Inside his Satsuma submarine, Kenpachiro dove to the target zone. This was supposed to have been a research mission, now it was a recovery operation. There was a typhoon coming, so he had to be quick.

He glanced at the sub's onboard Geiger counter. Trace radiation, but nothing dangerous. Kenpachiro picked up the radio, "Satsuma approaching target." He steered around a rocky outcropping. There it was. The missing US nuclear submarine.

The sub was laying on its side, seemingly been torn in half. Using the sub's lights, Kenpachiro examined the inside of the sub. The decks had been ripped apart, the metal blackened and scorched, in some parts even melted.

"It seems to have been an explosion," Kenpachiro said. What could have-

A wave of dust and turbulence hit Kenpachiro's sub, tossing it through the water like a bath toy. Kenpachiro gripped the controls, gritting his teeth as he struggled to avoid a fatal crash. Then, as unexpected as it had come, the turbulence vanished.

Kenpachiro looked around. What was that?

The dust cleared. Something was swimming among the rocks.

No...

Its back had three rows of spines, all glowing a brilliant electric blue. Kenpachiro had seen them once before, while growing up in the Ogasawaras. It was a day he'd always tried to forget.

The radio crackled. "Ken, are you ok? What's that on the screen? Ken? Ken!"

"It can't be," said Kenpachiro. "It can't be happening! You can't be here! You can't be here!"

He kept repeating that even after the form had swum away, toward the island."


"Why do you always read that?"

Izuku looked up at Zeni. He was staring at Izuku with a puzzled look.

Izuku shrugged. "It describes Ota Murakami's exploits in his own words. What more reason do I need?"

Zeni sighed. "Look, I get you're a fanboy of the guy, but why read the same book twenty times? Haven't you found everything you need already?"

Izuku stared at the book cover as memories started to swirl. He said. "It's the reason I joined the AMF."

"Really?" said Zeni.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. Murakami's story was…let's just say it was what I needed to hear."


His first year in High School was nearly half over, and he'd barely even noticed. So far, he'd simply drifted, with few hopes, and fewer dreams.

He guessed he'd become a police officer like All Might said. It was a nice career and a worthy cause.

But it just wasn't what he wanted.

Then again, what did that matter? What he wanted was impossible.

Despite Izuku's lack of enthusiasm, fear persisted. What if this failed too? He couldn't bear to face that hopelessness from when All Might crushed his dreams gave him a much needed reality check a second time.

Izuku checked forums with quirkless people like him (which were growing smaller and rarer). As he'd feared, several posters claimed there was a tendency for quirkless people to not be hired for physically demanding jobs. He couldn't be absolutely sure it was true, reference pool was small, but he couldn't risk it.

Izuku needed another career path, just in case.

Izuku considered his options. Maybe he could become a salaryman like Dad? On the forums, one poster recommended the Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF), saying it welcomed people looked down on for their quirks.

Izuku had heard of the AMF, but only vaguely. They secured quirked animals and primarily operated in wilderness areas with few people and fewer Heroes. They also had a tendency to clash with Heroes over jurisdiction. (Frankly Izuku wondered why this organization hadn't had their work replaced by Heroes yet. After all, with how strong Villains were, how much more difficult could these animals be?)

Curious, Izuku opened their website. It was mostly what Izuku expected, talking about the virtues of joining, warning about the potential danger, etc. However, one detail stuck out.

They openly welcomed those with weak quirks or no quirks. In fact, they seemed to advertise directly to them. Heck the man considered the finest member in the organization's history was born in 1933, long before the first quirk was ever recorded!

Izuku quickly searched the name. Ota Murakami.

There wasn't much on him from credible sources, but Izuku did find a memoir he'd written: Godzilla: The Half Century War. The next day, Izuku went to a used bookstore and bought a copy. He arrived home and started reading.

"It's been nearly fifty years now, and I still remember clear as day the first time I saw him…"

As Izuku read, he became more and more engrossed. A burning city. An unstoppable threat. Two men riding fighting against impossible odds and saving hundreds of lives. With each word, Izuku's heart beat with a vitality it hadn't known in a long time.

Then finally, the first part of the book ended.

"That's where my half-century obsession with Godzilla would really start. I'd find myself in front of him again soon enough…but next time I'd have much bigger guns."

Izuku put the book down.

His heart pounded in his chest. There was something there, something that Izuku hadn't felt in so long he'd almost forgotten it. But what was it? Where had he-

A man carried dozens of civilians out of a blazing fire, laughing all the while, showing the world a bright smile as he announced that everything would be ok.

Izuku remembered.

This was what it felt like to dream again.


Ochako took a deep breath. She could do this. This was part of her goals of being became a Hero.

It was the day of the charity event, where Ochako would meet kids who'd faced mistreatment for their quirks and make them happy. This was her first time doing this sort of thing but she was determined to succeed.

