the wrong thing to say as many expressions at the table darkened.

"The Last Jedi is a misunderstood masterpiece and the best film of the sequel trilogy. Fight me," Miki said with a jovial yet stern expression.

"But the bar scene is so boring and unnecessary. It's just there for runtime."

"So is the Phantom Menace."

"You take that back! 'Duel of the Fates' and the fight of Qui-Gon Jin versus Darth Maul is epic."

"What you just described are the only good thing to come out of that movie. Three words. Jar-Jar Binks."

"That's an easy cheap-shot and you know it. That argument is so old, it's practically redundant. That's like saying All Might is one of the greatest heroes of all time. Besides, I hardly think one bad character decision could topple a multi-billion dollar franchise."

"He's not that bad." Alyssa chimed in, her eyes flitting up from her sketchbook before dropping back down to her work, all the eyes at the table suddenly on her as she mumbled softly, "I actually like the prequel and sequel trilogies."

"Well there's no accounting for taste," Ishikami said with a slight smirk.

"That's your opinion and you're completely valid to have it, but it won't change mine," she said with a sniff. Izuku began to tune out some of the conversation, not having any real understanding of what had just taken place. Instead, he found himself watching Alyssa with some interest. During most of the conversation, her eyes had never left her sketchbook unless she was eating or flipping through her phone, humming a familiar tune under her breath as she drew in the faraway corner of the table. He realized then that it had been the song she had been singing on the train, though he didn't understand the words. The melody sounded familiar though, like one of those songs that everyone knew but didn't know the name of. Her face seemed to always be shifting between a variation of emotions, sometimes pressing her lips into a thin line or furrowing her brow in concentration while she made the oddest expressions, ranging from a smirk to glaring at the parchment. He wanted to ask what she was sketching to cause this strange transformation but he didn't want to break the spell she was under.

His eyes drifted towards the TV, watching a promo of the All Might TV series Might-T before it was supposed to the latest scores of the night game. Instead, the sight of the evening news involving heroes taking down another villain popped up. The Hero Public Safety Commission had been dealing with a restaffing issue of their own and had recovered some over the years since the defeat of All for One, but it wasn't uncommon for an altercation to pop up that they couldn't contain. The heroes featured on screen Izuku recognized by the flashes of pink, black, and orange.

"Hey could you turn up the volume on the TV?" Izuku asked the bartender, a man who also had a shark-like appearance but with a thinner frame. He lifted up the clicker with one hand and the noise from the TV filled the room.

"...Zero and Uravity were recently engaged with the villain known as Backslide here in Ikebukuro," A young news anchorwoman reported as miniature explosions lit up through the area recorded by the cameraman as a figure in a black skin-tight jumpsuit zipped around with his legs and an arm crouched low to the ground. Izuku recognized the precise chain of explosions to belong to his childhood friend. It was his most effective (and aggressive) technique to both contain threats and set up a perimeter to keep civilians back. What was Kacchan doing in Ikebukuro when his district was all the way in Besupin?

"Backslide, also known as Senaka Shodan, is a small-time arms dealer and Trigger distributor that has been wanted by the authorities since his escape from Fantomuzon prison. Him and his gang the Dover Boys had broken into Kumori Labs to steal a variety of lab equipment and chemicals. After the heroes were done assessing everyone had evacuated, Uravity and her sidekicks rushed in to help contain the threat..." The picture showed the gravity hero unleashing her fury to catch the slippery opponent.

"Gravity Rush!" Uravity shouted her team-up combo move alongside Bakugou before unleashing the dozens of shrapnel that had been floating harmlessly away from the civilians to rain onto the villain, including a trashed vending machine. Debris that Ground Zero had been secretly accumulating since the start of the fight.

"Though the missing equipment was never found, the suspects were apprehended and there were zero casualties, all thanks to the efforts of the Ground Zero and Uravity agencies working in tandem to catch this tricky assailant and his gang."

"We had been planning on taking down the Dover Boys for awhile now," said Ochako with windswept hair and a bubbly smile, "It was only luck that we managed to run into him like we did and that Baku-I mean, Ground Zero, happened to be in the area. I'm so glad that no one was hurt and that we had him to help back us up."