She entered the building and met with the organizers and several parents. It was cordial, if a bit tedious. Once that was finished, she went out to meet the kids.

The moment they saw her, their eyes brightened. They quickly surrounded her, eager to learn everything about her Hero life. Ochako smiled and told them what she could, but it was honestly hard to keep up.

Still, the smiles on their faces made it all worth it…

Ochako wasn't the only Hero here. Also attending was one of Mina's old classmates, Hitoshi Shinso AKA the Underground Hero Void.

He was…enduring.

"If you're a Hero, then why've I never heard of you?" one obnoxious precocious child said.

Void twitched. "Because I'm Underground. I avoid the media."

"That sounds lame. Who's dumb idea was it for you to come here?"

"I don't know, some idiot organizer," said Shinso, looking like he wanted to deck the kid. "Probably saw me win the Sports Festival in my first year and-"

"You won the Sports Festival?!" another child said, "How the heck did you do that?!"

"Made Dynamight walk off the stage after he cussed me out."

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, the kids mobbed him.

"You beat Dynamight? How?"

"Why'd he walk off the stage? Was he scared?"

"What's your quirk?"

Poor Void looked like he'd prefer facing actual villains right now. "I brainwashed him. Which is my quirk.

"Ooh!" said one girl who looked like a zombie (or a goth, it was hard to tell). "That sounds like a villain's quirk! So cool!"

Void twitched. "Villainous quirk or not, I'm a Hero."

"Even better!" said the girl. She pumped her fist in the air…and accidentally it across the room.

Another girl with hazel hair tied in a ponytail said, "If you became a Hero with your villainous quirk, does that mean I can be with mine?"

"What's your quirk?" said Void.

The girl gave him an angelic smile. "I can make people stop breathing 'til they drop!"

"Don't be a one-trick pony, find a school with an entrance exam that isn't robots, and you'll do fine," Void said.

Unfortunately for Void, the children kept coming with each one warded off replaced by three more. Ochako could try to save him…but watching him squirm was funnier. Besides, she had a crowd of her own to deal with.

After introducing herself to yet another child, Ochako looked up and noticed a boy watching her. He looked to be around seven or eight at the oldest, wore an Uravity hoodie, and had curly black hair that covered one eye. He stood at the edge of the group, watching her very intently.

Ochako locked eyes with him. The boy's face flushed red and he looked away.

Before she could go over to him, but Ochako was distracted by dozen or so kids still asking for her attention. Soon she was so caught up in speaking with them that she forgot about the black haired boy.

After about a half hour, the adults arranged games for the children, giving the Heroes a brief respite. Ochako leaned against a wall next to Void and wiped some sweat from her brow.

Who knew children could be so exhausting?


Shota sneezed. Damn allergies.


"They just wouldn't leave me alone…" Shinso murmured, a haunted look in his eyes.

Ochako snickered. "You'll be fine."

He gave her a skeptical look. "If you say so. Hitoshi Shinso by the way."

Ochako nodded. "Ochako Uraraka. Nice to meet you."

"Thanks. So, how'd they get you for this?"

Ochako shrugged. "Volunteered. A friend of mine was quirkless and bullied for it when he was young. I wanted to help other kids going through that sort of thing."

He nodded. "That's a good motive. I mainly do this because my quirk was deemed villainous growing up. I figured kids like that would appreciate knowing people like them have made it."

"That's sweet," Ochako said.

"Thanks. It's good they have a Hero like you here too though. A bit of cheerfulness to contrast with…" He motioned to himself, dark clothing, eyebags and all.

"You're not half bad with them you know," Ochako said, folding her arms.

"Thanks," Shinso said. "I'm just glad they haven't clawed me to death like the demented hell cats they are…"

Ochako snickered.

"It's not funny!"

That did not help his case.


He watched Uravity and Void out of the corner of his eye. Logically Void would be the safer one to ask. With his quirk, he'd understand.

But Uravity was his favorite. Sure, she'd probably say no, but if she didn't…

Void would be his back-up, he'd ask Uravity first.


The kids came back, and Shinso was again being crowded again. He looked like he was in his own personal hell, which Ochako would sympathize with if it wasn't so hilarious.

Ochako also had to deal with a lot of kids. A surprising amount told her how much they loved her, even to the point of being their favorite Hero (she needed to do more patrols without Heroes's in the double and single digits).

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Ochako noticed the black-haired boy from before. He was in a secluded corner of the room, staring at her while fidgeting. He started to walk towards her, but halfway through his gaze drifted to the people around Ochako and all courage vanished. This repeated three separate times.

After the third time, Ochako took matters into her own hands. She left the group of kids surrounding her and walked over to the boy, who'd taken refuge in a secluded corner of the room.

The boy stared at her, his body language displaying a mix of excitement and apprehension.

Ochako leaned forward, trying to put herself closer to the boy's eye level, and smiled. "Hi there," she said in a soft tone. "What's your name? And are you doing here all alone?"

He put his hands in his pockets and looked down. "Mikumo Akatani. Didn't like dealing with other people, so I came here."

"Why don't you like dealing with other people?"

"Don't get along with them," he said. He shuffled his feet "I…have a question for you."

Ochako blinked. "Oh? What is it?"

"You're my favorite Hero you see, and I wanted to ask…can I…is it possible…" He squeezed his eyes shut and blurted, "Can I become a Hero when I don't have a quirk?"

Oh.

Oohhh.

Izuku had told her of his days dreaming to be a Hero. How said dreams shifted from optimism to desperation. How everyone around him, intentionally or not, ground his dreams down to dust.

When Ochako heard these stories, she resolved to help kids like Izuku, to give them hope.

Yet, none of those promises had prepared her for this moment.

Mikumo seemed to sense her nervousness. He was now frozen, fists clenched and eyes down, waiting for the blow to fall. He expected her to give him the same answer he'd likely heard hundreds of times before. The answer anyone would give.

Fortunately, Ochako wasn't anyone.

"Yes."

Mikumo stiffened, then his eyes grew wide. He slowly looked up. "W-what did you say?"

Ochako grinned at him. "I said yes."

"You're not just saying it to m-make me feel better or something, right?" Mikumo said, tears brimming. "Y-you really mean it?"

Ochako shook her head. "My best friend is quirkless. He fights giant monsters for a living. Trust me, if you get the right training, carry the right gear, maybe make some good friends who can help you, you can be a Hero," Ochako said.

She reached out to ruffle his hair. Before she could, the boy crashed into Ochako and hugged her, tears freely flowing. "Thank you. Thank you…"

Ochako hugged him back. "You're welcome, Mikumo."


Scaris

Outside, thunder boomed, the wind howled. A torrent of rain beat against the houses. It was another typhoon.

Ren lay in his futon, trying to get some sleep. None came. Maybe it was the howling wind, maybe it was the thunder, or maybe it was something…else.

Ren started to nod off, however before he could fall asleep, he jolted back up.

The ground shook.

Ren felt the floor around his futon. It shook again. And again. And again, as if someone was beating a drum the size of a house.

Was it an earthquake? No, what kind of earthquake felt like this? The tremors became stronger. Ren heard something outside, a rhythmic pounding, occurring in perfect tandem with the tremors.

Ren bolted up, put on his poncho and ran outside. Through the darkness and heavy rainfall, he could barely see a meter in front of him. Ren tried to blink the water out of his eyes as he trudged forward, the trail from his house now a small creek with water running against Ren's ankles.

Ren crashed into something. He fearfully backed away, but when the lightning flashed he saw it was only his neighbor Yamamoto.

"Ren! What's going on?" said Yamamoto.

"I don't know!" said Ren. "Maybe-"

Lightning flashed, illuminating the village. Yamamoto let out a terrified shriek.

Before Ren could ask what was wrong, Yamamoto was gone, sprinting toward the nearest home like a demon was chasing behind him.

Ren ran after him, struggling to keep his balance in the typhoon. "Hey! Wait for me! What's wrong? What did you see?!"

Ren slipped, his face splashing into the mud. He tried to get up, but the tremors became stronger, knocking him back to the ground. Blinking water out of his eyes, Ren saw the house that Yamamoto had just run into collapse.

"Yamamoto…"

Another tremor came, this one sending a wave of water splashing into Ren. Ren tried to blink water out of his eyes. He couldn't see anything. There was too much…

Rain?

For a brief moment, the rain had stopped. Ren sat absolutely still, too terrified to even breathe.

A stream of water poured onto Ren's head. The rain restarted, followed by a blast of thunder accompanying the strongest tremor of them all.

Ren was sent sprawling on his back. An unholy roar erupted above him.

Ren curled into a ball and squeezed his eyes shut, his mind repeating a desperate prayer for mercy over and over again.

Something long and heavy dragged across the ground.

The next day Ren would be found, still huddling, his head less than two meters away from a giant footprint.

Izuku stepped outside his tent into the rain. Sakaki was waiting.

"Did you hear that?" said Izuku.

"Yeah." Sakaki glared toward the mountain. "I sure did…"


Man! Editing this was a pain! It started with over 3000 words and I cut it down to around 2700. It was no easy feat! (That conversation between Uraraka and Shinso almost got cut too but I kept it)

Both the Ochako and Izuku scenes are based on what I wrote in my initial draft of the story, which I wrote about a year ago. I loved both scenes and was determined to bring them here.

Now...that storm sequence. I've been WAITING to post that. I meant to post it last chapter (same with the Satsuma) but I delayed both for length. I just hope I did the scene justice. The one in my head was pretty good.

(Funnily enough, both the exorcism and the storm sequence were very late ideas for my story. As in I came up with them a few weeks ago when I decided to make Scaris into Odo Island. If I hadn't done that, neither would be in the story)

Hope you enjoyed!