"The real hero was Uravity and her team," Bakugou admitted in an uncharacteristic moment of humbleness, his expression stern but calm, "Chemicals and me don't mix too well, so she deserves most of the credit. But don't think that will stop me- I will take down any villain that's stupid enough to bring innocent people into their fights!"

"It was five steps forward for the heroes and two backslides back for the villain," the reporter continued as it flashed to b-roll footage of the villains being hauled away in Quirk-nullifying restraints, "This is Homura Akihito with Hero News Network..."

"Wow, they did such a great job keeping down casualties in such a small and narrow space." Izuku locked eyes with Alyssa, who had also apparently been watching the broadcast with some interest.

"Yeah, Kacchan and Ochako make a pretty good team," Izuku said with a smile.

"No kidding. I ship Zero Gravity so hard," Alyssa said, her cheeks flushed with excitement, "I always heard whispers about whether or not they were an item since they collaborate together a lot for jobs. Of course you can't always trust gossip magazines and tabloids, but I bet they'd be good together."

"Really?" It was hard for him to picture in his head. Bakugou had never been interested in anything but fighting and becoming the number one hero, but he had been known to keep most of his personal life and feelings private.

"Totally. Their Quirks and personalities certainly compliment each other and- I know Quirk marriages aren't really supposed to be a thing anymore, but if they had kids, there would be such a cool power-set."

Izuku was still reeling from the thoughts of his childhood friend and almost high school sweetheart being in a relationship, let alone having kids together. It wasn't quite jealousy that hit him, but- what was the word Kobayashi had said the other day? Quickie? -something that made him feel a bit of revulsion and disbelief. Kacchan had never shown any interest in dating as long as he'd known him and Ochako was very career focused, simply wanting to make enough money to support her parents and their family business. It was hard to imagine either of them sharing intimacy. Thankfully, he didn't have to dwell on that disturbing thought for too long.

"Oh! Speaking of cool, my sister sent me this video." Alyssa said after fumbling for her phone in her pocket. She kept the light on her phone so dark, but not dark enough that it couldn't be seen in the ambient bar lighting. She pulled up a video that had been sent to her via text message, quickly moving away from a red, white, black, and yellow checkered background.

"Isn't it so awesome? He's just flying around the air like a Soul Reaper doing flash-steps. He's so cool! I swear, he has the best action poses to draw," she gushed and pointed towards the screen. The scene was from the live breaking news footage there had been a couple years ago. Izuku's lip quirked into a half smile at her eagerness. She had mentioned being a fan of Ground Zero.

"Definitely. Kacchan had his grenades outfitted by an American company for the mission, so it gave his gauntlets a bit more concentrated firepower above the normal Japanese limit."

"What? No, not Ground Zero- although I did not know that; that's pretty cool. The other guy in the green mech suit, the one I've been trying to find stuff on?" Izuku watched the Tik Tok video repeat with some confusion. Who else was she talking about? Shoto? He wasn't wearing a green mech sui- And then it hit him. The person she had been fawning over and drawing for the past couple of weeks... was him.

"O-Oh," Izuku said, his voice breaking slightly, "Y-You think he's cool?" He had never been called 'cool' in his life. Dork, nerd, otaku, fan-boy, sure- but never 'cool'- at least not by someone who wasn't a child.

"Uhh yeah, I've only sent you like a dozen pictures on him. Do you still have no idea who he is? 'Cause I've been trying to find out his name for weeks and I just can't get a straight answer from the inter-webs. Have you heard anything about him on the HNN or your pro-hero forums?"

"Uh-" Izuku drew out. Did she really not realize that it was him in the videos? Sure he wasn't wearing his usual suit at the time and he had been wearing a lot of armor but- god! How did he explain this without embarrassing her or himself in the process?

Before he could begin to string together some semblance of an answer, the tourists from earlier walked over to where they were sitting and began speaking in some fast paced words towards Alyssa that Izuku could only guess was English. Alyssa set her sketchbook down and said, "Excuse me for a second," before moving towards the table with the girls over to where the soldiers were. Izuku was thankful to have a few seconds alone while he tried to recollect his thoughts. Thank god the low lighting hid his blush, otherwise he would have no excuse as to why he was acting like such a spaz in front of her.

The sketchbook she left on the table waved its pages due to the overhead bar fans, as if to say 'come hither' and beckon him closer. Curiosity getting the better of him, Izuku peered down at the opened page of her sketchbook and almost dropped his chopsticks. The sketches were of him. She hadn't been kidding at all when she said that she had been drawing him for weeks, both in and out of costume. He hadn't even realized she had been looking at him that closely. Flipping to another page, he saw even more detailed drawings of him in his hero costume along with dozens of her classmates in various poses with their respective lightsabers and their colors covering the page, all in a cartoonish style that resembled comic book heroes. She even had sketches of characters from Vigilante Knights. Was she a fan?

His hand lowered. He shouldn't be looking at this. This was Alyssa's personal sketchbook, something she hadn't shown to anyone and had expressed in the past that she was very sensitive about. If he were in the same position, he'd feel nervous about showing off his hero notes if he hadn't given a person permission to rifle through them. It's not like they were particularly intimate or anything, but they were personal and something he held close to his heart.

"People certainly are a bit more openly opinionated about heroes than when I was around," Miki said taking a sip from his scotch, startling a hot-faced Izuku into nearly dropping the sketchbook into his ramen like it was made of lead. The headmaster ignored the hero's clumsiness and continued, "It used to be that you'd mostly hear about this kind of stuff on the news or in the local paper, but with social media, everyone wants to have a voice, no matter their opinion."

Around? Izuku thought, somehow managing to pull his thoughts away from the incriminating sketchbook in his hands. The man was young, but he talked like he was in his sixties. "W-Well, that's true but it can also a good thing because it helps establish better communication about problems."

"You're young and up-and-coming. You haven't put in the years to have dealt with the fickle public support. Just be careful not to take every criticism too harshly. You're going to see a lot of it, whether you do an outstanding job or not."

"You sound like you have experience in this," Izuku voiced his thoughts, trailing off as the words from earlier began to resonate in his head, particularly the distasteful tone Miki had used with the word 'scandal' and the praise Alyssa had given the swordsman when she had explained just how adept he was with melee weapons. Finally it hit him.

"Wait a minute! I thought I recognized you. You were the Flying Musketeer! You were one of the most renowned pro-hero swordsmen around! It was said that your blade could pierce through solid concrete and steel."

Miki offered Izuku a rueful grimace and took another sip from his drink. "I'm long past that now."

"But you were such a great hero. Why did you quit?"

"A number of reasons. It was a largely thankless job. I didn't feel like I was reaching my potential, squandering away in a profession that made me feel miserable all because it was more focused on how popular you were than the service, and any scandal attached to your name could ruin your career. Because of that, I had to work long hours and was often kept from seeing my family. After awhile, I realized that it was more important to be around them than to cater to everyone else. It is harder to be selfless than it is to be selfish. I find that teaching is way more rewarding than being a public figure."

Izuku thought back on Miki's words. There had been a scandal accusing Miki of having an affair with one of his interns and accusations of him laundering money to help pay for the love hotels they often frequented for their romantic trysts, but no concrete evidence had ever been uncovered. It was even speculated that one of the sidekicks of his agency had brought that issue to light so that they could take over when certain details about the defamation case began to lose their credibility.

"So you training people through melee combat is a way for them to learn how to defend themselves?"

"I am a former pro-hero that also happens to like Star Wars. When Kurokawa approached me about the idea about forming a lightsaber school, I thought it was a good way to pass on what I'd learned, to prove that all of it wasn't a complete waste. America has set up similar schools along with Europe and Hong Kong, so why not be the first one in Japan?"

"So it's not just for fun. You're passing on knowledge of your hero work, possibly even training future heroes for those who can't quite make the hero track."

"I see you've observed the kinds of people that take my class. Very astute of you," Miki commented with an impressed expression, "Yes, I have quite a collection of misfits that I happen to call students, though I'd like to think of many of them as friends. Many of them have good Quirks for the business, but not in a combat sense. Hanto can see footprints but would only be good for tracking, not for dealing with the enemies once she finds them."

"Do you see any students with potential?"

"Is that your subtle way of asking if your friend Blake-san is doing well?" the headmaster smirked and focused his eyes forward as he rotated the drink in his hand, tactfully avoiding the permanent flush that appeared on Izuku's cheeks, "I'll admit, she's got some promising attributes, I'll give her that. I can see it in her stance. She has a lot of power in her movements, a good build for Form I, and has good intuition for battle when she doesn't overthink things. Her height, her speed, her reaction time, she has a lot going for her. During our last fight, if I hadn't trained for so many years and we had been playing with real swords, I'm positive she would have dealt me a killing blow. As long as she is properly trained and keeps up her devotion to the skill now, I'm positive she can become an excellent swordsman. It's a shame that's all that she can really accomplish."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's Quirkless."

Izuku could almost feel his stomach drop out of his chest, awash in a wave of cold dread and shock that word always seemed to bring him. Quirkless. Alyssa was... Quirkless? That... that couldn't be. She had a family with such interesting Quirks and always appeared to cheerful, not angry like some people or self-conscious like he had been. But then there had always been that sliver of sorrow in her eyes, a darkness that seemed to shroud her whenever she said something self-deprecating. It was then that the dots were finally starting to connect. Her hopes for gaining a water Quirk, her many switches in professions she'd wanted to pursue, the reason she had revered heroes and their equipment so much. It all made sense now.

"Didn't she already tell you?"

"No..." Izuku thought back to the conversation he'd had with her involving her family's Quirks and her avoidance on the subject of herself, "Not in so many words, anyways."

"I see... I remember her being very upfront with me about her difficulties after her first one-on-one training match with me. After failing to do a correct diagonal close, she'd asked me if being Quirkless made her the weaker swordsman. I told her that I don't believe in excuses, that the sword was the big equalizer of man, no matter the person or their gifts. Some have to work harder than others to master it, but if you have the skills to back it up and continue to practice with diligence, then anyone could become a capable swordsman."

He let the words of the former Flying Musketeer sink in. Alyssa had been dealt a bad hand, and where others would lose hope and give up, she got back up and tried to do her best, better yet she could go toe-to-toe with a pro-hero and almost win. She really was amazing.

"Excuse me," a stout man in a haphazardly worn business suit slurred, interrupting their conversation, "did I hear you mention that you were a hero?" Miki just remained silent and took another sip from his drink. The man continued on like he had responded. "I'd like to thank you personally for falsely accusing my brother of being a villain, for simply using his Quirk in self-defense."

Izuku looked back and forth between the man and Miki. He couldn't tell if Miki knew him personally or was just tactfully ignoring him, but Izuku could tell from just one look at the guy that he was drunk and itching for a fight.

"Heroes today are nothing but a bunch of sell-outs. Sure, we have some new blood like freckled Plain-Jane over here," he said pointing towards Izuku, "but it's the same thing like always. People only becoming heroes so that they can get rich and use their Quirks to make life miserable for the rest of us."

"I hear you, but let's just take a moment and calm down. We don't want any trouble," Izuku said in his best voice, trying to deescalate the situation. Right about when he was about to charge into action, Alyssa miraculously appeared and stepped in between them.

"Excuse me, but I think you're being a bit hypocritical here," she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Huh?"

"Would you say the exact same thing to a police officer or a fireman? How about a doctor or a soldier? Do you think they're all doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, or because they think having a job like that would give them a lot of perks?"

"Uhhh-"

"Because I know for a fact that dozens joined the military because of the benefits they'd get by being able to have free tuition for college. Does that make them a sell-out, because they don't do it out of sheer patriotism?"

"Look, woman, that's not the same thing. Unlike those jobs, heroes are treated like celebrities. They're put on this pedestal that only rise higher with their merchandise and their meet-and-greets and their-"

"If they're being treated like celebrities by putting them on pedestals, it's because we put them there. We did this to them. Our opinions of who's popular or not creates the ranking system for the most paid heroes rather than on merit alone. It's our fault. Heroes or not, they're still human beings trying to live their best life like the rest of us," Alyssa said hotly, talking over the drunk with increasing volume. "They make mistakes, and I don't think it's fair to assume that they'd be perfect all the time. If you have issues with how things are run, take it up with the government, but don't take it out on someone who's just trying to do the job they were trained to do!"

"Alyssa, it's okay-" Izuku interjected. They were gaining a lot of attention now and Alyssa certainly wasn't doing anything to deescalate the situation.

"Fuck off, American girl. This doesn't concern you."

"Uhhh me being a female or American doesn't invalidate my opinion, asshole."

"Go back home with the rest of your soldiers. We don't want you here." The glare she had given the group of men was so full of malice, it gave Izuku chills. Her hand was on the hilt of her lightsaber, her hand clenched tightly around the metal handle with part of it already coming out of the sheath.

"What the hell is that thing? You think you're going to hurt me with a plastic laser sword? What-" the portly man said, addressing the headmaster now, "-you're training a bunch of otakus to become the next generation of heroes? What a joke." Rather than back down, she deepened her stance, anticipating his attack. With the shifting atmosphere, Izuku noticed he wasn't the only one. The other members of the lightsaber class were on their feet, some hands clasped onto their sword bags but no one had drawn their blades.

"Hey! I'll have no fights in my bar," the fishy bartender ordered, "Either leave or take it outside."

The room went silent for a time, the only sound being the ambient music and the sound of the nine o'clock news going on the TV in the background. Finally the man lowered his gaze."Tch whatever. Let's go, you guys. It reeks in here," the guy scoffed before stumbling up out of his seat, the bar stool falling to the floor. No one made an effort to pick it up as he and his buddies trudged out of the bar.

Alyssa let out a long winded sigh before resting her hands on her knees. "Oh wow, that was close. I can't believe they bought that," she clutched her hand to her chest before turning towards him. "You okay?" Izuku was flummoxed. He was the pro-hero and she was the civilian, and she was asking him if he was okay.

"I'm fine."

"Sorry about that. People can be such assholes when it comes to politics. Don't even know what they're talking about..." Her lips pursed in a low grumble before they made an O at a sudden realization, "Oh god, that's right! You're a pro-hero. You probably didn't even need my help. I'm sorry if I made the situation worse. I probably just escalated things. I just- I can't stand people who go out of their way to bully other people!"

"It's okay, rea-" Her wan smile dropped entirely, her gaze now focused on the sketchbook he had clutched in his hand.


Author's Note: Man, this was a beast to write. I think I was guilty of trying to do too much with a chapter. Since I've been gone though, Season 5 of My Hero Academia has already dropped along with the trailer for the third MHA movie, now called "World Heroes Mission." Cannot tell you how hyped I am for both of these, since I am caught up on the manga and have been speculating about the third MHA movie for awhile. Because of the nature of the MHA3 movie, if it comes up in my story, I'll probably have some canon divergence there since it takes place in America where Alyssa would have been living in during that time.

So some fun explanation about the lightsaber school, TLLA, is that the combat style for the lightsaber class is based on an actual sword combat called HEMA, which stands for 'Historical European Martial Arts.' It's a style of fighting involving multiple kinds of weapons throughout history, a bit like MMA fighting but with swords and stuff. It's mostly for true LARPers or combat instructors for film sets- or anyone who wants to just learn how to sword fight and become a modern-day knight.

Update: I officially added the other Ludosport profiles to chapters 21 and 22 author's notes, so if there are profiles missing here, those would be your best bet.

References today include the Mos Eisley Cantina (Aizuri Cantina) and Bespin (Besupin) from Star Wars, Backslide and the Dover Boys from Merry Melodies, Gravity Rush, Durarara!, Bleach, and the Phantom Zone (Fantomuzon) from DC Comics.

Hero/Villain Profiles

Name: Mikaeru Miki
Form: VI (Preferred)
Hero Name: The Flying Musketeer
Quirk: Vector
He can produce arrows that change the direction of anything that steps on them, depending on which direction the arrow faces. This allows him to move incredibly fast and allow mid-air changes, giving him the illusion of /
Fun Fact: Before quitting hero-work to teach, he ranked #327 internationally (the docking bay number of the Millennium Falcon) and had a career as a combat instructor and advisor for television.

Name: Mizuki Hanto
Form: II
Quirk: Tracks
Her Quirk allows her to be able to see a person's footprints, as long as she knows what the bottom of their feet or shoes look like, a handy tool in a game of hide and seek with her daughter Hana.

Name: Mamoru Akashi
Form: I
Quirk: Reinforce
A bit self explanatory, he can reinforce any structure that he touches. However, that sometimes makes whatever he's supporting to become denser and heavier.

Name: Senaka Shodan
Villain Name: Backslide
Quirk: Reversal
He can propel himself and other objects he touches to move in reverse. However, that is all that he can do.
Fun Fact: His name has the characters for 'back' and 'one thousand,' and the word 'shodan' (1st Dan) is a reference to the lowest tier of a high rank of 'dan.'